The night was cold. The wind scattered through the trees while the night echoed its eerie tune. The foreboding tone of the night got to us all, prompting whispers and heavy silence. I didn't know when the invasion would begin, but I knew it would happen. Comprehending its inevitability, and then waiting for it to happen, was maddening. Part of me wished to prolong the delay, another part wanted to end the wait. The night creatures went on with their routine noises.
I got up from my seat and went on a walk through the village. The stars were absent on the moonless night sky. Dark clouds added to the mood of my ambled journey. Knowing that I shouldn't wander far from the village, I ended my night stroll and went back to the center. I sat back down and rested my arms on the edge of the main dining table.
Maxwell looked over at me, relieving his attention from his book. His expression was grim, and he didn't say anything. I returned a look of roughly the same emotion, and then turned my attention to the walls. I saw Chip and Wolfgang perched on top. They remained vigilant, keeping a decided gaze at the darkness outside of the village. They would give the alarm when they spotted the enemy.
I checked on Willow. She was at her position. She would set off a trap whenever the hounds breached the outer perimeter. She caught me looking at her. She gave a light-hearted wave. I waved back.
Woodie seemed to be the most nervous out of all of us. His hands jittered, and his eyes shifted about. He glanced up at the night sky more than once. I could only assume he was nervous about the impending assault, and nothing else.
"Wilson, I need to speak with you," Maxwell said. I walked over to him. I stood patiently and waited for him to speak.
"Through my studying, I have found a dark but powerful force that I can wield. It is powerful enough to turn a creature to particles of dust." I took a step backwards and looked back in awe. That much power in a human's hand is a scary thought.
"So you could destroy the hounds? All of them?" I ask him. If he can use this power, we may not even have to worry about fighting.
"Yes. However there is one drawback to this great force," he replied. "Because of its dark and unstable nature, if I use it, I will most likely die." My face turned serious. Stop the invasion, but at the cost of Maxwell's life. He continued on.
"If the worst happens, I will use it. Don't…" Suddenly he was interrupted by distant howls that traveled through the air. My hands turned cold and my face was stung by a burst of cold wind. I stood absolutely still and listened to the far off barks. It must be the hounds.
Wolfgang looked down at me from his post and yelled, "They are here! Ready yourself!" I immediately ran from Maxwell and clambered up the wall to where Wolfgang was. I had no time to talk to Maxwell. I made it to the top of the wall and concentrated hard on the dark. I couldn't see anything. The torches provided ample lighting along the wall. The entire village was bathed in torch light as well.
The distant barks became no longer distant. Mere seconds afterwards, I saw dog-like creatures emerge from the shadowed tree line. Chip turned around abruptly and slid down the steep wall we were on. He ran throughout the village alerting all of the pig villagers. The pig villagers rallied at the walls, and the pig king watched from a distance. Within a minute, the villagers were rallied and ready for battle. I watched the oncoming horde intently.
As I predicted, the pitfall traps began trapping their targets. I saw hounds slip from sight as they fell into the deep traps set. Many were assumedly killed from the hazards, but more survived than I thought. The hounds continued bounding towards the walls with quick strides. They had passed the pitfalls. It happened so fast that I could not get a count of how many were left.
Relentless and unwavering, they approached closer to the walls. They began nearing the second trap. This trap must be set off at the perfect time to be effective. I made eye contact with Willow. She said nothing, holding her post. The hounds seemed to gain a burst of speed at seeing Willow, who was in front of the walls. They ran together as a cohesive unit, like a well trained army. I watched them and counted silently to myself.
"Three, two, one…" I waited until the best possible moment. "Now!" I yelled at Willow. With speed I thought she didn't have, she set fire to the ground. Flames bursted upwards and set out towards the approaching hounds. It created a wall of flame in front of them. The hounds were on a collision course, and most of the hounds dove right into the flames. Burning fur and flesh filled the air. I was satisfied and sickened at the sight.
The fire trap was set in advance yesterday. Grass and other extremely flammable objects were set in a trail. The fire would follow the trail and eventually reached a wall of combustible materials. Willow herself volunteered to set it off. It was also her idea.
The fire did its work and thinned the numbers of hounds. The fire died faster than we had anticipated though. The hounds hesitated as the fire burned out its last fuel. With the fire out, the hounds regained their confidence. They resumed their hunt with more ferocity this time, as if losing their comrades angered them. Willow sprinted away and made her way up the wall. Her part was done. She was making her way back into the safety of the village.
They were coming up on the wall too fast. With a rough estimate, I decided more than half were taken out. The pig villagers were now on the wall next to me. They looked determined and ready to face the threat. I looked at the wave of mongrels that were now attempting to scale the wall. I kept a positive attitude and told myself that we have the advantage. But I realize that I had miscalculated.
There were more survivors lurking in the shadows that I had missed. There were too many. There was definitely more than seventy. We can't win outnumbered two to one. The pig villagers were punching hounds as they were climbing up. The hounds made a whimpering sound as they fell off the wall and to the ground. While I was distracted by the battle raging around me, a hound outside of my vision bit my leg. He held on with a vice-like grip. I shook my leg quickly and tried to pull the hound off of me. I was unarmed.
I saw a spear land between its eyes. Its pupils went white and lifeless, and its grip released slowly. It fell off of me and rolled down the wall, hitting a few hounds along the way.
"I don't have more spears," Wolfgang said to me. He kicked a hound down the wall. "What is the plan?" he said. The battle around me was going sour. Pigs were beginning to retreat as the seemingly endless ripple of hounds ascended and posted themselves at the top of the wall. To stay any longer would be risky.
"Fall back! Retreat!" I yell out. The pigs did so immediately. They finished their fight with whatever hound they were struggling with and slid down the opposite side of the wall into the village. Going their own routes, they eventually converged onto the pig king. They set up a defensive wall around him. I slid down the wood wall and ran to join them. Multiple hounds were tearing at my heels. I put all my energy and effort into running.
As I arrived at the pig villager defense, the hound swarm stopped. A few hounds from the top of the wall straggled back into their brethren army. They stopped and sniffed at the air. They stared at the pigs, and the pigs stared back. It was a standoff between the two armies.
Wendy, Wickerbottom, Maxwell, and Woodie stayed behind the lines from the fight. They were all here. I saw Wolfgang walk slowly in beside me. He made it back to the pig king as well.
"Everyone, stand aside." Maxwell said this in a very calm and collected tone. He pushed me aside and made a path through the pigs. He walked forward to face the hound threat. "Listen carefully. After this is over, take the Codex. Read it, and it will lead you to the only hope for our world." He can't be serious.
"What are you going to do?" Wendy asked Maxwell. Maxwell did not respond. Wolfgang stood silently by as he held his injured arm.
"Maxwell, you're the only person that can stop Charlie," I say to him. "I don't think I can even read the Codex. You're the only one who can understand it. You can't die."
"He's going to die?" Wickerbottom inquired. Maxwell continued looking at the hounds. The hounds grew restless, and our numbers now no longer intimidated them. They growled and stepped towards carefully, flashing their sharp rows of teeth. Maxwell drew the Codex Umbra from his coat pocket. He held it in his hands. He flipped the book to one of the last pages. He concentrated on the blurry words scratched onto the pages.
"Don't!" Wendy lunged out in an attempt to stop him. She was too far away to do anything in time. Maxwell moved his index finger cryptically along the glowing purple pages. The hounds were now running at full speed towards Maxwell. Maxwell breathed in deeply. But as he was about to chant, the dark clouds in the sky dissipated. The sky shone brightly with a full moon. The sudden appearance of light broke Maxwell's concentration, and he looked up at the lit night sky.
I heard a pig villager grunt to my right. I looked over at him. He fell to his knees and held his head. The rest of the pig villagers went to the ground and held their heads as well, as if they had rehearsed this. I looked at the pig villager who had fallen to the ground first. I watched something peculiar happen before my eyes. His muscles began to bulge while veins appeared and disappeared along his body, flashing like a dark ritual. Ragged brown hair sprouted up from his arms, and then spread like fire onto the rest of his body. Soon, he was covered fully in hair. I looked around in surprised horror as I see all the pig villagers become these bulky hairy beasts.
The hounds had reached where Maxwell was. A hound bounded on top of Maxwell. The Codex Umbra flew from his hand and fell onto a patch of thick grass. The hound was viciously sinking its teeth into Maxwell's flesh. Maxwell was pushing back the hound's mouth, trying to keep the teeth away from him.
At seeing the bloodshed, the newly transformed pig villagers gave a synchronized cry towards the sky. Each to their own will, they turned their rage towards the hounds. They ignored us completely, and no longer seemed to be sentient.
In a brutal and efficient manner, they focused on killing all the hounds. Sounds of war came out from the power struggle. Though the hounds fought back, they weren't a match for the unreal power of these transformed pigs. A pig who was running past Maxwell tackled the hound on top of him. With a bestial look in his eye, the pig villager brought a crushing blow to the hound's skull. Maxwell sat up and watched the carnage in silence. I watched with disbelief.
In a short time, with no casualties on the pig side at all, dead hound corpses littered the floor. As one hound was limping and trying to escape, a pig villager jumped on it and delivered a beat down. After that pig had made its kill, it gave out a howl of triumph. The other transfigured pigs followed suit and gave out their howls of victory. Some of the pigs looked down on the corpses and kicked them around. Maxwell, as well as Wolfgang, Wendy, and Wickerbottom, stood close by me. I turned my head and took a quick look around. I couldn't find Woodie. I had to assume he was somewhere nearby.
The pig villagers quit their idling and noticed us for the first time. They walked towards us menacingly. They gave low roars and beast-like snorts. I had no time to do a headcount. I decided to try to bring the pig villagers back to their senses.
"Wait guys, its us!" I say, holding my arms out. They don't listen. They continued approaching us with an obvious intent to kill.
"I am sorry. They no speak when werepig." It was the pig king who said this.
"Werepig?" Wolfgang asked. He winced and closed one eye. His right arm was not looking any better.
"Werepig is curse of my people. When there is big moon, they are werepig. Werepig kills." The pig king said.
"Then why aren't you a werepig?" I asked back to him.
"Moon ignore me. Not werepig." Though being obese and useless in terms of survival, I understand his position now. His immunity gave him the right to rule.
Our conversation with the pig king was shortened. The werepigs grew bored and decided to stop waiting. They howled at the moon, and then rapidly approached us. They were fast and deadly. As they were running towards us, Wendy urgently yelled a question to the pig king.
"Can't you order them to stop!?" she yelled.
The pig king grimaced, and spoke defeatedly. "I cannot."