Chapter I:
Darkness

(17 years after …)

She sprinted into the forest. A thunderstorm was brewing and rain had been more frequent. Today, it was a light drizzle, accompanied by a slight breeze which seemed to embrace her. Spotting a tall, oak tree, she climbed up to get a better view. The rough bark rubbed against her back but she paid no attention to the irritating sting.

She brought her hand to rest on the weapon as she surveyed the forest floor for any sign of wildlife. Sefie sighed. She was starting to feel cold from the now heavy rain. The drops of rain pricked and taunted her to decide hastily in the situation. The downpour blurred her vision even more, but it couldn't hide a now permeating stench which smelled of rotten meat, sweat and dung. A chill ran down her spine and she knew it wasn't caused by the coldness of the rain. Trying to keep her eyes focused in the rain, she spotted a form on the ground. It groaned and crawled stealthily across the clearing. Sefie's eye's widened to see that the figure was a man … or had been a man. Its eyes were gouged out and its mouth hung open, blood dripping. The man had been slashed in his midsection. Blood and maggots oozed out, leaving a crimson trail.

Sefie could hardly breathe. Fear rose. She never expected to see this in the forest. She had never imagined such to be possible in such a place. Swiftly, she readied her crossbow with a silver arrow. She gripped her crossbow tighter and aimed for the undead man. With one swift motion, she released the arrow and pierced the zombie straight into his heart. It wailed and jerked back. Then, its head turned a full 360° then glanced upwards towards her. She felt her stomach lurch. The zombie was grinning hideously. She readied her crossbow again, and shot him on its head but it still moved forward, swifter than before. To her relief, it couldn't climb up the tree but she was stuck there.

"The silver arrows didn't work at all." She thought, panicking. She tried a double strafe, but it just wailed, trying to reach for her. The stench was becoming unbearable and she felt nauseous. Trying to keep herself from losing consciousness, she grabbed one of her silver arrow and stabbed her thigh. White searing pain coursed through her body, clearing her head. "What to do … what to do …"

After a few seconds, she noticed the zombie looking away, distracted. It howled as it ran through the clearing. Silver light emanated came from behind the bushes, and enfolded the zombie, exploding its guts.

Sefie tried to climb down but ended up falling from the tree. She bit her lip, as she slowly tried to stand up, stumbling backward. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead, accompanied by the drops of rain. Deep in her mind, she just wanted to lay down and sleep on the forest floor but she had to know the thing that caused the zombie's final death.

A figure emerged from the bushes. Her vision was a bit blurry from the pain but she could distinguish a cloaked man quickly rushing towards her, but before she knew it, everything grew dark.