A Game Of Pawns

Chapter 12 - Saris

Xander took a while to get to sleep. He tossed and turned on the ground, trying to get comfortable, only to do it again after a few minutes. I was starting to get irritated but reminded myself that he's not used to sleeping out on the ground. It was a transition for him. Eventually, he stopped fidgeting and drifted off.

I sighed and looked up at the night's sky. It was a bright night. The moon was full and white, reflecting on the field of grass and trees. The air was warm and there was a gentle breeze moving the leaves. At the start of this cycle, I had taken the first day to scout out the new area and familiarize myself with it. I often did this, believing that knowing the area outweighed having allies early in. But the bigger the area, the harder it is to justify that tactic. Luckily, this time it seemed to be worth it. Being the city's downtown area, there were a lot of buildings to cover, but strangely, not a lot of distance to work with. I had reached the barriers of our new arena within the first day.

With the map being such a small area, it worries me that we haven't run into many people or groups since we came out of hiding. Had most of the teams been taken out already? I thought the park would be a good place to find small teams or even better, people alone, but we haven't found anyone here.

Part of me was worried that it was too late. Maybe I took too long training Xander. I couldn't be sure how many people were left without teams. We might be out of luck. If that's true, we're going to have to worry about larger teams finding us and we won't be able to take them head-on. Then there are scavengers who might find us unprepared and take us out in our sleep or after a tough fight. We're not exactly in the best situation but if we can manage just one more ally, we might be able to pull off a win.

It would be slow going, but the graveyard might be the best place to go next. I was confident that there would be people there. It would be safe, so long as we can get there.

Xander turned restlessly in his sleep and I wondered if he might be dreaming. He had done well on his first day out, into the game. Much better than I had expected from him. Honestly, I had been nervous about our first day out. True, we didn't meet many people, but the few we did run into were strong and they managed to take us by surprise. When the shadow walker grabbed Xander, I thought that'd be it for him, but he took it like a pro and brought him down for me to take him out. Weapons and abilities or not, he was a real asset and I'm glad that I found him, even if he's still unsure of his own skill. I grinned subconsciously, happy with my choice of protege this time around. Not that I did this often, but it wasn't my first time. Usually, it's hard to get a read on people who just start out in the game. They're distant and are usually unsure of who they should trust. But Xander wears his heart on his sleeve and it's easy to tell what he's thinking. I know he trusts me, which makes me trust him in return.

While training Xander had set us back with making a team, it also had allowed us to avoid some of the more dangerous times of the game. After a week, especially in a small area like this, several teams would have fought and many would have died. The question is, how many and who's left?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dark shadow move out of sight. A flicker of movement might not trigger a response out of most people, but I had enough experience to know that someone had found us. It was likely a scavenger. They would be alone, trying to pick off someone who was isolated or unprepared. But, it could also be a scout and they would have signaled their team about us. If that's true, we don't have much of a chance. There's no place to hide and running would only tire us out when they catch up to us. Better to make a stand here. If it is a scavenger, we should be able to take them out without too much trouble. If it's a team, our best option would be to stay by the tree so they can't surround us completely.

I nudged Xander with my foot, trying to spy the shadowed figure. When he didn't wake, I did it again, harder. "Xander, wake up!" I hissed. It wasn't working. Kneeling down, I shook him, practically picking him up off of the ground, but he just stayed still. Is this a power? Or is something else going on? Is he finally completing the dream? If it is the Traveler, he's got pretty poor timing. Now I was at a huge disadvantage. Not only did I need to fend off the attacker, but I also had to protect my ally. I really hoped it was a scavenger and not a team.

I moved into a crouched position, readying myself for action without making myself obvious to the enemy. The familiar feeling and need to hold my sword came to me and it was in my hand with little more than a thought, sharp and ready for action. I steadied myself and my eyes darted around, searching for the enemy. I felt a sudden chill and searched more frantically. There! On my left, just past the tennis court, was a slim figure dressed in black and wearing a large hood to cover their face. It was hard to track their progress as they kept to the shadows, but I caught glimpses of movement, thanks to the bright moon. A spear appeared in their hand. They were still several paces out but then I heard something. A faint rustle of leaves behind me. Xander was there, but if my shaking didn't wake him, I didn't expect him to get up on his own; I knew it wasn't him. It was above him.

With no time to think, I whirled around, sword extended and stood as I swung. The tip of the blade cut some of the leaves from the bushes and grazed the tree trunk, creating a shallow cut in the bark. A clang of metal sounded and I felt resistance from my sword arm. I had knocked the spear over just far enough so Xander would not be impaled. I looked up at the wielder of the spear, her hood had fallen down, away from her face. Shocked blue eyes bore into mine and she backed away with a leap. I ducked and twirled around, backing myself to one of the bushes, realizing that the other attacker would be near me soon. I had guessed right and the other's spear thrust had missed me by inches. However, I had dodged awkwardly and was facing the hooded figure with my free hand. With no quick way for my sword arm to attack, I rammed the attacker, shoving her back with my shoulder, then kept my distance as the hooded figure stumbled slightly out of my reach, maintaining their balance. Her hood fell just the same as the other's did and I was surprised to see that the two attackers had the same face.

It was time to end this. The girl had the power to make a copy of herself. It was too unlikely that both sets of a pair of twins were taken for this game. She was a scavenger; alone. The fact that she could become two people gave her an advantage as a scavenger. It made her appear like a part of a team when she wasn't. That's why she kept her hood up. Opponents would keep an eye on her and if they expected more enemies to arrive, they would look in the same direction and would be distracted, giving her the opportunity to attack from behind. The trick was getting either herself or her copy behind her prey before they noticed. She was dangerous. I went into an aggressive stance with my blade poised to strike, the tip pointed at her waist and the hilt at my shoulder height. I had to be quick. Two on one is not easy in the best of circumstances and this was not ideal. I did not want to give her time to act. Since I did not know which of the two were real, I would have to take them both out before they attacked. I lowered myself and-

"Wait!" Xander shouted.

I froze but didn't dare to look back. The girl and her copy seemed to have done the same. Both girls tensed but didn't move, their eyes widening slightly at Xander's outburst. I wondered if she had to make her copy react the same way she did or if the copy had some kind of will of its own. It was impossible to tell the difference between them. For a moment, I relaxed. That was a mistake. She noticed and rushed me. One of them dashed to my left and reached for me with her spear. The other stabbed at me from the front. I managed to block the attack in front of me but I would not be fast enough for the second spear. I should have copied her speed while I had the chance. Or I could have copied her ability and fought her two on two. I braced myself for the sting of her weapon but her spear never connected.

Instead, I heard the familiar clang of metal and felt the presence of someone next to me. It was Xander, blocking the attack with a shield on his left hand, a sword gripped in his right. He had seen the Traveler and he had chosen a sword and shield. Good. His go-to defense was to block and while the sword he carried lacked much reach, he would be able to get in range thanks to his shield. This was an new fight and the odds had moved to our side. But then Xander let his weapons vanish and raised his hands. What was he thinking?

"Hold on." He said. "Let's talk."