Tarnished Blade

“Have you ever considered how far away the stars are,” Alice asked,” how big they are… then pretended they were on a canvas not much higher than your reach?”

I rolled up to my feet,”I don’t know how you can see the stars with so much light pollution…”I smirked and held out my hand.

“You just have to pretend then,” she said stretching and smiling, deliberately not taking my hand.

“Ok you may be crazy, but at least you should try to get proper sleep”

“Proper sleep is for the losers who care about their grades”

I smirked, she was the one who went on frequent tangents of hyperventilating over a B-... well back when that could matter. I squeezed my eyes shut opening them up to find the cursed sword in my hand.

“What is this,” Alice asked.

“A dream,” I responded, falling to the ground and grabbing her hand,”maybe we could stay a little longer?”

“It feels pretty real to me.”

“That’s because it was at one point,” I lay back on the grass.

“The first second you were so ready to leave,” she began with a giggle,” the next you're the only one who wants to stay.”

I exhaled loudly, knowing what waking up would mean,”but,” Alice continued,” I guess I could stick around…”

“You would do tha-,” a sharp pain embedded itself into my side, my eyes flashed open slicing through the darkness, into the ‘punctured canvas’ where so many more stars flashed and blinked without light pollution.

I sat up with a start looking for the reason for the stitch of pain in my side, to find a rock that I rolled onto. I groaned looking at my watch to five o’clock A.M.

I pulled myself up to my feet, I always could justify get up early during camping, besides I would not sleep anymore anyway. I stretched and pulled open my sachal, looking for the jerky we had. Assessing the jerky I decided I would eat when I finished hunting. Besides, Macie would probably enjoy eating when she got up.

Trotting down the mountain into the abandoned streets I strung my bow. Most of the animal life hid here now, after the monsters attacked. People thought the undoing of humankind would be the zombie apocalypse would be the end of human civilization but one day an army of things attacked and scattered us.

I dropped off a small ledge rolling to a stop in front of an orchard, glancing over the fence to see if there were any deer looking for an early morning snack. One was not a problem, if there were two the second it would run away, but five with a stag…

I drew back the string and aimed… touch to the left and, thump, a deer reared and charged bumping into a tree falling to the ground, the stag gave a solid stare up to the roof where I sat. It gave a snarl, do stags do that? Then ran off, with the rest of the herd. I exhaled, jumping to the fence then the ground.

I prodded the deer and it didn't budge, so I half carried half dragged it into the nearest house and started doing my pathetic job of gutting it. I must admit I was getting better. I shoved the hide in my extra satchel and started  some makeshift jerky in the oven, looking at my watch verified my guess within mere minutes, seven thirty three.

Something crashed down the stairs, I strung my bow and slowly crept down. At the bottom was a door which led to a basement. I notched an arrow and pushed the door open but before I could pull back an arrow some medal thing came flying at my face that I assumed was pretty hard so I ducked just in time, I stood straight up knowing something was off. The common monster was nowhere close to intelligent enough to pull a stunt like that. I looked back to find another chair flying at my face. This time I caught it hurting my hand but I then had enough time to see a girl about my age throwing another chair at my face. I swatted it away with the one I had in my hand.

I had to do something or she would just keep going,“Would you stop that?”

“Wha?”

“Yes I appreciate not getting a chair thrown at my face,” I responded somewhat sarcastically. Now that I could actually take in the room, small and hardly furnished probably because all the furniture was thrown at my face. The girl was say fifteen or sixteen, and was a complete disaster. She probably had not had a shower in three weeks, no make that a month, since it had been a month since the monsters attacked.

“Now hold up,” she said,” who are you and what are you doing in my house?”

She seemed slightly confused and really mad,”how much food do you have left?”

“I asked you a question”

“I have a bow, and a notched arrow”

Her face screwed up into angry contemplation,”three days worth.”

“There is a resistance,” I started,”I am one of the organizers… I am also heeded that way if you would like to come, now why I am here is I am cooking about six months of food in your oven,”

“Uhh, how far is it?”

“I, uhh… about thirty miles..ish?

“How safe is it?”

“Well considering your chair throwing skills it's pretty safe,” I said with a smirk.

She gave a frustrated glare… maybe this was not the right time for a joke,”I can’t guarantee anything but it is pretty safe.”

“Jack, Lucy,” she said, as two young children, maybe five and nine emerged from a door that led to under the stairs,”I need you to guarantee their safety.”

“They have my sword as they should need or even want it, and I can guarantee that they will be the first to get it,”I responded

She gave me an uncertain look,”you don't have a sword.”

Duh that’s what I was forgetting, my sword! Well that was fine I had a bow,”I have one- well like three back at camp but I have my bow now.”

She looked at her sibling's uncertainty,”what do you think?”

“We don’t have much food left,” the young girl ‘lucy’ said.

“Ya,” the boy said,”and it would be a really cool a a what’s that word… que no, well it would be awesome!”

“An adventure? A quest,” the little lucy asked like the older sister she was.

“Yea,” the boy,Jack pumped his fist like there was no sarcasm in her tone at all.

“Ok I am leaving in two hours I’ll let you guys talk it over and get packed-if that’s what you decide,” I said turning and walking up the stairs,” oh if you have swords and knives they tend to be a little more effective.”

I packed some jerky in the spare satchel and then in the two new ones I made with the hide of the deer. The trio I left down stairs allowed me to use their sewing machine to make things in preparation for the long journey ahead of us. Well ‘a long bening’ like four days because of the youngsters. We packed all the water we could and headed out making our way towards the spot I left macie, she was getting up when we got there.

“You really need to tell me when you go hunting,” she said, seeming a little frustrated but too tired to really do anything about it,”Who is this? Well who are they.”

“Macie this is Jack, Lucy, and Grumpy,” that's what I called the girl my age because she refused to give me her name, then got mad at her younger brother because he told me she was Rebecka, so I still call her Grumpy.

I sat down and pulled out a strip of fresh jerky out of a bag. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful besides a couple squabbles against goblin like creatures. I used my long sword to dispatch them quickly without much fuss.

I lay against a tree keeping watch, to my back was a small valley, I pulled a small out a small picture. I was sitting at the base of a tree smiling lightly, then Erich was hanging upside down, his messy brown hair hanging loosely form his messy hair cut with a goofy grin, Alice standing leaning against the tree here shoulder length dirty blond hair pulled into a loose ponytail… at least she was safe. Belladonna, or Bella sitting on the grass lounged out relaxed, who knew where she was.

“Who is that,” a small voice said, totally catching me off guard.

I looked back to see Lucy and Jack looking at the picture, pointing to some random place, nearly impossible to tell,”come here,” I guesterd a hand to bring them over here, they walked over somewhat nervously.

“This”, gesturing to the entire picture,”are the founders of the resistance. That right there is Bella, she disappeared, we don't know where she is,”there was something emotional about saying it out loud, but I refuse to call her dead… after all the movies,” That is alice, she is safe in the resistance base.”

“Who is that,” Lucy asked pointing at Erich,”who is the goofy guy hanging from the tree?”

“That is, Erich,” I responded,” those two liked each other,” gesturing to Alice and Erich.

“What happened to him?”

I took a deep breath,” here sit down and let me tell you a story… Once when we were in high school,” That seemed like an eternity already,” we were out eating lunch outside, that is when the monsters attacked. I told them to get inside, I on the other hand was a trained fighter… I yanked on a loose branch of the neerist tree and started fighting them, soon I had a sword from a fallen goblin. But there were so many and I was getting overwhelmed, I knew it was the end of me but I keeped fighting for my friends, soon I was cornered and fighting desperately when suddenly the door swung open, smashing in the faces of some goblins, Erich charged out with a desk and started smashing them with me.” I took a long deep breath,” we together drove back the monsters, we both were swinging two swords and soon we had won the fight. Or that’s what we thought.”

“What happened,” Jack asked intrigued.

“There was a monster as tall as the building, we fought it with all our might, but in the end Erich got hit with the club, I switched from calculating too deadly instincts, I was pretty battered by the end but the monster was… much worse, but when I finished with the monster I rushed to Erich but he was too weak to move on, he told me to leave, to make a safe place where people could be protected by skills like that, to give humanity a chance…”

“Wow,” Jack exclaimed,” is that a real story?”

“Of course it is dummy,”Lucy petronized,“it is his story.”

There was a shift back at camp so I glanced back to see grumpy in a more awkward position, she had been listening, I smirked at myself.

I string my bow and knock and arrow, pulling back aiming… right, down, left… fire! The arrow shot out at a lowly snake like monster with arms, and well it pinned its tail to the ground. I drew my fine molded sword given to me from my last birthday out. It’s  heat and pressure tempered extra hardened alloy of several strong medals, glistend white in the morning sun, its 47’’ was perfect for me.

I jumped out of my cover and the others were hiding behind me, I charged pulling a parry and a slash splitting skin on it’s arm. It howled in pain swinging at me, I jumped back bouncing back with incredible speed slashing through its body blocking its second sword and quickly dispatched it.

We moved to a rode up one of the many canyons, and hurried up, we made great time getting to the base in two and a half days. I knocked two then three times and within seconds the door shot open seconds later. With Alice panting and red her eyes brightened then darkened with concern,“where is Erich.”

My eyes fell,”I promised him I would get as many people to the safe haven as possible… so I am leaving to collect whoever I can.”

She shot forward pulling me into a tight hug, a tear rolled down her face,”be careful we are all that is left, we have each other.”

I hugged her back lightly, my intentions were to get people here then draw attention to a spot and kill the filth that took my family and my friends,”careful is relative, so I will be care full,” I pulled out of the hug,” oh this is Lucy, Jack, and -”

“Rebecka,” she said,”it’s Rebecka,”she winked at me.

I turned back and started down the path losing track of time until I snapped out of my trance there was a human standing on the road… I thought he was dead, but there he is, right in front of me on the street, smiling at me. No my eyes were playing a wicked ilusion, I rubbed them… no he was there,”Erich!”

We walked to each other, why were we just walking? I don’t know but-

“Hey man,” he held out his hand and we did our man hand shake thing fast as ever.

“How?”

“Well I was laying there just about to die when I remembered your strength, I wasn’t about to die in the place of someone who can bench press half as much.” he gave his strong comforting laugh.

“Now I have a feeling you were gona do something stupid,”he said with his older brother nudge. He always had the sense for that sorta thing.

“Let’s get to the hideout, then we can make a plan from there.”

“Ok... it is the sunshine inn lodge.”

“Figured you would pick that one,” he said with his grin.

We walked up the path to fall upon a group of several goblins and things larger and stronger… Maybe orks? One in the back blew a large horn and they charged, I drew my sword, Erich had two but mine was much heavier and longer, we rushed them and fought with centergy, they never stood a chance… until ogers made their way down the mountain, two of them, duh the horn.

My mind flashed back to the first time I lost a friend, I was not going to lose him, or any one! I gave a roar and charged dispatching the first one with efficient speed, when I got smashed in the side, I went flying smashing into a nearby tree. I could not make a sound, my everything hurt. I opened my eyes, waiting it was still black, slowly getting lighter, I stood feeling impossibly light.

A humanoide approached, she had white armor and long blond hair, her smile would change and one's evil intentions. Come with me, she beckons, her wings glowing behind her. I took one step.”no.”

She smiled a light hearted smile, your troubles are over, come with me.

“No...”I could not… I had friends I could not leave! My hand fisted, wait... it would not close, I looked down and lifted my hand, I felt the weight of my sword,”I have something I need to do.”

“If you do that you will not be able to return until you have earned your way again,”her face in a morning frown.

“How do I do it?”

“Keep doing what you are,” she turned around.”good luck young hero.”

I gripped the sword, lifting it and swinging it. Everything slowly faded into a black and grey mist. I felt several dark spots pushing repulsing me, I just knew these were the monsters, then a light a red white blue light. That was my friend, he was angry. I sprinted towards the darkness and slashed the darkness whent green which I felt ment really confused. Green from my friend too but I could not worry about that. I started slashing and cutting down the darkness, I felt mass and when I hit it, a shrill clang of medal resounded off. I rushed and slashed the large monster most repulsing of all.

“A flying sword?”

That was Erich, I could feel the sound from him.

“Erich,” I said,”it’s me!

His aura gave off a slight green but a heavy yellow. Exhausted I fell to the ground sticking my sword in the ground.

“Dude! You're a sword!”

“No I… wait, put my sword in my hand please,” at this point I just was going off feeling, after a second I felt a shell I was being pushed away. I pushed back and somehow managed to get into the shell, a warmth flooded over me but was quickly replaced by sheer pain in every part of my body.

Opening my eyes I saw an expanse of colors, I could see shapes, but wait I could see behind me as well, I stood up and saw a bright green and yellow emanating from the form of Erich.

“How are you?”

“Ow’ 

Let's get you back to the lodge.