11) Battle Numero Uno

The first thing I did was panic. Surely a blow like that would have crushed her skull and killed her instantly. I didn't even notice that I had dropped Marshall out of shock.

"Auri!" I yelled at the pile of rubble that was a wall before her small body went flying through it. "Auri, say something!"

I got no answer.

I suddenly felt my anger rise. I turned to glare at the rhino-beast, which had a wide satisfied smile on its face. I was about to lunge at him when I heard the rubble shift. I turned in surprise to see Auri dragging herself out from under the pieces of rock, her check already bright red and had swollen her now black eye closed.

"You know something? You're a real jerk." She said this in a completely calm and casual manner, as if informing the rhino-beast that his fly was down. She wiped off some blood that was dripping from the side of her mouth and without warning she lunged for him, the heal of her foot landing in between his eyes.

She fell to the ground hard as the rhino-beast staggered backgrounds, holding his face and crying out in pain.

"We have to get out of here!" Marshall yelled at Brother and I. We both jumped from the shock of hearing him speak. 

"We aren't just leaving her here by herself!" Brother said defiantly. 

"Get your head out of the clouds boy! You're no hero. If we stay here any longer we'll all die! Better her than us!"

He was right. If we stayed, we would only get in the way, which would result in getting us killed. But if we left....

"He's right," Auri yelled over to us from her spot on the ground. I looked towards her to see her smiling. "I got this. You just get numb-nuts out of here alive. Don't worry about me."

"Why do you care so much about whether he lives or dies? He tried to kill you! And he succeeded in killing others of your... your kind."

She slowly got to her feet while saying, "A life is a life. If it can be saved, then save it. Life is too precious to squander it away because of stupid little grudges. It's pretty immature if you ask me." She smiled.

Strangely, what she said made a lot of sense...

Before I could make a decision, Auri was lifted upside down high into the air. The rhino had hold of her foot and was swinging her around like a rag doll. He suddenly let go and she went flying into another wall.

I was running towards before she had hit the ground and before I even had time to stop and think about what I was doing.

She was struggling to get back to her feet when I grabbed her arm and wrapped it around my shoulder. "What.... are you doing?... Get out of .... here..." She was so weak she could barely manage that.

"I'm getting you out of here," I replied. "Brother! Grab him and let's get out of here!" 

"No, I'll slow you down. You guys get out of here. I'll hold him off."

"Just how do you plan on doing that? You're so weak you can barely talk!"

Without saying another word, she pulled a small vile out of her pocket, uncapped it, and took a long drink of a clear liquid. She suddenly no longer had to lean against me an rely on me to carry her.

She pulled herself away and with a determined smile said, "Go. You three get out, I'll catch up."

I was about to argue when suddenly her ears started flicking around. Her determined smile got even wider.

"YES! Now, seriously, get out of here or you'll just get yourself killed," she said as she turned and sprinted towards the rhino, who was standing idly by waiting for someone to challenge it. Auri was yelling taunts at the rhino at the top of her lungs as she dodged its blows.

I turned to Brother. "Come on Al, we have to get going. He needs a doctor and if we stick around here we'll only be a liability to her."

I knew he was right, but I just can't bring myself to leave her behind... 

But I went. I grabbed Marshall and helped Brother drag him through the town as fast as possible. We had gotten three blocks before I looked back to see the Rhino thing holding Auri up against a wall by her neck, choking her to death.

Author's Note

ill say it now, i said "and took a long drink of a clear liquid." because i couldnt seem to think of how to spell 'contents'. oh look! i figured it out! well im too lazy to go back and change it :P

Reviews

[Emunah June.]

Lol your authors notes make me laugh :D

Ahh, as I read this I remember the days where I sat and wrote "Reverse: ~The Locket Chronicles~" x3. Thank you for such a beautiful memory. OHH! And now I must commence to freaking out.

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2...
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FREAK OUT TIME!!!

OH NO! WHATS GONNA HAPPEN TO AURI?!!! IS SHE DEAD ALREADY?! IS SHE COMING BACK?! WHO'S LANDON?!! IS ALPHONSE IN LOVE WITH AURI?!! GAAAAAAH