Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“Look, over there. We can land there.” Draven said. Hunter began to slowly descend towards the ground. They landed in a small field just outside of Morris, a large city full of Kindred. Kindred are a type of demon. They are human like, but are very malnourished, having little flesh and skin. Most of their body consists of bone. Hunter was a well respected figure with the kindred. “Y’know, we left all our stuff back there.” Draven said. “Shush you.” Hunter responded. “I don’t know how, but Battery somehow figured out where you are. There’s no doubt in my mind that now we’re here, he’ll know much sooner than last time. How are your injuries? Have they healed yet?” he asked. Draven looked down at his chest and began to remove the bandages. The skin and flesh had healed nicely. “Yup, we’re all good.” he responded. “Good, if your injuries weren’t healed by now we’d need you to see a doctor, and that would be too dangerous.” he said. Draven looked up at Hunter. He began to stretch. “Hey, why did you leave anyways?” he asked. “Didn’t I tell you? I was looking for Battery’s army.” Hunter responded. Draven made eye contact with Hunter. He realised that even more flesh and skin was forming. Hunter now had a single blue eye on his right side. “I want the real answer.” he said. Hunter sighed. “I went searching for Polaris and Aza.” “And?” Draven was quick to respond. “Polaris is most likely dead.” he answered. Draven began to grind his teeth. “Goddamnit Hunter! You know who I’m asking about!” he shouted. Hunter looked away. This would be a time where having no humanity would come in handy. I feel like I’m choking up just at the thought of telling him. Hunter thought to himself. “Answer me!” he shouted. “Aza…” Hunter paused. “Aza was captured by Battery.” he mumbled. Draven’s eyes widened. He looked down at the floor, then up at the sky. The sun began to set in the sky. The blue faded away into a beautiful collage of orange and red. Tears began to swell in Draven’s eyes. Hunter was surprised by his reaction. He thought that Draven would be furious. Fueled by rage. He thought he would be irrational, and that he’d have to calm him down. But that wasn’t the case. At least not yet. Draven looked over at Hunter. “Tell me you’re lying. Tell me she’s dead. Tell me her soul is resting peacefully.” Hunter began to choke up. He knew what Draven was thinking. He knew that if Aza was dead, she would be better off than as a slave to Battery. Hunter turned away, shutting his eyes tightly. Draven looked away, clenching his fist. He began to cry. “Aza! Why! Why do you have to go through this! I should be dead!” he shouted. “I…  Should… Be… Dead.” he said. He buried his face into his arms. Hunter turned over. Draven was damn near dying. He was curled up, his face beat red. Hunter couldn’t even begin to conceive the emotions Draven was going through. Hunter still had a ways to go until all his humanity returned to him, but he still felt terrible for Draven. Deep down inside, he felt as though all hope was lost. It was just them. Just the both of them against Battery and the entirety of his army. They didn’t stand a chance. Not with their power. Not even Ktulu would stand a chance against all of Battery’s forces, let alone these two. Hunter stood up. He sprouted wings and started to fly away. Draven looked up. “Hey! What are you doing! Don’t you dare abandon me a*****e!” he shouted. Hunter looked back at him. “I’m going to Morris. Follow me if you want to live.” he said. Draven wiped the tears from his face and started following Hunter. Draven knew exactly what he would do once he met Battery. When I find him, I’m going to break his arms and stab his head with his own bone! He thought to himself. Draven would meet Battery, but the outcome would not be what Draven believed it to be.

“Sir, we just received word that an army in Sanitarium has been formed. What should we do?” a sergeant ran into the throne room. Battery sat atop his throne. Aza stood next to his left, and Orion stood next to his right. He looked over at Orion. “Order your men to attack today. Don’t give them a chance. You might as well go there as well. Who knows what sparked those hopeless idiots to act brave and mighty.” he said. Orion nodded and began walking out with the sergeant. “Aza, drinks.” he said. Aza looked over. “Of course your highness.” she replied. She walked over to a large table at the wall and grabbed a drink. “Here you go your highness.” She said. She handed him a tray with a single drink placed in the middle. “Thank you, dear.” he said. He grabbed the drink and began to sip from it. The moment it touched his tongue, he spit it out. Aza walked closer to Battery. “Oh my, is something wrong?” she asked. Battery looked up sinisterly. He wiped his mouth before striking Aza across the face. “You b***h! Are you trying to poison me!?” he shouted. Aza fell to the floor. “I’m sorry your highness.” she said quickly. Battery stood from his throne. He walked over to Aza, grabbing her wrist and picking her up. His and her faces were inches apart. “If this happens again then I will personally kill you.” he said. Aza nodded her head. “Yes, of course. That is a fair punishment your highness. It won’t happen again.” she spouted. Battery dropped her. “Leave. Now!” he said. Aza quickly jogged out of the room. Battery walked to his throne and slowly sat. He smiled. The fact that some idiots in Sanitarium were forming a militia to combat against his army was hilarious. A small army like that could never defeat him. He sat back in his chair. His plans were all coming together. No one could stop him. Not a God were to descend from the heavens to try and stop him. He was too powerful for anyone to stop. All he needed was to squander any attempt at overthrowing him.

Polaris and Mary made it back to the town center. The people were already gearing themselves. People were wearing steel armor, grabbing large iron swords and steel axes. They grabbed shields, bows, arrows. Anything they could use in battle. Polaris looked over at Mary. She looked over at him and shrugged. “It's how they were taught.” she said. They continued walking. “Hey, how did you know that it was me when I walked in? I mean, my physique is completely different.” he said. Mary snickered. “We knew that whoever could beat Azarath to enter would be you.” she responded. “The real question is, where have you been all these years?”

“Come on Mary! Dinner’s almost ready.” Mary’s mother called out for her. “Alright mom! Hey, Polaris, you’ll be back tomorrow right?” The little Mary asked. Both Polaris and Mary were around 10 years old. They had been best friends since they were five. Mary felt special that she could make friends with the only pepreka in the town. “Yeah.” he responded. “Alright, see you around barker!” she said. Polaris left the house and began walking to where he lived. Polaris didn’t have any parents, as they had both died trying to defend him from bandits that raided his village. He lived in the jungle where Azarath guarded the town. “Going to bed Polarisss?” he asked. Polaris nodded and continued walking. “Just yell for me if there’sss trouble.” he said. He took a left at the gate and continued walking. He slept at an open field. It was dry and bright most of the day. Polaris didn’t know his parents very well. He barely remembered their faces. Though he still grieved their deaths. He wished he could remember their faces. He wished he could spend more time with them. He wished they were still alive. He continued walking to the field. “Oh barker, I love you so much.” someone said from the tree. Polaris looked over. Three boys dropped from the tree. He recognised the boys. Their names were Jacob, Harold, and Jareg. One of the boys blew him a kiss while the other put on a high voice. “Oh barker, I wish you could live with me, but momma said I can’t keep mutts in the house.” one of them mocked. Polaris began grinding his teeth. “You all need to stop.” he said. Jareg, the biggest of the three boys said something. “Oh yeah, and what’ll you do if we didn’t?” he remarked. The other two boys laughed. “Yeah barker, what’ll you do?” “Oh guys, I think he’s scared. Poor little barker, don’t be afraid.” “You’ll always be weak.” Polaris didn’t care for their insults. But Jareg took it too far. “What would your dad say about how cowardly you are? Oh wait, he can already see what’s happening from down below, can’t he?” Polaris’ eyes became soulless. He pointed a single finger at Jareg. “What, did you just say?” he asked. Jareg smiled. “Oh my, did I say something about your dad? I’m so sorry! I’ll apologise to him right away.” he said. Jareg spit on the ground. “There’s your apology mutt.” he said. Polaris’ eyes became red with anger. The small claws on his hands became longer. “Hey, I think he’s angry.” one of the boys said. “Oh, boo-hoo, my parents died saving me. They should have let me die because I’m worthless either way.” another boy chimed in. Polaris began to snarl. He climbed down on all fours and began running towards the boys. Two of the boys gasped and started backing away. Jareg stood still, waiting for him. Polaris leapt towards him. Jareg reached a hand out, grabbing Polaris by the neck. “Know your place, dog!” he shouted. He slammed Polaris into the ground. Polaris struggled trying to release Jareg’s grip on him. He was being strangled on the ground, flailing his arms and legs around helplessly. Jareg laughed. “Y’know, your father would be disappointed in you barker.” he said. Polaris looked up at him. He scanned Jareg’s body before attacking. He took his claws and scratched deep into Jareg’s arm. Jareg released his grip on Polaris. “You little s**t.” he said. Before Jareg could recover, Polaris pounced on top of him. Jareg could barely keep Polaris from ripping his jugular out with his teeth. He sank his claws deep into Jareg’s chest. “Help me! He’s crazy!” Jareg shouted. Polaris kept the attack going. The two boys finally joined in, trying to rip Polaris off of Jareg. They were successful in doing so. Polaris snarled at them. Jareg got up from the ground. “You’re insane barker! You’ll pay for this!” he shouted. The two boys helped Jareg on his feet as they escaped. Polaris started calming down. He looked at his arms and noticed his claws. They were drenched in blood. Polaris’ eyes swelled in tears. He ran as fast as he could into the field. He ran into the center of the field before collapsing. He cried loudly. He knew that after an attack like that he’d be seen as a threat. He’d never be able to enter the town again. He continued crying until sundown. Polaris would never see Mary again. He’d never smell the old bakery in the center of town. He’d never play in the playground. He’d never do anything again. He’d starve to death out in this field. His parents only delayed the inevitable. His parents only made him suffer. He, hated them. He hated his parents. He was glad they were dead. Jareg was right. “Hey kid, don’t be sad.” someone said. Polaris turned behind him quickly. A robed man stood in the field. He didn’t have a face. It was completely covered in shadow. “Come with me. I’ll give you food and shelter. You’ll never have to worry about them again.” he said. Polaris sniffled and wiped the tears from his eyes. “What about Mary?” he asked. The man shook his head. “I’ll let you in on a secret. She could care less if you were gone.” he said. Polaris’ eyes widened. “How do you know? She told me we were best friends.” he said. The man shook his head once more. He walked over to Polaris and sat next to him. “I have a secret power. I can tell what emotion everyone has. And you wanna know something? Mary doesn’t have you anywhere in her thoughts.” he explained. Polaris looked down at the ground. “Is that true?” he asked. The man nodded. “One thing I will never do to you is lie. Come with me. I’ll teach you to be strong.” he said. The man stood up and began walking away. “Hey, wait up for me.” Polaris said. He stood up and began running, trying to catch up with the man. “Hey, old guy. What’s your name?” he asked. The man looked down at him. “Ah, I’m glad you asked. You can call me Cliff.”