Shattered Into Ash

Shattered To Failure

Nathaniel:

We hide in the rocks by the ocean. The ocean is peaceful. I remember my time with Azun at the ocean, splashing in the waves, collecting shells and playing with an octopus we found. I fell myself start to tear up, I miss my brother so badly. Stinger grabs my wrist. I feel my sadness go away. I look at her, she looks at me. I am where I need to be.

"We need some weapons or supplies." Glow states.

"We can't go back into town." Alvin snaps. "They will catch us all for sure."

"Guys-" Magistrate points to the ocean. "What about the ships?"

"The ships." Uriah smiles. "Jeff sent for ships, those ships must have some sort of weapons or food on them."

"Uriah." Stinger snaps. "Are you hungry already, we literally just ate."

"I am always hungry." Uriah snaps back. "You can't feed a warrior."

"But you can shut one up." Skadi took off her sock and shoved it in Uriah's mouth.

Stinger chucked beside me. Uriah spat out the sock into the ocean. I gazed out at the ships coming to the island. Not a horrible idea, robbing the ships. Just a difficult task. It wouldn't be hard to get into the ships, it's just after that is the hard part. But then again, we could do it, quite well.

"Guys." I speak up. "I got an idea."

-------------------------------------------------------

We swim out into a giant set of rock that covers us with shadows as the sun sets. The ships must past under the arch of the biggest rock to get to the island. We prepare to jump and raid.

Once the ship is directly under us we jump, well everyone else jumps. Stinger kisses me quickly in the sunset before she grabs my hand and we jump together.

Skadi grabs a mop to take out a fee dudes, Uriah and Glow fist fight a couple more. Alvin is hitting some girl over her head with his cane. Vector is somewhere else but Stinger drags me across deck and down the stairs to the supplies bay. There is nothing down there. No weapons, no food, nothing.

"Umm." Stinger stammers. "Nathaniel this is not part of the plan."

"Stinger I know." I look around the empty space.

The ships jolts to a stop. I hear footsteps above deck. Then things get real quiet.

"See you fools have tried to get supplies." I hear Jeff's voice above us. "Failure on your part."

"Nathaniel." Stingers voice is shaky. "My cousins are up there."

"I know." I breath.

"Search below deck." Jeff states. "Take these people to jail in the meantime."

"Quick hide!" Stinger pulls me to the side.

"Where?" My voice drips with sarcasm.

"Ugg!" Stinger moved her hand off mine. "You jerk, this is serious!"

The footsteps move off deck and down the stairs, to us.

"Jeff!" A man spots us. "Found two more."

"Dang it." I snap. "If only I had charm speaking."

"What?" Stinger questions me.

"Nothing."

The guard grabs us both, we go willingly. There are another twenty guards up on deck. Good thing we didn't fight, the two of us could never take them all.

"I don't recognize this one." Jeff looks at me.

"Nathaniel." I state. "Pleasure."

"Take them to the cells." Jeff spits on me. "No food or water."

They drag us off the boat and in the direction of the island prison cells.

---------------------------------------------------

I remember a saying my brother Vestry use to tell me.

Stay low to the Earth
Strike fast then get away.
Kill first so you can
Die last and not first.
One shot is all you get
One kill is all you need.
You do not have just luck
You're all skill

Azun would always say that saying was stupid and unrealistic. But I don't think I have ever needed to hear it more then I did at this point in my life.

We can fight up close, strike at the heart of the beast rather then at the scales. We are not all the same, we each work differently and we have our own unique set of skills that make us who we are. Luke couldn't force me to become a leader, I can't force my friends to be something they aren't.

We need a new plan. A plan where we use each strength and not just mine.

"The Saxons are ruthless." Uriah spits into the corner. "Absolutely ruthless!"

The prison cells are small and they cram all of us into a single room no bigger then ten square feet.

"So we know about Jeff." I ask. "Who else is he allied with?"

"I recognized those ships." Vector tells us. "They belonged to Pheven."

"Who is that?"

"From a tribe we picked a fight with about ten years ago." Alvin leans against his cane. "Pheven the Specialist of the southern tribe."

"Next to that island there are two more." Vector says. "Their leaders are Dexter the Deranged and Terry the Terrible."

"Terry is a girl." Skadi speaks up. "Don't be surprised by her looks she can take you down faster then anyone."

"All of these four tribes have been allies for as long as I can remember." Vector continues. "And each one has a bone to pick with us."

"Guys." Stinger interrupts. "There may be more of them but they aren't very smart."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

Stinger bumps her hip against the cell door, it swings open like it was never locked.

"Good work Stinger." I hug her. "Let's get out of here."

As my friends had guessed, the four leaders gathered together in town square were Jeff, Pheven, Dexter and Terry the girl. Vector disappears for a second before returning.

"I listened in on their conversation." She tells me. "Jeff and Pheven are going to watch a gladiator show down that they are making our people fight in."

"That's not good."

"Dexter is going to relax in some house a block from here." Vector continues. "And Terry the girl is going to a local pub."

A light bulb goes off in my head. I may not be great at fighting, but I am amazing at using my brain.

"Everyone gather close!" I direct them. "I got an idea."