Adventures of a Little Sister

Part Eleven

"Come on men, we can't let them take those prisoners!"

Metal clanked, screams were heard, and bodies lied everywhere. It truly was the scene of war that had taken over the once peaceful land around them. To the far left, smoke could be seen of the camp that was being burnt to the ground. There were soldiers there trying to put out the fire, and fighting off the enemies that were attacking. The four brothers were together with a band that was attacking from the side, hopefully to surprise the enemy and send them away. They were after the prisoners they had captured in the last battle. One of them had somehow gotten word out to where their camp was located and now they were fighting for their lives.

"Remember, show no mercy and we will take no prisoners this time!" The leader ordered, pointing for the men to charge ahead.

The brothers were brave, holding their weapons tightly and running after the enemy. It had been months since they had left home, they were sure their little sister was safe in the forest and making many friends. That's just how she was, she was able to make friends even with the most vicious dog. The brothers couldn't think of good times now though, they had to survive. They all promised that to reach the same goal, they would even go against orders to stay together so they could all make it back to their sister. The images of war wouldn't haunt them as long as they had their goal in mind.

"Vreal, you get those men over there, Ebon, over there, and Shadow, that way!" Wolf commanded, heading the way the others didn't.

They simply nodded and went their ways, but stayed close to each other so they wouldn't lose sight of them. They fought bravely, Ebon firing one arrow after another, Vreal slashing through enemies with his heavy blade, Shadow using his bastard sword to cut the head off of one enemy, and Wolf swinging the morning star in his hand to crush enemy skulls and puncture holes in their body.

"You four, get over here now!" The Commander called. "Protect the prisoners  from the enemy, they can't take them away!"

The four of them nodded to each other quickly before making their last kill and rushing over to the camp. Once there, they could see that most of their men were cut down and dead on the ground. The enemy had defiantly brought their strong ones, but why? These prisoners didn't seem that special at all, just pawns by the looks of it.

"This doesn't make sense!" Shadow called, slashing another enemy. "I don't get it!"

"Neither do we brother, but they obviously know what they're doing." Wolf cried back.

"It's either that or they're stupid." Ebon smirked

The brothers didn't really have time to react to it, something roaring in the distance that caused everyone to stop. They all knew what that meant, even the ones that had never heard it before. The roar belonged to a horrifying creature. The Cutther. A terrifying beast of melted skin and could scare even the bravest of warriors to have ever lived. The story wasn't well known, but most say it was created out of a cursed man that fell into the deepest pit of the earth. As he crawled out, he lost his mind and now serves no one but the Dark Lord. He can't speak, but some say he can mutter a few words of a broken language. However, hardly anyone has lived to see a day after he has come.

The Cutther yelled again, this time being much closer. The brothers exchanged glances, obviously worried about who the Cutther would take away this time. Even the prisoners were worried. For all they knew, the beast could've been sent to silence them, since it never failed in its job. No matter how they fought it, it seemed nothing could even make a scratch on him. This worried the four that were to keep the enemy from the prisoners.

What were they to do? They couldn't risk their lives any more than what they had. However, if they were to coward, even though most would understand, the leader would be forced to give some sort of punishment. It wouldn't be enough to send them home, but they might just live to see another day.

"What do we do brothers?" Shadow asked, the boys across from each other and around the prisoners.

"I say we hold our ground, but if the Cutther gets close enough, that's when we let him have the prisoners." Vreal replied.

They all agreed to that. They tried, but were overpowered. Seems a good enough reason to run and keep them safe. Even the soldiers who had been in battles longer than the four were starting to run away. The Cutther was getting closer, its steps now being heard clearly through the camp. Even the brothers were starting to shake in fear. They were good at hiding any fear from their little sister, but that was because whatever she was afraid of was usually things that were ridiculous compared to them. The only times they were truly scared was when something happened to their sister, but that rarely happened.

"I think we should probably be getting out of here soon." Wolf called, looking brave but being scared out of his mind.

Shadow and Ebon easily agreed, but Vreal made them stay. He told them if they waited until they could see him, it would make a better case. Shadow argued that with that kind of thinking they would never get back to their sister. Even though they disagreed to it though, they still followed him and stayed put.

It wasn't long until that actually happened. For such a large beast, it could move fairly fast. Within minutes, it was in eye sight of the brothers, each of them taking a few steps back. The prisoners were shaking violently, crying out for any kind of death besides being eaten by the Cutther. The brothers had to admit, they felt kind of sorry that they would leave them there to be killed by the Cutther. But then again, this was war, the fewer enemies there were, the more chance they'll have to win.

Seeing the beast getting closer, they turned to run. They didn't need a signal of any kind; they knew already where to go. They would have to split up though, which was something they promised to only do if there was nothing left. The boys split into four ways as they ran into the forest at the back of the camp, neither looking behind to see if the beast was to follow them or not. It would become obvious if the beast was following, it never kept its wandering a mystery. So far, the noise was becoming quieter as the boys ran. They didn't slow down though, knowing it could be a trick as far as they knew. But when would they regroup? Somehow they never went over that part of the plan.

They didn't stop until they heard one of them yell. The three were left knew exactly which brother it was. Shadow. The Cutther had him now, they knew it. They knew the chance of his survival was next to none, but still, they had to hope. They had to hope, for their sister. But what could they do now? Would they dare go back to try and save him, only to be caught themselves, killed, and leave their sister all along in the world? How could they do that to the girl? But then again, how could they leave a brother behind? They were family, they were all they had left.

The three let out a sigh and rushed back to where they had heard the yell. It didn't take long before they heard another yell for help. It wasn't Shadow this time. It was the oldest brother Vreal that the Cutther had gotten now. Ebon and Wolf were the only ones left and they didn't know which one would be next. They had to find each other quickly and figure out how to save Shadow and Vreal, or to get back home.

Wolf had no idea where he was, and he was sure Ebon didn't know either. Would he risk calling out to him only to show where he was for the Cutther to find? Did he have a choice? Taking a sigh, he called out Ebon's name and waited for a reply. Nothing. He called again. Still nothing. Was Ebon dead? No, he was probably either too far to hear or his adrenaline was too high for him to register what wa going on around him. That's when Wolf heard the scream of Ebon being caught. Had Wolf been the reason? No, Ebon never replied so it couldn't be Wolf's fault, but he was now the only one left. How could he gather the courage to return to his sister and tell her Shadow, Vreal, and Ebon were all gone? No, they weren't gone, and he wouldn't have to return alone. He would return with all of them. But how?

The boy fell to his knees, hope fading away. Hardly a boy or a man, he had nothing he could do now. Was this the fate they were to face? It couldn't be, no, it wouldn't be. There had to be something he could do, but no one had survived the Cutther once they were caught. How could he have hope when those stories were true?

He heard the Cutther coming closer now, its anger obvious to anyone that heard its screams. Wolf had to get away, his instinct telling him so. He didn't know where he was running off to, but he didn't really care at the moment. He just had to get away. He wouldn't succeed though. The Cutther was closer and catching up to him fast. He took the chance to look back and regretted it. The Cutther reached out his melted hand and grabbed Wolf. Wolf screamed just as his sight went black.

He was caught, and so were his brothers. They would never see their little sister again.