The Zersha Chronicles

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I snapped awake sitting up half buried in ash and soot I nearly head-butted Isa who kneeled on the ground beside me. As I looked at me with a relived smile and dropping a now empty syringe in her hand and pulled me close to her. "Thank God you're ok! Never do that again you scarred me." She let me go and pulled me to my feet. We both stayed silent for a second before Isa snapped her view back to me ", we need to leave. Right now the best thing we can do is deliver this." Isa held up the satchel in front of me to which I promptly took. She spoke again in her sorrowful determination. "Do you have any injuries?" I nodded my head no and stepped forwards trying to look at her hand, only for her to jerk it away from me and hide it behind her back and quickly saying "I'm fine."

"Isa you are not okay. We need to tend to that." I responded lifting up her hand, but was taken aback by the seared flesh where her wound was.

With me dropping her hand she responded self-consciously. "I, took care of it." She bent over and picked up a sword that laid in the dust at our feet and turned around saying. "We should leave now, before anyone else comes." But that time her voice was void of most all emotion lest for the monotone determination to continue on. She stepped off into the ashen haze as I followed behind in her dusty trail. We passed by the fallen ruins of the shops and houses of the village as we solemnly trudged through the ash ridden road out the main gate. Stepping forward, I was blinded by the bright sunlight, Isa however continued unaffected saying "Our horses aren't here, but with any luck they'll have returned to camp." She then stepped forward kneeling over a small stream and peering at her reflection. Ash clung to the dried blood on her face covered her clothes. She then reached into the water and wiped the blood and ash off her face. "We need to go"

We walked again on the path we had only so recently departed from once again past herds of buffalo returning to their original grazing spot and the tall endless expanse of grass only cut off by the ever closer forest. As we walked I only then began to ponder the events of the prior night and the morning in detail. The figure who at the time I didn't know knew me, I didn't know anything about the soldiers, and I don't know how Isa woke me up, I didn't even know what happened to Maliya or what the large thundering sound was. However, my thoughts were interrupted by Isa stopping me. I took the moment to absorb my surroundings, we were back in the forest and ahead lay our camp and horses, but one of the soldiers sat in it. The soldier was leaned against a log over a small brush fire, sword lying beside him. Isa then turned and whispered to me with shock on her face. "Stay here, I will call you when it's clear." Without another word she slunk off into the shadow of the trees out of my view. I don't know what would have happened if I wasn't so stubborn. I crept along the trees trying to get a closer look, but my heart skipped a beat as I could hear glass and metal crack beneath my feet. The soldier snapped his head to the side, but as soon as he did Isa had sprinted forward out of the woods and bore down on him. The soldier stumbled and went the sword, but with sword in hand was knocked onto the ground. I too ran out of the woods trying to help. Only to see furthermore she needed none.

In an instant Isa swung around the soldier and was on his back holding his arm behind him and pushing him into the ground. Isa opened her mouth to speak, but before she could the soldier wimpily yelled out. "I'M NOT ONE OF THEM!"

Isa pushed the soldier into the ground harder and barked "EXPLAIN THEN." She kicked up the sword into her hand and rolled over the soldier holding it above his head.

"I'm a deserter! I didn't want to go along with it! So I ran the first chance I could!"

"DIDN'T AGREE WITH WHAT!?" Isa shouted over the soldier

"We, we were sent out here to get food and supplies, but I never agreed to burning villages!"

"Who sent you?" Isa said clearly confused.