Arcanum

Chapter 45: Lucas

Rage filled me as I ran through the forest. I unsheathed my sword and with a single swing at a tree, the tree split in half and all that was left originally, was a stump stuck to the ground.
I gripped my sword harder, and continued to cut at the stump. I needed to take my anger out.
The king has ruined everything. He brought the dead back to life. It just breaks everything. Order. Peace.
I shouted at the top of my lungs, and finally I felt sane enough to sit down on the stump. That had a lot of holes in it now from my stabs.
I ran a hand through my hair, and sighed. Everything was going downhill. The village was destroyed, and now Kimani was dead. She didn't even get a shot at life.
"Lucas." A voice came from behind, and I bolted up and slashed my sword at whoever was dumb enough to disturb me. What surprised me was my sword stopped midair, and it felt like I was pushing against an invisible force.
That force was Dodger's magic.
He stood there calmly. His face neutral like when I first met him, and his stance was calm. I finally withdrew, and I felt the atmosphere go back to normal.
"I'm sorry." He said, and I sat down and looked at him.
"For what?" I asked and finally noticed how torn he looked in his eyes. I could tell he was on the verge of a breakdown.
"I-I should've stayed at the village. Like I always do.. I could've protected everyone.. Why did I have to go to the war?" He asked, and fell to his knees, the crystals in his hands fell, and made small tinking noises as they landed on the ground.
"Dodger.." I murmured, and stared at him. I noticed a stray tear fall from Dodger's eye, and he blinked them close tightly.
"I'm such an idiot!" He spat at himself, and I stared in shock as he continued on with more insults towards himself.
"No you're not Dodger. You did amazing at that battle." I stood up, and rested a hand on his shoulder.
He looked up at me, and I could see tears streaming down his face. For a moment, he looked no older than a ten year old.
"I.. I can't bear seeing death.." He whispered, and I understood what was truly troubling him.
"How about I send you to my father for a little? Then you could calm down. He's supposed to be meeting me in a little. So just tell him I can't make it." I said calmly to him.
He hicupped a little, and nodded shakily and stood up. I watched him walk in the direction of the renegades territory, and I slumped back onto the stump and sighed. I was bound to have the mother of all headaches later..
I walked back to the village after I chopped up some wood for repairs.
The village was being rebuilt slowly.. A lot of people were injured and I shook my head sadly. So much damage.. So much blood trying to be cleaned up.
I tracked down Aiyana who was talking to a couple people, and I offered my most convincing smile. She tried to smile back, but it was strained.
"How is everything?" I asked, and she sighed, and hugged me. I hugged her back tightly, and we rocked slowly.
"Spiraling into oblivion. We don't have herbs anymore because the storage was destroyed. We're going to have to go find some more, along with crystals. We believe that the humans stole our supply. Our food is gone, and hunting is going to be hard because the war probably scared off all life. A lot of catori are too injured to fight, and many are dead.." She spilled out, and I rubbed her back reassuringly.
"I'll work extra hard to help then." I told her firmly, and smiled at her. I wasn't that injured from the fight. Honestly, the zombifide people were weaker than they were living.
I went back out to get more material, but not far away, I ran into the one human I'd rather never see again. Trisha jumped from a tree, and nearly impaled me with her rapier.
I backed up, and narrowed my eyes at her. She looked almost confused. She didn't know what was happening. Or why she was attacking me.
I drew my sword from the sheath, and lunged forward. Our swords clashed, and we both fought to take over the other. What shocked me was she was much stronger than when she was alive. She must've been somehow enhanced with something.
I ducked from her fist, but she saw her chance, and overpowered my sword, and I lost my balance as I was sent backwards.
What happened next, was unexpected. I felt an unbearable pain in my abdomen area, and I slowly looked down to see her rapier had stabbed me..
I lost all train of thought, and nearly dropped my sword. Nearly twelve years of being in a battle, and I finally got stabbed.. Not only that, but by my old, dead best friend.
I fell back after she took the sword out, and she rose her sword to plunge it into my head.
There was a scream, and Trisha went sent flying backwards when a blur crashed into her. I tried to focus on the battle, but my vision wasn't working as I felt my life bleed from me. After a while, the battle ended and Aiyana was in front of me, holding me and crying softly, screaming at someone to help.
I forced a smile to her, and closed my eyes slowly, trying to stay awake, but the darkness behind my eyelids beckoned me.
"Aiyana.."