After feasting away, barely able to even drink water, my stomach is blasting alarms not to eat or drink anything else.

But, at the same time I feel bad for knowing that if I don’t finish something I start - it will be thrown away. And feeling too guilty about it, I try hard to finish a sandwich I started.

I also don’t understand how I am not dying of heat exhaustion after not taking my cloak off in the blistering heat.

So, I quickly take it off, and only then fully grasp the amount of sweat I’ve been feeling beneath it.

I roll it and sit on it.

“Thank you for the food Gaven!”

I say gratefully and ever more than I can express in simple actions or speech..

“Same here – thanks.”

Rob says nonchalantly, probably because of the sheer amount of food he has eaten.

“No worries you guys.”

“So… Now about our way back….”

I sort of laugh trying to make the reality of our situation lighter than it actually is.

I look towards the great ocean.

It glistens across the barrier of the kingdom walls and I see several large ships holding the Kingdom’s flag leave the ports. Some of them being supply ships, and some being clearly more defensive with more gun ports.

‘BANG!’

Gaven and Rob quickly catch on to where the sound is coming from.

But I am still confused, unaware of my surroundings

“What the hell...?”

Rob responds in a concerned tone.

“We need to return to the village right now!”

He screams but seems to have a tight composure locked.

I finally realise where the sound is coming from.

The village.

Directly within the market!

“Quickly! Anyone have any plans on how to get down quickly?!”

I shout snapping back into the sudden reality of it all.

“Just go down as quickly as possible!”

I say shout throwing everything cloth back into Gaven’s straw basket.

Within seconds we are up.

Climbing down the dangers of interjecting stones and roots intertwined within the path.

I feel my entire body lose balance.

I fall.

And crash down onto the floor.

I get up.

An immense pain overcomes my back, and even though I twist and turn it stays looming over me.

“Quicker!”

My breaths become sharper and come more frequent, the air flows past me but does not feed my oxygen deprived state.

I trip over a rock.

I fall on my knee and tumble-down.

I see Rob and Gaven behind me by a few metres.

Rob eventually gets to me, he lets out a hand and I grab it and run with him.

We don’t have time to talk, because the slightest syllable can slow us down.

All we need to do, is get back to the village.

And we can figure it from there!

We’re at the base of the mountain. And after a few minutes my lungs feel faint.

I scream through gasps of might air and furious anger. ‘We made a promise Angela! you’re not the type of person like me to make promises you can’t keep!’.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Even though the journey took us an hour by a mild walking pace I was sure we could do it in less than twenty given the speed we were running at we could maybe do it in twenty.

‘Maybe I’m too ambitious’ I think to myself and my heart burns as if crushing from a harsh friction from rubbing into my lungs.

I look into Rob and Gaven’s look eyes, they have a fierce fire burning within.

“Go! Go! Go!”

I almost faint while saying.

I have a non-emblem spell up my sleeve that would probably make me run a faster, but what if I need it later and I am too exhausted from using it twice?

I couldn’t risk it now. ‘Focus on their faces, imagine what Aella would be thinking…’. My legs become lighter I have a reason, I have a will, I have endless determination!

I see the village; I can also see the farm lands come to a close. There’s a black smoke of ashes burning in the centre of the village and my heart slightly drops.

I regain my sharp mind and ignore it with ludicrous reasonings to why there was a fire to remove the invasion off my head.

The first houses are in reach.

A splatter of blood catches my eye.

It looks like a paint drop but too realistic.

It has a deep red colour which seems to flow like water.

All of us come to a stop.

Walking slowly with our breathes paying us horribly with a terrible inhaling sound that’s loud.

We approach the fire and the streets appear empty, there are no signs of life but a rampage of death and various objects lie dead on the floor.

Baskets, toys, waterskins, clothes all tarnished by what looks to be monsters. We all hear loud voices of laughter, and we let our guard down a bit...

We look around the corner.

Into the main street.

Everything in my mind goes silent.

All the hope is lost in the wind, and my field of vision becomes blurry.

In the middle of it all.

A deadly sight haunts me.

A heap set ablaze, it was a large about the size of a large out all updating and refreshing the meaning of agony itself. Death.

Dozens or hundreds of things burning away– lifeless.

I couldn’t make out what.

But I don’t want to think about it for a second.

Ten monsters.

Rob’s face bears witness to an afflictive wound opening in his bare heart - fully awake. Hoping that maybe it is a dream – and maybe that I would throw a rock into his window any second to wake him up.

Gaven on the other hand bares his face, and curls it almost twisting it and making it un-recognisable, anger mixed in with pure murderous intent.

“What is this...”

Gaven says strongly, breathing sharply and trying not to shed a tear.

“Rob, summon me a sword!”

He commands, through leaking anger.

“This-This is dangerous though you don’t have an emblem.”

Rob responds trying to wipe tears off his face.

“Same here, kill those demons!”

I respond and my shock repents into hatred.

“Zwaarden komen tevoorschijn.”

He grasps to say over tears trying to re-gain his composure.

Three swords appear from nothing and we each grab one.

I know I’ve never been good with a sword; I know I’m going to join that pit of burning thing but somewhere calls out to help.

“Versterken en lich!”

I whisper unable to open my eyes for that moment as I cast my non-emblem magic, Rob and Gaven follow to repeat the same magic but Rob is un-able to cast his strength spell but is able to cast his emblem blade spell.

“Charge!”

Gaven leads ahead of us all, I go second and Rob follows last. We have no plan. But we have a goal.

The ten people who appear to turn their heads around reveal their powers – beasts. Each of their heads remains a human formation but ugly features emerge. Slanted faces, dropping eyes and hanging skin all around a hairy mess.

They’re large and if not for the adrenaline burning with anger, I would coward away.

But seeing all of us charge into battle inspires me.

A voice from what appears to come from the abyss of nothing speaks.

One raises a club ready to strike whilst the other prepares his machete next to his chest ready to dice us away.

My senses expand, and I feel like I’m reading their slow, sluggish movement.

We run into the beast in front first and as the beast swings his club towards Gaven he steps back.

For the split second his arm over extends I go in front of Gaven and slash his arm.

I struggle to pull the blade back out.

‘This is the end’ I think.

He goes to swing his arm back and drops his weapon.

It is finally at this moment he meets his demise.

Rob charges, his sword in both hands glowing a purple aura. He jumps and forks his eye socket; he drives it deeper as if his hand is a hammer and the sword a nail.

The beast falls flat onto the ground and he pulls his sword out quickly and I fetch my sword too, as a puddle of blood oozes out of his one eye socket.

Gaven screams at them.

The one wielding a machete, charges at Rob. He looks like he is a about to jab. But in a swift sense of action, I shout.

“Duck!”

Rob does so and instead of the jab he swings.

“Your dead.”

He shouts as he punctures his stomach but the beast doesn’t seem to die from it, he takes his machete and swings it downwards.

As if a skilled archer, Gaven’s sword leaves his hand and directly is on the path for the beast’s head.

The arm holding the weapon falls numb. And the machete falls right next to Rob’s shoulder.

Rob throws his sword to Gaven and retrieves the sword from the monster’s head

I can’t think quick enough. And three beasts come at us Their run is slow or maybe we’re fast.

‘Focus’.

“Split!”

Gaven shouts as he is swiftly met with a stalemate of sword clashing with another one.

I want to care about them.

But each has their own job right now.

A beast significantly larger than me runs at me. Its veins budge outwards and it screams murder. It swings a large battle axe towards my face. I try to duck, but the blade still rips air towards me.

I roll.

I get up and feel deep cut across my arm. ‘Is this where I’m going to die?’ I hopeless think

Another swing forges its way towards me. I put my sword up and as the two blades collide my legs are pushed back.

‘Clink!’

Our blades part ways, and the beast’s slow to draw back. An opening presents itself and murder hadn’t been tempting till now.

I swing the sword in a circle to gain momentum and as I’m about to strike its chest.

My arm gives up.

And I now notice the blood trickling at my blade from my arm.

The axe blocks the sun, and it collides with the air as it reaches up.

A flash appears all of a sudden.

And the beast panics.

It drops its weapon.

I cut down through lays of skin, flesh and organs until I stop. I finally look towards the light source.

It’s Gaven.

Shouting an emblem cast mysteriously.

Meaning that his emblem is that of Light, as on his neck forms the icon of the light emblem.

Gaven throws a war cry.

The rest of the beasted monsters charge at us.

The fire continues burning in a deathly haze of fumes.

The only sounds that arise is the clashing of metal.

I feel a sharp pain in on my chest.

Shards of metal and glass seem to impale my skin – ‘my pocket watch!’ I think before everything turns black.