Chapter 1

Martin jolted awake, his rasped breath slowly calmed down. The rifle in his hand slumped. He slid his fingers down the muzzle, the icy sensation cooling against the heat from the cackling campfire, and he adjusted it back against his arm. He was once again reminded of where he was.

“Can’t sleep?” The woman across him asked, her fatigued eyes staring blankly at the cackling fire as her slim figure casted a shadow on the moistened cave wall.

“It’s the same dream, again.”

He had noticed the woman’s shivering body and paling face a second time, only worst now. First was when they were battling against the storm before they found the cave to rest for the night. It was cold he admitted, especially with the storm still blasting outside. Despite that, she didn’t ask for help and instead confronted bravely.

“Emily,” He took off his uniform �" The Order’s uniform �" made from fine, study leather that could endure cuts and slashes, and tossed. “Catch!”

Instinctively, she raised a hand and caught it. She eyed him with surprise. “What about you?”

“I’m fine. This little freezing won’t kill me.” Another slice of wind pierced into his bare skin and he immediately regretted saying that.

“That dream,” Emily mumbled. “How long has it been?”

There was a brief moment of silence, of recalling from his deepest memories, and he shrugged. He grabbed a kindling from the stack beside him and fed it to the fire. It sparked with life in response.

“Since the day I started remembering things. And it has been getting more vivid recently.”

Another slice of wind slipped in. It whispered a strange voice, one that sounded different from the usual. This was lower, softer, as if tuned by something. Martin attention shot to the turn, his grip tightened on his rifle and his other hand slowly reached for his sword sheathed to the back of his waist.

“You feel that?” he whispered.

Emily nodded. She too had her left hand tightly clutched onto her bow while her right hand slipped along the hilt of her dagger.

Footsteps reverberated in an unsteady and weak rhyme. Nevertheless, they got up from the hewn ground and backed off cautiously. In an era like this, one can never be too careful.

“Who goes there!?” Martin shouted.

A shadow, hunched, slim and tall, shuffled out from the turn. It coerced into a man of six feet tall, his body sturdily built by muscles but the way he came ... he’s in critical condition; the man’s left hand pressed against his right shoulder, his breathing hyperventilated, and he stood still for a moment, swaying from side to side before collapsing onto the ground.

Martin immediately sheathed his sword, back-slung his rifle and rushed to him. On a closer look, blood was seeping out from the deep cut on his right shoulder. It was unlike any normal cuts that a sword could do. The wound was so deep and curved in a way that revealed the broken collar bones along with the muscle tissues. He cringed but brushed it aside and quickly took out a first aid band from his pocket.

“Li-listen,” the man spoke in a weak and rasped voice.

“Don’t speak, you’re losing a lot of blood” Martin replied.

“No... this is important,” He  grabbed Martin’s wrist and with all his remaining strength, pulled him closer. “They,” he gasped, “they’ve come. The darkness.” He let out a few cough and blood slipped down from the side of his lips.

Internal bleeding, Martin thought. He didn’t question anything, at least now wasn’t the time. Taking the first aid band out, he wrapped around the wound in a swift motion but was stopped again when the man grabbed his hand.

“Y-you have to inform the district commander. T-they are planning... to ... re�"” As he sucked in a final deep breath, the rapid breathing suddenly came to a halt, as if being choked by a stone in the airway. The squeezing pain on Martin’s hand loosened and slipped off like the ashes blown away by the wind. The man’s eyes rolled and slowly closed. He was gone.

What lingered in Martin mind was not that he couldn’t save him. Instead, they were questions, thousands of them. Darkness, the word felt familiar like as if he knew them. No, it couldn’t possibly be.

“Emily,” he mumbled.

The woman had been standing beside him all along. She took off the uniform Martin borrowed her and returned to him. “Sure.”

Martin looked slightly surprised. She read his thoughts but again, they have been partners ever since he enrolled into the military so how could she not know. He threw the man’s arm over his shoulder while Emily took the other, and the both of them lifted him up. In synchrony, they carried the man out of the cave, against the storm, and back to base.