(RE) Chapter 8: Run!

  Chapter 8:

Run!

“Oh my god… No!” shrieked a cursed girl as she ran through the rain soaked forest.

Intense pain radiated from an enchanted arrow wound all throughout her entire body. When she looked down to take her first glimpse at the arm that was struck, she noticed the blue light crackling from under her skin. The forest brush scraped away at her legs as she haphazardly ran towards the broken ruins of Torrenton. The crumbling waste that was once a thriving symbol of peace stared back at her, awaiting her to rush inside. The woman, who was becoming weaker by the second screamed at the top of her lungs,

“...Help!”

   

She then passed out and was quickly transported somewhere inside the city. Upon waking up, she noticed a man named Sirus pressing down on her arm with his foot  just above the arrow. He appeared to be talking to another taller man standing off in the distance. That man was holding a large axe like blade and looked at her in a discerning manner. When consciousness set in completely, she noticed Sirus looking excitedly down at the arrow. He brought his face closer to the light and felt a glowing warmth coming from it. Eager for answers Sirus sharply asked,

“How far away is the cabin?”

The girl screamed,

“I don't know! It’s in the woods near Alberth!”

    “Awesome... Vahn, cut it off.” Sirus ordered the axe wielder.

    Vahn approached the girl and without hesitation or discretion, dropped the axe down on her arm. She let out a scream, her arm plopped onto the ground and soon turned into the black mist. The redheaded man stood back repulsed by her screams and pulled her hair upward yelling,

    “My god shut up! You don't feel any f*****g pain, you just think you do! For f**k’s sake!”

    Vahn chuckled but halted upon seeing a strange occurrence happening before him. The section of the girl's arm that was affected by the arrow did not assimilate as expected. The wound had closed up but only half her left forearm remained. Holding it up in the air, she panicked,

    “No...No! Why didn't it come back!?”

    “It’s not gonna grow back. So just calm down Aence, you’ll be alright.” Sirus stated.

    “She’s got a point why isn't it coming back?” Casually asked Vahn.

   

    “That son of a b*****s bow shoots arrows that will kill a cursed in one shot, that's why. If you’re lucky enough to contain the spread of that blue magic you can live. Apparently it also completely destroys whatever it touches and keeps it from growing back. So careful we must be when dealing with these people.”

   

“...Sirus, what do you mean by deal with them?” immediately questioned Aence.

    “...We kill them? how else were you planning on doing this?”

   

    “You can't just kill...”

   

    Sirus looked at Aence in such a way that she silenced herself. The expression on his face read “How dare you?!” as he neared her. he grabbed her by the neck and slowly lifted her up. Since Aence had one remaining eye left from the Ethalis attack, Sirus focused his gaze into the remaining right eye, saying,

    “You are not dead right now because of me. So demands are mine to make. Thank you very much. If you don't commit to those demands, then I will restore the balance and end your life. You will die. Don't think being cursed will change any of that.”

Aence looked sharply back, unaffected by Sirus's attempts to intimidate her and replied,

“I’m not going to kill my own sister in order for us to gain headway.”

Sirus looked pained as he attempted to contain his laughter. He let go of Aence and walked over to where Vahn was standing, pondering,

“I really don’t care what you think Aence. If you're bothered by your sister I’ll kill her too. That’s not an issue to me. Just do what you’re told.”

Aence stood herself up. With only one eye and one arm she looked less than useful standing there soaked in the rain. The late twenty something’s hair covered her face as she stated aloud,

“I am not killing her Sirus!”

   

    Sirus looked at her through narrow eyelids and smiled, asking,

    “What’s her name again? Nezo said it to me once but I wasn’t paying much attention.”

    Aence didn’t speak, so Sirus asked again,

    “What’s her f*****g name b***h?”

    “...It’s Polan.”

She continued to stand and face Sirus as Vahn kept close watch on the two from afar. A split second later, Aence dashed forward into Sirus, sending them both into a pile of rubble. Sirus was quick to kick her off and Aence went flying across the road into another pile of debris. Sirus got up slowly and with an intense expression on his face slowly walked to Aence. Vahn chuckled from where he stood and shook his head.

    “Oh man she’s f*****g stupid.” He snickered to himself.

    “Convince Polan to join if you think it's a walk in the f*****g park. It's a b***h just to get you to shut the f**k up, what do you think recruiting is like? If she won't join you guys will end up killing each other. It always happens.”  He explained.

   

    Aence was sprawled out and mangled across a pile of building stones and ash. The rain battered away at her broken face and she looked up to the sky through her one remaining eye in defeat. An overwhelming helpless anger bestowed itself upon her and all she could give Sirus now, was a stone cold stare at best. Sirus reached down and picked her up by the shredded remains of her shirt and looked carefully into her one right eye. Though Aence wanted to tear him apart, she couldn't look him in the eyes. She wasn't afraid, she wasn't ashamed, Aence realized she had to let him win.

    Sirus’s punitive glare quickly turned to a smile. He noticed the fight leave Aence’s eyes and he no longer needed to make his point. He let go if his grip and Aence slid down back into the pile, left to murk in the rain.

    “See, you got it eventually. Most usually get it quicker but if it works, it works. This is why about ten thousand people trust me to do the right thing Aence. They trust me to be able to guide them back to their original lives that were taken by that god damned city.”

    Aence, still in her pile of rubble, listened and pondered the words he spoke. She soon stood up and began walking towards Sirus and Vahn who were standing beneath a nearby archway. As she reached the two who were sheltered from the rain, she asked,

    “What happens then? We go in, kill Narr and then what?”

   

The two both looked at her with glazed over looks. To her it almost seemed like they didn't think about that part yet. Finally Sirus replied with,

    “Not sure yet, we’ll see how the first part goes. If I were you I’d worry more about your sister. Who knows why she’s with one of the former Royal Guards but I bet it’s not good.”