Rise of the Undead

The Forest

        Slash heaved herself out of the water, panting, and flung herself on the beach. Her hind legs and tail were still in the ocean but she didn't care. She was too exhausted. She didn't move even when she heard approaching clawsteps. Even if she wanted to flee, her limbs were too tired. She couldn't swim another foot.
        "Look what the tide brought in," a condescending male voice snarled, somewhere in front of Slash.
        "A water dragon," a second voice, female, said. "All the way out here?" The sound of scales and talons slithering through the sand met Slash's ears. Then the female spoke again, right above Slash's head. "Why are you here? And were you attacked?"
        Slash didn't want to know what type of dragons she was dealing with. She didn't want to know how far she was from home either. She just wanted to fall asleep and forget about the events of last night.
        "Um, water dragon?" the female asked. A claw nudged Slash.
        "Forget it," growled the male. "She's dead."
        The claw touched Slash's throat, and for a moment Slash thought the female was going to rip her throat. But the talon was removed. "No, she's not," the dragoness said. "Her body is cold, but there's a pulse."
        "A zombie dragon, then." The male sounded indifferent. "Let's kill it, before it calls other zombies."
        Slash noted that she had ceased to be "she" and was now "it". Zombie dragons didn't classify as male or female.
        "Are you sure it's a zombie?" the female asked.
        Even the dragoness was calling Slash "it". Slash felt a flash of frustration. Water dragons had naturally cold scales. Why didn't these two know that? It was common knowledge.
        "Of course. Now hurry up, before it wakes up." There was a pause. "Or let me do it myself."
        Slash wondered if it was better to die now or later from her injuries.
        "It looks like someone already tried to kill it," the female said.
        The male snorted. "Sloppy job." Slash heard him sliding across the beach toward her. He's going to kill me, she thought. Somehow that thought didn't bother her. Maybe I can see my family.
        And then she realized.
        Or maybe I'll become a zombie.
        The thought sent a blaze of panic and energy through her. She exploded upright, scattering sand everywhere. She leapt backward into the comforting pull of the sea and snarled at the two stunned dragons in front of her.
        The one closer to her was smaller and female. Both of them were green, the male a green so dark he was almost black, the female a medium oak leaf green. Both wore expressions of suprise.
        "Don't . . . come any . . . closer," Slash panted, staring at them. Her flash of panicked strength ebbed away, leaving her exhausted and barely able to stand.
        The forest dragons exchanged glances. Then the female said, "Zombies don't talk."
        The male looked genuinely disappointed. He looked at Slash. "Are you sure you're not a zombie?"
        "Quite," Slash said frostily.
        "What are you doing here?" the female asked, tilting her head. "Water dragons live on the other side of the continent."
        "Why should I tell you?" Slash demanded, still tense, forcing herself not to collapse.
        "Because otherwise I'll rip you open," the male snarled. "You're trespassing."
        "Thunder!" the female scolded. "She's not trespassing. The beaches belong to water dragons. Queen Ivy agreed to that last year, remember?"
        The male--Thunder--let out a growl. "I don't know what the queen was thinking. That agreement is inviting trouble, if you ask me. I think Blizzard made the right desicion."
        Blizzard, the ice dragon king, had not agreed to let the water dragons on their beaches. Slash hadn't really cared what beach she washed up on, but now she was glad she'd ended up on neutral territory.
        "Besides," Thunder continued, "she's close enough. I say we're allowed to keep her from trespassing by clawing her once or twice."
        "Let me interrogate her first," the female said.
        Slash bared her teeth. "You're not getting anything out of me." Her memories were too horrifying--she wasn't going to share them with anyone, much less two enemies, one of whom wanted to kill her.
        "Please, at least tell us how you got those scratches," the female pleaded.
        Thunder snorted. "You don't need to be polite, Leaf. She isn't."
        Ignoring him, Slash answered Leaf. "No."
        Leaf looked at Thunder. "Should we take her to Queen Ivy?"
        Thunder thought. "Yeah, probably," he agreed.
        "No!" Slash hissed. "Never!" She backed farther into the sea, up to her belly. The current dragged at her. Leaf and Thunder started after her, flaring their wings, and she whirled and dove into deeper waters. She swam with all siix limbs, exhausted as she was, powering down deeper. But the ground was mostly level, with hardly a downward slope.
        Something crashed into the water above, and talons gripped Slash's sides. She twisted but couldn't break free. She was much too weak. The dragon holding her pulled her upward, then they exploded out of the water.
        Slash saw Leaf off to the side, and Thunder said from above her, "Let's get back to land." He sounded extremely irate, and his mood was revealed even more when he unceremoniously dumped her on the beach. Both forest dragons landed between Slash and the water. Apparently they'd changed their minds about where they wanted her not to go.
        Carefully, Slash rolled into a more comfortable position but did not try to get up. She ached all over, and a bad scratch on her side was oozing blood again.
        "What's your name?" Leaf asked.
        Slash said nothing.
        "Come on. I have to know it. The queen will ask me what your name is," Leaf said.
        "Then the queen can ask me herself," Slash said flatly.
        Leaf sighed. "Fine. Come on, let's go meet her." She walked over and nudged Slash.
        Slash didn't move. "The queen can come to me. I'm not moving until I've rested and had a nice fish." She closed her eyes, but could still tell that Leaf and Thunder had exchanged an eye roll over her head.
        Thunder stomped over and snarled, "I could DRAG you all the way to the castle. What do you think?"
        Slash almost replied that it sounded like a wonderful idea. Then she remembered that the forest was nowhere near as comfortable as water. She'd probably reopen all her wounds and die on the way to the palace. So instead she said, "I'll go."
        "Good." Thunder stepped back.
        Slash took a deep breath, then heaved herself to her feet. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and she wavered. Leaf presented her shoulder for Slash to lean on, but Slash ignored her and stalked into the forest ahead of the two other dragons like she knew the way.
        Leaf hurried past her to lead, which was good because Slash didn't really know how to get to the castle. Thunder brought up the rear.
        Slash thought she was doing pretty good for a bit. Everything hurt and she could barely put one talon in front of the other, but hey, she was walking on her own! And the memories that had haunted her throughout her journey here weren't really bothering her much now. The annoying thing was the terrain. She could barely go a pace without stubbing a talon, stepping on a sharp rock or twig, nearly getting poked in the eye by a stick, or catching her wing on a branch.
        "How do you stand this?" Slash snarled, ripping her wing free from a net of vines.
        "Instincts," Leaf said.
        "Natural skills," Thunder said.
        "It's a wonder your heads don't catch on branches all the time," Slash muttered, "considering their sizes."
        Behind her Thunder snarled furiously. "Leave it," Leaf told him. To Slash's surprise, Thunder subsided.
        Leaf kept moving, and Slash followed. It seemed like forever before the green dragoness stopped. She gestured proudly. "Queen Ivy's palace."
        Slash could see a lot of large trees and little else.