Orion

Sometimes I think I’m too good a person.

. . . . .

Graham glared at his feet, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. The bear roared. “Fuck, alright!” His eyes swam and landed on a rock the size of a bowling ball. He ran over and hefted it into his arms, groaning from the effort, then watched as the two below got closer. “Gotta time this right,” he thought.

He drew a mental line at a slight bend in the streambed and waited. The second the man crossed the line, Graham tossed the rock. It tumbled down the hillside and smacked into the side of the bear, knocking it over.

“Come on! Climb up!” Graham shouted. The man didn’t waste time. He charged up at full speed, then began pulling himself up on hands and knees when his momentum dissipated.

Graham grabbed onto the trunk of a tree and lowered himself, slowly, reaching out a hand. His eyes widened. “Wait, isn’t this the guy Nautilus brought back on his first trip?” The man was tall and muscular, with short red hair and a shield strapped to his back. Graham grimaced. Now that he recognized him, the situation felt more real, more personal. “This guy better not die, or I’m going to feel guilty about it for who knows how long!”

“Grab my hand!” he yelled. The large man had nearly made it, but a roar told them both that the bear wasn’t out of the game. Growing desperate, the man leapt on a jutting boulder, but it came loose and started rolling backward.

The man shouted and rolled off, but he couldn’t find purchase on the hill and began sliding down. “Help!” he yelled.

Graham cursed and looked between the man and the bear. “Oh, fuck, why am I doing this?” He let go of the tree and slid down. Into the ravine with the bear. The ravine he couldn’t climb out of. Not his best idea.

He made sure to end up on the other side of the bear. “It’ll have to choose one of us to focus on, which might give us a chance… maybe.” The man and Graham both stood, each on opposite sides of the bear. Their eyes met. “My name’s Graham!” he shouted.

“I’m Orion!” the man replied, nodding.

The bear reared up on its hind legs, bringing their attention back to it. Graham pulled out a second spike so he had one in both hands. Orion pulled the shield off his back. The bear glanced at one man, then the other. Finally, it roared and attacked Graham.

“Of course! It must be holding a grudge or something!” Graham thought. The floor of the ravine was narrow, meaning there wasn’t much room to maneuver. Graham ran up the hill opposite the one he’d descended and the bear chased him. Once his momentum gave out, he turned and jumped on top of the bear!

Luckily, the bear had jettisoned all its spikes yesterday. He stumbled when he landed on the bear’s back, unable to gain stable footing. He could only cling desperately to its fur. Try as he might, he couldn’t even stab the beast with one of the spikes he was holding.

Orion yelled and charged the bear, slamming into its side with the shield. The bear actually reeled back from the blow, knocking Graham to the ground. He rolled away, grimacing. “I knew the shield was a bad choice! You should’ve picked the sword!” The same charge would have been so much more effective!

Graham and Orion were now on the same side of the bear. Orion helped him up and they faced the beast. “Any ideas?” Orion asked.

Graham watched the bear stand and paw at the ground, snorting noisily. “That depends. How strong are you?”

Orion grinned. “Pretty damn strong.”

Graham chuckled. “Alright. When it charges, I want you to stop it. While its dazed, I’ll take out its eyes.” He tossed a spike up, nearly fumbled it, and blushed. He avoided Orion’s eyes, coughing into a hand. “Well, I’m sure it’ll work.”

Orion sighed. “Right. I’m counting on you.” He took a place in front of Graham as the bear howled and charged. It shook the ground with its massive weight. Orion set his shield, bracing with his shoulder and leaning forward. Graham skipped back and to the side a few steps.

He took a deep breath. “Focus. As soon as it hits him, charge in and stab it in the eyes.” He quickly pictured the scene: Orion is hit and knocked back; the bear is dazed. Graham runs in, heroically, and stabs a spike in so hard it goes straight into the beast’s brain and kills it. Then he wakes up from this ridiculous dream and plays Barren Expanse.

He frowned and shook his head. “That’s not quite right.”

The bear slammed into Orion with a great impact, sending him skidding back, his feet carving furrows into the ground. Graham’s eyes widened. “Now!” He charged and stabbed forward with both spikes. The beast’s legs were trembling; its head hanging low. All he had to do was not miss!

Graham shouted in triumph and the bear bucked its head, knocking him away. Even as he fell, he was grinning. “I fucking did it! I felt the spike go in!”

The beast roared, swiping its head side to side, trying to get the spike out of its eye. The spike. Graham glanced at his hand, where a spike still lay. He paled. “I only got one eye!” He reached for the waist of his pants to arm himself with another spike, but found it empty. The spikes had fallen out when he was knocked away.

The bear finally managed to remove the spike. Blood and bits of eyeball decorated the now-empty socket. Its one-eyed gaze fell upon Graham, sharp as any dagger. He held his only remaining spike before him and tried to get up, but his legs gave out. His breath came in ragged gasps and he suddenly noticed that sweat soaked his clothes. His jaw fell. “I can’t stand.”

The bear approached, step by step. Graham looked back. “Orion! Orion! I need help!” he called. But Orion was huddled in a ball and cradling his arm. It was turning a nasty shade of purple and it seemed he was having trouble breathing. “Shit, did he break his arm?!”

Graham pushed himself backward in the dirt. He snorted. “Well, isn’t this familiar?” He grit his teeth and glared at the bear. “You know what? Fuck you!” He started throwing everything in the vicinity at the bear; his spike, the empty pepper-spray, his broken phone, clods of dirt and rocks…

Nothing fazed it.

The bear towered over Graham, huffing its rancid breath in his face. Graham resolved he wouldn’t cry this time. He’d come down here to help someone. To save a life! Even if he’d failed, it was something to be proud of. The bear opened its jaws and lunged. Something metallic cut through the air and smacked it right in the nose!

The bear backed up and roared. Graham twisted and looked at Orion. He stood there, panting with his uninjured arm outstretched, sans shield. Graham grinned. “You bastard! I thought I was done for!”

Orion chuckled. “Hey, so did I. I was sure I’d miss.” Before the bear could resume its attack, a great explosion shook the Earth. It wasn’t visible down in the ravine, but the corona of light it painted on the clouds was bright as the sun. The shockwave passed over them like a punch to the gut and the bear yelped, turned tail, and ran away.

Graham and Orion stared, dishevelled, at the fleeing beast.

Atop the cliff face to the North, near the pass that lead out of the bowl, sat a small building. A simple wooden hut, hidden by trees. Seraphim approached through the trees, a hand on her sword. She stopped just ten feet before the hut and partially unsheathed her weapon, tapping the pommel against the air.

An opalescent barrier appeared, shimmering waves running on its surface. It pulled away, creating an opening large enough for her to step through. She set her sword back in its sheath.

The door opened for her and she strode through without pausing. Nautilus sat in a creaky rocking chair in the corner of the room, tapping his fingers together.

He raised his head. “Ah, Seraphim. So good to see you.”

She rolled her eyes and went to the table at the center of the room. Light shafts from the only window lit up a map on weathered linen. It depicted the area of The Game. Dots of light moved about, hovering slightly above the map.

She set her hands on the table and leaned forward to examine the map. “So, how are things coming along?”

Nautilus stood and approached the other side of the table. “There is one large group here.” He pointed at a spot in the East, near the waterfall. “And one other, smaller, group. The others have set off on their own.” He snickered. “Fools.”

“Any deaths?”

Nautilus cleared his throat. “Besides the man you killed, one. A jittery woman that fled the first time she felt no one was looking.” He smiled. “She met… a horrible end.”

“Tell me about the large group,” Seraphim said.

Nautilus rubbed his chin. “Right. A group of six, led by that one you took a liking to—”

“What? Took a liking to?”

“You don’t recall? The one with the compassion?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You misunderstand. I only spoke to him because I saw potential. Otherwise, I wouldn’t inflict myself with the presence of someone so deluded.”

Nautilus coughed quietly. “I see. His group seems to be following a stream that branches off from the lake at the base of the waterfall. I assume he’ll arrive within a day or two.”

“Has anyone found a scripture, yet?”

“Not at the moment, no.” His attention turned to two blips on the map near the tower. Then to another group of three, slightly more to the West. “It seems they may soon, however.”

Seraphim nodded and sighed. “I hope it goes well, this time. Too many died last time. They can’t be of use when they’re dead.”

Nautilus remained silent, fingers tapping against the waist of his robe. Seraphim furrowed her brow. “What’s this one doing?” She pointed to a dot that was much farther to the North than the others. It was on the verge of entering the bog.

Nautilus began to laugh heartily. A deep laugh from the belly. He leaned his elbows against the table, lowering his hooded head, and caught his breath. “That one is my favorite... for the moment.” He chuckled once more. “He thinks himself a Seeker already. So… I saw fit to make things simpler for him, by making the way to the bog clear.”

His shoulders shook with suppressed mirth. “Oh, how I wish I could see his face when he gets there!”

Seraphim huffed, crossing her arms. “You’re twisted, you know? Sending him right into the scaly arms of Gora.” She sighed. “Whatever, I’m done here.” She headed for the door, but paused with her hand on the handle.

“This is the last one, Nautilus. If you purposefully lead any of the others to their deaths, there will be consequences.”

Nautilus nodded, going back to his chair. Seraphim huffed and left.

Below, in the bog, a tremendous explosion shook the Earth, sending smoke and debris billowing into the air. Nautilus howled with laughter. The blip near the bog was gone.

Graham and Orion huddled together in a small cave Orion had noticed while fleeing from the bear. They were still at the bottom of the ravine. The cave was large enough for three or four people to lay down at once but the ceiling was low, forcing Orion to crouch to move around.

Graham lay on the dirt, still gasping from the fight, and stared out the opening at the emerging stars. He rolled over on his back and eyed Orion. “Well, thanks for saving me back there.”

Orion shrugged then winced, cradling his arm. It was almost entirely purple by now. Graham frowned and pushed himself up. He dug through his pockets and pulled out a fruit. With a sigh, he tossed it to Orion. “Eat that. It’ll help.”

Orion caught it with is good arm and examined the fruit. “How?”

“It’ll heal you. Though, it may take a few hours. Trust me, it works.”

Orion looked him in the eye, then back to the fruit. He licked his lips and took a bite. His eyes widened and he wolfed the rest down. He sighed. “I haven’t eaten anything since I got here.”

Graham’s eyes widened. “Seriously? It’s our second day here!”

Orion shrugged. “How’m I supposed to know what’s safe to eat? I’m not an outdoorsman or anything.” He was quiet a moment. “Thanks for coming down to help me. You could’ve just ignored me.”

Graham crossed his arms behind his head and lay back. “Believe me, I tried. I don’t know, I guess watching someone die when I could’ve done something doesn’t sit right with me. Never knew I was such a good person.” He sat up. “Hey, why don’t you get some sleep. You’ll probably heal faster. I’ll keep watch until you wake up.”

“You sure?” Orion asked.

Graham nodded. “Yeah. I’ll expect you to keep watch when you wake up, though. I need to get some sleep, too.”

Orion smiled and nodded. He curled up on the ground, using his good arm as a pillow. “Y’know, that fruit was pretty amazing. My arm doesn’t even hurt anymore.”

“It is, right?” Graham said, nodding. He frowned, furrowing his brow. “What’s that on your arm?” he asked.

Orion blinked and extended his good arm. A black circular design was drawn near the elbow using strange symbols. In the middle of the circle were three lines, presumably the numeral for ‘three’. “Oh, this thing showed up after I was brought here. I figured everyone got one. Didn’t you?”

Graham gaped, then pulled off his jacket and looked at his arm. The same design was there, but there was only one line in the middle. “One… Did they number us?!”

Orion shrugged. “Guess so.”

“That's… that’s just—I’m not fucking Cattle!” He scrubbed at the offending mark. It didn’t so much as smudge. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! It’s a fucking tattoo?!”

Orion put his arm back under his head and closed his eyes. Graham fumed about the involuntary decoration.

Night fell and the moon rose high into the sky. Graham sat in the cave’s opening, staring into the darkness and turning one of his spikes over and over in his hands. His ears were strained to their limits, trying to catch any sound of approach.

“God, this is nerve wracking! Am I gonna have to do this every night?” A stick cracked in the distance and he flinched. “Son of a…” He bit his lip and started stabbing the spike into the dirt. “Don’t let it get to you, just don’t let it get to you. You can’t afford to go crazy right now.”

He took deep breaths to calm himself. He glanced back at Orion’s sleeping form and his eyes narrowed. He crept back and filched the shield. “There, now I’ll feel a lot safer.” He plopped back into his spot and leaned the shield against him, sighing. “Just a few more hours.”

Morning came. Graham and Orion exited the cave, stretching and working out the kinks. Graham wiped sleep from his eyes and Orion rubbed his arm. The purple had faded and he had full use of it again.

Orion grinned. “Damn, that’s effective! I thought it’d take weeks to fully heal.”

Graham nodded. “Just try not to get injured again. I’ve only got two more.”

Orion quirked a brow and nodded. “C’mon, let’s go.” They had found out they were both heading to Blackstone Tower so they decided to stick together. It would be difficult to climb out of the ravine and it would probably just waste all their energy, so they followed it East to look for an exit.

Graham had to jog slightly to keep pace with Orion. “Hey, what do you think that explosion was last night?”

Orion shrugged. “Couldn’t say.”

Graham snorted. “Alright, uh… tell me about yourself. We’re gonna be working together so we should get to know each other, right?”

“You first.”

“What? But I was the one who asked!” Graham said.

Orion smirked. “Exactly why you should go first.”

“Alright, whatever. My name’s Graham Laude. I like to play video games and watch Seeker Battles. I didn’t go to college and I don’t have a girlfriend. I live in a shitty apartment in the shitty area of Attela… Oh! And I’ve been mugged, like, three times!” Graham said, grinning. “Your turn.”

Orion ran a hand through his short hair. “Orion Brates. I like to sketch in my free time. I’m an accountant. Uh… well, I’m pretty strong, but I don’t like fighting.” He sighed. “I don’t know, I’m not very good at this crap.”

Graham tapped a hand against Orion’s arm. “You’re doing fine. So, you’re an accountant. That’s a bit unexpected.”

Orion frowned, shrugging. “I’m good with numbers and I get a decent paycheck. I’d rather be an artist, but… I’m just not good enough.”

“I see,” Graham said, jumping over a rock. “So, why don’t you like fighting?”

Orion’s eyes narrowed. “I just don’t.”

Graham went quiet, shoving his hands in his pockets. His eyes lit up. “Hey, that part over there is pretty shallow. I think we can get up.”

Orion nodded and they climbed out of the ravine. Graham peered up into the canopy and smiled. “I can see the tower!” He pointed forward. “Thatta way!” They walked for a few hours, making pretty good progress.

Graham shook his foot and cursed. The leaf-shoe had fallen apart again. “Can we stop for a second? I need to fix this.”

“Sure. Need any help?”

Graham paused in pulling the ragged leaves off his foot and undoing the grass bindings he’d made. “Seriously? Uh, yeah. Could you get me some large leaves? The leathery kind. They’re tougher.”

Orion nodded and started looking among the trees.

Orion walked through the trees, eyes peeled for those large, leathery leaves. “Why’s he using leaves for a shoe, anyway?” he wondered. He probably should have asked earlier but… well, it seemed awkward. “What if he’s mad cause I was short with him, earlier?” He sighed. “I shouldn’t’ve reacted like that. It was just a question.”

The brush rustled noisily to his left. He paused and pulled the shield off his back. It was a woman. Her hair was like a bird’s nest and her clothes were filthy.

Orion held the shield in front of him. “Hey, who are you?” he asked. “I can’t place her. I didn’t really pay attention to the other people in the clearing in the first place.”

She stood still, back straight as a pole, not even looking at him but staring at something in the distance. “She must’ve had a rough time. Did she make it out here alone?” He took a step forward, but didn’t lower the shield.

“Gloria,” the woman spoke, her voice monotone.

“I’m Orion,” he said, nodding. He took another step forward. “Are you okay? Any injuries?”

“Gloria.”

Orion stopped, swallowing heavily. “Ma’am, could you look at me? Look me in the eyes.”

“Gloria.”

Orion began to sweat. “Something’s wrong with her. Shock?” He took another cautious step forward, now almost within arm’s reach—for Orion, not the woman. His arms were much longer.

She tensed and turned to Orion. “Oh, hello,” she spoke woodenly, “I’m Gloria.”

Orion took a breath and nodded. “It’s… it’s nice to meet you, Gloria. Can you tell me if you’re alright?”

She looked around suddenly, violently twisting her head this way and that. Orion’s blood went cold. “What the hell?” he thought.

She stopped. “I must’ve gotten lost. I should rejoin the others.” She walked away, her steps rigid. Orion didn’t follow.

Once she was out of sight, he leaned against a tree, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Whatever did that to her, I’ll be glad if I never see it.” He adjusted the straps on his shield, making sure they were snug. His eyes snapped wide. “Others?”

He rubbed his face. “That’s ominous,” he muttered.