A rotting unicorn was trying to skewer them alive...
Riley backed up into an equally shocked Hakuren. This time, even the smug ice mage couldn't stop a look of disgust and fear from creeping up on his face. He let out a shocked gasp before coughing. That thing smelled of earth and rotting flesh, it was absolutely revolting.
Leon, like most of the humans was left speechless. Suddenly, he was on the ground with Brandy and Songbird and the next thing he knew he was using a gust of wind to get him back on his feet. He stared at the thing, mouth agape, and knees shaking. He didn't want to die here, he wanted to run, to fight, but a paralyzing fear took over the young man's entire body, rendering him unable to speak or move.
"Oi, oi, queen Leon, now's not the time to freeze. Let's blow it away!" Haku forced a grin despite his own fears. His amulet lit up and snowflakes began fluttering around him. The temperature nearby dropped slowly and the humans felt a chill.
The unicorn prepared itself before it ran straight towards them. "Like Haku said," Leon's mouth was pulled back into a scowl. "Don't just stand there damn it!" There was no mistaking the desperation in his voice. There was a gust of air and before the unicorn could impale Harper and Leila, both humans were blown back and found themselves on the ground. Puffs of dust filled the scene.
Harper scraped the palm of his hand on a rock and he felt blood trickle down his fingers. Normally, he would have minded, but now, there was just no time. He pushed himself to his feet and in one swift motion, he grabbed onto Leila's arm and yanked her to her feet.
He could hear yelling. At first none of it made sense, but then he heard Riley screaming her lungs out. "Harper! Leila! Get out of the way!"
Without looking, he pulled Leila along. A loud crash, followed by the snapping of wood resonated inside his skull. The unicorn had barely missed them it's horn digging deep into one of the trees. There was a creak before the tree fell with a loud thud.
The unicorn shook its head only for an icicle to embed itself into the tree. The tree's trunk slowly began turning into ice, the frost eventually crept downward before it froze the ground beneath the beast's feet. "Move before I freeze you both." Haku yelled, the attack taking a strain on both is powers and his mind. The horse floundered about in an attempt an attempt to stay upright before hands tore through the ground and grabbed onto Hakuren's ankles. The ice mage lost his concentration and fell onto his back.
The same thing happened to everyone. Riley kicked at the hand that tried to yank at her foot and watched as it snapped off and rolled away. Fire flickered to life on her arms, but before she could shoot at the unicorn, an eerie laugh echoed throughout the forest. "Crap," she hissed. "Ace, Jasper, and Avian aren't back yet--!" She didn't finish the thought, she didn't need to, the worry was evident enough on her face.
Harper unsheathed his sword and hacked at the arms that were trying to claw their way out of the earth. More and more arms were reaching out, tugging at their ankles in an attempt to tear free from the ground.
A cold chill ran down their spines as an eerie laugh echoed throughout the woods.
"A tisket a tasket
there's blood in Lesley's casket."Leon's eyes widened, "Lesley!" He could have sworn he had seen a flash of red eyes on the tree behind the man.
He didn't really know what to do, so he propelled himself forward with a gust of wind. Leon's shoulder slammed right into Lesley's chest and the force sent them both tumbling back into the cracked earth. The young man found himself lying on top of the other one, their faces barely inches apart. Had this happened anywhere else, he would have been a little flustered, but at the moment only fear ran through him. He looked up only to see a wooden spike sticking out of the trunk's base.
Had he not tackled his friend to the ground, the man would have been gutted on the spot. "UP! UP!" He yelled frantically as the tree's branches began to move. Slowly, it seemed as if it were gaining life. Leon scrambled back, grabbing onto Lesley's hands as he jumped to his feet.
Hakuren clenched his hands into fists, he hated it! Hated being the underdog, hated
feeling afraid. The young man bit down on his lip, eyes flitting to and fro rather nervously. "Songbird, Brandy, what do you suggest we do?" Not many things scared him, but an ending, an infinite end, he hated to admit, but it scared him out of his wits. He stomped on the ground, freezing one of the hands solid. "What do we do?"
"Now," the voice sounded as if it were a thousand years old, and perhaps it was. "Only death awaits you..."
A woman in a dark hood appeared on one of the tree's branches. She took a bite out of an apple then held it her hand. Slowly, it began to decay and in a matter of seconds only a darkened core remained. She tossed it at the mermaid's head, her expression blank. "Melissa and Rianon told me about their run in with you at Sol." She leaped off the branch, turning into a dark crow. It fluttered around them before she reappeared behind the humans, arms crossed over her chest. "How nice of you to pay me a visit,I heard from a grumpy tree you'd be coming."
Her eyes snapped open and they lacked both pupils or colors of any kind.
Her lips curled up into a sadistic smile.
"Skeleton Jack might catch you in the back..."The ground beneath them shook as the dead began crawling out of their graves. One of the skeleton in particular, wrapped its bony arms around Inadi as its jaw clattered. Before the humans knew it, rotting corpses came from all directions, surrounding them and lurching forward. Plenty were lacking a limb and a few had their jaws knocked off completely. They lurched forward, dragging their feet behind them. They didn't look very strong, but what they lacked in strength, they made up for in numbers.
"Goodbye..." The witch turned into a raven. It flapped its wings then landed on one of the many tree's branches.
No...he didn't get this far to die! He didn't get this far to become zombie food.
Harper swung his sword in a downward arc, the tip embedding itself into one of the zombies' heads. He pulled it out, and a black-ish, foul smelling substance trickled out of the thing's head. It's jelly-like eyes rolled into the back of its head and it fell onto its knees, before crumpling to the ground. The contents of its head began spilling out and Harper felt a wave of nausea. He didn't say a word and swung his sword again, the next swing, burying it in one of the zombie's shoulders.
Riley was speechless, but soon enough she joined in the fray. The smell of singed hair and burning flesh filled the night air.