I am Clara

Here Comes the End

 I didn't even attempt to climb down the tree this time. I threw my sword out the window and jumped out after it. It wasn't a soft landing but seeing as I didn't fall through ten feet of branches, it hurt much less than last time. Rubbing off the mud and purposely cracking a few joints, I forced myself to my feet. Whose idea was it to make my dress white?

     I walked to the park, thinking myself more a moron with every step. Before leaving I had thrown on a long black coat, to somewhat cover the dress, but still I stood out like a sore thumb. If anyone spotted me, I'd have to claim that I was on my way to a renaissance fair.

     I took the long way around, planning to hide behind the trees next to the park's main area. I let my eyes study my surroundings. The structures were empty, swings still and benches unoccupied. Even the soccer field and bike trail were vacant. It was never this quiet; never this eerily empty.

     The sole person I spotted, was a police officer pulling into the park's parking. I inched a few trees closer as the officer stepped out, seeking to catch the words they uttered in the walky-talky.

    "I've patrolled the block for the past hour, nothing's happened. There's no one in the park." Though he had just stepped out, he was already heading back towards the car.

    I resisted the urge to scream, "Don't leave!"

     What awful timing. I just got here; there was a citizen to protect. I barely had time to panic. Before I or the cop knew it, his phone shot out of his hands, hitting a tree near mine. Damn. I should have procrastinated an extra ten minutes.

      Searching for the attacker, the officer took his gun out, only to have it also knocked out of his hands. Wonderful, and I could almost guarantee he didn't have back up. I call about an attack, and they send one person? Really?

     The two— I didn't know what to call them, black material from head to toe, they genuinely looked like ninjas— came out of nowhere. Hit between the eyes with the hilt of a spear, the cop crumbled to the ground. Two seconds, and he was unconscious! Was it too late to run?

     One of Kundanskie's minions positioned the sharp end of his spear to the unconscious officer's throat. Ah, shit. I couldn't run now. I couldn't let him die. I had told myself I wouldn't fight; this wasn't supposed to be my responsibility... but it was my fault the cop was here in the first place. I should have listened to Mimpi.

     The two, let's call them Tall one and Short one, looked around impatiently.

    "We know you're here chosen one," Tall one spoke, voice monotone. Words spilling from their lips instinctively, as though they were under someone's control, a shiver ran down my spine. "Show yourself, or we will kill this man, husband of a very ill wife, and father of a newly born child."

     How did they know I was here? And why had my mother raised me right? She made me susceptible to guilt. I'd be a much better warrior had she not done so. To make matters worse, Small one found a young boy, and dragged him out of his hiding spot, beneath a red slide. Why? I complained internally. The dark-skinned boy's face was glimmered in sweat and tears. The poor thing was shaking. They wouldn't actually harm him, would they? The blade to his throat made me think otherwise. "Children will die", Mimpi's words haunted me. Panic surging in my chest, I grabbed the nearest rock and launched it towards the one holding the child. It hit them harder than I expected. Dark eyes grew wide, before the limp body hit the ground. I looked down at my hand in surprise. Well... I couldn't hide anymore. But at least one was down. That had been unexpectedly easier than I thought.

     "Run," I urged the kid who bolted back into his hiding spot beneath the slide. I'd have rather him run much further away, but now wasn't a great time to argue the matter.