The Story of Midnight

Chapter 6

"Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people."

--Eleanor Roosevelt

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After our strange encounter with Shade's military Army, we decided to stay where we were until the two unconscious men woke up. They would probably run away from us when they remembered what happened to them.

"See? I know how to fight."

I just sighed tiredly.

He's been going at it for a while now; not missing a chance to remind me.

"You know my threat of breaking your bones still stands, right?" I said, casually.

Cloud stopped bragging immediately, probably not wanting to have a broken arm or leg, maybe a dislocated shoulder, perhaps?

A strange silence fell over us.

"What are we going to do when they wake up?" asked Dawn, loosening the quietness, and looked down at the two men cautiously as if they might be faking their slumber.

"That's their choice, if they want to talk they can talk, if they want to run, then let them. We're not holding them hostage." Cloud said nonchalantly.

I placed myself in a meditative position, and focused on the steady rhythm of the invisible waves. People leave remnants of their emotions on the ground, something only I know. This lets me see what the two of them where "thinking" as they fought us.

"What's she doing?" I heard Cloud whisper to Dawn.

She began to explain to him why I was sitting like this.

There was determination, and a small hint of fear that came from the two men despite the other soldiers being overwhelmed by their own terror. That fear could grow once they know where they are.

I sighed to let everyone know that I was done, and noticed Cloud's body was turned towards me from the outline I got from the earth.

"What did you find out?"

I looked at the men as if I could see them and said, "They're ready to fight us if they see a reason to, and they're also a bit afraid, that could be bad if it builds into panic."

"Then all we can do is wait." said Cloud as he huffed.

Half the day had gone by; I knew this by the sudden drop in temperature. The rain had stopped a while back too. During all that time, neither one of the men moved, they remained still on the ground, almost lifeless, but I knew they were breathing. Their heartbeats resonated within the waves.

I guess we went a bit overboard on not pulling our punches, and ended up knocking them out longer than we intended, I thought. Then again, they were trying to kill us so we reacted on instinct. At least none of us killed them; doing so would only turn things into such a pain...

My deep thinking got interrupted when I heard movement, and grunting coming from the two soldiers.

I was alone; the others went off to look around if there were other soldiers that wanted their men back.

I sat calmly with my back against a tree; my arms crossed, and one of my legs tucked under the other.

The two seemed to be getting their senses back, and when they saw me the two searched frantically for their weapons. It wasn't night yet, according to Cloud, there were still a few rays of sunshine left. I signed and grabbed the two swords from behind me.

"Take them."

They both exchanged looks at my strange order.

The soldier to the right asked, "Why would you give us our weapons?"

I placed the sheathed blades between us and leaned back on the tree.

"You're welcome to take them," I said, ignoring his question.

I could tell they were looking at me suspiciously yet they cautiously reached for their weapons while doing so they kept a close eye on me in case I would do any strange movements.

Both stared at me not knowing what to do next.

"You can go now."

I didn't try to win them over, I knew that was impossible; their minds were set. I don't trust them, and they don't trust me, it seemed fair enough. The last time I trusted someone it almost led me to my death. I was too careless back then.

"You're not..." the soldier's voice trailed off, and I felt a slight feeling of hope that they weren't like the other soldiers I faced.

They were the first ones to hesitate. Did this mean that their view of me changed?

No, I thought, don't think like that. It's too easy; they'll probably attack when my guard's down. Or maybe this sick game of being chased affected me more than I thought. It's making me paranoid...

What happened next surprised me; they stayed to ask questions.

"You could've killed us if you wanted to...so why didn't you?"

I realized the voice of the soldier was young, and not rough like the other soldiers I've come across.

Too young for battle, I thought, but he probably has his reasons.

"I've never taken a life, and I don't plan on starting now. I know all of you have families, and I don't want your loved ones coming out here with thoughts of revenge on their minds. Revenge only leaves you empty...and with a guilty conscience."

Again, I've seen villagers coming out here believing that they could end me once and for all, but I never gave them the satisfaction. I just wanted to be left alone, but their endless attempts prevented me from living the quiet life I wanted.

Do they even know what it's like to have the action of taking someone's life hanging over their heads for the rest of their lives, even if the death wasn't intended? Do they not feel guilty of taking a live so young? Sometimes I think that people are so obsessed with trying to kill someone that they start to think its normal, maybe even humane.

We all seem to have two sides, the good, and evil. The evil is the demon inside us; it's our hatred, jealousy, lies, and greed. The creature will continue to grow because we always seem to feed it to satisfy ourselves.

I bowed my head as to give the two an idea that I was putting my thoughts together since my face was covered by the hood I wore.

"It's not worth risking your life for. Don't let vengeance cloud your judgment."

I let the words sink in and raised my head, expecting them to leave but when they didn't I took the opportunity to focus on their heartbeats, and realized that I managed to make their thoughts waver; doubt and understanding filled their minds. My astonishment only lasted for a few seconds before I noticed what could become of them if they start sharing this information with the other soldiers. It would be my fault if they get killed for betrayal, and disobeying orders. I can't let that hang over my conscience.

"You can't say anything about this to your friends...if you value your lives." I warned.

I could tell they were looking at me with perplexity in their eyes before realization dawned on them.

"You're right." said the young soldier, a little disappointed.

Huh, disappointment, I thought, they don't have the same minds as the other soldiers in the Army. Hopefully both can keep a secret.

"You can just say that I left you out here and you found your way back. This never happened." I emphasized the last words.

The two men nodded and stood up. They tied their weapons to their waist, turned around and walked away. The young soldier looked back; his heart was filled with sympathy. I smiled reassuringly not sure if he saw the gesture from the distance between us.

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