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Here’s chapter two! :)

Fleeing the Night – Chapter 2

“Myles, you have to put some effort into it.”

I groaned. “I am putting effort into it!”

“No, you’re too busy thinking about how hot it is, and all the other things you could be doing right now, and if that girl from the village thinks you’re cute.”

“What? No way!”

“Suit yourself.” With a quick flick of his wrist, Erik swung his stick at me. I couldn’t get mine up enough in time to block it, and with a resounding smack, it hit my wrist, knocking my stick from my hand.

“Owww!” I yelled, clutching my wrist. “You cheated!”

He laughed. “No, you weren’t paying attention. Tomorrow at high noon, then?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, and bore holes in his back as he walked away, wishing more than anything that I could spar better than him.

I had known Erik as long as I could remember. When I was about six, I remember him always tousling my then jet black hair every time he walked by. Now he just laughed at how light my hair had turned, and how it stuck up in odd directions. We weren’t related, but I felt as though he could be my older brother. We went from those hair-tousling days to sparring in the afternoon heat, attempting to teach me what he called “good mercenary skills”.

“Myles! How ya doin, mate?” a voice said, coming up to throw their arm around my shoulder.

I shoved the arm off and moved away from him. “I’m not in the mood, Mark, and you should know that.”

He laughed. “Erik beatcha again or somethin?”

“Yeah,” I grumbled.

“But that ain’t all?”

“No.”

He tried the puppy dog eyes. “Tell me?”

I wasn’t falling for his charm today. “No.”

“Fine then.” He stalked out, pretending to be mad, but I knew by suppertime he would be joking around with me again. That’s how it went with your best friend.

I sat down on my mat, but soon decided it would be cooler outside than in a stuffy tent, so I went out and sat by the river. The sky above was a clear blue, the sun shining down relentlessly.

“Stupid, just stupid...” I muttered to myself, picking up a rock and chucking it into the river. “Mark needs a girl.”

I paused, thought about what I had said, and burst out laughing. It was kind of funny, thinking about anyone dating Mark. He wasn’t the dating type.

I thought about Erik. It wasn’t fair that he pried into my personal life so often. But then again, he was taking the time to teach me how to defend myself, and all sorts of other tricks of the trade that I would need later on, when I finally became old enough to join the order.

“Myles? Are you over there?”

I sighed. There could be only one reason why Roger would be looking for me. I thought briefly about bolting out of sight, but decided it would be best to get it over with. “Yeah, I’m here,” I called. “Do you need me for something?” I asked as the boy emerged from the trees.

“Yeah, you got to wash pots tonight, Erik says. He also says you got to pack up in the morning whenever we get ready to leave.” He started to turn around and leave, but then turned back. “Oh, and it’s time to eat. He said that, too.”

I groaned. “Thanks, Roger. You can go back now.” The little boy turned and sprinted back towards the campsite.

It was times like this that I wished I were Roger’s age still. Since he was only twelve, he got to tag along with the rest of us, mostly just fetching things when asked. It was up to me, along with Mark and our friend Derrick, to do the more laborious tasks. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be long until I was of age to join the others though, and my days of dishwashing and tent pitching would be over. Mark and Derrick still had quite a few months left, and Roger had at least five years before he could even reach our status of what equated to “kitchen boys”.

With a great deal of reluctance, and pulled myself to my feet. I thought I had seen some sort of stew being made earlier, which meant I was going to be doing a great deal of scrubbing tonight. The sooner I finished eating, the sooner I could start, which meant the sooner I could go to sleep.

When I arrived back at the campsite, everyone else had already begun eating. “Pull up a log, Myles!” Mark called, laughing along with Derrick. I grabbed a bowl of the ominous-looking stew from the cook and sat on the ground next to them.

“Where have ya been?” Derrick asked. I gestured with my spoon towards the wordlessly.

“He got mad that Erik beat him again and went off to sulk,” Mark said with a snicker.

I flung a carrot at him. “Shut up. Funny,” I said, pretending to think it over, “haven’t I told you that once already today?”

“You mighta mentioned it.”

“That’s what I-“

I was then cut off by a shout. The twenty or so men sitting around all looked up as one of the guards came crashing through the trees, blood dripping from his brow.

“Erik!” he gasped. “Erik, everyone has to get out of here right now.”

“Somebody help him!” Erik demanded, going over to him as well. “What happened? What’s going on?”

The guard was helped to the ground by a tree, struggling to breathe. “Dark Elves, I think... I don’t know how many, thirty at least, and there may be more. They’ve gone, now, but they’re coming back. They took John, Pierre’s dead, and I barely made it out alive. But listen, Erik, they’re coming back, and with more men. I don’t think they’re all Elves either. You know the ridge back there a ways where we’ve been standing guard? If you stand on the top of that ridge, you can see flames way off in the distance. They have bonfires, Erik, and not just any bonfires, oh no. Those are magical fires. Now you know as well as I do...”

“That nobody’s done magic for years. Yes, I know. Is that all?”

“Yes, sir, it is.”

Erik sighed. “Alright, listen up everyone. We can either continue on our way, or we can go back to the castle, and report this. What do you all think?”

It was silent for a moment. I cleared my throat. “Um, sir?”

“Yes, Myles?”

Without thinking, I said, “Can’t we go after them? I mean, just to see what’s going on.”

He thought it over. I almost wished I hadn’t said anything. Now that I had voiced my thoughts, it all sounded quite ridiculous.

“That’s a good idea Myles.”

What? Did I hear him correctly? “Yes, sir?” I managed to say.

“Yes. But, I don’t believe everyone should go. Just some scouts. Would anyone like to volunteer for this job?”

I wasn’t surprise to see several hands shoot up in the air, along with Mark and Derrick’s. Erik quickly selected five men, and then turned to the three of us. “Myles, I think since you suggested it, you should go along. Derrick, you also may go. Mark, you’ll be needed here.” With that, he turned back to the group.

Whatever he said after that, I didn’t hear. My heart soared. I hadn’t asked to go along, and yet here I was, going anyway. I was going to do something important for once in my life.

I glanced at my friends. Mark looked absolutely livid. He knew as well as I did that it was because he was the youngest, even if it was only by four months. The look on Derrick’s face mirrored my own happiness.

“...leave as soon as possible.”

People started moving around. One of the men called to me and Derrick. “Boys, could you help us gather some supplies? See if you can find some blankets. Oh, and get the tents from over there.”

I nodded and followed Derrick to one of the supply packs. “Are you excited?” he whispered to me.

I grinned. “You bet.” I rummaged through one of the packs, coming up with nothing but clothes. “Let’s try those over there,” I said, nodding towards another set of packs.

“That idea was just brilliant, mate,” Derrick congratulated me. “That’s probably the only reason we’re getting to go, is because one of us unders came up with the idea in the first place.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled absently. “Look, here are the blankets.”

“Brilliant. I got the tents. Let’s take them back to Parker.”

Parker. I’ll have to remember that.

“Thanks, boys,” Parker said, taking the blankets and putting them in another pack. “Just so you know, we’ll be picking up some supplies in this village that’s a little ways off in that direction” – he gestured with his hand towards the north – “We’re going to be leaving in about five minutes or so, so gather up any personal belongings you think you might need, and meet me and the others over there.” He pointed to a clump of trees where two men were already waiting.

“Do you need to get anything?” Derrick asked me.

“No. I have everything I need right here.” I touched the amulet around my neck.

“Ah, right. The all-mysterious necklace from your mother. Right. Well, I’m gonna go make sure I don’t need anything. Don’t leave without me,” he added with a grin.

I chuckled. “Course not, Derrick. We could never leave you.” He laughed, and then went off to gather his belongings.

I thought about joining the others, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to wait here for Derrick. I sat down on the ground and began absently drawing in the sand.

“Are ya happy now?” an all-too-familiar voice asked from behind me.

I turned. “Mark, you know as well as I do that I had no say in who’s going and who’s not.”

“Oh yeah? But it was your idea in the first place, wasn’t it?” he suggested, not even meeting my gaze. “Your brilliant plan.” I started to say something, but he held up a hand. “No, just don’t say anythin’. I don’t wanna hear it. Just leave. I don’t wanna have to see your face anymore.” With that he walked away, leaving me sitting there, shocked. I was closer to him than I had ever been to Derrick, probably because we were both orphans, and here he was telling me off for supposedly choosing Derrick over him.

“Was that Mark?” Derrick asked, coming out from his tent, a knapsack slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” I mumbled.

“Not too happy, is he?”

“No.” I sighed and stood up. “Let’s just go, okay?”

“Sure thing.”

We walked over to where all of the others already stood. “Ready to go?” Parker asked.

“Yes, sir. You bet!” Derrick replied brightly.

“Alright, let’s get going then. “Derrick, is it? You take that pack there, that’s all the blankets and such. And Myles, right? You take that, that’s the tents.”

I picked up the pack. It didn’t seem too heavy now, but I figured later on I’d start feeling the weight. I just hoped we weren’t too far from the town.

We started out, the fire’s glow quickly fading from view behind us. “Alright,” Parker said after we had gotten a fair distance away from the camp. “We might as well get to know each other, eh? That, and this silence is going to kill me if somebody doesn’t start talking. I’m Parker, and I’ll be your guide on this lovely little adventure. Next?”

A quiet looking guy next to him spoke up. “I’m Evan, finance officer, so to speak. And just general weaponry.”

Parker laughed. “That’s just about all of us, Evan. We are part of the order you know.”

“Amen to that,” another man said. “Rowan, at your service,” he said with a slight bow. “You better be nice to me; I’m in charge of your food.”

We all laughed at this. So far, I figured that this trip wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as I thought.

“I’m Julian,” the younger man walking just in front of me said. If I had to guess, I’d say he wasn’t but a few years older than I was. “The big guy back there would be my brother Luis.”

When Julian said big, he wasn’t lying. I definitely wouldn’t want to come up on Luis in the dark. But, he seemed to be friendly enough. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m bringing up the rear of this parade!”

“And what about you two boys?”

“Myles,” I said. When I didn’t say more, Derrick jumped in.

“This whole thing was his idea, as most of you probably know. Oh, and I’m Derrick.”

Luis reached up at patted my shoulder. “Thanks for this, Myles. You’ve successfully managed to send us away from our beds.”

“Oh, please!” Evan said. “Like you really enjoyed lying around doing nothing all day.”

“That I did, boy,” Luis replied. “It was quite relaxing.”

“Psh,” Julian said. “You were just happy for the chance to sit around and be lazy like you somehow always manage to do in the first place!”

Everyone laughed. “So,” Parker said, glancing back at Derrick and me. “Do you boys have any weapons?”

I groaned. I hadn’t even thought about needing weapons. “No,” I admitted to him.

He stopped and reached into one of the two packs slung over his shoulder. “Good thing we brought extra just in case.” He pulled out a sword. “Erik’s been teaching you, right?” I nodded. “Good. You’ll be okay using this then,” he said, handing the sword to me. I buckled it on. It’s weight felt good, like I wasn’t in any danger with it there. Parker handed Derrick a bow and arrows. “I’ve heard that you are quite good with a bow, Derrick. You’re father is a bowman, correct?”

“Yeah, taught me everything I know,” he answered proudly.

“Terrific. This will serve you well then.”

I felt a pang go through me hearing Derrick talk about his father so proudly. It must’ve been nice to actually have a father to talk about, even if he was away on business.

“Let’s get this party moving, Parker!” Luis called. “I want to put some distance between us and the camp before it gets dark.”

And with that, they set off into the woods towards the dark plume of smoke rising in the air in the distance.

At first the time went by quickly. By the fourth day, the pack was starting to weight heavily on my back, as was the sword. I wished bitterly that I had stayed back at the camp, but knew my heart wasn’t in that wish. What I really wanted was to be there already, and find out what was going on.

After a while, I learned what the others thought about the whole situation. Though their theories weren’t the same, one thing they all had in common was the fact that we were on the brink of war.

I knew little about the world and it’s happenings, but had learned some from Erik. I also got a brief history of the world in a way that I would never have been taught at Rissarra.

“Basically, the world was created by the gods and goddesses,” Parker told me. “The first men on earth were actually the bastard children of Ilnar and Dysiri because they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other. They’ve been exiled from the land of gods, wherever that is. Anyway, the other gods figured that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to create a girl to go along with the boy... start the human race, you know. Follow me so far?”

I nodded. I was glad for once that I had paid attention in my studies, or else I would’ve been thoroughly lost when he start mentioning gods.

“Ok good. Now, you know about the battle of Melden, right?”

“Yeah. Between all the gods and their followers or whatever. We’re taught that in our studies at the Academy.”

“Amazing. You actually paid attention. I didn’t, when I went through the Academy. Rissarra was such an interesting place; I never paid attention when I could help it. I learned all of this much later, when I learned that it actually matters. But, I digress.”

“Anyway, the Dark Elves, which we are apparently now chasing after, were more or less banished to the outer regions of the desert-“

“What’s out there?” I interrupted him. “Past the desert I mean.”

“Who knows? I certainly don’t. All that anyone knows is that the Dark Elves are out there, and their numbers are growing. Rumor has it that some people from here in Mitanya, and even some of the Elves themselves are going to their aid. But, those are just rumors of course. Hopefully we’ll be able to find out some more about this whole thing once we catch up to these guys.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled in agreement.

“Parker?” a voice called. “You two might want to get up here.”

We walked to where the others stood by the edge of the trees at the edge of a slight valley. Parker whistled softly, expressing my surprise as well. What used to be a village was now just ashes and twigs. Here and there I made out bodies, and nearly had to turn away.

“What happened here?” Parker nearly whispered. I had never heard him so quiet.

“Looks like they got here before we did... and decided to burn everything down,” Julian replied.

“Is anyone... alive?” I choked out.

“Hard to tell for sure from up here,” Julian said. “Shall we go down and see?”

Always the practical one, I thought. Then I thought of something else, and my stomach sank.

“Parker?” I said quietly. “Was this the village we were going to be stopping at for supplies?”

He sighed. “Yeah. It was. It isn’t anymore.”

Some time later, after shifting through the remains of the village for any sign of life or things we could use, we finally had to press on with little more than fresh water. Eventually I had to start trading off with Rowan, because the food was getting so low; it wouldn’t have been fair for him to not be carrying anything, Parker had said.

“How much farther do we have to go?” I finally asked as we were resting for the second time today. I’m hungry and tired, I didn’t add out loud.

“It’s hard to say for sure,” Parker replied, a weary look on his face. “We haven’t seen any more signs of them, and for all we know we’re following absolutely nothing.”

Just then there was a shout. “Parker, look out!” Luis called.

I watched in stunned horror as Parker tried to dive to the ground, but seconds too late. An arrow went hurdling towards him, embedding itself deep in Parker’s side.

“Myles!” Julian screamed at me. “Get down! Get down!” Here was Julian, the normally sensible and calm one screaming at me. I threw myself to the ground.

I was afraid to look up. I kept my head down and crawled as fast as I could towards the forest that had been looming near us for weeks, hoping that whoever had attacked us was not hiding there as well.

Thankfully I reached the trees and found no one there. Behind me, shouts pierced the air. I hid behind a tree until, finally, all shouts fell silent.

I peeked around the tree, but didn’t see anyone around. I approached the path, and cringed. All six of my companions, including, to my dismay, Derrick, lay dead in the path. “Who did this?” I muttered bitterly to myself, tears threatening to fall. “Who?”

“We did.”

Then the world went dark.

Please review and let me know what you think. Especially about the way it flows. Does it work okay? What about the whole ‘history lesson’ thing? Sound alright to you?