Guardian

Chapter Two: Forest

By the time we began to see the desert’s sand fade into Terra’s familiar meadows, the moon had already risen in the sky. Night’s embrace was a double edged blade: there was a higher risk of ambush, but at the same time, we were undetectable. As the sunset faded slowly, I cleared my throat and turned towards Rae. His brown hair covered his eyes, which I knew shone with green.

I found myself thinking, which wasn’t surprising. I suppose that I had a contemplating session while running back from every mission. I wasn’t too sure about whether or not these sessions were provoked by my own sense of helplessness or my desire to finally make a difference. It didn’t help that every two days was a reminder of my incompetence.

It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t have an Arc. At first, Father had thought that it was just a late materialization. He’d make jokes about it, expecting it to come up someday. Sometimes, I almost believed him. One day, my father didn’t come back from a mission. A Shadow had gotten the best of him.

That was part of the reason I even took missions in the first place. Society would have allowed for my lack to render me unfit for service, but I saw the pity in the eyes of my family and friends. I would not allow it to define my life. Over the years, I’d learned to compensate. Sure, that meant a couple of extra hours in the gym every night, but at least I would be useful.

Or so I thought.

My first time seeing a Shadow rendered me paralyzed with fear. I’d heard stories about what they looked like, but the presence the tainted stone emanated was too much. The price I’d paid was a broken leg and a couple of months in rehabilitation.

I also realized that no matter how much I could lift, or how fast I could run, a tempered steel blade would not do against creatures wrought of stone.

Like this we ran, Rae effortlessly lifting the torso and me lugging the legs across the ground. The lights of our civilization shone brightly in the distance, a steel monolith which spanned a good portion of the entire region. When we had reached the forest which lay directly ahead of our home, Phantom stopped in his tracks.

Turning towards us, he pointed at the ground. A dark fluid ran freely across the grass.

“Blood,” Rae snarled.

The scarlet liquid ran down the meadow. Wordlessly, we dropped the Shadow’s corpse and followed.

We found him lying there, a gaping hole in his stomach. His Arc, a glistening platinum revolver, lay on the ground next to him, tinged with blood. His eyes were glassy, some of his entrails spilling onto the dark grass.

“Shot,” I whispered. “What was Shot doing here?”

Rae cursed. “We should have noticed. We hadn’t seen a single other patrol within two kilometers of the city.”

“We’re probably just late,” I suggested.

“Hopefully.”

“Fresh blood,” Phantom breathed. “Fresh Shadow.” He turned, his Arc already forming in his palm. Rae growled, his blade already hoisted upwards. I looked towards where my longsword used to be and sighed.

We waited for an assault, but none came. After around ten minutes, we decided to head back to the Headquarters. Rae nodded and began to walk. He froze.

Both Phantom and I froze as well. A frantic voice resounded through the woods.

“Back! Back!”

I ran forwards, following it. The voice grew louder, reaching its peak in a clearing. There, a young recruit was desperately fending off a Shadow. It pummelled him mercilessly, knocking him back into a tree. His eyes rolled into his head as he fell.

The Shadow’s teeth were tainted with blood.

Rae roared and dove forwards. If not for the roar, the Shadow may not have noticed us, but it hardly mattered. This one was strong. Rae’s blade bounced off harmlessly, sounding a prodigious clang. Phantom charged the Shadow as well, knocking blows aside with the flat of his dagger.

The recruit was still unconscious. I stood over him, as helpless as he was in the fight against the Shadow. The being reared and thrust both hands into Rae’s chest. He got his blade in front of his ribcage at the last moment, but he still flew backwards with such force that the undergrowth and shrubbery shattered upon impact. Phantom stood, helpless.

The Shadow turned on him now, throwing punches left and right. Phantom deflected the first few, but the blows kept on coming. Eventually, he was forced into defense.

I looked towards the recruit, who was coming to. His eyes flickered open. “Ugh.”

“Do you know where the third member of your team is?” The urgency in my tone made it clear that there had to be an answer, and quick.

The recruit shook his head. “After Shot separated from our group, it was just Gauntlet and me. He went to go search for Shot, but none of them are back yet.” He pointed towards Phantom. “Shouldn’t you be helping?”

I winced. “Can’t.”

“What, you don’t have an Arc?” the recruit laughed, as if it were all a big joke. “Come one, all of Irel knows that only the Lack doesn’t have an --” His eyes widened. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Looking towards my boots, I shrugged, trying to brush it off. Evidently, the hurt showed, because the recruit stood immediately. “Well, I’m going to help your friend.”

Phantom was still blocking blows, but I could see that he was becoming fatigued. The recruit splayed his left hand, forming a spear, and charged forwards. He caught the Shadow in the back of its stone head, startling it. In the same instant, Phantom sliced through the shadows in its left arm, its right arm and both of its legs. It fell helplessly, nothing more than a mound of stone.

Phantom stood. He regarded the recruit approvingly, then looked towards me with a cold gaze. I flinched.

“Let’s go find Sharp,” I offered.

He nodded, then waded into the underbrush in search of Rae. I sat heavily onto the ground, my Arc absence as prominent as ever. Even a recruit could be of more use in a battle than me.

I turned towards him. “Hey, uh...”

“Call me Shaft,” the recruit muttered.

“Yeah.” I tried to remain focused. “Shaft, did you see any patrols come in on your way?”

“None,” he confirmed. “I didn’t think they’d be too late, either. Doesn’t look like anyone’s reported in, either. We expected ourselves to be the last patrol in. Looks like you beat us.”

Thanking him, I left, following Phantom into the forest. Out of fifteen patrols sent, littered with seasoned veterans, only two had returned.