Chapter Text
An endless expanse of dark woods was all that either of the two guards could see. Sure a rodent may skitter through a fallen log, and a songbird or two may sit and preen their feathers on a tree branch, but other than that there was nothing really noteworthy.
“Is this whole ‘night guard’ thing really necessary?” one of them asked, leaning haphazardly on the handle of her spear.
“Well were it not for us we’d have weredragons tearing down these walls and leaving nothing but mounds of corpses,” another stated, rolling his eyes at his partner’s ignorance.
The two heard a soft thump, causing the guards to tense up and their ears to perk.
“What was that,” one whispered, raising her spear and her tail fur bristling. The other mimicked the motion, scanning the area to search for anything. In the distance was a lump.
The pair exchanged worried glances, looking around before making their way to where the body lay.
"What happened here?" one of them whispered, slowly kneeling beside the body and carefully touching the shoulder. There was no response, not even a twitch, and the other guard could only stare in horror at the sight before her. A cold wind blew past her face, causing her to perk back up and look around.
"We should check in with the rest of the squad," he suggested, glancing nervously around the darkness of the forest. "Whatever killed him may still be out there." the other guard nodded, but her expression was still worried.
In a fraction of a heartbeat the second guard screamed as her companions’s head twisted almost all the way around, snapping sound audible as his corpse fell to the ground, expression almost unchanged as his partner stumbled back, her heart beating so hard she could feel the blood flowing in her body.
"What..." she choked out, staring into the empty eyes of the body. She looked around madly, searching for the attacker, but there was nothing, no one. The woods were as quiet as they had ever been, only the blowing of the wind against the leaves being heard.
Tears began to well up in her eyes as she stumbled over to her partner, her knees hitting the ground with a dull thud. She reached out a shaking paw, hesitating for a moment before gently touching his cheek, the coldness of his fur causing her to wince. Until she felt a sudden heaviness in her own chest.
Falling to the ground she clutched her chest, gasping slowly at the lack of a heartbeat. Struggling to breath she looked around, searching for anyone who could help. Yet her vision went black as her body went slack, laying right next to the corpses of the other two guards.