"RUN MALAKAI!!!" cried Samuel "DON'T LOOK BACK!!!" Unfortunately, the young fellow had already made that foolish mistake. Malakai peeked over his shoulder to see nothing but horror chasing after him. Three creatures, each of them sporting the same demonic features. Big burly framed beasts, all were running on four legs. They looked like mutated dogs, with horns sprouting out the top of their heads and the backs of their legs.
Their long teeth were jagged and just like their black fur coats, stained with the blood of their previous victims. At first glance, one would think that these hellish beasts could be easily outdone in a contest of speed and stamina, but you would be sadly mistaken for underestimating these relentless monstrosities. Malakai quickly looked away, the boy now had an expression of horror on his face and tears to accompany it. However, his brother Samuel was too busy running ahead to notice. Samuel was 12 and Malakai 8, it was natural for boys of their age to get perplexed when trying to solve this dire situation.
It all started when their village was attacked, all that Samuel could remember was his dad yelling "GO!!!! Take your brother and leave! Hide in the forest until we come to find you!" Too bad that plan was no longer of any use since this chase began as they left the village and continued while they ran through the forest.
Their pursuers were determined to tear apart the flesh of the young lads and guzzle their blood, with their screams of agony as delightful entertainment. All of this caused Samuel's head to rattle, unsure how to solve this predicament. Then it was only a matter of time before it happened, "AHHHHH!!!" shrieked Malakai as he fell to the ground, tripping over an unexpected tree trunk. Samuel looked back to see his brother in tears, Malakai stared at him desperately awaiting aid as it hurt for him to stand back up on the damaged ankle. Samuel bolted to help up his brother, but he also saw the beasts closing the distance and knew there was no longer any chance of escape.
He grabbed the thickest tree branch he could find and assumed a defensive stance, prepared to fight. He would not leave his brother's side, no matter the danger they faced or the fate that awaited them. The demons sprinted toward their unfortunate prey and opened up their jaws in excitement pushing each other out of the way for the first taste of the young men. Samuel readied himself, raising the wooden weapon above his head. He looked like a strong and fearless warrior to his brother, but he was terrified inside. Death seemed to be inevitable and unlike Malakai, Samuel witnessed first-hand how those beasts devoured their victims back at the village. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face... he was just a boy and this fate seemed so cruel.
As he heard the monsters get closer, he gathered all his strength with his heart pounding so hard that he could no longer hear his brother's cries and began a downward swing using all his might, to meet them head-on. But, all that came after was a loud *THUNK* of him hitting the ground and a wash of disappointment over Samuel's body, while his heartbeat was so fast and his thoughts flashed like a rapid slide show through his mind. The boy waited to meet his end in anticipation of sharp teeth piercing his body and causing him great pain. However... to his surprise, the pain never came. The only event happening at this moment was the complete sound of silence... thoughts started to rummage through the boy's head, trying to make sense of what happened.
"Am I dead?" was the main recurring theory, that seemed the most practical. He slowly began to open his eyes and saw the ground before him in clear-cut vision. Upon this view, he had found the discovery of blood painted on his forearms and chest. He then slowly looked up and found one of the creatures chasing him, only this time it wasn't moving and seemed to have its skull caved in. The boy stepped back, greatly Confused by this occurrence, his entrancement was only broken when he heard his brother speak in an excited tone "Samuel look, he saved us, look!!!" Samuel quickly glanced at his brother and then slowly turned to see a hooded figure standing before him. It was a man with white hair protruding from his hood with a black face mask covering his mouth. He had a string of chains spiraling down his left arm with a circular ball at the end, blood dripping from the numerous jagged spikes that surrounded the metal ball.
The dead bodies of the 3 vicious monster dogs lay at the feet of the man who later, turned toward the children and spoke in a deep but somehow comforting tone "I mean you no harm, just follow me and stay close to my side." as he used his hand to gesture them toward his direction. Samuel stepped back even further, afraid of the stranger. When the man saw this, he walked over, Samuel readied himself to fight, but after the man got close enough to the boy, he dropped to one knee and brought down his face mask.
The brothers were surprised to see that their hero was a young man who looked to be in his teens. The young man smiled and spoke, "My name's Vexx and as I said, I mean you no harm." Samuel put down his guard and nodded in response. Vexx began to get up and walked over to the helpless Malakai, who was still lying on the ground. Samuel let out a sigh of relief to finally be out of harm's way. That was until he saw Vexx's hood fall and expose a tattoo that immediately made his heart sink into his stomach. He rushed over to this so-called savior as Malakai was being hoisted up onto the young man's shoulder. Samuel pointed his wooden weapon toward Vexx's neck and demanded that he put his brother down. Vexx looked at the boy in confusion until Samuel finally made his reason known, "Your no hero..." he yelled, "you're a prisoner from the Mortal Tartarus!"