***Chapter 3 preview available now***
Hey! If you like my story, go ahead and tell me in the reviews and anything you want changed or just shit on it in general. i plan on making this have a lot of chapters (each being at least 2,000 words or more), so a follow is appreciated! I will post quality chapters and not just pump out rushed chapters, so I will take my time with each. K bye
"STEVEN!" Zach shouted, sprinting like it was a life or death situation. Steven turned away from his precious iron working, and left his tools on the anvil, the blade still orange and bright from the smelting and shaping.
'Stevens shack' was the go-to place for any smithing needs, such as daily necessities like the shovel, the pickaxe, and, on occasion, a sword or two. The shack was a cozy yet dirty structure that sat conveniently in the center of town, ready for all the farm folk to come in with needs of repairs. the partly cloudy sky carried-on, care free and flowing. Steven saw zach sprinting down the street, a concerned look scattered about on his face.
"...hi." Steven puzzled, as zach rushed at the doorway, panting and huffing, trying to catch the breath and the words that eluded him. 'The... They...' Zach wheezed, as he tried to upright himself, gripping the door frame.
"C'mon. Let it out."
"How much food do you have?"
"Uh, what?"
"They are running out of food, I don't know what to say!" Zach blurted out his answer as if he was a child confessing to his parents about breaking the nice vase in the living room. Steven was extremely curious; the commander of the town always bolstered how safe and secure his little, walled utopia was, and how everyone would receive their own pay check, their own meals, and their own beds, without the creatures lurking about, thanks to the godly, large stone walls.
"...really?"
Steven paused, and Waited for the 'got you!' To come out of his friends' stupid mouth. It didn't appear, as much as he wanted it to. "First, missing people, and now a shortage of food? Who is telling you this stuff anyway?" for a moment, Zach peeked out the door, looked about the street like he was a spy, and then turned back to Steven, with a quieter tone in his voice. "Colin told me."
Steven half rolled his eyes like a lazy roller coaster. "He keeps spying on the guards, you knew that."
"Yes I knew that!" Zach raised his voice, caught himself, and then resumed his secretive, serious whisper. "The guards are just as worried though. I saw it myself, he wasn't lying. People are even starting to protest!" "So. what do you want to do?" Steven said in an uninterested tone, already knowing the answer. "We join the protest at the castle! People have been slowly gathering all day there!"
"Alright, okay."
"What do you mean, okay? This is serious!"
"How about we go tomorrow."
"Why not right now?"
Steven slowly extended his arm and pointer finger, drawing upwards and levelling to point at the anvil and the sword still posed carefully.
Above 'Stevens shack', on the second floor, Steven ran his checklist and reviewed work orders. His desk sat right at a window; summer air rolled through and laid on him like a blanket out of the dryer. It was blissful. He loved being carefree and always tried to stay out of the politics of the town, such as the rumors that have been appearing so often. Steven caught a glimpse of the dark, piano black sky above his inferior house. There was no moonlight again. The moon rarely appeared, hidden deep within the dark ocean of space. The stone walls that surrounded the town were extremely high and were commissioned by the town commander long before Steven arrived at the server. They were giant structures that loomed, suffocating and squeezing the town and its inhabitants ever since they appeared. Steven was lost in thought, thinking about the deep night sky and the cage of a town he lived in when a scream shot him forward into the desk. Steven reached for the torch on the wall, and grabbed one of the custom made swords from the chest by his bed. He bolted down the stairs and out his shop doorway. He knew he had to hurry. That scream belonged to Colin.
Steven stood outside his shop, waving his torch and spinning about, looking for the source of the shout, listening for sounds of struggle, anything to tell him where to go, but all he heard was the crunch of the gravel below his feet and the crackle of the torch he held. Steven never felt so lost, ironically standing in the town he knew like the back of his hand. With no moonlight, the torch provided his vision; The black ooze of night was polished onto the buildings, out of his torches reach. Steven took one step forward, and as if magically, a guard appeared. Steven took two steps back, looked for Colin to be behind or around the guard. He didn't appear.
"Where's Colin." Stevens expression changed to anger. He knew the guards were not going to protect his clumsy, nosy friend, rather arrest him for spreading the rumors.
"Where is Colin." Steven raised his voice.
"None of your business. This is on offi-"
"Don't try and play your 'Official orders' card on me, I'm not stupid." Steven saw the guard had dark, bitter eyes that bested him, but steven knew this staring contest was ending when the guard gripped his sheathed swords' handle.
"Okay. You win. I'm going. Just don't hurt him."
"I won't, at least." The guard smirked.
steven opened his mouth slightly, he was ready to wake the town and cause an uproar, he was ready to charge at the guard who was wearing a full set of armor while he wore only his work clothes, he was ready to slash his sword right at the guards head, he was ready to fight and find colin and be on his way like nothing ever happened. the guard was still clutching the handle, ready to brandish his sword and let it reflect off of stevens torch; it became apparent that there was no way for him to find out his friends fate with the current situation - he was a coward. but he was a coward with a mouth.
steven turned away, anger burning like coals within him from the guards remark.
as Steven was turning around, the guard called out.
"Yeah, walk away, you punk shitsmith."
Steven slowly turned back as he spoke. "Oh. You got me. That one was good. I'm impressed! Is this what you do when you are not dicking about on your shift of policing a peaceful town with no crime rate?"
"You really want to test a trained soldier?"
"Go ahead, stab me, lose your job that you don't even do anything in."
"First of all, i get paid a lot to do nothing. its not bad, unlike your piece of shit work."
"My 'piece of shit work' made the sword you are holding."
"I'm sure it will work when i cut you up!"
The guard stepped forward, frustrated and flustered with stevens quick words, but even quicker was steven himself, slamming the door behind him, knowing the guard would have to walk away and tend to his 'official business'.
Steven was back inside his shop, defeated in a battle that never occurred. he felt a defeat that he had not felt before, a swelling inside of him crashed like the anvils that rang out his ears each day from nine to six.
Colin was still missing the next morning. Steven believed the rumors now, but he didn't expect the guards to have something to do with it. The sky was a nice blue again, the peaceful little town quiet, same as all the other days. However, today showed a bit of difference, another crowd gathered around the castle to demand answers to the food shortage rumors. The castle made the town feel ancient; it was there before the town formed around it. Moss and vines hung about, strung throughout the cobble structure. But it was the perfect disguise, the inside was remodeled to be the town hall, with incredible focus on detail and expensive rugs, which made the town look almost uncivilized. The castle was quiet as the town shouted to it, as if trying to get the fortress to respond. Just outside was the commander himself, decorated with all his badges that he didn't earn and his gold sword in tow, which couldn't help him win in a fight, as it was only there for looks. Beside him stood two guards, armed, and standing ready, knowing the town was too scared to get close. Zach and Steven were in the back of the crowd listening in, but Steven was planning his grand entrance, waiting for his moment to strike with his voice. He wasn't worried about the food shortage, he was worried about his friend.
"Quiet down!" The commander shouted, veins pulsing in his neck, his red, plump face ready to catch fire. The crowd was ready for answers, they had their fun shouting, as they found it exciting to do something other than their daily routine for once. The crowd settled down and listened, hushed by the commanders power.
"Now, we know you are all here due to the food shortage, but I can confirm that you will have your share of food, their is just not going to be a lot of extra, in case of emergency." Steven raised an eyebrow and showed how unimpressed he was, he knew the castle was just going to keep it for their stupid guards. "There is nothing to fear, we have it under control!" The commander gave a big smile, and the crowd rejoiced, They were easily convinced and easily pleased; they had a peaceful life thanks to the walls. Steven, angered by the townspeople and the command, pushed his way through the oblivious citizens, shrugged off zachs grip to not speak out, and shouted.
"Where is Colin!"
The commanders beaming smile fell off of his face and shattered on the ground, revealing how fraud his assuring smile was.
"Um, who?"
"Your guards took him. You arrested him, didn't you." Steven quickly glanced behind him, the crowd curiously hearing every word spoken from him, as if he was putting on a show.
"Your stupid guards took him somewhere. You all act so high and mighty but I know something's up. Release him."
"Or what?" One of the guards barked at him.
"How about I come over there and show you?"
Steven spun around, Zach opened his stupid mouth and blew it. Steven took a step back and motioned for zach to shut up. It was too late, zach already gained the hearts of a few people in the crowd, who started chiming in.
"Yeah! Release that guy!"
"Yeah, what's this about?"
The crowd was having fun again, hollering and shouting, and yet Steven felt naked and helpless standing in front of the commander. Steven turned back to the commander, ready to give up.
The commanders arm was pointed at the sky, all his fingers extended upwards.
His arm slowly ticked down like a clock. At least, it felt slow, Steven was entranced by this, unable to believe what was unfolding In front of him.
Archers appeared and lined the castle walls. They all had their bows drawn and aimed in the same direction that the commanders arm was going - the crowd.
"Oh my god. Oh Christ. You can't-" still staring at the commander who was smiling again, the sharp arrowheads ripped through the air around him, tearing holes into Stevens sanity, as well as his perception. He couldn't hear, he couldn't think, he just let his body rust and he felt like ropes had fastened his very being into the ground around him. The two guards slowly walked to his sides, he felt his arms move on their own to his back, the shackles and chains tightly wounding on his wrists. He stared into his captors eyes, his mind clawing and struggling to find a soul, a mistake, a sign, a reason. All he saw was the devil.
Steven succeeded in his goal of finding Colin, but only found himself in another problem. He was in the same cell as Colin. Zach was no where to be seen. Steven slid his hand along the cold cobblestone walls as he pushed himself to stand up. He stumbled slowly to the iron bars holding him in, Colin still slumped on the wall watching with depressed emotion. It had been 5 days since the murder of 13 civilians by the commander. The commander turned against the town that day, he and his army of guards had begun a civil war that lasted for at least an hour or two until the town realized there was no way to fight back. It was a living hell above ground for those who were not arrested, but it couldn't be any better for those who were in the cells. The cells were located at the basement of the castle, and was the only part not remodeled to look new and fancy.
Colin looked down, and tried to find the strength to speak.
"We are... Probably next you know."
Steven looked down as well, as if that was the only way to converse underground.
"I know."
"It's not your fault."
"I know."
"I'm really scared, Steven."
"I know."
Colin looked to the iron bars. "Can you say anything else?"
"Not really. There is nothing else to say."
Steven looked back to Colin as he quickly changed his view to the ground again. Colins' usually rambunctious, overzealous attitude was stolen from him, and was replaced with a drowning sensation. Steven frowned and ran his hands through his brown, messy hair, and blew air out of his lungs, trying to refresh his soul.
They were not waiting to be executed.
They were waiting to be banished.