I don't own Kingdom Hearts or the Walking Dead.

Emily belongs to Hidden Truth and Lies 2.


Chapter 7

EMILY'S POV

I was getting ready to head outside when I heard Sarah scream. I ran up to her room and opened the door. She was sitting up in bed, panting heavily.

"What happened?" I asked. I had a pretty good idea, but somehow it felt more comforting to let her say it.

Sarah looked at me. "I had a nightmare."

I sat on the end of her bed. "You wanna tell me about it?"

Sarah looked down. "I saw a field. There were these... swords buried in the ground. Except they looked more like giant keys."

"Keys?" That sounded familiar.

"I felt like I was in a graveyard. Then I saw these monsters come out of the shadows. They were dark and had these big yellow eyes." Sarah shuddered. "I-I also saw people fighting them. Clair was one of them."

"Clair?" I asked.

She nodded. "She was... so fierce. Like yesterday, with the walkers. Then... there was this… thing, this… thing. Like a person."

"Is that what woke you up?"

"No. What it said. The darkness will consume all."


CLAIR'S POV

There it was. I could see the deer grazing just ahead of us. It was a beautiful young doe. I felt a little bad for it, but we needed the food. If the others were willing I could try to sew new clothes from the skin. Maybe not a good idea.

Nick raised his rifle. I grabbed it and yanked it down. "No. The shot will attract walkers."

He glared at me. "You hunt your way, and I hunt my way."

"Someone get it before it leaves!" Luke told us. I readied an arrow and pulled the bowstring back. The deer was starting to walk off. I fired the arrow just as Nick fired his rifle. The gunshot spooked the deer, causing it to leap away. My arrow embedded itself in the ground while the doe ran off.

Nick swore. At least I'm sure that was a swear word. I glared at him as I retrieved my arrow.

"What were you thinking?" Luke asked Nick.

"I was thinking I was going to get us enough food." Nick snapped at him.

"By attracting every walker around for miles?"

"We can handle them."

"Not an entire herd."

I walked over to where the deer had run off and began inspecting the area. I could still see the tracks in the ground, and something else caught my attention. Some of the plants had blood on their leaves. Maybe Nick's bullet hit it. That'll make tracking it easier.

I headed back to Nick and Luke, who were still arguing. "Nick's shot hit the deer. It's bleeding out, and we can follow it." That got their attention. Good.

"Really?" Luke asked. I nodded. Nick just smiled smugly. I turned and began following the trail. I heard Nick and Luke walking behind me. Now let's hope we weren't heading towards any walkers.

The trail seemed straight enough. The drops of blood were easy to follow. I kept checking for signs of walkers. None. They probably didn't come through this area for a while.

"Well, how far ahead?" Nick asked me.

I looked at him. "It couldn't have gotten far. It might be resting somewhere."

"Well let's find it and get back to the others." Luke said. We continued following the trail. I then heard something up ahead. I motioned for them to stop and peeked through some bushes. There was the doe, but a walker was eating it.

I punched the ground.

I looked back at the others. "Walker." I whispered. Nick raised his rifle and before Luke and I could say anything shot the walker in the head. It fell over dead.

"Nick!" Luke said.

"What? That thing ruined our dinner." Nick said.

I walked over to the deer. To my shock the poor thing was still breathing. The walker was eating it alive?! What kind of monsters are they? The doe looked at me. It was… sad. Almost like… it was pleading with me.

I knelt down to it. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you. I know I was hunting you, but we needed food. We wouldn't have tortured you like this. I won't let you suffer anymore." With that I took my knife and embedded it in the deer's head. It stopped breathing.

I stood and wiped my knife on my jeans. I noticed Nick and Luke staring at me. "Why were you talking to that deer?"

I sheathed my knife. "It just seemed right. I know it couldn't understand me, but, for some reason, I just felt better talking to it."

"It's just an animal." Nick said.

"Are we so different?" I asked him. "I saw it in that doe's eyes. She was scared. She was trying to survive just as we are."

"Oh Clair. You are so sweet it's disgusting." A voice said. We looked around. I felt a chill, and it wasn't from the wind or the temperature. It felt more like…. Something evil was near. "Over here."

We turned to see a guy standing there. He was dressed in jeans with combat boots on and a black shirt with some creepy symbol on it. His face looked calm, but still scary. Like there was a monster hiding behind his green eyes. His red hair almost seemed like… blood, or fire.

"Clair, you know this guy?" Luke asked me. I shook my head.

"Oh, Clair, surely you remember." The guy said.

I held my head. "I've never seen you before. I don't even know what you're talking about."

Nick held up his rifle. "Tell us who you are and what you're talking about." He also said some swear words, but I don't swear, so I'm not going to repeat what he said.

The guy smiled. "Good. Swear. It feeds me."

"Feeds you? What are you talking about?" Luke asked. He also swore.

The guy looked at him. "You ignorant men. You think that all there is to life is surviving the walking dead. You honestly do not know what other things lurk in the dark. Things that are about to come forth. This world has lost so much of its light. Soon it will be ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked. The guy looked at me. I was certain he was gaining a certain pleasure from this.

"You really have forgotten." The guy smiled like a predator that had cornered its prey. "This will make things simple. I could kill you right now, but I think it will be more worthwhile to torture you."

Nick held up his rifle while Luke drew his machete. "You're not touching a hair on her head."

The guy smiled. "I will. I will make everyone she's met in this world, everyone she cares about, I will make them suffer. Twist them. Make the walkers seem like model citizens of society."

"Leave them alone!" I said as I put an arrow to my bow. I was not going to let this… person hurt anyone!

He laughed at me. "An arrow. You expect to hurt me with a pointed stick?" A gunshot echoed through the woods as a bullet hole appeared in his head. I turned to see Nick had fired at the man.

Nick's eyes widened as he staggered back. He and Luke swore. I turned to see the hole in the guy's head closing! He laughed as he wiped away his blood. .

"Was that the best you've got? Let me show you mine." With a wave of his hand the shadows around us began moving. To my horror the shadows took the shape of these creatures. They were all black with antenna on their heads. Their eyes were bright yellow, almost glowing. I clutched my head. They definitely seemed familiar… my nightmare! They were in it!

"Heartless. Rip the hearts out of her friends." The guy said. The things, the Heartless, they charged forward. Nick fired again, but that didn't do anything. Luke slashed with his machete, but that didn't hurt them either! When I fired an arrow it just went through them!

"What are these things?" Nick asked, while swearing. I don't know, but I don't think we should stick around.

"Run!" I told them.