Testament to Time - darklina fanfic

Chapter 5 - Martyr

Heart hammering in her chest her eyes raked the area around her but she found nothing. It hadn't taken long to settle their supplies, he couldn't have gone far and yet she saw no sign of him. Dropping the pack she sprinted to the treeline and sure enough, she spotted a small brown head trudging through the grassy hill down to the town.

She shouldn't have yelled at him, she should have dragged the boy away and saved their discussion for another time.

Alina ran after him, the grass tickling her ankles as she dashed after him. She watched him reach the town, dodging past anyone in his way and burrowing himself deeper into the destined ruins. Small as he was, he ran like a hare and Alina, having not had the need for running in years, found her pace slowing as her burning lungs restricted her breathing and a sharp pain in her side took over. Soon the boy had disappeared into the village.

Shoving her way through the crowd of carriages, carts and people, Alina reached the town line. She spared a glance at the sky, the ship nearly over the hills surrounding the village, she had mere minutes to find Igor before they both found themselves burning in a relentless inferno.

She kept running, calling out his name and begging he would soon see his courage run thin and find his way back to her. Unfortunately, she knew she had been travelling with one of the most stubborn, stupidly brave children she'd ever met. Aleksander had been wrong, she wouldn't bury this boy, his would be just another set of bones entombed under her failings.

Alina quickened her pace, venturing further into town, glimpsing down each street as she passed. The streets were clogged by people, it was clear the infrastructure was not built to accommodate a mass exodus and people were being pushed into tight bottlenecks. Going against the current had earned her several hard blows to her chest, sharp kicks at her shins and likely a black eye from the man who had elbowed her in the face. She focused on keeping her feet firm and her steps steady, falling in the crowd would be a death sentence just as cruel as the approaching fires.

Among the flurry of people twisting this way and that, were several soldiers marching together, shoving civilians aside with the ends of their guns and making way for their batalion to pass and organize an evacuation. An older general yelled over the masses, his words nearly unrecognizable over the noise. She tried to push past the battalion but a young soldier used the side of her gun to shove her far back. Alina tumbled backwards into the crowd, her feet slipping under her and finally hitting her chin on the cobblestone street. She tried to rise but the crowd paid no mind to her efforts.

People rushed over her, she felt a heavy boot over her arm, her bone singing in pain, another just over her shoulder and finally a kick to her head rendering her thoughts fuzzy and her head heavy. Just as she felt herself sinking back to the ground in pain she felt a sure hand grab her underarm and pull her up from the floor. She straightened to find a young woman's blanched face. She didn't get the chance to thank the girl before the crowd pushed her away.

Righting herself she managed to break from the densest part of the commotion as she reached the centre of the village. The ships were just at the edge of the town. Alina saw their Inferni move into position and fire descended on the opposite end of the community.

Her heart caught in her throat, she assured herself Igor could have never run that far in the amount of time he had. Still houses caught on fire spreading to neighbouring buildings and soon whole blocks were bright in flame, a choir of tortured screaming resonating throughout the streets. Civilians ran from that side of town, some with their bodies still on fire.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight. She hadn't been in direct conflict since she was bitten by the nichevo'ya, she had seen plenty of the war's effects but watching it unfold before her was not the same as wandering into the war's remains. Now she looked at the bodies engulfed in flames and saw the faces of her children, they had likely screamed just the same. Along with the churning of her stomach, she felt something awaken inside of her, a searing force that had begun to build, something tethered to her anger.