Bane made his stumbling way through the wreckage and the bodies that littered the scarred road. His mind numb with the fear and grief that hung over him like a thick veil.
But it wasn’t the stench of sweat and blood lingering in the air nor the aching pain clawing at his wrists that caused his stomach to churn and twist.
No, that honor belonged to the unrelenting goad of his empathic abilities. The curse that made him hyper-sensitive to, and painfully aware of, the sufferings and emotions of those around him.
And death... Death was a feeling like no other.
He was so lost in the tempestuous sea of emotions swirling around him that he was barely aware of his surroundings. So lost in bleak thought that he barely noticed the groaning please of the man who lay helpless at his feet.
“Pl-please, please. H-help.” The man cried, his voice a hoarse whisper.
Bane pushed the thoughts away, burying them deep in his subconscious. If he could force his mind to focus on the task at hand; examining the injured man. His pain would have to go away, wouldn't it?
Bane instinctively reached up to activate his Hololens, forgetting for a moment that he wasn’t wearing it.
Ordinarily, the device would have performed a scan, compiled the data, and displayed patient-relevant statistics directly onto his retina: Heart rate, Blood pressure, insurance status, you name it.
But this time when he tapped his ear he saw a different type of display.
Tallos
—Level 19—
-Slaver-
“The Slave Driver”
Race: Human
Age: 43
HP: 4/200
RP: 0/50
Skills:
Navigation: Level 17
Slaver: Level 14
Marksmanship: Level 8
Barter: Level 7
Endurance: Level 5
Effects:
☠ Brink Of Death - -
⚠ Crypled - -
HP? RP? Brink Of Death? Bane read through the data not fully understanding it.
“Computer, analysis,” He said, but there was no response.
The readout seemed to mirror what he had already noticed: the man's bones were broken, his body was covered with deep lacerations, and his pupils were dilated, a common symptom of a concussion often associated with confusion.
Bane had seen more than enough injuries to recognize the final status symbol was just as accurate. “Brink Of Death” was an accurate prognosis, Bane thought.
Bane closed his eyes and the screen was gone. Strange…
“Right now, You’re losing a lot of blood!” Bane explained, His voice cold and clinical, “Your heart is beating at three times its normal rate to compensate. But, soon that won’t be enough.
Your vision will blur, your heart will stop, and you will die. There's nothing to be done. I’m sorry.”
All of Bane’s instincts screamed at him to get away from this man. To shield himself from the pain and agony that radiated out of frayed and dying consciousness.
But before Bane could pull himself away, the man reached up, grabbed him by the hand, and guided it to the blade on his belt. “Th-the pain!” The man croaked “I can’t stand it. Please. Mercy… please” he begged.
The man’s words echoed through Bane’s mind like a haunting refrain. Again and Again. He had heard those words so—so many times before. He couldn't stand it any longer. The pain. The never-ending torment.
Making a three-pronged shape with his thumb and two of his fingers, Bane placed a hand on the man’s temples and pushed.
The moment their minds touched Bane nearly pulled his hand away, as he was almost overcome by the torrent of pain and suffering that flooded through his mind.
The agony was overwhelming, the torment unbearable. But Bane pushed through the layers of pain until he entered the man’s mind. Stepping through the annals of memories before him, Bane stumbled around until he located a pleasant scene.
Stepping through the doorway he was overcome by a wash of happiness and peace.
***
“C’mon Tallos, let’s go!” The man heard his childhood friend calling to him as his mind drifted and he began to relive a long-forgotten moment.
The gentle heat of the summer's sun rested softly on the young boy’s back as he stared up at the clear blue sky. The horizon, decorated with white wispy clouds, stretched out over the wide-open countryside as far as the eye could see, and the smell of blooming flowers floated on the drifting breeze.
Tallos always felt alive and free when he dashed through those auburn fields. The wind in his hair as he dashed up the hill without a care in the world; his best friend Jen running right by his side, and his older brother Argon keeping watch over them.
But this day was special. Not only had his closest friends come to play, but, his father, Jothan, had also promised to join them.
The older man didn’t have the boundless energy required to keep up with the children. But, true to his word, he played with his boys until the sun sank low in the sky.
At the end of the day, when Tallos was tired, he lay on his back in the tall grass, nestled under his father's protective arm and staring through hopeful eyes at the starry night sky. He imagined that every day would be just as grand.
He convinced himself that, from now on, every second of every day would be filled with the happiness and joy he experienced in that moment. No one could take it away from him.
The last thing Bane showed the man was the memory of his father tucking him into bed. All those years ago when he felt loved and safe.
Tallos’ heart slowed, the memory faded, and he took his final breath.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
***
Opening his eyes, Bane snapped to his senses and felt the weight of the world pressing down on his shoulders. It never gets any easier.
Stomach churning, hands shaking, he resisted the urge to vomit as he rose to his feet and collected his thoughts for a moment. He’d seen flashes of the man’s life. And now he’d seen his death.
Half lost in thought, Bane drew a long breath and turned to face the children who stared at him through the bars of the overturned carriage. Their faces gripped by a mixture of relief and fear that echoed his own feelings.
“Stay away from us you-you monster!”—The red-headed girl shouted as she wrapped her arms protectively around her two younger brothers—“You're-You’re a monster!”
Elidi turned and glared at the girl, her amber eyes glowing with the same radiant flames that had earlier flown from her hands, “What are you stupid!?” She snapped, “He just saved your life! Saved all of our lives! You ungrateful little—you should be thanking him!”
“Thank him!? Did you see what he just did!?”—The girl gestured to the destruction and death that often followed in Bane’s wake—“What kind of monster does this? And look! Look at what he did to that man! He was begging for his life and you! —She pointed an accusing finger at Bane— “You killed him!”
“Man!?” Drexel interjected, “That slaver scum got what he deserved!”—He spat on the ground contemptuously—“I only wish he’d suffered longer!”
“How can you say that!?” She replied, “They might have been slavers. But Still... they were people... They didn’t deserve to die like that.”
“They wouldn’t have hesitated for a second if things were reversed. You know that” Drexel said pointedly.
Unwilling to surrender the point, the redheaded girl turned to Bane and spat a harsh accusation. “Look at all of this! Look at what you’ve done! Are you happy now? Or are you planning on killing us just like you killed all of them!?
Bane was disappointed but not surprised. More of the same... he thought, Maybe this world isn’t so different after all. Nothing he ever did seemed to make the slightest difference. This is how it always ended.
People fear what they do not understand.” He remembered her words. “Lack of understanding leads to fear—fear leads to hatred and hatred... That’s something you understand don’t you Bane?
When people see your power they will fear you. View you as an abomination. A monster. Ordinary people will never understand what you are. What we are!”
“That’s not what happened!” Elidi said, “That monster did this, he-he wouldn’t do that!”
“How do you know what he’ll do!?” The girl replied, “You don’t know anything about him! You just met him--you don’t even know his name!”
Elidi replied by kicking the gate open, crawling out, and slamming the warped door shut in the girl's face.
“I don’t need to know his name to tell that he’s a good person!”—her words pulled the breath from Bane’s lungs—“If you idiots are too stupid to see that, you... you— She couldn’t find the words—“Forget it, we’re leaving! C’mon Mr. Let's go!” Elidi grabbed Bane by the arm and pulled trying to lead him away. but she was so small and Bane was so stunned he didn't move an inch.
“I said: let’s go!” She insisted, tugging on his arm. But still, he didn’t move
“Alright, alright. Let’s calm down!” Drexel said, trying to be the voice of reason, “Fighting isn’t going to get us anywhere! Whether we like it or not”—He glared at Elidi as she stuck her tongue out at the girl—“we’re all going to have to work together if we want to get out of this alive!”
Drexel paused for a moment to let his words marinade.
He was right. They might not have liked each other but for the moment their fates were tied together. Bound by the same collars around their necks.
“Fine!” Elidi said, “But keep Cade and her little minions away from me and my new friend!”
“Fine!” Cade spat back at her, “But once we find a village, me and my brothers are getting as far from you freaks as possible!”
“We’ll worry about that when we get there,” Drexel said, “For now, We need to figure out where we’re going.”
“East,” Bane said.
“East!?” Cade interrupted, “The road leads north to Alavast! We have family there. That’s where we should be going!”
Bane shook his head, “Alavast is a three-day walk from here” he said using some of the information he’d absorbed from the driver's mind moments ago, “we won’t make it there without supplies. Even if we did, the slavers would be there waiting for us. With these are our necks” —He pulled at his collar—“We’ll be right back where we started.”
Reaching into the driver's breast pocket, Bane retrieved an old map that had served the battle thankfully unstained.
“Our best bet is to cut through the forest and make our way to the village here.” He pointed to a symbol on the map, “Once there, we should be able to gather more supplies, equipment, and transport for our long journey to the citadel. Plus we should have enough time to come up with a solution to our collar problem.”
«Achievement Unlocked!»
—75 Ð - Fearless Leader—
“Cade hung her head and thought for a moment. He was right. She might not have trusted him or liked him for that matter, but he had the skills they needed to survive.
“Fine!” Cade said, “We’ll head east for now. But you’re leading the way. I’m not taking my eyes off you.”
Bane had to admire her caution. Abrasive as she might have been she was right to be wary of a stranger, and Bane felt the same mistrust towards them. Once they were out of immediate danger, everyone would go their separate ways and Bane would be alone again. Until then he had to keep his guard up at all times.
“All right,” Bane said, “Gather anything useful you can carry, and let’s get moving. We’re running out of daylight.”
The party searched through the wreckage with urgent efficiency. Collecting anything and everything useful and discarding anything that would slow their long trip ahead.
Bane salvaged a pair of boots from one man, a lightly armored leather vest from and long coat from another, and the weapons and rations from all three. By the end of it, Bane had a new set of unfitted clothes and a small arsenal of weapons: a bow, two daggers, and a long curved sword.
The question was how to distribute them.
Drexel was the obvious choice for the bow. He had the expertise, skill, and affinity for the weapon. Plus Bane noticed him eyeing a quiver full of arrows soon after their search began.
“Catch!” Bane called out as tossed the deceptively light bow to Drexel. The boy caught it with ease and slung it over his shoulder as if he had done it a thousand times before.
“You said you were good with the bow. So you’ll be our range support.”
Drexel nodded his head in acceptance before returning to his search. But just as he was about to turn away he added “I won’t miss!”
[https://i.ibb.co/Csvb0Jw/Part.png]
[https://i.ibb.co/D8H0H2c/Drexel-2.png]
Bane skimmed through the statistics that appeared before him, half-understood them, and moved on. He told himself that he would look into these strange stats and symbols once he was out of immediate danger. But for now, it would have to wait.
Cade was crouched over near the front of the overturned carriage. Locks of red curly were hair draped over her face as she looked through a small wooden compartment that was tucked away in the back of the small cabin.
After a few seconds, she found a large cloth backpack that while mostly empty would make carrying whatever essentials she found a bit easier.
Throwing the bag over her shoulder she noticed Bane watching her.
“What are you looking at?” She glared.
Bane looked her up and down as if appraising a piece of equipment. Her long frame and thin arms lacked the strength to wield the heavy curved sword Bane had just recovered. But the dagger seemed like something she could handle.
“Here,” Bane said, offering her the smaller of the two daggers, “Since you'll be taking up the rear, you’ll need this.” When she hesitated he held it out further, “Just in case something manages to sneak up behind us.”
She looked at Bane and then back at the dagger, her eyes scanning for deception. When she found none, she reached out and snatched it out of his hand and tucked it into the leather belt she’d just found. But not before adding, “I’ll take it. But don't think I’ll hesitate to use it on you if you try anything!”
[https://i.ibb.co/Csvb0Jw/Part.png]
[https://i.ibb.co/nm61vMT/Cade-2.png]
“Charlotte? Farmhand?” Bane thought but said nothing. What did these levels and titles mean?
“What about me!” Elidi ran up beside him holding the handful of rations she’d collected “What about me? What’s my job boss!?”
Bane knelt to her level and evaluated her for a second. Her body was small lean and fast. The two wolf-like ears that stuck up from her head looked like they could pick up sounds he couldn’t and her eyes were reflective like a nocturnal animal making bane almost sure she could see in the dark.
Too small for the sword. But the dagger...
“You’ll be our eyes and ears.” Bane said, his voice strong and crisp like a drill sergeant. “You see anything or hear anything suspicious, you let me know! And if we run into trouble”—He held the small ornate dagger—“use this.”
Elidi held the blade in her hands like it was a priceless artifact. “You got it Mr.!” She gave him a salute before holstering it in the small leather pouch she’d just found in the wreckage
[https://i.ibb.co/Csvb0Jw/Part.png]
[https://i.ibb.co/KqHcNFG/Elidi-2.png]
Preparations complete, the newly formed party was ready for what would be a long trek through the wilderness of Cortus.