Alpha Legend

The New Dawn

The clear warm June night was lit with stars that gazed over the peaceful countryside. A fox  softly cantered across the quiet fields and towards the village of thatched houses. An owl broke the sleepy silence with a murmur as it ripped through the night sky.

Suddenly, there was a blood curdling roar that split the air into panic. A shadow splintered the grey brick wall and pounced towards the neighbouring garden. Shrill screams could be heard from mothers as they fled their houses. Figures crowded the houses brandishing sleek pitchforks and fire lit torches.

A tall figure strode towards the broken and burning landscape. The orange flames reeked chaos and shattered the peaceful countryside. The pungent stench of melting wood and scorching iron clawed the air. The shadow slithered towards the scene and clasped the cold metal object within the worn leather satchel. The legend old epidemic was resurfacing more fiercely than before. It needed to be retained. No one deserved this life.

The light from the upstairs window the shadow invaded had been flicked on. The crowd could hear the struggle of the family inside. Dark shadows of the parents and the intruder were dancing on display in the window frame like actors on an old film screen. A cold hush fell over the crowd as they watched the night events unfold. Fixated by the courage of the family.

"Don't hurt us. Please. We beg you!" The mother sobbed inside the new nursey. The feeble cry of the new-born was drowned by the panic of the terrified parents. A swift slash and the mother's corpse dropped to the floor. The shimmering blonde hair carpeted the floor while her steel unmoving eyes watched the struggle commence.

The huge shadow turned to the crib and jumped towards the helpless infant.

"Leave her alone!" Screamed the child's father, his brown eyes flashing. He reached for the white chair that sat in the corner of the nursery.

The tall figure in the crowd heard the desperate shouts. The shadows were snatching at each other the deafening crashes of shattering furniture were the only sounds uttered from the battle that the frightened mob could hear.

Within the room the large shadow had pinned the bleeding man to the wall. The man closed his eyes. Mustering to power to override the powerful shadow, he focused. He remembered the rage he felt as he saw his wife fall lifelessly to the floor a few seconds before. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced up the calm sky. A sudden surge of adrenaline pumped into through his body as he pushed off the walls and into the attacker. He needed to protect his daughter.

Time slowed down as the father ripped at the shadow. He could hear a faint screaming and a distant cry. He clawed at the invader. Out of nowhere the glass in the dusty window exploded into tiny shards of glittering shrapnel. The shadow froze. Then slammed towards to blood spattered floor. A tiny gash indicated something was deeply lodged into the shadows skull and the thick scarlet blood pooled at the face next to the mother.

The father ran to his shrieking baby, holding her close. He could feel her shuddering body as he cradled her trying to hush the despairing howls. As the sky began to dribble with streaks of orange and gold the crowd slowly depleted until a statute of the newcomer was left sat on the dusty roadside.

The morning light lifted over the newcomer's face and highlighting his muscular physique. His hazel eyes were set into a tanned complexion and face was chiselled. He listened to the distant cries of the widower as he rocked his baby to sleep. He reached into his battered satchel as he wiped the streaming tears from his eyes. His neck prickled the sense he was being watched.

"You did an excellent job but we must leave now, Orion." A voice whispered gently from behind him. Orion nodded and turned to face a fragile lady. Her silver smudge fell over a deeply wrinkled face and dark eyes.

"But the girl. The mother. The family." Orion tried to piece his sentence together but the tangle of memories seemed to knot into a single splatter of senseless noise.

"We will return, but now we must celebrate." The woman answered pulling her satchel over her shoulder.

"Celebrate?" Orion blinked. The old lady roared in delight.

"Your bravery saved us. This village alone can sleep in peace now. The town owes you their lives. A new era is upon us. You, my boy, wrote history." She cackled, her faded beads tossing around her head.

"What do you mean, Sofdens?" Orion retorted. He could feel his temper rise as the screaming baby sounds were ringing in his ears.

"Orion," she smiled, "Thanetor has now passed. Death and doom have now come to an end. You know what that means?" Her eyes glittered with excitement as the young man realised the news. "Now, we must leave to leave. There is much to prepare."

The couple stepped in time as they left the quiet village. The sun rose over the rolling fields and lit the first dawn to the new age. Swallows soared in the new morning overlooking the rabbits bouncing in the green hedges. There was a faint ring from the spiking church slowing rousing the villagers awake again.