Jake’s POV
“What do you mean war?!” Mum Shouted. People on the other side of the street looked at us for a moment before returning to the phone screens.
“I know how it sounds but it isn’t what you think.” I tried to say, but she cut me off at “I know.”
“HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME YOU SIGNED UP TO BE A SOLDIER?!” She shouted and a few of the people looked up from their phones again, but this time they looked quite shocked.
“Mum it isn’t what-” She cut me off again.
“WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IF I LOSE YOU TOO!” That cut me to my heart. I had thought about it, what it would do to her if she lost me and Dad so close together.
“Mum, we aren’t going to be front line soldiers, we are medics. We take care of the people after they come back from war.” I explained. “I will be safely in a tent with Suma away from the fighting.” Mum and I spent the next hour talking about it, most of which was spent with me comforting her and trying to get her to stop sobbing, the rest was her begging me not to go. But eventually I was able to get her to calm down and we resumed our walk back to her car. Once we safely arrived at her car, I reassured her once again that I would be okay. She didn’t seem convinced, but she accepted that I was going anyway. I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, told her I loved her, then she got in her car and drove home. I parked quite a walk away, so I started to my car. I was so caught up in thinking how I’m going to make this up to her that I didn’t even notice I was being followed.
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Suma’s POV
After the longest flight of my life, I set the heavy crate of Jake’s newly enhanced weapons and armor down on his apartment floor. I perched on a vine pillar to rest for a moment.
“How does he plan to wear all of that? It weighs so much...” I wondered to myself. After I rested, I went outside to see how much longer there was until sunset. I looked up at the sky and saw the ribbons of silver and green starting to form on the horizon, and the sky started to add red to its normal orange. The sun would set soon, and Jake would be asking for me to summon him any time now. I decided to wait for it at his apartment, that way I would not have to fly back if he called as soon as I arrived home. I did not need to wait long.
“Suma, can you summon me back?” He asked, he almost sounded like he was in pain.
“Of course,” I said and quickly cast the spell. I started to make a list of the last things I needed to do before we leave tomorrow, but my train of thought was interrupted when Jake collapsed bleeding from his stomach!
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
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Jake’s POV
Turning a corner, I cut through an alley that was a short cut to where my car was parked. I should have known it was a bad idea before… but I definitely knew after. I was shoved from behind and slammed into a wall.
“If you scream, I WILL stab you!” The man behind me said. “Give me your wallet, and your phone.” He ordered. If this had happened to me last year, I would have done exactly as he said, but in the last few months I have been beaten, burned, stabbed, slashed, and any number of other horrible things, so my first instinct wasn’t to lie down and take it. The same sense of self‑preservation that came over me when I was fighting the wyvern and the borog came over me again, as if I was right back in that field, and I did the first thing that came to my mind… I whipped around and elbowed him in the head. That tuned out to be a truly dumb idea. The knife he had was pressed into my back, so when I spun around, I spun right into it. Sure, he went down… hard… but now I was bleeding. “You stupid son of-,” he started to say, but I was used to pain and fighting, so I still had the advantage, and rushed him again with a fist to his nose.
“AHHH!” I bellowed in a blind fury, one hand clutching my side, the other connecting with his face.
“He needs help!” I heard someone say. For a moment, I thought they were talking about me… they weren’t. I was knocked to the ground when someone, a friend of his I guess, shoulder checked me. Now it was two on one. I had faced worse odds, but I had a weapon then.
Why don’t I now? I wondered as I scrambled to my feet and away from the two muggers. I had tried to summon magic and my weapons on Earth before, a couple of times actually, and it never worked. But of course, I had never been in danger while doing it… “Destiny!” I yelled. Nothing happened.
One of the two looked around confused, “Who is he talking to?”
“He’s crazy, just take him down and let’s get out of here before the pigs come squealing.” The other said. The one with the knife rushed me while trying to stab me. I jumped back, but there were two of them and one of me. The other pulled a knife of his own and caught me in the side again. I head butted him in the nose and blood immediately started gushing out; he screamed and whined like a baby. But his friend wasn’t distracted. He stabbed at me again, but was only able to cut my arm, however it was deep.
“Destiny!” I yelled again, more desperately. The odds were not looking good. This time, when I called, I did feel something. I felt it for just a moment, a familiar feeling… magic.
“If he keeps shouting someone is going to notice!” One of them said, but I didn't notice who. I was starting to feel feint. I looked down for just a split second, I was bleeding.. a lot. “He broke my nose!” said the one I headbutted.
“Man forget the money, let’s kill him.” Said the other. It was now or never.
“Destiny!” I shouted, and closed my hand around a familiar metal shaft. This time, it worked. The mugger who was closest to me stumbled back.
“What the he-?” He yelled, but I cut him off by thrusting Destiny into his thigh. “AHHH!” He screamed.
“Run!” His friend shouted and bolted away, leaving the other behind. “Aegis.” I said and it replaced Destiny. I hit him with Aegis’s flat side and knocked him out, finally stopping his screaming. I fell back against the wall of the alley and slide down. Aegis disappeared, and the adrenaline started to follow. The pain in my side was becoming much more prevalent.
Through our private connection, I called Suma, “Suma, can you summon me back?”
“Of course,” she said and bit by bit I watched my arms, legs, and my bleeding wounds, disappear. The last thing I saw before passing out was the mugger starting to wake up.