Licensed Apocalypse

*twenty-three* Promise

Lucis caught the masked officers off guard but only for a second. They almost instantly began firing back, forcing Lucis to take cover.

"TRAITORS!" One of them hollered, currently firing up at Oliver's tree.

"We were never traitors if we never believed in the cause!" Lucis yelled, missing a masked man by inches. There were too many of the masked officers and they were too good. They would be able to stop them. Lucis pulled back behind the rock that granted him safety and held back from fighting, taking deep breaths. After at least a minute the firing at his rock stopped. They must have thought he had been hit. Something caught Lucis' eye. A bloodied ax. A bloodied double bladed ax. With a yell, Lucis jumped out from behind the rock, grabbed the ax, and charged into the crowd of masked individuals. I'm stupid. Lucis said as he slashed Oliver's ax at a masked officer. I'm so stupid. That's when his world almost stopped. The branch Oliver had been housed on had broken when a bullet went through it. Oliver fell to the ground and was instantly swarmed by masked officers. Lucis turned, ax raised, ready to kill. That's when his world really stopped. Then it was broken by pain. Only pain. Lucis faintly heard Eric's voice scream out his name. The scream was painful and sharp.

"LUCIS!"

More pain exploded through him as the masked male officer drew his sword blade out of Lucis' chest. The masked officer kicked him to the ground. Lucis couldn't move. The pain was overwhelming.

The male officer appeared over him and raised his sword. Lucis' pained breaths caught in throat. The man's sparkling blue eyes seemed familiar. As the man brought the blade down Lucis figured out who his killer was. Dad? If Lucis said that word, he didn't know. The deadly masked officer had ended his slow death. He didn't want him to make it. But Lucis didn't feel the cool bite of death. All he felt was pain. Had it really been that quick? Lucis opened his eyes to the foggy sky, the sun just barely visible through the dense mist. He was alive. And bleeding. Lucis turned his eyes to see Eric fighting the man who had almost killed him. His father. Eric was losing. Badly.

"Eric..." It was the first noise that had come out of Lucis' mouth since he had been stabbed. Lucis' hand fell to the ground, fingers pointing to the fighting pair. "Eric..." Finally, the tears came. The silent tears. The silent tears of pain. Every time Lucis took a ragid breath his chest exploded with pain. A figure broke through the crowd with a blood stained face. It was Oliver. Who looked terrible. He hacked his way through the crowd of masked officers, one of their swords in his bloodied hand. Oliver ran to Lucis' side.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, kneeling next to Lucis. Lucis could barely shake his head. "We have to get you out of here." Oliver said, head turning back to the oncoming warriors. Oliver stood up, mask still plastered to Oliver's face by blood. The gun in Oliver's left hand raised. The trigger was squeezed. A bullet sailed directly through the nearest masked officer's head. "Bullseye." Oliver hissed and charged. And all Lucis could do was watch. Lucis turned his head, wincing in pain, to see Eric and the man who had tried to kill him. Another head popped over him, blocking his view of Eric and his father. It was Clara.

"What happened to you?" She asked, smiling. She didn't see Lucis' wound. Or she didn't care. That was a possibility. Lucis tried to say something but no sound came out of his lips. "Come on, you can tell me." Clara said, smile not wavering. "Don't be shy." Lucis managed to incline his head to his chest. "Well," Clara said, her smile still there. "That sucks." She returned her sweet gaze to Lucis and her smile widened. "Don't worry, you're going to be fine." She closed Lucis' eyes. And that's what sent him over the edge.

The tall wooden gate opened and a masked man stepped through holding a gun. He looked through the gardened yard. He walked into the backyard. There was a little house sitting at the edge of it. The man walked into it, gun raised. Besides a table and gardening supplies, it was empty. There was a door in the little house. The man peered through the darkened window. Nothing except quails. He walked away from the tiny house and walked up the stairs to the actual house. His hand wrapped around the doorknob and opened the door. He stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. As the man walked into the house a door slammed closed. He stumbled back. He tried to fire his gun but nothing came out. He checked his ammunition, full. The man tried to fire again but to no avail. He dropped his gun and ran out the door. He ran down the stairs and slipped behind the little garden. He waited in silence.

Lucis coughed, desperate to wave up. But his eyes wouldn't open.

Slowly he got up. The man pulled a stick out of the ground and creeped forward. He raised the stick and hit it over the head. He repeated the motion. There was a growl. The man dropped the stick and ran back to his hiding place behind the garden. There was a growl and the man crawled back, only to be stopped by a stack of supplies. With another growl, the thing reached forward towards him. The man was terrified. He was going to die. The thing bent down, preparing to kill. The man could smell its horrid breath as it leaned closer. Another growl.

Lucis' eyes shot open. The man who had stabbed him was leaning over him, bloodied sword raised. The mask that covered his face had been slashed, revealing a slight beard.

"Wh-what did you do to my friend?" Lucis managed.

"Oh don't worry." The man said. He had a deep voice, and, Lucis suspected, that in other circumstances, it might have been comforting. "He's just fine." Lucis looked over to see Clara standing next to an unconscious Eric. She looked pristine and untouched. Lucis spat in the man's face.

"You think you can just kill us and just forget about us? Trust me, you won't forget me." Lucis hissed.

"Oh, I'm planning on forgetting about you." The man. "I'm just here to finish the job." He raised the sword. Lucis closed his eyes, waiting for the cool metal of his father's blade. It will come this time, he told himself, I'm going to die. But why am I still alive? Lucis opened his eyes. No one stood above him. Lucis pushed himself up (much pain fell through his body) and looked through the rocks. Dead bodies littered the rocks in front of him. Masked bodies. Lucis turned to the clashing of swords. Lucis' father was the only masked individual still standing. And currently, he was in a sword fight with both Eric and Oliver. Clara was cowering in a corner. Lucis forgot his pain as anger filled his system. He pushed himself up, torso still bleeding heavily. He limped quickly towards Clara. She only just noticed Lucis when he was right on her. Lucis slammed her up against a rock wall.

"I hate you." Lucis hissed. "I hate you all!"

"We're the only humans left!" Clara whimpered. "Why do you hate your own kind?" The man shoved them apart as Lucis responded.

"Because my kin is trying to kill me!" Lucis yelled, scream piercing the silence. The two people stopped.

"What?" The masked man asked. "What are you talking about traitor?" Lucis stood up straighter, taking a deep breath.

"I'm a survivor." Lucis said calmly. "You're trying to kill me." He gripped Oliver's double bladed ax. "And that's why I'm defending myself." He raised the ax but as he was swinging it down his father caught his ax arm.

"Stop it." The masked officer said calmly. "You don't want this."

"And you don't know me." Lucis hissed, struggling to get his arm to get free.

"I know you need medical attention."

Lucis finally broke free.

"You should have thought of that before you stabbed me!"

"Then I didn't know you were my son."