The Last Guardian

Quick note about mature content; there is none in the first chapter. There will be some cursing in a few later parts. I have been back and forth as to whether there will be sex scenes or not. This is mainly fantasy peppered with a little mystery and action, so I won't be focusing on adult content. I'll give a warning if there is any later on so you can skip if you don't want to read pieces that contain mature content.  

Chapter 1

A Hole In The Flank

Jirondious awoke to a searing pain that blotted out everything else. For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was, how he had gotten there or what his purpose was. He lifted his head and blinked past the whiteness in his eyes. He realized that something was clamped over his side right beneath his ribs and pressing against his hip.

He looked down and saw that it was his own hand clamped over his side. His knuckles had turned white, and his broken and cracked fingernails were digging into his flesh. He flexed his fingers and grunted as dull knives seemed to move through his veins. He pulled his hand from his side and suddenly remembered why he'd been clutching at it as he saw the blood.

The wound wasn't deep, and no organs had been punctured. He felt his stomach twist a little despite that. He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying here. The flaky, stickiness of his blood told him that it had probably been at least half an hour.

He got to his feet then winced and clutched at his wound. He gritted his teeth and took a step forward. Shattered pieces of steel framework, concrete, Plexiglas and glass shifted under his foot, and he flung an arm out. He gazed around but saw no sign of his companions. His head lowered, and he raised a hand to cover his face for a moment. He remembered the blast that had come with a flood of turquoise light striking the building, and he could almost hear the screams of his companions as the building shattered around them.

He stumbled again then let out a grunt as rubble slid out from beneath his feet. He went down as one leg stretched out too far, and his weight on the loose rubble turned a trickle into a torrent. He slid down and hit something surprisingly soft amid the hard, jagged pieces of debris. He shifted off of it and felt his heart skip a beat. He'd fallen on a body, and the sleek, black hair that stream out amid the rubble told him who it was immediately.

"Simosai! Wake up, Simosai! Don't die on me!" he said.

He tugged her up out of the rubble and laid her out on her back. Her lips looked purplish, and flecks of pinkish foam covered both her lips and her chin and some of her neck. A piece of the steel framework had punctured her side, and blood had blossomed around the area staining her indigo uniform with crimson. Jirondious' shoulders bobbed up and down as he held her hands. The warmth of life was leaving them; she probably hadn't been dead for very long. Her body was still limp, and she seemed like a sad doll.

"Why you? You didn't deserve to die, Simosai. You were an outstanding inspector and a great soldier...," Jirondious said.

His words fell on ears that no longer functioned, and he got up and lifted Simosai's body into his arms. Her arms flopped limply as he shifted her weight, and he turned away as his eyes seemed to swell and burst. His vision went blurry, then the fuzzy heat slid down his cheeks and rapidly cooled.

Jirondious took Simosai beyond the ruins and stretched her out onto the ground. He took her over coat off and wrapped her in it, adding his own tatter over coat to the bundle when hers wasn't able to cover all of her body. He turned away and stumbled around the ruins looking for the bodies of his companions, but he couldn't find anything more than a bloody smear that was visible from a distance. He returned to Simosai's body and lifted it into his arms. He began walking down the road as the swelling in his eyes overflowed and tears rolled down his cheeks.