We carried on. My enemies' house was far, at least five miles, and we had a bit of a run to make it there in time.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"House," I said, trying to conserve my breath. "That's where they are."
He kept up with me easily. I had to admit he was a bit bigger breathed than I was.
"I didn't know there was such a place," he said.
"It's where they come from," I answered. "Now shut up and let me run."
"You don't have to answer," he said, looking up ahead. "But I didn't know where they came from. I've just been sniping at them, taking out any scouts I find. I've killed four, five if you count that one just now."
I nodded.
"What about you? How do you fight them?"
"Raids," I snapped. "With Calen."
I'd told him about Calen. He nodded. "So are we gonna get him out first?"
"Wouldn't want him to miss the fun," I replied. "Now shut up."
We ran on for five minutes in silence.
"So, where do you come from?" he asked. "Other than that place."
My eyes closed for a moment. Blocking out the tears. No matter how much Calen and I held back our feelings about our old home, no matter how we put on the façade of unfeeling hearts…
It hurt. Hurt that in one day, the most skilled of the ancients was destroyed. Destroyed by science. Technology. And why, I knew not. I only know the hows. Death. Fire. These were my earliest days. Captivity in the House, to start with. Then one night: breakout. I found Calen and we'd had our personal war against them for the rest of my life.
"I don't want to talk about my old home and family," I said, finally. "Enough to know that I was trained by the best. My only goal in life, now, is to kill my enemy."
He nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry."
He didn't need to say more.
"But how have you survived all these years, by yourself, when they're trying to kill you?"
"In the cave," I answered. "I've had Calen."
He carried on running in silence.
