by Billy Miner
‘It’s an interesting story. I give you that,’ Carius said. ‘But as much fun as it was hanging out with you, I still have things to do. So please excuse me. I’m on my way to find my parents. Next time, come up with something more plausible. I don’t have any pocket change anyway.’
‘No! You don’t understand. The story is true. The day of the curse has arrived. You must believe me,’ Vexor said.
‘Sorry. Gotta go. See ya!’
With that, Carius walked out the door.
‘Crazy, weird midget,’ he thinks. ‘As if I have nothing better to do that listening to stories about zombies and magic swords.’
Convinced about the irrationality of the person he just met, he stepped around the corner and continued his search. Suddenly, something attacked him from behind.
‘Wraaaah!’ the monstrous person growled.
‘What the…?’
Carius turned around and looked into the eyes of a vile, reeking zombie, who was drooling from the corner of his mouth, showing his fangs, and lifting his hands while pointing his claws towards his newfound victim.
‘Aaaah!’ Carius screamed in panick.
He turned around and ran towards the tiny house where the midget lived.
‘Let me in! Let me in!’ he yelled as he banged on the door.
Finally the Vexor opened up. Carius left no time to explain. He stormed inside, knocking Vexor over, and locked the door.
‘What happened?’ Vexor asked.
‘Hah! As if you don’t know. Please don’t take this personally or start thinking you’re so great, because the compliment means nothing but… you’re right. Sorry. It just was a weird story. I believe you now. With my own eyes, I just saw a freaky zombie that was about to eat me,’ Carius admitted.
‘Ah, so you concluded that the rest of my story is probably true too, didn’t you?’
‘Yes. Tell me where I can find the sword and I will undo whatever that prison guy has done to this village.’
‘I was waiting for you to ask me. Let me get my map. It will be easier to show you.’
Vexor got a map out of the cupboard. He blew off the dust of the old piece of paper and placed it on the table.
‘We are here,’ he said. ‘See? This is the village. The zombie lands are here. The skeleton lands are there. Do NOT kill any of these monsters. They are humans, and by retrieving the Sword of Honor, you can reverse the curse and turn them back into humans. Understood?’
‘Of course. It makes sense,’ Carius said.
‘I am glad you get it. I know it requires a lot to walk through these territories without slaying a single zombie or skeleton, but you’ll just have to find a way to avoid them. I never said it was easy, but it will definitely be worth it to be called a hero, won’t it?’
‘You’re absolutely right.’
‘Now, the Sword of Honor is in the Black Mountains. You’ll have to go through the zombie lands and skeleton lands to reach them, but I saw from the beginning that you’re the kind of person we can count on.’
‘And why do you think that?’ Carius asked.
‘Because you’re the type of guy who sets his mind on something and then goes for it until he accomplishes what he has planned. I can just tell. Don’t disappoint me, Carius. I know you can do this.’
‘I can definitely give it a try,’ Carius said.
‘That’s the spirit,’ Vexor agreed. ‘Here is the map. Go get some rations at home.’
‘Wait. Aren’t you coming with me?’ Carius asked.
‘Of course not. I would be eaten alive. I am too small and too slow. I would only hold you up.’
Carius said ‘goodbye’ to the little midget and went on his way to a new adventure. Before he took the route on the map, he stopped at his parents’ place and gathered some food. He put everything in a bag and left.
4: The Zombie Lands
The zombie lands consisted of a dark forest, with creepy branches and rotting leafs. Carius wasn’t very happy about the atmosphere. A zombie could appear in front of him and jump at him from any corner, tree trunk, or perhaps even from the tree tops. With a shovel in his hand that he took from home, he snuck through the woods, trying to find the right direction to the Black Mountains.
“Argh argh argh” a zombie said.
The zombie hadn’t noticed him yet, but he could hear that the undead monster wasn’t far away. Then he heard the sound almost next to him. He hid behind a wide tree, with his back against it and his curious face leaning around the edge, trying to catch a glimpse of the approaching zombie.
The zombie passed him without seeing him. That was close.
Crack!
Suddenly and accidentally, Carius stepped on a dead branch on the floor. The sound startled the zombie, which turned around and looked at Carius.
“Whoops,” Carius said.
“Gaaargh!” the zombie yells as it sprints at Carius.
Zigzagging through the trees and almost tripping over other loose branches, Carius managed to evade him but bumped into ten other zombies. They all screeched and screamed, gnashing their teeth and chasing after the scared villager.
Bang! Bang!
Carius hit a couple zombies on the head with his shovel. Knocking them out seemed to work, as long as he didn’t kill them.
Bang!
Another hit. Unfortunately, a somewhat smarter zombie ducked and pushed Carius against a tree.
“Ouch!”
This wasn’t working well enough. The hordes of zombies kept coming.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He kept hitting zombies with his shovel, but it seemed like only more of them were coming. It frustrated him. He had to find a solution. After a while—and a dozen more zombies smacked in the head—he got an idea.
‘I wonder if zombies can climb trees,’ he thought.
He ran to one of the trees, a tree with sufficient branches to climb on. Quickly yet accurately, Carius grabbed one branch after another, moving towards the top. He looked down. Nobody followed. They were all scratching the tree with their nails.
‘Too stupid to even know what to do,’ he thought to himself.
At least he was safe for now, but where could he go from here? Did the zombies still see him? Were they going to keep hanging out by the tree?
He looked down again. The zombies were still there, trying to climb the tree but failing miserably. Carius decided to wait.
He waited… and waited…
An hour had already gone by.
Aha! That’s what he hoped for: The zombies started to give up. One by one, they left the tree and began to wander in different directions. The part where he would sneak past them again would come up, but this time, he wanted to make sure he went into the right direction.
‘Let’s see. The village is over there,’ he thought out loud as he put his hand above his eyes, trying to get an overview of the whole area. ‘The Black Mountains must be that way, according to the map, past the skeleton lands. It’s pretty foggy over there. Let’s hope I can find my way through that thick blanket that’s hanging in the air.’
After seeing the last zombie departing from the tree, Carius slid down and snuck past the other zombies. No more mistakes. He was on his guard, more than before, and the end of the woods was near.
5: The Skeleton Lands
‘So, these are the skeleton lands,’ he said. ‘I can understand why they are called like that.’
The thick fog made it almost impossible to find one’s way, but what was clearly visible, were the bones and skulls on the ground. Half of the plains were covered with them. It made a spooky impression, revealing another ugly face of the undead. Carius had the feeling that any of those bones could get together and form an entire skeleton that would attack him by surprise. The thousands of bones, rib cages, and skulls didn’t exactly make it easier to avoid making noise during his journey across the plains.
He stood at the rim of the gigantic field, not looking forward to traverse it, but he knew he had to
. The fate of the villagers rested upon his shoulders.
Carius began to walk, even though he could only see about five feet in front of him. After a few minutes, he hears a sound. Something or someone was walking in his direction. He fell flat on the floor, face down. He looked up and saw a creepy skeleton walk by. But because of the thick fog and the bones around him on the ground, it could not see him.
He hated lying on the floor, with the macabre sight of bones all around him. It was a sickening environment, and the disgusting odor from the totality of this place didn’t exactly make it a pleasant journey. But he was determined to get done what needed to get done.
‘I have to find that sword,’ he whispered, encouraging himself.
On his belly, he continued to crawl through the dead, smelly mess, making sure that no skeleton that would pass him would even catch a glimpse of him. This was the safest way, he thought.
Hundreds of skeletons passed him. None of them even thought of extending their gaze to the ground to see the crawling hero. They were all oblivious to his presence and kept going wherever they wanted without noticing him.
Then a skeleton saw him.
‘Eeeaaargh!’ it screeched, coming at him with both hands as if it were about to choke him.
‘Eeeaargh!’
‘Eeaargh!’
Several other skeletons heard the noise and gathered where Carius was now running away from the undead monsters. A chase began. Carius ran as fast as he could, deviating from his course to the left and the right to lose them in the fog. One skeleton stood in front of him, he held his shovel in place and banged it on the head. The skeleton fell over and Carius kept running.
Bang! Bang!
Two more skeletons fell because of his direct hits. He ran and ran, and eventually, the screams of the pursuers were only heard in the distance.
‘Time to take cover again,’ he decided.
6: An Unknown Friend
Carius continued to do what he had done before. He knew he was closer to the Black Mountains. All he had to do, is keep going and keep a low profile. He crawled through bones and muddy puddles, trying to see in front of him.
But suddenly, one skeleton stood still and stared at him. The skeleton didn’t do anything… just stared. Carius was quite surprised. Why didn’t it attack him?
The skeleton held its hand down as if to beckon him to stand up and grab it. At first, he wasn’t sure, but for some reason this particular skeleton appeared to be harmless. Carius grabbed it hand and the skeleton pulled him up. Then it looked at him and pointed into the direction of the Black Mountains. Obviously this skeleton knew where to go, even through the thick fog.
This skeleton could come in handy. He reached inside his bag and took a necklace out. It had tiny gemstones surrounding a big, blue crystal in the middle at the bottom, at its lowest point. It had been there since his mother accidentally dropped it when he was on his way to school. Since he was a kid, he never took the time to pull it out or give it back to his mom. He just forgot… every time. Apparently she didn’t care either. She had always been busy and didn’t even remember the necklace. But now, Carius thought it would be a good idea to hand it to this skeleton to show his trust in it; also, it would help him distinguish this skeleton from the hostile ones.
The skeleton took the necklace and gratefully put it around its neck. After that, it pointed to the mountains again and beckoned Carius to follow. Both of them hurried into that direction and reached the point where the fog faded away a little. They could see farther in front of them, which was beneficial in a way… but in another, it also allowed the hostile skeletons to see more.
‘O-oh,’ Carius said as he saw a roughly a hundred skeletons gazing at him. As soon as they realized he was there, they ran at him and screamed loudly. The chase had commenced yet again.
Carius ran for his life, with the friendly skeleton following him. It couldn’t keep up and Carius wondered if the hostiles would attack the friendly skeleton to if he would leave. But he had to keep running.
He ran towards the edge of a rocky cliff, jumped on it, and started climbing. The skeletons couldn’t follow him. Just like the zombies, they didn’t know how to climb. Carius climbed higher and higher until he reached a mountain path. He pulled himself over the edge and looked down.
Hundreds of skeletons were grouped underneath the mountain cliff, but none of them were able to follow him. He looked a little closer and tried to find the friendly skeleton. Somewhere in there, he saw a distant blue gem, and he knew it was his female friend. At least the other skeletons didn’t attack her, and he was thankful for her assistance. Perhaps they would meet again someday.
7: The Sword of Honor
Carius hiked up the path and found that it had been there for a long time. His conclusion was based on the old signs, the ancient handwritings, and the pebbles piled up on both sides of it.
It didn’t take him long to reach the distinct location as indicated on the map. He was there! He looked around and saw something glimmering in the distance. He kept walking and came closer.
There it was!
It was a sword in a stone, covered in ivy and bushes. But through the green plants, he could easily distinguish the glittering handle, the diamond blade, and the inscription on the stone.
‘Sword of Honor,’ it read.
Yes, this was it. No mistake about it. Hey, what else did it say?
‘Only for those who use it for others.’
‘Well, I am certainly not getting this sword to sell it, if that’s what they mean,’ Carius said out loud. ‘Hopefully I can pull it out and turn everyone back into human beings.’
He walked towards the sword, got some of the surrounding plants out of the way with his shovel, and pulled with all his strength. At first, it didn’t seem to budge, but as he continued to pull, it slowly gave way and he was able to get it out.
‘Aha!’ Carius said. ‘Time to transform some skeletons and zombies.’
He descended to the foot of the mountain and climbed down the rocky sidewall. The mist had faded. The field was clear. The skeletons were wandering in the distance, all at their own pace and in different directions.
One skeleton, however, was not too far away. Carius decided to attack that one first. If he would just stab it with this magical sword, the transformation to human would take place, right?
He got the sword, held it in front of him, and ran at the skeleton. Stabbing it between the ribs, he held firm to the magical weapon and watched as the skeleton crumbled to dust, still bubbling in on the ground. It looked as if there was still going on. Perhaps it would take a while before the transformation would be complete. Either way, this was the sword he would rely on; it was his only chance. Carius looked at the roaming undead in the distance.
‘Come on, you ugly skeletons! Let’s see what you’re really made of!’ he yelled.
Within seconds, dozens of skeletons were storming at the hero, who slashed and dashed the numerous creatures with his blade. One by one they fell, crumbling and boiling on the ground. It didn’t take long for the whole field to become one big, boiling soup of bubbling skeleton remainders.
The skeletons were easy to fight. They didn’t show too much resistance. Carius had to exert himself for a while to stab all these bony monsters, but eventually, they all fell victim to his combat skills and his mysterious sword.
‘Pfuh!’ he panted. ‘That was a good workout.’
He looked at his body. A few skeletons had scraped him and scratched his arms. He was bleeding, but just a little. It wasn’t so bad. Carius clearly knew how to defend himself.
‘Now the zombies,’ he said with a determined look on his face as he moved forward to the creepy forest.
After finding the dark and dreary woods, he did the same thing: Yelling and taunting the zombies, the supposed males of the village. Like customers who are offered a free sample, the zombies ran towards the young farmer and tried to choke or punch him. Some of those attacks were a success,
but most of their feeble attempts were futile. Carius moved his sword from left to right, from up to down, stabbing, slashing, cutting, and evading. He chopped off some zombie heads, stabbed some in their rotting hearts, and punch several zombies to the ground.
Each zombie touched by the blade showed the same chemical reaction: Crumbling and boiling in the soil as if it was going through the transformation process of turning back into something else.
Carius wasn’t too sure if his actions had the desired consequences. Nonetheless, what he DID know, was that the problems with the undead would soon be over. He just hoped he would see his family and friends soon as humans.
Having stabbed and cut a few hundred zombies, he leaned on his sword… exhausted… allowing himself to take a quick rest before returning to his home. The forest had turned into a giant puddle of boiling corpses, not so pleasant to walk through, although it had been necessary to perform this act.
He continued through the woods and arrived at his old farm. Having wrestled through these hordes and being utterly fatigued, he let himself drop on his bed and fell asleep within seconds.
He didn’t know how long he slept. It must have been hours, maybe even a whole day. He slept like a rock, for a loooooong time.
When he woke up, he saw his mother and father standing at his bedside. He jumped up.