Kingdom Gone

PLAYING HERO

I can feel the heat of the fire from 30 feet away.

"Hey, Outsider! Get back to your-"

I pull down the militia's funny looking hat over his eye's as I run past, hefting the rock I picked up over my head. I toss it at a first story window frame, wrenching the entire plane off. Weaving between the burning debris on the lawn, I reach the opening and vault inside before any militia can stop me.

Smoke immediately fills my lungs, my throat naturally reacting and closing tight. I shimmy across the floor of what looks like a kitchen, then down a hall until my head hits the first step of a small stairway. I look up but all I see is swirling smoke, each small breath bringing more of it into my lungs. I steel myself, then get to a crouch and charge up the staircase.

I barrel onto the second floor landing and come face to face with a monster.

Only its snout protrudes from the smoke, the rest of it's body a shadow with it's glowing yellow eyes piercing through.

"Hello beastie." I say, assessing the situation.

A woman lay at the monster's feet, a gash in her arm, unconscious. A fire extinguisher is clasped in her fist. Easy enough.

Time to be a hero.

"Mind if I borrow this?" I scoop up the red container and slip beside the beast down the hall. I hear it's massive body turning to follow me, but before it can I kick off a small table and climb onto it's hairy, muscled shoulders. The monster reels it's head back, roaring loud enough to shake the walls. Peering through the smoke, I see it's snout come my way and grab it, slamming the fire extinguisher down into its jaws. Grabbing a fistful of the monster's mane, I kick its head back and jump down on its snout, teeth piercing the canister when my foot grinds its snout into the floor, exploding foam everywhere.

As the beast recoils in pain, I roll across the floor to the lady and pick her up, coughing through the smoke to the closest window, elbowing out the glass and lunging out onto the roof.

My vision blurry, I spot two militia soldiers pointing up at me. "Catch!" I yell, tossing the unconscious woman onto them as I leap off the gutter. They catch her, surprised, acting as her landing pad.

My legs bend on impact to spare my joints and I roll, sprinting as soon as I'm back on my feet.

* * *

"What the heck just-"

"No time. Go to the barn and release the horses when I give the word." And off Jason ran, towards the house under construction.

Circe sighed. "But-"

Suddenly the side of the burning house erupted, launching flaming wall everywhere. A monster, the size of a small car and covered in hair, jumped down from the second story, throwing back the group of militia soldiers and rumbled after Jason.

Circe watched, mouth agape as Jason dodged the monster's swings and bites, as if he could predict where it would strike next. But Circe had seen Jason in action before, and broke away from her astonished stupor faster than the watching militia and sprinted across the street to the barn.

Two guards stood in her way.

"Where are you going?" The taller of the two barked.

"I just need to get in-"

"No one's allowed out of their homes. Return to your room immediately."

Circe sighed. "Sorry about this."

Her elbow jammed into the shorter ones gut, her palm pressing into the other's face. She tensed her arm like she'd practiced a hundred times before, a chill travelling up her spine and into her arm, a wave of blue electricity following it. The militia soldier screaming as hundreds of volts entered his body, arms spasming as he collapsed. Circe turned to face his partner, but instead caught the buttend of his rifle. Stars exploded across her vision, and next thing she knew she was on the ground. The shorter soldier aimed his gun inches from her face.

In a surge of adrenaline, Circe grabbed the rifle, aiming the barrel away from her face, and blasted the weapon with electricity. The current traveled up the metal barrel to the stock, sparking against the man's shoulder.

It took Circe a second to get to her feet, but when she did she looked over the two soldier's unconscious bodies with surprise.

She did it.

A loud crash echoed down the street as the house under construction fell, a lone figure standing beside the rubble.

Jason.

Circe suddenly remembered the request he'd given her and did a 180, sprinting past the open barn doors. It looked the same as that morning, nothing out of place. Weaving between the pens of sleeping animals, Circe reached the area with the horses. It was quiet, 6 or 7 large animals standing around, sleeping. She reached for the pen door and pushed it open, the hinges squealing louder than she thought it would.

The sound must've been familiar to the horses, because suddenly they were all galloping to the entrance, zooming past, around the other animals, and out the front doors.

* * *

I pant slightly, waving the sawdust floating around out of my face.

I honestly didn't expect the entire structure to collapse, but I'm very happy it did. When the debris settles, the beast is nowhere to be seen. But that won't hold it forever.

I bend down and pick up a long piece of nylon among the rubble, just as the galloping of hooves bared down on me.

Half a dozen horses charge out the barn doors and up the street, following their daily paths they normally took, which I saw from the old tracks on the road the day before.

I brake into a sprint and jump onto the back of the one leading the pack, proving it's speed. I wrap the rope around its nose and pull, the animal halting in response.

At the same moment, the rubble explodes as the monster emerges once again, sawdust and dirt coating it's body.

"Hiyah!" I yell, snapping the impromptu reins. The horse neighs and charges up the road. The beast sees me flash by and follows me. Everything's going to plan so far.

I wrench a rifle out of the arms of a militia soldier as I gallop past the temple and into the forest, the monster of Arcadia trailing behind.