Enter Fearl

"You guys were way too hard on him. Look at the poor kid."

"Im not the one that shot a arrow through him." "Well-I-Uh...shush you! Look, hes waking up now because of you." "Hmph. I'll be leaving now. Be sure to give him a proper tour will ya?"

I groan loudly, it feels like someone replaced the inside of my skull with a heart that wont stop pounding. I open my eyes and squint to see the blurry silhouette of a woman slowly stroking my hair from above me. "How are you feeling kiddo? We were worried you might sleep up until the next year at the rate you're going." I pull myself up from what feels like a hospital bed. "Ugh...mom? You wouldnt believe the dream I just had...There were these weird people and-"

"And weapons that came out of nowhere? Magic and stories of wars of ye' olden age?"

I quickly squeeze my eyes and focus on the woman in front of me. Gradually, a young woman with tangles of light brown hair begins to focus ahead of me. I let out a defeated sigh. "Hey...Lisa."

"Its Isa Mr, I-S-and a big ol' A. I'll let it go just this once though, okay? But since you're awake enough to be messing names up, I think it's time you got a look around our headquarters. We're not all about barbarian fights you know." Isa wraps her arm around mine, and helps me up. I take a good look around me. Instead of the usual smooth wood of the cabin they normally shove me in, spotless white walls and rows of one person beds surround me. "This is the infirmary...we usually take people who are injured here for medical attention" Isa explains to me. I pull my ragged shirt up and marvel at the lack of scars. "How the... never-mind, I dont see why Im shocked at anything anymore at this point. Thank you, Isa..."

"Why dont you say thank you to your lovely nurse, hmm? I didnt do anything." Isa gestures her head to the blonde figure sleeping in the very corner of the room. I reach out to touch the person, when their head burst's up and stares at me groggily. "Lief...? Oh my god, Im so...glad...you're oka-..." The words fade out as Lunas head falls down on my arm and a soft mumble drifts from her mouth. I shake my head. "Heh... crazy girl." I slowly let her head back down onto the chair and grab a nearby blanket to cover her with. I turn back to Isa, "Cmon. She can sleep here while you tell me whats going on." Isa smirks at me. "You two are so cute! You can be nice when you really want to huh, Lief?" Instantly my cheeks grow a rosy red. "W-Wh-Whatever! Cmon!" I walk out the door and into the bright sunlight awaiting me, Isas laugh echoing out behind me in the infirmary.

Isa gives off a small giggle. "Heh...what a punk. Yet despite his attitude problems...hes handled the situation pretty nicely. His father would be proud of him. E Venge he eath huh...? This should be quite fun..." Isa opens the door, and rushes to meet back up with Lief.

"You left me behind meanie!"

"Arnt you supposed to be showing me around? You're the one slacking."

"All right, all right. Dont get your panties in a twist, jeez. Well, our first stop is actually right over here!"

Ahead of us, a cheery ice cream shop had been set down. Colorful red and white umbrellas shade glass tables, but the place seemed deserted despite the blazing heat of summer weather. I frowned, "Where is everybody? Is the ice cream here that bad?" "Hmm? Of course not. Everybody's inside, probably because of that rascal. Cmon, lets go in." A high pitched ding-ding-ding sounded from the shop as we walked in. Instantly, a bombard of shireks and cries fill my ears. A loud sigh escapes from Isa's mouth. "Every building in this village is completely soundproof. I've had my fair share of trouble wondering if I should come in this place with my hands on my ears or not. Lets grab something to snack on before we head out to see the rest of the village." The both of us settle behind a massive line of girls who look to be around my age. My ears perk as a deep voice at the very front of the line speaks. "One cookie dough ice cream please."

Hey, I know that voice!

From behind the hoard of giggling girls, a tall man clad in just plaid boxers manages to squeeze his way out. "Jeeeeeeee-sus. Lemme alone, will ya? Huh? Well look'ee here, its Lief! Whats up man? Sorry kind ladies, I gotta go have a chat with my friend here, ya see?" A loud sigh emanates as one from the group of girls, and business seems to run as normal throughout the shop. I smile, "You still havnt changed much at all have you Fearl? Are those new boxers though?" "You noticed! I swear, everyone around here only manages to look at whats beneath the boxers. Lets go over here, this is my usual table." Fearl leads us over to a nearby table in the corner. Fearl leans back into his seat as the rest of us grab nearby chairs.

"Is something wrong Isa? You're awfully red."

"Well, I-uh...um...dammit Fearl! Yo-you dont have to be leaning like that! Ugh...I'll be waiting outside Lief."

I grin at Fearl. Ever since middle school, he's always been popular with the ladies. Blessed with deep brown eyes and a body heavily toned from long afternoons of baseball, Fearl never had a problem with the ladies. Despite the gaggle of girls lined up just to catch a glimpse, a chance to talk with this dark wonder, Fearl only ever had his eyes set on one woman. It was sophomore year. Koundie, Luna, Fearl and I were all chilling around at the library when Fearl notices a group of "popular" girls harassing a quiet brunette at a nearby table.

"Oh-em-gee, that sweater was so two-thousand and uh, neverrrr."Glasses clatter on the ground.

"Look at you. You probably think you're better than us because you're smart. Well you know what you little bitch!?" A forehead smacks against the table.

"Oh dear honey. You wont ever get a boyfriend looking like that shit of a mess. Hah, I bet you're still a virgin, you loser!"Tears begin to splatter on her shorts.

At this point, Fearl is struggling to hold his rage in. His hands clench, his entire body is shaking. Suddenly, Fearl jumps up and sends the table crashing to the ground. "Why...why dont you bitches just get the hell out of here huh!? I've had enough!" He grabs the girls hand and together the two run away, away from all the chaos and the words and the pain. From that moment on, fireworks had been set. The two were inseparable, and were often seen whisking away to be alone. Then, one day it all changed. It started off like any other day, Fearl and the rest of us had just arrived at school when we see her. Shes in the middle of the hallway, her clothes shredded into tattered pieces across the floor. The entire school is filled with laughter, camera flashes, pointed fingers, cold whispers. The entire school, except for one broken down girl and the only friend she would ever know. Despite all the consoling Fearl gave, it was later found that the girl overdosed on pills that night. From that moment on, Fearl gave a oath. Never again, never would he ever cover himself with clothes, clothes were the ones who killer her. Clothes were the reason she had given up on the on hope she held that she might one day be accepted.

"Hey, you still with us on this planet superman?" I look up and find Fearl is staring at me concerned. "Yeah...Im okay. Just thinking of old times."

"Old times huh...? I guess you mean that time...Hey. Just so you know man, I wasnt recruited until just after the incident. Thats when I...found myself. I never pretended to be your friend Lief."

"I...know. I just... I guess I really dont know. Its hard to imagine that just a couple days ago, I was getting groceries for dinner. Whatever happened to everything? We're supposed to just be high school seniors, ready to burst out into the real world, ready to take on anything. Whatever happened to college, girls, our summer vacation? I wish things were like what they were before. Before, when things were simpler..."

Fearl eyes me hard. "Is that what you think? College? The real world? Is that what you think is important in life? Let me show you something." Fearl grabs my arm and drags me out a door at the back of the store.

"He-hey! What about Isa?"

"She can wait. Somebody has to show you what exactly we're fighting for." Fearl continues to drag me until we reach the very outskirts of the village.

"Where exactly are you taking me Fear- huh?"

There's this little girl in front of us, she couldn't have been much older than 6 or 7. She had a white cotton dress that reached down to her knees, and a red hairband to keep her long strands of wavy hair out of her face. She's only picking flowers, but the mere sight of it washes a serene feeling over us.

I glance at Fearl, but his face is tense, his eyebrows arching together into a "V" of disgust. "Her parents... they were just normal people. They all were. Her brother, her parents... she was too. Until they came, Lief. They pillaged and stole from her everything she had and more. What will she know of a father who could protect her, or a mother to love her? She grew up, and will grow up, without having ever known the embrace of a family! Damn it! Damn it all!" Fearls breathing grows haggard at this point, his fists are clenched white.

At this, the little girl looks up and notices us. She was like the polar opposite of Fearl, her smile seemed to reach the sky and her laughter sung out to us. "Feefee! It's Feefee!" The little girl tumbles up the hill, still laughing up to the point where she finally wraps her tiny hand around Fearls. With her other hand, she points up towards me and asks, "Feefee? Whos'sat?" Fearl smiles, "Say hi Elizabeth, this is my friend, Lief." I glance up at Fearl. Just a moment ago, his entire body was tense. This girl... Eh. It's none of my business. I wonder if he's really over everything though. He seemed... raw about what happened to this girl. I kneel down and wave at her. "Hi Elizabeth! My name is Lief." I hold a smile, but Elizabeth is still gaping at me, her hand slightly limp from pointing at me. Suddenly, she perks up and grabs a handful of grass, waving it wildly in front of my face. "Leaf!" she shouts, her smile reappearing as quickly as it had left.

I smile. With everything that's been going on, I haven't had time to just sit down and relax. A few days ago, picking flowers might have seemed like the worst case scenario, but now…

I grab two blades of grass and and tie them together into a small ribbon, softly placing it on top of her head. I use the red hairband, keeping the ribbon from fluttering away into the wind. The girl reaches up tentatively, careful not to disturb the seemingly delicate balance that kept the ribbon atop. Elizabeth giggles. "Pretty!"

Fearl grabs a hold of both of Elizabeths hands and bends down to be on level with her.

"Listen Lizzy, me and Lief need to talk for a little while okay? I need you to go back to-"

Suddenly, a rustling emanates from the forest ahead of us. Its faint, but the sound of footsteps treading across soft dirt and leaves reaches our ears. Slowly, a battalion of around 300 people slowly rise out of the forest. It's strange, you hear of wars where forces tend to near the hundreds of thousands, but this force of 300 already seemed to span across an entire field, blotting out the ground in darkness. They wear no armor, but are clothed in a black as night cloak, a gleam of silver shining within.

Fearls grip on Elizabeth tightens. "Lizzy! Go see Isa! Ru-"

A silver blur passes by Fearls head, missing him by only a couple inches.

"Run Liz, run!"

The little girl drops all the grass she had been holding and is about to run when she turns back.

"Feefee! You come too! And Leaf!"

She runs back up to us, grabbing a hold of Fearls arm, tugging him backwards.

"Please Feefee! Lizzy... Lizzy doesnt want to be alone anymore!"

At this, tears are streaming down the little girls face, her eyes beginning to grow red and puffy.

Fearl just stands there, looking at the fast incoming force ahead of us. "Lief... we won't make it to the village in time to evacuate everyone. I'll stay here. I need you to go back and get everyone out of here as soon as possible."

I stare at him blankly. "You... you can't honestly expect to fight all of them Fearl? That's suicide!"

He turns his head towards me and grins. "Of course I cant fight all of them knucklehead. Im going to act as a distraction. Now go! And take Lizzy with you!" He pushes Elizabeth into my arms and shoves me away, sending me stumbling back towards the village.

I hold Elizabeth close and run, I push my body to the limit without ever looking back. God damn you, you better live Fearl!

The village is just up ahead, I can see a group of people gathered around a fountain that serves as the town square. "Hey! All of you need to get out of here! Now! There's a army coming!" I shout. The people stare at me for a brief second before laughing and resuming what they were doing. "Hey, you guys, you... you have to... leave..." My voice trails off as I stand there, completely in shock. What's wrong with these people? Dont they know they're all going to die? Why are they just ignoring me?

Someone from behind me taps my shoulder. "What was that Lief?" I turn around. "Isa! Listen, there's not much time left. There are these guys, like four-five hundred of them. We have to get everyone out of here!" Isa laughs, and dismisses it with a wave of her hand.

"Impossible. There's a barrier 5 miles in radius all around the village. Anybody who walks in has the last 24 hours of their memory erased and a sudden urge to look up cat videos."

I frown. "I...I know what I saw! They wore these black cloaks, and-and... they're... they're going to kill Fearl!" Elizabeth begins to cry as she hears this.

"No! Feefee!" Elizabeth is bawling at this point, she can hardly control the mixture of snot and tears that fall from her face onto my shoulder.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Isa grabs Elizabeth from my arms and passes her onto a nearby man. "Take her and get to the caves! We're in a Code Black!" On-watching bystanders begin rushing to their houses, grabbing whatever goods they could carry. Word carried from person to person. In a matter of seconds, the town became a center of activity.

Isa turns to me. "We have to go now. Show me the way they came."

I nod. We're coming Fearl, hold on!