by Tony Johnson
Ty lifted his head up. “It’s bad. Far worse than I’ve ever seen. Did Darren say where he was stationed today?”
“He said he was headed to Ostravaski’s Tower. I only know that because he was complaining about how he was going to miss seeing Steve compete in the Joust.”
Ty buried his face in his hands. His breathing increased rapidly.
“Ty, what is it?” Cassandra asked in a quivering voice.
“Commander Ostravaski’s watchtower. It fell…I watched it collapse when I was in the air on Wildwing.”
Cassandra stood up from the table and started to pace around, muttering to herself in denial. “Darren was in that tower. Darren was in that tower. He can’t die. He can’t be dead.” Out of her mouth escaped the panicking thoughts as they crossed her mind.
Ty sat at the table thinking of how much his brother had been a role model to him and how much he always looked up to his brother, especially after the death of their parents. Ty’s chin was quivering, but he held in his tears. Cassandra stopped pacing and collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Kari moved from the kitchen table and sat down and wrapped her arms around Cassandra. She didn’t know how else to help the grieving woman.
After seeing his sister-in-law weep, Ty could no longer hold back his tears. He got up from the table and went over to embrace Cassandra. Kari let him take her place as she stood up and stepped back.
Even though she didn’t know Darren, she felt her own eyes well up. Kari was a very caring and compassionate person. She hated seeing people in emotional or physical pain. A beautiful family has just lost their leader. A wife is now a widow. Lucan is left fatherless. A child should be able to grow up provided for, in a loving home under a mother and father. I know what it was like not to have that.
Kari walked over and opened Lucan’s door. His eyes were already red from the tears he was crying. He had heard his mother’s sobs from his room. He knew he wouldn’t see his father again. The boy sprinted to his mother and uncle and joined the emotional, huddled hug on the floor.
Kari left the grieving family alone, walked up the stairs to a loft, and then climbed up a short ladder out onto the roof of the house. Darren and Cassandra’s house wasn’t nearly as tall as the previous building they had climbed, but Kari could still see a good distance from the roof. She expected to be able to see, at least, the top of the inner wall. All she could see was a faint, shifting orange light that seemed to surround the curved, circular edge of the city. A wall of smoke filled the air above it. She thought back to what Ty had said.
If people don’t come out of their locked homes, the buildings will be burned to the ground. Monsters didn’t care to waste time going through every room in the tens of thousands of houses in Celestial. If no one came out of a locked house, it would be set aflame.
In the distance, Kari saw monster archers patrolling the rooftops of evacuated homes, searching for any people that may have been missed. In the streets, large groups of civilians were being herded like sheep towards the castle, the center of the city. It seemed like every main road had large groups of people on it. They were all heading towards the main road, merging with other groups and being led toward the castle.
Was Ty right? Will we really all become slaves? Or are they just gathering us to kill us all, ensuring a monumental victory in the ongoing war of people versus monsters?
Kari imagined what her life would be like in the coming days, weeks, and months. People in Celestial lived a very systematic life. Every day was exactly the same for most people. They woke up, ate, worked, ate, and slept before starting the process all over again the next day. They always traveled to the same city locations and interacted with the same people. People followed the same paths, gave the same greetings, and purchased the same products from the same merchants.
Everything we have grown so used to for so long will be gone. The people, the places. Some of it has already disappeared forever. We always go to sleep assuming the things we have will be there when we wake up. Why do we take so much in our lives for granted?
Kari wished this attack was all just a nightmare. She wished she could wake up and find out she had only been dreaming. Everything would go back to the way it had always been.
Unfortunately, all the horrors she had seen were real. Never again would she live the life that she had grown accustomed to. An unexpected attack on an ordinary day was forever changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on Element.
Kari heard screaming, causing her attention to focus in on a group two streets over. A monster had just ran his sword through the back of a child. The father attacked the monster with a dagger he had hidden in his pocket, stabbing the monster repeatedly in the chest. The child-murdering monster clutched its chest and fell to the ground dead. The father was still savagely attacking it with his dagger even though he had already killed it. An ogre pulled him off of the dead body and crushed his head with a spiked mace.
Kari didn’t know how much more she could bear. This day will be forever remembered. Mostly through the nightmares it is going to give all of us who survive.
Ty climbed up the ladder through the hole in the roof. He gently put his hand on Kari’s shoulder, trying not to scare her, but she jumped anyway. “They will be here soon. I’m not going to fight back. They will kill Cassandra and Lucan if I do.”
“Who is to say they won’t kill us anyway? I just watched them murder a child in the street the same age as Lucan for no reason.”
“I know, Kari. This is horrible, all of this, but obeying their orders is the only option we have.” It was hard for Ty to give in. He wanted to fight back, but couldn’t because of his family. Ty had just lost his brother. He couldn’t bear losing Cassandra, his nephew, or even Kari. It’s my responsibility to keep them safe, no matter what the cost.
“Can you help me take off my armor? If they see that I am a warrior, they will kill me instantly,” Ty requested of his new friend.
“Of course,” Kari said as she moved in close to help.
“Thank you,” Ty whispered as he gently stroked her arm. It was a thank you not for currently helping him with the armor, but for being so tender and caring to his family and also towards him when he was disoriented after crashing down into the plaza.
“You’re welcome,” Kari said back.
For a moment the two held each other’s gaze. Kari felt drawn to Ty as she looked into his eyes that were still watery from crying. Warriors were known as strong men who never showed their emotions, but Ty didn’t care about that stereotype. He was moved by the realization of Darren’s death. His tears showed her how much he cared about his brother and the family the deceased warrior left behind.
Ty leaned in towards Kari.
He’s going to kiss me!
She was equally scared and excited. But the attractive blonde-haired Elf only kissed her on the cheek; another way of showing his appreciation for her. A part of Kari wished he had kissed her on the lips. She was beginning to like him, the more she got to know him, but she knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to share that type of kiss. We’ve already experienced enough drama today, Kari thought as she helped Ty remove his armor.
Warriors typically wore a six piece metal armor set. The plate was the main and largest piece of armor. It protected the warrior’s torso by covering their chest and abdomen. Gauntlets covered their leather gloved hands and part of their forearms. Spaulders covered a warrior’s shoulders. Some styles covered the upper arm as well. Cuisses were armor for the thighs. Greaves were a thin metal shin guard. Steel boots, which came in optional low or high cuts, protected the warrior’s feet. High cut boots had the greaves built in, so warriors who wore those only had a five piece set of armor.
Helms were optional (just like capes). Warriors tended to only wear the steel head-protectors when they knew they were going into a dangerous battle. Chainmail was rare and expensive. It was only worn by captains, commanders, knights, and the king. It covered the spaces the armor left
and was incredibly difficult to cut through.
As Ty took off his blue gauntlets and leather gloves, Kari removed his spaulders. Then she unbuckled the leather straps that held the front and back pieces of his silver plate together. Ty slid out of the armor. He was dressed in a tunic drenched in sweat and blood and typical civilian breeches.
“Could you go get me one of my brother’s shirts? Not even the most nervous man on Element would sweat as much as I have today if he wasn’t fighting monsters. I don’t want to give them a reason to believe I’m a warrior.”
Kari saw the wisdom in his thinking and climbed down the ladder. She found a shirt of Darren’s and brought it back up to Ty.
She could not suppress a smile when she climbed back up onto the roof and saw Ty standing with his shirt taken off. He was incredibly muscular. She could tell he didn’t mind showing off his amazing physique to her.
Kari walked forward and handed Ty the shirt, physically unable to resist the temptation of admiring his body. Stop staring Kari, she said to herself.
“Thank you,” Ty said as he overconfidently winked at Kari.
Ty left his armor and weapons buried under a pile of hay on the roof. He came down the ladder and walked down the stairs, looking like an average civilian. The disguised warrior, a still sobbing widow, a child, and Kari, all gathered in front of the door to the home. Ty analyzed how the four of them would appear to the monsters when he noticed a fault.
“Cass, I’m sorry, but you can’t be holding Lucan in front of the monsters. When they see a strong love between two people, they will kill one of them to set an example. Having someone to love strengthens and empowers you. If you see a loved one murdered, it causes you to do something stupid and rash, which gets you killed, or it causes your heart to break. Either way, the monsters get what they want. You’re either dead or defeated. That’s why they break the bond of love by death.”
Kari was surprised by what Ty had just said. Having someone to love strengthens and empowers you. I had no idea he was that deep and poetic. He was continuing to impress her.
Cassandra kissed her son on his forehead, “I love you so much, Lucan. Your daddy loves you too. He’s watching over both of us at this very moment. Nothing will happen to you or me. I need you to keep quiet and do what you’re told. Can you do that?”
Lucan was too scared to even say “Yes,” but he nodded his promise to his mother. Cassandra stood up and let go of her son.
Ty looked at Kari. She was clutching her bow to her chest, knowing she could not bring it with her, but hoping no one would notice. Without him saying anything, Kari blurted out, “Ty, I cannot get rid of this!” She was on the verge of tears.
Ty considered her connection to the bow for a moment. “Leave the quiver in the house, but you have to offer the bow to the monster that collects us. Maybe it will be an act of good faith and none of us will be killed.” As soon as he said that sentence, he saw the fear in Lucan’s eyes as his nephew realized that any one of them might be killed within the next couple minutes. The boy started crying again, afraid he would lose his mother or end up dead like his father.
Ty knelt down next to his nephew. “Lucan, you are scared. I see that, but I want you to show these monsters that you…”
Ty was interrupted by screams coming from the next house over. The monsters were getting close. He grabbed his nephew by the shoulders to regain his attention since it had been taken by the awful sounds.
“Lucan, it’s okay to be scared. I’m scared too. But you can’t show the monsters that you fear them. Show them that you are brave. Monsters kill the weak without a thought. They feed off of fear. You can’t cry in front of them. I know that you are strong. You can do this. Someday you will be a mighty warrior like your grandfather, like your father, like me. Being a warrior is in your blood. Harness the anger that you feel at the monsters for killing your father. Use it to fuel the fire inside of you, to keep pushing forward, to make you stronger. Like your mom said, your dad is watching over you. And the three of us will stand by your side as well. We won’t let anything happen to you…I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Two loud thuds on the door made all four of them jump. KNOCK! KNOCK!
Ty gave one last word of encouragement to the group. “None of us are going to die today. Don’t look at them. Don’t do anything other than walk the straight line to wherever they lead us. We are going to make it through this.”
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Chapter 23
Ty opened the door and was immediately grabbed by the collar and thrown down onto the street by a cyclops. Cyclops’ were gigantic monsters, larger even than ogres. Because of their size, putting a weapon in their hands was an easy way to guarantee destruction. However, who or what was damaged was anyone’s guess. The one-eyed brutes were incredibly dimwitted. Whatever was in their way was what they attacked. Their range of targets could consist of anything from a person, to another monster, or even to a tree.
Cassandra and Lucan cautiously filed out after Ty. Lucan almost bent down to help his uncle up, but a quick, strict glance by Ty made him reconsider. Ty picked himself up and joined Cassandra and Lucan in the crowd of about one hundred civilians that this group of monsters had gathered. There were twenty armed monsters surrounding the group.
Ty could feel the heat emitting from a house that had been set on fire just three buildings down. It was already fully engulfed in flames. He heard the wooden floor of the second story come crashing down to ground level.
Kari walked out holding the bow with her arms outstretched, trying hard not to show that they were shaking. Two orcs and a minotaur pushed past her and began searching through the house for any people, armor, or weapons. The huge cyclops roughly ripped the bow out of Kari’s hands and handed it to a horse mounted, pale yellow orc.
Ty thought he recognized the black horse the orc was riding. It looked like Sampson, a massive percheron warhorse. Sampson was one of the largest horses in the warriors and had belonged to a warrior from Ty’s watchtower. He knew the man’s face, but could not think of his name. The warrior belonged to a large family who was known for breeding horses for warriors. The family was attempting to create a purebred line of the strongest horses ever seen. Each generation would be stronger than the last. Sampson was a sixth generation purebred. He was incredibly large and as strong as three regular-sized horses combined.
The orc admired the bow in his hands and spoke to Kari with only the few basic words he knew. “Where you get?” he asked her. When Kari didn’t answer, the yellow orc nodded to the cyclops. The large monster backhanded Kari across the face, knocking her to the ground. Kari stood up and glared into the single, oversized eye of the giant cyclops. The entire side of her face was numb, but at the same time she could feel the sting from the blow. A trickle of blood fell from a cut across her cheek.
Ty was about to charge the cyclops who was over three and a half times his size. The only thing that stopped him was Cassandra’s gentle hand on his arm. Ty hated seeing women get hit, especially Kari, who he was starting to like more and more. It didn’t matter if they were hit by monster or man; women were meant to be honored and treated with respect. Seeing abuse awakened a fierce thirst for violence in Ty against the abuser.
As a warrior, he had dealt with the situation a couple times. A man (usually intoxicated) would get in an argument with his girlfriend or wife and talk with his fists rather than his words. Needless to say, when Ty was through dealing with him, it would take the man almost two full months to heal from his broken arms or hands.
“Where you get?” the pale yellow orc repeated, getting angrier.
Again Kari did not answer. Ty knew she was trying to show no fear, but there was a fine line between being fearless and intently stirring up anger. The orc nodded to the cyclops for the second time. This time Kari prepared for a closed fist punch that would likely break many of her bones wherever it landed.
Before the fist struck her, one of the monsters who had
gone into the house came out with Kari’s quiver of arrows and handed them to the orc. The orc took the quiver and put it around his shoulder, but only after he drew an arrow and notched it. He pulled back on the bow string and aimed it at Kari’s head.
Kari stood bravely, awaiting death, just like she had done with the fire phoenix. Ty watched helplessly, unable to get to Kari because of the surrounding crowd. He reached down and picked up a stone and chucked it at the large butt of the massive horse. The horse bucked in surprise at the same time the arrow was released. It flew into the mighty shoulder of the cyclops. The giant monster felt the arrow enter into his body, but for him, it was only comparable to a bee’s sting. Still, he didn’t appreciate being shot. He angrily turned to the yellow orc.
The orc threw down Kari’s bow and waved his hands, showing he didn’t mean to shoot him, but his plea was futile. The cyclops grabbed the orc with one hand and squeezed. Kari heard an awful cracking and popping sound that made her wince as she imagined the pain she would have felt in the orc’s position. The cyclops opened his fist and the orc fell motionless to the ground.
The minotaur who had brought the quiver out of the house laughed at the death. He walked over to the dead yellow orc, bent down, and took the bow and arrows from his lifeless body. He put them over his shoulder, mounted Sampson, and motioned for Kari to join the rest of the crowd.
The four of them made it out alive. None of them knew how much longer they would still be able to say that, but they held onto that truth nonetheless. They were led down the street, surrounded by monsters. They added about sixty-five more people by the time they finished off the rest of Cassandra’s street and the adjacent one. The monsters set six more houses on fire in just those two streets.
The minotaur wordlessly declared to the other monsters that they had finished their designations and would head towards the center of the city, following the many other groups of people headed that way.
