Decay of Desire

Section 7

   This was bad. I snuck a peek out of the window, and I could make out Gallagher. He was walking around in large circles, with his hands in the air and yelling and laughing. I analyzed what he and his crew of goons behind him were wearing. All of his cronies sported leather armor, the wear obviously apparent, as well as an array of stone swords. Some even had sharpened sticks slung over their backs, which informed me that they weren't well equipped at all. The only difference between Gallagher and his squad was rather than having a stick or a stone sword, a shiny iron blade hung loosely from his waist. It gleamed, even in the gloomy atmosphere. Just then, his head snapped directly to where we were, and he said, "You! In there! I can see you, you know. Why don't you heed my warning, and step outside. It's a wonderful night you know." Well, damn. So much for maybe getting the jump on these guys. I turned to Aina and her parents, who had fear written across their faces. "Alright, look," I began explaining, "I'm gonna go out there and try to talk this guy down. If there are any weapons in this place, arm yourselves. I might need your help." Aina grabbed my arm and turned me to her. "Evan, you can't do this! What if they kill you? This is ridiculous." I shook her arm loose, and told her I would be fine, before stepping out of the door and facing my fate.

I've been in my fair share of bar fights before. Countless nights I've thrown some drunken bastard through a window. I've had people try and stab me with knives before, and hit me with chairs. Needless to say, I can hold my own in a fight with just my hands. The question was how many of these greasewads could I take down before they wound up killing me. I knew if I could cause a large enough scene, Aina and her parents would be able to escape without harm. I opened the door, and squinted my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It wouldn't be long before morning, which helped with being able to see. Gallagher stood about twenty feet away from me, feet planted apart with his arms crossed, like he was a bouncer or something. Except he wasn't big, if anything he was scrawny. I wondered how he came to lead this squadron of thugs, maybe through intelligence. "Please, sir, step forward and introduce yourself." Gallagher extended a hand towards my direction, and I hesitantly came forward until I was in arms reach of him. I refused to take his hand, rather I stared him down, and getting the message, he let his arm drop limply to his side. "Well, I am Sir Gallagher Tamaro, though you may refer to me as Sir Gallagher," he said, bowing to me. The hell was wrong with this guy? "Yeah, I know your name," I told him, "You kinda yelled it out while claiming an innocent town for you and your scum." Well, that definitely got under his skin. A wrinkle of anger passed over his face, and a spark lit his eye, but he pushed it away, and calmly stated, "Yes, you see. My small clan cannot grow larger without appropriate housing. Therefore, we will take over this town, whether peacefully or through force. It bothers us not." He grinned, and his yellow rotten teeth disgusted me immensely. Guy could probably breathe on me and kill me, geez. I took a step back, but he only stepped forward to even the space between us. "So tell me your name," he prompted me. "Evan. My name is Evan," I answered. He smiled again, and spoke. "Tell you what Evan, let's make us a deal. Here's what I want you to do. I'm only offering this because I am gentleman. I want you to bow your knee to me. Simple. Get on your knees and pledge allegiance to me, and I might just let you live." I stared at him, disbelief in my voice. "You can't be serious. I would never join the likes of you," I spat the last part out. His eyebrows rose up, and I could see he was surprised by this. "Well well well, have it your way then amigo. I'll just kill you then," he gestured to the sword on hid hip, unsheathing it slowly. The sun peaking over the horizon provided just enough light for me to make out the dried blood crusted on the blade. This was definitely a tense moment, and I knew I had to play smart if I wanted to stay alive. I waited, and watched as he drew his sword. He held it up to his face to observe himself in the blade, and that's when I lunged.

I shot forward, lodging my shoulder under Gallagher's ribcage, before thrusting upward with my legs. He immediately dropped the sword, and flew back some feet, landing on his back in the snow. I snatched the sword up, and waited for him to stand up. By now all of his pals had come over to investigate what happened. Many of them drew their weapons as well, yet somehow I felt more confident with the sleek iron in my palm, the warm leather wrap feeling almost familiar. He rose, and shook the snow off before glaring at me. Suddenly, a smile broke out across his face. "So, you actually believe you can take me on in a fight? Very well. Give me a sword!" he barked to one of the men beside him. They quickly handed over their stone sword, and Gallagher twirled it around it a few times, adjusting to the weight and balance of it. He told everyone to back away, and watch the show. The Bloodsails all formed a large circle around us, waiting to see what was surely going to be a great battle. Gallagher grinned devilishly at me, and hurtled forward. I sidestepped easily, mentally laughing at how poor of an attack he executed. However, I was surprised when he turned and swung at me again, as I barely had time to bring my blade up in defense. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. I stepped away, and turned to fully face him. He crouched low, and crept towards me. I braced for his next attack, and he did just that. He leapt towards me, fully extending his blade in an attempt to spearhead me. I raised my sword and brought it down on his, slamming it into the ground, before kicking him square in the chest. Instead of flailing about, he tucked and rolled neatly back into a crouched position a few feet away. Damn, that was impressive. I had to give the guy credit, he was definitely fast. "A palpable hit," he called to me, "However the next shall be mine." He let out a small laugh and stood oncemore, beginning a circling motion around me. I didn't move, only allowing my eyes to track him, and listening intently to his footsteps, crunching through the veil of snow. I could hear him shuffling behind me, and I knew what he was planning. I heard him jump, and waited for the impact of him to hit me before I reacted. Just as he collided with me, I dropped my left shoulder, and leaned forward heavily, throwing him past me. Again, he tucked and rolled, quickly pivoting back around to face me again. This time he didn't speak, just glared at me, contempt and fury lighting his face up. Time to go on the offensive now. I took a stride towards him, all the while scheming how to catch him unaware. I had an idea, time to execute.

I swung the sword forward, feeling the weight pull my hand along as it traveled its arc. He deftly blocked my light blow, parrying me back with a shove. I allowed myself to stagger, hoping he would seize the opportunity. He did, and dashed at me oncemore, blade high above his head, a hoarse ragged battle cry tearing itself from deep within him. This was my moment, and I seized the opportunity. I ducked low, and sprung forward, plunging the iron directly into his midsection. His war cry now became a gurgle, as blood filled his mouth. His weight fell onto my weapon, and I threw him down. Dark red blood sprayed onto me, which I wiped away before standing over him. I kicked his sword away from his grasp, and looked down upon him. He tried to stand, but I planted my boot on his chest, and he let out a godawful screech of pain. He squirmed, fervently trying to get out from underneath me. "You.......you bastard! You stabbed me!" he screamed at me, spitting out more blood. I didn't say anything, I just looked at him as he bled his life into the snow, which was rapidly staining a reddish pink. I could see his eyes beginning to glaze over, and the last thing he managed before he died was, "Boys, tear him apart." He coughed it out, and I could hear his breaths becoming raspy, and the bubbling sound in his throat informed he was on the way out. His eyes rolled, and I stepped away from his now dead form, before looking at the ring of bandits still surrounding me. They had now all drawn their weapons, and began closing the circle tighter and tighter on me. I closed my eyes, and listened to their heavy breathing, and the only thought I had was the hope that Aina and her family were somewhere far away by now, safe and free from this horror.