Run From The Darkness

A New Hope

Moriya and I had gotten closer to each other in the past week. Anytime I stayed up to train, she trained with me. I was starting to like her, but I was still on edge. I didn't know if she was really on our side.

By the time we reached another village it had been about a week. We were running low on food and other supplies, so we made another stop and got what we needed. We spent the rest of the afternoon in a small joint that was serving bread and stew. We all ate except for Moriya. Since she had explained her origin, it was no surprise to any of us when she refused food or sleep. Since she was a charm, if she fell asleep, she would turn back into her original form.

Though I hadn't slept much in the past week, every time I did, that dream I had continued. It was of the war many centuries ago. No one really knew how we had won the war, but they celebrated the fact. It was as if they were given a gift on someone else's birthday.

It was your average war story. There was a group of people that made the rules, and a group that disagreed with them. They formed an alliance for the worse and started fighting. The dream continued in the perspective of the man, whoever he was. I had seen one battle and it seemed like a pretty fair fight.

I kept this from the rest of the group... They already had enough to worry about, with the expected fight and all. It shouldn't be too hard, but we were all preparing for the worst. It was hard to train while we were on the move, but it was necessary if we wanted to get shit done.

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After a long day of shopping and a long week of training, we all wanted to rest. We rented few rooms and all laid down and fell asleep.

I stayed awake for an hour, dreading the idea of this memory... dream... whatever it was. It was my least favorite part of my life at this moment. There was so much talk of loss and so much pain. It wasn't fun or needed in any way.

Eventually, I decided to get the sleep I needed. I would have the dream no matter what, so why delay the inevitable? As I drifted off, the visions came.

"Sir, they have come with help. The battle is almost certainly in their favor," said one of the soldiers I had known to call Steven.

"Alright. I may just need to go finish this myself. this has gone on way too long. enough people have died. If it comes down to it I will do it myself, but I just want the fight to stop." I heard not me say. That is what I called my point of view.

"Yes, sir. I will let the others know that we are leaving first thing in the morning," Steven said.

"No... Just me. I have an idea, but in order for it to work, it must be just me," Not me said. I had no idea what he was thinking, but I wasn't looking forward to it, whatever it was.

Not me packed a bag of food and grabbed his sleep sack. He didn't sleep. He just lay there and looked at what barely counted as a ceiling. He lay there for what seemed like days. All I could do was think about what his idea was. Was it going to kill him... us? Was it gonna kill everyone else? I tried to stop thinking about it, but that is just another way of thinking about it. If I died in the dreams, would I die in real life?

Finally, someone came into the room and told us it was time to go. We got up and put on what I assume passed as armor. It was just a glorified leather jumpsuit. None the less, it was protection that may help in the long run. We grabbed a sword and headed out for what I hoped wasn't the last time.

We saddled up one horse for two people, me and not me, and set out to the hills. The hills were most of the fighting took place was the only place I had been in the dreams other than the small village not me lived in. I had been once, but not for long and I didn't enjoy it. There were so many bodies; more bodies than in my dream of the dead. When we arrived this time the body count was sure to have tripled.

I felt the end coming. Not like when people talk about death. This is a good end. I want it, but if it stopped something bad, then it was worth whatever pain it caused. This end was good. Surely this was a last resort, but it was the last chance that the "good side" had to make a difference.

Not me got off the horse and started walking. We walked for what seemed like hours. We walked passed anyone and everyone. There weren't many people out on the hills, but thousands waited far away. We walked far away. We walked all the way to the thousands of people that waited for something to happen.

"Have you come to surrender?" asked who I assumed was the leader of the "bad guys".

"No... I've just come to talk. If it comes down to it, I will fight, though it is not what I want," not me said. Apparently, I am willing to fight I thought to myself.

"Well, what is it you have come to say? If you haven't come to surrender than it will most likely end in death for you," The man said with a half smile on his face. One corner of his mouth reaching halfway up to his nose. He sure was confident that he could win; then again it was not me versus hundreds of others. Let's hope not me has a good plan.

"I wish to offer a world of peace. I want us to stop fighting and start working together. If you won't do it for yourself, at least do it for your people. Save some of there lives, if not all of them. I just want everyone to be happy together..." not me said as he fell to his knees. I felt like he was sad for them; sad that they did not wish to be peaceful.

"If that is the case, I think I can speak for anyone here that, that will not happen. We have come too far to give up now. Unless you wish to banish the plain ones, we will not live in peace." The plain ones are those who live life without an element. That was there reasoning for starting this whole war? They wanted to banish the plain ones?

"Please brother... Just do this for me. I do not wish to kill you. This is foolish. Why must you fight for this selfish cause? If I was a plain one, would you banish me? Your own brother? Would you send me off to live in the caves like you want them to?" Not me was on the ground crying now. He was trying so hard to prevent the result that he and I both knew would happen.

As we looked up, a spear was headed toward us. That was it. That was all it took. I could feel not me summoning all the power he could and kept it is his chest. Our hands turned purple and black smoke radiated off of us. That much power would kill anyone. Even the person emitting it, which just so happened to be not me. Wings of this black smoke emerged from his back. We started to rise in the air. I looked down and the last thing I saw was a field full of corpses. Not one soul was to be seen alive. That includes not me. Once I hit the ground I woke from the vision and could tell it was over.