Chapter 4
Apollo awoke to hear what sounded like yelling coming from outside. There was a screech from a child coming from outside. Apollo turned and peeked through the window to see if he could see the commotion. All he could see was the horses clearly disturbed by the activity outside. It was dark out, close to midnight Apollo was a loud snapping noise that sounded like a cracking of a whip and it was quickly followed by another scream. Standing up from the chair, Apollo took his M6 pistol and brought it up, close to his chest, making sure it remained hidden under the cloak. Apollo opened his room door slowly. As he eyed the room he found it was empty, but the front door to the tavern was open. Apollo quickly scanned the room and began his approach to the door. Behind a table, near the entrance of the tavern, Allwyn laid face down on the floor. Apollo cautiously approached and took a knee by Allwyn's body. Slowly flipping his body, careful not to cause further harm, Apollo found a small gash in Allwyn's head but he was breathing. Apollo pushed Allwyn carefully under the table and made his way to the door. With his pistol staying close to his chest, apollo walked out of the tavern and shut the door behind him. What Apollo saw next, It froze him to the core
Outside was a group of armored men rounding up the people of the town. They wore what looked like leather padding for protection and covered their faces with black and brown hoods. Most of the men held torches to aid their search through the night. Four of the men were on foot and were dragging people from their homes into the group. Four more Men armed with swords and whips, on horseback, were slashing or whipping anyone who attempted to resist. The people screamed and shouted at their perpetrators as they beat them. One of the men closest to Apollo had a young girl held by the hair, violently tugging as if to rip her hair out. To Apollo's Terror, he saw that the girl was Meryll. she was covered in blood and tears were rolling down her face.
Never in Apollo's experience's, had he seen this. He only knew humans to fight together against a common enemy. He heard of the wars of old, But he thought that the Battle against the Covenant and the flood would always keep them united. Never, had it crossed his mine that he would witness this terrible part of Humanity, Apollo felt an anger build within him. It was an anger that made Apollo dangerous. This anger is what made him the heartless killer ONI made him to be.
Apollo quickly approached the man who now had hands on Meryll's face, squeezing her cheeks for amusement. By the time the man saw Apollo, Apollo's hand was already around his throat. Apollo Lifted the man off his feet with ease. The man tried to breath but was only able to make a loud gritty gasping sound. "Let them go," Apollo said in the deepest tone he could. His Helmets Speaker amplified his voice. As his voice echoed through the town,it became dead quiet. He could see he had struck shock into the men as they saw there comrade being hoisted and choked. The choking man struggled to get Apollo's Hand, attempting to claw at his attackers armored arm.
A horseman armed with a whip lashed it at Apollo. The whip snapped and caught Apollos cloak. The whip had no effect as it struck Apollo's chest. With haste, One of the men on foot drew a bow and fired an arrow at Apollo, the arrow struck and shattered against Apollo's Helmet. "Very well" Apollo said and squeezed the Choking man's neck until loud audible pops could be heard. The man went limp and Apollo dropped him. Apollo quickly drew his pistol at the man that had the bow. Once Apollo's arm leveled out to aim at the attacker, his cloak shifted over his shoulders and revealed his Armor.. The man was already drawing another arrow but before the man could take aim with the bow, Apollo fired. The round struck the man center mass. The 12.7mm round made a 3 inch hole and splattered the man's innards all over the snow. People screamed in terror as the man dropped to his knees and fell to his side.
The men on foot were quick to react, and charged Apollo, swords swinging towards him. Apollo made quick work of the men, Dropping all the men before they could even get into striking distance. The men on Horseback witnessed there men fall and hesitated on what to do next. "I will give you one more chance" Apollo said looking at the frightened men."Leave or suffer the same fate of your comrades". Apollo leveled his pistol at the closest horsemen. Once again the town was dead quiet. Apollo fought his drive to end the Horsemen's life. Apollo straightened his trigger finger along the upper receiver, To help prevent the urge of shooting.
"We'll Leave" One of the men yelled on horseback "but we will be back for your head, Mage" he yelled. The brave man made a quick yip to his horse and quickly galloped away, followed by the other horsemen. Apollo watched, ensuring that they left before he did anything else.
It was a long minute before any of the townspeople did anything. After Apollo judged that the Slavers had left and the situation was much safer, Apollo lowered and holstered his pistol, he took a glance at the people. They stared at him with wide eyes. It was only for a moment. A few of the children began to cry from the pains inflicted on them. The townsfolk began to get on there feet, and began to tend to the wounded. Meryll was the first to approach Apollo. Her face was badly bruised but there were no marks. Meryll's face was dire. "Where's Allwyn" she asked as tears rolled slowly down her face. "Hes ok, hes in the tavern under-".Before he could finish Meryll ran off to see Allwyn.
Gorval emerged from the group of people and slowly made his way to Apollo. "You,... are you?" Gorval stuttered as he approached Apollo. "What are you, Apollo?". Gorval's face was covered in scratches and drops of blood was splattered around his face. As he approached, Gorval began to lose his footing through the mud. Apollo reached Gorval's arm to prevent him from falling. "Is everyone okay" Apollo asked. "Yes, you didn't give the slavers time to pick on who they were going to take". Gorval began to brush some of the mud off of his furs."Bastards will be back though, you can be sure of that". Most of the people in the town had headed back to their homes. "I feel you have only doomed this town Apollo" Gorval said looking back at the now very dark and quiet town. "When will they be back" Apollo asked.""Most likely tomorrow, and with great numbers." Gorval looked back at Apollo. "They will be back with many men Apollo".
"Then i will wait". Apollo said looking back where the slavers left the town. "You will need help, I will fetch some of the peo-" "No" Apollo interrupted Gorval. "If you want to help, tell the people to stay in their homes until i have dealt with them". Gorval grumbled quietly "Then what will i do when they attack" Apollo looked back at Gorval. "Stay in the tavern, get in one of the rooms and stay there until it's safe". Gorval went grave in the face but he nodded to Apollo and set off to the homes to warn the people.
Apollo spent the next 15 mins looking for a vantage point in the city that would give him the most coverage of the roads and entrances to the town. The tavern was the solution and its roof was made of Logs which could support his weight. Apollo rested a knee on the angled roof and eyed the town. The streets were empty, There wasn't a soul outside of their home. There were dim lights coming from most of the houses, and all but one window was empty. Directly across the tavern, A boy stared out the window directly at Apollo. It was the same Boy that looked at him from earlier. Apollo had a small smile under his helmet. The boy reminded Apollo of his time with Mother.
He remembered how much time he spent staring at the stars out the window of his home. Of course it was all a simulation, but Apollo didn't know that at the time. The little house in the middle of nowhere was all he knew. He remembered how he hated being in a small house away from everything. There was one particular night that stuck in his memory though. Mother took a seat by him that night, and gazed up with him. She was always wearing her blue dress with flowers and had her long dark brown hair draped down to her hips."One day" she said "One day you will go out there and do incredible things". Apollo looked to Mother, "But when mom, when will i leave". Mother smiled and gave a quiet laugh. "Soon son, very soon".
The young Boy looking at Apollo, raised his hand up and gave a small wave. Apollo returned the gesture with a small head nod. The boy smiled and quickly left the window, It snapped Apollo back into reality, He looked back at the roads that lead to the town entrances. His visor picked up no movement from the trees outside the town. He reached for his Assault Rifle and held it under his cloak. He held his Rifle, gripping the handguard tightly. Standing his watch, Apollo waited for the men and their reinforcements. If they did return, Apollo was going to show them the might of a Spartan.
