The Man in the Red Cloak

A Story by Ash A East

A short story I wrote in second person just to try it out.

You wake up on a bedroll in a tent. There is a large commotion outside and you groggily sit up. Your torso is covered in red stained bandages and it hurts to move. You remember your name. Rosalyn Dove. You remember your sister and you are stuck by feelings of worry. You don't know why. The flap of the tent opens and what looks to be a combat medic gets in. He glances at you and smiles. You can tell its forced and you see the pain in his eyes. "You've been out for a while Ms. Dove. It is good that you are finally awake". You give him a confused look. Who was he? His smile fades and kneels down next to you. "If I may, I need to change bandages". You give a slight nod and he removes the bloody bandages and inspects a large gash in your stomach. "Its a miracle that you survived Ms. Dove, it's a shame I can't say the same for our leader." He replaces the old bandages with new, clean white ones, and stands up. "Our victory is clear though, thanks to his sacrifice." The medic turns and walks out of the tent. What victory? Who is the leader? How did you get injured. Two other people walk in. One a man wearing a blue robe and the other a woman in a white robe. They give you the same forced smile as the medic. "Who are you?" You ask them, their faces not looking familiar. Their smiles fade. They seem mildly offended by you not knowing them. The man speaks first. "We were your teammates for most of the war. Do you not remember us?" "No" you reply, "I don't remember either of you". The woman speaks up. " Don't worry. Im sure you will in time." They stay a while and you guys talk for a while. You find out that the woman's name is Esmeralda, and the man's is Thaddeus. The conversation was good and they are very funny but then it comes time for them to leave. They wave as they leave and once again you are alone with your thoughts. A sudden stirring on the other side of the tent jerks you from your wondering and you look over. There stands a man. He wears a red cloak, blue jeans and a grey shirt, stained with blood on his chest. He walks over and sits next to you. He gives you a smile, not forced like the others, but genuine. "Do you remember remember me, Rose?" You remember your nick name but can't recall who called you that. "No I don't remember you." You say, almost regretfully. He chuckles. "After all those years, an event like that makes you forget me completely. Well, guess we have to reforge a friendship." You two start talking and he does most of the listening. Suddenly, your head bursts into pain and you double over causing more pain. You cry out. Memories flash through your head. You remember training and fighting along side Esmeralda and Thaddeus. The medic comes rushing in and tends to you, you tell him to get your former teammates. He gets them quickly. You tell them you remember them and they are overjoyed. After a few days you are moved from your tent to a hospital where you make a surprisingly full recovery. While you are at the hospital you meet other soldiers, former friends, and officers all greeting you with the same forced smile. And even though he stays by your side constantly, nobody mentions the red cloaked man. You slowly regain your memories through stories and more headaches, but you never remember the red cloaked man. Then one night you have a dream. You have a heavy and bulky suit of armor on and you're running through what look to be castle corridors, Esmeralda and Thaddeus are right behind you. You reach a large set of doors but they are locked. Ringing metal comes from behind. Thaddeus puts his hands on the doors and they slowly crumble away. You draw a large sword and rush in, even against Esmeralda's insistence you don't. You see the red cloaked man and a large man in green armor fighting. The green armored man disarms his opponent and kicks him to the ground. You shout out and he turns to you. You raise your sword, you feel hatred towards this green armored man and you rush at him. He grins evilly and meets your charge with a thrust of his claymore. You attempt to block it but it is useless. The sword slides through your armor and your momentum carries you farther into it. Fiery pains erupt in your stomach and you drop your sword the red cloaked man screams, picks up his sword, and charges. The green armored man retrieves his weapon from your gut and thrusts it to meet the red cloaked man's charge. He doesn't slow. Despite the claymore in his chest the red cloaked man brings back his sword and with a single swing, decapitates his opponent. The now headless green armored man falls. The red cloaked man stands there, a look of triumph on his face before falling alongside his opponent, sword still lodged in his chest. He reaches his hand over to you and says "it is finished." before going limp. You wake with a start an look over to where he normally is. He is still there staring off into the distance. He notices you, gets up and goes to your side. "I have to go now. I will not see you for a while so take this". He holds out his hand to reveal a gold ring with a large ruby set in it. "Remember me by this ring. It was passed down to me by my father and now it's yours". You take the ring and tears start to gather in your eyes. You grab at his cloak, but your hands just fall right through it. He turns, walks back and wipes away your tears. "I promise we will see each other again. You need to be strong when I'm gone. Can you do that for me?" You nod and he turns away again. He stops at the door, looks back, and as you blink, he disappears. You put the ring on and you feel safer. You smile, and drift off into a peaceful sleep.