There were crackles in the distance that grew in sound every second, and the smell of smoke that grew stronger by the minute.

“Forward! Forward!” A man shouted in the distance.

Ceday came from behind me and peered out the doorway

“What’s happening, Alaric?”

“I don’t know.”

Something is obviously wrong, and I don’t want to investigate. I want to run

My neighbors thought so too because they grabbed their valuables and ran out of their houses. We were trailing behind them trying to leave the town, but then they got run over and trampled by horses.

Ceday shrieked, and I jumped.

We turned the other way and ran.

One of the horses began trailing us, so we fit through the small path between our house and our neighbors (or what used to be our neighbors).

The horse nearly crashed into the house, and panicked. The horseman tried calming him down.

“Stay put, you’ll find your head on my spear soon enough.” The horseman chuckled.

Townspeople sprinted down the road where we just left, and the horseman chased them.

This is probably one of the worst sequences you could have in life.

As if all my other problems weren’t enough, our town was being raided, or so I thought.

I peeked out from behind the houses just to see the chaos behind us.

The night sky was enveloped in black smoke. Balls of fire, spears of dirt, arrows took the air and wrought destruction upon us.

It was easy to identify the men who were causing havoc in our town. They wore dirt-stained tunics just like ours, but had a funny looking silver helmet just like the guards at the Lord’s manor had, a round shield, glaives, spears, or even just a shield. Some of their equipment and clothing already had blood stains.

The roads splattered in blood and corpses.

How are we going to get out of here?

“Mom…”

I turned to Ceday who looked solid like a rock.

She froze, just like I did when I got hit by the car.

Am I going to die here? Die? Again?

I clenched my fist.

I don’t want to die… I don’t want to leave my loved ones behind again… I don’t… I shed a tear.

What would be the point… of being given another chance at life?

What would be the point… of training all of my life?

What would be the point… of anything?

Why did I train?

Why did I do anything?

Why?

Aren’t I just average?

Am I trying to be something I’m not?

Ceday held my hand.

“Alaric…”

I was too caught up in my thoughts.

I don’t want to die… but would it even be of any significance?

Was I born… just to die?

Was I born… to be another piece to society?

I began building a roar of furiosity

I don’t want to die…

I don’t want to die…

I roared, which ultimately led two nearby mercenaries to spot us.

“Mom! Run! Come on!” Ceday stood still.

“Mom! MOM! PLEASE!”

The mercenaries menacingly approached us.

Why?

It was too late, the mercenaries had reached us, and kicked both Ceday and I to the ground.

We fell on the road.

We nearly had our heads bashed in by passing horsemen racing to reach a man in the middle on the road with a sword.

That man was the older boy I saw dueling with his brother who gave him the order to take their shit to the pit.

“You killed my brother! You bastards! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!” he cried

One of the horses met his short blade, while the horseman in the other house slashed at the man’s chest.

The man fell to his knees, but swung at the horseman that fell off his horse that was impaled.

He had no sword, just a blade.

He was desperate.

Not for himself, but for revenge.

The horse turned around and sprinted towards the man, trampling him, bashing his head against the road.

His brains splattered within 2 meters of his corpse.

I held my mother’s arm, and yanked her to run with me.

The two mercenaries chased after us.

I was only 7, and I was pulling a shocked Ceday by her sleeve to follow me, which meant that the mercenaries could’ve caught up easily.

However, I knew my way around town, so I made my way between houses and roads.

Unfortunately, I tripped on a large stone on one of the roads, which led to us falling. The mercenaries were still catching up, so I had time to recover, but picking up Ceday was difficult.

She was truly a handicap for an already handicapped person.

One thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

Should I leave her? No…

“You! Why’d you kill the kid? That’s our buck!” Next to me were three mercenaries standing over the corpse of Zane who was enveloped in ashes.

“ZANE! ZANE!” Alard cried, being held by the back of his tunic mockingly by one of the mercenaries.

“We’re supposed to bring the kids back to the wagon, you dumb fuck!” One of the mercenaries punched the other who was standing over Zane. The two mercenaries broke into a fight.

Even though my friend’s corpse was there in front of me, I didn’t care.

I just wanted to get out.

“CEDAY!” I shouted at Ceday, but she was still unresponsive.

After all that has happened, I couldn’t lose Ceday.

The two mercenaries that were trailing us caught up to us, and a tower of wood collapsed down the road and was set ablaze, adding to the smoke and havoc.

The mercenary threw his round shield at me.

I couldn’t move, otherwise the shield would hit Ceday.

I took the shield to my gut, and I fell to my knees.

The mercenary who threw the shield approached me and kicked me out of the way.

“Ey’- Thomas! Got a real beauty here.” The mercenary gave a wicked laugh and started groping Ceday who was sitting still.

Thomas, the other mercenary, approached me.

“Think you’re real slick, huh? I ought’ ta’ kill ye, ya’ dirty crooked-nose knave.” Thomas spit on Ceday as he passed her. “Lucky… lucky… you.”

I could’ve ran a long time ago, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to save Ceday.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU! I SWE-” Alard cried, but soon met the sword of a merciless mercenary slit his neck. Alard fell to the ground face first.

“I thought I told ya’ to shut the fuck up!” The mercenary who held Alard by his tunic argued.

Thomas brandished his dagger as he approached me slowly, menacingly.

“Real entertaining. I love fear, and death. Tragedy is something like no other.” Thomas chuckled along with the crackling fire of nearby houses. “People say I’m a dumb ass, but they just ont’ wanna know tha truth. Ain’t that right, Herbert?”

“Ohh yeah.” Herbert, the mercenary groping Ceday taunts.

I sat there watching, humiliated, disgusted, and powerless.

My weakness left me with no choices but to sit and watch my town get slaughtered, my mother and other women violated, and my own friends dying in front of my very own eyes.

They died so easily, I thought. In mere seconds, everything that I built was torn apart.

“I’ll give ya’ one chance, kid.” Thomas pointed at his slightly plump belly. “You hit me and I fall over, I’ll let ya’ mother live. If I’m still standing, I’ll punch the shit out of you and violate your mommy right in front of your very own eyes.” Thomas laughed

“Don’t you think you’re being too hard to a little rat, Thomas?” Herbert jested

“I’m not being hard, I’m getting hard just thinking of what we could do to that voluptuous body.”

I stood up, and clenched my fist.

I couldn’t tolerate the insults and mocking.

I didn’t want to watch my mother get violated.

I just wanted to go back to my old life where I played with my friends, trained with Otis, and Ceday humming as she does chores as I read my books, studying.

But that was far past me now.

Most of my friends were dead, Otis has left, and Ceday is in the midst of dying because of my potential failure.

“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” I roared, sprinting towards Thomas with my fist ready to thrust it in his fat gut.

Tears trailed behind me.

I closed my eyes, and I saw a light.

I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t care.

I just wanted to save Ceday. That’s all that mattered.

I thrusted my fist into Thomas’ gut.

Thomas stumbled backwards, holding his belly.

“Oof!” Thomas cried

He was tipping off of his back foot, so it really looked like he was going to fall, but he was just mocking me.

Half of me expected Thomas to laugh, the other half expected him to beat the shit out of me.

All of me felt his fat hand slap my face as I fell to the floor and received multiple kicks to my stomach and nuts.

“ALARIC!” Ceday came to her senses when she saw me get slapped.

“You knew that would hurt me! You knew! I’m going to fuckin kill ya’! Dirty rat! Who gave you permission to hurt me? I’m going to fuck you up then fuck ya’ mom!”

I was still crying.

These mercenaries were a bunch of perverts and bullies, and I couldn’t do anything.

I was just average.

Just another person.

I’m not a hero.

I’m not a villain.

I’m just Alaric.

I could hear Ceday’s humming from the song she sang to me last night in the back of my head.

I felt like blacking out, but I didn’t.

Instead, my vision became blurry.

Thomas dragged me by my hair over to Cedar until a kid drenched in blood threw his fist into Thomas’ nuts.

It was Dreu, and Thomas was growling in pain.

(‘On the shores that I lay… familiar waves wash away-’)

“Alaric! Cmon’!”

(‘the shattered shells of our remains… O’ blessed child whom we craved…’)

Here was Dreu, coming to my rescue.

However, I couldn’t move.

Not because I felt so defeated, but because I was so beat up.

“You cunt!” Thomas cried, as he held his nuts.

(‘O’ blessed child whom we craved… The Child of Savior bequeaths his rage…’)

Dreu started dragging me.

“Get up, Alaric! Why are you always a problem? Thomas is waiting!”

(‘Among familiar frauds unworthy to be called men- O’ great child the heavens sent…’)

Thomas…

I shrugged Dreu off of me.

“Ceday…” I mumbled under my breath.

“Please! Alaric! You’re all I have left!”

(‘I stand by you… the great child of truth…’)

“Ceday…” I mumbled, again.

Dreu’s tears fell on my head.

“You and Thomas are the only ones that help me and really talk to me… Alaric! Please!”

(‘to fight for your truth that had been slewn…’)

Thomas plodded towards Dreu.

“You’re my friend, Alaric! I don’t want any of my friends to die anymore! Please!”

(‘O’ blessed child, true from one, decide our right from our wrongs…’)

*smack*

Dreu fell to the ground hard.

He began flailing and gurgling

Thomas had punched Dreu right in the side of his skull so hard that he had a seizure.

I cycled my eyes between Dreu and Ceday.

(‘O’ blessed child whom we craved… The Child of Savior bequeaths his rage…’)

A battlehorn went off in the distance.

“Bring the children to the cart! Each child you return, you will receive 35 copper coins!” a man shouted.

“Alright, I had enough of this bitch.” Herbert slapped Ceday.

(‘Among familiar frauds unworthy to be called men- O’ great child the heavens sent…’)

Thomas awkwardly approached me with one of his hands still on his nuts.

“RUN, ALARIC!” shouted Ceday.

(‘Among familiar frauds unworthy to be called men- O’ great child the heavens sent…’)

“The other kid’s dead. I oughta kill this son’o’a bitch. Lucky you, kid. You’ve rats got a good buck on your head.”

“Time’s up, Thomas. Let’s go.”

(‘I stand by you… the great child of truth…’)

My vision was bad, but it was good enough to see Herbert unsheath his dagger and press it against Ceday’s neck.

“MOM!”

(‘ to fight for your truth that had been slewn…’)

Ceday smiled at me, then Herbert slit her neck.

He let go of Ceday as her face planted onto the road.

I could hear Ceday’s humming in the back of my head as her body was draining of life, rolling over reaching for her neck. A pool of blood grew larger and larger by the second.

I gazed in disbelief.

Ceday made a disturbing sound of fruitless panting.

Thomas grabbed me by my hair and dragged me away.

My ears were ringing in shouting, singing, laughing, crying…

Ceday was dead.