《Wolf and Lamb [NaNoWriMo] Volume 1》


 Chapter 1: [Day 1] - Hell breaks loose

    2097, 1st of November.


    In the small town called Baheys, located in the northern isles of Britannia, a loud siren sounded. It was early in the morning, and nobody knew what the noise was about. The inhabitants came out of their tiny houses and walked onto the road, looking for a chat with their neighbours. So did a young man, who had taken the day off work. Dredged out of sleep, the twenty-three-year-old Daniel, or Dan for short, dragged himself to the bathroom.


    He took a glance into the mirror and noticed that he had a red mark on his cheek. Rubbing against it he knew it had to be from his pillow, which left a pressure marking. After washing and brushing his scruffy light brown hair, which only barely covered his eye brows, he changed into a white shirt and a black hoody-jacket.


    He still wasn''t quite awake yet, he wanted to go out of house but noticed that he did not wear shoes and still had his pyjama trousers on. Embarrassed, he hurried back inside and put on his blue, old, work jeans and his brown winter shoes. Finally, he grabbed his house keys and walked out. A cold breeze whistled past his face, his breath became misty within in.


    Walking on the road, he noticed that his entire neighbourhood was outside, talking and arguing about the loud noise, which sounded through the entire town. They already figured out that it was the fire station''s siren, making them believe that something happened. However, why was it still sounding then? Usually it would only be for the first few minutes but, by now, it has been almost an hour already.


    The young, tired man greeted some of the people on the road and hoped to find out more, however it was then that he noticed a faint voice in the distance. Around him were three older women, who turned their eyes up the street. Wondering what they were looking at, he turned around and saw an old man. He walked very slowly and seemed to be limping, with his hoarse voice releasing faint groans of pain, forming small clouds of mist.


    "H-Help me..."


    Daniel heard the man''s voice and yelled, "Are you alright, Mister?"


    He noticed that the women around him slowly backed off, somehow scared. He didn''t understand their reaction, believing that it would be better to help the man.


    "Release me... Help me," it echoed in his head.


    The man came closer and Dan once again had to ask, "Mister, are you alright? What do you need help with?"


    He walked closer to him, just in case he didn''t have the strength to ask for help, but he soon noticed that something was very off about the old man. His eyes were grey, and his teeth were drenched in blood. There was a hole in his black trousers, on the left leg. Blood was flowing out of a large cavity in his leg, and quickly Daniel noticed that this man was possibly no longer in need of help.


    However, the voice in his head became louder as the old man got closer, while he was also able to hear a groaning sound. His head began to ache, the pleading echo confused him, making him step back and run to his car. Turning around he saw three more limping people coming from down the road, and running neighbours, going back into their houses. Out of panic he opened the back of his car and grabbed a garden shovel out of it. He worked at a garden centre, specifically as the gardener of it.


    Looking deeply at the shovel in his palms, he felt a tap on his shoulder, followed by a bubbly breath. He jumped, turned around and hit the man in the knee with the shovel, thus tripping him.


    As the body fell on the ground, Daniel heard a scream of pain in his head. He didn''t mean to hurt anyone, he was just scared and acted out of reflex. As he was about to bend down to help, the man flailed his arms towards him and scratched his right cheek, causing Daniel to stumble back.


    Sitting so close to the man''s face he now saw that he was mistaken. The pale, blue skin and the blood flowing out of its mouth, he knew that this was not the face of a living man. Despite that, the voice in his head was still present, actually there are more now. The limping people from down the street came closer to him, and so did the voices in his head get louder.


    Pleading and begging, the voices hurt his head and scared him. Panicked, he pushed himself back towards his door, crawling inside before closing and locking the door behind him. Releasing a sigh, he felt safe now, but that quickly changed. The door had steamed glass windows, to be able to see who was on the other side, in this case the limping people. Their hands smashed against the door, leaving marks of blood, frightening the young man. He screamed and ran into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, he was now more awake than ever and cleaned the scratch on his cheek. Its sting made him flinch at first, but it made him realize that this wasn''t just a bad dream.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    There really were seemingly dead bodies smashing against his door, and his head ache got worse. Unsure of what to do, he ran into the kitchen and got hold of a phone, trying to call the police or a hospital, but the lines were down. Throwing his phone against the table, Daniel stepped over to his cupboard and took some aspirin, hoping it would help him calm down. The cupboard was right above a block of sharp cooking knifes, his eyes were almost magnetically drawn to them. The thought crossed his mind that he had to protect himself, what if those people were what he knew as zombies. He had seen the concept on TV but believed it wasn''t possible, however he quickly went through his options and drew one of the knifes.


    Sliding his finger against the blade, and accidentally cutting himself with it, an image went through his tangled up mind, while watching the blood drip from his finger. Stabbing one of them with the knife through the head, drops of blood splashing against his hand or face, and the thought of possibly killing a person. It was too much. Quivering in fear, the knife dropped out of his hand before digging itself into the wooden floor.


    He chocked and held his hand in front of his mouth. His stomach was grumbling as he hurried to the toilet. Retching noises sounded through the house, until eventually he left the bathroom with a pale face, shaking, leaning against a wall. Thinking through his options, he remembered that the zombies usually were attracted to meat. He went into his kitchen, and looked through his fridge and found a frozen chicken breast, "That should do!"


    Standing in front of the door, with his shovel in his left hand and a chicken breast, from his fridge, in his right. Putting down the meat in front of the door, he unlocked it and let the people inside. As it slowly opened up, they bent down onto the chicken and bit at it. Shocked, Daniel now had proof that they had to be something similar to zombies. No normal human, who needs help, would try to bite at a raw, frozen chicken. Although he now had a reason to act, he still merely stood there and watched, trembling in fear, listening to the echoes in his mind.


    "Please help us," "Release us," they still screamed within him, leaving him to question his decisions. Were they human or not?


    They spoke to him, asked him for help, and yet they still appeared to be mindless zombies.


    When they finally gave up trying to chew on the frozen chicken breast, their colourless eyes turned to him. They stood up, lifting their hands towards him, stepping closer as they groaned in hunger. Meanwhile the young man found himself in a conflict with his morale understanding, he wanted to defend himself but also didn''t want to hurt human beings. In the end he let go of the shovel in his hands and dropped onto his knees, with his hands over his head.


    Suddenly loud shots rang past his ears and blood sprinkled onto his clothes, making him shiver in fear. He didn''t understand what just happened, and while he should be happy that he is safe, he is left with the question of ''who was responsible for this?'' and why the voices in his head didn''t stop.


    Screams of agony roared wildly within his skull, it pained him to listen to them. Before him were the people who he believed the voices belonged to, but their heads had been pierced by the bullet, leaving their bodies lifeless. If it really was like on the TV, then they should really be dead now. Then why did he still hear them screaming?


    "Dan! Are you alright?" a familiar person, near the door, shouted.


    It was his colleague from work, Leo. He was his senior who lived nearby and was also a gardener. Now, he stood in front of the door and saw his friend on the floor, surrounded by corpses, crying his heart out. Clicking the safety on the handgun, he lifted Daniel up and assisted him in walking. He had a jeep outside and thus wanted to lift his friend inside and drive away. However, with the noise of the gunshots came many other zombie-like people, blocking the road. Leo opened the door behind the drivers seat and sat his friend down inside, while he unlocked the safety and began to shoot their pursuers. He shot aiming for the head but missed and hit other body areas, the pressure made him sweat. With each hit, the screams worsened, it tormented Daniel. It felt like his head was about to split at any moment.


    Leo still didn''t manage to hit the head and went through an entire magazine already. He attempted to hastily reload the gun as they got closer and closer. Some crawling on the floor, some limping and others walking slowly. Shaking under pressure, he dropped the fresh magazine onto the road and panicked. He wanted to bend down and pick it up, but he was scared that it might take too long. Looking behind him, at his colleague in the car, he noticed that Daniel was whining in pain. Finally deciding to man up, he bent down to grab the magazine but it was too late, a tap on on his back scared him, making him tumble onto his back. Seeing the pale, bloody body of the zombie, he pushed himself backwards.


    Having given up on hope, he prayed and whispered to his friend, "I''m sorry Dan, I really wanted to help you, but I failed. Please forgive me."


    In that very moment, a radiant light dropped down from the skies, in front of them, which was followed by a loud howl, echoing through every house and road nearby.

 Chapter 2: [Day one] - Guardian Angel

    The two men closed their eyes in fear, crossing their arms before their faces. Hearing the load howl, they carefully opened their eyes and took a peak at the situation. In front of Leo stood a glowing white wolf, with shining metal like armour on its head and legs. It didn''t appear to have fur, but rather a radiant body, slightly blinding the two.


    Shortly after, the light became dimmer, allowing them to fully open their eyes and look at the unbelievable sight. The zombies stood still, almost petrified. Even the voices in Daniel''s head, which had been unbearably loud, calmed down. They were wondering what this being was, not knowing what to believe anymore.


    "Young man in the car, can you hear me?" a smooth male voice sounded in their mind.


    "M-Me?" Daniel pointed at himself.


    "Yes. You are capable of hearing the voices of these poor souls, am I correct?"


    After being dazzled by the question, he replied, "Yes, I do hear voices but what do you mean by souls?"


    "We don''t have much time, so I need you two to listen carefully. Simply shooting them will not save you."


    "Oh yeah? Then why did the other guys drop dead when I shot their heads?" Leo asked as he quickly grabbed his gun and loaded it, pointing at the frozen beings.


    "Shooting them will merely stop their movement, but will not help their souls."


    They wondered what the wolf meant and decided that they should probably listen.


    "These ''zombies'' are in truth demons. The Devil has set his plans in motion, sending out his minions to take control over dead bodies, whose souls have yet to leave. By binding them to their perishing bodies, they cause the souls to witness incredible suffering. Killing others, fighting them or being fought against, all of this causes them to fall into depravity. The demons feast upon these emotions and become stronger through it. So while you can stop the body movement with a bullet, you will merely allow the demons to grow stronger."


    Their mouths stood wide open. Demons? The Devil? Could this be real?


    "Young man in the car, the ability you possess is something that is meant to be in the possession of us Angels, mere humans should not be capable of withstanding it."


    "Then why do I have it?" Daniel shouted as the voices began to get louder again.


    The bodies, while still seemingly petrified, began to ''thaw''.


    "I cannot explain, for I do not know the answer myself. However, I do know that you are needed. Hurry, before they move again. Use my powers to release these poor souls from their chains, and thus erase the demons in control."


    The wolf turned into a star of light and hovered over Daniel''s palm.


    "Do you wish to help free them, for I cannot?"


    Closing his eyes, he listened to the poor voices. Their pleading and begging, it hurt him to listen to it, thus he grabbed the bright light in a tight grip. The light formed itself into the shape of a European sword, with a blade of light. Three shorter blades hovered next to it, pointing toward the tip of the sword.


    "Wield this regalia of mine, and cut their chains," the voice came from within the sword.


    With the sword in both his hands, as light as a feather, he looked at the people. However, no chains were to be seen.


    "Where should I cut? I can''t see any chains," the young man asked in a panicking tone.


    "You need only strike them. Unlike me, you cannot see their souls nor their chains, but they will be freed with a simple attack by this sword."Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He believed in these words, which he heard in his mind. Listening for a last time to the sorrowful voices, he ran to them and cut at their chest.


    With each strike, the voices rang for a last time, "Thank you."


    Daniel began to cry, more and more, for each one of the souls he released, and each time the bodies went up in es, flying off through the cold breeze.


    "I am sorry, if only... I had known before," he apologized, even freeing the ones laying inside his house.


    Eventually returning to Leo, he dropped on his knees and the sword reshaped into the wolf again.


    "You have my gratitude young man. With your help the souls of these people were finally able to rest in peace," the wolf stopped speaking, noticing that the one he spoke to was crying and screaming before him.


    "Why is this happening? Why do I have to hear them? Why, why...," he punched the ground beneath him in anger. His world was suddenly turned around, his once peaceful life became a life of fear and agony.


    Leo was able to listen to their earlier discussion, however did not know what to say. He didn''t believe in God, hence he was incapable of believing the situation. Angels? Demons? Is there an actual God? Questions appeared before him, which he had no answer for.


    After Daniel had calmed down, they got into the jeep, with him and the wolf on the back seats.


    Dan was curled up like an embryo against the window, watching the bloodbath on the road. They drove off, and decided it would be best to avoid the town for now, due to his mental situation.


    "What exactly are you, wolf?" Leo asked rudely.


    "I am what you humans refer to as ''Guardian Angel''. I watch over your kind and help them in any way possible," his voice could be heard, even without his mouth opening.


    Leo figured it must have been something similar to telepathy, "Help us? Then why do so many people die and how did this entire situation even come to be?" he shouted.


    "We are bound by rules, we aid your kind through emotions and sense. If we sense danger, we let you sense it too. We are unable to physically aid you, since we are not to interfere with your freedom. As for the Devil''s plans, no one expected it. Despite that, the Almighty was able to swiftly act, feeling guilty, he sent us down to earth to aid you."


    He was unsatisfied with the answer, but didn''t expect much more, "Shouldn''t you go and help others then?"


    "I have no others. All my target humans have perished, that is, except this one," he points at Daniel with his nose.


    "Target human?" Daniel asks, merely turning his eyes towards the glowing creature besides him.


    "As you know, there are millions of humans. In order to be able to aid you as efficiently as possible we Guardians split up the work by having a group of people to care for. These groups consist of several thousand humans."


    Listening to what he said, they realized that the current situation was even more serious than they thought. If he was the last one alive out of several thousand, then just how many demons are there?


    "Besides, I am bound by the contract. I cannot leave his side, now that he accepted the regalia," he added.


    "What? Contract? I don''t remember signing anything," Daniel wondered.


    "You ''signed'' as soon as you grabbed after the regalia, my holy weapon. Thus I am now your personal Guardian," he explains, curling up and resting his head on his paws.


    The day went by quickly for them and it started to get late, soon they had to find something to eat, drink and safely rest at. They required an idea, where would they go and what would they do? Quickly the two colleagues came to the conclusion that it would be worth a shot to visit their garden centre. They sold garden supplies, fences, wooden walls, stones, rocks, concrete and had more than enough edible plants to grow. There was only one downside, it was also in the city centre.


    Alone the thought of having to endure those horrible cries again made Daniel uncomfortable. He crossed his arms, pressing his fingers into them, coated by his hoody. His ability wasn''t meant for a human to have, yet why does he posses it, he wondered if it was a sign or punishment in some way. As the sun went down, he knew there was no time for him to be weak. Daniel gave the ''OK'' for Leo to drive into the city to take refuge at the garden centre.


    To his misfortune, the roads leading inside were blocked by cars, and his headache returned as he sensed the presence of several dozen souls. Resting his head against the driver seat, he found himself loosing tears yet again, tears of pain. He chocked on his own vomit, swallowing it, trying to be strong.


    His friend''s mind was also at unrest, not due to the fear, but for feeling responsible. He felt helpless, unable to make his friend feel better, knowing that Daniel was pushing himself for his sake.


    Suddenly Daniel punched the seat, releasing his tension before looking towards the glowing wolf,


    "What is your name and how do I activate this regali-thing?"


    "I have no name comparable to you, but you may call me ''Wulf'', also you may activate the regalia by simply shouting that name, same goes for deactivating it," he answered, aware of his intentions.


    Understanding the situation, he opened the door, watching the mass of demons around them, and hearing each an every one of their voices. Debating whether what he was about to do was a good idea or not, he knew that he had no other choice. He stood tall, held his right hand out and shouted, "Wulf!"

 Chapter 3: [Day one] - To know an Angel

    A bright light appeared, shaping into a sword within his hands. Looking at the shape of it, Daniel wondered about something,"Wulf" what are these three, floating blades for?"


    "They are my fangs, with a swipe of the sword, you may send them flying. They will pierce anything in their way and return to you," he chimed.


    Daniel''s face had the word ''terror'' written all over it, due to the amount of begging voices he heard from the several dozen souls around him. Surprised about his reaction, Leo jumped out of the car and wanted to stop him, but it was too late.


    He had already jumped into the massive crowd of bodies, cutting through them with tears flowing down his face. Apologizing for each and every soul before hearing their farewells.


    "Thank you."


    "You freed me, you have my thanks."


    "You saved us, thank you very much."


    "Now I can rest in peace," their souls showed gratitude towards him, as he stumbled from one to another.


    "Fly my fangs!" he shouted, releasing the blades which pierced about half a dozen bodies before returning. Around him ashes, from the bodies, swirled around.


    Soon it started to rain, washing away the blood stains on his face and clothes. The blade may be made out of light, but still cut like a physical sword. By now, Leo could no longer make out which of the drops on Daniel''s face were tears, and which were drops of rain. As much as he wanted to share the burden, he simply didn''t have the ability to do so, leaving him to stand idly by and watch his friend be tormented by the calls of the souls.


    The city was dark, not even the street lamps turned on. All that was left was the moon''s and the sword''s illumination. Flashes of light and sparkles shined through the rain. Screams and shouts echoed but were mostly drowned by the splashing. Since it was autumn, the night was cold, and the weather did not help the situation, hence why Leo stayed within the car.


    Hours later, barely after midnight, Daniel was done. He fought every demon, releasing all the souls, thus calming his mind. He was soaked in rain and blood, and shook from the cool air around him. Exhausted from this tough battle, the regalia turned back into Wulf while he fell forward. Before he would hit the road, Wulf cushioned Daniel by rushing underneath him.


    After Leo noticed that the light show stopped, he walked over to where his friend was and saw him sleeping out in the rain, in the middle of the cold road. He carefully lifted his sleeping colleague and carried him inside a nearby house. It was abandoned, probably due to the current situation, but it was still intact, and had some canned food in the fridge. Leo laid him down onto a bed, and dried him off with some towels before covering him with a blanket. Wulf noticed how cold Daniel was by touching him with his nose, and decided to lay on him, curl up and seemingly rest like a dog.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Knowing that it would be risky if everyone slept, Leo chose to stay awake and wait in the kitchen. Meanwhile he thought about what happened that day. While trying to save his colleague, he was almost killed by a horde of, what he thought to be, zombies. Found out that God, angels and demons exist and that the world was on the brink of its end. It was a lot to chew for one day, especially for him.


    Having made sure that Daniel was alright, Wulf paid Leo some company.


    "You know, you can get some sleep. I can take over the watch, after all angels do not require rest," Wulf said, once again without opening his mouth.


    "Thank you, but I will stay awake. By the way, could it be that you communicate via telepathy?" his curiosity got the better of him.


    "Something similar to that, indeed. We are able to interact with the mortal in any possible way, to ensure that you can understand us," he answered, laying down and resting his head on his paws.


    Awkward silence was in the air, since both had difficulties to speak to each other, until Leo cracked the ice, "You called us mortals, does that mean that you are immortal? Unable to die?"


    Wulf''s ears rose, "Yes, and no. We do not die of old age, but there are a few ways of killing us."


    "Can you tell me how?"


    "I don''t mind, since you couldn''t do it anyway. However, I will give you a tip. They say that once you have nothing more to do, you cease to exist," he stood up, jumped onto the kitchen table and watched the moon.


    Leo was wondering what he meant, and tried to remember what kind of clues he left. Eventually his eyes widened, he looked at the angel with a shocked impression.


    "I can tell, you found out. Indeed, you are correct. That young man is the only person left for me to protect, thus if he disappears, so do I. Once a shepherd has lost all his sheep, he no longer is a shepherd, and thus ceases to exist."


    "So I guess you really care for him, right?"


    "''Care'' is not within our abilities. We do not have trivial feelings, though we do understand them. I ''care'' neither for you nor for him, however since I am his personal Guardian now, I have to protect him. I am bound by the contract."


    "Ouch, that hurts," Leo held his heart figuratively while being sarcastic. "I guess that must make you really lonely, fitting for a wolf."


    "Again, I cannot comprehend the feeling of being lonely. I suppose, however, that it seems to give that kind of appearance."


    Eventually, after silence filled the room, bright rays of light shone through the window. The clouds had lifted, and the dawn had arisen, waking up the sleeping man.


    "Did you notice anything, looking at his face?" Wulf asked, jumping down from the table.


    Thinking for a while, Leo replied, "No, no I don''t think so. Why?"


    "He was scratched by one of the demons, but by the time you arrived, the wound had completely healed."


    "What do you mean?" he was confused by his sudden speech.


    "I mean, that power of his. It isn''t simply the power of us angels, it is something more. If only I knew what it was, then I could help him understand."


    "Whatever it is, it doesn''t seem all that great to me. All it does is burden him. Besides, now you made me interested, what does happen if a demon scratches or bites you? In zombie movies the victim always becomes one too," he massages his rough bearded chin, looking up as if searching for an answer.


    "Nothing will happen; it is not a virus. Only if you die, will you probably be turned into a demon host. So try not to die, I believe a certain someone would blame himself if that was the case."


    "I see, well I did not plan on dying, thank you for your ''care''," Leo sarcastically replied.


    "Morning," Daniel entered the kitchen, still tired and yawning.


    The two of them greeted him, but when he saw Wulf, he knew it hadn''t just been a bad dream. Everything really happened, the world was really about to end, and he had the curse of having to listen to everyone''s sorrow and free them from their chains.

 Chapter 4: [Day 2] - Early darkness

    Having spent the night clearing the city, the group decided to finally visit the garden centre. It had everything one needed to survive, shelter, defences and food. Daniel''s headache was gone after he got some sleep, enabling him to be in a bit of a better mood, especially since it was actually a nice shiny day.


    Puddles had formed on the streets, and water was still dripping from roofs and overhangs, allowing everything to shimmer in the reflection of sunlight.


    They were merely a few metres away from the entrance but they were unfortunate. A gunshot sounded, strafing them ever so closely. They were warned from inside, "Don''t get closer! This is our land now, and you are intruding upon it!"


    They expected to not be the only ones, so they had a strategy in mind already. Wulf was only visible to those who he chose, meaning the ambushers could not see him. Also, they knew about the telepathy, hence why they used thoughts to communicate, seeing as how Wulf was able to read their minds.


    "How many are there; can you tell?" Daniel thought, asking his four legged partner.


    "There are three people inside the building, one in the apartment left to us, and another one in the house to the right. It would be safe to assume that they are armed as well."


    Daniel held up his hands, "I am terribly sorry for intruding. We did not see a sign, so we didn''t know. If you would excuse us, we will turn around and leave you be-"


    "Hell no! You stay right there!" a male voice shouted from inside. "You can leave, after you gave us everything you possess."


    They knew they had no choice but to surrender, two against almost half a dozen, that is not even a fight. In that moment however, Wulf and Daniel noticed something. They heard the voice of a soul, meaning a demon was close by.


    "When I give you the signal, do as I say," Daniel thought.


    Leo, on the other hand, did not know about this new plan yet, and thus stepped forward, "We have nothing to give you, we came here in hope to change that. So please, we aren''t worth the bullets."


    Another shot was fired, aimed in front of his feet. "Shut up, or next time you will wish you didn''t say anything."


    At that moment a demon came around the corner and Dan took a deep breath, in and out.


    "Listen! We may not possess any physical objects, however I am able of manipulating these zombies!" he shouted, facing the palm of his hand towards the demon. "I shall now order this being to halt!"


    Wulf understood his cue, and howled, petrifying the demon for a short time. The howl could only be heard by the two men around him. The people inside were seemingly impressed and opened the gates, inviting them inside. Passing the entrance, the three of them saw three people, one of which was a man. He wore a tank top, was sweaty, and also a wore a red band on his forehead, holding a colt in his hands.


    "You can speak to the dead huh?" he asked, lowering his gun.


    The two women hid behind him, just slightly peeking over his broad shoulders. He walked up to the young men. They noticed just how big that man really was, about one and a half heads bigger than Leo, while it was two for Dan. Although in their minds, they thought that at least they had more hair than him, who had grey stubbly short hair.


    Seeing the women, they understood why these people decided to attack. They wanted to protect them from strangers, even if it meant seeming like a bad person.


    "Well, sorta," Daniel answered. "I can only make them stop, once."


    "Well that is still a blessed feat, alright! Ya see, we are underhanded here, and could need a couple of watching eyes."


    A sinister pressure spread through Daniel''s spine, he tried to ignore it, "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your kind offer, but---" Dan collapsed, screeching in torment.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    A large number of voices, among them some of the loudest he had ever heard, came closer. Leo was alarmed, seeing his friend collapse, while Wulf was feeling pressured too.


    "What''s happened to ya lad?" the big man asked, kneeing down to help the screaming man.


    In that moment, he was blinded by Wulf, who came out of his hiding. Surprised, the man stood up and stepped back, covering the two women.


    "The hell''s that thing?"


    "I am an angel, a Guardian at that. This boy has an ability similar to mine, capable of hearing the voices of souls loud and clear," he explained in a hurry, nimbly climbing up the wall to look outside. It was as he feared, a large group, greater than the one that was in the city beforehand, was swarming the place.


    "The heck you talking ''bout!"


    "These zombies as you call them, are demons, who took control of the dead bodies, inhabited by souls. They make them watch the horrible things they do, and make them suffer. For through suffering, they can become stronger. This is the preparation for the judgement of Lucifer," he said in a worried tone, wagging his tail.


    Leo was flustered, just like everyone else was. For the first time, the name of the devil was actually said, Lucifer it was, the fallen angel. Caged away in hell for his sins, promising to break out one day, to lay waste to the world, to the children of his father.


    In Leo''s hands, Dan fell unconscious, he couldn''t cope with the amount of screams from the suffering voices. This left Wulf to be worried, or rather, it left him with less options. He was neutral to everything, he felt nothing. It was merely just impractical for him.


    "Now what do we do? Without Dan, how can we fight them?" Leo asked, swallowing his pride as he asked the glowing being on the wall.


    "I have no idea. Just look at them, can you see the dark mist surrounding them?"


    Leo left Dan in the care of the bulky man and hurried to the wall, "What the?"


    A dark mist drowned the group of several hundred demons, among them one of which seemed to be the source of it, leaving Wulf to think what it could be.


    "That body, it is basically only made of bones, all joints are made from this dark shadow. Could it be that the demon is artificially keeping it ''alive''? What is happening now?" he watches the mist turning into black flames.


    In difference to Daniel, Wulf could not only hear the souls, of both the dead and the living, but also see them, but what he saw wasn''t a normal soul. It turned black, blighted by darkness, having lost the will to fight against the chains which bound it. Meanwhile, the flames swallowed the other bodies, torturing their souls, and seemingly absorbing them into a pool of souls, before turning the body into ashes. Once every demon, but the one source, fell to dust, the flames were soaked in by it. Considering the sight, Leo and Wulf understood the reason why their partner fell unconscious. It must be by far too overwhelming for a human. Listening to the suffering of that many souls, even Wulf began to struggle, it was too loud.


    Wulf''s tail lifted, spiking up towards the sky. He felt power equal to another angel, just worse. Eventually the flames lifted, revealing a horrid creature beneath. White bones, slightly covered in black, demonic matter, long arms, reaching to the feet and a tall body as well. A large skeleton, held together by demonic matter, stood proudly. Its skull disgusted Leo, the jaw was held up by black strings, and while one of the eye cavities was covered by bone, in the right one was an actual eye.


    Its big hands, which could grip a human, had nails of bones on the fingers, sharp as a razor. Just its presence gave everyone nearby goosebumps, even Wulf was worried, slowly wagging his tail.


    Finally, the thing opened its mouth, sighing, "I did it! I was able to nurture one of these pigs into a proper body," he excitedly looked at his bony hand, before sniffing through the flat holes in its skull. "I can smell, I can smell an angel!"


    "Not good," thought Wulf.


    Then all of the sudden, shots were fired at it by the men in the buildings from before. The tall monstrosity however, merely stood still, watching the bullets not even scathe him.


    "Humans, good... I can have a meal," it said, revealing its blood lust, which woke up Daniel.


    His body was sweating, he was drenched and breathed strongly. In his mind, the situation didn''t change, the souls still existed, but were absorbed by one.


    "No! Please let us go. Please help us!" the voices made his head nearly crack.


    "Dan! Please, you must fight. Nobody here even has a chance, to be honest I don''t even think we have a chance currently," Wulf jumped down towards him, moving from person to person. "This thing, it is not a mere demon, it is a rank two. It has made the host body, it''s own improved body. Usually souls struggle, preventing them from immediately doing that, but this one seems to have weakened the soul earlier than expected."


    "What does that mean?" the women in the background mumbled.


    "It means, it is more powerful than me at this point. Only the regalia, might be able to damage him, however I do still rely on you Dan," he placed his paw on Daniel''s shoulder.


    The young man looked around him. His friend was petrified in fear, the women were crying in comfort of the tall man and even Wulf seemed to have a serious tone in his voice. He knew everyone depended on him, their lives did. He had to fight, despite the terrorising calls in his head, in order to protect his friends.


    With his eyebrows frowning, his teeth scratching and his fists pumping, he stood up and yelled out, "Wulf! Let''s do this!"

 Chapter 5: [Day 2] - Blinded by fear

    Gleaming eyes, filled with anger and pain, Daniel wanted to end this. Wulf changed into the illuminating sword, followed by its three blades. Running outside, the young man could see the tall bony monstrosity, two metres high, its arms longer than Dan''s body. He fought two battles at once, the skeleton before him and the nerve wrecking voices inside his head. He was sick of the pain, letting out war howls, he engaged his enemy. With a swift swing the blades jolted towards the demon, trying to buy time to close the distance. The blades were parried by the large arms, which in turn cut forward with its claws of bone. As the blades returned to the sword, Wulf activated their second trait. The blades aligned, forming a shield before the brown haired man. The glowing aura coming from it acted as a barrier, reflecting the claws, allowing Daniel to attack the opening. Underneath the lifted arm, he tried to cut the shoulder. His feelings clouded in anger, as his mouth shaped into a smile, the hope of silence kept him going but the blade merely bounced off. Falling onto the wet road, the souls screamed in pain, as if the sword had actually hurt them.


    Getting back on his legs, he ran further away from where the other people were, out onto the wet road. The Skeleton followed him and he continued to strike with his massive claws. Whenever Dan dodged a jab, either the road or the buildings would receive major damage from the impact of the bone claw. It pierced through anything, no matter how thick or strong.


    "You''re pretty nimble for a human, I don''t think Skull like that," the skeleton spoke.


    "Skull?" Dan thought loudly.


    "Me Skull, Skull crush you!" with a loud roar he began flailing his arms at the human before him, however the attacks were reflected by the barrier of blades.


    Wulf was able to listen, even when he was in the form of the regalia, and was surprised that the demon was able to communicate through the host with a proper voice.


    Daniel began to feel exhausted, running around, dodging, jumping, swinging a sword. This and the mental stress he suffered from, got to him. Despite this, he kept fighting, knowing that if he gave up, his friends and innocent people would get hurt, or even killed. He hated the being before him, he truly despised it, and let his emotions show through the fight. Swinging his sword with anger in his face, frowned eyes and screams of hatred, the piled up terror inside him was released. Slowly but surely though, he became sloppy, getting struck several times, covered in wounds all over his body.


    The sword he wielded, once glowing, has now dimmed down, black spots had formed on it, unseen by Daniel, who kneed on the road. Before him Skull, who as clearly winning the battle, due to the advantage of endless stamina, and not having to fight with his mind. If only the blade could cut the bones, it would actually give him a chance.


    Skull raised his arm up into the sky, angled it, grinned, and went to crush the human. Suddenly a fl of light brightened up the road, pushing back the demon. Daniel looked what happened, and saw a man with short black hair, rather spiky, stand before him. His grey jacket, soaked in water, almost seemed black. On his arms and knees were metallic armour braces, glowing just as brightly as the sword.


    "Are you alright, idiot?" the man said, turning his head around to look down at the broken man below him.


    Daniel could merely nod at the sight, being drained of his strength and will.


    "Well, let''s get this over with," the shine of his braces increased, repulsing air around him. He jumped at high speed towards the skeleton, punching against its cross armed defence. Shattering the right, front, arm he followed up with a kick towards the stomach area, which consisted of merely a rib cage, knocking him back several meters.


    The demon let out noises of pain, and as did the souls, again torturing the young man on the road. However, the man continued, stepped forward to break several ribs with a few more punches before the demon backed off.


    "Damn you! Too fast! Too fast! Skull won''t be beaten by you, Skull will return and then you will wish you never did this," he said, climbing up a building before jumping and running away.


    Turning around, the man saw the young brown haired man, sitting on the road with his nearly black sword, crying due to his headache. He walked up to him, and shouted, "Hare!" A shining, orange creature, similar to a bunny, appeared. At the same time, Wulf deactivated the regalia, to stand before the bunny.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "So you have a guardian angel, and yet you are still being such a fool? Tsk, what a disgrace," the man hissed.


    "I just tried to protect my friends but he was... he was too strong," Daniel cried into his hands.


    "It''s not that he was too strong you prick! You just had to cripple your regalia!" he shouted.


    Shocked, Daniel looked at the man, who seems to be not much older than him.


    "That''s right, Hare already told me about you, you might be able to listen to their voices, but you don''t even accept this gift. You actually just hate it don''t you?" stomping on the ground, he shouted even louder, intimidating Dan.


    "You hate listening to their voices, you want them to shut up. That is why you fight, isn''t that right?"


    "No!" the young man, sitting on the wet, cold ground screamed, while Wulf was watching him. "It''s not like that, it just hurts... it hurts... I never asked for this, so why do I have to live with this curse?"


    "You really have to make me mad, don''t you? You possess a gift but you deny it and free souls only for your own sake. You have no respect for the dead, do you?"


    "That''s not true!" his thoughts were dwelling deep within him, unable to actually speak out.


    "You know, it''s a real pity. Your guardian seems to care so much for you, that he even suffers for your sake, not even telling you about your mistake," the man pointed at Wulf, causing Daniel to turn his eyes to his canine partner beside him.


    "What do you mean?" Dan asked, worried about his partner.


    "By wielding a regalia, your aura and his become bonded. That means that if you fight with darkness in your heart, said darkness will spread towards the regalia and finally your guardian. You are killing him!"


    These words opened his eyes, realizing that he wasn''t the only one suffering, he was shoving his own problems at Wulf as well.


    "Is that true Wulf?"


    He sat on the road, curled up, head on his paws. Lifting his head, he showed the blackened, dark, paws to his partner, "It''s true. We angels suffer from the humans we serve if his dark emotions, such as anger and hatred, are connected with us. We begin to blight, darken, slowly swallowed by shadow. Once we are completely blighted, we cease to exist."


    Daniel''s fist smacked the ground beneath him, badly bruising his hand. He was angry, with himself and with Wulf, for not knowing, for having caused trouble for his partner. Meanwhile the others back at the garden centre noticed that the fighting was over and came over, with Leo rushing to his side.


    "Mark, we should go after that demon before it makes a mess somewhere else, we should finish the fight we started," the glowing Hare said.


    "Tsk. Fine. Well, I will be off then mutt, I hope your master will take better care of you now, although I have no idea why you choose to stay with him," he tauntingly said as he turned around. "Hare!"


    His glowing partner formed into its regalia, armour for the arms and legs.


    "You know young man, while I cannot argue with you, I must have you know about one thing. Be it blessing or curse, as long as you haven''t actually encountered it yourself, you have no right to judge him," Wulf growled.


    The man, who was called Mark earlier turned his head in despise before jumping off into the distance, toward the skeleton demon, leaving a gust of wind behind him.


    Daniel was lost, he couldn''t tell good from bad anymore. He believed all he had to do is free the souls, but he knew, deep within him, that he only did it for one reason. Freeing his mind. He wanted to silence them and thus his selfish actions blighted the angel, who vowed to protect him as his guardian.


    The group of people, which came from the garden centre, talked among themselves, mumbling about how they would need to build better defences to fend off the demons. Leo had told them about the details of Dan''s abilities throughout the fight, now they were tapping on the man''s shoulder. Blessing him, making him out to be their hero, their saviour, relying on him, while angering Leo.


    Daniel stood up, knowing about his duties, he knew that they depended on him, knew that without him they might die eventually. Thus he talked without thinking again, "You are right, all I can do... all I am good for is fighting."


    His breath pushed out of his lungs, like bellows being pushed together, his neck was suddenly pulled up, "Damn it Daniel! Stop being a jerk already," Leo held him by his collar, tightly and upset.


    "I understand that you are going through a lot of crap, but stop making us feel like that too, especially me! Think about the others for a second, those who can''t fight, or rather not effectively. We can stop the bodies but not the demons, all we would do is hurt you. So we leave the fighting to you, unable to do anything. We know we are useless but you somehow make me feel even more useless. Again you fought, getting hurt, seeing Wulf hurt, and getting yelled at by some stranger. All that and I still can''t help you. Get it in your head already!" Leo yelled, struggling with breathing, before pushing him back and sucker punching him in the face, causing his friend to land flat on the road. He felt bad for having hurt his friend, but he didn''t feel he was wrong, especially since Wulf didn''t try to stop him.


    "I just want you to know, you aren''t the only one here, so share some of that burden, which lies on your shoulders, please Dan," he said with watery eyes, helping his friend back on his feet.


    Stumbling forward, he lost the will to stand. Not knowing anything, having been blind to the feelings, and well-being of those around him, he was disgusted by himself, "I am sorry Leo, I... I didn''t know."

 Chapter 6: [Day 2] - Midnight

    While the group was still in a gloomy mood and everyone going to bed earlier than usual, within another realm the mood was quite high.


    A dark room, no walls, no pillars, no floor nor roof, darkness all around. In the centre stood a large creature, covered in knightly armour. It was made of black steel, covered by golden feather-like decorations, before him a large, cross shaped sword, also the same material.


    "I summon thee, my knights, for I have a new quest for thee."


    Through the shadows appeared four creatures, shrouded in darkness, each with similar armour, the only difference being the colour. One was green the other red, the third was black and the last was pale grey.


    "Thou hath summoned us. My lord Kimaris, how can we be of use to thee," they said in unison.


    "For my lord''s plans to be fulfilled, I require thy assistance in finding the being of purity, require thee to find the lamb, which once released thy selves from the chains, but has yet to release the last seals. Now head out my horsemen, rob them of their harvest, release the vermin that venture their world, present them conflict and make them fight themselves!" the centre demon said in a loud voice, echoing through the large dark room.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "Yes, my Lord!" they say in unison before summoning their horses, fitting to their colours, and alas moving out to the human realm.


    Back in the human realm, Daniel locked himself inside a small room on the roof, looking out of a tiny circular window onto the garden and the road behind the fence. The room was damp, cold and made out of wood. Cobweb stretched from corner to corner and the floor squeaked with the slightest of movements. He was punishing himself for his sins, for having carelessly hurt his friends, and endangered them, he decided it''d be best for him to stay inside. Believing distance to be the only way to recollect his mind.


    Not wanting to bother him, the group planned to go out in the morning, Clark, the big man in the tank top, Leo, Robert and Hanson were to go out and find provisions, since although they had seeds planted for vegetables, they still need time to grow, time which they didn''t yet have.

 Chapter 7: [Day 3] - Lonely child

    In the morning Daniel watched the four men leave, watching them through his window, which was partially frozen over through the night, distanced from them, not even saying ''goodbye'' or ''see you soon''. He was itching to go with them, feeling the need to help them, knowing he is the only one who can actually fight the demons, however he chose not to. He didn''t want to upset his friend anymore or cause trouble to anyone. He saw them loading a small jeep with empty crates and bags, them carrying machine guns and colts, getting into the car and them waving their hands to the women who stayed behind, together with Wulf, who promised to do his best to keep them safe.


    The four of them drove to the next city, since apparently the grocery store in the current town, Ashburg, was already raided for edibles. The next city was called Shepham, a smaller city which was mostly agricultural. They hoped to find live animals along with a full Tesca, which was a common store brand. They knew that they expected a lot but that was the only nearby city within an hour of driving, not to mention the jammed roads making it even more difficult.


    Clark''s group had already prepared for a zombie apocalypse as a hobby, which is why they have so many firearms. The two women who stayed back were Clark''s wife, Lyn, and the other was Hanson''s wife, Sarah. Driving through a forest was difficult, since the highway was full of empty cars and demons, but they finally made it to Shepham. Since it was Autumn, the usually lush green grass was wilting, bathing in the morning dew. The fields were empty, due to the exceptionally cold weather, not even the animals were outside. This however gave them hope, since they would be in a barn, in the warm, protected from the hungry demons.


    Checking up on every farm, barn and small store in the town, they found quite a bit of canned food, and also the livestock. Cows, bulls, sheep and chicken were kept in the barns, safe from the monsters outside. They locked the barns after finding them, since they can''t transport the animals currently, however they want to come back soon to bring them home.


    Next on the list was the Tesca store, it was large and had everything one could hope for. Groceries were a big part of its stock but it also had clothing, electronics, gas and most importantly medicine. It seemed that nobody had the same idea yet, so they wanted to grab everything as fast as possible, but they found that some singular items were missing. Possibly someone bought it before the outbreak? They didn''t know for certain.


    They split up, each looking for different things. Leo had to find bread and meat, Clark was to find gas and some batteries for the flash lights, Robert was looking for clothing for the upcoming winter and Hanson was trying to find some utensils for the women. They asked them before to bring plates, tableware, towels and other things which they needed to live a comfortable life. Walking through the bakery area within the store, Leo heard a crackling noise, which alerted him.


    Have they been found by someone, or something? What was the noise?


    He steadily walked closer to where the noise came from, letting the others know with hand signals, waving in the direction. The crackling became louder, it sounded like plastic wrapper. Eventually Leo faced the wall of the bakery, still hearing the noise, but not finding anything. He stepped around fanatically, wanting to find the source of it until he stumbled. Grabbing onto a nearby shelf, he caught himself, but looked closely to where he stumbled. One of the floor tiles was slightly lifted, the clean, white, stone tile made him stumble. Kneeing down, he took a closer look and the lifted spot, and touched it, noticing that it was loose. Suddenly the noise vanished, he probably gave himself away by lifting the tile.


    Everyone stood around him, ready for everything that could happen. He began pulling the stone tile up, and below was a dark room. It was part of the foundation which served to hold up the floor. Within it, Leo saw a small thing, shaking, trembling in fear. A little boy was crying, probably thinking that he was in trouble, before him several cans, wrappers and even a small, crinkled bag of crisps. Leo knew that had to have been the source of the noise, but what was a small boy doing down there?


    He jumped into the hole, which was about two metres high, with a small ladder leading up and down. The child cried, he didn''t know the person who came for him, and didn''t know if they he was good or bad. Leo knew, just by looking at the little one, who curled up, covering his head that he was scared of him. He kneed down, took the bag of crisps, and with a quick pull he opened it up.


    "Here you go. Don''t worry, we won''t harm you," he said, holding the bag towards the child.


    "My mum told me not to trust strangers." The boy shook his head, causing Leo''s mood to sink.


    Thinking of the situation on top, the fact that the child was alone down there was a sign that something must have happened. Feelings of pity and sadness overflowed within his heart, even losing a few tears. He grabbed the boy, threw him over his shoulder and began to climb the ladder, however the boy struggled, "Stop it! Let go of me! Mum, help me!"If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "It''s gonna be fine, we won''t hurt you." He embraced the child, tears flowing from his face onto the kid''s dirty, grey shirt.


    The warmth made him feel safe, feel secure with the strange man, causing him to stop struggling. Back on top, he put down the child, who was overwhelmed by the men around him. Out in the light, they could see his dusty blonde hair, and his baby blue eyes, he was really young, too young for such a cruel world.


    The little boy gripped Leo''s trousers and hid behind his legs, he was scared of all these men with their guns on them. They quickly understood his reaction and put away their weapons, trying to seem friendly. Eventually they asked if there was anything the boy would like to have, they were quickly pointed towards cake, candy, crisps and many other types of sweets. He even pointed them to chocolate milk, he seemed to really like it, even opening one and drinking from it with a straw. Sadly, they had to be careful with how much milk they could buy, same goes for food which should be kept cool. Due to the circumstances the power network didn''t work, meaning that refrigerators don''t work either.


    Soon they were done, having filled the crates on their jeep with enough food to last them a few weeks, they were ready to depart and head back home. Before that, they felt guilty and asked the boy about his parents. If they were still alive, they would take them home as well. However, the boy was silent after hearing the question, and shook his head with a quivering chin.


    Meanwhile at the garden centre, Daniel was still sulking inside his little room, looking out of the window while thinking about what he has done. He had caused a lot of trouble for those around him, not only did he take on all of the responsibility from his friends, making them feel useless, but also did he hurt his guardian angel. The ability he possessed was blessing and curse at the same time. He knew if a soul was within range, and could listen to their voices, on the other hand he was also burdened by them. Listening to pleading voices, crying for help and freedom, was exhausting. Unable to ignore them he wanted to release them, not for the sake of letting the souls rest in peace but to silence them. He used his regalia for his own well-being, to retain his sanity and through his selfish actions did he awaken dark feelings within him, blighting the regalia and Wulf. Blight, was deadly for angels, once fully blighted they would cease to exist.


    Daniel as unsure what to do now, he didn''t want to endanger his friends needlessly, but also didn''t want to make them feel useless. He wanted to help the souls, but couldn''t decide whether he felt that way for the sake of the souls or for himself, risking that he might hurt Wulf further.


    He heard Wulf scratching against the locked door, wanting to help the boy, yet he didn''t answer. Wulf didn''t want him to know about the blight, allowing him to be endangered, since he knew that it was difficult for his partner. It was weird for the glowing wolf, who sat in front of the door, waiting for an answer. As an angel, he was not supposed to have feelings, be neutral to everything, merely creating the image of having feelings in order to communicate with humans, despite that, he felt something within him. What he felt was duty and solidarity. Wanting to support Daniel, hoping for him to get better soon, impatiently waiting for an answer. It was not something that angels were meant to feel, he shouldn''t mind. He should think about what is best for everyone, but here he was, thinking about a way to help for a singular person. Albeit with no answer for it. He was used to hearing the voices of the souls, both dead and alive along with even seeing them visually, as a divine being it was part of him. However, he could do that because he didn''t feel, now though a human had similar powers and even beyond them. Capable of hearing the voices of souls who should depart and also having the ability to somehow heal, as Wulf noticed on the day they met. A scratch on Daniel''s face healed within a short time frame, something which angels cannot do.


    Back in Shepham, Leo and the others were just about to head off, but there was something in the air which made a shiver run down their spine. Suddenly it was really cold, and they heard something which they could not put into a category. It was almost like buzzing, a lot of it. They looked around them to find the source until they saw something behind them, far back in the distance. The sun was in the same direction, allowing them to merely see a black cluster in the horizon. Carefully they tried to make out what it was, but what they saw was not what they had expected.


    Behind them was a large swarm of bugs of all kinds. Dragonflies, flies, bees, beetles and more, they all flew in a large cluster and came closer to them. Hastily they got into the jeep and Clark, the driver, pushed down on the gas, wanting to get away as soon as possible. Next stop was the garden centre, however they were pursued by an abnormal swarm of critters. Taking detours, trying to not go in a straight line, none of it helped, the bugs flew in the direction they took.


    Clark frequently looked into the mirrors, trying to get away from them, but there was something behind the swarm, something huge. Shrouded in a dark green mist, was a green horse with eyes of red. On top of it, riding it, was a large knight in the corresponding colour. The armour thick and bulky, seemingly unarmed. The horse alone was about the size of two men, but the knight was double the amount.


    Almost there, the swarm has already caught up, almost touching the exhaust pipe. Clark tried to warn the others inside the centre by sounding the horn of the car and it worked. Daniel could already see them, as well the large pursuer. He worried, stood up and opened the door. Before him was Wulf who felt what was coming, and barked at him, "No regrets, you need to protect them. So use me and fight. No matter the result, I won''t blame you, for I if I was human I would do the same, thus is the gift you humans possess.

 Chapter 8: [Day 3] - Pestilence

    "I don''t even know what that thing is. Tell me please, I don''t sense any souls coming from it," Daniel nervously asked.


    "It''s one of the reasons why death exists, the green horseman, a harbinger, Pestilence. Known for diseases, vermin and rotting away everything in his way. He is one of the many mistakes of the past, I can barely believe he has come already. Things are going much faster than they are supposed to go." Wulf''s face looks angry, frowns and wrinkles covered his face.


    "I don''t get it, you always say that things don''t go as planned, so how are you even supposed to know that?"


    "We don''t know. We can merely guess, however we were told that the first rank two would be born months later, and that the harbingers would appear about a year later. As you can probably tell now, this situation is rushed, so I wonder what is making Lucifer act this impatiently," Wulf mumbles.


    They went outside, the women hiding in an underground storage room. The car was still going, almost reaching the parking lot, but it was too slow. The wave of critters was now completely surrounding them, blinding their vision and throwing them off road, causing them to crash into the wall of the centre.


    Daniel trembled at the sight, knowing that his friend was inside the car. He worried about him and quickly rushed to the crash scene but the shroud of bugs blocked his way.


    "Call my name!" Wulf shouts.


    Dan was still unsure of what to do, would he blight the angel again or would everything be justified this time, he didn''t know. Only the confirmation, the support of said angel was what drove him, made him trust in himself.


    "Wulf!" he shouted with a serious look on his face, for once, without tears.


    The wolf became a ray of light and shaped into the regalia, the sword with three blades. The radiant light burned away the bugs around it, they fell to ashes. He hurried to the car to keep the bugs away, hoping that nothing happened, yet something did happen. Nobody was moving, blood flowing from their heads, even Leo''s. Eyes closed, lifeless.


    "You know Wulf, I really am trying you know," tears ran down his face. "I just can''t stop being weak, especially now."


    "You need not be ashamed of feeling companionship, for being worried about your friends. I would be disappointed if you were not."


    Daniel brushed off the tears in his face with his sleeves and then turned his sight to the knight in green, Pestilence. Surrounded by a large swarm of critters and his horse by a veil of green mist, as well as his overwhelming size. He choked, unaware if he was even capable of helping, of fighting a harbinger, a cause of death. However, he didn''t give in yet, for as Wulf already said, he is the only chance they have, he is the only one who can fight. Proudly, he held the regalia in his hands, pointing it towards the knight.


    "A holy knight? Interesting, it has been a while since I plucked an angel''s wings," the green knight said, fanatically shaking his head, as if looking for something. "I sense someone familiar, could it be?"


    Wulf became curious, as did Daniel, despite that they went for the engage while the enemy was distracted with his thoughts. This time, he could fight full power on the same front, both physically and mentally. He was clear of unrest, driven by his sense of protection.


    Sending the blades flying towards the swarm, it fell to ashes, pierced by the blades radiating light. Before returning to him, the blades still flew further towards the horse. Suddenly the helmet of the knight, which had thin slits to see through, glowed in a bright green. He held his hand out and a black and green smoke was released from it, forming and materializing a scythe, a large dark pole with a curved, green blade, reflecting the blades.


    He dismounted his horse, it running off into the distance, leaving him standing alone, circling and swinging his scythe, warming himself for the fight.


    "Fitting for the one who brings disease, a scythe in poison green," Wulf sounded from within the regalia.


    The sword Dan wielded was merely about a sixth of the scythe, if not even smaller, it looked like an impossible fight, but he kept going.


    He launched the blades as a distraction.


    They were parried by the large scythe through a rotating motion.


    As the blades returned, he took the opening he created to test how big their difference was, attacking the enemies weapon directly.


    It not only was bigger, but it was heavier and the knight was stronger. Pushing back the young man with ease, barely moving a finger while he laughed.


    "An angel could never overcome us! We are beyond your puny powers, we are above you! While you care for the souls, we take care of life and death, we have been your counterparts forever, and we always win. No matter how much an angel tries to save a human, they fail and we get our way. We bring death to those who require it, we take away the souls you hold so dear. You cannot even hope to win a fight with me!"


    The helpless looking fight continued, although it was more like trying to pick up peas with a blunt fork, the knight was playing with his prey.


    Meanwhile inside the car.


    The little boy woke up, shocked from the crash but unscathed, different from the others. He was completely fine, merely a bit dizzy. He sat on the back seats between Hanson and Robert, looking in front he saw both Clark and Leo. Everyone was covered in blood, lifeless. He shook and pulled on Leo''s jacket, as if trying to wake him up, but without a reply. He pulled back his hands and held his hands near his mouth, at the brink of crying.


    "Daniel! Please don''t feel guilty. I know you will blame yourself for what happened," a voice, similar to Leo''s sounded in Dan''s head.


    Shocked, he turned around to look at the car but he was still just sitting still, his head down, not moving. He knew at that point what happened.


    "Leo, he''s dead. It can''t be, all because I wasn''t with him, I should have saved him, them," his thoughts ran wild, anger and hatred was within him. Not against the knight, but against himself, for being useless.


    "Dan, stop punishing yourself, stop keeping all the responsibility for yourself... share it for once. It was our fault, we shouldn''t have taken so long. Please forgive me for not being able to understand your pain," the voice faded away, he no longer sensed the soul.


    Wrinkles formed at his chin and forehead, quivering in agony, shaking in sadness and guilt. Tears ran down his face and once they began to drip down his face, the face lifted. As if washing away all sadness, he knew what was in front of him, and who was still alive. He had to protect the women at least, otherwise he had no right to possess a regalia, he thought.


    "Pestilence!" he screamed. "This is all your fault! You killed them and many others, I will make you pay for what you did!"


    The light dimmed down, black spots quickly covering the regalia.


    "Wulf?" he worried.


    "Don''t worry about me. Remember what he said, share the responsibility even if it blights me, go ahead and rid the world of this monster."


    The knight acted before him, confronting the man with a storm of swift slices. He overpowered him, barely capable of blocking the scythe. Pushed around, bruised all over, he began to stumble and loose balance, the harbinger was on a whole different level. Daniel was cornered, be the scythe blade alone, which was much bigger than he was himself. Pressed against the wall of the garden centre, barely shielding its blade with the sword in his hands, he had nowhere to go.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "What a joke, I have never seen an angel whose wings I could pluck this easily. You do not even know how to properly use your regalia, what a shame. Well it was fun, now farewell human!"


    The scythe swung back, and right back at the sword with momentum, clashing with it and breaking through it. Like glass, it shattered into thousand pieces combined with the painful sound of Wulf being badly injured. The blade went on and cut straight into his right arm, with a clean cut.


    It all happened so quickly, he merely saw the sparkling shatters falling, and felt a cold shock rushing through his spine. Noticing it came from his arm he looked down, to the right of him, was blood, a pool of it, and within it, his arm. The pain set in, causing him to choke on the last bit of breath he had within his lungs, fall onto the ground and scream in agony. As his head was tilted downwards he saw the shatters, tinted black and heard Wulf yelping. The regalia was connected to him, meaning that since it broke, his body was charged with similar pain and terror.


    "Wulf... are you alright?" he asked, his head scratching against the ground beneath him, tears flowing down upon it as he breathed hastily.


    As the shards began to glow, and formed like a liquid. Into one shape, back into the wolf guardian, his usually white shine was almost gone, "I am still alive, don''t worry about me. You have worse problems right now, you have lost your right arm and you are quickly losing blood."


    He slowly stepped towards the man''s shoulder, dripping with blood, bones wide open to see, as he pat it with his almost black paw.


    "What are you doing Wulf?" Daniel whispered, not having the strength within him anymore to speak.


    "Look at me, it is almost time," he said, referring to his body, covered in black. "I will depart from this world soon, but before I do, I will see through my duty as your guardian."


    He bit into his shoulder, not actually hurting him, as his tail began to evaporate into dark sparkles.


    "I am sorry, it''s all my fault. If you hadn''t met me, you would still be fine, you wouldn''t be dying right now Wulf."


    Still biting his shoulder, "No, I am the one who should apologize. We should have never let the demons come this far, but we were weak. So take my last gift," his body became transparent, only his front legs and head still being visible. "Farewell, my friend."


    Daniel''s eyes opened wide, finally realizing that this was really happening, trying to grab Wulf with his left arm, "No! Wulf, no, don''t leave me! Please!"


    He was gone, dissipated into the air, as a cool breeze came towards Dan, "I won''t leave you completely, part of me will always stay with you and I do not mean your memories of me."


    Suddenly, glowing particles began appearing to the right of him, shaping into something long, more rays of light coming from it, attaching to his shoulder. The shimmering light began to dim down, as did the pain in his shoulder and when he looked at it, he couldn''t believe his eyes. White as the light, he had a new arm. It was thin and bony, the nails razor sharp and long. He tried moving it, and indeed it moved like as if he had never lost his arm. On it was a small sign, like a Tattoo, in the shape of a paw, right on his upper arm.


    He sulked, crying, unable to fathom whether they were tears of sadness, pain or joy, however he new one thing, this arm was Wulf''s last gift. Even after he had died because of him, he still cared enough to protect him.


    All of the sudden loud scream came from inside the car, "MUM!"


    The windows began to shine, from a light within, everyone in the area, the women, the knight and Daniel, they all heard a young voice.


    "I can''t be alone again, why must everyone around me die? Mum, why are you gone? Why are these nice people gone? Why me? Why!"


    The child was the source of said voice, his body shining even brighter than Wulf ever did, light which pierced the knight.


    "I knew it! You are it! You are the lamb! I found you, now I just need to---" he stopped talking, noticing that something drastic happened to him.


    His armour turned opaque, revealing the dark mass of shadow hiding within, feeling his power swindling away, even the scythe started to melt away. It was as if acid had been raining onto him.


    Below the car, a large sign appeared, a chain shaped circle, spreading further out, covering the garden centre, then the road block, next the entire city. Its radiant light burned the knight of Pestilence, his power drained by the seal below.


    "This is impossible! You released us and yet you choose to seal me away again? Damn you child of the lamb!" he shouted.


    Daniel stood confused, it was too much for him to understand at once. All he saw was the glowing light coming from the car. Slowly the child''s body rose from within, like a ghost he passed through the roof. The golden glow blinding Daniel at first, until his eyes adjusted to it.


    He had never seen the boy, making him wonder why he came from inside. Suddenly the radiant child began to speak up, "Pestilence, you have caused enough trouble, I do not wish to see you any further, thus I shall seal you back into my book, send you back from whence you came!"


    The light of the seal, which surrounded the entire city, shone brightly like a beacon into the sky above. Several chains began to rise from below, hitting the dark matter, which was Pestilence, attempting to catch him and bind him down. Despite all efforts, he was still strong enough to fend them off.


    "Young man, would you use your regalia to aid me?" the lamb spoke, through the body of the kid.


    "I-I no longer possess a regalia... he died..." he said, wanting to barf with every word leaving his mouth.


    "Indeed, the angel may have died, however he left with you his regalia and his light. It was very kind of him to do so."


    Daniel wondered what he meant, looking into palm of his new hand, he wondered if it really was true.


    "You need merely imagine the regalia you once had, and it will appear before you once again, for it is yours to wield," he explains, as Dan closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sword, every detail. The long shining blade, the cross shaped hilt, almost like a crucifix, a wide handle to grab. Its three blades, glowing brightly, pointing towards the tip of the sword, flying in grace.


    He collected his thoughts and slowly opened his eyes, within his right hand now was the sword, the regalia which had shattered not long ago.


    "Incredible!" he said excited, using his left sleeve to brush off the tears in his eyes. "Alright then, how can I help you... uhm.. Lamb?"


    "I am not powerful enough to seal a harbinger by myself, the one who did it before was the Almighty himself after all. However, if you could make him stand still, damage him, I could use the chance to chain him down. I will protect you as you fight, you need merely run towards him and I will aid you from there." The child''s arm lifted, the index pointing at the shadow form who was still fighting against the chains.


    The young man tilted his head forwards, confirming the order as he ran towards the harbinger. Chains of gold, erupting from the ground beneath him, trying to avoid them, he ran onwards, the sword in his hands, glowing brighter than ever before, the blight was gone, only the white shine was to see.


    "You fool Lamb! How long do you think you can keep this up? A mere being like you could never seal me away, so why don''t you give up already," the shadow shouted exhaustingly.


    Daniel was right before his feet as Lamb gave him his signal, "Hold on! And jump off when you are at the top! I will protect you, so just hit him with all you have, do it with all your might, your feelings, for your friends, the living and the deceased!"


    Out of nowhere, a chain appeared from beneath Dan as he held onto it, being dragged upwards. The air getting thinner, colder and eventually passing the clouds, from up there he could see the head of the harbinger, and the size of the entire seal in its heavenly gold shimmer.


    "Now!"


    As he heard the Lamb''s shout, he jumped off, his sword proudly held with his hands, both his and the gift. Like a cinematic record, his past few days flashed before his eyes. Looking at Leo, saving him, caring for him, hitting him and in the end, dying for him same was for Wulf. Jumping from the skies before them, miraculously stopping the zombies, telling them about the terrible Judgement which was prepared, the glowing regalia, the blight, his voice and his ever so shining body. This time he didn''t cry, he smiled in joy, feeling proud and lucky. He had very good friends, who looked out for him, even as they were suffering themselves.


    Finally, he pointed the sword downwards, dropping at a rapid speed onto the head of the knight, piercing straight into it. A loud yell of pain echoed through the city, the being held his head with his hands, pushing off the young man, leaving behind the sword, his regalia. Daniel was surrounded by a golden mist, his fall cushioned, as he watched the chains digging into the shadow, pulling it down.


    Slowly but surely, the knight sunk into the seal, his screams of ache never faltering, as Daniel remembered the sword still being within the head as he shouted, "Wulf!"


    The sword disappeared into a small orb of light, flying over to him as he finally touched ground, but unlike before, instead of shaping into the angel, it simply vanished inside his new hand. Finally, the head was also swallowed by the chains. The golden seal became smaller, slimming down, becoming a ray of light, heading up into the skies, or what Daniel believed to be the heavens by now.


    "Thank you, with your help I was able to seal this abomination of a creature back to where it came from. I only have one last thing to ask of you, please take care of my host body," he hovered over from the car, towards Daniel, touching the ground and slowly stepping forwards. "I am unable to maintain this form, so please would you protect this child? He lost his family and has nobody to depend on anymore, do me this favour."


    In a way, the child and Daniel were similar, and he felt so too, thus accepting, "Of course I will, I could never leave a small child alone in this world, it would be like sending him to die."


    "You have my fullest gratitude, may the heavens be with you," his last words were said, the golden shimmer disappearing, the boy falling unconscious. He was caught by Daniel, noticing the child''s body was cold, he sat down and let him rest in his arms.

 Chapter 9: [Day 3] - Within the church

    After the fight with the harbinger ended, the young man carried the child inside the garden centre to the women, who didn''t know about anything yet. Ignoring them, they ran past, straight towards the car. Seeing the four men, lifeless, sitting in the car, badly injured, they cursed the blonde man with his pale arm. Shunning him as misfortune, he knew they were upset, he was unable to defend himself. They were right, ever since he arrived, everyone and everything around him went to hell, and in the end, many had died. If he had never come to the place, maybe the men would still be alive, maybe not, maybe Pestilence would have killed everyone, he simply does not know. All he knew was that he had to leave, after begging them for one favour.


    "Please bury them, honour them and continue loving them forever. Even my friend, who cared deeply about everyone around him. Thank you," he said as he turned around walking through the town, looking for a safe place to take shelter at. While still carrying the little boy in his arms, it was difficult to fight off the demons, however to his luck, there were none. It would''ve surprised him if there were, since lately so many demons have appeared and slain, that there should not be any left.


    As the day turned dark, the sun falling, brightly tinting into a beautiful orange, slowly disappearing into the horizon, he knew he had to hurry. A loud sound caught his attention then, a loud gong sounded nearby. He looked around and spotted a large church only down the road. Hoping to find shelter there, he hurried, running towards it. The doors were big and heavy, nobody opened it from the inside, so he pushed against it with his shoulder, and slipped inside with the boy.


    Inside the church, his first reaction was to try and cover his eyes. On the other side of the gate was a large glass window, designed in mosaic, showing Jesus Christ on a crucifix. The sunset illuminated through it, throwing an image of it onto the floor, made of wood. Before the window stood a large table, a candle and a large book. There was an eight by six column of seats, usually used for prayers. On the walls he saw many pictures, especially the creation of the world within seven days. He was a non-believer, for similar reasons like Leo, he couldn''t believe in someone who made the world and left them the choice to kill themselves, or having children being born with an illness which would lead to a quick death. God, the Almighty saviour, it was a joke for them. Despite this, he is now torn apart, he learned that there really is a God but even with what has been going on lately he couldn''t believe it.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Daniel put the child onto one of the seats, they were cushioned and big enough for him. Wandering through the large construction he found several rooms, storage rooms for choir instruments and clothes, there was even a stairway up to the tower. After making sure the gate was secured, he painstakingly went up the stairway, it was a long way up. The higher he came the moister was the air as well as the walls of the tower, he was glad that he didn''t have to climb the stairs every day.


    Once up on the top, there was a gear system, almost like a clock, after following it through he saw a tight rope bound to it. The rope was attached to the big brass bell, which was the reason he even found the church. He wondered how it was possible for the system to still function, but was glad that it still did. The top of the tower was open to all sides, only a few Pillars holding up a cone shaped roof.


    Standing up there, looking down upon the large city, he was able to capture the last glimpse of the orange light fading in the horizon. It was officially night now. Unlike before, the city was completely surrounded in darkness and shadow, no street lamps or glowing windows from houses would illuminate the city at night, it was plain darkness. However instead the was able to watch the incredible light of the moon shine brightly onto the city and see the many stars sparkle in the clear sky.


    One thing caught his attention however. Far, far away. A bright red light glittered behind the forest which was located north to the city. It looked like a flame, possibly someone was out there, camping through the night. Daniel wanted to pay a visit, but quickly decided against it. It was too dangerous to take the child with him, or to leave it behind, besides he didn''t even know if what he saw was really a fire.


    Feeling exhausted from this though day he went downstairs again, looked through the rooms and found a few blankets, which were thin enough to even be considered table cloth. After carefully wrapping the boy in the blanket, he lied down on the seat next to him, covered by a blanket and decided to sleep, trusting his gift to alarm him in case of trouble.

 Chapter 10: [Day 4] - Final message

    Sleeping ever so tightly, Daniel seemed bothered. Constant turning and being drenched in sweat, one might wonder what he dreamt.


    Within his mind, he found himself as a naked soul, transparent and shaded in white. Floating around within a seemingly endless room, he heard a voice. It felt familiar, his tired soul was not yet able to function properly, merely swimming around in this ocean of emptiness.


    "Daniel," it sounded. "Daniel can you hear me?"


    It was Wulf''s voice, humming and chiming within this void within his mind. Realizing this, Dan replied, "Wulf? Is that you?"


    "Listen to me, as you hear this I will have already died, this message is a tiny shard of my soul. I planned on telling you about this before, but I guess I have to use this chance now."


    Dan looked around him, swinging from place to place, not seeing his canine companion.


    "I materialized my last bit of strength into your right arm, or rather the new regalia. I want you to be able to have another chance with your life, being able to grab onto this thing string which leads you to a safe future. The regalia is yours now, I am no longer in possession of it. Meaning it is also yours to forge anew, may whatever troubles await you act as the hammer to reshape your blade and mind. One last word, you can''t blight yourself since you are human, hence the regalia which is now part of yourself, is also immune. Use my gift with care, protect those who can''t themselves, aid those who have fallen into the deepest of wells, lend them a piece of that thin string. Within nearly every human lies a flicker or light, you need only find it," Wulf became more and more silent towards the end. "This is farewell for good now my friend."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "I understand," the soul which floated within this immense void began to cry. "What is this? No I don''t want to cry, why isn''t it stopping!"


    Tears ran down his face like a waterfall, a never ending flow of water running down his cheeks, to his chin and finally into the void around him. He heard a chuckle through the empty room, "Thank you, I appreciate your kindness, I really do. You now while your biological body can be influenced, your soul cannot. You shouldn''t try to hold back those wonderful tears of yours, for they represent your feelings, joy, sadness, pain and love. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Now farewell, may my gift be of good use to you."


    Outside of his mind, a ray of light struck right into his eyes, he was facing the great window. The sun rose, once again starting a new day. Waking up, stretching and yawning, he began to look around and next to him stood a small boy, dirty, sweaty blonde hair, baby blue eyes and dusty clothes combined with a questioning look on his face.


    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 11: [Day 4] - The Lambs host

    As Daniel awoke from a rather unusual dream, he was surprised to see the child, who he knew was the Lamb''s host body, up and awake.


    The child wondered who this man was, looking at the man with doll eyes, "Where are the others? Leo, Clark, Hanson and Robert?"


    It struck him straight into the heart, the child knew his friend, as well as the other men. How should he explain it? How should he explain that they are dead? That he is the Lamb? That the boy saved him? After thinking about for a long while, without an answer, the boy sat down, his hands on his lap, "I see..."


    Daniel felt sorry for being unable to tell him, but was glad that the child understood. At the same time, he was also saddened by the fact that he did understand.


    "I am sorry, but they died in a car crash. I was told to take of your now," he purposely withheld the information about the Lamb since he didn''t fully understand it either, having no idea of how to explain it to him.


    "I knew it, I dreamt something about it. Everything was shining golden. I saw them in the car. I also saw you and a weird monster. It was a nightmare."


    He didn''t seem to know that what he called a ''dream'' was in fact the reality.


    "Let us hope you won''t have to dream about such cruel things anymore alright?"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "But, why do you want to take care of me. My Papa and Mama died, attacked by monsters. Now even those who tried to care for me died. I don''t want you to die too, you seem to be very kind too," he said, silently and slowly tilting his head towards his laps, his short locks of hair covering his eyes.


    The boy seemed very similar to what Daniel believed he was himself. Wherever he would go, he would bring misfortune, whoever was around him he let die. This time however, he wanted things to be different, "I won''t die," he pat him on the head with his right arm. "Neither will you. I will make certain of that."


    The child still didn''t look up, still sobbing. He struggled, Daniel was never good with children. He was a single child, not knowing how it must feel to have a brother or someone to look out for. As the sun came up further, the light stung into his eyes even more, reminding him of something.


    "Look here," he turned the child around, pointing at the window with his hands. "You see this light? You shouldn''t walk into it, but you should grasp towards it. There is always another day, always a tomorrow. As long as you live, there will always be a tomorrow, I will make sure of that."


    He hugged the boy, as they began to cry simultaneously into each other''s shoulders.


    "My name is Tommy, and yours?"


    They split, "I am Daniel. Just call me Dan alright?"


    "Understood!"


    To their embarrassment, a growl echoed through the church, just as they get along so well. They looked at each other and laughed.


    "We should get something to eat. Do you agree?" Dan asked, smiling while blushing in embarrassment.


    They both agreed to it, Daniel opened the gate and looked outside but what he saw was surprising and frightening at once.

 Chapter 12: [Day 4] - Ability

    His eyes wide open, wrinkled in fear and discomfort. He couldn''t believe his eyes and mind. As he opened the gate he saw three demons standing around the church, split apart, in a curve shape. They were merely twenty metres away, but the thing that worried him wasn''t the demons, but his mind.


    He didn''t hear their voices, the questioning voices, chewing on his sanity, pleading and begging for help and release. He did not hear any of it. Taking a step outside, Daniel tried to see if something would change if he got closer. Fifteen, ten, five, still nothing but silence. The bodies didn''t move any closer to him either, flailing their arms at him, biting into his direction, however not stepping towards him.


    Eventually he walked past the demons, they moved after him. He stepped back towards the church, they stopped. It was like as if the church had a radius around it, a radius which was demon proof.


    Walking closer to the demons, he tried to not only make them move closer, but to also try to hear them. Four, three, two... one.


    "Help me."


    "Save us."


    "Please release me."


    He heard their voices again, faint but it was understandable, but why only at such a close distance. Just as he believed to understand his gift, he was left again, questioning the reason for this sudden change. Before he was able to hear every voice in the entire city, but now, he needed to face them, barely a meter away.


    He didn''t waste time however, "Wulf," he said calmly, drawing with his left hand. Touching his forehead, his chest, to the left of it and then to the right of it.


    The sword which formed in his right hand pulsed with every gesture, glowing brighter, "May you rest in peace now, please forgive me."


    With three swift and painless cuts they fell to ashes, flowing and flying through the air at the cold breeze. His warm breath turning into mist, staring towards the dust in the wind, his heart at ease, believing he finally can treat them with the honour they deserve.


    "Danny! Is it safe to go out yet?" the child yelled across the road toward Daniel.


    "Yes, come on out."


    Unsure of where they could find food, he thought of going into the forest. Dense and moist air was common within, sounds of animals, bristling leaves and cracking twigs echoed all around. The grass and shrubs were painted white due to the cold weather leaving behind a thin crust of ice. As they got deeper into the forest, Tommy close behind Dan, they saw a river run straight through the middle. It was calmer and a light layer of ice was covering it, however the fishes were still lively as ever.


    As they sat down to watch the fish, they began to hear a weird noise further out, on the other side of the forest. Daniel believed that it must have been the campers which he saw from the top of the church. Carefully they took a peek but it left their stomachs even more empty than they already were. A tent, round and green, before it a circle of stones which held the fire wood. Red, that was the colour of the grass there, a bright red, yet seemingly warm as it wasn''t frozen.


    Daniel told Tommy to stay in the bush, and scream if anything happens, moving in on his own. As he feared, behind the tent were two bodies. One dead, and the other too, however the later was munching on the former. He felt guilty, if only he had come here earlier, maybe then the person would still be alive, wouldn''t have suffered so much. Weirdly enough, he was still unable to hear a voice, only the groaning and breathing of the demon, whose face was covered in his victims blood. Noticing that another living person was behind it, it stood still for a moment before turning around, facing Daniel. Slowly walking over to him, arms stretched out and aiming for the man with the white arm.


    "Wulf."


    After the regalia emerged from thin air he drew a cross before him and stepped towards the demon, "Release me, please help---"Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    It fell to ashes with one fell sweep, he kept walking towards the body still laying on the grass. The persons innards were open, not a sight for every stomach. He knew that soon a demon would try to possess his soul as well, so he stabbed into the body. The cut began to glow, releasing a white mist, "Thank you for helping my travel, may the heavens be with you."


    The body fell to dust, a pile of dust which was like sand covering the grass. He was done here.


    Before hurrying to the boy, he went inside the tent and grabbed the sleeping bag, green on the outside and red inside, however it was merely the cotton colour, not blood. He was debating whether or not he should take it with him, it would be like stealing from the dead, however seeing as how it would just rot away in the tent, they might as well put it to use. He lifted it, held his right hand to his heart and closed his eyes, "Thank you."


    "There you go Tommy, no more table cloth blankets," he threw it towards the boy, who caught it by almost stumbling backwards.


    "Are you sure that this is alright for us to take?" His eyes worrying as he looked down at the bag.


    "I believe so, it would be a shame to let it go to waste."


    "True that, thank you!"


    Walking back into the forest, to the river, Tommy rolled out the sleeping bag and sat on it. Meanwhile Daniel and called forth his sword.


    "I sure hope this doesn''t make me look bad, but I am too useless to fish," Daniel says, lifting the sword above his head, 12 o''clock and cut forwards to 6 o''clock at the river. The three fangs shot out, flying into the river, creating large splashes which made it rain for a second. Shortly after, they returned and stuck onto them were three fairly big fishes. They had no idea what kind of fish it was, they were grey, big and probably tasty, they hoped. He went for one more sweep, and got four more, one of the blades caught two at once.


    Tommy enjoyed the show, with a grain of salt, since even he wondered if it was right to use the regalia for such a work but he was also thankful for it. They collected some sticks and stones to make a camp fire, however there was a teeny tiny problem.


    "How do we light this now Danny?" Tommy wondered, looking at Dan with those dolls eyes of his.


    After a long sigh, Daniel went over to the tent and looked through the bags, hoping to find some matches or a lighter, to his luck there was a rusty Zippo. The grey steel was barely visible through the orange rust. He flicked open the cap, releasing the fire from the Zippo, it worked.


    He also found a small cloth handkerchief in the bag, it was white, or rather was. Covered in dirt, oil, and other stains, it wasn''t the cleanest but would do the job for what he had in mind. He met up with Tommy again, who was guarding the fish. First he lit the fire, while Tommy had already prepared some sticks with which they pierced the fish to hold in range of the fire. To have free hands, they stuck them into the ground, its cold and near frozen soil acted as a strong grip for the sticks.


    "Why did you take that cloth with you too?"


    "I thought it might be nice to do our saviour a favour."


    Dan sat down at the river and cleaned the handkerchief, his hands cold and freezing due to the icy water, but he did clean the cloth fairly well. Only one large pink-red stain was persistent enough to stay, it was probably wine he thought. Pulling out the Zippo from his pocket he took the cloth and began cleaning it. Tommy looked over his shoulders, wanting to see what he was doing.


    "Why are you cleaning it?"


    The man looked over his left shoulder, "It was very rusty, not exactly a nice thing to hold in your hands or to have in your pockets. Joke aside, I thought it might be nice to clean it as a sign of respect. Almost like a give and take."


    "Only that you keep the lighter?"


    "Exactly."


    The sun was now right above them, reflecting directly off the water surface into their eyes. Half the day was already over. After the fish were ready, they wanted to start eating. Tommy greedily picked up a stick and was just about to take a bite.


    "Stop!"


    Daniel''s mild shout petrified the child, who wondered what the matter was.


    "We should pray... maybe? Since we were only able to have this meal thanks to this regalia and the objects of the deceased. I have no idea if that actually does anything, I am not religious, but maybe it would be a nice gesture?" his voice cracked, stumbling over his own words, unable to really explain his intention. He never cared about prayers, churches, gods or souls.


    He didn''t believe in these supernatural things before, but now it was different. Even though he had no idea if what he did was right or even useful, he still tried to accept his prior mistakes and adjust to the situation, starting with manners.


    Tommy smiled, plucked the stick back into the ground, closed his eyes and folded his hands.


    "You are right, we should pray, pray that we are still alive and that we are able to have such a nice meal."


    Daniel was touched and did the same.


    "Thank you for this meal, may you continue to watch over us," Tommy prayed loudly, holding the tiny speech.


    Shortly after, they dug in and filled their stomachs. Forgetting that the fish was still hot, Tommy took a big out of it and grasped for air, breathing heavily to cool down his mouth. While Daniel laughed he also took a big bite out of it, but due to him laughing he already swallowed it, without chewing. The burning sensation in his throat forced awkward noises to leave his mouth, it was hot, but unlike the child he wasn''t able to cool it down, this time Tommy was the one laughing.

 Chapter 13: [Day 5] - An unexpected sight

    Tommy and Daniel went to sleep quite early, the last few days have taken a toll on them, requesting more rest. The church in which they took shelter in was quite safe. Demons couldn''t come any closer than the radius of about twenty metres allowed and the gates were loud and squeaky, nobody could sneak inside without making a noise. As they woke up on this Friday morning they noticed something in the air. The smell of rotten eggs or sour milk hovered around them, quickly through a brief sniff test they noticed that they were the source of it. Ever since the start of the apocalypse they didn''t have a proper shower. Instead they fought, travelled, fought more and tried to survive. Their hair was noticeably greasy and their skin sweaty and shiny, even a slightly sticky. They were quickly disgusted of themselves and decided it would be a good idea to get some fresh clothes and wash somewhere. The only problem was that the weather wasn''t quite that nice to them. They could wash in the river, however they quickly remembered that they might actually catch a cold out there. So they needed to find a source of warm water as well as fresh clothes, the latter being the least of their worries. With a little luck they could probably find some fresh clothes in a store nearby, however finding warm water was a different question.


    "There is a toilet in the church, maybe the sink gives you warm water?" Tommy asked.


    "No, sadly not. The toilet barely works too. Since nobody works on the maintenance all the tubes and shafts seem to have clogged up."


    The toilet wouldn''t flush, they had to throw in a bucket of water from the river to manually flush it. Although they had no idea how long that would be possible, how long until it would clog up completely. However, this made Daniel think.


    "Then let''s find a metal container and boil water!"


    Tommy was quite intrigued with his idea and agreed to it, lifting his fists in awe, before quickly pulling them back down in embarrassment.


    Thus they took a walk through the city, which by now was quite the safe place. They didn''t see any further demons other than the ones from the day before. While they were outside, they wanted to also look if there was anything to eat in the stores. Sadly, the shelves were empty, somebody must''ve taken them all ahead of time. Same went for all the good stores. Almost having given up on all hope, they saw a second hand store. ''Children Aid Second Hand'' the sign said in bold letters. They went inside and were surprised, it was full, most of it was junk but at least they least found something which hasn''t been completely cleaned out.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Many old dresses and clothes, which were placed on a hanger, hung from a metal rod attached to the wall. Some of which looked like their grandparents could have worn them, some of them actually looked fine however.


    "Maybe it''s good that this is old, at least they still had quality back then," Daniel ironically said, snickering afterwards.


    "Yeah, I guess so."


    They also found a few bags in which they could place their findings. Those were just plain white plastic bags, rather large but that was fine. Since they were in no hurry, the boys looked around if they could find anything else which would be useful to have. Tommy spotted some old cooking supplies, a few pans, bowls, pots and even some plates and some cutlery. The plates were painted with lovely flowers and even had some images of rivers, animals and forests on them, one of them even a white wolf standing in front of a forest.


    "I call dibs," Dan swiftly demanded, since it reminded him of Wulf.


    "Sure, I don''t mind." Tommy placed the plate into the bag with the other things.


    There was a corner with many old games and toys, most of them broken, sticky or have become brittle. Among it, a wooden box with a chess board and fitting pieces inside, some of them sadly broken a little. Tommy even found a deck of cards.


    "Who knows, maybe we end up having too much time on our hands?" Tommy thought out loud, throwing the games in a separate bag before moving onto the next corner.


    "Hey I found a few cushions!" Daniel shouted.


    "Yay! Finally, something softer than those seats," Tommy roared through the shop.


    "Shush, we don''t want to attract any strangers who have the same idea as we do." He held his index finger in front of his lips.


    "Sorry," the child whispered.


    Daniel''s find was quite a blessing for them, although they wished for them to be more plain. Neatly decorated in stitchings of flowers, it was quite lovely but not exactly their taste. Despite that, they didn''t dare consider to complain, cushions, be it flowery or not, were great.


    Finally, they also found some scarves, winter hats and gloves. The boys found everything they wished for, and more, thus they wanted to go back ''home'' to the church. As they left the shop however, three men stood on the road and they spotted each other.

 Chapter 14: [Day 5] - The past

    Those three men came closer, they were alive, unhurt, carrying hand guns and knives. They wore black leather jackets, the kind which made them seem like thugs, which they turned out to be.


    Daniel remembered them from when he worked as at the garden centre.


    "Hey now, let''s have a chat why don''t we boys? I mean wouldn''t it be easier for you to let us carry some of those bags?" The larger man in front asked sarcastically.


    He had very short and greasy brown hair and a horrible beard, unattended. The offer to help carry the bags was merely a nicer way of saying ''hand over your belongings'' in Dan''s ears but he decided to play along with their style.


    "No, thank you. I believe we will be just fine."


    With that, the man was angered, his face wrinkling and frowning like a bulldog who didn''t simply want to play anymore.


    "That wasn''t a question punk! Hand them over!"


    The two others from behind him stepped up, clapping their fists into the other hand. Tommy was frightened and looked at his friend with his usual doll eyes.


    "What should we do?"


    Daniel didn''t listen, he was still thinking about the group and about their leader''s name, they were a group of thugs who always thought they could bring trouble to the store, they were no fans of flowers. Rather they enjoyed trampling them.


    "You are Andre if I remember correctly, right? Does that scruffy fellow still exist and lead you? What was his name again..."


    "You mean Claude. I remember you, you are that gardener from that sissy store," he laughed.


    "Ah yes, Claude. Is he still alive?"


    "Of course he is! And he is a great leader, now hand over those bags you punk!" His patience seemed to have run out.


    Meanwhile Daniel didn''t know if he should be annoyed or glad. Glad that someone didn''t die, or annoyed that the one guy who he wouldn''t mind disappearing still lived. He knew it wasn''t right to think that way, but his experience with him simply didn''t allow for kindness in connection with that person.


    This past year their group suddenly appeared and acted like they were the biggest fish in the whole ocean, but actually this was merely a small pond. Claude was their boss, or their king as they usually referred to him. He was always impossible to miss, his long stature, his red dyed scruffy hair and his grey stubble beard were almost like his initials. To their luck, the police gave up hope and eventually got sick of having to put them to custody every day, so they didn''t bother after about a month. Soon Ashburg was a city filled with fear. One could not simply walk through the streets, one had to sneak past them and hope to not so much as touch them, for they would beat you up immediately. Through threats they made the shopkeepers give them free food and some even gave them money, it was unbearable. However, the garden centre had it the worst.


    Those tough guys in their black leather jackets obviously wouldn''t allow such a thing called ''flower'' on their turf. Climbing over fences and walls, they trampled his garden, littered it, and even were like dogs, leaving presents on the lawn. Sadly, even back then Daniel was too weak and shy to really speak up, so every day he cleaned up after them, trying to do his job, hoping that one day someone rich enough would get hurt by them. That would mean lawyers, trials and jail for those thugs, however that day never came, instead they merely moved on to another town in August. He didn''t know the reasons, he didn''t question them, Daniel was merely glad that they were out of his eye sight.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Now they seem to have come back and wanted to steal their loot, but Daniel wasn''t as weak anymore. He knew that now that there was no law, they would just bash their skulls in, even if they gave them the bags. Thus he put down those white plastic bags, filled with all kinds of objects and summoned forth his sword, not even saying the usual chant.


    "Fine you can have the bags," Daniel looked at Tommy and moved his head to tell him to stand behind him. "But only if you can put up a good fight."


    His sword held tightly in front of him, he was ready, unsure of his position, but ready.


    "Now we are talkin'' the same language man!" the big man in front shouted.


    They pulled their guns with their left hands and held their knives in their right. They didn''t think of much as they saw the sword, it looked like a fancy sword made out of glowing glass, no more no less. Without a warning they started shooting, the three blades moved in front and formed the shield, leaving the bullets to repel onto the road.


    "What is this witchery?" the two beside Andre feared.


    "Sorry, but you don''t actually give me a choice here!"


    Daniel swiftly ran towards them, and swung the sword to cut all three at once. He tried not to hurt them too badly, but to his surprise the sword didn''t so much as scratch them.


    "What was that supposed to be, huh?" Andre taunts.


    The swordsman stood confused, he was sure that he cut them, but for some reason nothing happened. Suddenly their legs become like pudding and they fall onto the road, feeling very light headed.


    "Why am I feeling so numb all of the sudden?" a grunt said.


    "Yeah I feel so tired..." the second grunt fell unconscious.


    "What kind of crap are you pulling here kid? What did you do?" Andre asked ferociously.


    Daniel wished he could answer his question but was unable since he didn''t know the answer himself. Against demons, or rather their host bodies, the sword would cut deeply and pulverize the remains. Apparently it was a different story for humans. He looked closely and small, black, particles emerged from their bodies. He thought he had found the answer in it, possibly the sword would purify the darkness in whatever it cuts, in case of a demon it would pulverize everything but for humans it would possibly only affect the small amount of darkness within their souls. He had no concrete footing for his theory, but that was how it looked like for him.


    Eventually they all fell onto the ground, sleeping.


    "What did you do Danny?" Tommy asked, worried about them.


    "I-I don''t know to be honest with you. Let''s drag them inside the shop, nobody deserves to be eaten by a demon while sleeping," he says, scratching the back of his head.


    Carefully they carried the men inside the shop and walked back home, to the church. Storing the loot and rearranging the furniture they finally set up a small room to bathe in. They couldn''t wait to finally take a good warm bath after such a tremendously exhausting week, that was when Daniel remembered that there was one tiny little thing he forgot to ask Tommy.


    "Wait how old are you exactly?" His eyes frowned, as if being worried about something.


    "Me? I am eleven, why do you ask?"


    "Eleven! Wha- but... huh?" Daniel held his flat hand over the boys'' head, and moved it upwards, downwards, upwards. He continued for a little while. "Are you sure? You are incredibly small for an eleven-year-old, plus you look really young too."


    Tommy was visibly annoyed, puffing his cheeks, "You are mean! You are also really short for a grown up you know?"


    Daniel''s eyes moved away, trying to loose eye contact under any circumstance, "Well, I know. I guess you have a point," he scratched his cheek with his left index. "If you are eleven, that means you don''t help washing right?"


    "No worries I can wash myself."


    "Oh thank the almighty," John sighed in relief, as a single child he never had any experience with a little brother, meaning he felt really awkward having to imagine helping the kid wash.


    While Tommy was readying the bath, Daniel went out to fill up some buckets of water from the river and also to collect wood for a fire. Soon after, they were finally able to have a bath, one after another, using the tablecloth thin blankets to dry themselves off and then change into their new clothes. Tommy wore cream coloured shorts, a white button shirt and a small tie which he had found. His parents used to dress him up with a tie to make him look good, as soon as he saw the tie he knew he had to wear it for their sake. Daniel changed into pair of blue jeans, baggier than usual, and wore a long sleeved white T-shirt. Due to the cold weather both of them also had a jacket, Tommy''s was blue stuffed with feathers and Daniel''s was a pullover jacket. On top of that the child also had a winter hat on, while Dan decided against wearing a hat since all of them were too small for him, in return he had a blue wool scarf around his neck.

 Chapter 15: [Day 6] - The king!

    The three men returned in the morning to their base. It consisted of a small town to the south of Ashburg, Brimville. It was a country side town surrounded by great sound muffling walls, preventing the villagers to be affected by the traffic noises. This wall almost completely surrounded the town, the few openings were built into large gates. Roads coming from all directions lead into the town, guarded at the gates, built within the week by the men of a certain gang.


    Black leather jackets, dirty trousers and roughed up faces were the common sight in this area. All belonging to the gang of one person, who stood above them. Claude, a middle aged man with short red hair and the stubbly beard were his initials. However, he changed a little, instead of wearing a leather jacket, he wore a fancier black jacket, reaching down to the ground. On the right of his hip he held onto a sword sheath, attached to a belt on his grey trousers.


    He was also the man who restructured the entire town. A once lovely idyllic town was swiftly reorganized into a military base. Green tents, crates, scaffolding and concrete flooring was all built up by the gang, consisting of over forty men. Houses and buildings were emptied and refitted as barracks and storage facilities. Farms were stretched for efficiency and chicken were raised for a simple food source.


    Nothing was left unchanged, everything was reinforced and walkways were added onto the walls, creating a lookout wall.


    One of the buildings, the town hall, was made into Claude''s private home, his castle. On the highest floor was his throne room, filled with riches which he collected, standing inside were the three men while he sat in his throne. It was an old rustic chair, red cushions and golden chains raised its prestigious feeling.


    "I am sorry Claude, we failed to bring you anything," Andre explained, bowing down to the man in the throne.


    "I see," he stood up. "You misused my hopes and turned out to have wasted my time completely. What a shame."


    "I am sorry, we tried to steal from a young man and a child but were completely defeated," he tried to defend himself.


    "So you say you can''t even beat up a kid? Really Andre, I thought better of you. You really let me down," Claude stepped towards Andre, who sat further forward than his two grunts. He drew his sword and positioned it onto the bowing man''s shoulder.


    "Please forgive me Claude--"


    The man flinched, screaming, as the sword, a rapier with a golden hilt, pierced his shoulder. A deep stab, continuing to twist and turn the blade.


    "Three times, three times you chose to make a fool of me now. I am the king, king and nobody else, you are to refer to me as such!"Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Claude stop it please," he continued to flinch.


    The blade lifted out of the wound before being stabbed right back into it.


    "You don''t learn do you? Say it, apologize to me, to your king!"


    "Clau... King, I am sorry my king. I failed your request," his voice cracking due to the pain.


    "There we go," he pulled out the sword, swiping the blood onto the floor. "You see, I really did like you. You were one of the old guys who stuck with me, sadly you are useless to me now," he thrusted the rapier into his chest, blood spilling from the tip of the blade which pierced through his back.


    Choking on blood, "Why?"


    "Simply put, I don''t need people who can''t even steal from some weak kids," he pulled out the sword quickly enough to cause blood to spill out from the man''s chest.


    "That man wasn''t normal thought king, he had some weird sword," they attempted to explain themselves.


    "I don''t care about your petty excuses," he said, casually balancing the blade on his shoulder.


    Suddenly the two men stood up, pulling out their guns and pointing them at him, aiming for his head.


    "Drop your sword! Right now!" they shouted, legs shaking like as if a storm was passing by.


    "Drop my sword? Alright then, you asked for it," he smirks.


    "Together with your sheath!" one of the grunts adds.


    "Very well then."


    He carefully slid the sword back into the black leather sheath, decorated in gold, before he untied the belt and threw it in front of their feet. With a light push of his hand, it flew in a small curve toward them. As it touched the marble floor, emitting an echoing sound, they shot.


    Accompanied by the noise of the gunshots was the sound of flowing liquid and slashing.


    "How is this possible?"


    The grunts lied on the floor, cut through their chests, the sword resting in Claude''s right hand, surrounded by shadow and darkness.


    "Fools, you honestly thought you could kill me? How adorable of you. Oh well, I think for that effort I will let you live," he slid the sword back into the sheath again, holding it in both his hands.


    "However you need to be punished somehow right? How about a trip to hell? Does that sound good to you?"


    The sheath was stomped against the floor twice, the surrounding shadow moved towards the three men, small hands and arms, made of darkness held onto their bodies. The shadow beneath them was like a lake, waves like water shaped as they were slowly dragged below.


    "The hell are you Claude?" Andre asked with only a few more breaths to take.


    "I am the king. Now farewell old friend," he says, waving his hand.


    "One day... you will join us, until then enjoy your stay..."


    Dragged below the liquid shadow, it disappeared, vanishing, leaving behind not even the slightest stain of blood. Proudly he walked towards the balcony, connected to his throne room, stepping outside, leaning onto the railing. A shadow emerged from behind him, like white smoke with gleaming red eyes.


    "Thank you for your kind gift, I am sure my minions will enjoy the meal," a sinister voice behind him said.


    "I am glad, at least the scum is good for something."


    "What are your plans now, mortal?" the sinister voice asked, its shadow moving around the man.


    "Dumb question, I will do what I want to do, the reason you aid me. I will not rest before the entire world is within my grasp, bowing before me, their king!"


    He laughed maniacally, holding his hands before him, wide open, as if wanting to catch something large.


    "Indeed, you shall take over the world, become its king, possess everything and anyone, rule over all. You are the one who I believe will conquer the entire world."


    "Fitting is it not, Conquest?"

 Chapter 16: [Day 6] - Demon attack

    Early in the morning for Daniel and Tommy, their minds were still set on the troubles from the day before. They worried that those men, or even more, would come again to attack. To ease the boy''s understanding, Daniel told him everything he knew about the gang.


    "So their leader is this Claude and they went away from Ashburg a few months ago?" Tommy asked, trying to confirm if he understood everything.


    "Yes, if I remember right people said they moved down south, to Brimville." Daniel remembered.


    The two of them were low on food and also didn''t want to eat fish any more. Their plan was to travel to Shepham and see if they can find something to eat. They were aware that the recent trouble of the harbinger began in Shepham but the next nearby town would be Brimville, which they believed to be too small to have proper shops.


    Their only problem was that they did not have a car. These vehicles stood everywhere in the town but they didn''t have a key to start up the engine and neither one of them knew how to short circuit one. Thus they looked around in the streets for some bicycles, their chains were swiftly severed by the regalia and they hopped on. Bicycles were more physically exhausting than cars and certainly were slim on storage but they had some baskets on their steering shafts, enough to carry a few dozen cans. Another advantage was that it was much more silent than car engines and it did not require gas.


    Since it was a lot slower than going by car it took them an hour to get to the town. On the way they engaged several stray demons, which were quickly dealt with by Daniel. As they fought, he tried to put his soul listening ability under a trial. Still, he had to be without about a meter of reach to listen to a voice, bothering him quite a bit. Whatever caused the sudden change, it is now on his mind.


    "We are here," Tommy said as they entered, staying close to Daniel.


    The last time he was there, they were pursued by a swarm of critters, leading to the death of four kind and courageous men. Jumping off their bicycles, they went into the Tesca store. The men didn''t have enough space on the truck to store everything, leaving behind many more supplies for later, or now.


    Running towards the store, just a little further in the distance, a loud bashing noise ran through the streets. Noises followed by tiny quakes and explosion sounds, it was like someone was fighting with tanks.


    Right in front of them, at a street junction, two demons passed by. One of them was female and had large wings on its back, the other was male with a bone exoskeleton. Each of them carried a white sword with them, made out of bones.


    "Rank two? Not good, Tommy you hide in here alright?" Daniel hurried the boy inside a small apartment next to the road.


    "What are you gonna do Danny?" the child''s eyes looking deep into the man''s face, worried for what he was about to do.


    "It will be fine, I will take care of things here alright? So you just stay here in shelter."


    Patting the boy on the head, he ran out activating his regalia. The usual European sword, accompanied by three blades, appeared, glimmering in its white light.


    "Back then, their mere existence was enough to make me senseless, chills running down my spine as I listened to the voices of its sacrifices. Now though, it is different. I can''t hear their souls yet, let alone feel them, had I not seen them I would never have thought that there were two rank two demons here," he thought to himself, rushing in, engaging the enemy.


    "Oh a human? How intriguing," the female one observed from high above.


    "I see. Not only that but he also has a regalia!" the male demon hinted.


    "Good, let us pluck his wings then!" she said, diving onto the man from above.


    He parried her sword, redirecting her towards the ground but she caught her fall, swinging her wings to fly straight back up. Meanwhile the second one attacked from the ground. His heavy exoskeleton made it slow, but the sword strike had enough impact to forcefully throw Daniel back a few steps. Before he could even recover the winged one went for the next attack, the three blades formed a shield over his head to reflect her attack, while he used the slow speed of the armoured one to dodge his attack, striking back. The sword actually pierced the chest armour a little, leaving behind a thin scratch mark. He was now also close enough to hear the screams of the nearly hundred sacrificial souls.


    Different from his fight with the first rank two, Skull, where he was unable to even keep up. Knocked around like a vegetable in a mixer, unable to defend himself, in the end he was lucky to be saved by a mysterious person who fought the demon for him. Back then his attempt to cut the rank two ended up with his blade bouncing straight off, almost flinging out of his hands. Their shouts clinging in his head, their suffering making him suffer with them. Now however it was a different story, he didn''t know why but he was able to damage the armoured one, as well as stand his ground.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    The winged one came in for yet another skydive, this time the blades separated, the shield dissolved. She flew straight through but Daniel stepped back, the blades came shooting at her, piercing her bat-like wings before returning to his sword. He swiftly swung his sword, the blades, his fangs, flying at her to finish her but were parried by the armoured one''s sword.


    "Dalfin!" a voice to the right of Daniel shouted.


    Two blue spherical objects shot towards the two demons with glowing strings attached to them. These objects took them by surprise, hit them and its impact shattered their bodies. Dissolving into ashes, the demons were beaten, the souls released. It was too many voices to understand each and every one, however their gratitude was received by Daniel, who still stood in awe by what had happened.


    "Sorry there man, I thought you might need a hand or two. Could''ve taken you a while you know?"


    A young man, a little older than an average teenager walked towards Daniel. In his hands were the spherical objects, their strings attached to his ring finger. His brown hair was styled back, enabling Daniel to see his eyes. White and colourless. He wore a yellow hoody and sports trousers with fitting yellow and white sports shoes.


    Daniel waved his hand at him, no response, "Hi... Thank you for your help."


    "Nothing man, and you can stop waving your hand. I can tell thanks to by buddy here," the spheres turned into a blue shimmer, becoming a large dolphin which freely swam around behind him.


    "I may be blind, but thanks to him I can know about everything around me. This is Dalfin by the way," he says first pointing to the right of his with his left hand, until he probably noticed that the dolphin was to the left of him, before swiftly swapping the hands.


    Daniel did not know what to say. Should he say sorry or should he say something like ''great'', he simply didn''t know how to react in this situation. Instead he chose to switch the topic, "An angel, right?"


    "Yeah man, you hit the nail on the head. Dalfin is an angel, my personal guardian. The cool thing is that he shapes into a yo-yo." The dolphin shapes back into the spherical object, which upon hindsight does remind of a yo-yo. Especially the string which is attached to his finger gives it away.


    "I see, never expected to see that kind of regalia," he said, overwhelmed by the idea that regalia could apparently be anything.


    "Indeed, but you got a mighty fine one there too. A sword right? Why don''t you release your regalia too?" he said, as he released the dolphin again.


    Dan called back the sword, however no angel appeared, "Sorry, it''s difficult to explain."


    Dalfin swam over to him, spiralling around him, and took a look at his arm, covered by the shirt.


    "May I?" a female, clear voice rang through their heads.


    "Of course," he said, lifting his sleeve to reveal the pale white arm with the paw print on his shoulder.


    "I see now, you have my condolences. Finnian, that man does not have an angel, not any more at least."


    "What do you mean?"


    "He sacrificed himself for me, and left with me his regalia. He deceased only a few days ago," Daniel hoarsely explained, his head tilted downwards.


    "I am sorry, I shouldn''t have asked," the teen said, saddened.


    "I suppose you lost your arm in a fight and he restored it for you before ceasing?" Dalfin asked, Dan replied with a slow nod. "You should keep this a secret, other angels might actually want to shun you for this. You can imagine how an angel, a holy being must feel when a human, seen as filthy, possess their powers now."


    "I can imagine, sadly I can''t change it back. I would much rather have Wulf than my arm," he indecisively said, holding his arm.


    "You seem to be a decent human being, maybe it is a good thing. Maybe angels will throw away their low opinion of humans if they see you."


    "Low opinion?" both of them asked almost simultaneously.


    "Angels have been guarding your kind for a long, long time. If you paid attention to your history class, then you know just how your kind has behaved. Most of us have come to ignore you, hence why many more problems have arrived for humans. Truly a shame."


    "What about you? Do you think the same?" Daniel wondered.


    "Let me say, I like you mortals. Not everyone but enough," she giggled.


    "Well I guess ''enough'' sounds about right," the man joined the giggle.


    Eventually Tommy came out of hiding, noticing that the fighting has ended. With long steps he ran over to them, first blind to the dolphin before they reassured it that the boy was friendly.


    "Oh wow! A floating dolphin!" Tommy jumped, clapping his hands.


    "Name''s Dalfin, nice to meet you little one," she said, swimming around him.


    "I am not that little! I am eleven," he felt insulted.


    After their greeting, the two boys wanted to go to the store but were quickly told by Finnian that the store was destroyed by the fight earlier, or rather even before the fight. Their faces sunk deep, their expectations low to find some refreshments.


    "Well that''s just great, what do we do now?" Daniel asked Tommy.


    "I guess we will just have to go home and get to fishing again," the child sobbed.


    Finnian was scratching his chin, thinking strongly about something.


    "What exactly do you mean by home?" he wondered.


    They looked into their eyes, wondering if they should tell but came to a decision. Without much more hesitation they told him about the church in the town and how they lived there, including the safety radius.


    "That... That sounds awesome! Much better than a wet little shack," he laughed. "How about a deal? You come with me to our shack to pick up my friend and then we will share our supplies with you. In return," he lifted his right index finger with a grin. "In return you let us stay at your church."


    Daniel was unsure how to respond, he barely knew the boy. Something chugged at his shirt, the small cold hands of Tommy, "I don''t think that it is such a bad idea. The more the merrier right? Besides, doesn''t his angel confirm that we can trust him?"


    Unable to refuse his puppy eyes, he accepted the deal, "Before that, you should probably ask your friend if he agrees too."


    "Sure thing!"

 Chapter 17: [Day 6] - The deal

    The three of them walked to a farm. Cold white dust plastered the fields and roofs of the barn and the tool shacks. The barn still had animals inside them, secure from the carnivore demons. Next to the barn was a small metal tool shack, which also apparently was Finnian''s shelter. Inside was a woman dressed in light brown clothes. Baggy sports trousers and a hoody. Her hair was a mixture of black and blonde, hanging down to her neck. She was in the middle of preparing some sandwiches as they came inside.


    "Hey Stella, I am back and brought some pretty cool people along," Finnian yelled, giving her a jump scare.


    "Finny! I told you before, you should stop being so loud!" she went silent as Daniel and Tommy came inside. "Who are they?"


    "The older one is Daniel and shorty here," he carefully pat on the boys head, "is Tommy. Daniel possesses a regalia just like we do."


    At first they didn''t notice it, quickly however a switch was turned inside their heads, "What do you mean ''like we do''?"


    "Well I have Dalfin, and she has Crow," he casually explained.


    The woman was visually annoyed, not only had he brought strangers to their hideout but also had he told them about their secrets. Suddenly a green glowing crow came out of hiding, sitting atop of her shoulder. While Dalfin and Crow flew around, possibly playing, they continued their introduction.


    "I am Stella, I am his older step sister. As he already said, we both have guardian angels and regalia. What about you?" she requested.


    "Well I too have a regalia," Daniel let the sword appear. "However, I don''t have my angel anymore."


    Before she had the chance to ask, Dalfin swam around her, shacking its head, telling her not to ask.


    "I don''t have neither, I hope I am not disappointing you," Tommy said, his puppy eyes already piercing her heart.


    "Oh don''t worry, cute little kids like you shouldn''t be involved in this anyway."


    As she pinched his cheeks, Daniel remembered that Tommy was in fact very much involved. He still had not told him about him being the host of the Lamb, that within him resides the power to seal away a harbinger. Dan still did not know whether telling him was a good idea.


    "Are you alright... Daniel was it? You look like you are drifting off," Stella waved her hand in front of his eyes.


    "Ah, yes sorry. I am just glad that there are more survivors out here," he swiftly lied, since he was actually thinking about the Lamb.


    "Well then, would you be so kind as to tell me why you invited these people over here Finny?"


    She held her hands at her hips, leaning forward, toward her little brother who was now scratching his head.


    "We fought some rank two demons and we thought it might be a good idea to join hands and share."


    "Share? How exactly do you want to define share?"


    Her blood was boiling, she couldn''t believe how na?ve her brother was. Stella expected him give away all they have for nothing in return.


    "Well we currently live at a church in Ashburg, it is a decent fort and has a little bonus. Demons don''t seem to be able to get within twenty meters of it. Plan was to take you in to work together," Daniel carefully explained, trying not to make the volcano erupt.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Meaning that we would also share our food with them," Finnian added.


    Stella''s mind was running in circles, trying to debate whether or not this was a good idea. They had a shack and a barn to live in, not exactly the greatest living conditions, however they did have a lot of food. Chicken were exceptionally useful, they would gratefully lay an egg almost every morning, in comparison to other animals which you would have to slaughter for food they were easier to handle.


    "Fine then," she sighed. "I am in, but how do you plan on transporting everything here?"


    "Do you have a car?"


    "Well, we do but I was more worried about the chicken. They need quite a bit of space."


    "I understand," Daniel scratched his head. "How about we use of the many useless rooms in the church for now and eventually build an outdoors cage for them?"


    "Alright, fair enough."


    They packed the car with everything they had, including a large cage with a dozen chicken. Since there was barely any space inside the car, Daniel and Tommy had to go home with the bicycles. They still drove close to each other since the car wasn''t able to drive too fast due to the livestock.


    They entered Ashburg, and could already see and sense the church in the distance. Its tower nearly scratched the clouds, standing out proudly among the other buildings. What really surprised them was that there were no demons, not a single one. As everyone arrived, it was fairly awkward. Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, it was incredible for Stella and Finnian. There was so much space inside, the entry hall was about ten times as big as their shack, two beds made out seats stood inside together with a table made out of seats. In a corner the boys had stored all of the items they acquired before and in another room to the left of the entrance was a toilet, on the right was a bathtub with a water boiling spot. It was like heaven for them.


    "This is," Finnian couldn''t decide which word would best describe it, especially since he could merely sense the room and not see it. "Awesome!"


    The other three laughed, out of all the words he could have used to describe it he chose ''awesome''. Meanwhile Dalfin and Crow flew around in this spacious place, causing Daniel to become curious.


    "Stella, if you don''t mind me asking, what kind of regalia does Crow turn into?"


    "Crow turns into a mirror, a bigger version of the one around his neck."


    The green glowing crow flew downwards, standing on her palm. At close sight one could see a small mirror around its neck.


    "My mirror is capable of creating illusions and reflecting everything that is caught within it. I must admit, it isn''t the most powerful ability but it does have its advantages," Crow explained in a male voice.


    They wondered what he meant by the explanation so they decided to test it out. She called upon his name, causing him to turn into the large mirror, floating like a feather in the air. It was also acting as a round shield.


    "Let me make you blind for a while," she giggled before the mirror began shining green.


    The boys began noticing the air becoming like mist, blocking their vision, barely enabling them to see their own hands. Only Finnian was left out, since he was used to it already.


    "I can choose who can see and who cannot," she added.


    Daniel''s sight was swiftly restored, allowing him to see Tommy walking around blindly, holding out his hands to watch out for walls. After a few more seconds she restored everyone''s vision.


    "This is incredible," Tommy cheered.


    "Yes it really is, it would help quite a bit against enemies," Daniel thought.


    "Now to check the reflecting, try to throw something against the mirror," she said, tapping onto it.


    Tommy picked up a small piece of concrete, which crumbled off of the walls probably, and threw it against the mirror. As it ''hit'', the stone kept flying deeper into the reflection as if swallowed. It turned around, revealing another mirror on the other side and with a small green sparkle the stone came flying right out with the same speed as it entered.


    "Gives the term bulletproof a new meaning, huh?" Stella taunted.


    "So we have a yo-yo player and a mirror magician, quite interesting and useful." Daniel thought out loud.


    "Let''s not forget the swordsman," Tommy added.


    Without spending much more time, they began to build up two more beds. They took a few of the seats which stood around the hall, placed them next to each other and covered it with those thin blankets and the cushions from before, the boys brought more than they required back then. The four of them also wasted no time readying a room for the chicken, which were now living on the second floor, and also stored everything edible in the basement. Soon, Stella began cooking some omelettes at the water boiling fire and also made a soup. They still had a lot of vegetables from the farm which they needed to use since it would be a shame for them to rot away. Thus the day slowly came to an end for them, filled up and ready to sleep.

 Chapter 18: [Day 7] - The beginning of the end

    The next morning in Brimville, a man stood in front of dozens of men. Everyone was silent, ready to listen to their leader, Claude. He was about to announce his plans for the future of his people.


    "My men, we have built up this village into a great fort. Now it is our mission to continue rebuilding this world into the greatness it once was. We will rebuild one town after another, strengthening ourselves and taking their people into our care. Like never before, we will unite the world!" the man shouted, causing everyone to clap in awe.


    After he was finished, he returned into his throne room and sat down in his fancy throne, laying back. That moment a large white smoky shadow emerged from the shadows behind him, rising up to the ceiling. It was a knight in white armour, holding a large cross shaped sword in his hands. The sword hung right above Claude''s head.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Quite the speech, although words may not be your weapon of choice. Despite this, these brainless mortals under your control will lick off everything you throw before their feet. Indeed, you shall unite the world by conquering everything, reigning above everyone and everything," a sinister voice hollered.


    "This is the respect and power a king required, for I will shape this world to my image. To do that I will need your power, Conquest. I trust you will aid me in my plan?"


    "That need not even be a question, I was born for it after all!"

 Afterword [Spoilers]

    This is Jason, aka I3asil. As the author I really do hope you enjoyed this NaNo story. The story covers the beginning of the apocalypse together with its many troubles. Since you should have read it by now, which I am glad you did, I can talk about this story in a bit more detail. As you might know Tumblr and Wattpad featured several Updates on my account about the story, sadly I wasn''t allowed to speak about it as much as I had initially planned to, simply because it would spoiler most of its content.


    The story was based on our world, or rather a similar one. Many biblical and religious references can be found within the work as well as some stray references such as the Ars Goetia. The choice of using animals to represent angels was made in order to familiarize them with a pet or a friend of some sort.


    Demons are kept shady and bone like, some of them feature typical zombie wounds while some others seem fairly normal.


    I structured this story based on the protagonists sanity and progress. At first he is surprised and shocked about how the world has suddenly changed over night. You get to know his friend, his job and even the angel, Wulf. While Daniel stood for the broken soul, Wulf was his support and became attached to him.


    Believing he was the only one who could fight and protect his friends, he gave the people around him a feeling of helplessness, which Leo uttered. It is difficult to say what Leo''s role was, he was like that one friend who was always with you because of the protection. Pretty soon though this attitude began to change, seeing his friend fight for his sake and hurt his sanity for him. You might say that Leo was ignorant for being rough with Dan, telling him about the ''mistakes'' he made, but you could also say that he merely tried to tell him that they are a team and should work together.


    I admit, I would have loved to add more detail to the group of people at the garden centre. The three men, Clark, Robert and Hanson would have great additions. Sadly for them, they didn''t get the attention they deserved but were at least able to help find Tommy.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Tommy represents the innocence in this story, the lamb. This relies on a biblical reference, the sacrificial lamb which didn''t do anything wrong but still had to pay with its life. Tommy was meant to help Daniel overcome his problems, especially due to the loss of Wolf. Having a child to look after makes your mind focus on different things and also makes everything a bit more livelier. While Daniel wasn''t even sure of what to do at the river, before they ate the fish, he seemed like he wanted to act as an idol for the child, which is why he tried to be a good person.


    As I said before, Wulf dies in this story. My canine friend wasn''t meant to die from the start. The only problem was that his role came to end, realizing the strength of humans he sacrificed himself for his beloved friend, leaving with him the regalia. It made me really sad to have him die but his memories are well kept within Daniel''s heart and mind.


    Getting to the gang in Brimville and most of all Claude. He is a person whose description might be really offensive, maybe very rude would represent one percent. His tyranny towards his people, combined with his two faced plan of conquering the world represent his position in this story. Claude is the literal hatred and the magnet of it as well, reinforced by his sinister friend, who I won''t say more about.


    In the end, we also get to meet two new characters. Stella, who acts as a support for her little brother Finnian, represents reason while her brother is carefree. Them joining the group was a decision made to support the two boys. There needed to be more people, I knew this when I designed the garden centre group. Suddenly adding five people to the group was too much which is why two should be just fine for now.


    This is the end of this is little afterword of mine. As you know I will definitely continue this story by publishing a new Volume every few months. All of this depends on the feedback I receive as well as the time I have.


    Once again thank you for your time and feedback, I am really looking forward to all of your comments.


    -I3asil