Dear 0o0-The-Melodious-Nocturne-0o0:
Thank you! And I know my old writing was awful and I thank you so much for being a kazoo-er for so long! :D
Yayyy!
A/N: this chapter is full of my own characters. i hope you like them. :D lemme know what you think.
Chapter 3
Allies
Roam stared. The sound of the fighting was gone now. He could have sworn the sound of clashing swords was going to make him deaf only minutes ago. It was too difficult to grasp the idea that his army could be taken down in such a short time. He forced his eyes to weave around the battlefield, searching the bodies. He examined each one.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Dead.
Wounded!
He sprinted down the hill and slid to a stop next to the fallen soldier. He recognized him immediately.
"Malcome," he mouthed, still unbelieving.
"I'm fine," Malcome coughed back, "Really."
Malcome shoved off the ground and propped himself on his elbows with a groan. His dark hair was windblown with random streaks of blue fell across his face. He reached for his weapon, a long, thick scimitar, but winced when he bent at the stomach.
"You're hurt," Roam lightly pushed him back down, "Stop moving."
Malcome fell back on the ground, resting his head in the dirt. Roam quickly ripped off a long, thin section of his cloak and wrapped it around Malcome's stomach. Malcome winced but otherwise kept silent.
"Who else is alive?" Malcome asked, finally sitting up.
Roam shook his head, "I don't know."
"Go look," Malcome ordered, "I'll be fine. The battle is over, we lost."
Roam shook his head, "I can't just—"
"Go," Malcome shoved him slightly, "That's an order. I'm still in charge of you."
Roam shoved off the ground and began making his way through the battlefield. He didn't want to obey Malcome, but Malcome was the head of his unit. And, like it or not, Roam was still under his command. Even if everyone else in the army was dead.
It was silent. Hearing his own footsteps made him jump. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Sparr had one of the greatest armies throughout the kingdom. How could they be taken out by an unknown enemy?
The smell was unbearable. These people had been dead for less than an hour but still made him gag. He only threw up once as he made his way through the mile of bodies. The hardest part was seeing the faces. It was one thing to have death surround you, a whole other to see the faces of friends.
"Is there no one left?" he screamed, tears stinging his eyes, "Did they kill everyone?"
"Roam."
The voice was familiar. He glanced to his right and saw Kieran running toward him. His large red bow was slung over his shoulder, his brown hair poking out from his beanie. He was almost silent as he ran. Kieran never did wear armor as he should. How did he, of all people, survive? The only one without armor.
"Kieran," Roam turned toward him, "Is anyone else with you?"
"Na," Kieran's face fell, "I was going to ask you the same question."
"Malcome is alive," he informed, "But I haven't seen anyone else."
"My whole squad got taken down," Kieran sniffed, as if he had once been mourning but was over it now, "They—we didn't stand a chance."
"Kieran! Roam!" a younger girl sprinted toward them, her armor clanking lightly, "You're alive!" She had a man behind her who was dressed in the uniform of a Captain.
"Jane," Kieran smiled lightly at her.
"Have you found others?" The man behind her, Captain Baldric barked.
Kieran shook his head. Roam spoke up, "Only Malcome, sir."
"I've swept this area," Captain Baldric answered quickly, "You're wasting your time if you've come looking for survivors."
"So they basically wiped us out," Kieran noted, glancing away.
"We better get back to Malcome," Roam suggested, "He's wounded."
The four soldiers jogged back to where Malcome was laying. Captain Baldric pulled Malcome's arm around his neck and lifted him to his feet.
"Let's go, Captain," Captain Baldric exhaled sharply.
Roam couldn't help but be surprised. He often forgot Malcome was a Captain—his Captain, to be exact. Malcome was barely twenty while the other Captains were pushing thirty, sometimes forty. He also encouraged his regiment to simply refer to him as Malcome, not Captain Erikson. Malcome always told them, "If you give me a title, it implies that I'm somehow worth more than any other soldier. Here, in my regiment, no one is above another."
The five of them worked their way back into town, taking turns carrying Malcome. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, it was nightfall and most the houses were dark.
"Look at that," Malcome stared up at the sky.
Roam shifted his gaze up, examining the awkward lightning strikes. The sky, from what he could see, was swirling.
"That's odd," Captain Baldric observed.
A dark portal appeared behind the soldiers, they stared as two men ran through and a girl stumbled out after.
"Who are you?" Kieran asked, staring at the strangers.
"We don't really have time for this," the man with spiky red hair rolled his eyes.
"You five are soldiers, right?" the other man asked, relaxing his tonfas.
"Who's asking?" Jane asked, more curiosity than threat in her voice.
"Deym, we don't have time," the red head repeated then stepped forward, "Look, we need your help. We share a common enemy."
"Why should we believe you?" Captain Baldric demanded.
The red head looked up and then held out his hand. Small black pieces fell into his palm, "It's starting."
Roam stared at the strangers. They men weren't making much sense and the girl hadn't said anything. She just stared at them with these wide blue eyes.
"You have to listen to us," the blond man spoke up, "We have to go, now. If you want to stop whatever it was that just destroyed your army, you have to come with us. There's no other way. And we need as much help as we can get."
No one spoke for a long moment. Malcome was the first to break the silence.
"I believe them," he shoved off of Captain Baldric and stood on his own two feet, "I don't know why, but I believe them." Roam saw Malcome's eyes flicker towards the girl.
"Fine," Captain Baldric finally agreed, unwillingly.
"If you're in," the red head spoke again, "Go quickly and pack whatever you need. We don't have much time. You have probably ten minutes tops. You go, we'll be waiting here."
The soldiers fell into a run towards the city. They each contemplated the idea of leaving with these strangers as they ran.
"I don't think I trust them," Captain Baldric insisted.
Malcome disagreed, "I have a gut feeling."
"I want to go," Kieran agreed, "I just… I have a feeling, too. Roam?"
Roam answered immediately, "I follow my Captain."
Jane pursed her lips, "If Kieran wants to go, I want to go."
Roam rolled his eyes.
Roam threw his cloak on the ground, threw a fresh one in his bag along with some clothes, then quickly wrapped his long scarf around his neck. Roam's scarf was his trademark piece of clothing. The only time he didn't wear it was when he was in his army uniform. The scarf was grey and tattered at the ends, which drug on the ground. He threw whatever he could see into his bag, secured his sword in the sheath at his side, and then shoved a knife into his boot.
"Roam?" his mother flipped on a light in the kitchen, "What's going on?"
"Ah, I'm," Roam racked his brain for a way to explain, "I'm being sent out with the army. I'll be back," he struggled with how to finish the sentence and settled for whatever was closest to the truth, "Eventually. Tell Dellie bye for me, okay?"
His mother crossed her arms over her stomach, as if trying to hold herself together, "I will. Be safe. I love you."
Roam quickly hugged his mother and then flew out the door. He tried to avoid goodbye to his family. Not because he didn't love them—far from it. Because goodbyes were always too painful. It was his own fault. It was his choice to go into the army.
He was outside within five minutes and met up with Kieran. All the others were still packing.
"Dude, this is bad," Kieran held his hand out and caught some of the black dust that fell like ashes.
"What is it?" Roam asked, catching some in his own hand.
Kieran shook his head, "I don't know, but it can't be good."
Malcome and Captain Baldric both came running, bags slung over their shoulders. Malcome seemed to be feeling better, at least enough to run. The group was thankful for Malcome's quick recovery, knowing they wouldn't want to keep dragging him along. If he hadn't been able to run, Roam was afraid Malcome would have insisted they leave him behind. And if Roam was forced to stay under the command of Winston Baldric, he would go insane.
"Where is Jane?" Captain Baldric barked.
Kieran rolled his eyes, "Probably packing her make up or something."
Jane came running soon after, her bag slapping against her bag with every stride. The group began sprinting back to the portal, both excited and apprehensive.
"Hurry," the red head told them, "We don't have much time."
He disappeared behind the portal and the other man followed after. The girl stared at them and the soldiers stared at the portal.
"Ladies first?" Kieran suggested, shoving Jane forward.
"Kieran!" she yelped, staring wide-eyed at the portal, "This could be a bad idea. We have no idea where it leads!"
The girl stepped forward, her staff resting at her side. Light surrounded her hand and then her weapon was gone. She then held out her hand to Jane.
"You don't have to follow," she told her in a soft voice, "The choice is entirely yours. And I understand if you're afraid. I'm afraid, too. But these guys…" she glanced back at the portal and smiled, "You can trust them. And you can trust me."
Slowly, Jane reached out and took the girl's hand. The two of them linked arms and walked through the portal together. The men were right behind them, barreling into the darkness toward an unknown destination.
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