The Awakening

The sun was just dipping right above the horizon painting the sky an apocalyptic yon orange hue, tonight we would be closing up early and there will not be many roaming the village unless they had a death wish. Not that they would not ram-raid their way in, a barricaded door was nothing, all we had to do was hope that fate was on our side like always and they would not move far out from the city entrance into our village, the indisputable truth was no one was safe.

"You can always take a bath tomorrow Circe you know today is not safe for you to be out at this time, or are you waiting for Albert again" Alcina came from behind me startling the living daylight out of me while I was outside waiting for my bath water to heat.

"Albert?? You know I abhor him with a burning passion why would you even mention him, he's always pestering me for his sick boisterous merriment and he looks down on me, literally, just that a bath is probably what I need right now to ease the tension of my already aching muscles and it is your fault we stayed out till this late"

"Do you have no value for your life? I heard 18 women were taken 6 months ago in neighboring villages and a few families lucky enough to have their gowns drenched in blood returned for burial" Alcina explained, a shiver ran down my spine, I had forgotten just how grave things were for us.

"Bloody arseholes how long are we going to live our lives in trepidation Alcina, uneasy for our lives? It is just not fair" I said hands shaking and tears pooling in my eyes.

"Watch your language, your father is probably rolling in his grave right now because of the woman you have become" she said in a hollow and dishearted laughter.

Alcina, I have always looked up to her as an older sister as so there were not many years separating her and me in contrast to her and mother. Though she had a seemingly hardhearted nature she cared for me a lot, one time I caught her draping a blanket over me since I had passed out exhausted.

"I really think we should head in now, Kira said I should bring you in even if it meant dragging you in kicking and screaming" she added

I was not ignorant enough to gamble with my life like that and also put the ones I loved in danger like, so I obliged. I put out the fire and headed in. Tonight was determined to be a blood bath.

I tossed and stirred from unease, finally giving up on sleep unlike Kira who was sleeping as if she did not give one care in the world, I headed to the food store in attempt to get water to drink, I went past mother's room who like me seemed to have trouble sleeping tonight and still had her lamp on. In returning I was stopped dead on my tracks by the sound of a man roar in agony the yell came from a distance then another followed right after this time a female's. Blood drained from my face. There was no way they had come in this far maybe I was just hearing things the screams one after another suddenly started getting closer and closer then, the sound of a child crying. There was no way this was happening. Mother erupted from her room her eyes wide as saucers with shock, and for me, my brain was taking way longer to comprehend what was happening, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but now that it was. It felt illusory. It's just a bad dream I chanted to myself.

"Snap out of it Circe" my mother hissed, my brain made sense of the sting on my cheek then her words.

By the time I snapped out of the trans I had been in Alcina was right beside me. I stared at her for a few seconds for the first time Alcina wore a genuine expression. Her face was ridden with terror.

"Circe I need you guys to hide do not dare to breathe too loud or make a slight movement and mostly do not dare come out no matter what happens" mother said her voiced hushed but still sharp.

Then I finally wrapped my head around what she had said

"Oh fuck no" I said rather loudly

"Circe this is not the time" Alcina hissed from beside me

"If not we are all getting captured or killed tonight, and either way we are dead, and if we all hid it would not make sense that no one was habituating the house and they would seek us out" she added.

They had thought this out. They had prearranged this that if ever it happened mother would be the one to succumb.

The screams of horror outside getting louder and louder, mingled and laced with the cries of agony was the laughter of men.

"Mother I am not leaving you out here alone to meet your death" this time my voice came out as a hushed cry

"For the love of Gods Circe I will knock you out if have to then hide you, I will not ask you again" mother warned

"We are running out of time" Alcina said

I was just about to send out disapproval when the door to our cottage flung open, the cold air of winter rushed in cutting through my thin gown.

A man dressed in what seems to be battle gear emerged first, the living room was dimly lit by the lamp in mother's room. His enormous silhouette taking up what little space was left. My legs were leaded and my mind blanked.

"What do we have here? Looks like Lord Mantis will be adding three more whores to his collection of playthings" he said booming with laughter.

Mother placed a protective arm in front of us and Alcina in front of me blocking me completely from their view.

"Please I will go in return please spare my daughter and sister" mother said her voice shaking and faltering with each word.

Two men from outside including the one inside boomed with laughter "And what made you think you had a right to bargain with us old hag" the guard I assumed in the house said as he tossed both mother and Alcina aside with one swoop, their bodies crushing against the wooden table in the living room.

"Mother!" my voice trailed and breathy

"I bet she is a tight little one" the guard said closing in the space between us.

"I am sure the High lord would not mind us having a taste of your tight cunt before turning you in"

Bile rose in my throat, I was going to throw up from both disgust and terror. I looked to the left where mother and Alcina had been tossed mother was bleeding heavily on her head but still on her feet and Alcina wore a death glare.

In what seemed to be a split second Alcina withdrew a dagger from her nightgown and charged forward she had barely reached him when everything seemed to happen in slow motion, Alcina's body flying and hitting the ground with a splat, over and over again.

"Halfwits" the guard kept saying with every movement of his hand.

Screams I did not recognize erupted from my throat and I blindly charged forward attempting to do anything to stop the assault. She was going to die, if I just stood there she was definitely going to die.

"Circe noooo" I heard mother scream from a distance her voice zoned out by my rage. Before I could reach Alcina or the guard I was hit by something heavy. Knocking the air out of my gutter then hitting the wall with my back. Pain exploded from every nerve in my body, I forced my eyes open to see what was left of Alcina, mother sat beside her tears rolling over her face. Alcina's body remained unmoving, her face unrecognizable and disfigured, please let her be alive.

The guards were saying something to each other but I could not make it out because my body had started burning, I am sure this man was an air type and the fire was most likely not from his attack, I looked at my clothing to see if they were alight too but there was nothing. The fire was getting intense and it was burning from within my flesh. I looked in mother's direction once more.

"She is gone" was all she managed to let out before bursting into a sob.

The guard in front of me unbuckled his belt lowering his pants and drew closer to me. No. Everything was going to hell, tears started spilling from my eyes. Alcina was dead. Alcina was dead I chanted because of them she was dead.

Suddenly rage took over once more, the fire burning from somewhere within me was getting intense, I could barely decrypt anything but bulging rage and the man in front of me whose hands had started groping my body.

"Burn in hell" the voice I recognized to be mine said, and he caught flames.