A History to Be Feared

"Reetreeeeaaaat", Klyne heard from afar.

He turned around and made a dash towards the South. As he ran, he felt the exhaustion build in his legs and lungs as his mind raced. He was trying to circulate mana through his legs but he felt like he'd already run 10 miles. Everything was racing by him so fast but he felt like he couldn't go fast enough to get away.

"SSCCCCRRRRRRRCCCHHH", sounded only 20 feet to Klyne's right.

He dived toward a nearby tree for cover and hit his right shoulder against the bark. His sword fell feet in front of him.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!!", a sobbing scream could be heard from the same direction.

After it stopped, Klyne continued running, trees flying past him. It was afternoon and he felt the heat of the sun on his right shoulder, he knew he was still running in the right direction.

'Where do I go!!? Damnit, where am I supposed to go!!!??? Where the fuck is my team!! God! Jacob was ripped in half! I saw it! His arm was grabbed and he was dragged. There was a growl and another beast grabbed his leg and..!!!'

"Hey Boy!!", he heard from his right.

In a hurried stop, he turned and spotted a man with a long mustache ducked in a trench -- six soldiers kneeled beside him, all eyes trained on him.

"Get over here!", he yelled.

Klyne, now paused in the open, stood mindless in front of the figure.

"I said to get here!!"

Klyne shocked out of his stupefied state, took off, kicking back mud and propelling himself as quick as possible. It took him seconds to reach the trench, jump over the side, and duck. He was now on his butt, curled up and shaking.

"Are you a messenger?"

"...no", Klyne said, still shaking.

"This is important, so speak up!!", the man yelled.

Klyne looked shocked at the man, before responding, "No, sir! I'm not!"

"Which team are your from, then?"

"Jacob Team..., sir."

An audible gasp circulated about the group of soldiers kneeled beside the man.

In a low tone, the tall man said, "That was secondary offense..."

After a moment, he continued, "...where is Jacob now?"

In the same low-tone, Klyne responded, "...I saw him... get eaten, sir."

Klyne, still looking at the man noticed his face furrow and teeth clench in frustration.

Another moment passed before the man continued, "Jacob team no longer exists so you will join mine. I am Captain Drew, captain of the primary defense team."

Raising his head, he looked to the kneeled soldiers, "Men, you all know the situation! If secondary offense has fallen, that means the primary offense has, too. This is regrettable, but not unexpected; and our jobs continue. We are to ensure that no mana beast makes it past us and to civilization. Do you understand!!"

"Yes, sir!", they all said in unison.

"What's your name?", Captain Drew asked.

"Klyne..., sir."

"Can you still fight?"

"I don't know, sir"

"Recht, check him."

"Sir!", Recht, a young boy, exclaimed in acknowledgement.

Still low, the boy made his way across the circular trench toward Klyne. He tugged open his coat and checked his shirt, once he saw no blood, he continued.

"Lean forward", the boy asked.

As Klyne leaned forward, he heard the boy gasp.

"Shit! I see a lot of blood. A pretty bad abrasion, but no swelling; I don't think he has any broken bones."

"Look, Klyne, I need you to fight, running is no longer an option.", Captain Drew responded.

"Where is your weapon?", the captain asked.

"I dropped it."

"Victor, get him something."

"A large-man kneeling beside a stack of crates and weapons asked, "What did you use."

"Sword, mid-size.", Klyne responded.

Victor grabbed a sword and handed it to Recht, the boy who'd checked him earlier; in one fluid movement, he set the sword next to Klyne before moving back to his original location.

"Victor, Theo, Orym, and I will stand 50 feet to the South East. On my command, Recht, Arlo, Aywin, and Klyne, will rush out and launch a pincer on any mana beasts we engage. Arlo, Recht, you're our fastest, so when you rush, beeline for the East before turning back and attacking their flank -- we want to have them surrounded. Do you all understand!?"

"Yes, sir!", they said in unison.

"Right! Those I named, on me.", Captain Drew said before proudly standing up and jumping out of the trench.