The Nightmare [p.1]

“We don’t have to stick together.” Flynn pointed out. That was true. We could communicate through our minds if we wished, but I’d rather not. I’m so scared of missing them because I’m too exhausted, or missing something even more important.

“True, but if something happens-” I started, the up and down of adrenaline in my veins tiring me out, my eyes threatening to close, and my legs threatening to buckle.

“Nothing will happen.” He interrupted, his voice plain, as if he was so tired of explaining this to me. 

“Things have been happening all day. What proof do you have that nothing will happen if we split up?” I asked tilting my head. His eyes hardened. 

“Don’t.” He warned. 

“No Flynn, what fucking proof do you have?” I asked, my temper threatening to go wild. A coil of anger whipping around in my stomach. I love him, but my mind is not in its right place. I’m so fucking exhausted, its almost physically painful. 

He lowered his head. “None.” He admitted with a sigh. His eyes held a pain I had never seen from him.

“You see? What happens if I find them, or you do? Then how will we-” I pushed. A pain ran through my core, a pain worse than the look in his eyes as they went wild. A pain worse than anything I’ve ever known. “No!” I screamed, letting magic lead me. Flynn ran by my side. We must have been pushing at least eighty kilometers an hour. This was the fastest either of us had ever run. The wind we were creating, whipping my face and mane, and stinging my nose and eyes. The wind howled through my ears as my mind went to one thing and one thing only. Hazel.

Pain seared through my body. Fear coursed through my veins as me and Flynn went even faster. Our breaths came in short and fast. My mind went numb, only one thought running through it. ‘Save Hazel.’

A jolt of electricity passed through me. My magic threatening to run wild. It boiled and rolled under my skin. All I had to do was reach out. No it would kill her and James if I did. I’m sure my aim is absolute shit right now. No way. It will kill them. I can’t, saving their lives might mean ending their lives if I let my magic go.

The forest was a hazy mess as me and Flynn whizzed by, the only sounds I could hear was the wind in my ears, the thunder of our hooves hitting the ground, and Hazel’s skull piercing scream. Something changed the moment I heard it. My body was no longer running to save her, but to avenge her. How could she scream like that and not be dead?

Grief ran though me as I kept moving. Maybe I could save her. Maybe she wasn’t dead quite yet. Maybe she had a fighting chance, if only I could get there in time to save her.

I could see Hazel’s brunette hair whipping around as something grabbed it. A glimmer of hope filled me, she might still be alive. I ran into the clearing, do now, think later. That’s the motto I’m going by for tonight. 

Hazel and James seemed to be in a collection of graves, tombstones peeking up over the long grass. “Zelda, don't!” Hazel’s voice screeched as I ran straight towards her. Creatures at least my height, if not bigger,  surrounded both Hazel and James. Bones as white as day poked out of their thin dark skin as they hunched over. 

Ghouls. They’re ghouls. I screamed in Flynn’s mind. 

Emotions ran wild through me, not all of them my own. Fear, anger, pain, anxiety, and frustration to name a few. I flipped a mental switch. All the emotions melted away into a pit of black coiled around my stomach, much more manageable. 

I raced at the nearest ghoul to Hazel. Its skin tinted a deep black, but its bones nearly white. I bared my teeth as I ran straight for it. 

The collision would have hurt if I let it, but the black coil knotted tighter instead. I tore at its head, quickly and efficiently killing it. 

Ghouls gathered around me. I got up, ready to fight, my teeth bared and my hooves flailing about. Flynn barreled through two of the six surrounding me. They went flying past me, and as they did, the rest of the remaining ghouls lunged at me. One of the flying ghouls tried to grab at my mane, but since it was short there was no purchase and it went flying. It seemed to fall down a cliff, only there was no cliff. My attention drew back to the ghouls lunging at me. 

Screams erupted as I fought the oncoming ghouls. Teeth were bared, bones were broken, skin was torn as I tried to hold them off until Flynn could help. My pain disappeared as I fought for every breath, every second. My thoughts for the most part were okay. They were mostly to help me, but some of my thoughts weren’t. Some of them were telling me my odds, and they weren’t good.

A ghoul knocked me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. “Fuck.” I swore, fighting the biting ghoul on top of me. Its teeth felt sharper than mine as it ripped through my skin, the pain was nothing compared to what I expected to come with it.
I continued attacking the ghoul as it tore deeper into my leg. My leg didn’t feel anything, it only felt numb, which I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

My body slowed as I struggled to fight the ghoul. I looked around me for an edge. The only thing I saw was my own blood pooling in the grass. A headstone above me read ‘Lupinotuum pectinem gravis’ and that was when I realized exactly where we were. The werewolf grave.