Black Plague

Black Plague is a story written by Ahpolki Inika for Vorred's writing contest.

Prologue
Time: Hours before Glonor's departure...

A purple-and-brown Skakdi ran through the woods, his acid-green eyes fixed on the path ahead. He dared not look back, not after what became of his crew. As he continued his mad sprint, the Dark Hunter named Wythilv couldn’t help but wonder how this all happened. It was supposed to be a simple job: Go to some small island, grab some artifact, and return to base. It went smoothly at first, but then they ran into the locals. And apparently the “locals” were undead freaks, slashing anyone in their way. Just moments ago, one of them tore through his partner, Nixot. He didn’t know where “Tide” or Hjorlan went, but he didn’t care at this point. It was every being for himself. He didn’t see the tree in his way until it was too late. Slamming into it face first, the Skakdi cursed under his breath before he heard a deafening screech. He turned to see “Tide”, or rather, what was once him.

The monster was once a member of an amphibious species, though Wythilv didn’t know the name of it. His one sharp, lime-green eyes were now empty, devoid of life. A black substance fused his hook-blades and arms into one, one of his feet mutated. The Skakdi drew out his weapon, an E2 (Elemental Energy) Shotgun, baring what looked like a Toa’s skull on the side. The survivor pulled the trigger, blowing off the legs. The thing came down, howling in an alien tone. He fired again, this time vaporizing the head. The thing flinched, and then dropped dead. The Dark Hunter sighed in relief.

“Next time, say dead!” He snarled.

He rose back up and resumed his journey, this time walking silently. He didn’t want to alert more of the infected. Just a few miles ahead was a river that connected to the Silver Sea. Within that river was their ship. And right now, it was Wythilv’s only chance to escape this pit of Karzahni. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally reached his destination. With the forest of giants behind, he made a dash for the beach. When he was a hundred feet away, though, the ground gave way under him. The firearm slipped from his hand, falling not far from him. Before he could retrieve it, a burst of gunfire pasted him. He almost taunted them for their aim, only to turn and fall prey to horror. For it was not he that was the target, but rather his only weapon. With the gun destroyed, shadows fell upon him. He looked in dismay to see a mob of the fallen, each of a different species and culture. And to his horror, among them was the crawling, headless corpse of “Tide”. The blackened abomination leapt down, hooks over its shoulders.

If it were possible, the land would’ve quaked as Wythilv’s final scream shattered the barriers of sound.

Characters
Glonor

A group of Dark Hunters A number of Forgotten Warriors
 * Wythilv, deceased, most likely infected
 * "Tide", infected
 * Noxit (mentioned only), deceased
 * Hjorlan (mentioned only), fate unknown

Trivia
The name of the story is a refference to the PC videogame Penumbra: Black Plauge.