Chapter Text
It had been a long time since he had felt a sense of community.
The feeling of love and comfort was something he took for granted when he was younger. The feeling of a long embrace from a relative, or playing with the neighbor's kids outside on a warm, summer day without a care in the world. The very same feeling Link had tried to push away when his uncle ruffled his hair teasingly, always scooping him up into a crushing hug or throwing him over his shoulder.
How is so longed for his uncle now.
He now walked alone, stumbling through the sludge of ice and snow wrapping itself around his face and jacket. He didn't know where he was going, and truth be told he hadn't had a real objective or goal to reach ever since the apocalypse broke out. He had simply wafted around, scavenging from major city to major city to gather the basics he needed for survival and quickly hiding away after. Nothing but danger came from big cities, and swarms of Creatures that had tore down buildings and killed the families that used to live within them resided in large clusters there.
Link shivered, wrapping his jacket tightly around his body as he continued walking, his mind beginning to drift off. The memories of that night began to replay in his head like a broken record. The night he lost his uncle.
That night had been the same as any other. Uncle by the fireplace, book in hand beckoning Link to sit next to him as he read aloud. Link with his bright, pink hair and rampant energy, still running around the house in his uncle's oversize shirt, a bright smile on his face. He had only been around six then.
His uncle had just gotten him to sit down when the scratching began.
Screechhh
His uncle paused before resuming the story, assuming that it had been a branch or maybe an animal at the door.
But then the banging started.
Link snuggled up to his uncle, hiding away from whatever was outside the sliding glass door.
His uncle only chuckled.
"Relax bun," His uncle groaned as he got up, years of military training straining his joints and bones. "It's probably some type of critter, it'll go away."
Although unconvinced, Link relaxed some. He had spent his whole life listening to his uncle's friends tell him how "strong" and "brave" his uncle was. Outrageous stories of how he took down several Hinoxes in a row, or managed to get one of his fellow knights out of a Like Like comforted Link every time he was afraid.
He knew his uncle would keep him safe.
His uncle was by the door now, checking behind the curtain and peering out of the glass into the dead of night.
"Hmm," He turned back to his nephew. "I don't see anythin-"
That was when the Creature burst through the window.
Link watched in frozen shock as the monster lunged at his uncle's throat.
His uncle, eyes wide but determined to fight the Creature off yelled, "RUN!"
Link didn't need to be told twice.
He rushed out the front door, with no time to grab as much as a jacket as he headed out into the cold night. The screams surrounding him from every direction as his once peaceful neighborhood turned into chaos encouraged him to keep going. To keep running away from the danger and the fear that was nearly swallowing him whole. His uncle would find him, right? He would fight off the bad creature with his mighty sword like the brave knight he was, and they would both go home and his uncle would wrap him in a warm blanket as he fell asleep.
He paused, standing perfectly still aside from his heart beating out of his chest, waiting as if his uncle was going to appear any minute and scoop him up into a warm, comforting hug, whispering words of comfort into his ear.
However, he only heard his uncle's screams in return.
His heart dropped, and he blasted down the street once again.
More screams.
His mind began to race. That thing, that attacked his uncle could only be described as a white, droopy creature. A mixture between a skeleton and a zombie, with its bones visibly showing and its eyes a dark grey. It was the most haunting monster that Link had seen before in his entire life, and that creature had his uncle by the throat. He tried to calm himself down as his breathing picked up. He couldn't do this alone, he needed his uncle. Tears began to run down his face, blurring his vision as he scrambled through his neighborhood not knowing it would be the last time he ever saw it filled with life.
He didn't remember much after that, his mind slowly erasing the trauma from over ten years ago. It was probably for the best. There was no use in replaying that night over and over again in his head. Nothing else he could do about it. Nothing he could do to save his uncle.
He sighed as he flipped around his backpack and opened the front to reveal the small map tucked away in the small pocket. He was exhausted, and he figured that the worn down farm nearby was enough to cover him until morning, and by the looks of the map, he wasn't too far from the next big city if he wanted to stop and add more supplies to his collection.
Once again he rummaged through his bag, this time for his fire rod. There was some wood leftover from the collapsed structure, and after many attempts, he managed to get a small fire going. Just enough to heat up the food in his bag, and small enough to avoid being put out by the snow.
He buried his head in his hands for a second, giving himself a moment of clarity before he dug out his battered blanket and cleared some snow from the floor the best he could before settling down in the cold.
Truth be told, he was tired of it all. The same mundane routine, with his only motivation for doing anything being his own will to survive. It had been a while since he had seen another traveler on the road, and even then he was cautious with everyone he came across, preventing any chance of a real human connection. He was always fighting off exhaustion and hunger or protecting himself from whatever extreme weather Hylia had chosen to throw upon him that day.
All he wanted to do was truly live.
To actually live his life, not just survive. To be able to talk carefree with someone he could trust. To be able to eat his next meal without having to risk his life to obtain it.
Link turned, shuffling in his blanket as he tried to warm himself up. There was no point in worrying about what his life could be, had his uncle not died or if this apocalypse hadn't occurred in the first place. All he could try to do now was rest, and hopefully he would feel as refreshed as he could by the time he awoke tomorrow.