Warriors (OH HOLD)

Chapter Seventeen~ Katsir

"And this is Katsir!" 

The group stood at the wooden gates of a large city. Accept, from a distance, it wouldn't have looked any different than a forest. The old wooden gates were surrounded by the leaves of tall oak trees, both inside and outside the city. Josh stepped forward and pushed open one of the gates, motioning for the others to follow him. They followed him into the walled city, onto a dirt path. Dirt paths branched out from the roots of a massive tree in the center of the city. Small wooden homes lay along the path, the smallest being the size of a shed, and the largest being a massive mansion behind the tree. The city looked packed and cramped, like it would buzzing with activity, but it was silent. Like no one ever lived in the woodland town. 

"It's really... quiet here," James observed. 

"A lots changed since ya left, James," Tony said, darkly. Champ agreed with a grim nod. The group continued to walk up the dirt road until they reached a run-down house. The wood the house was made of looked rotten, and unstable. Like if one was to blow on it, the house would fall over. The windows were boarded up from the inside, the glass on the outside cracked. The only window not broken or boarded up was a circular window in the attic. Champ lead the group to the side of the house and started to climb the ladder hanging from a hole in the wall. Tony followed, and Josh ushered the others into the hole, than following himself. 

"This is, uh, nice place you got here...?" Tom said as if it was a question. Champ had lead the group into an attic space. It looked barren and empty except for three beds with a chest at the foot of each bed. Other than that, it looked abandoned, with holes in the floor and roof, the latter being covered with tarp. 

"Welcome to Casa de Modestep!" Josh said, completely disregarding Tom's questionable attitude towards the attic. "And Champwan," he added, looking over at Champ as he said it. 

"So, guys," James said, gaining the Modesteps attention. "What do you mean things have changed a lot since I left?" 

The two brothers looked at each other. James looked at them expectantly. The city of Katsir was usually a lively place, especially right before sundown. What had happened in the few years he was gone? James also noticed that Champ hadn't said a word since they had met. 

"Umm, well, the same thing that happened everywhere else happened here, I guess," Tony started. James and his friends looked at him, confused. What happened everywhere else? 

"Well, considering Tony is so dumb he can't spit out a sentence, I'll explain. Mianite showed up in the city a year after you left, James. He came here, offering us protection in turn for worship. I thought that it was a bad idea, and thankfully so did the council. They told him we already had an army and were totally fine. 

But then, he asked to see the army. Of course, he found them. Then he killed them. Every single one of them. He asked if we needed protection now, and we had no choice but to give him control. He set curfews, banned the worship of any other god, he cut trading with other non-worshipping towns. No one gets out," Josh finished grimly. Jordan stared at him in shock. Tom looked angrily at his feet. James said nothing. 

"But, how did you get out? You know, out into the Tainted Land?" Jordan asked. 

"We snuck out. Like the traders who bring tools and food into the city. Mianite only lets loyal followers leave and re-enter the city. All of the people who worship Dianite were either exiled or 'converted' you could say. But not us," Tony said. "We've been hiding out here since then,". James was still trying to process everything that the two had said. Mianite, the god of order and good, slaughtered an entire army. No wonder Ianite hated him so much. Champ looked out the window, his eyes widening. He looked over at Josh and pointed out the window. He ran to the window and quickly stepped away. 

"Everyone get down! Mainite guards are patroling!" he said. Everyone dropped to the ground, avoiding the window and hole in the side of the wall. James listened through the thin wall. He heard the sounds of mechanical footsteps, buzzes and beeps. So these Mianite guards weren't human. 

Suddenly, there was a loud click, followed by another series of beeps. Champ's eyes widened as he grabbed Tom's arm and pulled him over to the other side of the room with him. Tom opened his mouth to yell at the silent boy, but was abruptly cut off when the font side of the house exploded. The other boy's were knocked back, and James felt a burning sensation on his arm. He cried out and looked around to see the other boy's standing up, trying to regain their bearings. James looked through the smoke at the hole. He heard more beeps and buzzes as Mianite Guards began to climb into the attic. And they were terrifying. They had small heads with red eyes, long metal arms and legs and a very thin torso. Their hands were outstretched, lasers shooting from their palms. James had to roll to the side to dodge one of the lasers.

James saw a sword stick through the back of the guard standing over him. It fell to the side and Champ offered him a hand so he could stand up. When James stood up, he saw Tony, Josh, and Jordan fighting the robots. Tom was laying knocked out against the wall. The others didn't notice, because they were fighting the guards, but James noticed. A Mianite Guard was looming over Tom, pointing a laser at his head. Suddenly, James lunged forward and did the only thing he could think of. 

He punched the metal robot. 

The robot fell over, not destroyed but not able to hit Tom. James held his hand, wincing. It wasn't his smartest move to punch a robot. His knuckles were split open, bleeding. He couldn't move his fingers. Tony ran over and stabbed the robot in the head, it's red eyes no longer glowing. 

"Go! Take Tom and run! Both of you, go!" Tony yelled, knocking more robots over. Jordan ran over and scooped up Tom, running to the ladder. James ran over and jumped down, hearing a small cheep from his pocket when he landed. He just remembered Kevin. He pulled him out of his pocket as the trio ran from this city. Nothing. The chicken was perfectly okay. 

James followed Jordan out of the gates and off into the Tainted Land. They were running so fast that they ignored the mobs until they came across a tree with low enough branches to climb. The trio climbed into the trio and caught their breath. Jordan started to look Tom over for injuries, finding a gash in his leg. Then Jordan wrapped up James' burnt arm and broken hand, as well as the gash on Tom's leg with the last of their bandages. James leaned back, closing his eyes and hoping for sleep. But it didn't come. The haunting screams as they left the city scared him to the point of no sleep. 

James's friends were probably dead. He wants to go home and see his brothers again. 

But they weren't there. 

Ha ha ha ha h a h a h a I hate myself.
~Ross