The Venerate Order

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Strafe

There was dirt in my mouth; I was lying in a puddle of dirty water. My vision was blurry, my head was pounding, and I...wasn't sure where I was. As I stood up and spit out the dirt, I found myself standing with thousands of soldiers in strange armor. The place was littered with the dead. When I touched the side of my head I found blood; must've been where I got hit in the rapids. What the hell is this? I had to take deep breaths to remain calm. My body was trembling. Where am I?

As I looked around, I saw the horizon begin to move. Across the flatlands on which we stood, I saw an army moving toward us, as far as the eye could see. They didn't look like the soldiers I was standing with; they wore grey and purple armor. They also had strange-looking translucent creatures with them. Each creature reminded me of a polygon, as their bodies were made of acute angles. They had sharp looking claws and teeth. Some of them looked humanoid, some like animals.

"Lieutenant Rocknus! We await your command," a soldier in blue and gold armor told me.

"Lieutenant?...I'm, not...What the hell is this? There hasn't been a military force here for 30 years," I scratched my head in confusion.

"Sir, they are approaching," he pointed out to me.

The opposing army began to advance toward us. I kept looking back and forth, clueless as to what was going on. A man that looked like a ninja, wearing a pure white bandana across his forehead with a symbol on the front, approached me.

"Strafe, get ready. We are about to charge."

He looked different than the soldiers around me,

"Wait, who are you? Is this New Santa Barbara?"

He squinted his eyes, tilted his head and walked away. Another man wearing shining silver armor embedded with blue and red diamonds grabbed my shoulder, "Don't mind Zon. He gets edgy before battle, but you already know that! You ready for this brother?"

"Battle? This is a battle? Wait, what the hell is going on!?" I was freaking out.

"Ha-ha! Have you lost your guile mate!? It's me, Rousseau! Your best buddy! Don't let the fancy armor confuse you, I'm the same one in a million snowflake," he told me, "I've got your back."

He tapped my chest and returned to his ranks. I looked out and fell speechless. A woman in a pink hood approached from my right; she was beautiful. I looked into her eyes and couldn't speak.

"Strafe, it is time to end this...for the both of us," she said.

"Who...what's your name?" my jaw dropped.

"Silly. Did you bump your head? You said you'd never forget my name."

"Right, my head," I said as I reached up and rubbed my forehead.

"Roya," she told me as she pushed my chin up. "That is my name. We will be okay. You've become so strong."

As she walked away, I couldn't help but look at how she moved her hips. It was mesmerizing. I shook my head and turned back out at the enemy forces. They were legion, and there were huge sky-ships lurking in the far distance. I wondered if this was an illusion, but it felt too real to be so. I could smell the air, there was blood and dirt in it; you can't do that in dreams.

These other people, Zon, Rousseau, and Roya all looked over to me, awaiting my signal. Thousands of troops stood with us on the muddy battlefield, wearing stern, determined looks, ready to give up their lives. I'm not a warrior, I don't even have a weapon.