FALLOUT

6

A golden light glowed off in the distance and Theon came to a stop at the edge of a dropoff. We stopped next to him as he gazed down at the village below. Hundreds of torches were alight along the border of the trees. A mixture of wooden huts and tents spread around the circular chasm. Fires burned in various firepits, their orange flames dancing in the darkness. Villagers tended to a spit bearing a large animal, rotating it over the biggest fire in the center and a group of children ran around a tent, ducking and dodging one another in a game of chase. It was, for lack of a better way to describe it, beautiful. Peaceful. And it was shocking that it existed in Abditory. Then again, The Protectors were a peaceful group, unless otherwise necessary of course.

The other Protectors in our group moved forward and descended a ladder that hung down the side of the dropoff. We watched them as they were greeted by their friends and family with hugs and claps on the back. A little boy, maybe six or seven years old, was waving frantically. Theon smiled down at the scene and raised a hand in the air.

"Home," he sighed contentedly and motioned towards the ladder. "Please."

I went first, taking care to plant each foot firmly into the rope ladder, the worn fibers of the rope poking into my hands like tiny pins.  A full day of hiking was catching up to me, my wound barking at me to rest. Tiny pink flowers grew among moss on the rock under the ladder. I made a point to zero in on them rather than concentrating on the ache in my side.

Wyn followed me down, taking care to go slowly as I painstakingly made my way down and stepped off finally onto the ground. The air was warmer here, like it was trapped inside the chasm and suddenly I felt flushed.

"Are you alright?" Wyn asked beside me. I nodded, though I wasn't. My knees gave out from under me and I wilted, but didn't fall, strong arms holding me up.

A confused expression crossed over Theon's face, and he reached out and took my hands, turning them palms up and pushing my sleeves up gently. His eyes landed on the spot where my tattoo used to be. Mouth hanging open, he exhaled, eyes raising slowly to meet mine. "You have had a long journey. Come and sit by the fire. Eat and rest."

Wyn helped me to a spot near the fire where the female Protector that had accompanied us in the woods sat. The furs beneath me were soft and warmed from the fire and I leaned back onto the tree stumps set in a row behind me.

Her dark hair was twisted into long dreadlocks that lay flat against her head and fell down over her shoulders. She looked less fierce than when we'd first met some hours ago, relaxed and at home. She'd removed her robe now, to reveal dark brown pants and matching top, made of some sort of animal hide, that was cropped and showed a bit of her trim midsection. High angular cheekbones with wide grey eyes, she was beautiful.

She handed me a piece of meat and smiled, glancing at my wrist as I took it from her. "So the stories are true." She nodded towards me. "He took your power from you."

I nodded slowly. "Yes." I took a bite of the meat, mouth watering at its salty goodness.

"Men think they can control women by taking their power from them." She looked at me knowingly. "It gives us strength we did not know we had."

An image popped into my mind of Callum's angry raging face, letting out a wrathful howl as he pushed the button on the machine and blue light flashed in front of my eyes, turning orange again as I came back from the memory. I had never in my life done anything on my own until that day. The day I fled for Urbania.

I smiled at my new friend. "Indeed." She smiled back and took another bite of her dinner. "What's your name?"

"I am Ezzarah." She looked at me. "You are Bexley, yes?"

"Just Bex."

"Never just."

I smiled at her and finished the last bit of my dinner, wiping my hands on my pantlegs. I sat forward a bit too quickly, wincing at the pain in my side. I lifted my shirt carefully to check on the wound. It seemed fine, no redness around the suture. The bruising had changed from purple and red to a dark blue and brown. Progress. Even though it still hurt like hell.

Wyn appeared with Theon and sat down on the fur next to me, his leg brushing against mine as it came to rest against it with comfortable familiarity.

Theon walked towards the center of the circle around the pit and raised both of his hands in the air. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. His presence and the attention he commanded was undeniable. He was most definitely their leader.

"Tonight," he began, voice booming out across the silence, "we are in the midst of the legends we seek to protect. As you all know, the Athan known as Callum has waged a vengeful war in his search of the weapon. The fate of humanity has rested on the shoulders of The Protectors for two centuries. Along with the Athans in our presence tonight, we will once again fight to uphold the laws of nature that God himself created. Tomorrow, we will join our commanders in their quest to stop Callum and put an end to the threat that he poses to Mother Earth and all of man." His words echoed off the walls of the chasm and he paused, turning to us. He lifted his arms from his sides slowly and one by one, every man, woman, and child rose and turned to face us.

"Our commanders, we are your warriors. And we are honored to fight alongside you." He bowed his head, and the hairs on my arms raised as, like a wave, all others did the same.

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A/N:

Hands up if you love Ezzarah's talk with Bex.