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Five days later, when she made it to the training camp the wounds she’d carved into her face at Kuto’s house had healed in the form of permanent scars just as she had planned. Also the wound on her forehead from the demon attack had turned into yet another scar on her face. She could barely move her right arm. The cut from the knife hadn’t healed properly and had left a mark that looked more gruesome than it was. It still bothered her and she hadn’t managed to stick her arm back into its socket yet. She felt that she was just lucky enough to have all of her bruises faded away by the time she got there. And if could have been worse. She’d nearly passed out from loss of blood but she was fine now, other than being completely stiff from pain.
She’d also cut the sleeves off all of Kuto’s shirts. When she arrived at her post it was all she could do to keep herself together. She was unbelievably excited, she was actually joining the war. But if anyone found out she was a girl that would be the end of her and somehow that made all the more exciting. She rode into her post and everything went fine. She was called into a tent to be interviewed. It was the largest tent in the camp the other smaller ones were for living quarters. The three others appeared to be the dining tent, the bathrooms and the infirmary. This was an office of some sort. Despite its size there wasn’t much too it. There was just one man inside and he wasn’t any older than her.
“May I have your letter?” asked the man in the tent. He was very handsome. He was a little bit tan and had bright, blue eyes like the spray of the water of the ocean at the crack of dawn. He had a strong chin that had some short hairs as a clear sign that he was trying to grow a beard. She thought he would look good in an almost-full grown and slightly rustic beard. He also had the cutest dimples that meant he was kind and had a sense of humor. His face was a little weary, he’d probably been up for a long time. His hair had grown a little past his ears and the color of it could only be described as a sunlit brown. His face worn from fighting, clearly he was skilled. She was a little bit entranced by him and she almost forgot his question and why she was there.
“S-s-sure,” said Raye and she handed him Kuto’s letter. She shook herself, she mustn’t loose her focus now.
“Name?” asked the man.
“Kuto Manto.“ He looked at her.
“Manto? What’s with your face?” Raye’s mind jerked, she actually hadn’t thought about a story for the scars. She was never the type to plan ahead.
“Guy with a knife.” She said it as calmly as she could. It came out like a question.
“No, I mean you have a girl face,” said the man and Raye froze. She thought quickly of something, anything to say.
“What a complete shocker, like I’ve never been called a girl before.”
“Can you fight?”
“Yes.”
“Care to prove it?”
“Up.” He got up but not for long. She knocked him over instantly and when he tried to get back up she pressed her foot against his neck lightly.
“You’re good.”
“I try, here’s some advice,” said Raye as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, “Don’t ever call me a girl again.”
“I got it. How old are you?”
“Sixteen, what’s your name?” She gave him a hand and helped him up. He had a strong grip. He noticed that she had extended her left hand.
“Naro, Naro Izu,” said Naro, “And I just turned seventeen.”
“Nice to meet you, Naro,” said Raye and she extended her hand, again her left.
“Right back at you, Kuto,” said Naro and he shook her hand, “Here’s everything you need to know. The first page is map and your tent is marked.” He handed her a relatively thick sized packet. She looked at the packet and then at him.
“You’re joking right?” asked Raye.
“Nope.”
“Did you have to read this on your first day?”
“This is my first day.”
“Um…I’ll be needing a new pair of socks. Is there somewhere I can get them?”
“What?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Socks?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Ask someone, maybe someone has a spare.”
“Thanks. Do you have a spare pair of socks?”
“No.”
“I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“See you in class.”
“See you,” called Raye as she left.
“That is one strange guy,” said Naro as he sat back down, smiling.
“Haza!” shouted Raye when she walked outside. He was causing some serious chaos. Two men were pulling on his reigns to get his feet back to the ground as he was bucking again. Her yelled shocked Naro and he walked out of the tent. Someone pushed her over in the chaos. Another couple of men rushed towards Haza but she was too distracted to realize that she was about to be trampled. Naro jumped over her and they rolled out of the way. When they were out of the way he was still on top of her.
“You okay?” asked Naro and Raye thought he looked even better up close.
“Fine,” said Raye and she pushed him over at the sound of Haza’s revolt, “Haza!”
“Is this your horse?” asked someone.
“Yes,” said Raye, “What are you doing to him?”
“We tried to take him to the stables and he freaked out,” said the man.
“That’s because I told him to stay here,” said Raye and she rushed up to Haza, “Calm down Haza. It’s okay now.” She put her hands on his cheeks and looked into his eyes. He stopped and stood calmly. Raye could hear murmuring behind her.
“How’d you do that?” asked the man, who had asked her about Haza.
“Haza’s very loyal to me. He’ll be fine now. If he acts up again just call me.” She looked the man over. He was very tall and had short, smooth, light auburn hair. His eyes were a very strange hazel color that had little bits of teal in them, and they stood out from his tan skin. He wasn’t built like a fighter and appeared as thought he’d never fought a single day in his life. He had the air of a caring man about him not a killer.
“Who are you?”
“Kuto Manto at your service,” said Raye and she extended her hand to the man.
“Jaso Yiano, nice to meet you.” Raye turned around to see Naro return to the tent.
“Is this your first day?”
“Yep. You?”
“Yeah! I can’t wait until training starts!” Suddenly an eerie silence fell upon the campsite. Everyone was staring at her.
“You might not want to say that again,” said Jaso as he grabbed Haza’s reigns and they started to walk towards the stables.
“Why not?”
“Most people aren’t happy about being here.”
“Why’s that?”
“The accommodations are horrific, the work is hard and most people don’t want to risk their lives without even getting the option not to.”
“Are you one of those people?”
“Yes, and clearly you are not.”
“Duh! I’m ecstatic about being here. I want to fight! It’s my dream come true!”
“Good for you.”
“What would you rather being doing?”
“Working in my garden.”
“Garden?”
“I love plants.”
“Cool,” said Raye, “I love fighting and well blowing things up.”
“Where are you from?”
“Shano.”
“Are all people in Shano as crazy as you?”
“No, it’s just me. Where are you from?”
“Katesh.”
“What are the chances that you have a spare pair of socks?”
“Not very good, why?”
“I need some.”
“Why?”
“Long story.”
“Here we are.” They walked into the stables. They smelled like old hay and horse droppings. There were large too. They were the only thing in the camp that wasn’t in a tent. It was made of wood and clearly hadn’t been moved in a long time, unlike the tents, which were designed to be portable.
“Thanks,” said Raye, “I guess I’ll see you in class.”
“See you then,” said Jaso. She grabbed her stuff and went to find her tent. The map was confusing and poorly drawn. She got frustrated and vowed to hunt down the person who’d drawn the damn thing and kill him in fashion deserving of his crime. She got lost more times than she could count. After a while she eventually found it and by that time she was sufficiently annoyed at the map and nearly destroyed it.
Raye walked into her tent and looked around, it was small and it smelled. Its odor was like that of some sort of strange dead thing and it made her gag. She saw the bed and was taken aback in dismay. It was an almost moldy sheet on two metal bars. She refused to be completely nauseated by the sight. She’d lived in worse after her father had died. At that point in her life she spent all of her time at work or at school. The village had taken her home away and for years she’d found sleep wherever she could on the streets as she worked to buy her house back. She threw her bag down and laid down. She thought about how things were changing so fast. It was at that point that something that Raye generally hated to happen happened to her.
Ever since Raye had been a little girl, she could use her mind to feel things. It was telepathy. She could send her mind or her consciousness into other peoples’, or things’ minds. But it worked both ways. Her “gift” made her mental defenses strong but when she was using it or when she wasn’t paying attention it made defenses practically nonexistent. Any demon could use her mind as playground if she wasn’t careful.
There was a flash inside of her head that caused her to fall off her bed. Something was trying to break into her mind. It was dark, it was evil and it was not alone. She could tell what they were: demons. She couldn’t tell exactly how many of them there were but she knew that the camp was in danger. She let out a yell of pain.
“Hey!” said a voice that brought her back to reality and she opened her eyes to see a man on top of her, “Do you mind not screaming?”
“Huh?” asked Raye as she looked at the man who was for some reason sitting on top of her. He had absolutely no shape of a fighter. It was obvious that the only reason he was there was that he’d been drafted and cared enough about his honor to show up. He had dark brown bushy hair and dark yellow eyes. He was very pale and chubby. He obviously cared more about food than fighting, which made it all the more annoying that he’d sat her, apparently to stop her yelling. Although she wasn’t sure how that would work because the mere sight of this noticeably bothersome creature of a human only made her want to scream more.
“You screamed,” said the man.
“Sorry. Who in the hell are you?”
“The name’s Kalan Mushu. And you are?”
“Kuto Manto. So get the hell off of me.”
“Sorry,” said Kalan as he stepped away, “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” said Raye as she got up. She swayed slightly, her head was pounding.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Do you have an extra pair of socks?”
“No! Why?”
“It’s a long story.” Then a scream shot through the air.
“What was that?” asked Kalan as he walked to the opening but Raye held him back, “What!” She slapped a hand over his mouth as she peered through the opening.
“Damn.”
“What is it?”
“Darak’s demon legions. They’ve found us. Looks like some idiot led them straight to us.” A new recruit was running to the camp, screaming. But those demons were not after him. They were after the whole camp and Raye saw into one of their minds. They were looking for one person in particular. She looked deeper, she got closer, almost.
“WHAT?” yelled Kalan and Raye slapped a hand over his mouth. She had been so close he had broken her concentration. There was no time to start again.
“Idiot. You’ll give us away. Follow me and stay calm and quiet.” She walked to back of her tent and lifted the bottom up.
“You’re kidding right? I can’t fit in there.”
“Fine,” said Raye and she grabbed a knife. She slit open the back of her tent to create a new opening.
“Where’d you pull that from?” Raye shoved him through it.
“Shut up,” said Raye quietly as she emerged from her tent, “Follow me.”
“Whatever.”
“Shut up!”
“Make me.”
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Whatever.”
“Shut up.” She hit him in the back of the head to emphasize her point. She led him back behind the tents. She hadn’t had a chance to look at the map very thoroughly. So she mostly had to rely on what she remembered from going to her tent. She ended up back in the stables. There was no one there at first glance but the sound of frantic breathing reached her ears.
“Who’s there?”
“Weren’t you the one who just told me to be quiet?”
“Shut up!”
“Kuto?” asked a voice and Jaso stepped out of a stall.
“Jaso,” said Raye, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” said Jaso, “How’d you escape?”
“I sneaked out the back of my tent with this idiot,” said Raye.
“Who are you calling an idiot?” asked Kalan.
“How’d you escape?” asked Raye.
“They haven’t come by here yet,” said Jaso, “But I can hear them rounding up everyone else that’s here.”
“What the hell is going on exactly?” asked Kalan.
“Demons,” said Raye simply; she was used to this kind of stuff.
“What?” asked Kalan in a panic; Kalan was not used to this kind of stuff.
“Doesn’t he know what a demon is?” asked Jaso.
“Clearly not,” said Raye.
“Hey!” said Kalan.
“I can’t figure out how to shut him up,” said Raye.
“Who is he?” asked Jaso.
“Jaso Yiano meet Kalan Mushu,” said Raye.
“Nice to meet you,” said Jaso.
“Whatever,” said Kalan.
“Can’t you whisper like the rest of us?” asked Jaso, “You’re so loud.”
“This is insane. What are we supposed to do?” asked Kalan, still being loud.
“Do you like your tongue inside of your mouth?” asked Kit.
“Yes,” said Kalan.
“Then I suggest you shut your mouth so I can’t reach it.”
“Harsh,” said Jaso.
“You two,” said Raye, “We have to move. Jaso said that they haven’t come by here yet, which means they’ll probably be here soon.” She got up and started to walk to the exit. Her arm hit the stall wall and she grabbed for it. She could not believe she had been so uncoordinated.
“Your arm,” said Jaso. She was shocked that he had noticed.
“Quiet,” said Raye, “Stay low.” They followed her out of the stable.
“What happened to your arm?” asked Jaso.
“What do you mean?” asked Kalan.
“He means my shoulder’s been dislocated,” said Raye, “It happened a couple of days ago, in the forest on my way to the camp.”
“Here,” said Jaso, “I can pop it back in for you.” He grabbed Raye’s shoulder and pushed it. There was a dull thump that meant her arm was back in place. She had to bite Kalan to stop herself from screaming. It hurt more to put it back than the actual injury had. Kalan started to scream but Jaso slapped a hand over his mouth.
“You psycho, you bit me!” yelled Kalan and Jaso hit him.
“Thanks,” said Raye, “Let’s move. There’s bound to be someone else who managed to stay free.”
“He’s right,” said Jaso, “Let’s go.”
“You bit me!”
“Shut up!”
“You bit me!”
“For the love of all things holy shut up!”
“You bit me!”
“Be quiet or I’ll do it again.” They crept as silently as they could manage. Raye could not help but think it was a little bit strange to hear Jaso refereed to as a “he”. She was not sure why. This was what she wanted. She looked up and realized that it was dark. She did not know her way around this place well enough to do this at night. She needed help and she was sure she would not get it from the gardener or the pig. If she was going to save the camp and the rebellion she was on her own unless she found anyone else who had managed to escape.
There was a snap of a twig somewhere out in the distance. Raye drew a dagger again and responded. She jumped up swiftly and rushed to where the noise had originated. She felt a body and lifted the knife up to the person’s neck.
“Who’s there?” demanded Raye.
“Kuto?” asked a voice, she knew it.
“Naro?” asked Raye and she lowered her blade, with a sigh of relief.
“How’d you escape?”
“Mostly dumb luck. You?”
“The same.”
“Have you seen anyone else?”
“No. You?”
“Yeah. Two slightly challenged fighters.”
“That bad huh?”
“Yep.”
“So basically it’s just you and me.”
“Yep.”
“Do you think we can do it?” asked Naro.
“Definitely,” said Raye, “That is if you have a plan.”
“Not really,” said Naro, “You?”
“I got nothing,” said Raye, “I never usually do whatever. Mostly I just charge in, making it up as I go.”
“That works?” asked Naro.
“Well, yeah,” said Raye as if the fact that she was still there was proof enough of that, “But this won’t work here.”
“Yeah.” Raye closed her eyes. She hated her power, but right now it was the best she could think of to do. She pushed her mind out and into the mind of a demon. It was gross in there and she wanted to leave. There was evil in its mind and it felt like it was trying to claw its way into her mind. She pushed on and looked through its eyes as she tried to keep the evil in it away from her. She saw it shove humans into cages. It looked at a red spot on the wall and she heard it think the weakness of the cages. It was that spot, if it was hit in the right way the doors on the cage would open.
Something in her arm pulled her back to her own body. Her right arm erupted in pain. It was from her scar from the demonic blade. It would erupt in pain randomly and especially when she was pushing herself. She let out a yell of pain and grabbed her arm. Her knees buckled and she fell forward.
“Damn it,” growled Raye.
“Kuto?” asked Jaso and he and Kalan rushed over to her.
“What happened?” asked Naro.
“Nothing,” said Raye as she struggled to her feet, “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” asked Naro as Raye started to rub the wound to calm it.
“I’m fine,” said Raye, “And I have a plan.” She told them exactly what she had devised after seeing what she had seen. Her plan might seem impossible but she knew she could do it. The only problem was that she needed to help to pull it off. They did not believe her and she could not tell them how she knew all of the stuff she had just learned.
“You’re crazy,” said Jaso.
“I’m not going to lie to you, that’s a major possibility,” said Raye.
“It can’t work,” said Naro.
“It will,” said Raye.
“How can you know all of this?” asked Naro.
“I just do,” said Raye, “Trust me.”
“I don’t even know you,” said Naro.
“My name is Kuto Manto,” said Raye, “I’m from Shano and my life and my purpose is to fight and defend my people. That’s why I am here and why I’ll do anything to save this rebellion. That’s what you need to know. Is that good enough for you?”
“Good enough for me,” said Naro.
“You’re both crazy,” said Kalan.
“Are you going to help or not?” asked Raye.
“Help,” said Kalan pathetically.
“Good,” said Raye, “Here we go. Move out.” She and Naro snuck back into the stables. They hid in a stall. She had not noticed how small they were before. She leaned forward to look out. She felt her body brush against Naro’s and felt stupid for noticing. She pulled back away from him.
“Ready?” asked Naro, who clearly hadn’t noticed anything.
“Yeah,” said Raye, “Lets go over it one more time. When they come we will-?”
“Attack two,” said Naro, “Take their clothes and-.”
“What’s that now?” asked a demon, who looked over into the stall, “I found two more!” The demon was extremely ugly and very brownish green. Its eyes were a deep, bright orange. Another, similar demon walked over to them. One of them grabbed Raye and the other took Naro. They smelled horrible.
The demons dragged them into what appeared to be their jail. Raye could not figure out how it had gotten there. It was like a cave only the walls seemed like they were alive. As best as she could figure they had used magic to create it. They were taken down a long flight of stairs. They were thrown into a cell but before they locked the doors they took a knife from Raye.
“Crap,” said Raye and the demon guards left. She turned around and looked at the cell. There was another man there and she looked him over. He had really long brown hair and he had to be the palest person she had ever seen. His eyes were very strange as they were bright red that shown like rubies although they were not even red, just hazel. He was wearing all black and he looked like he had not smiled in a long time. He acted tough but she was sure that she could take him.
She thought for a minute and had to do a double take; he looked exactly like her just taller. Although she could think of one other person that he looked even more similar to but that person was very dead. So she immediately passed it off as a trick of her eyes. They looked similar, it was weird but it shouldn’t be a big deal. But despite that she took another long look at him. It was hard not to notice. They had the same nose, eyes and chin. They both had the sane almost black hair. It was creepy.
“Ready?” asked Naro.
“Yep,” said Raye.
“How’d I do?” asked Naro.
“You were brilliant, absolutely perfect, they totally bought it,” said Raye and she looked at the other man, “What’s your name?”
“Why?” asked the man.
“Because we have a plan,” said Raye.
“Does this brilliant plan of yours include getting captured?” asked the man.
“Yep,” said Raye as she smiled. She knew exactly what his reaction would be. It would be the reaction that any sane person would have.
“What? Why?” asked the man.
“Can you fight?” asked Raye.
“Good enough,” said the man, “Why?”
“Because we’re going to break out,” said Raye.
“Are you crazy?” asked the man.
“Probably,” said Naro, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Huja Nigaka,” said Huja, “Who are you?”
“I’m Naro Izu,” said Naro.
“Kuto Manto,” said Raye simply and she pulled out a knife.
“I thought he took away your knife,” said Huja.
“You always have one for them to find and one to keep,” said Raye and she threw the knife at the soft spot, it stuck in but did nothing.
“What are you doing?” asked Huja and Raye pulled out another knife, “How many of those do you have?”
“As many as I need,” said Raye. She had knives hidden all over her. She had one on both the left and right side of both of her boots, two more strapped to each thigh, one up each sleeve and two more strapped to her back. She had a small needle-like blade in her hair as well as a full blade with no grip or hilt hidden in her hair. No two were the same. The first dagger she drew had a black grip and a matching black blade. It also had a small, silver, spherical pommel. The grip was spiraled for a good handle with a simple hilt. The second dagger was similar to the first only its bade was ordinary steel and much longer. The third dagger had a perfectly straight gold grip that fell right into the blade without any hilt. It had a larger jeweled pommel. The next dagger had a long hilt only the ends of it curved down to become parallel with the blade. Its grip was the thinnest yet and was golden and spiraled. Its hilt was just a small metal ring.
“You’re not very good at this are you?” asked Huja.
“Hey! Give me a break, I don’t even know exactly where I have to hit it,” said Raye and she pulled one more knife she had hidden in her hair.
“Who are you?” asked Huja.
“Kuto Manto,” said Raye with a small smile they could not understand and she threw the knife. The bars faded away.
“Finally,” said Huja.
“Shut your mouth or I’ll do it for you,” said Raye as they walked out and she pulled some of the knives out of the wall.
“What’s with you?” asked Huja.
“Take a knife,” said Raye, “And get ready to kill some demons. We’ll work our way around the prison, freeing everyone. Tell anyone who can’t fight to sneak down the stairwell. At the bottom there is a door that they can use to escape. There should be two men there. Tell anyone who can fight to get ready to charge the demons. We’ll meet back here before we charge.”
“Won’t we get caught?” asked Huja.
“No,” said Raye, “The demons think that they have gotten everyone. When they think they’re done they won’t bother us for a while.”
“How do you know that?” asked Huja.
“It’s in their nature,” said Raye, it was a bold face lie but that was nothing new. It was in their nature but that was not how she knew that.
“Whatever,” said Huja.
“By the way do you have some socks I can borrow?” asked Raye.
“No,” said Huja.
“How many people have you asked about this?” asked Naro.
“Everyone that I’ve met today,” said Raye.
“No luck?” asked Naro.
“None,” said Raye.
“Focus!” said Huja.
“Right, lets split up,” said Raye and they each took off in other directions. When Raye reached her first cell it was filled with a bunch of panicked teenagers.
“Help us!” screamed one of them.
“Calm down,” said Raye as she turned to the panel and slashed it apart, “Everyone go down the stairs. Anyone who can fight wait on the last cell by the stairs on the bottom floor.” She was embarrassed to be the same age as most of them. Of coursed she was much more mature, having grown up on her own in the streets of the most violent city in the world. She was just used to battling evil and strong demons and just barely surviving. She unlocked all of the cells in her area before racing back down to the meeting cell.
“Kuto?” asked a voice and she turned to see Naro.
“Hey,” said Raye and she looked in the cell. Her heart stopped and it felt like her eyes popped out of her head. There was no one in the cell. Just then Huja raced down.
“What the?” asked Huja.
“How can there be no one here?” asked Raye.
“They all left,” said Naro, “Not one person stayed behind to fight.”
“We have got to get out of here!” said Huja.
“Over my dead body,” said Raye, “I don’t care if I have to do it alone. I will not let any demon stop this rebellion, this will be the one to win. I just got here and I am not going back to Shano. I am going to fight and kill these demons, right here, right now.”
“You’re insane,” said Huja, “I don’t care who you are, you can not take down all of these demons by yourself.”
“I don’t care if I die,” said Raye, “This is not the end. Will you help me?”
“It’s suicide,” said Naro.
“Is that a ‘no’?” asked Raye.
“No way,” said Naro, “I’m staying with you.” They looked at Huja.
“You’re both crazy,” said Huja.
“The question is,” said Raye, “Are you crazy too?”
“Apparently,” said Huja. Raye walked over to the exit where everyone else had gone. She sealed it shut and they left the meeting cell. She knew they were both thinking it. “We are just three teenagers. It’s our first day. What in the hell can we do that will change a thing?”
“Looks like we’re lucky,” said Raye.
“How’s that?” asked Huja.
“Sounds like their drunk,” said Raye, “Damn.”
“What is it?” asked Naro and Raye fell to her knees again, holding her arm. It felt like it was on fire. She could not believe this was happening now.
“Is your arm hurt?” asked Huja.
“I’m fine,” said Raye as she struggled to her feet again.
“No, you’re not,” said Naro, “This happened in the woods.”
“Shut up,” said Raye, she was still holding her arm. It just would not stop hurting. She leaned forward to look into the door.
“What is going on?” asked Huja.
“This is just perfect,” said Raye as she tried to stop grunting from the pain.
“What?” asked Naro.
“It looks like the same type of demon I saw in the forest,” said Raye.
“You saw?” asked Naro and Raye hung her head down as she realized what she had just said.
“Damn, I said that aloud,” said Raye, “Okay on my way to the camp I was sort of attacked by one of those things, nasty little b*****d. It knocked my shoulder out of socket and sliced up my arm real nice too.”
“What?” asked Huja.
“It doesn’t look like there are that many,” said Raye, “I think we can take them.”
“Are you crazy?” asked Huja, “You’re hurt.”
“I said I was fine,” said Raye, “Drop it.” She drew a blade with each hand. She did not understand why her arm was still in pain. It should have healed by now.
“Kuto,” said Naro.
“On my count,” said Raye, “One, two, three.” The three of them charged the drunken demons. They were clearly intoxicated as it took little effort to take them down. Unfortunately what it lacked in effort it had made up in noise. They hid stealthily and when backup arrived they ambushed them as well. Then they ran as quietly as they could to the next floor, where they encountered the same thing. Raye thought it was too easy and she was right. When they got back to the ground outside there was an army of demons waiting for them.
“Oh my god,” said Huja, “Those are a lot of demons.”
“You got that right,” said Raye and she wielded her daggers.
“See you in the after life,” said Huja.
“Yeah,” said Raye, “You’ll be there first to greet me.”
“Oh yeah?” asked Huja.
“You’d better believe it,” said Raye, “I’m not going down so easily.”
“Don’t count me out yet,” said Huja.
“Or me,” said Naro.
“Hey Naro?” asked Raye.
“Yeah?” asked Naro.
“Before I died I just wanted to say thanks for saving me earlier,” said Raye and he stared at her, “When Haza went nuts outside of the interview tent.”
“Haza?” asked Naro.
“My horse,” said Raye and he thought about it.
“Oh that was nothing,” said Naro. Raye knew that she was really going to die there. Who was going to take care of Haza when she was gone? And what about Enari and Kuto? Would Kuto be forced into service because of her? She did not want to die but she did not see any other choice. If she turned around now she would live but it could very well be the end of the rebellion. Was living worth living if she had to go against what she believed in and go back on her dream? No, that would not really be living. But she should not have gotten Huja and Naro involved in this. That was her only regret; they would die with her. But she had no time to worry.
“Good luck,” said Raye.
“Back at you,” said Naro and the three of them charged the army. Raye hit the group first and a demon took a swing at her with a long sword. She ducked it easily and stabbed it in the gut. Two more came at her and she skillfully parried both of their swords by twirling her daggers. She managed to knock one of the swords out of one the demon’s hands. The other took a shot at her head and she ducked down again. It missed and killed the other demon. She rolled down under between the dead one’s legs before it fell and kicked it on top of the living one. It lost its footing and she climbed on top of the dead one and slashed the other one’s throat.
She could see Naro kill another demon in a similar way, over to her left. To her right she caught sight of Huja skewering another demon. More charged Raye, whom they had clearly decided was the biggest threat. She was surprised at how happy she felt as the demons rushed her. She did not want to die but she did not mind dieing anymore. Everything she had to live for was already dead, except for the few friends she had in Shano. But now that she was here, she felt like she had nothing left to loose. There she was not Raye Tani, the best fighter in Shano. There she was Kuto Manto, a nobody who had to prove himself. There she was a man! She slaughtered the demons around with disturbing accuracy and efficiency. She saw Huja and Naro risk time to watch her in amazement.
Amidst the chaos of the battle Raye saw two figures dart out from the cover of the trees, one was tall and the other was large. It took her a minute to realize that it was Jaso and Kalan.
“Jaso!” called Raye and she worked her way through the demons to him, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“We saw that no one had stayed,” said Jaso.
“We figured you could use some help,” said Kalan, who was next to Jaso.
“You too?” asked Raye.
“Of course,” said Kalan.
“Well, you figured right,” said Raye as she ducked a swing from a sword, pulling them out of the way with her. She could not keep this up, her arm was throbbing. It was all she could do to keep a grip on her dagger. She thought she going to faint, it hurt so much. She felt a blow to her head and she hit the ground. Someone called out “Kuto” but she was in a daze of pain. She could not make anything out. She couldn’t die like this, not after everything she had been through. Her mind looked back on her life, the promise, her father dieing, her living on the streets, Kuto, gangs, Shano, Darak and the war. No, not like this her head screamed and she forced herself to her legs. She couldn’t even feel her arm anymore. She lifted her two small daggers and charged. She slaughtered the demons. She was unaware of anything other than the demons she saw in front of her. She was running on pure adrenaline now.
“Kuto stop,” said someone, she could not tell who it was. She looked up and saw a vast battlefield, filled with demons’ bodies, and she saw yet more demons still fighting. She was tired and covered in sweat as she panted harshly. It felt like her lungs were on fire but her heart filled with hope. People were rushing out of the forest to help them. They had changed their minds they were going to fight.
“Thank god,” said Raye as she fell onto the ground.
“No,” said a man, “Thank you.”
“Who?” asked Raye. Her arm hurt so much.
“Stay still,” said the man.
“Kuto,” said Naro, he was next to her.
“Show me your arm,” said the man, Raye was too tired to protest. He rolled up her sleeve, revealing the mark from the demon blade.
“Oh my god,” said Naro. It was completely deformed. It was blue and yellow and it zigzagged across her arm. It was not infected but clearly it had not healed properly, it was a vomit-inducing kind of sick.
“When did this happen?” asked the man.
“A while ago,” said Raye and the man squeezed it, causing Raye to yelp in pain.
“You should get this checked out,” said the man.
“Later,” said Raye and she forced herself up again.
“Now,” said the man, “You, take him to the infirmary.”
“Yes, sir,” said Naro and he put an arm around Raye to help her walk.
“My arm’s hurt,” said Raye, “I can still walk.”
“Right,” said Naro, “But in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve hurt you’re legs are hurt a lot too.” Raye looked down, Naro was right. Her legs had been sliced up to. Her plants were covered in her blood.
“When did that happen?” asked Raye as she groaned with the steps they were taking, “Oh great, thanks a lot, now my legs hurt.”
“You really are something strange,” said Naro as let out a small chuckle.
“Naro, behind you!” shouted a voice and they both whirled around. A demon was running straight for them. Raye extended her injured arm to block it. The sword shattered into pieces. The demon looked shocked but not as much as Raye did. She stared at her arm like it was someone else’s.
“What the hell?” asked Raye.
“I mimic that motion,” said Naro and the demon shook itself. Raye stuck her dagger in its chest. It fell to the ground, dead.
“How did I do that?” asked Raye and she lifted her sleeve up again.
“Why did it change it colors?” said Naro. He was right it was green now.
“I’m not sure,” said Raye, “Let’s go.” They walked away and she looked back to the battle. The humans were winning and it was not hard to believe. The demons were drunk and stupid while the humans had thrown their hearts into the battle.
Naro led her into a tent and sat her down. She rubbed her arm, it still hurt but it felt different. She flexed her hand and it felt different to her somehow. What was going on with her? Why was her wound still causing her pain? Why had her wound changed colors? Why had that sword shattered and how did it happen? She looked at her legs. They were not that bad, most of them barely even broke the skin. A man walked into the tent and he was looking at a packet. He was blonde, very skinny and brown eyes.
“What happened to you?” asked the man.
“Want to look me at before asking a stupid question,” said Raye and the man looked up from his paper.
“Oh,” said the man after taking a look at her, “Were you fighting the demons?”
“He started the fight,” said Naro. The man looked at her.
“You didn’t stop me,” said Raye.
“That’s because you’re crazy,” said Naro, “And we saved the rebellion.”
“You did what?” asked the man.
“Who are you?” asked Raye.
“I am Doctor Dagus,” said the man, “And you are -?”
“Are you from Shano?” asked Raye.
“Yes,” said Dr. Dagus.
“Are you related to Friar Dagus?” asked Raye.
“He’s my brother. How do you know him?” asked Dr. Dagus.
“I’m from Shano too. How long have you been here?” asked Raye.
“Five years now,” said Dr. Dagus, “And you are?”
“Oh, I’m Kuto Manto,” said Raye and the man started to wrap her legs in bandages, “I’ve met you’re brother.”
“Good for you,” said Dr. Dagus.
“Check his arm doc,” said Naro and Raye rolled up her sleeve again.
“How did this happen?” asked Dr. Dagus.
“I’m not sure,” said Raye, “A couple of days ago I was attacked by this demon. It cut up my arm. It healed wrong and up until an hour ago it was blue and yellow, now it’s green. Then another demon swung his sword at my arm. When the sword hit my arm it shattered without leaving a mark.”
“Okay,” said Dr. Dagus.
“You have no idea what’s going on or how to fix it do you?” asked Raye.
“No,” said Dr. Dagus, Raye sighed, “Come on, all I do is patch up battle wounds and mend broken bones. Freaky demonic things were not covered when I took this post.”
“Perfect,” said Raye, “Can you at least cover it up.”
“It’s gross,” said Naro.
“Thanks,” said Raye sarcastically.
“What?” asked Naro and Raye held out her arm so Dr. Dagus could wrap it.
“Hey do you have any socks I can have?” asked Raye.
“Why?” asked Dr. Dagus.
“I need some,” said Raye.
“I’ll see what I can do,” said Dr. Dagus.
“Thanks,” said Raye.
“You should get some rest,” said Dr. Dagus, “You out.” He and Naro left and Raye laid down. She had to admit she was tired. She had earned a few of hours of sleep.
“I finally get to the war so that I can fulfill my dream and our camp’s attacked by an army demons. I never knew they had such large numbers. I almost feel honored that he sent such a big group to kill a bunch on new recruits. I don’t know why I’m honored they don’t know me, but they will. So I actually get into a fight, like I’ve never done that before. Then I meet a couple of new and strange people and the weirdest thing of all: my arm actually shatters a sword, which apparently has something to do with a demonic scar on that arm,” thought Raye, “I can already tell that this is going to be one hell of an adventure.” She put her arms behind her head and let herself slowly drift into a calm slumber. She was almost too excited to sleep. Most people would’ve been scared or worried about that scar on her arm but she thought it was cool.
 Zegwarian310 · Fri Aug 03, 2007 @ 05:44pm · 1 Comments |
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