The Stand
They found themselves in a clearing. The trees made a perfect circle around the run-down house that sat in the center. Zuri took a breath as she approached the house.
“Who would want to live out here?” Will asked as they approached the cottage.
“Whoever it is, they’re the only person who will help us with our predicament,” Zuri replied. She felt a pull on her arm. Nyla was tense; her eyes darted around in fear.
Zuri knelt to meet the child. She had been travelling with Nyla for months after the tragedy happened. In all that time, the girl had refused to speak, but Zuri understood how painful going through that experience must have been for her.
“Don’t worry, Nyla,” she said, looking the girl in her eyes. “We are going to find out what your power is and how to control it.”
Nyla still looked uncertain, but she nodded.
They peeked into the house. A putrid smell fell over them in waves as they creaked the door open, causing them to take a step back. Will looked at Zuri, questioning. He was only here because of her. After she had saved him from one of his rampages, he decided he would follow her anywhere. Zuri steadied herself and stepped in.
Inside the house was a single chair, with an old lady on it. She resembled a corpse more than anything. Her lips curled up into a smile, skin cracked as it forced itself to move.
“You’ve come for help with the girl, haven’t you?” Her voice was like poison, burning the back of their necks.
Nyla tugged at Zuri’s arm. She was turning, heading for the door. Her eyes were frantic, her pupils dilated.
Zuri tensed. She felt something sinister in this lady.
Nyla must have felt it first.
“Actually, it looks like we made the wrong stop,” she said, slowly taking steps backwards.
Suddenly, the woman let out a blood-curdling laugh. “You’ve made a great mistake coming here!” The voice didn’t come from the lady, but boomed through their heads, rattling their skulls. The body of the woman slumped and rapidly decayed. The floor at her feet opened up, and something crawled through. It was a hideous creature. It was human-like with monstrous features, brandishing a jagged sword, blood dripping from its teeth. Its mouth curled into a cruel grin.
His bloody army.
“Run,” she whispered, almost scared to move.
“What?” Will asked.
“Run!” she repeated, grabbing Nyla by her hand and dragging her across with her. Will followed not too close behind.
They crashed through the door as more of the army had already started crawling through.
“Will!” Zuri said.
Will nodded. The markings on his arms shone a brilliant blue as he formed a dome around the house. The soldiers crashed outside the house, hitting the dome with a sizzle.
“It won’t hold for long,” Will said as he watched them claw and scratch at the dome.
They ran, breaking past the clearing and back into the trees.
They looked around as the forest twisted before their eyes, the beauty rotting into something grotesque.
Trees curled, grass greyed, leaves fell, and a grey mist hung in the air.
“Good luck escaping my legion,” the voice boomed once again.
Zuri heard the drowning sound of the stampede behind them. They had already broken Will’s dome and were running for them, their screams and laughter echoing through the forest, and getting louder by the second.
“I’m so dumb,” Zuri said. “Of course, it was a trap. I should have known.” They waded through the forest, jumping over shrubs and ducking under branches. It felt like the forest itself was twisting itself, looking down and snarling at the enemies.
“It’s not your fault,” Will said. “You could never have known…”
“Yeah, but I should have known,” she interjected. She looked down at the girl. She hadn’t let her grip loose since they started running. Even now, she refused to speak, but Zuri could see the fear in her eyes.
“I promised I would protect her,” she whispered, “I have to.”
The stampede was only getting closer. Zuri could feel their bloodthirst. “We’re going to escape this,” Will said, “We will all make it out. The boatman should still be waiting for us at the edge of the forest.”
He tried his best to be reassuring, but Zuri knew that was easier said than done. If we make it there, she thought.
A plan began to form in her head. The stampede was only getting louder, the army closer, and the edge of the forest was still a ways ahead of them.
“Keep running,” she said as she slowed to a stop. “Take Nyla and keep running, please. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.”
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“I’m not abandoning you,” Will said, “We are all escaping together.”
“Will, look at me,” she grabbed his face in her palms, “we don’t have much time. The army is going to be on us any second. We won’t be able to outrun them.”
“But,-” he started.
“This is the only way,” she interrupted. “Would you rather we all die?” She looked down at the girl. She had lost track of time but was certain the girl would be almost 13 by now. “You have to protect her. I made a promise to the man that I loved, and this is the best way I know how to keep it.”
Will felt his chest tighten when she said that. He knew this wasn’t the time, but he couldn’t help it. “The man that I loved.”
Will closed his eyes, steeling himself. He nodded.
“Now, go!”
Zuri turned to face her foes, who, by this time, were only a few meters from them.
“Now, with all the strength I have.” She drew her sword and stood her ground. “I’ll hold you monsters back!” she announced.
The army surged toward her. She stabbed her sword into the ground and muttered a spell, causing the earth in front of her to rise in waves, knocking the soldiers to the ground. She fought hard, weaving between them, striking down as many as she could. She got scratched multiple times but kept on fighting. She struck a few more down, mixing in her earth magic to throw rocks at them and create a structure to hold them in place.
“They need more time,” she muttered as she fought. She cut down one of the soldiers, but she was starting to get overwhelmed. Her strength was failing her. Her vision was bloodshot and dizzy. She felt a sharp pain in her back as a soldier slashed her. She fell to her knees, using the last bit of magic she had to create walls around her. The creatures surrounded her, laughing, clawing at her earth shield, excited to finish the kill.
Zuri held back her tears. She thought about herself and him. The man that she had loved had begged her to protect his sister as his dying wish. He knew she was special and, as the ever-faithful lover, Zuri had agreed. She felt selfish, like she was taking the easy way out, but she was tired. They had been travelling for months, years, running away from his legion, and it was exhausting. She loved Nyla, and she loved Nyla’s brother, but she couldn’t help but miss when times were simpler. She couldn’t help but miss her lover. She closed her eyes as her shield began failing. She was ready to meet her love.
She could only hope she had bought enough time.
Suddenly, Zuri saw the familiar blue glow of Will’s power. The soldiers around her exploded. She saw Will standing over her, hand outstretched.
“Why are you here?” she asked. “Where is Nyla?”
“I couldn’t just leave you,” he explained. “We’re going to beat them and get out of this place together.”
More soldiers began swarming. Zuri held up her sword. “No, no, you don’t understand,” she said. “Where is Nyla?”
“I gave her one of my protective bubbles and told her to hide,” he said.
“No, no,” Zuri muttered, “That’s not going to be enough, don’t you see? This is what he wants.”
“What do you mean?” Will asked.
“It’s her power. We don’t fully understand it yet, but Nylas power is the last thing the darklord needs to fully resurrect himself.”
“And if that happens,” Will muttered.
“The whole world will burn.”
The soldiers swarmed. Zuri was still battered and bloody, but she managed to get herself back up and continue fighting. “You have to get out. Take Nyla and leave!”
“We can leave together,” Will protested. He didn’t want to lose her.
“No. He will kill us. He wants her. We can’t let him get her,” she looked him in the eyes. “You shouldn’t have come back. Please just lea–” she couldn’t finish her sentence. Zuri felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She touched it, and her hands came back with blood.
“No!” Will said. He punched hard at the soldier who had stabbed her. Her body slumped to the floor. He fell to his knees, activating a defensive barrier around them.
“You can’t die,” he cried. “Please, I’m sorry.”
Zuri coughed up blood. She lay in his arms, feeling every inch of the pain in her stomach, but feeling even more pain from the fear of not saving the girl. Her arms were getting weaker, heavier. Blood pooled at her feet.
The soldiers were clawing at the barrier.
“Please,” she moaned through the pain, “survive.”
She smiled, “I’m coming to see you, my love,” her head slumped in his arms.
Something inside Will snapped. A power that he told himself he would never use again surged to the surface. The berserker had awakened. The barrier exploded in a flash of blue light.
Will screamed as his arms began to glow. He jumped into the melee, tearing apart any soldier that got in his way. The last time this happened, he was mindlessly causing destruction, unable to control his power or his mind. He remembered the face of the person who saved him and kept raging. This time, he knew what he was doing. He wanted revenge. He was going to kill them all.
Will fought for as long as he could, ripping apart each soldier, destroying their forces, but, like the waves eroding a mighty rock, the soldiers kept on coming, and, eventually, Will found himself on his knees.
He laughed. “Looks like you were right, Zuri,” he muttered as he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. His body jerked and fell to the ground.
The last thing he saw before he passed out was a reluctant Nyla, chained and gagged, dragging her feet as she was pulled away.
