Arranged

by Spears, Jessica

  "Sir!" a soldier yelled.

  Qwinn's heart leapt as he rushed to the soldier, who was parting the bushes. He rushed through the bushes and feared what he would fing. His eyes landed on the torn carcass and he breathed a sigh of relief, which didn't last long. The body was not Alison's but whatever had destroyed this beast, now had Alison.

  "Vin!" he bellowed, returning to the tussled leaves.

  Almost immediately, Vin appeared between the soldiers. "Yes you majesty?" he asked, though he knew why he was summoned. Without waiting for the order, he quickjly began to scan the area for traces of Alison. He frowned, crouching down and fingering through the leaves until he pulled out a few bits of Alison's beautiful red hair.

  Qwinn's mouth ran dry, his eyes were pulled to a few specks of blood on the leaves. Vin began to follow a trail. "She was dragged," he said softly, as if nervous about telling Qwinn. He stopped and looked up at his King. "She's been taken."

  Qwinn had expected as much. "Can you find the direction?" he asked, keeping his voice hard, fighting off emotion.

  Vin studied the dirt and nodded. "Yes…sir?" he stopped himself.

  Qwinn understood the unspoken words and turned to his men. This was what he had feared, but what his men were prepared for. "She has been taken to the Torin kingdom. It is of utmost importance that we find her before they can harm her. Move out!" he ordered, motioning for Vin to take the lead.

  Though they knew she had been taken, no Vidarian had ever traveled all the way to the Torin kingdom. To do so was a death wish. Qwinn began to formulate a plan as how to breach the city without many casualties.

  He wanted to bring every soldier back safely. He wanted to bring Alison back safely. He had never thought himself to be a religious man, but he prayed with all his might that they would be successful in this war.

  ALISON GROANED AS SHE WAS JOSSLED. She knew she had passed out after the Torin had slashed her shoulder with its claw and spit phlass into her face. Some part of her mind wondered why she was even still alive. She was easy prey when she was passed out.

  Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found herself zooming through the forest, thought she herself was not running. It took her a moment to realize that she was beinf carried. She tried t shift so she could get away, only to find that she was tied back to back to the creature. She couldn't move any of her limbs, but she could still see the trees zooming.

  Sucking in a huge breath, she screamed long and loud. Her plan had been for the beast to stop and let her down, trying to shut her up. She knew she was no match against this beast, but she had a better chance at escaping if she wasn't tied to its back.

  The beast, however, didn't stop. Instead it leapt into the air, causing her to scream from fear and when it landed, it jolted her harder than necessary, causing her body to thud painfully against a few of the spikes on its back.

  She cried out in pain, quickly closing her mouth, not wanting to experience that again. Trying to keep her mind from the unknown, she tried to take in her surroundings, because if she managed to escape, she needed to know which way to run. After a few minutes, she realized it was useless; everything looked the same.

  Still trying to distract herself and keep the hysteria at bay, she took inventory of her injuries. She still had the gash on her head from the river, the slash on the arch of her foot, a throbbing shoulder, burn marks and pain on her back and stomach from when the pig stood on her. If it wasn't bleeding, it was aching. She was falling apart!

  If she had any hope of survival, she needed to keep her wits about her, though she wasn't even sure she should hope. There was no way that Qwinn knew where she was. He probably assumed she'd been eaten and shrugged it off.

  The thought hurt, yet somehow she knew that he wouldn't just shrug it off. If anything, he needed her to bear a son for him. Perhaps he was searching for her then. Despite that fact, she knew he would never find her all the way out here. Even if he did find out where she was, he wouldn't reach her before they killed her.

  Suddenly the beast slowed, pulling her from her thoughts. She turned her head, desperately trying to see what was going on. From the looks of it, they had reached some sort of cliff with many caves going into what looked like levels. It almost looked like a building with all of the caves showing from the face of almost a cliff.

  She shivered at the sight of skeletons littering the ground around the entrances. Other Torin wandered about, looking interestedly at Alison. One snapped at her, causing her to jump. Foolish pride filled her at the knowledge that she had held in her scream.

  Fear was threatening to make her hysterical.

  The Torin carrying Alison, slowed and entered the cave door to the left. Almost immediately, Alison was engulfed in darkness. There were no lanterns or torches lit and her human eyes could not break through the black. She wondered how the beast could see even five inches in front of its nose.

  She could hear its heavy breathing as rocks were rumbling under its feet, so she figured they had carved the tunnels into the rock and left some debris behind. The beast started up a slight incline and she could feel the cool moistness of the cave. It smelt musty with a hint of sweat and decay.

  Her heart began to race from being completely blind and going into the unknown. Then suddenly, they entered a large chamber lit by a glowing moss and a large skylight that stretched up impossibly high. If she squinted, she thought she could almost see stars. But that was impossible…unless they had built their home in some sort of mountain side.

  She quickly scanned her mind for any memory of mountains around her home. Then it hit her; there was a mountain not far from the lake. They must have made their home in an old geyser.

  As soon as they entered, she was met with a growl. There were Torin here and from the smell of things, they spent a lot of time in this room. One snapped its jaw by her leg and seemed to growl a laugh as she jumped and bit her tongue to keep from screaming.

  The creature carrying her snarled, but continued walking.

  From what she could see, there were numerous tunnels branching off of this cavern. The beast chose the one directly ahead of them and her heart sank deeper. If he managed to escape his grasp, she'd never find her way out. Perhaps that is what they had planned when they carved it?

  Again they entered the darkness and Alison gathered her courage and fought her tears. She was going to die.

  He carried her through the dark, starting up another incline. The beast began breathing quickly from exertion. Alison was almost grateful for the fact she wasn't forced to climb in the dark with her injured and tired body.

  Suddenly they entered another room, this one bathed in the eerie green glow of the moss on the walls and floor. She craned her neck, trying to see what was going on.

  On one side of the room there was a rough structure of a cage made from bones. Alison shuddered, knowing those bones were too large to all be animal bones.

  Inside the cage huddled what looked like a woman. Instantly, Alison recognized her to be Vidarian, though she'd never seen the woman before in her life. The pigment of her skin and the braids with beads in her hair were a dead giveaway. The woman kept her eyes cast to the ground and only glanced up once, immediately returning her eyes down.

  That simple glance told Alison everything she needed to know. The woman was afraid for her life; she feared everything around her and had given up all hope. Alison's fear intensified so much that she thought she might throw up.

  Then she heard a growl and what sounded like a harsh language. The Torin bowed, causing Alison's heart to race as she was tipped upside down. if he was bowing, then there was someone bigger for him to answer to.

  In a swift movement, the Torin carrying her, swung her off its back and forced her to kneel, while bound. Alison managed to get a look at the Torin leader before her face was pressed into the ground.

  He was a huge beast with a nasty scar around his mouth. His yellow eyes pierced and its muscles bulged beneath what looked like armored skin. He
stood, towering over her. She couldn't see him, but she could feel his presence like a heavy blanket.

  He growled in their language and walked on its hands and legs toward Alison, its leathery lips lifting in a sick sort of smile. Even before it reached her face, she could smell its rotting flesh. Alison's heart stopped cold in her chest as its clawed hand cupped her face forcefully. Its large jaw opened and its razor sharp fanges grew closer.

  Alison's heart pumped frantically, almost bursting from her chest as she sensed her death was near.

  Its decrepit purple tongue snaked out and brushed against her soft cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying he would finish her quickly. Suddenly he roared, the sound deafening and too much for her to process. She thankfully sank into oblivion.

  QWINN CALLED HIS MEN TO a halt. It had been too long since they'd heard her scream. He hoped that was not because she was dead. They were getting closer to the Torin kingdom. They had passed a few carcasses and a group of his men had taken down a warrior unaware.

  Now he gathered his men, to divulge the plan he had. his specially selected group would play a huge roll. The would serve to enter and rescue Alison, while the rest of his men and the captain caused a distraction outside their city, drawing them out and leaving Alison less protected.

  In Torin culture, the King was the only one allowed to produce offspring, keeping their race strong. A King could have anywhere from four to six women in his lair, each used and raped until pregnant. Once the child was born, the woman was handed over to the others, to do with what they will. When they were done with her, they killed her and displayed her carcass on Vidarian territory, taunting their enemy.

  Qwinn knew that since the warrior had made it this far with Alison, he planned to give her to his King, or whomever they deemed in charge. Which worried Qwinn. Had they organized themselves so quickly? Maybe he had taken their animosity for granted. Had there been no leader, the Torin would have torn Alison to shreds.

  His army marched, Vin in the lead, tracking the beast that had Alison. They crept carefully, not wanting to be found out before they were in range.

  They slaughtered two more Torin before they reached the clearing in the trees. One by one the Torin were easier to kill, because of his army's number. However, when the force of them came out, that would be another situation all together.

  Qwinn peered from the trees, his army lay in wait behind him. He could never have gotten so close if the Torin hadn't been so unobservant. They had grown comfortable with the idea that the Torin would never come to their territory.

  Quietly, Qwinn studied them. They snapped and growled at each other while pacing boredly. Others gnawed on bones like dogs and lounged on a few boulders beside the cliff of caves.

  From what he could tell by the carcasses everywhere, their appetite was very extensive. He prayed he wasn't too late to save Alison. Signaling his men, Qwinn and his special group slunk away from the army, getting in position for their attack.

  They silently picked their way through the trees, not trying to alert their enemy. Even the stockiest of them was ghosting through the night. They were a few yards from their position when they stumbled upon a feeding Torin. He immediately growled, covering his kill and then, realizing who they were, he roared.

  Qwinn cursed. Now the other Torin were warned. Even now, they could hear others roaring, coming to see what the trouble was. As Qwinn's men dispatched the feeding Torin, Qwinn signaled to his captain to begin the distraction, though they were not in position yet.

  His army roared, the sound resounding as they sprang from the trees and closed in on the cliff village. The Torin's roared, rearing up onto their hind legs, showing their intimidating height.

  His men bravely brandished their weapons, preparing for the fight of their lives. His hopes went out to them.

  The distraction seemed to have worked. The many Torin that came pouring from the village, rushed at the exposed army.

  Quickly, the men with him continued to circle the trees until they were along the cliff and behind the Torin. He burned to join the fight, but not until he was sure Alison was safe. The sounds of gnashing and slicing resounded through the air. He signaled for his group of seven to move in. They chose a cave closest and Qwinn held his sword before him, ready to strike at any moment.

  The cave tunnel was pitch dark. His eyes adjusted as well as they could as they made their way in. The air was rank, getting worse the deeper into the cave they traveled.

  Half way in, he heard the loud breathing of a Torin, heading right for them. Qwinn signaled ahead, but his men were already moving into position. A quick soldier darted ahead, leaping onto the creature and driving his dagger through its armored skin, pushing with all his might until they heard the sickening crack of its skull. However, not even that deadly move stopped the beast.

  More soldiers raced ahead, swords sliced through hot skin and finally the beast fell, gurgling its last breath.

  Qwinn helped his men drag the heavy carcass to the side. There was nowhere to hide the beast in a narrow tunnel only large enough to fit two men side by side. Their plan rested on the element of surprise, if the Torin suspected that any soldiers had made it into the tunnels, they would surely be on high alert. The Vidarians rushed forward, the tunnel finally leading them to a large central cavern.

  They were spotted by three Torin, who roared and charged. Seven against three were not bad odds, however, the Torin were vicious and hard to disbatch.

  Immediately, Qwinn led his men to meet their enemy head on. He swung his sword, narrowly missing the beast and leaving it the opening it was going for. It slammed into him. Qwinn buckled to his knees, going under the leaping beast and lessening the damage.

  Two of his soldiers came to his aide as the others faced the rest of the Torin.

  A large soldier, with the broadest shoulders, rammed into the side of the beast, sending it flying onto its side. It was up on all fours in a moment, charging again. The lanky soldier that had so impressed Qwinn during training, zoomed forward, kneeling with his spear at an angle.

  He had moved so fast that the Torin hadn't the time to slow before he impaled himself on the spear. It howled in pain as it grabbed for the spear and snapped it in half. Its piercing eyes took in the three Vidarian's before it charged again.

  Qwinn leapt into the air, his sword ready for the kill. He landed on the Torins rough scaly back and slammed the sword through the scales and into its heart.

  The beast stumbled from its charge and hit the ground hard, sliding to a stop with lifeless eyes. Without wasting a moment, Qwinn braced a foot against its back and pulled the sword from the beast.

  As he turned to see how the other warriors were fairing, he noticed that one of his men was bleeding badly as he tried to staunch the flow with a ripped cloth. One of the other Torin received a swift slice that severed its head, while his other soldiers nearly had the third Torin warrior surrounded.

  It gnashed its teeth and spit phlass through the air. His soldier narrowly dodged the deadly spit and Qwinn's adrenaline raced. The third Torin was huge, but not the biggest he'd seen.

  Perhaps the Torin had chosen this one as their leader? There was no way to know. His men closed in around the beast, working as a unit, communicating without words. The men to the back of the beast advanced and attacked, taking out its legs and finally slicing its thick neck.

  It was well known that a Torin's body was covered in scaly armor that made it almost impossible to penetrate without an immense amount of force. However, there were small spots where the scales grew thinner, creating a weak spot, a perfect place to strike. If a Vidarian could get a sword in this spot on the neck, he could slice the head off. That was the easiest way to kill a Torin, however, getting on its back and keeping enough leverage to slice was another story.

  Before the body hit the ground, the group was moving again, quickly branching off into the numerous tunnels and wishing each other luck. Qwinn prayed this wouldn't be the last they would
see of each other.

  The King and one of his men crept down the tunnel. Moss grew on the walls, creating a soft glow. Qwinn could see well down the tunnel, but that also meant he could be seen. He hugged the wall, his eyes trained ahead. His partner followed suit.

  A torin came running down the passage, charging right for them. Qwinn hunkered down, his dagger in one hand and sword in the other. His partner aimed high as Qwinn aimed low. They moved in sync with one another, attacking at the same moment.

  Qwinn sliced into the beasts leg, rolling away before he was trampled. He sprung up, narrowly missing the slashing of its claw. His soldiers strike skimmed off its heavy armor, barely causing a dent. The torin turned awkwardly in the narrow tunnel, snapping its jaw as he tried to take a bite out of Qwinn.

  The soldier dropped his sword and grabbed his bow and arrow of his back, taking aim in the dim light. He steadied his arrow; the beast went for Qwinn. In the blur, the twang of the bow got lost in the roar of the monster as the arrow burst through one of its six yellow eyes and into its brain.

  Unfortunately, the creature died mid lunge and slammed into Qwinn, knocking him into the wall, hard.

  The air burst from Qwinn's lungs, causing him to gasp and lose his strength under the monsters sudden weight. The soldier quickly freed him from under the beast and helped him up.

  Qwinn struggled to breath and fought to keep standing. His world was spinning from loss of air. He was thankful for his soldiers assistance, but grew angry at the fact that he seemed weak.

  He gulped in deep breaths, taking inventory of his wounds. His head hurt and his elbow ached, but nothing he couldn't handle. After a moment, he nodded to his soldier. They gathered their weapons and continued through the tunnel, not bothering to move the body of the beast.

  Qwinn's heart raced with urgency. He needed to find Alison to make sure she was alright. He wanted to see with his own two eyes that she was alive and unharmed. At the same time, he felt a great need to join his men in the war and put these doges down once and for all.