Decay of Desire

[Squirr3ly]

This is just a little thing I've been working on in my free time. It is still in the making, so I'll update whenever possible. All feedback is appreciated!

The wind rustled softly in the leaves above me, a cool breeze to better my temperament. Funny, I didn’t think there would be a stiff breeze in hell. Oh wait, I wasn’t dead. That came as a shock to me, that I was still alive and sentient. I placed my hand above my heart, only to feel a rough substance. I gasped as my eyes shot open. Unfortunately, the sun was in full blazing glory above my head, and my eyes had small time to adapt to the harsh light. It took me a few minutes to get rid of the sun spots, but I could finally see clearly. What I saw wasn’t welcoming at all.
The small beach in front of me looked like a massacre had taken place upon it. And strangely enough, after scrutinizing, I concluded a massacre HAD taken place. Genocide of some sort, rotting remains of bodies were strewn and buried. Deciding to focus on myself for the moment, I noticed I was wearing a crudely made leather chestpiece, with a utility belt around my waist containing a small water canister and an old busted radio. I took a moment to laugh and think how comical I looked, like some kind of old age pirate bandoleer. Something large caught the corner of my eye. Turning, I recognized the remnants of a beached sailing ship. What was once my ship, I recalled. Quickly, I rushed over the ruined hull and crawled inside, only to drop to my knees in pain. I hadn’t been shot or anything; it was a much deeper pain. Inside, my complete sailing crew lay slaughtered, their rotting husks carelessly tossed about. The smell of death permeated the ship, yet I couldn’t even comprehend that, I was so racked with grief. This wasn’t just my crew, these were people I had grown up with, had known for years. We were a tight knit alliance of brothers, well we used to be. I sat on the floor beside my dead comrades and silently sobbed. A sound from deeper in the hull broke my stupor, something resembling a grumble and a howl blended together. Surprised, and slightly hopeful, I sprang up to investigate where it had originated from. I stumbled across a person, trapped under a rafter beam, which was producing the noise. I didn’t recognize him immediately, but I soon realized the trapped man was Jerry, one of my crew members. “Jerry,” I tried to converse while shifting the beam, “Jerry what happened to you?” He was unresponsive to everything I said, just making incoherent noises. With one final heave, I shoved the rafter, and it gave one final resounding crash as it shuddered to a rest. Kneeling, I helped him up, noticing for the first time how sickly he looked. Grasping his arm, I led him outside to the shoreline. As soon as we struck the sand, he leapt for me, a guttural cry rising from deep within him. Startled, I staggered backwards frantically trying to regain my footing. What the hell was wrong with him? “Jerry, it’s me. Your ship captain, Evan. Look, I know you must have been trapped under there for awhile, but why are you like this?” As I spoke, he lurched towards me, fixing me with a dull glaze in his eyes. I didn’t know what to do, Jerry seemed hostile, but I didn’t want to hurt him. Maybe he was just in a daze. Then, he stopped moving, and hunched over. I slowly crept towards him; maybe he was coming out of his fit. Just when I reached him, he sprung forward, tackling me to the ground. Thrusting his hands towards my face, he tried to bite me, all the while grunting and moaning. I began kicking him, and squirmed my way free from his clutches. There was no doubt in my mind anymore; Jerry would kill me. I frantically looked around for some defensive tool I could use. I spied a moderately sized driftwood chunk in the sand. It was almost in the shape of a rectangle, with a flat top and a more narrow side I used for a handle. I was prepared this time when Jerry came for me. He lunged again, and I swung as hard as I could. A sharp crack met my ears, and I watched in horror as the board ripped his arm completely off and spun him around. His detached limb hit the sand and rolled, but there was no blood from it or the receptacle where it once was. Jerry didn’t seem to take into account that it even happened, as he renewed his pursuit of me oncemore. What was I dealing with? “Jerry,” I cried out, “I’m so sorry! I don’t want to hurt you. Why are you trying to eat me? Please! Just say something. Anything.” No recognition flared in his eyes as he attacked again. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t kill someone I had known the majority of my life. Yet I had to. Either I killed him, or he ate me. There was no medium involved. I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and forced myself to focus on him. I waited until he was close, and then struck him against the head. He careened sideways, and I made myself strike him again, this time across his ribs. The sound of his bones cracking made me sick, but I knew I had to finish this. I raised the plank high above my head, heaved a large breath of air, and brought it down upon his skull without hesitation. Jerry’s hand slammed into the sand, and I used the driftwood to beat him until I couldn’t any longer. Throwing the stick, I fell to the ground beside the now still body and wept. I had just killed someone, a family member no less. I really did it. I crawled to the water and drank, but the salty water just made me retch. I cried until I became numb to the strong notion of guilt within me. After many long hours, I rose and grabbed the board I’d killed Jerry with. Using the flat end, I dug a large hole in the ground for Jerry and the rest of my crew. Tears streaked my face as I hauled them to their final destination. I couldn’t bear to look at them as I shoveled sand over their remains. Smoothing the sand out over where they lay, I bowed my head and blessed them all. “Family we were, rest easy,” I whispered, before turning away from all I cared about and walking away.
Just like that, I walked away from what was once my life. I aimlessly meandered through the sparse forest around me, not even hearing the rustling of leaves as the cool night breeze dawned upon the land. I became oblivious to my surroundings, unable to clear my guilty conscience. I couldn’t rid myself of the knowledge that I had actually done it. It was so detestable I refused to say what I had committed, even to myself. Lost deep in thoughts of remorse and grief, I didn’t pay mind to the footfalls growing closer to me. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large bundle crashed into me from behind and sent me tumbling to the ground. Before I could even register that I was being attacked, they were already on top of me. I turned over, and found myself looking into a mask, a dull gray with intricate black swirls decorating it. My assailant raised their hands above their hand, and I braced myself for the searing pain that would drain my life away. Yet it didn’t happen. Rather, the mask dislodged itself from whoever was on me, and landed squarely in my face. My hands were underneath me, so I twisted until the mask slid off of me, and I could see who had ambushed me. All I could think was, “She was beautiful.”
A younger woman sat inches away from me, her perfectly shaped face crowding my field of view. I couldn’t look away from her. Even in the dying light of the sunset through the trees, I could make out her distinct jaw line, flowing seamlessly into her high, rounded cheekbones. She had dazzling eyes, a light blue that glimmered and seemed to produce their own luminescence. Her wavy brown hair rippled gently down her shoulders, perfectly sleek and silky. “You’re quite a looker, aren’t you?” She broke my thoughts with a question. “Who are you-“I managed to get out before my voice faltered. I tried to get up, and realizing my plight, she stood aside as I pulled myself out of the dirt. She waited until I had shaken loose all of the grit clinging to me before she answered, which gave me time to admire her longer. “I’m Aina Hutson. Sorry for sneaking up on you like that. I didn’t know if you were friendly or not.” “Well,” I began, “How do you know I’m not gonna try and kill you?” She laughed, a rich, elegant sound that filled everything. “How do I know,” she flashed me a grin, “Just look at the way you’re staring at me. You look like you’ve seen an angel descend from above.” Damn, was I that easy to read? I needed to learn how to hide my emotions better. “Oh, stop frowning,” She interrupted my brooding again, “Come with me. I want to show you something.” She held her hand out to me, and I reluctantly took ahold of it. We walked hand in hand for a few minutes through the brush; all the while I was lost in thought again. I didn’t know what had got inside of me, but I just felt happy near Aina. I had been blitzed by a girl in the woods, and here I was following her to God knows where. I pushed my doubts away, trusting in the person I had known for all of fifteen minutes.
Not long after, the bushes and fallen leaves faded away, to be replaced by a small clearing. Against a tree lay two small backpacks, the wear apparent on their leather straps. Aina walked past the tree perimeter, out of my sight, and returned moments later with a small armload of sticks. “Wanna rummage around in one of those bags over there for my flint?” She asked as she arranged the kindling. I didn’t answer, instead going to the satchels and pulling out items until at last, I found the flint. Turning, I called, “Here” as I tossed it to her. She snagged it, and in one fluid motion, she sparked the rock and had a small fire burning.
The next morning came far too soon. One second we were talking about ourselves and telling stories in the midst of the dark and next thing I know hazy sunlight pierces the veil of leaves above us. Had we really stayed awake the whole night, just talking? I recalled some of our conversation the previous night, her explaining her younger years. She said she had grown up in a small town North of where we were, called Ridgevale. Apparently, it was pretty isolated, being surrounded by steep mountains on all sides. Also, she had told me, the thick carpet of snow permanent outside usually kept outsiders away. I had suggested we should go there, and she seemed reluctant to talk about why she left. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I wasn’t even the slightest bit tired. I broke myself out of my thought daydream, and glanced over where Aina sat a few feet away. She was absorbed in brushing her hair out, and I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her. Everything was so smooth, the manner in which she gently tugged her comb through the rippling waves, I found myself absorbed in her as well. She cocked her head to look at me, and said, “Hey, I know I must be nice to look at and all, but why don’t you check and make sure everything is in the packs? We need to get moving soon.” I looked away from her hair long enough to catch a smile tugging at the edge of her lips, so I shot one back and told her I could do that. She finished with her hair and cleaned up our temporary campsite while I assured we still had everything. “It’s all here,” I called once I had closed both packs. She walked over and slung one over her shoulders, while I took the other. “Well, where to? Do you know a way out of the forest?” I asked her. “Of course I do,” she replied, “Just follow my lead.” And so we set off, making steady progress through the forest with the sun behind us and exploration ahead.
The sun had reached its peak in the sky by the time we left the sparsely scattered trees behind us and began our voyage across an open grassy plain. I had no idea at all where we were going, but Aina seemed confident so I was content to let her lead. In the distance, a lone tree stood out, a beacon of the prairie. “Hey, how about when we reach that tree up there, we take a little break and have some lunch,” I asked. “Sure, that sounds nice,” she said, and flashed me another smile. God, I couldn’t help but feel giddy inside when she looked at me like that. I felt so fluttery and light, like we weren’t traveling through a barren wasteland or anything. I don’t know what it was about her, but she just kept me at ease. I pondered whether or not I should tell her this, and too late heard her calling my name from behind me. Turning around, I realized I had been so lost in thought that I had walked past the tree we were going to stop at entirely. “Hey, if you want to go on without me, that’s fine!” She called. “I thought it was your idea to stop and eat though. But hey, more food for me.” I jogged my way back to where she rested against one of the roots and sat down across from her. She tossed me a rosy red apple and a half full bottle of water she had been drinking from (half full, because I’m an optimistic guy). As I chewed my way through the delicious fruit, Aina explained to the best of her knowledge which way we were heading. “So, here’s what I’m thinking; we can head slightly Northeast of here until we hit the river, and then follow it North until we reach the path to Ridgevale.” “Sounds good,” I answered, “But wait. I thought you didn’t want to go back there.” She looked at me, and I knew there was about to be an explanation. “Okay,” she began, pausing to take a breath and gather her thoughts. “I know you recall the talk last night about my living in Ridgevale. I never told you how I came to leave though. You see, as I grew older, I wanted to have more responsibilities and freedom. However, my parents didn’t see it that way. They thought I was too young to be charged with any real duties, and eventually it came to a head one day. I was offered to take a letter to the small camp right across the river from us. I wanted so badly to do it, not even for the pay that came upon the delivery. I just wanted to have that sense of freedom, to not be trapped in that cramped town, even if it was only for an hour or so. But my parents said no, there was no way they would let me go. Nothing would sway their minds. Eventually, it grew into a heated argument, from delivering a simple letter to me not having any freedom. All I wanted was to just roam a little, not like I was going to hurt anything. They refused to even listen to what I had to say. So I-“ She broke off, her voice faltering to nothing. I looked expectantly at her, waiting for her to continue. After a moment’s pause, she seemed to steady herself before she resumed. “So that night, I gathered anything I thought I might need and left. Without a trace you might say. I didn’t leave a note, or even tell them goodbye. I decided that if they were determined to hold me down, I wouldn’t deal with them anymore. I’m old enough to handle myself. And thinking about it now, I……….I miss them. I want to see how they are. I have to make sure they’re okay. I hope you don’t mind.” I told her of course I didn’t mind, that was perfectly reasonable. A look of pure relief spread across her face, and she stood me up and hugged me. “Thanks. It means a lot to me,” she whispered to me. Only then did I realize how much I must mean to her. And I couldn’t help but smile.
We traveled along in silence for the majority of the remainder of the day, only occasionally speaking whenever the silence grew too ominous to bear. It was exhausting, to say the least. The path we followed along the riverbank was rough, and there were a few times we almost fell in the murky depths. I think the heat was the worst of all. With no trees or any form of shade to be found, we were open victims to the unbridled fury of the floating gas ball. Thankfully, we reached a copse of spruce trees before one of us had a heatstroke. Flopping down onto the springy grass, I quickly downed what was left of the water in my bottle while Aina set herself down more delicately. As I felt the cool water course through me, I couldn’t help but watch my female companion again. This led me back to my previous train of thought earlier, and again I couldn’t help but ponder the decision of telling her or not. I weighed potential consequences and outcomes, and still couldn’t come to a final decision. “Evan,” she snapped me out of my thoughts again, “Are you okay? You seem like you’ve been spacing out lately.” I jumped a little, and told her I was fine. She leaned towards me and said, “You can talk to me about it, whatever it is.” I could feel her warm breath tickle my face, and the impulse struck me stronger than ever. It took all of my self control to keep from letting it all out then. I grit my teeth until I thought I’d cracked them, and managed to tell her, “It’s nothing serious. I wouldn’t bother troubling you with it.” Damn, here I was lying through my teeth, when I could probably tell her and get it over with. I was just afraid of how she would react. With her around, I was content. It kept my mind off of what had happened to my crew, and the horror of killing someone. I couldn’t risk the thought of losing her, it was just too horrible to consider. “Okay. I’m here if you want to talk,” she said as she returned to her previous position. I brooded awhile longer, until I felt more at ease with the situation I faced at hand. I pushed it to the back of my mind, and stood up. “Hey, there’s still daylight left. We gonna keep moving or what,” I asked her. She looked up at me, seemingly shocked. “You want to keep going? You looked pretty miserable earlier. I don’t mind staying here,” she answered, disbelief in her voice. I explained to her that it was just the heat, addling my mind(another lie) and I felt much better after resting. Without hesitation, she began packing what little things we had taken out of the packs. She didn’t have to tell me how excited she was, I could read it plainly. She must really miss her parents. A stray thought about my parents ran through my mind, and I quickly squelched it before it became coherent. That was a whole different kettle of fish I didn’t need to be stirring at the moment.
By now, Aina already had all of our belongings ready to go, and she stood waiting by a nearby tree for me, one hand resting lightly on her hip, watching me expectantly. I grabbed the other satchel, and made my way over to her. I let her lead the way, and as it grew darker outside, I began to notice a faint light from up ahead. It appeared to be slightly above our altitude, which struck me as odd. “That’s Ridgevale up there,” she pointed to the light, tension in her voice. As we grew closer to our destination, snow began falling around us. I couldn’t recall ever seeing snow before, and actually witnessing it left me awestruck. It was so………majestic. I paused a moment to admire each individual flake floating past. A voice came to me from behind saying, “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” I jumped, and whipped around, only to see Aina standing there, a snowball in her hand and a Cheshire grin upon her face. “Oh no, no you better not,” I said as I backed away. She laughed, and hurled it at me. I tried to duck, but to no avail. It nailed me square in the chest, and I acted as if I had been shot, staggering over dramatically. I held a hand up to her, and pleaded she not hurt me any longer, before collapsing into the cool blanket of snow face first. I felt a weight land on my back, and heard her giggle as she turned me over. She had a playful gleam in her eye, and softly punched me in the sides until I begged her to stop. Inwardly, I couldn’t recall ever being this happy, not even when the crew of The Gambit sold our goods and had gold in our pockets. Not even getting sloshed up drunk in a tavern with the family and ending the night with some wench. Nothing compared to how Aina made me feel. Finally, I found the strength to push her off of me, and watched as she landed on her back and sank into the snow. Brushing myself off, I stood up, and offered her my hand to help her up. Quickly, she grabbed my hand, and I steadied my balance against her weight. However, she snatched my arm and pulled me down with her. I fell directly on top of her, the heat permeating through her clothes welcoming against the sharp contrast of the ground. I tilted my head upwards, looking in her eyes. She met my gaze steadily, and the world around us seemed to stop as we stared into each other. I felt too frozen to speak, thankfully she said something before I did. I could feel her looking into my very core as she said, “You’re amazing Evan.” I had never been so thankful to be alive.
Darkness clouded about me, thick curling tendrils eager to envelop me. It was so thick and heavy, it felt tangible, a solid substance. Almost like gelatinous water, the writhing mass threatened to swallow me. On shaky legs, I stumbled my way blindly forward, hoping for nothing more than escape the impregnable gloom I found myself deposited in. Was there no method to free myself? I felt as if I had been blundering about for years, tripping over objects I couldn’t see. I screamed, and eerily chilled to find that I didn’t hear it. I knew I had, the burning raw sensation in my throat proved that. I tried talking, and still I heard nothing. The longer I thought about the gripping silence, the louder the nothingness became. It pounded on me from all angles, desperately trying to crack my mental barrier. But what was so fervently attempting to enter? Nothing, I told myself. There was nothing here. Yet I still couldn’t push the doubt out of my head. Strange, how my own thoughts had rattled me to the core. There it was again, something that was trying to infiltrate my inner mind. I knew I wasn’t imagining it now. There was definitely another sentient object nearby. I sat down on whatever surface was below me, and kneaded myself into a tight knit ball. I could feel whatever it was hammering away at me, as easily as if they were physically striking me. The sensation grew stronger, until I was certain I was going to die. I felt a warm embrace, and I was shocked that Death felt warm. I accepted the fact that my final few moments sucked horribly.
“Evan. Evan, get up!” Aina’s voice shook me awake, as my eyes shot open to survey my surroundings. There was a light snow on the ground, and we were under a small set of trees. And Aina was holding my hand. I felt my face flush with heat at the thought. “What happened?” I asked, still groggy from the hellish dream just moments before. “I don’t know,” she said, before continuing, “I woke up because I heard something. And it was you. You were lying there, and then all of a sudden you curled up and started screaming. I didn’t know what to do at first, but I decided awakening you had to be better than whatever you were experiencing.” “Well,” I let out a small laugh, “Thank you for that. God, it was horrible. There was this choking black mist, and-““Shh. You can tell me about it later,” Aina pressed a finger to my lips as she spoke, and I relished the gentle warmth of her. I repositioned myself where I was leaning against a tree, and tried to recollect my thoughts. That dream had seemed surreal. I had never experienced anything like that, and I knew I didn’t want to ever again. So much for getting some sleep. The mere thought of resting made me shudder. I hated to wake Aina up, but sitting in the darkness under the tree wouldn’t suffice me all night. I walked over to where she had recently lay back down, and lightly touched her shoulder. “Yes, Evan?” She rolled over to look at me. She hadn’t even been sleeping, I should have known. “Look,” I tried to explain, “I can’t go back to sleep. I don’t want to trouble you, but do you want to keep traveling for tonight?” I could feel her gaze boring into me, as I anxiously awaited her answer. Finally, she spoke. I didn’t even need to know what she said, her brilliant white smile explaining it all. We restored what little we had taken out back to our packs, and resumed our trip to Ridgevale. “I was hoping to arrive early in the morning, before anyone was up,” she explained to me as we walked, “But this might be even better.”
Once I got my mind off of the dream, it didn’t take long for my mood to elevate. It was a marvelous night; the way the moon shone onto the snow gave it a picturesque appearance. It was a shame we had to trudge through it, and shatter the delicate layers. It wasn’t long before we found our feet on the well trodden road leading to Ridgevale. The narrow cracked road was a welcome change from the bogs of the snow. I knew it couldn’t be long before we got there, as the light we had seen earlier only grew brighter. That, and Aina was practically humming with excitement. I decided to make conversation a little. “So, have you decided what you’re going to say to your parents yet?” There was a considerable pause, and I wondered if Aina simply refused to answer me. However, she finally answered, “Not exactly,” a crease crossed her face, “I’m not sure what I’ll say honestly. I just hope they’ll be happy to see me.” I told her they should be, that someone like her was a blessing to have. “Now, if I didn’t know any better, I would say you’re trying to flatter me.” She shot me a wink and smiled. “I was not,” I protested, “I was just speaking the truth.” She didn’t have an answer for that, and I was kinda glad she didn’t. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold a conversation on that matter without absolutely spilling my heart out to her. I wasn’t ready for that subject to come up yet. My thought train derailed as I saw the town of Ridgevale for the first time. “We’re here,” She breathed.
We descended the snowy stairwell into the town, and I just knew Aina was going to trip at the rate she was moving. I reached the bottom, and followed her over to a small storefront. “Look,” she whispered, “This is the bakery. The cakes in there are to die for, you wouldn’t believe how good they are.” I stated, “Umm…..is the door always open like that?” She went to where I pointed, and noticed the front door hung askew at an angle. Without a word, she ducked inside, so I followed her in. It was hideously dark inside, but I managed until Aina lit a torch on the wall, and we could see our surroundings. I knew immediately the place had been ransacked, by the way the tables had been overturned, and there was a broken strongbox laying on the counter. “Who would vandalize this place? Anyone who lived near here knew this place was legendary for their pastries. I mean, maybe stealing a slice of cake every now and then, but this…….” She trailed off, just staring at the condition of the shop. “We have to check on the rest of the town,” she exclaimed, running out of the shop. She ran lightly across the snow to house, and knocked on the door. We waited, our breaths frosting in the chilly air. There was no response, and no lights in the house. “Evan, I want you to do something for me, and not question it.” I told her sure, whatever she wanted. She looked me right in the eyes, all serious and said, “Break this door down.” “Woah, okay. Back up,” I agreed. She stepped back, and I felt the door, to see how thick it was. I concluded it shouldn’t be too hard; it was made of birch, and pretty flimsy. I put myself in a good stance, and dug my feet into the snow to balance my weight evenly. I leaned back heavily, and rushed forward, dropping my shoulder and letting it catch the door with the full force of my body. The door immediately gave way, and splintered to pieces, as I kept moving, and stumbled to a halt in what looked like a dining room. Aina cautiously stepped through the splinters to me, and asked, “Is your shoulder okay?” I shrugged it off and told her I was fine. “Okay, well I’m going to check upstairs for any people,” she explained as she trotted up the stairwell. I wasn’t sure how anyone in the house wouldn’t be awake, someone smashing your front door in isn’t exactly quiet. I was content to sit at the dining table and relax for a moment though.
It was about a minute before she came back down the stairs, and I knew that there were no people in the home. “Let’s check my parents’ house,” she called after me as she walked out of the doorframe. They had lived in a small two story house, a neat little wood cabin almost. Aina fished a key out of her pocket, and jammed it into the door. I heard a lock pop and give way, and with a grunt she pushed the door open. We stepped inside, and I looked around what she had once called her home. It looked very similar to the other home, modeled much the same way. Aina gazed about, apparently reminiscing. Without a word she sprinted up the stairs, and I chased after her into a small bedroom. There was a medium sized bed, the sheets rumpled and strewn about. A night stand sat lonely in the corner, bare and exposed. A dresser leaned up against the wall, the doors flung wide to reveal empty space. And in the corner, a dark figure was huddled. “Dad? Mom?” Aina peered over the bed at whatever it was. The mound stood, and Aina vaulted the bed in one swift movement and snatched up the figure. “Aina! Oh I never expected to see you again! Thank the gods you’ve came back in one piece,” the person stated, I had to assume it was her father, judging by the deep baritone of his voice. His laughter was rich, and filled the small room quickly. She whispered something to him, and they both ceased their rejoicing to look at me. I awkwardly shuffled my feet about, wondering whether to speak first or not. Thankfully, Aina broke the silence by introducing me. “Dad, this is Evan. He’s been traveling with me on my way up here. I found him lost in the woods, and he’s shown himself to be a great guy.” She flashed me another smile, and I gratefully returned it. “Evan,” she continued, “This is my father, Rodney. And my mother is probably too shy to introduce herself, but her name is Cora. Mother, do say hello to my friend.” A small figure stepped forward, and I could barely make out her features in the faint light that streamed through the doorframe. She meekly said hello, and turned instead to her daughter, and the three all hugged together. And here I was. Just a wallflower. I guess I should have been grateful Aina even let me come with her, and besides. She hadn’t seen her family in forever. I owed her some time alone with them. Quietly, I slipped back out the door and went downstairs. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just let my mind roam. Unfortunately, the first thing I remembered was the horrifying dream. Ugh, that black mist just seemed too unnatural to surface in a dream. What the hell had it been? And never before had I experienced something trying to penetrate the sanctity of my mind before, not even while I was awake. Hell, nevermind. Aina came walking down the stairs with her parents trailing closely behind. They all took seats at the table with myself, and just as Rodney began speaking, a loud voice echoed outside. “Attention people of Ridgevale! The Bloodsail Bandits have selected this town as their new headquarters. I, Gallagher Tamaro, hereby claim this town as bandit property. Should there be any survivors, please exit your homes immediately and make your way to the town center. Thank you for your cooperation.”
This was bad. I snuck a peek out of the window, and I could make out Gallagher. He was walking around in large circles, with his hands in the air and yelling and laughing. I analyzed what he and his crew of goons behind him were wearing. All of his cronies sported leather armor, the wear obviously apparent, as well as an array of stone swords. Some even had sharpened sticks slung over their backs, which informed me that they weren’t well equipped at all. The only difference between Gallagher and his squad was rather than having a stick or a stone sword, a shiny iron blade hung loosely from his waist. It gleamed, even in the gloomy atmosphere. Just then, his head snapped directly to where we were, and he said, “You! In there! I can see you, you know. Why don’t you heed my warning, and step outside. It’s a wonderful night you know.” Well, damn. So much for maybe getting the jump on these guys. I turned to Aina and her parents, who had fear written across their faces. “Alright, look,” I began explaining, “I’m gonna go out there and try to talk this guy down. If there are any weapons in this place, arm yourselves. I might need your help.” Aina grabbed my arm and turned me to her. “Evan, you can’t do this! What if they kill you? This is ridiculous.” I shook her arm loose, and told her I would be fine, before stepping out of the door and facing my fate.
I’ve been in my fair share of bar fights before. Countless nights I’ve thrown some drunken bastard through a window. I’ve had people try and stab me with knives before, and hit me with chairs. Needless to say, I can hold my own in a fight with just my hands. The question was how many of these greasewads could I take down before they wound up killing me. I knew if I could cause a large enough scene, Aina and her parents would be able to escape without harm. I opened the door, and squinted my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It wouldn’t be long before morning, which helped with being able to see. Gallagher stood about twenty feet away from me, feet planted apart with his arms crossed, like he was a bouncer or something. Except he wasn’t big, if anything he was scrawny. I wondered how he came to lead this squadron of thugs, maybe through intelligence. “Please, sir, step forward and introduce yourself.” Gallagher extended a hand towards my direction, and I hesitantly came forward until I was in arms reach of him. I refused to take his hand, rather I stared him down, and getting the message, he let his arm drop limply to his side. “Well, I am Sir Gallagher Tamaro, though you may refer to me as Sir Gallagher,” he said, bowing to me. The hell was wrong with this guy? “Yeah, I know your name,” I told him, “You kinda yelled it out while claiming an innocent town for you and your scum.” Well, that definitely got under his skin. A wrinkle of anger passed over his face, and a spark lit his eye, but he pushed it away, and calmly stated, “Yes, you see. My small clan cannot grow larger without appropriate housing. Therefore, we will take over this town, whether peacefully or through force. It bothers us not.” He grinned, and his yellow rotten teeth disgusted me immensely. Guy could probably breathe on me and kill me, geez. I took a step back, but he only stepped forward to even the space between us. “So tell me your name,” he prompted me. “Evan. My name is Evan,” I answered. He smiled again, and spoke. “Tell you what Evan, let’s make us a deal. Here’s what I want you to do. I’m only offering this because I am a gentleman. I want you to bow your knee to me. Simple. Get on your knees and pledge allegiance to me, and I might just let you live.” I stared at him, disbelief in my voice. “You can’t be serious. I would never join the likes of you,” I spat the last part out. His eyebrows rose up, and I could see he was surprised by this. “Well well well, have it your way then amigo. I’ll just kill you then,” he gestured to the sword on his hip, unsheathing it slowly. The sun peaking over the horizon provided just enough light for me to make out the dried blood crusted on the blade. This was definitely a tense moment, and I knew I had to play smart if I wanted to stay alive. I waited, and watched as he drew his sword. He held it up to his face to observe himself in the blade, and that’s when I lunged.
I shot forward, lodging my shoulder under Gallagher’s ribcage, before thrusting upward with my legs. He immediately dropped the sword, and flew back some feet, landing on his back in the snow. I snatched the sword up, and waited for him to stand up. By now all of his pals had come over to investigate what happened. Many of them drew their weapons as well, yet somehow I felt more confident with the sleek iron in my palm, the warm leather wrap feeling almost familiar. He rose, and shook the snow off before glaring at me. Suddenly, a smile broke out across his face. “So, you actually believe you can take me on in a fight? Very well. Give me a sword!” he barked to one of the men beside him. They quickly handed over their stone sword, and Gallagher twirled it around it a few times, adjusting to the weight and balance of it. He told everyone to back away, and watch the show. The Bloodsails all formed a large circle around us, waiting to see what was surely going to be a great battle. Gallagher grinned devilishly at me, and hurtled forward. I sidestepped easily, mentally laughing at how poor of an attack he executed. However, I was surprised when he turned and swung at me again, as I barely had time to bring my blade up in defense. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. I stepped away, and turned to fully face him. He crouched low, and crept towards me. I braced for his next attack, and he did just that. He leapt towards me, fully extending his blade in an attempt to spearhead me. I raised my sword and brought it down on his, slamming it into the ground, before kicking him square in the chest. Instead of flailing about, he tucked and rolled neatly back into a crouched position a few feet away. Damn, that was impressive. I had to give the guy credit, he was definitely fast. “A palpable hit,” he called to me, “However the next shall be mine.” He let out a small laugh and stood oncemore, beginning a circling motion around me. I didn’t move, only allowing my eyes to track him, and listening intently to his footsteps, crunching through the veil of snow. I could hear him shuffling behind me, and I knew what he was planning. I heard him jump, and waited for the impact of him to hit me before I reacted. Just as he collided with me, I dropped my left shoulder, and leaned forward heavily, throwing him past me. Again, he tucked and rolled, quickly pivoting back around to face me again. This time he didn’t speak, just glared at me, contempt and fury lighting his face up. Time to go on the offensive now. I took a stride towards him, all the while scheming how to catch him unaware. I had an idea, time to execute.
I swung the sword forward, feeling the weight pull my hand along as it traveled its arc. He deftly blocked my light blow, parrying me back with a shove. I allowed myself to stagger, hoping he would seize the opportunity. He did, and dashed at me oncemore, blade high above his head, a hoarse ragged battle cry tearing itself from deep within him. This was my moment, and I seized the opportunity. I ducked low, and sprung forward, plunging the iron directly into his midsection. His war cry now became a gurgle, as blood filled his mouth. His weight fell onto my weapon, and I threw him down. Dark red blood sprayed onto me, which I wiped away before standing over him. I kicked his sword away from his grasp, and looked down upon him. He tried to stand, but I planted my boot on his chest, and he let out a godawful screech of pain. He squirmed, fervently trying to get out from underneath me. “You…….you bastard! You stabbed me!” he screamed at me, spitting out more blood. I didn’t say anything, I just looked at him as he bled his life into the snow, which was rapidly staining a reddish pink. I could see his eyes beginning to glaze over, and the last thing he managed before he died was, “Boys, tear him apart.” He coughed it out, and I could hear his breaths becoming raspy, and the bubbling sound in his throat informed me he was on the way out. His eyes rolled, and I stepped away from his now dead form, before looking at the ring of bandits still surrounding me. They had now all drawn their weapons, and began closing the circle tighter and tighter on me. I closed my eyes, and listened to their heavy breathing, and the only thought I had was the hope that Aina and her family were somewhere far away by now, safe and free from this horror.

Maybe I had dodged death in my struggle against Jerry, but this was different entirely. Here I was, surrounded by a band of pirates about to avenge the death of their leader. I recall thinking how horribly it sucked, knowing I would meet my end by such a load of lowly scum. So much for a heroic death. Well, go out kicking at least. I waited, watched their moves as they shifted inward to me. It was only a matter of time before one broke the ring and swung for me. Readying my sword, I turned to my left and blocked the incoming axe aimed at me. The brute behind it broke my poise, and I staggered heavily. Where the hell did one of them find an axe? I couldn’t pursue that thought fully, as a rough hand grasped me from behind and raised me off of the ground. “Hey look guys!” A rough voice behind me shouted, “He just walked into me, let’s kill him!” This sucked. I swung my sword vainly, desperately trying to keep the advancing bandits at bay. They seemed unfazed by this, proceeding to shuffle towards me nonetheless. Out of nowhere, the hand released me, and I hit the ground, the snow crackling with the intensity of my weight. I turned to see as to why, and the answer surprised me. The big guy had an arrow shaft protruding from his skull. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed, landing first on his knees, then toppling backwards with a thud. Just then, I had hope. A look of sheer shock crossed my face, as I saw Aina and her parents charge out of the trees nearby, rushing for the pirates.
A savage war cry erupted from Rodney, as he dove into the circle. The center of the town exploded into action from there. Rodney cleaved his way through anything in his way, an impressive feat. Cora had armed herself with a bow apparently, and was steadily plucking away arrows at the ring of scoundrels. I looked, but couldn’t find Aina in the midst of the fray. Suddenly, someone seized my arm, and began dragging me out of the heat of battle. I couldn’t turn my head far enough to see who my savior had been, but I knew all the same. I couldn’t forget the feel of that warm hand even if I tried. “I can’t believe you actually beat him Evan! I was so scared, watching you just let him attack you like that,” Aina spoke as I stood and turned to face her. Fear and excitement lit up her face as she continued, “And then when you closed your eyes, I just knew he was going to hurt you. Oh my god I’m just so happy you’re okay!” She threw her arms and me and hugged me tightly. I couldn’t help but enjoy it, even given the circumstances. The heat of her embrace, feeling her against me, it was all too much. I had to cut our rejoicing short before I let myself be carried away, now was not the time. I slowly backed away, and motioned towards the raging battle at hand. “We need to help your father before he gets seriously injured,” I mentioned. “Yeah,” she agreed, “It’s just……..well I was-“ I told her it was okay. We could celebrate my not dying later. I grabbed the iron sword once again, which now felt comfortable to me, as Aina withdrew a stone sword. Together we joined Rodney in the battle for Ridgevale.
I joined in immediately, tackling a savage who was chasing Rodney. He fell to the ground, and I used the pommel of my sword to strike him squarely in the forehead with the iron ball. His head slammed downwards, and he began twitching uncontrollably as his eyes dilated. That was one less to deal with, I thought as I leapt up to deal with the dwindling mass. Between mine and Aina’s carving and Rodney’s hacking, we soon diminished the former horde of bandits. We somehow met in the middle, all exhausted, our chests heaving for oxygen, sweat beading our brows as we glanced about at the carnage before us. None of us sustained any serious injuries. Rodney had a few slashes here and there, but he had already stopped bleeding. I had a knick or two on me, as did Aina, but I wasn’t in fear of dying. Between four people, we had mowed down a clan of battle trained fighters. Speaking of four, where was Cora? I craned my neck, trying to find her, yet to no avail. “Aina, have you seen your mom? I can’t spot her,” I leaned over and told her. Her eyes widened, and she too began looking around. We told Rodney about this, and his face grew serious. He suggested we fan out and comb through the town for her, which we both agreed to and immediately began our hunt. I worked my way East, towards where I had seen her picking stragglers off on the snow coated incline. My legs burned as I trudged up the slope, aching and screaming for me to stop, but I was determined to reach the top. I locked my jaw and pushed on, panting as I reached the top. There, the sunken two pits where she had been standing were obvious in the snow. However, a separate set of footsteps were imprinted in the ground, coming from a rear angle as to where she was. Just then, it started snowing again, and the tracks began filling up. No, this wasn’t good. I stumbled through the drift to where they were, and found there was a second set of prints as well, going in the opposite direction. This was too strange to not investigate, I thought as I attempted to track where they went. It wasn’t long before the trail ended completely. Now this was just irritating. The snowfall was very thick here, and a fluffy layer lay freshly on top. I circled around where near the steps magically disappeared, determined to find something, anything. I hit a solid thing, and tripped, landing face first in the banks. I picked my head up, shaking the flakes loose, and went over to what I had hit. I began clearing away snow, and discovered Cora’s lifeless body encased in the snow.
I couldn’t speak at first; the shock of seeing her was simply overwhelming. Her lifeless face, frozen in shock, and her eyes devoid of any emotion frightened me. Finally, I found my voice. I found I could barely speak, but I called out in a hoarse voice to Aina. I heard her shout something to Rodney, and listened as their footsteps crunched closer to my position. I fervently wished I could protect them from the horror they were about to witness. Aina reached me first, I recognized her light breathing as she climbed the slope I struggled with. I could feel her looking at me, and the stiff body of her mother, and I heard her collapse on the ground. I went to where she lay, and cradled her as tears streaked her face. Unsure of how to offer comfort through words, I decided to say nothing, and just hold her. I could feel her tears dripping onto my pants leg, and begin to freeze over from the severe cold. By this time, Rodney was nearing the plateau of the bank. Paying no attention to us, he ran to where she was, and grabbed her hand. “Cora, Cora you have to get up. You’re gonna freeze to death out here. Cora, why aren’t you listening to me?” He grew more frantic as she didn’t respond, and finally it hit him. “No. No no no no,” he whispered, and fell to her side. Time drug by, as we were drenched in sorrow for the loss of Cora. I hadn’t known her very long, but she seemed like a great character, and she even saved my life. I felt the familiar lump in my throat return, and I choked it back down. We needed to get inside, even with the sun out now, the air was frigid. I lifted Aina up, and shuffled over to Rodney, who was caressing Cora’s face, a look of sheer pain upon his face. “One of those lousy sorry worms must have gotten to her without us knowing,” he rasped out. “I know, this is hard,” I answered, “But we need to get inside. This weather will make us all sick if we don’t take shelter.” He asked if he could just stay with her a moment longer, and I couldn’t help but oblige him that. This was the woman he loved, laying dead in front of him. I turned, and picked up Aina, who was now asleep. I carried her to her parents’ house, and laid her in front of the mantle. Going upstairs, I rummaged around and returned down with a flint in my hand. It was only a moment before there was a toasty blaze going in the room. I sat myself close to the fire, and pulled Aina to where I was and held her head while she slept.