Stolen Truth

21

Run. That was what Louis had said to do, but I couldn't just run. Not only was I blocked from going anywhere, but I couldn't just leave these guys to fight alone, if I really am the prince then I have to stay with them, I have to fight with them.

I was the first to do something. I lifted my sword, remembering the work I had done with Viper, and I tried my best to concentrate on my powers. The sword was by my side just in case, but I did my best to focus on making his blood boil, watching as his skin blistered and his eyes rolled back in pain.

The others struck after that. Luckily there weren't that many of them for us to fight off, but we were all still weak and we couldn't fight as well as before. Bear had the easiest time fighting, I had never seen him in action before because he had been injured so early on in our first encounter with the blanks, but I realised how much I had underestimated super strength.

"Louis!" Raven screeched, distracting the blanks for a moment, allowing me to kill the one on me and Bear to knock out two of his.

I looked over at Bear and Dove, there were only four blanks left and everyone was still fighting. Bear nodded at me, and I ran over to Raven, who was now on the ground, a blank standing over her, for a second I thought that blank was Louis but I soon realised that Louis could never do that.

Without even thinking, I rushed towards the blank and began fighting him, all of the heat and anger inside of me coming out at once. I struck with all my force, every time I hit him, I hit to kill. I no longer cared about preserving lives, they didn't deserve it.

Eventually I did manage to strike him, he fell to the ground with a thud, his blood mixing with Raven's and soaking the ground around him before making its way into the river.

I watched as he bled out, smiling to myself, but out of the corner of my eye I noticed something floating in the river. Upon further investigation I realised it was hair, I thought it was one of the blanks drowning at first before I remembered what Raven had screamed before she died.

Louis. Louis was drowning.

I rushed over and pulled him out of the river. He was barely breathing, and his heartbeat was faint, but he was alive. He was unconscious, but I figured maybe that was better, if he saw what had happened to Raven it would break him.

I lifted his body and carried him over to the trailer, all of the blanks had died, but we were even weaker than before now, and we only had one day until they attack our camp, which means their army isn't far behind us.

We had to move quickly, everyone piled into the back of the trailer again and Bear and I sat at the front. We only had one horse left, the other had managed to get free and run off during the fighting.

"Wait! Where's Raven?" Fox asked, just as we were about to leave.

"She –" I started, cutting myself off before starting again, "A blank killed her and tried to drown Louis, I checked her after I saved Louis, she's dead."

"Can we not bring her body?" Fox asked, a single tear falling down her cheek.

"No," Spider replied for me, "We don't have time, if we don't go now then there'll be even more dead."

"But what about Louis? He didn't even get to say goodbye," Fox sobbed.

"Sometimes we don't get to say goodbye," Spider said softly, avoiding Fox's stare, "Sometimes we need to realise when we love someone, before we miss our chance."