Chapter 3's secrets shall be revealed. Plus, more surprises await!

Chapter 4: Ten Years Ago

Gol sat up straighter and listened a little longer. There definitely seemed to be vehicles outside, and there was something about the sound he didn't like. There was then a sharp crack outside and then another. He wasn't terribly familiar with such sounds, but he was quite certain they were gunshots.

He got out of bed. His leg still hurt as soon as he put pressure on it, so he instead hovered a short distance over the ground and glided out into the main room. This room was simple like the bedroom, but with a different assortment of furniture, as expected. A few wooden chairs, some with threadbare cushions and some without. A low rectangular table. A fireplace. And a small kitchen off to the side. But, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

He hovered in place and listened. He wanted to know what he was heading into before he went outside. A few more gunshots. And a yell. It sounded like it came from Kassra. He rolled his eyes. What kind of trouble had she caused now?

He headed to the door, still left partway open, and went outside. The moon cast a pale light, along with the large green star that was a common sight in the heavens, like two differently colored eyes looking down at them from above. These two things, along with the lights outside the house, illuminated five, maybe six, no, ten, vehicles, the wheeled kind. They moved to flank the house, throwing up clouds of dust that made Gol cough and gasp for air. The woman stood not far off, yelling something about "Marauders" and some surprising profanities. She fired another warning shot into the air as rough, armored men started to emerge from the vehicles with rifles and curved, jagged swords.

The Sage narrowed his eyes and growled in his throat. He remembered mention of these men in those books. Murderers and thieves. They ransacked any village they could find and killed those who were foolish enough to wander out into the desert alone. At any other time, it wouldn't matter to Gol whether or not this woman was slaughtered like a chicken right outside her own house. But, it wasn't happening with him here.

He barely managed to dodge in time as one of the men opened fire on him. If he had more time, he would have that fool screaming for death before long, but he didn't, and he didn't currently possess such patience right now anyway. Gol raised his left hand, and from it came bolts of pure Dark Eco. They arced out, bolts striking the ground and sending up small plumes of sand, before reaching the man, who shook violently as the area was lit by a bright, purple glow for several seconds, until Gol released him, allowing him to fall bodily in a heap.

Oh, yes. It had been far too long since he had last wielded Dark Eco. He could feel the substance flowing through his body, pulsing through his veins. His heart quickened. He felt so alive! A wicked smile split his face.

The air erupted with gunshots. The Marauders knew they were in for it. He was sure of it. And if they didn't, he'd make sure they did before the hour was up. Gol raised his left hand again (the state of his right hand made using Dark Eco rather difficult), and a black and purple ball formed, electricity sparking from it as it hovered over his palm, illuminating the left side of his face. It grew and grew, and once it was a satisfactory size, with a casual motion, he sent it at the main group, sending men flying and screaming as the Dark Eco twisted and ate at their flesh. He then brought up a temporary shield that dissolved the bullets they sent at him in response.

This continued in a similar fashion. Gol noticed out of the corner of his eye Kassra firing at men with her own rifle, dodging, cracking another man on the skull with the butt of her weapon. One man with two long blades attempted to sneak up from behind as she was busy kicking a man who had wandered too close in the shins. He took the man out with another well-aimed Eco ball.

Not long later, it was over. The ground was strewn with bodies. Bullet wounds distinguished Kassra's kills, while burns and mutated flesh provided proof of the men Gol had brought down. The air smelled of gun powder and blood and ozone. They were all dead, the whole lot of them. The Dark Sage brushed his hands together in satisfaction.

Movement caught his attention. One last survivor was heading for his vehicle. When he saw Gol take notice of him, he instead decided to try his luck simply running for it. The Sage chuckled. Enjoy your last moments, he thought. Then, he was flying after the man, cloak billowing behind him. He closed the distance between them in seconds and readied his hand, but that was too easy. This was one of the men that had tried to kill him and Kassra. He flew ahead of the man and landed directly in front of him.

He grabbed the man's head and brought his face close, tightening his grip when the man struggled, sharp nails digging into the side of the man's head. The man's face was covered by a featureless mask. Gol pulled it off. He wanted to see the man's fear. The Dark Eco Sage smiled. "Hope it was worth it." And with a quick movement, he snapped the man's neck and let him fall. Now it was over. Gol nodded to himself, as if in confirmation.

As Gol flew back to the scene of the skirmish, something struck him, and his mind began to fill with questions as he saw Kassra standing there, staring blankly, her mask in the dirt by her feet.

He landed nearby. "Where is everyone?"

She said nothing. Just took a few deep breaths. He opened his mouth to repeat the question, when she whispered something. It was quiet, but he just caught the words.

"They're all gone."

"Gone?" The only bodies were those of the dead Marauders. In fact, Gol hadn't seen anyone else leave their homes.

"They're gone," she said again, louder this time. Gol looked off into the darkness, in the direction of the other houses, and then back at her. The silence was then broken by the woman again, as she spoke louder still. "They're gone! Every one of them!" Her voice cracked. "They're…" She fell to her knees and buried her face in her gloves, sobbing. "All of them."

Gol watched her crying and heaving. It made no sense. It was clear they two were the only remaining people here, but this town was empty. Had been empty. No one came outside because there was no one to do so. But, an entire village does not suddenly vanish. Obviously, she had more explaining to do. But, it seemed now wasn't a good time for questioning.

He sighed. What was he supposed to do now? She was still crying and showing no signs of stopping. He had gotten used to dealing with such things, growing up with a sister, but Maia didn't cry anymore, so he was out of practice.

Finally, he walked over, the pain in his leg currently forgotten. He stood next to her, looking down at the woman. Let's see how much he remembered of stopping such things.

Gol knelt beside her, then, sunk lower until he was sitting on his feet. His leg was starting to ache, but he didn't care. He forced his hand up and gave her a single pat on the head. It was with his gloved hand, which was likely less than comforting. She kept on as before.

Hesitating at first, he put an arm around her. It was still his gloved arm, but he certainly wasn't getting up and going to her other side. She'd have to be satisfied with this.

"There, there," was the best he could come up with.

She started to sob harder, but leaned into his chest. Gol was fresh out of ideas. Now what? It was awkward enough with Maia, but he hardly knew this woman. What did she expect from him?

They sat in what was essentially silence, with the exception of the crying and a single, mournful call of some animal off in the distance, for the Precursors knew how long. Gol's feet had fallen asleep, and the ache in his leg had gradually gotten worse until it was really starting to get to him. But, there was little he could do about it. He was trapped.

"It…it happened over ten years ago."

He looked down. Her voice was muffled, as she had her face pressed into his chest.

"Excuse me."

She moved her head so her cheek was resting against him, her face free. "The…when the…Marauders first came." She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her glove, while he cringed. He'd have to wash his clothes later.

"You'll have to elaborate," he said.

"I was…I was just…" Her sobbing started up again. Oh, get on with it already! She calmed down and continued. "I was eleven when it happened. The Marauders…they came to our village…there were…so many of them…" Her voice got quieter, quivering. "I was so scared, I hid. I heard fighting outside. Gunshots. And screaming. I…I hid for the longest time, until long after all the noise ended." She paused, taking deep, shuddering breaths. "When I came out, they were all…" She buried her face in his chest again and wrapped her arms around him. He understood now.

"I failed them," she whispered.

"No…"

"I did. I really did." She sniffed. "It was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault." He had failed his sister. They had become trapped in the silo because of him. That was his fault.

There was more silence. Her tears had soaked through his clothes a little bit, and his leg was killing him. He should've started out in a more comfortable position. When it was clear she had no more to say, he looked over her as best he could from his angle. Aside from cuts and bruises, she had no serious injures that he could detect.

The Sage put his other arm around her, pulling her up as he tried to stand, and picked her up. He had no doubts she could walk, but he didn't think she was going to anytime soon. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, as if one of the bodies of the Marauders would suddenly spring back to life and snatch her away from him. He limped back to the house, pushed the door open with his good foot, and went inside. He closed the door in much the same manner as he had opened it, then, proceeded to carry her to the bedroom. It was the only one of the house. He had found she had been sleeping in a chair ever since finding him. He put her in bed and pulled the sheets up to her stomach. She was still in her armor, but he wasn't doing anything about that.

"Thank…"

"Go to sleep," he said. He turned and blew out the lamp and left.

Out in the living room, he stood for a bit, thinking, stroking his beard with one hand. He then returned outside and listened. All was quiet again. He raised his hand and sent a large ball of Dark Eco straight up into the sky, a flare of sorts. He watched as it eventually stopped a couple hundred feet up. If his dear sister was watching, surely she'd see that and know who it was from. He then returned inside and felt around for a chair in the dark. He found one and sat. (It was one of the chairs with a cushion.) He crossed his arms at his waist and took a deep breath, or at least as deep as he could manage with his condition. He actually had an easier time sleeping in a chair than a bed anymore, and it wasn't long before he dozed off, certain he would see his sister again soon.

I hope I did okay. I don't usually write fight scenes. And I bet you didn't expect Kassra's confession, either, did you? Unless you snuck into my house and read from my top secret, very confidential notebook. Which is impossible, as it is written in a secret code known only to me, as my handwriting is atrocious. Nope, my secrets are safe. Please review, and the next chapter will be up shortly.