Chapter Text
DEAD OF NIGHT
Chapter One
In the year 1994, from out of space came a runaway planet, hurtling between The Earth and The Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction. Man's civilization is cast in ruin. Two thousand years later, Earth is reborn. A strange new world rises from the old. A world of savagery, super science, and sorcery. Across this broken land ride three heroes, striving to free the oppressed and the downtrodden from the rule of the evil tyrannical wizards. In the lead, riding a magnificent white stallion the colour of fresh fallen snow, rides a large golden hair warrior. His long blonde hair is the colour of wheat. He is big and muscular, far larger than your common peasant. The animal tooth necklace and brown furs that he wears mark him as a barbarian, born to live free. On his wrists he wears brown leather bracers, and attached to the left bracer is a golden sword hilt. The barbarian's name is Thundarr, a name which is quickly growing in legend and becoming a sound of dread to any wizard who hears it. Following close behind Thundarr is a beautiful young woman riding a chestnut coloured mare with black mane and tail. The young woman is dressed in an blue and gold outfit that leaves very little to the imagination, what is reminiscent of the one piece swimsuits worn by people who swam for recreation and sport thousands of years ago. The suit itself is blue, with a gold trim about the waist. Yellow boots which go up to her knees and gold bracelets on her wrists round out the outfit. Her skin is a dark olive colour, her hair as black as a ravens wing. Her almond shaped eyes hide an intelligence and wisdom which transends her years. She is Princess Ariel, a powerful sorceress. Years ago Thundarr was enslaved by her stepfather, the evil wizard Sabien. Disgusted by her stepfather's cruelty, Ariel freed all of his slaves and has been riding with Thundarr ever since. Thundarr is quick to act and stubborn as a rock, but he has found Ariel's magic and her vast knowledge of ancient Earths history extremely valuable in their adventures. Bringing up the rear on a large yellow reptilian mount called an equart is their companion, Ookla. Ookla is a mok, a race of large lionine humanoids which combine the traits of lions and men in much the same way the minotaurs of ancient Greek myth combined the traits of men and bulls. Moks are very large and very strong, far too large to ride horses, which is why Ookla rides an equart. Their size, strength, and fierce appearance make moks very formidable in battle, so very few people willingly attack a mok village. Unfortunately their size and strength also makes them ideal slaves. This is how he and Thundarr met, for he too was a slave to the wizard Sabien. During their escape, Thundarr had saved Ookla from certain death. Ookla has been a devoted friend and companion ever since, for it is mok custom to be forever indebted to any person who risks personal harm to save your life. The three friends are riding through the countryside of a land that was once known as California. There's an ancient phone booth lying across their path. Thundarr jumps the obstacle with ease on his white stallion. Ariel jumps the phone booth with similar ease on her mare. Ookla jumps the phone booth on his equart, which lands on the obstacle and squashes it flat.
"I can't wait to get to Cisco," says Ariel, "it seems like ages since we defended that town from the wizard Kublai."
"Aye," agrees Thundarr, "and I look forward to once again dining with Kwan and his people. They really know how to cook a feast!"
Ookla roars something in his own beastial tongue, and Thundarr laughs.
"Yes, old friend. I'm sure they'll have more of those cookies with the papers inside."
Ariel laughs as well. The fortune written on Ookla's very first fortune cookie read 'Your melodious voice and sweet disposition are a comfort to those around you'. Ookla's very sweet hearted, but his disposition and voice are anything but sweet and melodious.
They finally arrive in the community of Cisco. Thousands of years ago, before the time of The Great Catastrophe, it was a great city called San Francisco. But now the name has changed, as the only surviving road sign is missing half the city's original name. The three of them guide their mounts through the ruins, to what used to be San Francisco's Chinatown. This is where the villagers lived. Ariel always liked it here. It reminded her of home, back before the wizard Sabien had murdered her parents and taken over their kingdom. But as they ride through the village streets, they notice something odd. There aren't any people around. The last time they were here, the village was quite prosperous.
"Where is everybody?" asks Ariel.
"The place seems deserted," says Thundarr, "like there's been no one here for days."
"What could have happened?"
Ookla growls a reply.
"I don't think so, old friend," says Thundarr, "If Kublai got his powers back, he surely would have destroyed the entire village. Everything seems to be intact."
"I have a bad feeling about this," says Ariel.
"As do I," agrees Thundarr, "Come! We will search these ancient buildings. Perhaps something has happened since the last time we were here that has forced them into hiding."
The three companions begin a systematic search of the ancient city. They begin with the Old Earth Chinatown. They discover that the residents of these homes have left many valuables behind. They had also left food to rot in their cupboards, cellars, and pantries. Whatever caused them to leave their homes, they left in haste. They investigate further, and find some gruesome discoveries. Ookla was the first to discover it, his sensitive nose picked up the scent of rotting flesh. They discover a body, lying on the ancient cracked asphalt, with a crossbow bolt protruding from one of its eyes. The body was that of a man, one of the villagers by the looks of him, and has obviously been lying there for some time.
"Demon dogs," says Thundarr, one of his favorite sayings.
"Who could've done such a thing?" asks Ariel.
Ookla growls a reply, to which Thundarr shakes his head.
"I don't think Kublai had anything to do with this. My instincts tell me something else is going on here."
"Like what?"
"I don't know," he tells her, "but I intend to find out.
They continue searching. They find another body, this one a woman, also badly decomposed. Someone had cleaved her skull with an ax. As they continue their search for the missing villagers they find a gruesome discovery. There are several dead bodies lying about on the ground, all in various stages of decay, and all with severe head wounds. One in particular has a pick ax driven into the top of its skull. There are also other bodies lying there, much fresher, but little more than skeletons. Their flesh had been almost completely stripped from their bones. And to make matters even worse, some of those skeletons looked as though they belonged to children. The smell and the horrible sight is too much for Ariel, she covers her mouth and nose and runs around the corner of the building where she empties the contents of her stomach.
"Who on Earth could do such a thing?" she asks, "Killing people is bad enough, but it looks like they ate some of them too. And why eat some but just kill the others?"
"I don't know," says Thundarr, "but who ever it is we will make them pay. I swear it!"
They continue searching the town of Cisco for survivors. They search building after building, gradually working their way towards what was once known as San Francisco Bay. Mostly they just find empty buildings. Every once in a while they find a corpse. Sometimes a rotting body with some sort of grievous head wound. Sometimes a fresh body which had been stripped of all flesh until there's little left but a skeleton. Thundarr comes across a building that appears to have been broken into. He walks in and what he sees nearly makes even him sick to his stomach. It looks as though several people had barricaded themselves in the building, boarding up the windows and doors, then piling heavy items in front of all the possible entry points. Obviously their barricades didn't hold, because whoever the attackers were, they had broken in and killed everybody. Some of them were simply killed, their heads bashed in with hammers or clubs, cleaved with axes, some were even shot with bows and crossbows. Others had been eaten, stripped of all flesh and internal organs, until there's nothing left but bloody skeletons. Even an uneducated barbarian like Thundarr can tell by the size of the skeletons that many of these people were women and children. The barbarian covers his face to fight off the stench and exits the building.
"What is it?" asks Ariel, "What did you find?"
"Death," Thundarr replies, "Nothing but death."
"Have none of Kwan's people made it out alive?"
"I don't know. There are a lot of bodies here, but I don't think they add up to the whole village."
Ookla growls and points down the street. Thundarr and Ariel turn to see an old woman shuffling down the street, walking away from them. Thundarr runs towards her so to catch up.
"Old woman!" he calls, "Wait! What happened here?"
The old woman continues walking, apparently oblivious to the barbarian's question.
"What happened to the villagers?" asks Thundarr, "Did Kwan make it out okay? Who attacked Cisco?"
The old lady finally stops walking. When Thundarr has almost caught up to her she turns around. Her skin is a sickly grey colour, her eyes seem to have a milky white film over her irises. She opens her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth and black gums. She reaches for Thundarr, grabbing him and trying to pull him in close to her mouth to take a bite. More people start shambling out of the alleys and buildings, heading towards the barbarian. They all have the same grey palour of skin as the old woman. Many of them have wounds which should be fatal, or at the very least crippling.
"Stay... back... woman!" says Thundarr, "I don't... want to... harm you!"
Princess Ariel looks about with a frightened expression on her face, as it's beginning to dawn on her as to exactly what they're dealing with. She holds out her hands and blasts the old woman Thundarr is struggling with a magical jolt that should knock her unconcious. The old woman flies several feet through the air and lands on the ground hard, only to get right back up. She blasts several more of these shambling, slow moving people with similar results. Ookla draws back on his powerful mok bow and shoots one of them with a stun arrow. The person just takes a couple of steps back but keeps on coming. Ookla shoots him again, with the same result. Thundarr takes out his Sunsword and activates the blade. He waves the fiery weapon back and forth at the approaching mob, causing them to cower away.
"Stay back!" the barbarian warns them, "I warn you! I mean you no harm, but I will defend myself!"
Seeing their reaction to Thundarr's Sunsword, Ariel gets an idea. She conjures a ball of fire in the palm of each hand, then she hurls them at a pair of buildings across the street. The buildings explode into flame. Many of the people standing near or in between the two buildings are consumed by the fires, while those that are too far from the buildings cower away from them. The sorceress quickly conjures two more balls of fire and does the same thing to two buildings on the other side of the street.
"Thundarr! Call the horses!" she tells the barbarian, "We have to get out of here!"
"Bah! They are slow and weak," says Thundarr, "I can take them!"
"Stupid, stubborn, sword-happy barbarian!" grumbles Ariel, and she quickly casts another spell erecting a wall of fire across the street between Thundarr and the advancing shuffling mob. "Thundarr!" she shouts, "We are in much more danger than you realize! We have to get out of here!"
Thundarr turns and sees more of this shuffling mob coming up behind them at their top speed, cutting off their escape. He looks into Ariel's face and sees a look of genuine terror. He's seen her worried before, that's just her nature, but he's never seen her truly frightened. While always loath to run away from a fight, he decides to accept her council on this. He puts his fingers in his mouth and blows an ear piercing whistle. Moments later Their mounts come charging down the ancient concrete road, knocking over anyone in their way. Thundarr, Ariel, and Ookla then mount their horses and gallop towards the gathering mob. Ariel conjures a wedge shaped magical shield which surrounds all three of them as they're riding off. Thundarr waves his Sunsword about as he takes the lead.
"Ariel! Ookla! Riiiide!"
Ariel's shield pushes aside their enemies as the prow of a ship cuts through the waves of the ocean. Soon they're leaving the burning village of Cisco far behind them. Eventually they get to a rise which overlooks the village of Cisco and the swamplands which were once known as San Francisco Bay. Thundarr reigns his white stallion to a halt, with Ariel and Ookla following suit. Ariel casts a worried look over her shoulder at the path they just came up.
"What is it Ariel?" Thundarr asks her, "What has you so frightened?"
"I know what we're dealing with," she replies, "I know what happened in the village."
"What?"
"Zombies. The village was attacked by zombies."
"Zawm-beeez?" asks Thundarr, pronouncing it slowly as he always does while learning new words.
"The living dead," Ariel explains, "Animated corpses which have become beings of pure instinct. They exist only to feed and procreate. They have no fear except for an animalistic instinctual fear of fire. And their bite is deadly poisonous. Anyone bitten by a zombie is doomed to become one themselves."
"Demon dogs!" says Thundarr, "So that explains the bodies in the village!"
"Yes," says Ariel, "Those that lay rotting with severe head wounds weren't the villagers. They were zombies killed by the villagers while trying to defend themselves. Those that were stripped of all flesh are the villagers who couldn't escape. The only thing that kept them from rising as zombies themselves was the fact that they were completely devoured."
Ookla points towards the swamp and roars something in his own beastial language. Thundarr nods his head in agreement.
"Yes I see," he says, "There are lots of these. . . zombies, in the swamp down below."
Princess Ariel looks down at the swamp, and by the silvery light of the broken moon as well as the growing light of the spreading fires of the abandoned village of Cisco, she can see the unmistakable image of zombies walking unsteadily through the swamps. They all seem to be heading towards a large rocky hill in the distance. Her eyes widen in surprise and she points towards the hilltop. There, in the distance, is an ancient fortress built on top of the rocky hill. And in the windows and courtyard of that fortress are the lights of dozens of torches and campfires. She grabs the barbarian's shoulder to get his attension and then points to the hill.
"Thundarr! Look!"
"Lords Of Light!" exclaims Thundarr, "There are people in that ancient fort! Kwan and the other villagers must have barricaded themselves in there when the zombies came!"
"They chose wisely," says Ariel, "That fort is an ancient prison. It was called Alcatraz. No one had ever escaped from Alcatraz in all the years the prison was being used. And the hill it's on, that used to be Alcatraz Island. Before The Great Catastrophe that entire swamp was a bay, called San Francisco Bay, which led into The Pacific Ocean. It would be difficult for you and me to climb those rocky slopes. For something as uncoordinated as zombies, they must be having a very difficult time just getting to the ancient prison."
"They'll need our help!" Thundarr says, "Can your magic get us inside the prison grounds?"
"We're too far away," she tells him, "I can't conjure a bridge that big."
"How about transporting us magically, like you did when you got the cure for the victims of The Raiders Of The Abyss?"
"That spell will get me there, but I can't take you and Ookla with me."
"Can we get closer to this Alcatraz? So that you can conjure your bridge?"
"Not without us becoming completely surrounded by zombies. I could conjure a shield to protect us as we ride into the swamp, just as I did when we rode out of Cisco, but I'd have to drop it so that I can conjure the bridge. That will leave us surrounded by zombies and vulnerable for the few seconds it'll take for me to conjure the bridge. And with that many zombies, a few seconds are a few more than we'll have to spare."
"Then how can we get into Alcatraz to help Kwan and his people?" asks Thundarr.
"I have an idea," Ariel tells him, "but we'll have to find somewhere safe where we can hide out for a little while. Somewhere where the zombies can't get to us."
"The village of Beverly isn't far from here," says Thundarr, "We can go there and plan our next move."
"Good idea Thundarr," Ariel agrees, "We should warn Ayrlo and his people about the zombies anyway, assuming they didn't travel through Beverly on their way to Cisco."
Thundarr's white stallion rears up on its hind legs, "Ariel! Ookla! Riiiiide!"
And the three of them gallop off towards the town of Beverly to warn their old friends about the danger they're in, and hopefully find a way to help the people of Cisco.