Fred woke up sputtering alive, gasping for air, panicking. He quickly shielded his face with a flailing long sleeve to avoid being smothered by the cloud of incoming smoke. He cuffed somebody in the chaos. The victim of the accidental scuffle yelped tumbling over after being tripped.
"What the Farc man," screamed a lower ranking officer, who had fallen over the log next to the fire they had sat on the night before.
Later the smoldering ash of the campfire was raked over by the reinforced boots of Jed. Many of the others folded tarps, coiled ropes, and packed clothes into canvas bags. The single tent they still had was broken down for travel. Fred hid shyly behind the packed donkey as the man he had pushed over before angrily threw things in their place.
The troops marched single file on the trail in the same well organized manner they had constantly drilled. Their faces remained relatively fresh despite being sunburned and wearing battle scarred uniforms. The early morning humidity coated everything in slimy dew. The blood sucking miniature bats had started to draw blood from a soldier who swatted them away almost taking another's leg. Thankfully the bugs did not penetrate the cloth long sleeves or wide brimmed hats with face nets.
The jungle birds continued singing mating songs, as did the monkeys. They had echoing off the valleys all night long with the sounds of non stop howling, swinging, and screeching. The campfire had cracked away as the party's safety blanket, but in its absence tension between the party members began to fill the air. What must have been hours passed pushing through the horrendous humidity without any of the former platoon jokes to break the ice.
“15 minutes over. Pack it up soldiers!” yelled Jed.
Many whined matching the squeaking protests of many a debris coated thread of a canteen cover.
“Think our wizard will ever return before we make it back to barracks?” Uhla asked, after clearing the path.
A machete gripped in one of his massive blue tribal tattooed arms while the other casually held half of a coconut he sipped from while slashing. He had a bandana of runes protecting his head instead of a helmet, two swords sleeves strapped around his chest instead of a shirt, and wore sandals.
“We have only a limited supply of remaining clean water. A rescue for anyone lost from our unit will have to be made, but we have to survive for now," said Jed.
Isn't it funny that Jed was supposed to be the person ranked lowest in the hierarchy, but had risen to become an unlikely interim leader. Fred was a titled Knight, but seemed to carry a heavy burden of shame picked up from somewhere. Or maybe it was a different picture entirely going on his mind since the war started keeping him shy and not talking anymore.
He wondered what would happen as soon as they returned home. Would they be forcefully returned to the previous madness called order of their knight, and servant professional relationship. Would Fred be given a cushy office job, and a bunch of medals or somehow be demoted for making an underling take on such a burden. The kingdom would rather live in a very rigid, and stubborn culture of nepotism promoting non-serious people lover the more qualified. It is what it is.
Jed stood alone on the edge of the clearing on a hill. He slid his pants around his ankles and started pissing down the ravine. He further considered running somewhere safe from the unspoken toxic traditions, gossip, ass kissing, and divisions. A desert island with a waterfall that would wash away the defects holding him back from living in a utopia. A farm with crops and hogs was waiting on getting all missions accomplished. All this thinking, and worrying accomplished nothing in the real world. He ended at the last dribble droplet, zipped his pants and strode back onto the beaten path to catch up.
“HEE-HAW" brayed the donkey.
“There girl your wizard will return eventually I know It” said Fred.
The donkey snorted, studying an outstretched hand full of food. Fred rubbed the creature's soft ears before giving it a kiss on the neck. A few others standing in the background chuckled in amusement.
Uhla had already cut the path ahead of them, and was heard further on chopping through the forest limbs and leaves. Some followed him with packed camping supplies on back, and swords out ready to attack. Fred held onto the lead line in front of him, taking the donkey with him in rear as the rest entered into the jungle first on their path back to the nearest civilization.
“When I get to town a round of schlock for each and everyone one of you” said a soldier.
“I'll be buying a company of three for the night with my crystal coins: a woman, an elf, and a leprechaun,” responded his buddy.
"Three things man can have a lot of fun with but never fully comprehend," laughed another.
Fred walked behind silently observing the world with the animal that diligently followed him with the rope tied around its neck. The voices slowly increasing in volume must be coming from his head. It had sounded as if the trees were whispering sweet things for an eternity until the wind gusted in and the chanting started.
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“MOOORAAAKAAA!” a Dwarf army screamed from somewhere unseen.
“What the fuck! Who let the donkey loose” yelled the soldier, no longer laughing after being trampled.
The charging beast ran everyone off the cramped path forcing them to jump into a stream of sludge. The donkey bucked at those who tried take control causing disruption and confusion everywhere it ran. A soldier finally grabbed onto the short leash successfully.
“Got it” yelled the soldier triumphantly, showing them the reins.
"Ahhh" he screamed, being dragged away.
The donkey continued forward rampaging. Jed and Uhla ran back from the front that they had been spearheading.
“Where's Fred? The beast is supposed to be his responsibility” said Jed. .
“I will take it on as my burden from now on if we can catch it” said Uhla.
“The soldier at the rear is sick with some sort of illness or just gone mad” said a voice running towards them somewhere in the forest.
A soldier busted onto the path particularly disheveled with vines and leaves stuck all over his armor.
“Fred is in trouble, maybe his mind has gone mad” realized Jed out loud, his face becoming as pale as it could be while so burned from the sun.
“Step aside and clear the path!” yelled Uhla, taking the reins of the situation. "Get Fred under control.. I'll get the mule," he yelled, sprinting after the donkey.
"Roger," replied Jed, turning and running in the opposite direction.
Branches ripped at his face as Jed went as fast as he could. He saw three people standing in a circle around something. One of them held a canteen on offer that went untouched. Fred sat in the middle of them unresponsive staring off 100 yards into the jungle.
"What is wrong with drinking something?" the largest among them screamed, spitting at Fred in frustration.
Another cuffed him across the forehead, knocking him over.
"How do you like it now?" asked the meanest looking soldier standing over.
"No easy with him. Damn it clear away at once!" screamed Jed.
Fred spit, and lashed towards the tormentors. At first they smirked gingerly, smacking, and slapping him gently at first but as the thrashing of the victim intensified things rapidly excited. Jed dove into the biggest soldier, pushing him to the ground. He was hauled on the ground and immediately slugged in the face. Jed fought back punching three times in rapid succession sending a tooth flying into the bushes.
“MAARAAKA” screamed Fred, convulsing as two piled on him.
The madman began beating up the two soldiers while foaming at the mouth. His body blindly flailed around before going back for another round. A sword was loudly pulled out of its holder, and then another. Jed had the soldier on the ground laying still knocked unconscious mouth involuntarily hung open revealing the new gap.
Jed dusted himself off and took out his sword facing the two. One waved his blade while the other closed in with theirs pointed on Fred who had remained unarmed.
“He’s mad. We are doing him a favor by putting him down like a dog and keeping ourselves safe," said the soldier, adjusting his sword in one arm, and stuffing his overhanging gut in with the other.
"Who knows what he is capable of doing to us while we sleep and he has a freakout” called the other facing Fred.
Jed's sword began to tremble with his hands. The adrenaline dam had burst onto his nerves making him twitch in anticipation of what would happen next.
"You both die if he is slain.. so be the punishment I receive," explained Jed.
"Yeah," nonchalantly replied the big guy, raising his blade to deliver the killing blow.
Fred smiled looking past the impending doom he seemed fated for into the horizon. He spotted clouds that resembled tortoises, hares, and kangaroos. Jed and the second soldier stared each other down waiting for who would make the first move.
"He's my responsibility he will be restrained until we make it back to a castle not killed " said Jed.
He rotated to look both opponents in the eyes. Neither looked impressed or even registered the suggestion. What they wanted to do had already been decided among the two.
"MOOOORAAAAKAA!" cried Fred, his body twitching, pupils wide open with wild eyes.
"I won't serve with no freak!" the man lunged his sword directly at Fred, just missing the torso.
Jed lunged at the one blocking him, and their swords connected bouncing off each other from inertia. The only damage done was wrists ringing out with arthritis. The other soldier slowly advanced on the unarmed target. He slashed again and successfully nicked Fred’s leg. His pant leg quickly filled with blood that seeped from the wound. Fred screamed looking all around him in confusion. The sword was pulled out from the ground it had sliced into for the finishing blow.
Another man charged at this time.. Jed saw it coming and dove past the first sword, stabbing the guy behind them through the back. His blade extended out the other side red. The dead man gurgled and toppled over face first into the dirt. Jed drew back out his sword and yelled gibberish as loud as he could in a last ditch effort to distract.
The soldier standing on the other side turned. He had panicked full blown black circles behind his eyes that now resembled Fred’s. He barely held up his sword that shook on account of dead friends. The soldier ran away on the path to reinforcements, dropping his heavy weapon.
Jed looked back over to where Fred had been. He was gone. Running off leaving him with an unconscious body, and another soldier he had just murdered.
The jungle branches hit Jed's sprinting body, and the thorns tore into his pants. A parrot watched him struggling forward to keep his run, eventually flapping its wings in flight. No time while being pursued to fully take in his surroundings, but he also needed to avoid pitfalls, predators, quicksand, and getting fully lost.
Where had Fred run off to, and was he dying? Imagery of Fred dead in a ditch spurred him on as he removed his sword again. He angrily swung, attacking any vines, branches, or cocoons that stood in the way. The only trail he had to follow was tiny drops of blood scattered among the blowing leaves.
Jed bent scanning the ground like a watch-light at a prison yard for clues to the other fugitives' location. The trail had gone cold. No more blood! Behind came the angry shouting of an army he would never serve again hunting for two traitors.