Zeravia's Five

eighteen

Gia had covered her part of Turham rather quickly without finding anything worth paying attention to. She eventually met up with Tate and Simon who were on their way back to the heart of town. Hopefully one of the others might have gotten answers or clues.

"You didn't find anything?" The girl questioned them as she hurried over to them. She smiled lightly, looking around as they walked.

"No, nothing at all... nothing other than death," Tate replied rubbing his eyes, feeling like he had been beaten by life itself.

The boy's energy was fleeting with every second they spent discovering more of atrocities that the people of Turham went through. If he were to be totally honest, the more he saw, the more he felt like throwing it all away and running. Did he really want to witness theses sorts of things everyday? Did he really want to go back to the place he knew was responsible for all of this?

"I know where we might find something..." Tate said glancing from Simon to Gia.

The two didn't waste any time and started following him. After all, he had been there, he knew what soldier Izzie had been talking about. He knew where the body was. As they walked through the rubble, the boy turned his head to Gia.

"Where's Cassie, have you heard from her at all?" He asked as he was followed and not even questioned as to how and why he knew where to look.

They were all so close that they trusted one another blindly. It was their strength, they could rely on each other to extreme lengths. Maybe it had been the Elders' plan all along. Making sure they all grew up together, lived amongst one another for so long that their bond was beyond the typical bond of the common folk. It was smart, but it was also dangerous. Being so close to so many people could go very wrong. If one of them was injured or killed, the rest of them would surely be rendered useless with worry and grief. If you added the fact that with one of them starting to question right and wrong, the rest of them might be dragged into questioning it as well. Tate couldn't speak on everyone's behalf, but he knew that if something was to happen to any of them, his focus would switch from his mission to his friends in an instant. He would throw away any order and do whatever he could to protect his family. One other thing he knew for sure was that Izzie, Angel, Gia and Simon would do the same. He was unsure about Cassie, not unsure... he knew she would never toss the protocols. If he was injured while being alone with her, he was convinced she would leave him behind without hesitation. Cassie was not all that reliable, she had never been.

"I haven't... maybe she's still fishing or digging around the debris hoping to find something," Gia spoke, walking at a fast pace by the boys' side.

"Well... I don't think we need to worry about her, she'll join us soon enough," Simon added to the conversation.

It was something they could all agree on. Cassie was able to defend herself, after all she was competing with Angel on the great scale of power the Elders kept a very close eye on. If she ever was to go down, it wouldn't be without a fight and it would surely get everyone's attention. Turham was a big city, but it wasn't big enough to control the girl's wrath.

They walked close to one another, paying attention to a different area, making sure their grounds were covered. Without Izzie around, they wouldn't be able to know if anyone came into their vicinity with ill intent. If she had been there, she would've felt it right away and been able to warn them. They all came to a stop, staring down at multiple dead soldiers wearing Vyrdam's emblem. It was a bloodbath, even though they were enemies, the whole group had to look away for a minute, except for Tate. He who had seen it happen.

"Clearly, these are not from the initial attack on the village," Simon said as if it wasn't obvious already.

The bodies had not been touched by the fire and the blood didn't look completely dry. The boy who had made the obvious observation was the first to move, getting closer to the bodies and lowering himself to touch at the humid blood that was staining the grass.