A Game Of Pawns

Chapter 17

I was surrounded by hoards of people, countless hoods casting their faces in shadow. They were a mass of flesh and weapons and I'd have to fight them off. I was rushing them, running with my shield up and my sword at my side. Demi ran behind me. Saris and Zack were nowhere to be found. I rammed into each figure with my shield and forced them out of my way. I broke through the walls of hooded people and as I passed them, they would vanish. I never used my sword. My shield was enough. Maybe Demi was finishing them off when we passed. We never stopped running. I kept thinking that I saw a clearing, somewhere without enemies, but every time we got close to the opening, more shadows approached us. A fog settled in, dulling the colors of the battlefield and making everything thick, like a creamy soup. Once my opponents were dealt with, I kept running.

I woke up slowly, my tiredness lingered but there was no reason to go back to sleep other than to be lazy. My aches from yesterday were faint and the smell of baked goods encouraged me to sit up. Drool was thick on the back of my hand and I wiped it on my pants. I stepped out of the booth and stretched as I yawned. An uncomfortable tug in my back reminded me that I had slept curled up awkwardly on an extra firm booth seat. Despite my aches, it felt like I had been asleep for a long time. Wasn't I supposed to take watch during the night? I looked around. Demi was no longer in her seat. Glancing around the cafe, I saw my three allies sitting at a corner table, talking quietly. I could hear sounds but couldn't make out any of the words. I walked over to the trio, avoiding the few shades lined up in front of the counter and making their way towards the door. I didn't have to avoid them, I just thought it was creepy to walk through people.

Zack looked up at me and smiled, "oh good! A prince finally came and woke up Sleeping Beauty," he said and the other two looked my way. I liked Zack. In the short time that I had spent with him, he had been friendly, joking around and generally easy going. He had offered some advice about the game and had even given me quite a few tips while I was training with Saris. At one point, Saris asked Zack to stop talking so much and Zack just laughed and started giving me advice twice as often as he had been. He seemed to have accepted the game as his life and he was making the best of it.

"We were just discussing where to go next," Saris said.

I lifted an eyebrow, "I thought we were going to stay for a while."

Saris was about to say something but Zack put his hand up in front of Sari's face before he could say anything, "I got this." Then in an over-exaggeration of how Saris talks, Zack announced, "it's not going to be safe here for long. We checked with Demi and she said she's okay to be on the move. So relax, we're going." Saris rolled his eyes but Zack's imitation was spot on.

"Saris wants to visit the graveyard," said Demi. "I'm not sure if that's really necessary. We've got a team of four now. We shouldn't need more than that. Besides, I thought we were going to the thrift store. What changed?"

"You did," Saris said, raising his eyebrows to remind her that she was injured. "The graveyard would be a good place to stay for a night. We wouldn't have to worry about being attacked."

"Why is that again?" I asked.

"It's a safezone," Zack stated. "Actually, I wouldn't mind going there too."

"We should focus on taking out the other teams before they find us," Demi argued. "Going somewhere safe is only going to delay things and reveal our position. If we go to the thrift store, we can find others on the way and make a plan from there. The graveyard will just complicate things once we try to leave."

I felt like I should chime in. I wanted to back Demi up, but I wasn't sure I agreed with her. I didn't really see the benefit of going to the graveyard, but it would be nice to avoid fighting for a bit till Demi had time to heal. She wanted to narrow down the competition but I didn't want her injury getting her narrowed off first. I caught her eye, "how are your ribs?"