Chapter 3: Shit Happens
Steve heard Kasey yawn as they walked; he ignored it as the moonlight kissed their skin and heard the crickets sing their song. It was a few days later, and it was a beautiful night, with a full moon out, making everything glow with an unearthly beauty. He had always loved the night more than the day; it was more peaceful and almost made him forget about all of his problems. Kasey had noticed it early on, and chose to talk to him at night; she said he was less grumpy. "Steven…are your parents still alive?" She asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
He looked at her, realizing she didn't know that she was touching a sore subject for him. "No, they died before all of this."
She nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. What were they like?"
He didn't answer right away, going through memories in his head. "My dad was a soldier like me, but he devoted his whole life to the military. When he was around 45 he took a bullet to the head. He lived, amazingly; the man was a tough old bastard. But he had permanent brain damage, and needed help living after that. My mother…" He stopped talking, annoyed at himself for doing it. She noticed his hesitation and said, "You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to."
He stopped, making her nearly bump into him, and looked at her. "No, I will. I was always told that I needed to talk about it, but I was always too stubborn. It's the end of the world; I think I can get over myself and tell someone finally."
She looked at him and nodded, all ears. He sighed, and continued. "My mother…was a terrible mother to put it short. Even before my fathers injury she was stuck up, always needing things her way and was very commanding. To this day I still don't know how my father even put up with her, let alone married her and had me. After his injury, she took complete control, making him a prisoner in his own house. Me and her…didn't get along. I was a troublesome child, and she didn't like it." He paused, seeing that Kasey was still listening intently, and continued.
"It started off with just beatings; she wasn't very strong, but knew how to use anything near her as a weapon, and also knew how to hit me where it wouldn't show. That wasn't so bad; my old man was raised the same way. But instead of getting better, I got worse, getting into fights at school, stealing, everything. The worse I got…the worse she got. I guess she thought if she made the punishments more severe, that I would get too scared to misbehave. Had the opposite effect really."
He then did something he rarely did; he took his jacket off and slowly pulled his shirt off. Kasey started blushing, objecting at first, but when she saw the reason why she just gasped, eyes growing wide.
The moonlight showed everything; every scar, every burn, all the injuries upon his skin, running along and across his muscles. "After the beatings came the burning; small burns at first, but it got worse, to where she would heat up anything metal and press it against my skin. When that didn't work, she went to cutting; same as the burning, small at first, but steadily getting longer and deeper." He pointed to a very long scar, going from his right collar bone down to his left pec, stopping just above his nipple. "This was the last one she did. I had gotten older, and had fought my teacher. She took my fathers sword off the wall and swung it at me, causing this. This was the last straw for me; I took it from her and struck her, breaking her nose. I then made it clear if she ever tried to harm me again, I would kill her." He looked at the ground, remembering it as if it was yesterday; his mother pulling the sword out of the sheath and slowly approaching him, slashing at him. "She passed away not long after that; something about a brain hemorrhage. My father wasn't able to care for me, so I was out in a foster home until I joined the military."
It was silent for what felt like forever, but it was probably only a few minutes. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, seeing that the hand belonged to Kasey, whose eyes were filled with sadness and had tears at the corners of them. "I'm so sorry Steven. No child should have to go through that."
Before all of this, he would have pushed her hand away and told her not to worry about him. But she had caught him at a moment of weakness, and he actually didn't mind it. He looked at her, trying to think of what to say. The moonlight was hitting her from the side, making it seem like half of her body was glowing; she was beautiful now that he actually looked at her. He looked away, not knowing what was wrong with him. "It's fine. Everyone goes through some kind of struggle; I made it past it, becoming stronger in the process."
They stood there like that for a few more seconds, then she withdrew her hand, and he noticed that she was blushing again. "Alright, now that we are past that, could you put your shirt back on?"
He looked down, having forgotten about his chest being bare, and grinned slightly. "Nah, it feels good out tonight; the breeze feels amazing on my scars. I think I'll continue like this for the rest of the night."
She blushed deeper, trying her best to avert her eyes anywhere but at him. "Well, if that's what you want, but-"Then she stopped, squinting as if trying to see something better, then he saw fear cross her face. He followed her gaze until he saw what she was looking at. Ah Shit.
About 100 yards away from them was a pack of Darkspawn; He counted 10. They were standing there, their dark eyes staring at the 2 humans talking in the forest. They must have crept up on them while they were talking. He cursed himself for being so nonobservant.
"What-what are they waiting for?" He heard Kasey say, hearing the fear in her voice. He knew she wasn't going to like the answer. "They are waiting to see if we will run, or try to fight them. The instant we move, so will they." He mulled it over, trying to decide what to do. Running was pointless; Darkspawn will chase their prey down without tiring, using their sharp sense of smell to follow someone even if they lose them. But 2 against 10 wasn't very fair, and Kasey was not only scared, but her aim with her pistol was average at best. He would basically be fighting them all by himself, and even though he was a soldier, he didn't like the odds against him.
"What do you want to do? Try to outrun them, or try to kill them; either way is difficult." He asked her. He saw her hesitating, probably surprised he asked her, then she looked him in the eye and he almost smiled; her eyes were burning with confidence. "If those are our only 2 options, I choose to fight. If I'm going to die, I'd rather it be fighting then running scared."
He nodded, needing no words; she listened to his words on their first encounter. He saw her pull her pistol out, and he followed her lead, cocking his shotgun. He liked her statement; he would always rather die fighting. The darkspawn saw this, getting excited and roaring, charging at them.
"Aim at their chests! The armor isn't very strong, but they are durable; if you don't get a clean headshot, they will only get pissed." He advised her, slowly jogging to meet them. Unlike her, he had a shotgun, so he had to get closer. He heard a few loud bangs, seeing bullets fly past him. The first couple missed completely, but he saw the next 2 hit one of the Darkspawn dead in the chest, making it collapse to the ground. One down.
He got within range and raised his shotgun, firing it with a loud bang. He saw it hit a few of them, one of them dropping their sword as the lead tore its arm apart. He quickly cocked again, firing fast, and he saw another one drop as the pellets tore its face apart. They were only 10 feet away now; he cocked his gun again, and just as the Darkspawn closest to him was about to swing its sword, Steven fired again, the full force of the shot hitting it and sending it back, falling to the ground dead.
The next one was on him before he could fire, swinging its sword at him. Steven ducked underneath it, popping back up and slamming the butt of his gun into its ugly face, making it stumble backwards and fall. He fired at it, killing it before it could stand again. He heard more bangs, and saw another one fall; he was glad her aim had improved at least.
The remaining 5 got smart, surrounding him and charging him 2 at a time. He fired, killing one instantly, taking the top half of its head off. The other one roared, tackling him to the ground. Steven reacted fast; the instant he hit the ground he rolled, avoiding its sword as it hit the ground where he was a second ago. Still on the ground, he aimed his gun, putting it against the Darkspawns head and firing, seeing its head splatter into brain matter and getting hit in the face with some of it.
He got to his feet, seeing another charge at him, just to be taken down by Kasey's bullets. He swung around, catching one trying to hit him from behind and firing, the force driving it backwards and onto the ground.
He turned just in time to see the last one swing its sword at him. Having no time to dodge it, he raised his shotgun up, catching the blade before it could reach him. Before he could counter, the Darkspawn roared, pushing his shotgun to the side and shouldering him in the chest. He hit the grass, trying to get back up, but felt pain as the Darkspawn stomped onto his chest, forcing him back down. It raised its sword for the killing blow.
It never got to swing, as Kasey pressed her pistol against its head and fired, sending blood and brains out the other side of it as it fell to the ground, lifeless. Steven looked at her panting, as she extended a hand to help him up. When he was back to his feet he kept looking at her, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" She said, smiling. "I wanted to make sure I didn't miss."
.
.
"So, Clint, when did you find out you were a mage?" Jane asked to break the silence as they walked, the sun barely in the sky. She had always loved the sunrise; it was beautiful and made her feel like every day was going to be a good day. They were at to Lake Calenhad, and she was looking for a boat to go towards the island in the middle, which used to have a Circle of Magi on it, but had long been removed and replaced by the Ferelden Blight Research Center. Finding a boat was easier said than done at the moment; anyone with a boat either used it to cross the lake or destroyed it so it couldn't be used to get to the research center. Either way, they needed one and they weren't finding any.
Clint grunted. "When my parents took me to the edge of the woods, knocked me out, and left me to die."
She just gaped, not really sure how to respond to that, and said, "I'm…really sorry to hear that."
He shrugged. "No reason to be. It's not your fault. Humans will be humans. They consider mages an unknown, and anything humans don't understand, they fear. It's ignorant, but there isn't much I nor anyone can do about it."
She nodded; it was the truth. Humans did tend to fear what they didn't understand, and usually treat what they fear with hostility. She looked around sighing when she didn't see a boat in sight. She never had much faith in humanity; while there were always exceptions, most people only cared about themselves. People act all kind and caring, but the Blight is a perfect example of how fake that is. The instant the armies were crushed by the Darkspawn, everyone turned on each other, killing people that were their neighbors the day before for some food or ammo. All of their acting fell away, and their true natures showed.
She did her best not to be like that; she never killed unless it was necessary, never stole, rarely lied, and never used people. It didn't mean she trusted everyone; she just trusted herself. She was so lost in her thoughts that she walked past a building and almost didn't notice a boat leaning against it. She stopped quickly and turned around, a smile forming as she saw the boat.
"Finally!" She exclaimed, walking towards the boat. She examined it, and her hopes were dashed when she saw it had a hole in it. She dropped it, sighing heavily. Clint, who had been quiet the entire time, went and saw what made her mad. She watched as he went around, searching for something. She had no idea what he was doing, so she simply watched as he searched the area around them until he smiled and walked back to the boat, holding a piece of wood.
"What's that for?" She asked. Instead of answering, he pressed the piece of wood over the hole. He closed his eyes, and she held her breath, waiting to see what would happen. His hands began to glow, and before her eyes she saw the piece of wood seem to meld with the boat. It took about two minutes, but when he opened his eyes and removed his hands, the hole in the boat was gone. She was amazed; she could even see that the wood was a different color where the hole was, just like the wood he used.
"That's amazing!" She said, beaming at him. He smiled back, blushing a little. "It's very simple magic. A child could do this if they were trained right. Most people assume magic is only destructive. That's not true; magic can be used for almost anything. Unlike us, magic is very versatile, and in the right hands, it can be used for amazing things."
She nodded, agreeing. "I'm sorry that more people can't see that. I've only studied magic used by the Darkspawn, and most of it is used for destruction."
He nodded back. "That is also true. It can be the most destructive force on the planet, and that's one of the only uses the Darkspawn need for it." He gave her a questioning look. "So you studied the Darkspawn?"
"Technically, the blight, but since it consist of Darkspawn, yes I guess I have."
He grabbed the boat and she joined him, lifting it up and carrying it towards the water. "So you're, like, and expert on them?"
"Not really an expert." She answered, setting it down close to the water. "But I do know more than most people, yes."
"Really? Enlighten me then."
"Where to begin?" She said, sitting down next to the boat, Clint sitting next to her. "Well, Darkspawn have the mentality more like a bee; they don't really think for themselves. When they corrupt what we call an 'Old God', it turns into an arch demon, which then gives them commands telepathically."
"Really? It basically controls all of them?" Clint asks, seeming interested. Whether he actually was or not didn't matter; she loved explaining what she had learned.
"Yes and no." She said, getting into her explanation. "It basically has a small control over all of them, unifying them in a way that they would never do on their own. But it doesn't control every single Darkspawn; for example, the Darkspawn that decide to break off with the main horde and go ahead. It didn't tell them to specifically do that; the arch demon just gave them all a basic command, and they all followed it in their own way. More like a goal."
Clint nodded slowly, understanding. "There is something I don't understand though." She said.
He looked at her. "Well? What is it?"
He at least seemed very interested. "Every blight before, the Darkspawn just came up in a big horde and started attacking. Their was no discipline, no order; just a huge army of them killing everything. This time was different."
"How so?"
"Well, for one, they didn't attack with the bulk of their army. When the Orlisians joined the Ferelden army, they attacked with half of their army, then somehow got the other half behind the human army and attacked from both sides. That shows tactics, and greater thinking then they have ever done before. For two, we haven't seen an arch demon yet, and they usually show themselves by now."
Clint looked troubled by this. "So what does this mean?"
"Well, there are a few possibilities." She answered, getting excited without realizing it. She had always been a nerd, and it always made her dad laugh. "One possibility is that this arch demon is somehow smarter, or has more control over the horde. But I don't think this is the cause; a smarter arch demon would have shown itself by now, among other things. Another possibility, and the one I'm going with, is that they are getting assistance from something else. Whether it is an ancient power that hates humans, or some creature with intelligence; whatever the case, they are getting major help, and it gave them the complete advantage over us. The last possibility, and the least likely, is that the Darkspawn simply got smarter on their own, and came up with the tactic on their own."
"Why is that the least likely?" Clint asked, absorbing every word she said like a sponge.
"Well, they have had thousands of years to gain intelligence. This isn't the first blight. Out of all that time, now they suddenly get smart? It wouldn't happen this fast. It's just unlikely…on their own, anyway."
"Well, you do seem to know your stuff." Clint said, standing up. "The sun will be setting soon. We should get going, so we can get there by nightfall."
She stood up as well, confused. "But don't we need a paddle first?"
Clint smiled at her, pulling the boat into the water. "Not at all."
Curious, she got in the boat with him. He stuck his hand in the water, and it started glowing. Without warning, the boat surged forward, throwing her back into his lap. She regained her composure and position, blushing the entire time while he was laughing.
"Will you ever cease to amaze me?" She asked, after her blush went away.
Clint smiled. "I sure hope not."
.
They got to the island about half an hour later. While effective, moving the boat drained Clint's energy greatly, and he was pale and panting when they finally stopped. She set him down on the shore, pulling the boat up by herself.
"Are you alright?" She asked when she was done, turning towards him. He sat up, giving her a weak smile. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest a bit; why don't you go on inside and look around? Hopefully some people are still here."
She nodded, heading towards the only building on the island. What she didn't tell him was that if there were scientist on the island, they would have sent someone to investigate by now. Scientist were curious people, and wouldn't be able to help themselves. Nonetheless, she walked over to the doors of the research center. The sun was just starting to set, casting long shadows everywhere. She pushed on the door, which opened easily enough, but she quickly noticed that no lights were on. She went inside and looked around.
There wasn't anyone in sight. The place was a mess, like everyone got up in a hurry and left. She felt for a light switch, found one, and flicked it up. Nothing happened, so she assumed that the electricity was out. That was strange; this place was on an island, isolated from the rest of Ferelden. They had their own source of electricity. Why would they abandon this place? It was one of the safest places to be in her opinion.
She took a few steps into the building, and got a horrible feeling suddenly, like something was wrong. She didn't like it; she turned around to leave, and gasped when she saw two Darkspawn in front of the door. She shouldered her rifle, and was horrified as she saw more Darkspawn coming out of the shadows, coming out of the rooms, slowly surrounding her.
This is very wrong. She thought to herself. Darkspawn didn't do things like this. They would have ran her the instant they saw her, or wait to see if she would run; they certainly wouldn't set up an ambush like this, or stand their and surround her without a word. It was somehow even creepier than what they normally did.
"Well, what have we here?" A voice called out. She turned around, rifle still raised, and almost dropped it when she saw a man standing among the Darkspawn, smiling at her. He had blue eyes, with glasses and thinning brown hair. And he looked like he hadn't eaten enough for a week.
This is wrong this is wrong this is wrong. Her mind was going a mile a minute. Darkspawn never worked with humans; they were enemies, always have been. No human has ever successfully worked with Darkspawn. It just didn't happen.
"What might you be doing here young lady?" The man said, smiling as if everything was perfectly normal.
"I-I could ask you the same!" Jane stammered, eyes franticly searching for a way out and seeing none. She was completely surrounded. Why are they not attacking!
"Me? I'm here looking for certain research." He said, his smile looking creepier by the second. He stepped forward. The Darkspawn remained motionless; if she didn't know better, she would think they were ugly statues.
"Now see, you are in a bad situation." He said, getting closer. She instinctively started backing away, not knowing what to do. "You are surrounded by Darkspawn in a place you shouldn't be. Now that you've seen us, you should know by now I can't let you leave."
She didn't answer, and his smile only grew wider. He slowly turned away and walked back to the circle of Darkspawn. To her amazement, they got out of the way for him. When he passed them, he said two words that made her blood run cold.
"Get her."
And, as if a switched had been flipped in their heads, they rushed at her, and she screamed and fired until they overwhelmed her.
.
.
Steven saw them awhile ago. He did his best not to tell Kasey at first, but as they kept following them, he grew more worried and finally let it out.
"Kasey, don't look behind you after I say this, but we are being followed by a big pack of Darkspawn right now." She stopped and turned her head, seeing them. He grabbed her arm and kept her moving.
"Didn't I say don't turn around?" He growled, letting go of her arm and shouldering his gun.
"How long have they been following us?" She asked, pulling out her pistol and looking scared. She should be; there had to be at least 45 of them, maybe more.
Something's wrong. Darkspawn didn't just stalk people; they should have started charging them by now, chasing them down. "About an hour now."
Her eyes grew wide with fear. "An hour? What are they waiting for?"
He had no answer for her. He had no idea why they were just following them. It wasn't right. The road went left, and as they past some trees they stopped dead in their tracks. There were about 20 more Darkspawn ahead of them, as well as the girl they had ran into earlier leading them, smiling that creepy smile.
This is bad. They had Darkspawn in the front, and behind them. There were way too many to fight, and they would most likely get chased down and slaughtered if they ran.
Is this how it ends? After everything, was he going to die by these odd acting Darkspawn, not even able to protect the one person that was with him? He was an embarrassment to the Hawke legacy. He grew angry, but knew it didn't matter how mad he got; he couldn't shoot his way out of this one.
The girl stepped forward. Unlike last time, he noticed she was in armor, with some mean looking gauntlets with claws on them. "Hello again." She smiled wider, showing her razor sharp teeth.
"Fuck you." Was all he had to say, aiming his gun at her. If he was going to die, he would make sure to take her with him. The little girl giggled, as if what he said was cute. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves! You are fortunate; I was told to bring you two in alive."
Now he was angry and confused. "Bring us in? Alive? What the hell are you on about?" He said, never taking his eyes off of her. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't miss.
"It's not my place to say. Just put down your weapons and I promise we won't kill you." She ended this with a little bow, mocking him and smiling at the same time. He didn't really see any way out of this. "If you try anything, I'll blow your brains out bitch." He said, lowering his gun. She just laughed in response, and pointed back the way they came, towards Lake Calenhad. They started walking back, surrounded by tame Darkspawn and a demonic girl.
Where ever they were going, he knew he wasn't going to like it.