Animegas (Editing)

Bandits

The morning was foggy and the wind was cool. I was the last to take watch that night. So far, nothing that could be a possible threat showed itself. Greg was curled up beside me, his head rested on my lap. The kid had it rough, he was the only one among us who watched his parents murdered before his eyes. At least mine told me to run far away with Max. That kid saw things no one should ever have to see.

Katie was lying beside Greg, those two seemed to be getting along great. Thomas was laying a distance away from the fire, must be the ice thing.

I was relieved when it was my watch, it gave me a reason to avoid nightmares of the Furies and Erik. I was worried about him. He was what Sylva called an Elemental Animega, like us. If even the Guardians couldn't find him, then he was either really good at hiding, or the Furies had somehow gotten his real body.

Thomas was the first to wake up, he sat beside me and looked out into the foggy forest. He hasn't spoken since we all introduced ourselves.

"I'm sorry if I've been quiet." He said. I looked over to him, pain etched on his face.

"We all have secrets we haven't shared...our own personal stories. I won't pry. If you want to talk about whatever is bugging you, that's your choice."

He stared at me in confusion.

"What?" I asked

"It's just...you barely even know me...and you treat me like I'm your brother or something. If you knew what I've done...what secrets I'm hiding..you wouldn't be so nice to me."

I sighed. "I don't care about who you were before, Thomas. What I care about is who you are now. You want to save your brother and sister? Then man up and get your thoughts together. We all have done things we aren't proud of, but that doesn't matter now. What matters is getting those kids to safety, AWAY from the Furies. I need you to understand that, I NEED you to help me, to help US. I may not know you, but I sure know you aren't as bad as the Furies."

Greg stirred, then he was still again.

We sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Katie and Greg woke up. I volunteered to go hunting, just so we don't waste food. Thomas grabbed my arm before I went.

"Thank you," he whispered. I nodded and went off into the woods. I kept tabs on everything around me through the roots. About an hour later, I went back to camp with a deer and a rabbit.

I skinned them and renewed the fire. We ate what we could, and Katie super-dried the rest.

We continued our trek to what seemed like nowhere. All we had was each other and hope. And that was all we needed in my opinion.

We were fine until we came across a clearing in the woods. Something seemed off. We all felt it. I drew an arrow and felt the ground with my feet. The roots from the grass didn't reach farther than the edge of the clearing. I heard a scream from behind me. We all turned around.

Katie was standing behind us, at the end of the clearing. A knife was pointed at her throat. A man who looked in his late 20s held that knife. He had bloodshot eyes and long messy brown hair. His skin was badly sunburned and he wore a torn windbreaker, jeans and some worn tennis shoes. His teeth were yellow and crooked. He smiled a smile that shouted madness. Two more men stood behind him. They both held guns.

The man threw Katie behind him and the other two tied her hands behind her back. They pointed their guns at her head.

"Let her go!" I shouted. "She's done nothing to you!"

He chucked, "All we want is your packs, sweetheart." He looked at me up and down, a hungry expression on his face. "And..a little fun."

"We have no business with you," said Thomas "now let the girl go."

He smile grew. "How bad do you want her? Would you have fun with us, girlie?"

Greg ran in front of me. "Change into your Animega, Katie!"

She nodded and closed her eyes. Concentration was etched onto her face. She opened her eyes. "I can't," she shouted, "there's something wrong with these ropes!"

"They're using Animebinds!" Thomas said, "that's what the humans used to trap the Animegas in the Massecre. We can only die in our human form, so they would trap us with those ropes and killed us!"

The man pointed his knife at Thomas, "This young lad knows his stuff!

I would have shot these greasy scum-bags long ago if they didn't have Katie.

"Common!" The guy said, "we haven't got all day!"

I hesitated...and dropped my bow. I put my quiver and pack down on the ground. I walked towards the bandits.

"You can have me, an eye for an eye you might say. I'll go with you if you let Katie go. No tricks, I swear."

The man hesitated, the two others smirked.

He nodded to his men and they untied Katie. They didn't let go of her until I was in the hands of that pervert. She ran over to the others. They looked at me in silence. Greg started to cry.

I looked down. "Guys, keep on heading west. Be careful. Don't come back for me. I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

The man laughed, "You heard her, get on your way."

One by one, they walked away. Thomas grabbed my pack and weapons. When they were gone, the man started to get physical. His two men watched and laughed as he began to remove my few layers of clothing. He did it slowly and made perverted comments with each piece. I had to wait until they were a safe distance away, then I would escape. I bided my time, watching through the roots.

I was down to sweats and a tank-top when I knew they were safe. I pulled out the dagger from behind my back and stabbed him. He fell to the ground, in a daze.

Before the other guys knew what was happening, I thrust my dagger into them as well. I wasn't a killer, I only stabbed them in non fatal spots. While they were writhing in pain, I put my clothing back on and headed in the direction the others went in. I changed into a fox and sprinted after them.

They asked if the bandits had done anything to me. I told them the truth, that the bandits didn't get any farther than my clothes before I got away.

We walked and talked and laughed. Katie was still a bit shaken up, but she was okay otherwise.

That night, when we made camp, I taught her how to fight with a knife. She became a natural by the time we went to sleep. Katie even figured out a way to use the air to her advantage with her fighting.

We all agreed that what happened today, should never happened again. There was too much to do, and limited time to do it. That time we spent with the bandits was a longer time for the Furies to get closer to whatever their goal was.

Every second, every moment was time that we didn't have. If we had known what was waiting for us...I wonder if any of us would have gone on this journey.