*****@@@******
Two young men were hunched over a glowing computer screen in a shadowed room. Nothing seemed to be moving and the gentle breathing of the candle beside the computer flickered ever so slightly.
A short man with thick dusty goggles on a thick head of pumpkin hair pointed insistently at the screen full of complicated charts and graphs. "We can't deny it any longer, Max," he said in a hoarse whisper," they're doing something big! Look at their recent activities."
The taller man with uncontrollable blond hair frowned, his usual cherry disposition turned off." This doesn't mean a thing, Kenny," he replied smoothly," Those guys always do these things: burn down villages, kill innocent people. You know as well as I do they do this all the time." With that, he turned away from the computer.
Kenny let out a disgruntled sigh but persisted. "No, I don't mean what they're doing; its how they've been doing it. Look at the pattern." Kenny took the keyboard and began typing earnestly. Max looked over his shoulder, afraid of any detailed pictures that might pop out of the victims.
"Look! Dizzy and I have been monitoring each of the times they have been identified. Compared with last month's, these seemed to happen fewer but in greater amount of violence."
Max forced himself to glance at the screen. The chart before him obviously showed more evidence of his friends proposal. "But I don't get it. Why now? What's happening?"
Kenny sighed. "Well, we might just be overreacting but Dizzy pointed out that it was very unlikely because-"
"Hey guys," cried a voice through the darkness," why is it so dark in here?"
In a blinding flash, the whole room was engulfed with the light that shone from the bulbs above them. Across the room, near the door, was their best blader. The dark-haired boy held a giant grin and settled himself on a chair near his teammates. "So, What'd you doing?"
Kenny let out a sigh while Max laughed, slapping Tyson's back.
"Why are you so late, Tyson? You knew about the meeting-", questioned Kenny.
"Sorry chief. Something just came up."
"Like what?"
There was a silent pause. The atmosphere suddenly turned dark and gloomy. Tyson had turned his hand into tight fist and his head was turned down. Max had a curious look upon his innocent features while Kenny looked surprise at Tyson's sudden change of attitude.
"One of my solders," started Tyson," he was found dead; stabbed in the stomach."
Max and Kenny instantly felt the sorrow. "Don't worry Tyson. He probably died very honorably."
A fist was swung through the air and landed on the table. "No, the thing is, some witnesses think it was that Mercenary Kai. I swear, if I ever laid eyes on the guy.." He allowed the sentence to drift off, leaving his teammate's imagination to wander.
There was a moment of silence. Every death of an Alliance Guardian was rough, especially if it was by someone that wasn't a DarkMares. Tyson was the most emotional since he treated all of his trainees like friends.
"Enough of this!" cried Kenny out suddenly. Tyson and Max jerked from their sorrowful state. "Look, if we keep doing this every time one of us die, we won't even stand a chance against the entire army of the Dark Mares. I know its important but there might even be a massacre in the near future."
"What do you mean?" asked Max.
"I mean the Dark Mares. Their pattern is very unusual and very unlike them. Its like they're getting ready for something big. Very big."
"Like what!?!?" questioned Tyson urgently. He stood up and looked at the computer screen.
Kenny lowered his voice. "We don't know yet. There aren't enough hints to indicate anything."
"So what are we going to do?" said Max, "Wait until they succeed? We have to do something about it!"
He shook his head. "No, not now."
"Why not!" demanded Tyson.
"Because it might cause them to panic and start killing more innocent people."
Max took an old chair and settled down. "So what can we do?" he whispered. They seemed to be trapped.
"I know it seems hopeless guys," comforted Kenny," but there is one thing we can do."
"What?"
"Send a spy." A deep breath. " Someone already volunteered."
The realization dawned. "You mean..."said Tyson.
"Maybe there is still hope for the Alliance Guardians."
********@@@*******
I sat up with the ache in my legs and arms lessened but strained from the lack of movement. With great difficulty, I finally sat up. The camp looked completely different compared to night. Light from the sun danced among the leaves from past falls while the towering trees caste long shadows alongside. In the fire was a couple of fish leaning on some twigs over the flames. There was no sign of the girl.
Inside, I felt relieved to have some time to myself but I wondered where she had gone. A few minutes past when something stirred behind me. As soon as I turned around, a hand pushed me roughly down and back on the bed of pine needles.
"You're not supposed to sit up again," the girl stated. In her arms was a small bundle of gathered branches. The dark green dress was covered in dirt and ripped in some places. The hem was still soaked with water, I guess from catching the fish. Her back was turned to me and she checked on the cooking.
"I don't need.." I started to mumble coherently. With her back still turned to me, the girl said shut up and took the cooking fish from the sticks. "You shut up. You annoying little bitch." Surprisingly, she laughed a little and handed me a giant leaf with the fish in it. Her hair was a little tangled and tied together with pieces of twine but lumps of her hair still shadowed her face.
I caught a glimpse of her hands as she handed me my breakfast. I was shock to find some cuts and bruised skin underneath the cloak she still wore. Without thinking, I asked her about them. The girl said nothing but to eat my food. My pride hurt, I pushed her as hard as I can while still lying down. She fell back, and I saw the large cut on her right cheek.
"What happened?" I asked.
She picked herself up and brushed the dirt off. "Nothing. Just a cut from a tree branch," she replied calmly. That seemed like an obvious answer.
Unmoved, I felt my concern ebbing away. Why was I concern bout her anyway? It isn't that big a cut...
The remainder of the daylight passed with us barely talking to each other. I was infuriated by being treated like an infant. She....she was almost unemotional the entire time. This confused me for a moment. Every time she gets the chance, she seems to stare off into the sky with this dreamy look in her eyes.
While the sun began to set upon the mountains, she finally asked me a question. She was getting her bedding ready when the position of the sun caught her eyes. Smiling, she turned to me. "Do you ever catch the sun?"
"What?"
"Do you ever catch the sun?"
"What the hell do you mean?"
She gave a sigh, her smile still intact. "I mean, have you ever looked at the sun, when its about to set?"
I didn't answer immediately. Of course I've watch the sun before. How else was I suppose to know the time or direction of where I'm going? The last part of her saying was a curiosity to me though. "So?"
With her eyes glazed over, she turned to the sun, still speaking to me. "What do you think it means?"
I rolled my eyes. I hate it when people ask me these philosophical questions. "It means that night is about to come." She came closer to me and sat down only inches from my body. I looked across to her, annoyed at her invading my personnel space. "Well, that's what it means!"
Instead of replying in her usual arrogant tone, she turned my head until it faced the last sight of the sun. "Don't you see how beautiful it is?"
"A sundown is a sundown," I replied coldly and shook her hands from the frame of my face.
With her hands down, she looked at me for the last time and gave up. Still beside me, she sat down with her legs crossed and leaned on her right hand. "So, your name really is Kai."
"How did you-?"
"The village where I bought the stuff talks a lot," she replied, eyes gleaming. "The great Mercenary Kai! The Silver Spider?" A laugh escaped her throat. "You're a whole class of entertainment around these remote areas."
"Shut up." Annoyed, I turned made a grab for her. She swiftly moved away and continued taunting me.
"Have you heard the one about the pack of wolves? How about the time you died and came back a zombie, or a bit beast?"
"Shut up!" Grabbing a pine cone, I trusted one at her direction. Grinning, she moved away.
"O, here's the best one. You had fallen in love but she died and now you walk aimlessly in search for her spirit." She said this with mock sorrow in her tone and stars in her eyes. I took the chance and aimed another pine cone. This time, it reached its' destination.
I grinned as I watch her pick the pine cone from out of her hair. "I told you to shut up, Celeste."
The pine cone slipped from her hand in shock. " You said my name!"
"So." I really didn't see the big deal.
She smiled. "Well, I guess I have to call you Kai from now on."
We stared at each other in silence. I was really questioning the sanity of this girl. "Whatever," I mumbled and turned my back on her, pretending to go to sleep.
Behind me, the girl took a final poke at the fire before going back to the other side of the camp. I sneaked a peak at her, resting. Though barely visible through the length of her hair, the scar still left its mark in my conscience. I didn't tell her this, but branches do not usually make scars that big.
Two young men were hunched over a glowing computer screen in a shadowed room. Nothing seemed to be moving and the gentle breathing of the candle beside the computer flickered ever so slightly.
A short man with thick dusty goggles on a thick head of pumpkin hair pointed insistently at the screen full of complicated charts and graphs. "We can't deny it any longer, Max," he said in a hoarse whisper," they're doing something big! Look at their recent activities."
The taller man with uncontrollable blond hair frowned, his usual cherry disposition turned off." This doesn't mean a thing, Kenny," he replied smoothly," Those guys always do these things: burn down villages, kill innocent people. You know as well as I do they do this all the time." With that, he turned away from the computer.
Kenny let out a disgruntled sigh but persisted. "No, I don't mean what they're doing; its how they've been doing it. Look at the pattern." Kenny took the keyboard and began typing earnestly. Max looked over his shoulder, afraid of any detailed pictures that might pop out of the victims.
"Look! Dizzy and I have been monitoring each of the times they have been identified. Compared with last month's, these seemed to happen fewer but in greater amount of violence."
Max forced himself to glance at the screen. The chart before him obviously showed more evidence of his friends proposal. "But I don't get it. Why now? What's happening?"
Kenny sighed. "Well, we might just be overreacting but Dizzy pointed out that it was very unlikely because-"
"Hey guys," cried a voice through the darkness," why is it so dark in here?"
In a blinding flash, the whole room was engulfed with the light that shone from the bulbs above them. Across the room, near the door, was their best blader. The dark-haired boy held a giant grin and settled himself on a chair near his teammates. "So, What'd you doing?"
Kenny let out a sigh while Max laughed, slapping Tyson's back.
"Why are you so late, Tyson? You knew about the meeting-", questioned Kenny.
"Sorry chief. Something just came up."
"Like what?"
There was a silent pause. The atmosphere suddenly turned dark and gloomy. Tyson had turned his hand into tight fist and his head was turned down. Max had a curious look upon his innocent features while Kenny looked surprise at Tyson's sudden change of attitude.
"One of my solders," started Tyson," he was found dead; stabbed in the stomach."
Max and Kenny instantly felt the sorrow. "Don't worry Tyson. He probably died very honorably."
A fist was swung through the air and landed on the table. "No, the thing is, some witnesses think it was that Mercenary Kai. I swear, if I ever laid eyes on the guy.." He allowed the sentence to drift off, leaving his teammate's imagination to wander.
There was a moment of silence. Every death of an Alliance Guardian was rough, especially if it was by someone that wasn't a DarkMares. Tyson was the most emotional since he treated all of his trainees like friends.
"Enough of this!" cried Kenny out suddenly. Tyson and Max jerked from their sorrowful state. "Look, if we keep doing this every time one of us die, we won't even stand a chance against the entire army of the Dark Mares. I know its important but there might even be a massacre in the near future."
"What do you mean?" asked Max.
"I mean the Dark Mares. Their pattern is very unusual and very unlike them. Its like they're getting ready for something big. Very big."
"Like what!?!?" questioned Tyson urgently. He stood up and looked at the computer screen.
Kenny lowered his voice. "We don't know yet. There aren't enough hints to indicate anything."
"So what are we going to do?" said Max, "Wait until they succeed? We have to do something about it!"
He shook his head. "No, not now."
"Why not!" demanded Tyson.
"Because it might cause them to panic and start killing more innocent people."
Max took an old chair and settled down. "So what can we do?" he whispered. They seemed to be trapped.
"I know it seems hopeless guys," comforted Kenny," but there is one thing we can do."
"What?"
"Send a spy." A deep breath. " Someone already volunteered."
The realization dawned. "You mean..."said Tyson.
"Maybe there is still hope for the Alliance Guardians."
********@@@*******
I sat up with the ache in my legs and arms lessened but strained from the lack of movement. With great difficulty, I finally sat up. The camp looked completely different compared to night. Light from the sun danced among the leaves from past falls while the towering trees caste long shadows alongside. In the fire was a couple of fish leaning on some twigs over the flames. There was no sign of the girl.
Inside, I felt relieved to have some time to myself but I wondered where she had gone. A few minutes past when something stirred behind me. As soon as I turned around, a hand pushed me roughly down and back on the bed of pine needles.
"You're not supposed to sit up again," the girl stated. In her arms was a small bundle of gathered branches. The dark green dress was covered in dirt and ripped in some places. The hem was still soaked with water, I guess from catching the fish. Her back was turned to me and she checked on the cooking.
"I don't need.." I started to mumble coherently. With her back still turned to me, the girl said shut up and took the cooking fish from the sticks. "You shut up. You annoying little bitch." Surprisingly, she laughed a little and handed me a giant leaf with the fish in it. Her hair was a little tangled and tied together with pieces of twine but lumps of her hair still shadowed her face.
I caught a glimpse of her hands as she handed me my breakfast. I was shock to find some cuts and bruised skin underneath the cloak she still wore. Without thinking, I asked her about them. The girl said nothing but to eat my food. My pride hurt, I pushed her as hard as I can while still lying down. She fell back, and I saw the large cut on her right cheek.
"What happened?" I asked.
She picked herself up and brushed the dirt off. "Nothing. Just a cut from a tree branch," she replied calmly. That seemed like an obvious answer.
Unmoved, I felt my concern ebbing away. Why was I concern bout her anyway? It isn't that big a cut...
The remainder of the daylight passed with us barely talking to each other. I was infuriated by being treated like an infant. She....she was almost unemotional the entire time. This confused me for a moment. Every time she gets the chance, she seems to stare off into the sky with this dreamy look in her eyes.
While the sun began to set upon the mountains, she finally asked me a question. She was getting her bedding ready when the position of the sun caught her eyes. Smiling, she turned to me. "Do you ever catch the sun?"
"What?"
"Do you ever catch the sun?"
"What the hell do you mean?"
She gave a sigh, her smile still intact. "I mean, have you ever looked at the sun, when its about to set?"
I didn't answer immediately. Of course I've watch the sun before. How else was I suppose to know the time or direction of where I'm going? The last part of her saying was a curiosity to me though. "So?"
With her eyes glazed over, she turned to the sun, still speaking to me. "What do you think it means?"
I rolled my eyes. I hate it when people ask me these philosophical questions. "It means that night is about to come." She came closer to me and sat down only inches from my body. I looked across to her, annoyed at her invading my personnel space. "Well, that's what it means!"
Instead of replying in her usual arrogant tone, she turned my head until it faced the last sight of the sun. "Don't you see how beautiful it is?"
"A sundown is a sundown," I replied coldly and shook her hands from the frame of my face.
With her hands down, she looked at me for the last time and gave up. Still beside me, she sat down with her legs crossed and leaned on her right hand. "So, your name really is Kai."
"How did you-?"
"The village where I bought the stuff talks a lot," she replied, eyes gleaming. "The great Mercenary Kai! The Silver Spider?" A laugh escaped her throat. "You're a whole class of entertainment around these remote areas."
"Shut up." Annoyed, I turned made a grab for her. She swiftly moved away and continued taunting me.
"Have you heard the one about the pack of wolves? How about the time you died and came back a zombie, or a bit beast?"
"Shut up!" Grabbing a pine cone, I trusted one at her direction. Grinning, she moved away.
"O, here's the best one. You had fallen in love but she died and now you walk aimlessly in search for her spirit." She said this with mock sorrow in her tone and stars in her eyes. I took the chance and aimed another pine cone. This time, it reached its' destination.
I grinned as I watch her pick the pine cone from out of her hair. "I told you to shut up, Celeste."
The pine cone slipped from her hand in shock. " You said my name!"
"So." I really didn't see the big deal.
She smiled. "Well, I guess I have to call you Kai from now on."
We stared at each other in silence. I was really questioning the sanity of this girl. "Whatever," I mumbled and turned my back on her, pretending to go to sleep.
Behind me, the girl took a final poke at the fire before going back to the other side of the camp. I sneaked a peak at her, resting. Though barely visible through the length of her hair, the scar still left its mark in my conscience. I didn't tell her this, but branches do not usually make scars that big.