24 comments

Fiction

It was war.

The slashing of swords and the hammering of fists echoed in my ears as I hid behind a rubbish bin in a dark alleyway, hidden from view. I was a good guy, one of them, someone who supposedly saved everyone from evil. 

But I wasn’t brave enough to fight, I was too weak to hold a sword. Too cowardly to overcome my fears of battle. I heard voices approach, so I hid further into the shadows. Two figures emerged and stood directly in front of me, they didn’t seem aware of the fact that I was there, but I could see them, smell the whisky on their breath. One of them wore the symbol of a tree on their uniform, which symbolised light. The other wore a black, bloodstained shirt with the symbol of a raven, which symbolised darkness. 

“Give me my son!” I heard the man from the light side growl. 

“I never took your son!” Replied the guy from the dark side.

“You did, and you know it!”

“I never took your son,” whispered the bad guy hoarsely. 

“Liar!” The good guy cried, drawing his sword from the sheath on his belt. 

“No, please! I never did anything to you or your son-”

“Silence!” cried the good guy. He plunged the jewel encrusted sword into the bad guy’s heart. The bad guy groaned and slumped onto the ground, forming a puddle of blood around him. 

I gasped.

Then the ‘good guy’ with the symbol of a tree on his shirt straightened out and walked away.

I crept over the dead man in the corner and pulled the sword from his chest. Blood poured onto my hands and dripped onto my pale uniform, staining it red. I looked down at the poor soldier lying motionless on the floor, the injustice of it burned in my eyes. Good guys should save, not kill. A good guy who kills is just as bad as a bad guy. 

Why be branded as a good guy when you’re doing ‘bad guy’ stuff anyway?

Me, a bad guy? The thought appeals to me. 

Afterall, whoever said you can’t be the bad guy in your own story?

………………….

It was war.

The slashing of swords and the hammering of fists echoed in my ears as I walked out onto the battlefield. I was a bad guy, one of them, someone that supposedly brought nothing but sorrow and grief to people. 

I was brave enough to fight, I was strong enough to hold a sword. Confident to overcome my fears of battle.

Nothing phased me. I was the strongest soldier in the team, the one that slayed people like the animals they were, and let them rot like they deserved. 

I gripped the jewel encrusted dagger that I’d pulled from that man’s chest all those years ago, when I’d first witnessed the injustice of killing innocent people. When I’d first become a bad guy.

One of the good guys lunged at me, and I pretended not to notice, leading him on. At the last moment, I turned around and threw my sword at his chest. It sank deeper into his flesh, and he cried out in agony as it hit his heart. 

I remained unphased, unchanged, and evermore deadly.

I waited until the man was properly dead before I removed my sword from his heart. His blood poured out onto my hands, like the blood had poured from the bad guy in the alleyway. For a second I forgot myself, I was helpless, cowardly and weak. 

This gave the opposition the advantage, and they struck me, burying their sword deep into my thigh. I roared in pain, and pulled it from my flesh. My face contorted in agony, and I thrust the sword into the man’s stomach. He withered in pain. I watched as his blood mingled with mine. 

How could a blood so full of hatred and evil merge with a blood so pure and innocent? 

I tore a piece of material off my uniform to wrap around the deep wound in my thigh. I winced as I watched the blood soaking into the fabric, despite my efforts. The good guys were paying me no attention. 

I was injured, not worth the time it took to kill someone. I was as good as gone now anyway.

But I didn’t like being ignored, nor did I like the good guys to be victorious over me. With an agonising groan, I stood and hobbled over to where a good guy was lying unconscious. Was I the only sensible person around here? Unconcious or not, this man could slaughter us in our beds, kill our families, murder our friends. I grabbed my sword and watched in silent satisfaction as his blood poured out onto the grass, staining it red, like the blood had stained my uniform in the alleyway that day. Desperation haunted my eyes like a shadow trapped against its will. It needed to be free, and the only way to freedom was to take lives, to kill. The fierce glint in my eyes blazed like a flame that was barely contained. Like a wild beast, like an animal. Like me. 

I slaughtered, I killed, I murdered and was unashamed of my merciless deeds. I was broken, and in need of repair. But repair never came my way. Or if it did, it was dead before it reached me, at the hand of the sword. I charged in a one-man stampede, thrusting my sword into the heart of every man that dared to lay a hand on me. Even my own team feared me, and I liked it like that, despite the loneliness I felt every time I celebrated my victories, alone. My face housed a frown that never went outside the lines slowly forming around my mouth. It was there even when I was bleeding, in pain and even when I was satisfied. But I was never satisfied. No matter how many children I slaughtered, no matter how many had died by my sword, I was never satisfied. 

I was a bad guy, one of them. I was ruthless and unforgiving. My blood was born under a different light, my soul was birthed under the moon. My heart was empty, my blood blackened by hatred. I was a nobody, a murderer, a villian.

A bad guy. 

May 07, 2021 03:02

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24 comments

Kristin Neubauer
13:43 May 08, 2021

This is such a sharp and intelligent story. You've addressed a theme that has been on my mind so much lately (ironically, in my story for this week too)....about good versus evil and how those concepts are not always so clear....and sometimes, very fluid. I thought your use of the "good guy" / "bad guy" archetype was really effective. Quite a sophisticated story. Well done!

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Arwen Dove
20:20 May 08, 2021

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it! :)

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Dia :)
04:27 May 08, 2021

This was interesting. Very bloody... nice! (yes, I'm kind of a sadist T-T) Also, I read your bio. I'm a 14 too! 🤗

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Arwen Dove
06:17 May 08, 2021

:) Thanks for reading!

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Monica June
17:11 May 19, 2021

Shoot! I wrote a long comment but then it got erased! I'll abbreviate ;) Edits: which symbolised darkness. It's spelled symbolized “'I never took your son!' Replied the guy from the dark side." You don't need to capitalize 'replied'. “'Liar!' The good guy cried," same thing, no need to capitalize 'the' Loved this story! Especially the concept. The whole "am I really the good guy or am I just making myself out to be one?" thing. Something I think about all the time, and would love to incorporate into one of my stories, too! I had more...

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Monica June
17:14 May 19, 2021

oh wait- it did post! Well, I guess you get two basically identical comments XD

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Monica June
17:00 May 19, 2021

"which symbolised darkness." It's spelled symbolized '"I never took your son!' Replied the guy from the dark side." you don't need to capitalize 'replied' "'Liar!' The good guy cried," Same thing, you don't need to capitalize 'the' Okay, now enough editing. I really loved your concept! The whole "am I really the good guy, or do I just see myself that way?" idea. I think about that a lot, and I would love to explore that too, sometime. I agree with Charli, the story could sound more... I dunno, professional? If there were different w...

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Arwen Dove
23:18 May 19, 2021

:) Thanks so much for the feedback! I really appreciate it! Glad you enjoyed. :)

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Monica June
01:47 May 20, 2021

Of course!!

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Arwen Dove
08:01 May 20, 2021

:)

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Charli Britton
18:22 May 12, 2021

Oh wow. Very nice! Okay, I know it's part of the story, the whole "good guy", "bad guy" thing. But I really dislike how informal it is. I wish that there was some other way to address the whole "good" and "bad" side. I personally can't think of a better way to word it, I just wish there was, because this is an amazing concept and I really liked it.

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Arwen Dove
20:45 May 12, 2021

Yeah, I didn't think it sounded right when I was writing it, I just couldn't think of a better word. Thanks for the feedback! :)

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Charli Britton
20:49 May 12, 2021

I understand that! Of course.

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Arwen Dove
20:57 May 12, 2021

:)

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Jade Young
07:56 May 11, 2021

This was a very interesting read ;) Keep up the good writing!

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Arwen Dove
08:57 May 11, 2021

:)

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Daniel R. Hayes
04:23 May 08, 2021

Man oh man, what a great story. Arwen... you are a master storyteller. :) :) I absolutely loved this!! I loved how in the beginning he was a good guy, and then after witnessing a merciless killing he became a bad guy. That last paragraph blew me away. It was soooo good!! To write a story like this takes real talent, and you have IT! I think this one just might be my new favorite story from you. I really loved it. <3 Incredibly brilliant!! Great job as always :)

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Arwen Dove
06:16 May 08, 2021

Thank you so much! You're so nice! :)

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Daniel R. Hayes
06:21 May 08, 2021

:)

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Ed .
04:51 May 07, 2021

That story is so... Gory! But great at the same time. Good Job and good match of the prompt!

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05:28 May 07, 2021

I know what you mean. It was a great story, and matched the prompt but it was very gory.

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05:27 May 07, 2021

Great story! It matches the prompt perfectly. The only problem for me, was it was maybe a little too gory. Keep up the good work. Well done!

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Arwen Dove
21:14 May 07, 2021

Thanks so much!

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05:28 May 08, 2021

:)

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