Escape from Celestial

by Tony Johnson

  “So, tell me how it is that you two are siblings? One of you is an Elf and the other is a Human.”

  Ty was the one to answer since Steve was in a fit of coughing. “Well, we’re not related by blood, but that doesn’t mean we’re not brothers. A man named Titus Thatcher, I don’t know if you heard Steve telling me in the sewers that he-”

  “I heard,” Kari mentioned, cutting him off so he didn’t have to mention Thatcher’s death.”

  “Well, he was a strong man. People like him you don’t imagine dying. You always picture that they’ll be around.”

  Yeah, I knew someone like that, Kari thought, thinking of her dad.

  “Thatcher and my father, Caesar, spent time as warriors together. They were best friends. Each of them had promised the other that if anything should happen to them, they would financially support the wife and kids that were left behind.”

  Steve added to the conversation, finally done coughing. “It’s a promise a lot of warriors make to one another, knowing the risk they face getting out of bed and going to work every day. Ty and I made that same promise to each other, even though we don’t have children yet.”

  “So, something must’ve happened to your parents if you were raised by Thatcher,” Kari assumed.

  “Yes, unfortunately,” Ty continued. “When I was two and my brother, Darren, was three, our parents were murdered.”

  “Oh, Ty, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.” I know what it feels like to be an orphan.

  “Yeah, it was a rough time, but thankfully we had Thatcher and his wife, Olivia, to take us in. It was nice because they were having trouble trying to bear a child, and then we came along. Darren and I were a blessing to them, and likewise, they for us. Sadly, it wasn’t long before tragedy struck again. Olivia had finally become pregnant, but there were complications. She and the baby both died.”

  Steve picked up the story where Ty left off. “The next week someone came to the warrior watchtower that Thatcher worked in. The person abandoned a baby who was no more than a year old. That was me. Thatcher decided to adopt me too. He and his wife had tried so hard to have a baby, I’m sure it was a shock to him to see someone abandon theirs like it was worth nothing. So, he took me in and raised us all like we were his own, and that’s how Ty, Darren, and I grew up together.”

  Finishing the story, Steve entered another fit of coughing. Even doing so little as telling a brief recap of his past was enough to temporarily weaken him.

  He was coughing non-stop, and despite trying to hide the dark red blood that came up, Ty and Kari both saw he was nonchalantly wiping it on his pant legs.

  How long has it been? thought Kari. The attack began yesterday, mid-morning. Each of us has been moving and fighting for most of the past twenty-four hours. I know Ty and I rested for a while at his sister-in-law’s house, but Steve wasn’t with us. We have no idea what he went through, but he is clearly much worse off than us physically. Ty is leading us now and setting the pace. He knows Steve is hurting, so why isn’t he stopping or at least slowing down?

  Sensing Steve had too much pride to ask to stop and take a break, Kari pretended to have cramps in her side so he could at least rest for a couple minutes.

  “Ty, hold up,” she called to the Elf ahead of her while clutching her side. “I need a break, and I think I might feel good enough to digest something now,” she added, honestly feeling she was ready to overcome her inability to eat earlier.

  Stopping and turning around, Ty saw Kari slightly tilt her head towards Steve, showing him the real reason why she was stopping. “Alright, let’s take a break,” he determined. “It’ll be nice to sit down and be comforted by the fact that for once we don’t have monsters chasing after us.”

  Steve immediately sat down with his back against a tree, had another coughing attack, and closed his eyes. He groaned from the soreness in his body.

  Kari sat down next to him and Ty next to her. She pulled the arrows out of her quiver and upended it, sending four corncobs and six apples spilling out over the ground.

  Each of the heroes took what he or she wanted and ate. Steve was the hungriest, since he had thrown up his breakfast from the day before after being thrown off Clyx, but his jaw was so swollen he could barely chew. “I’m all done,” he said after eating half a cob of corn and was unable to open his mouth wide enough to bite into an apple. “You guys can split the rest.”

  “Are you kidding? You’re the one who needs to eat the most out of the three of us,” Ty said.

  “Do you want us to save some for you, for when your swelling goes down?” Kari asked, observing his bruised jaw.

  “No, you guys eat all you can. I’m sure we’ll find more food out here in the woods.”

  Three times, Ty and Kari argued with Steve that they wouldn’t mind saving it for him, but each time he refused their offers. “Skipping out on food is skipping out on strength. You two eat. We’ll find more later.”

  The three relaxed and talked for a little while, until Kari suddenly stopped in mid-sentence and stared at something in the distance.

  “I know this place!” she exclaimed. Taking a moment to reexamine the surroundings she concluded, “Yes, I’ve definitely been in this part of the woods before. If I’m not mistaken the trail isn’t too far away from here.”

  Seeing a tall tree with sturdy limbs, Steve said, “Kari, maybe you can climb to the top of that tree and see if you can spot it from up high.”

  Getting up and making their way to the tree, Steve and Ty cupped their hands, just like in the orchard, and were about to boost her up to the lowest branch, but stopped when a powerful flapping of wings could be heard from somewhere above them.

  “Is it Nightstrike?” Ty asked in a rush of adrenaline and fear.

  “I don’t think so. It’s coming from the north.”

  Looking up and seeing an orange phoenix being ridden by a green-armored warrior, the three heroes quickly realized that it was a Serendale warrior heading to Celestial on his flying monster.

  Steve and Ty began shouting and waving their hands, trying to get the aerial warrior’s attention, but it was to no avail. Kari put her pointer and pinky fingers in the sides of her mouth and let out a piercing loud whistle, but it, too, failed.

  “They’re as good as dead,” Steve determined, disappointed in himself for not being able to yell loud enough to get the attention of the warrior or his mount. “The monsters that have overtaken Celestial are going to see him and attack before he realizes the city has been sieged.”

  “I think that was Moltar,” Ty deduced, recognizing the phoenix. “That was one of Serendale’s strongest aerial monsters.”

  Knowing there was nothing they could do but feel sorry, the three went back to what they had been doing and helped Kari up into the tree.

  “Ty and I will search around this area on foot. If you see any monsters or anything dangerous, just whistle like that again to warn us.”

  “Come on, let’s find this path,” Steve encouraged Ty as they left Kari and searched.

  “Do you keep thinking about it too? The siege that is,” Ty asked while they walked along.

  “I can’t get it out of my mind,” Steve admitted.

  “It’s hard to believe any of this,” Ty agreed. “We were overrun so quickly. There were so many monsters attacking from every side of the city. You should’ve seen the destruction I saw from the sky. It was sickening. Monsters are never that organized. It’s as if all the small clans and armies of monsters were told to attack Celestial at exactly the same time. The Hooded Phantom orchestrated all of it flawlessly.”

  “I did see some of it. I was in the King’s Tower, remember?”

  “Oh right, what exactly happened up there?” Ty asked, curious as to how so many great warriors and the powerful king were all killed.

  “It happened so fast. The Hooded Phantom battled King Zoran, who fought as best as he could, but he was outdueled. The Phantom fought with
all the elements and moved faster than you or me. I’ve never seen speed or skill like that. Thatcher was the last knight to fight him, but he was killed. Then Silas came up the stairs, revealed himself as a traitor, and the Phantom killed the king.”

  Steve paused for a moment, thinking back to how events had unfolded in the tower.

  “What is it?” Ty asked, seeing his brother deep in thought.

  “Nothing, I’m just thinking about something King Zoran said to me before he died. He said he remembered who I was because of the scar on my neck. According to him, we had met before, but I’ve never met Zoran in my life. I would’ve remembered that moment if it happened.”

  “Maybe he saw you on the promotional material for the Warriors’ Joust or something,” Ty guessed. “It’s a distinct mark, so it sets you apart.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought at first too, but the way he looked at me, I could tell it was more than that. He really believed he knew who I was.”

  “Well, don’t think about it too much. It’ll drive you crazy,” Ty said. “So, what happened after the tower? How’d you get so beat up?”

  “You know that big, black-furred minotaur? The one who dragged me out from the castle to be hung?” After Ty nodded, Steve explained, “His name is Ironmaul. Silas ordered him to torture me. Silas hates me so much he wanted me brought to the brink of death even though it was already determined I’d be hanged.”

  “Not only that, Silas knew all of Celestial was rooting for you in the joust and most people had either been at the tournament or had heard about how you defeated him months prior in your exhibition joust. They put their belief and hope in you. They believed that you would win the trophy in the tournament. So, for Silas, killing you in the siege would’ve been symbolic of him crushing the people’s hope that warriors had any chance of successfully defending the city. He ordered your torture because he wanted to make an example of what it would look like if people fought back.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Steve sighed and winced, thinking back to every strike that Ironmaul delivered with his gauntlets and whip. “That’s pretty much how it played out for me. Falling off Clyx, torture, hanging, and injuries from battling the Hooded Phantom and Silas.”

  “Fun stuff,” uttered Ty sarcastically.

  “You know, I never really got the chance to thank you for what you did in the courtyard,” Steve confessed. “I can’t believe you risked your life to save me like that.”

  “I don’t know what I’d do without you. I couldn’t bear to watch that.” Then, in typical Ty fashion, he made a joke to cut through the emotion of the moment. “Besides I’m trying to pull away from you in this competition. It’s six to four now since we official escaped the city.”

  “Six to four and well deserved,” agreed Steve, nodding. “So, what about you? What happened after we parted ways in the arena?”

  Ty shared his siege experience, describing the fight alongside Klar and the aerial battle in which Wildwing was killed.

  “I miss him,” the Elf sighed.

  “I know the feeling,” Steve empathized. “It was hard for me when I lost Clyx. I still think of him. Just because they’re animals, doesn’t mean they’re not friends.”

  “Yeah, it sucks,” said Ty, “but we had a good run together. He was the best I ever flew.”

  Ty began thinking back to everything he felt as he fell from the sky on his gryphon. Once again taking the conversation to a more serious level, he shared, “Something changed in me when I was crashing, thinking I was going to die. I had so much regret. All I wanted to do was have a redo at life and make it mean something.”

  “What? Are you having a mid-life crisis at age twenty-two?” Steve asked, not sure if this was a rare moment where Ty was being serious and sharing his feelings or if he was joking around.

  “No, I just feel like I’ve wasted so much time and made a lot of mistakes.”

  “What do you mean? What kind of mistakes?”

  “I’m mostly thinking back to a lot of things I wish I would’ve done differently. I would’ve put more effort into Warrior Training. I could’ve graduated earlier, like you, had I really studied and tried harder instead of goofing off the whole time. More than anything else, I wouldn’t have been so selfish. I regret not spending more time with Darren over the past couple years. We barely saw each other in the past six months. The last thing I remember over three months ago when he asked if I wanted to go to lunch. All I had to do was take half an hour out of my day and I knew it would’ve meant the world to him, but I said I was busy because I wanted to go out with a girl that afternoon. Now I can’t even remember her name. I let my relationship with my brother fade away and now I’ll never be able to spend time with him again.”

  Steve said the only thing he could think of to try and cheer up his brother. “Don’t beat yourself up about mistakes you made. That’d be the worst thing you can do. If you’re saying you want to change so your life has more meaning, what you’re going through might be a good thing. It’s helping you to realize what’s important. So, you really almost bit your tongue right off, huh?” Steve asked, excited to know if that part of the story was true.

  “Yeah, pretty close,” Ty acknowledged, smiling about it.

  “What a quiet, peaceful world that would be, one without your voice,” Steve laughed, but quickly stopped because of the pain it caused him in his ribs.

  Ty playfully pretended to be offended. “If there was any part of you that wasn’t bruised, I would punch you there.”

  The brothers laughed and walked some more, but then Ty asked a final, serious question that was bothering him. “When Silas gave his address in the courtyard, he seemed so confident in the prophecy; that it referred to him leading monsters to victory over the kingdom. Do you think that’s what it really says? Do you think this is all predetermined? That there’s such a thing as destiny?”

  “I’m not sure,” answered Steve. “He could’ve misinterpreted it or he could’ve been lying to lower the morale of Celestial’s people. Believing nothing we do will make an impact to shape the future could be what he wants us to think. I don’t know what the prophecy says, but I’m not going to let myself believe we can’t be victorious.”

  Immediately Ty stopped. Steve stopped walking as well.

  “Listen!”

  “I heard it too!” Steve exclaimed, with his eyebrows raised in nervousness.

  The two warriors listened closely and heard the same sound again five seconds later.

  Kari’s whistle.

  Chapter 40

  Upon hearing Kari’s signal for alarm, Steve unsheathed Brightflame from his sash quicker than a flash of lightning. He and Ty sprinted back the way they had come, their hearts pounding with anxiety. Ty ran much faster, since he was not nearly as sore and injured as Steve was. Arriving into the clearing, he found Kari lowering herself from a branch.

  “What’s wrong?” he called out, looking around for some sign of trouble. Nothing was out of the ordinary. In fact, Kari was smiling.

  She motioned to the other side of the tree and pointed to something on the ground. “Dinner.”

  A large doe lay dead on the ground with two arrows sticking out of it. “You wasted no time, did you?” Ty asked, smiling at the meal they would later share.

  Kari excitedly recounted her experience. “From the top of the tree, I saw her coming towards me. I kept thinking, ‘Please don’t run. Please don’t run.’ And she didn’t. My first shot hit her in the thigh. I thought I might lose her, but she was limping too badly to make an escape. I had enough time to notch another arrow and strike her-”

  “Right through the neck,” Ty finished, giving Kari a high-five because he was so impressed and happy to have more food to consume.

  The deerhunter turned to Steve, the only one in the group who was not smiling. “What do you think? How does venison sound for dinner tonight?”

  “Why did you whistle?” was all Steve s
aid in response, clearly not as happy as she and Ty were.

  “Because not only did I kill the deer from the top of the tree, I also saw the path. I whistled so you two wouldn’t have to waste any more time looking for it.”

  “You shouldn’t have done that. I thought something was wrong, or you were hurt.”

  “Steve, relax, she’s an expert with that bow. She can defend herself. Be happy she found something and saved us valuable time.”

  “I am happy, I just…” Steve trailed off.

  “I’m fine,” Kari reassured him. She looked into his eyes and saw how much he genuinely cared. “I’m sorry I made you nervous.”

  “How far away is the path?” Ty asked.

  “It’s about three-quarters of a mile west of us. We can travel on it until dusk and then make camp.”

  Kari bent down and removed her two arrows from the deer. One was broken, so she threw it away, but the other had been undamaged, so she put it back in her quiver. She stepped back and stood next to Steve. Together they stared at their Elven friend.

  It took Ty a second to realize they were waiting for him. “You want me to carry it?” he asked, looking down at the deer carcass, knowing out of the three of them, he was stronger than Kari and that Steve would be unable to support the weight.

  The Human and the Halfling made no answer. They just looked from Ty to the deer, hiding their thin grins.

  Ty sighed, not looking forward to carrying the eighty-pound, white-tailed doe until they were ready to set up camp for the night.

  “You think I’m going to be able to walk for at least three more hours with this thing slung across my back?” he asked. “You killed it, shouldn’t you carry it?”

  Kari stepped up beside him and patted him, quite forcefully, on his strong stomach, knowing Ty’s high opinion of himself. “I’m sure someone of your physical prowess will have no trouble with the additional weight.”