Short Stories by Bri

Three

The smell of blood is thick in the air.

I raise my sword in the air to bring it down again slicing through the armor of another one of my enemies. My arms are aching, and I was separated from my team about an hour ago now.  I'm not normally one to panic but I could feel it creeping in on me.

"Riley!"  A hoarse voice screamed from my left, I turned to see a familiar suit of leather armor.

Of course, I show up with my team of twelve and the one person to finally make themselves known again is Aidan. I kick the small soldier in the center of his chest and watch the metal of his breast plate cave in. As soon as he fell I ran in Aidan's direction.

"Where is everyone?" I say once I had made it next to him, I turned around and shoved my back against his, immediately getting rid of our blind spots.

"It's good to see you too Riley,' he grunts as he pulls his sword out from some poor soldiers chest, and then a metallic thud as he falls on top of one of his fellow fallen comrades.

"What is the plan here Aidan we can't just fight forever. We need to find her or this will have been for nothing."

"You think I don't know that?" He basically growled at me, then a moment later, "I think I see Rhys over there at the top of the hill"

Oh thank god, I would've charged back into the bulk of the fight without weapons if was going to be just the two of us for much longer.

"On three we'll run, once we get there we need to find the rest of the team and go. This was a terrible idea in the first place." I feel his shoulder smack the back of my head.

"It was our only opportunity to strike, and you didn't have any better ideas." How was I supposed to know they were planning to ambush us.

"One, two, three.' He yelled in response "Let's go!"

I take off after him as we sprint across the clearing towards Rhys, jumping over the metal covered soldiers littering the field.

Then time slowed down.

She was suddenly there right next to Rhys.

"RHYS! RUN!" I felt my body kick into second gear and I'm sprinting faster than I ever have in my life.

He turned and saw her there and instead if running the idiot pulled his swords.

"RHYS!' I screeched we were still to far away, we aren't going to make it.  "RHYS! NO! PLEASE NO!"

The witch had the audacity to smile at me.

Suddenly it felt like I ran into a 2x4. It took a second to figure out it was arms, one wrapped around my waist and the other under my arm and around my neck. The tattooed arm holding me could only belong to one person. I was pulled back into into his body, I was scratching at his arm.

"Aidan please no, he is all I have,' I started to hyperventilating "RHYS!"

He was fighting her well but then she faked a step left and stabbed him in the side. Before he could fall to the ground she grabbed a fistful of his dirty blonde hair and held him up, while pulling a dagger from her belt with her free hand.

"NOOOO! AIDAN LET ME GO!' I started kicking and throwing all of my weight into trying to get free.

She looked up at me again and that hideous grin painted on her face as took the dagger and slid it across the throat of my best friend.

'I love you.' He mouthed, the color drained from his face and he started to gasp 'stay strong, I will always be with you Riles'

She let go of his hair, and his body crumbled into the weeds.

"RHYS?!' I let out another scream, 'RHYS! I LOVE YOU TOO! RHYS! COME BACK!' my brain is unable to process anything more than the gruesome scene that just unfolded in front of me, I stop kicking and scratching. I start dry heaving the pain is just too much.

"We have to go back Aidan,' I said realizing that at some point he had begun dragging me towards the woods, 'Aidan I can't leave him there. We need to go back."

Once we got to the point where you couldn't see through the trees he stopped and loosened his grip around my waist, I went to run towards Rhys but Aidan caught my wrist and pulled me back. He used his other hand and gently grabbed my jaw and held my face to his.

"He's gone, Riley he is already gone." This can't be real, maybe this really is just a dream because, a tear slides down his face. Aidan cried this can't be real.

"But it wasn't supposed to be him first. It was supposed to be me first, he wasn't supposed to die before me Aidan. This is wrong, it's all wrong." I say sobbing and pushing my fists into his chest.

"I know, I know" he moved his hand from my jaw to the side of my head and then pulled me into his chest.

I fall into him and grab at the leather straps on the top of his breast plate and just start really sobbing. My knees buckle and the hand he was holding the back of my head with moved to my waist. Then like I weighed nothing he picked me up bridal style and started running through the forest.

To the rendezvous point a quiet voice said in the back of my mind.

A picture of Rhys pointing at the map just hours ago, telling the eleven of us that this it was the safest and smartest point after our attack to regroup.

Rhys.

Oh, Rhys.

"She smiled when she killed him,' I inhaled a shaky breath. "He's dead."

"Shhh Riley it's going to be o-" he cut himself off and just went back to shushing me in comforting tones, even Aidan knew in his dark heart. After years of competitive hatred for Rhys and I Aidan knew that I will never be okay. Rhys and I weren't just friends he was my person, my soulmate, the brother I never had, my everything.

Hell, even Rhys knew that if he were to die I wouldn't be okay. We planned it out he was going to live longer than me so I wouldn't spiral into the beast I am bound to become in world without him. He even wrote me a eulogy and promised to read it at my funeral. For literally over decade we have always been Rhys and Riley, never one without the other. He's gone. My best friend is gone.

And she smiled while she slit his throat.