Book 1 | Agent 34 and the Desert of Beasts

Chapter 2 | The Soldier

Agent 34 walked in the sandy desert, without finding clues as to why he was here or any civilization.

Thirst and hunger was his worst enemy right now, as there was no food or water out here for miles, or at least Agent 34 didn't see any.

After hours of walking, Agent 34 plopped himself on the ground and rested a little. He layed down, starring up to the bright sky as the heat it created poured down on him heavily. His sweat that formed all over him fell off of his body and onto the sand,  which soaked it up quickly.

"Where the hell am I?" Agent 34 said aloud to only himself. "Who am I, and why am I here? Why can't I remember anything?" 

Agent 34 licked his cracked lips as he starred into the sky. I need water, thought the man, I need water badly. My throat is so, so dry, and its only been a few hours here. Or has it? Who knows when the last time I had water was, I have amnesia.

Agent 34 started to close his eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. 

Agent 34's peaceful rest was interrupted by footsteps in the sand. The man jolted up, looking for the source of the steps.

When Agent 34 turned around, he was greeted by a soldier. The soldier wore heavy gray armor that looked very uncomfortable, covering every visible part of the skin except the face. Even then, the soldier wore a black cloth that wrapped around everything but their eyes. A weapon was clutched in the soldier's hands, a long silver blade. The sun reflected off of the metal and into Agent 34's eyes, nearly blinding him temporarily.

Agent 34 jumped off the ground, alert and aware of the stranger's presence.

The stranger said nothing, only launched at Agent 34 and tried bring his sword down on his skull. Agent 34 jumped to his right, and slipped in the sand and fell onto his back. The man picked himself up quickly, and ran away from the attacker, stumbling a little on his way..

The soldier ran after Agent 34, trying to kill him for a reason Agent 34 had yet to discover.

"Why must you hunt me?" Agent 34 yelled back to the attacker. "I mean no harm!"

The assassin said nothing, and only chased the man with pure determination in killing him.

The soldier's footsteps pounded against the sand, the armor banging against the soldier's body to tell everyone he was still there. Agent 34 ran as fast as his weak legs could carry him, and the man pondered for memories, trying to figure out why this attacker would chase him, if all people.

Did I steal something of his? Agent 34 thought, Or are me and him sworn enemies?

Agent 34 continued running from the armed man, confused as to why he was chasing him.

"Listen, sir!" Agent 34 yelled to the soldier following him. "I am unarmed, and I have amnesia! I do not know why you are chasing me! Please, explain to me why you want my head above your fireplace!"

The soldier again said nothing, only pounded his feet against the hot sand in pursuit of Agent 34.

After about twenty minutes of running, there was a clank of armor, and Agent 34 stopped running to see the soldier had tripped and landed in the sand face-first. The soldier dropped his sword while running as well, and it landed a few feet away from him.

Agent 34 bolted for the sword. The soldier stumbled and shuffled in the sand to quickly get up and snag the sword away from the man—but Agent 34 prevailed, and ripped the sword off from the sand, and held it to the soldier's throat immediately.

"Tell me why you were chasing me!" Agent 34 demanded. "And why I have amnesia! And why I'm in the desert! And—"

"Shut up already, kid! I don't know why you have amnesia and why you are in the desert! I was only assigned to kill any elf I crossed paths with in this desert! You know why Lord Braunick hates all elves in this land, we all do, but we are forbidden to talk about it," The soldier explained.

"Who are you?" Agent 34 asked, pushing the sword closer to his throat.

"Why would I tell you my name, and what good would it give you?"

"I don't know, just answer the question!" Agent 34 said, pushing the sword even closer to the his enemy's throat.

"Just," The soldier huffed, then closed his eyes. "just kill me already."

"Who am I?" Agent 34 shouted to his hostage. "Tell me everything you know!"

"I don't know anything about you, dude! I only know me and a couple other soldiers were sent out to assassinate every elf in the region. Now, please just–" The man grabbed the sword, and pushed the blade into his throat, killing himself.

Agent 34 stood up, and backed away from the body. Whatever threat he posed to Agent 34 is gone now, and hopefully Agent 34 can return to civilization in peace.

Hopefully.

The man took the sword out of the his neck, and saw blood was stained on the tip of the blade. Agent 34 did nothing to wipe it off, and instead started walking again, sword in hand, in a random direction in hopes of finding safety.

But he couldn't shake off what the soldier had said.

Lord Braunick hates all elves in this land.

The words echoed in his mind. They meant something, he just couldn't remember. Why would he say that Agent 34 if he was human? Agent 34 is human, right?