A Clash of Magic and Science

Chapter 9

Run, run man, run, that is what he's doing. Rush through the wilderness, away from danger. Face, arms, hands have small bruises or cuts from tripping to the ground or sharp branches. His legs are feeling soar and tired, he lost time because of adrenaline. Soon enough his legs are starting to give out too exhausted to move further, spotting a small stream nearby he went and collapse near it, drinking with his hands.

After splashing water to his face he began to think back, trying to make sense to just what happened. He's just some bandit leading a group of brigands; he could have been a baker like his father or a farmer like his uncle, but instead he became a criminal, it started with stealing from his parents, then from his neighbours, then from vendors in the market, until he was caught; after being casted out from his home he build a small hideout in the forest, he was later joined by other men who became like him through greed or misfortune, bringing the numbers to a fifty.

He and his brigand friends have been terrorizing and robbing his former town and anyone who come or leave the place, taking as much valuables as they could, it lasted a week until the lord of the land took note of his deeds and began a brutal crackdown, knights and men-at-arms found and storm his hideout slaying every outlaws and criminals, he manage to escaped along with five others, now they're fugitives on the run from the law.

They lived as highwaymen from then on, robbing helpless travellers, moving from one place to another, evading the authorities. It went well for a while, until they encounter one peculiar traveller. It's just a simple plan: obstruct the road and rob their victim.

When they're in place and their victim is near they blocked the path and began demanding money and goods, the man in front of the wagon just stares at them with calm and cold looks, the response he gave is bringing out an odd looking weapon from his cloak, the next thing that happened are four of the bandits fell down with multiple finger size holes on their bodies, dead before falling flat on the ground.

His friend who was scouting ahead of the road tried to sneak from behind, but the traveller wasn't alone, another man exited the wagon with a weapon similar to the wagoner pointing it at the back, a loud bang is heard and the abdomen burst leaving a gruesome hole. He watches as his friend tried to get away but the spine is also damaged, the man then points the weapon at the back of the head, "Help me!" his screamed before another bang sounded and a quarter of his head explodes, scalp, hair, blood, brains, and fragments of skull stained the ground. Fearing for his life he ran away.

Here he is, alone in the woods, not knowing if those men came after him or not. Taking another drink from the stream he stood up and starts to walk, but before he could move a leg someone grabbed him by the shoulder and forced to spin around, turning and seeing a fist swinging to his face, landing on the ground hard.

Shaking his head from the trauma he looks up to his attacker and to his horror it's the man who kills his four underlings in an instant. Raising that strange weapon to his face he immediately begs for his life. "Please, spare me, I – I'll give you anything, gold, silver, I have many valuable things on my camp for you to choose.

"Sorry, bub, I'm not interested."

Before he could say another plea the weapon goes off, a white flash in an instant.

November 9, 2119

Trevor dragged the last of the corpse deeper into the woods, out of sight, and when the bodies start rotting and stinking they'll be long gone, that is if the bodies aren't eaten by vultures or wolves and stripped to the bones. After cleaning up he went back to the wagon, he picked up all the bullet casings and covered the blood stains with dirt, to leave no evidence of killings in the area.

Coming out of the woods and joining him is Jake Ryan. "Did you get him?"

"Dead, hit him between the eyes." He said with satisfaction then goes for the wagon. "Let's get out of here before someone passes by."