And Then All Was Lost

by Greg Dragon

  “Damn, CeeCee, I was hoping that you hadn’t gotten yourself in trouble with the demons,” she said, looking down at the fruit and dried meat cradled in Alysia’s arms.

  “Here, Tracy, you eat. Give some to Dad. It’s special food; it should help,” she said, finding her throat dry and scratchy when she did. “How long was I out?” she asked as Tracy grabbed a number of items. She bit into a peach when she stood up, as if she hadn’t heard the question. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she bit it, and she glanced at Alysia wide-eyed and then ran over to James and forced him to bite into the rest of the fruit as she held his chin.

  Alysia watched her do this with some curiosity and she whispered up a silent prayer when her father took it with his own hand and began to eat it voraciously. Tracy handed him a few apples and jerky, then stood up and walked over to where Alysia knelt, her steps seemingly stronger than before.

  “You’ve been like that for about 24 hours, CeeCee. Isobel told me not to touch you, so I let you be. I tried to see if I could get some help, but as you can see we’re all alone out here,” Tracy said. She ate another peach and looked at it as if it was the best thing she had ever tasted. “What kind of magical fruit did you conjure up from meditating, girl?” she asked as she looked down at the rest of it that Alysia held in her hands.

  “I made a deal with the demon lord to help get my father back to form. He sent me back with the food, but I’m still not sure what we’re going to lose for—” It was as if her own words made her realize what it might be, and she reached down and touched Isobel’s cheek to see if she was doing any better. The tiny girl stirred and opened her eyes, and Alysia drew her knife, cut a sliver of pear, and fed it to her. “Okay, so we’re all back,” she said to no one in particular. “This means that it’s me; he has taken something from me.”

  She couldn’t reason through what it would be that Chaos had taken in exchange for the fruit, but she didn’t want to guess, since it would only lead to speculation and sadness. Whatever it was, she would deal with it when the time came. This was how she had handled everything, so it wouldn’t be anything new to face whatever it was that she had coming.

  “CeeCee,” her father announced, and she looked over at him in a slow, deliberate way. “CeeCee, you need to eat too,” he said, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since the moment she sat down to talk to Chaos and Adrica. She nodded and ate the other half of the pear that she fed Isobel, and then took the grapes and popped them into her mouth. The food seemed to accelerate her healing, and as bones set themselves and bruises took to healing, she bit down hard and closed her eyes in order to bear the pain that came with it.

  James Knight stood up and retrieved his jacket. As he walked over to where his daughter stood, Tracy intercepted him to hand him his rifle. Alysia got to her feet and lifted up Isobel; she felt as light as a feather but she was strong enough to reach up and grab her neck.

  “Dad, I know that you won’t like what I am about to ask you, but I need you to hear me out and agree with me,” Alysia said as they moved to walk back across the bridge.

  “Doesn’t sound like it will be a question, then,” her father joked, but she picked up the pace, glancing down at her sword to make sure it was still there.

  “On the next hunt, I will need for you, Tracy, and Jaime to stay behind. Please do not follow us again, even if you think it will be too much for me.”

  “What sort of a father would allow his one and only daughter to go out into this mess alone, CeeCee? Don’t be silly. I know that you’re worried—”

  “DAD!” Alysia shouted at him. She wheeled around to let him see the redness of her pupils and the anger in her features at his stubbornness. “Dad, this isn’t a request. If you knew what I would have to give up to save any of you if you die, you would just listen to me and stop at playing hero, especially when I don’t need it. This is not a human war where you can use motivation like love and honor to overcome crazy things. This is a war between realms, where human life is moot, and where I can heal from scars, burns, and broken bones, but you and Tracy will die!”

  James Knight wanted to object but didn’t want to argue with his daughter, especially after coming so close to death a day before. She was right in what she was saying about the healing, but what did she expect them to do while she risked her life? He glanced at Tracy, who wouldn’t look back, and then at Alysia. She stared at him, waiting for him to acknowledge what she was asking.

  “We won’t come after you again, CeeCee, not when you are going after one of these things,” he said in surrender after concluding that she would take no other answer.

  “Thank you, Dad,” she said under her breath and continued her march across the bridge.

  It felt as if every step brought with it new energy, as the blood and the food did their magic to heal them all as they moved. By the time it was late and they were forced to make camp, Isobel had her eyes open and was able to walk on her own.

  They found a well-preserved movie theater and rigged the seats to serve as beds. It was a welcome change from the hard floor and open sky they’d had to deal with on the first half of the hunt, and with the theater having four exits and no other way inside, they could secure three of the doors and keep watch on one.

  Alysia sat in the front row so that her feet could rest on the cushioned railing in front of her. She reached back, touched her hair, and flinched at how dirty and unkempt it had become. Isobel sat with her and had her head on her shoulder. The girl had refused to leave her side since the time she woke up and had felt well enough to stand on her own.

  “What is this place, CeeCee?” she asked, and Alysia looked around and smiled with nostalgia. They had set fire to a few makeshift torches and their light illuminated the massive theater in a way that reminded her of the dimmed lights before a movie started.

  “This is where we would come to watch movies, Izzy,” she replied and then thought about the fact that Isobel would not know what a movie was. “Moving, holographic pictures that put you into the mind of a character in a story, but played out in vivid detail to fool your brain that you are really there.”

  “That sounds amazing,” Isobel said. “So, instead of hearing it and using your imagination, you could just see it?”

  “And smell it, feel it, and experience enough of it to truly enjoy it,” Alysia said. “Though some of the movies were not meant to be enjoyed. Some were historic and showed us how harsh life was for our ancestors. The wars with crude weapons and lack of empathy for life, the harsh living situations that many endured, and then the death … some directors loved to make their audience experience death. I was never too fond of those.”

  “I would imagine that some were very good, though, and that it would make you want to stay in the movie, away from your regular life,” Isobel said.

  “You’re always so smart, Izzy,” Alysia said. “Those people were called Fantoms, which was a nasty slur that I think meant fantasy phantoms. They would sit in these theaters for hours at a time, watching the same movie over and over. I had a friend who became obsessed like that; her parents put her into therapy.” She sighed. “It all seems so trivial now as I tell you about it. We had bigger issues coming our way and we were caught up in judging people for overindulging in what they loved.”

  “Movies sound absolutely wonderful,” Isobel said and then closed her eyes to sleep. “When we save your world and help Lord Chaos, CeeCee, we should go see a movie together.”

  Alysia smiled at the thought and then closed her eyes to see if she could force the sleep that was owed to her from days of combat and traveling.

  ~ * ~ * ~

  The next morning, the small group took to the road once more to reach the building that they had made into a home. Isobel seemed to be back to form, skipping along in front of them in her tattered white robes, her hair a black mess. James and Tracy were quiet, but they stayed close to one another and kept their heads low, biting their teet
h against the chill wind that blew between the buildings, threatening to freeze them.

  Alysia followed them slowly, scanning the buildings with her demon eyes for any signs of life, and taking a mental note of the habits of the lost. When they were near their building, she touched Tracy’s arm. “Get him back where he can get some rest and proper food,” she implored. “I’m doubling back to take care of a few lurkers that have been following us for a couple miles.”

  Tracy nodded without arguing and kept on walking, urging James along. Alysia didn’t bother to stop Isobel, since the spritely girl needed her rest too, and she didn’t want the burden of worrying for her safety. She pulled at her tattered jacket and threw it to the ground. The cold wind threatened to freeze her exposed shoulders and arms, but the foreign blood that shared the space within her veins warmed her instantly, and she freed the Twilight Sword and held it to her side.

  She ducked into an old food store that had collapsed into itself a long time ago, and she waited patiently for what she knew would be coming. A large, seven-foot demon with a wicked, makeshift sword appeared on the path, and several smaller versions of him followed. She waited for them to pass her building before slipping out and running the last one through with her blade. They turned to face her and she kept him in front of her, and then threw him to the side before wiping her blade to remove the blood.

  They came at her in a coordinated rush, the bigger one barking out orders. They tried to surround her as she stood watching them. She cut one’s arm off on her way out of their circle, then stopped abruptly in her dash and ran back the other way, disemboweling the same demon and cutting into the throat of another one. They didn’t seem to slow down no matter how much punishment she dished out, and when five were dead and the other seven had her cornered, she knew they were determined to hold her down for their master.

  They came at her in a rush, which was too quick for her to think, so she instinctively jumped and kicked off the wall of a building. She caught a post and pulled herself up and then scrambled into a second story window. She then began running along the hallway of what turned out to be a motel. When she reached the far window, she swung the sword’s scabbard at it, shattering the glass and leaping out onto the street. She took another route to get back to their main building, but once she did, she checked several times to make sure that she wasn’t being followed.

  She ran upstairs to find her friends, and when Isobel saw her, she ran and hugged her, followed by Jasmine, Koko, and a worried Jaime.

  “If I knew that any of this would happen, CeeCee, I would have never volunteered to leave you behind,” Jaime said, looking her over to make sure she was okay.

  “We should have been there, sister,” Jasmine said, and Koko nodded and gave her another hug without letting her go.

  “You all are so kind,” Alysia said. She scanned the floor for anything amiss. “Anything happened while we were out?”

  “No, nothing at all,” Jaime said.

  “We’re going to need some time to heal and recover,” Alysia said. “My father especially, but all of us. No scavenging for a week, and no unnecessary trips outside. The demons were scouting for where we live, and we cannot let them find us while we’re taking a break.”

  They all nodded in agreement and Alysia went to the office to think. She closed the door and locked it, and then took a deep breath and sat down. She tried to think on Jaime, Koko, and their time together. When she had first discovered they were messing around, she had felt a bit jealous over it. Now she had no feelings. Where she had once found Jaime to be good-looking and attractive, she now found herself thinking only of his fighting ability and usefulness to the group. She thought of Tracy and her father, and realized that with them too, she no longer felt jealousy or rage over their coupling.

  What is happening to me? she thought as she tried in vain to make herself upset over either couple. She then took her mind to the dark areas, where her father’s death had been a real possibility. Again, this didn’t bother her, and she couldn’t bring herself to dwell on it. “So, that’s what you took,” she said with a nod. “You took another part of my humanity.”

  It frightened her that she no longer cared for the trifles that came with human life. She thought on her favorite foods and nothing was there; there was no favorite color, either, no number or band. Nothing. It made her feel hollow and lost inside, and she would be lying if said that it didn’t bother her. She paced the room, wondering if it was a big deal or not. She was losing herself to become a pure warrior. It was what Chaos wanted, and she had given it to him willingly.

  A knock came at the door and she rose to answer it, and when she did Tracy came in and closed the door behind her.

  “Hey, you okay?” she asked. She stared at Alysia, who shrugged her shoulders sadly and then nodded her head.

  “I’m okay, Tracy. What’s going on?” Alysia asked.

  “Nothing much. Just checking on you since we haven’t had a chance to catch our breath, let alone chat. I saw you come in here and close the door, and I thought to myself, you know, no one has bothered to see if Alysia is all right. So … are you all right, CeeCee? Like, really? You don’t talk much anymore, and your dad is worried about you,” she said.

  “If Dad is so worried, how come he sent you to see about me?” she asked, pulling herself up on the desk and sitting so that her feet were dangling.

  “He didn’t send me; he’s giving you space. Actually, he begged me not to come in here because he says that when you’re angry you like to sort it out on your own,” she said.

  “Shows how much he knows about me. Heh, that makes me sad. He likes to sort things out on his own, and while he wishes that I were more of a chip off the old block, I’m not. I didn’t come in here to sulk or hit things or to ‘blow off steam.’ I came in here to think. Hard enough trying to do it when everyone is talking to you or asking questions, let alone Jaime’s childish games and suppositions or whatnot. So, I appreciate the gesture, Tracy, really, but I’m good. I just need some alone time to plot my next move.”

  Tracy furrowed her brows and nodded at her. But as she made to leave, she thought about what Alysia had said. “You know, ever since we met, you’ve always held your dad to a really high standard. Come to think of it, he was a pretty big deal and it made me envy you because daughters have that with their dads and I always struggled to have that… feeling. Now, I dunno, there’s something about the way you talk about him that hints at a change. You’re disappointed in him and it comes through in both your words and your actions.”

  “What do you mean, actions? I can be blunt with the things I say, but—”

  “No, blunt is me, Alysia. I do blunt. Hell, I mastered the art of pissing people off with being blunt. You were a sweetheart, a respectful, impressive young woman who was brave, tough, without it affecting her character. I don’t know what they did to you when they captured you but you came back different. It wasn’t just the cool hair, the red eyes, or the vampire teeth. It’s like…your attitude towards us.” She said all this with her hands moving frantically and for some reason it really annoyed Alysia.

  “Get out, Tracy, with your corny end-of-the-world love affair, and your stupid judgment of what the hell you think of me. I would love to see how you would end up if you knew half of what I knew, or if you’d been through half of what I’ve been through. How dare you,” Alysia growled. It took everything within her not to hop off the table and cut her in half with the Twilight Sword. She caught herself when she thought of this, and then touched her forehead, shocked by her thinking.

  “Look, I’m sorry. Don’t take any of that seriously. I just need some time, okay? And then I’ll talk to dad, have girl chat with you or whatever, and be a good human being,” Alysia said, not fully aware of the cynical tone she had taken with Tracy. The older redhead exited the room and Alysia took a deep breath and then threw everything off the desk in frustration. She laid on the empty surface of it and closed her e
yes, praying to her mother to help her do a better job of dealing with everything. She cried and her thoughts turned to happier times. Not the family together, like her normal thoughts, but to her time in school. She had been so excited when Ellen Lok University had accepted her application. She was in a new world her first year, and new friends came easily, along with attention from boys.

  It was so important for her father to accept them, whenever she would travel home with the new love of her life. He was polite and welcoming, but none were good enough. She would often get the debriefing on the hour before departing to return to campus. She smiled when she remembered the fights she would have with her father. He didn’t like the new boyfriend, and Alysia would explain to him why he was wrong. Of course, it would always turn out that he was right; it was why she always had them meet him.

  She drifted off into a deep sleep and woke up with the sun beaming down on her through the tall glass window. She hopped off the desk, stretched her aching limbs, and then covered her mouth as she yawned, trying to figure out what time it was. When she walked outside the room, the floor looked empty. Jasmine and Isobel were still asleep near the fire, but everyone else was gone. She saw a note tacked on the office door, so she pulled it down. Her heart skipped when she saw ‘for Alysia’ written at the top. The note read:

  To my light, my life, and the reason I kept on, CeeCee,

  I feel foolish for not coming to you in person to discuss this decision, but I couldn’t stand looking at your disappointment in me. You’ve been made to do things that no young woman should have to do, and you have stayed strong for all of us. It gives me a deep reverence, one that I cannot put into words, but if I had to sum it up, I guess you can call it pride. I am proud of you.