TRENCH

Leave The City

December 9th, 3000
They know that it's almost.
They know that it's almost over.

We ran in our animal forms, sprinting up the mountain as fast as our legs could carry us.
We tumbled into the cave, both shouting at the same time.
"The Bishops are coming!" we roared, waking the others.
They gathered themselves, and all five of us bounded up the mountain.
When we made our way to the top of the peaks morning had already broken, the suns rays were apprehensive and delicate.
I was out of breath, I had never run so far and so fast in my entire life, and my legs felt like they could crumble underneath me.
"please... I... Need to lie down..." I said as I more or less collapsed into the snow.
Josh sat beside me.
"we just need to make it to the base of the mountain, then we can all rest." he told me.
So I kept going, and all the way down the mountain, BlurryFace kept trying to get back in.
I tried to hold him off as best I could... But I was so tired.

We got the base of the mountain, and found ourselves in a small valley, trees on all sides.
There was a fast flowing river that made it's way out of the forest and tumbled out over the side of the cliff into a roaring waterfall.
The river that the waterfall fell into was a long, long way down.
The vultures in the skies above us were calm, if the bishops were following us then they were still a long way off.
Everyone took the time to lie down and take a break, but I couldn't settle.
BlurryFace wanted blood.
After a while, Josh disappeared into the trees to try and hunt some food for us.
Skye and Sharik both fell asleep, curled up together under a bush.
Ruby lay down by the river and watched the water racing past.
I stood near her and drank water from the lake, it was ice cold and incredibly refreshing.
I looked up at her, and her face went cold with fear.
"Clancy? Why are your eyes red?" she asked, obviously afraid I was after being seized.
"It's BlurryFace to you bandito scum!" I told growled at her.
She backed away terrified.
Every inch of her fear made me stronger.
I morphed into a human and looked down at her wolfy eyes.
"Your time is up... Wolf" I told her, before leaping at her.
She tried to turn around and run, but I leaped on her with the weight of my entire body and plunged my switch-blade deep into her back.
She howled out in pain but I set her coat alight before she had time to call for help.
She burned to death.
Sharik and skye were woken up by the frenzy, and emerged from the bush to find the burnt body of Ruby laying in front of then.
Sharik looked at me, "Cl-Clancy? How could you?"
"She died a dog's death!" I taunted, smiling as I said it.
"Sharik... The eyes!" Skye warned, looking at my blood red eyes.
They assumed I'd been seized.
They thought I was already dead.
Sharik ran at me head on, but I stood my ground, grabbing him as he landed on me.
I gripped my hands around his throat and set him on fire.
Watching him burn was beautiful.
Sky jumped on my back and started savaging me.
I could feel warm blood trickling down my neck.
I managed to shake her off, burning her legs.
She Morphed into a human and took out her switch-blade.
"I'll fight you fairly... Clancy" she said.
If looks could kill I would have died on the spot.
I had never beaten her in a fight before, but I was determined to change that.
She ran at be with her knife but I morphed into a fox and grabbed onto her ankle, setting it alight.
She fell over, screaming in pain.
I morphed back into a human and leant over her.
"You... Cheated" she manged to croak out.
"I'm a fox... We always cheat" I told her before slitting her throat.
I let the blood from my knife cover my hands, reveling in it.
Josh returned, looking around in disbelief at the blood bath around him.
He morphed into a human.
"Clancy?" he asked.
I smiled at him, "I've been waiting for you... Care to join us?"
"Clancy... This isn't you... This Is Nicolas bourbaki... Please snap out of it!"
He approached me, scared but determined, And with no intention to fight.
"Please Clancy you have snap out of it!" He begged.
I just smiled at him, backing him closer and closer towards the edge of the cliff.
"Clancy you wouldn't do this! Please! I love you!" he searched my face for mercy.
He found none.
'I love you'
Those words went over and over in my head.
"Die... Joshua Dun" I told him as I pushed him over the edge of the cliff and into the thundering waterfall.
Those are the last words I ever spoke to Josh Dun.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the hold BlurryFace had on me faded.
It took me a moment to rembember what had just happened, until I turned my head and saw the vultures feeding on Sky's remains.
I cannot describe how the next several minutes felt like, as I came to terms with what I had just done.
I had nothing left.
Even the compass had met it's death over the side of the cliff with Josh.
I couldn't go back to trench camp, not after what I had done.
I conimplated throwing myself off, in fact, I was about to, until I heared the sound of horses hooves behind me.
It was Nico, on his shining white stallion.
He wanted me to follow him, and so I did, I didn't have any other choice.
His yellow eyes had a grip on me.
He sat me up on a second horse, another white one, but not as shining.
We made our way around the mountain, and into a valley full of black sand and Grey stone.
We stopped when we came across a train track, and he put me in the dark, back trailer with the horses.
I knew this was the train track that lead to Dema.

The train left off, all I had to look outside was a small Crack on the wood, in which I watched mountains blurring past.
This was it, I had messed up, and I was on my way back to Dema.
I searched my pockets to see what I still had.
All I had a wilting yellow flower I had picked from trench camp, many months ago, and my journal.
And I so I sit hear now, scribbling in my last journal entry, letting my tears fall on the page and smudge the ink.
I'm so weak, so tired of fighting.
I don't think could set a fire if I tried
I don't know if I'll survive in Dema, but I'm going to have to try.
In time, I will leave the city, for now, I will stay alive.

I'm tired of tending to this fire.
I've used up all I've collected.
I have singed my hands.
It's glowing.
Embers barely showing.
Proof of life in the shadows.
Dancing on my plans.
The burning is so low it's concerning.
'Cause they know that when it goes out.
It's a glorious gone.
It's only time before they show me.
Why no one ever comes back with details from beyond.
Last year, I needed change of pace.
Couldn't take the pace of change.
Moving hastily.
But this year, though I'm far from home.
In Trench, I'm not alone.
These faces facing me.
They know what I mean.
Sahlo Folina.