4 The Bloodbath
Rain was pouring down as children were staring wide eyed with terror etched upon their faces. Some children were trapped under the rubble where Teiyo had been standing before he had been blown back. Teiyo looked around him and noticed bodies crushed under massive rocks, some were even impaled by the rubble. Screams of children filled the air but Teiyo couldn't hear anything. The loud explosion from before was still ringing in his ears. Teiyo was completely frozen.
"SEIZE OR KILL THE CHILDREN! I'LL TAKE CARE OF THE MARKSMEN!"
A man in the front with a diagonal scar was roaring on top of his lungs.
"REMEMBER, ALL MUST DIE!"
The cloaked figures slid down the rubble and started massacring the children. Children started running past Teiyo, frantically trying to get away. The figures shot arrows that pierced through the children. Figures jumped to the entrance and killed any children trying to escape. They were now blocking the entrance, making their intention clear: no one will escape alive.
Teiyo snapped into reality.
'I NEED TO RUN'
'I NEED TO ESCAPE!'
These were the only words forming in Teiyo's mind. Teiyo looked around and saw a tiny hole under the rubble that led out of the arena. A glimmer of hope!
In sheer desperation, Teiyo completely ignored the countless bodies that he was jumping over. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a high-pitched scream.
"S-SOMEONE HELP ME!
An arrow whizzed past Teiyo right in front of him. If he was a step closer, his head would have been dead. Teiyo turned in the scream's direction and saw a cloaked figure choking a purple haired girl in the air. A couple of more cloaked figures were standing behind, laughing.
Teiyo watched as the girl struggled to break free.
'She needs help, she's gonna die!'
'But… If I go help her, I'll die…I'm sorry... "
Teiyo turned around and started for the hole.
"Hey, boys let's have fun with this one," the man lowered the girl and turned her upside down and held her by both legs. "Let's tear this one limb by limb."
The cloaked figures at the back howled with laughter.
The man turned to the others, "Poor thing, could've grown up to be a looker. I'll start with the l-"
"AGHHHHHHHH"
Teiyo rushed at the man with a large rock in his hand. He threw it at the back of the man's head and full body tackled him. The girl fell down and hit her head on the floor, which knocked her out cold.
"You little-"
The man grabbed Teiyo and punched him in the nose, breaking it. He grabbed Teiyo and threw him on the ground.
"Let's have fun with this one instead. He thinks he's a hero, eh?"
He kicked Teiyo in the ribs as he yelled out in pain. The others joined in and started kicking him over and over again.
"How're his bones not breaking?"
"Screw this, let's stretch him out."
Each man grabbed one of Teiyo's limbs and stretched them out. Then, one of the men grabbed a huge rock and placed it on Teiyo's chest. Teiyo screamed in pain as he was being pulled from every direction and the huge rock was crushing him. One of the men took a knife and carving random symbols on Teiyo's body.
Teiyo's voice was gone from all the screaming, and the men got bored from all the silence.
The rock was finally raised from his chest and thrown away.
"Alright, that's enough fun."
Something told Teiyo that this was his final few moments.
'I'm gonna die'
'I'm gonna die'
'I don't wanna die'
'I don't wanna die'
'I don't-'
'I don't-'
'Wanna die-"
'I DON'T WANNA DIE!'
The only thought that formed in Teiyo was the desperation to live, followed by intense rage on his helplessness, on his weakness. Teiyo didn't care how, he just wanted to live.
"...I'm….n-not... dying... h-here…." croaked Teiyo.
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"I think he's finally cracked!"
The men howled with laughter.
Thunder boomed and rain fell even heavier than before.
Something deep and sinister was growing inside Teiyo's chest. He felt himself fading away into unconsciousness.
30 MINUTES LATER:
"There's two children alive here!"
A woman said as she checked Teiyo and the girl's vital signs.
The arena was filled with bodies of children and adults alike. The rain had stopped pouring and puddles of blood and water were left.
Two men on horses with carts behind them arrived quickly.
"Really? How bad are their injurie-", one of the men stopped as he gasped. "What happened here?".
"I'm not sure," replied the woman. "It seems like the attackers were brutally murdered by someone- no, something. There are body parts everywhere. It's sickening to be honest. No human could do this.
"Do you think these children did it?"
"No way. The boy has serious injuries. He has a broken nose and many bruised ribs. He has cuts all over his body and could have died of severe blood loss if I hadn't patched him up right now. The girl seems to only have a concussion. Besides, these children just awakened their marks. They can't even summon it yet."
"Yeah, you're right. Let's take these both back and get them patched up."
A WEEK LATER:
"Is the boy awake now?"
"Yes, sir. He woke up a few days ago."
"Can I have a word with him now?"
"Yes, but please keep it short. He still hasn't recovered fully."
Knock Knock.
Teiyo heard knocks on his door.
"Hello Teiyo? A special guest is here to visit you."
'What? A guest?'
"Uh-... Sure!"
The door to his infirmary room opened and a tall man (taller than Eyota) with fair skin entered the room. He had an angular face with a pointed chin and rosy cheeks. He had grey angular eyes matched with his dark black hair then reached to his shoulders. He was wearing a brown shirt with a white cloak wrapped around it. He seemed to have a serious yet kind feel to him.
"Greetings, Teiyo. I hope you are doing well. I believe we've met before". His voice was calm and collected, as opposed to Eyota's rough and sharp voice.
"Sir! I-i don't think we have met."
Teiyo was covered in bandages from head to toe. He was told that he had been very lucky and had recovered most of his injuries in a week. Teiyo always had a quick recovery period.
"Ah, I must be getting old then," his eyes clearly disagreed. "Let me introduce myself, I'm the tribe's Aurorai."
Teiyo's mouth was wide open. 'The Aurorai? The strongest marksman in the tribe?' admired Teiyo silently.
"I'm here to talk to you about what happened that night," he continued.
Memories about the cold and painful day flooded back into Teiyo. He froze with fear as he imagined the pain he endured in that moment and how he almost died.
"Hey! Stay with me, boy!" Teiyo snapped back into focus. "I'm sorry, we can try this conversation later. Only a few of you survived but I believe you have something more to share. The faster you tell me about this, the quicker you'll be able to move on and become stronger."
The Aurorai turned to the door and opened it.
"Wait! I'll tell you!" decided Teiyo.
The Aurorai turned and smiled. It seemed like he knew exactly what buttons to press to get what he wanted from Teiyo.
Teiyo, slowly and painfully, retold the Aurorai every detail since the start of the ceremony.
"The thing is, I don't remember what happened after the men decided to finish me off. Everything faded into black and I woke up here."
"Hmm… I see," he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Alright, thanks for telling me what happened. The girl you saved is doing just fine and left the infirmary a few days earlier. And your friend, Avonaco, was it? He seemed to have escaped safely as well."
Teiyo sighed with relief.
