The Lone Soldier

Marie peered out the window of a building she hid in while her heart pounded furiously in her chest. She watched helplessly as the green cloaked invaders continued their advance down the street below. They fought well together as they moved as one cohesive unit. Soldiers attempted to hold them back with swords and shields, but the invaders were far too formidable. Each soldier they encountered was swiftly dispatched without mercy. They cut people down like wheat with scythes. Marie shuddered at the sight. She knew that they were all essence users which made them all the more frightening. No average soldier could stand up against them.

"Is it that bad?"

Marie turned to look at the old woman who lay on the bed in the corner of the room. Her skin was pale and waxy thin, giving the impression that she might just crumble to dust at any moment. The woman appeared weak, frail almost as if death itself was going to consume her at any moment. Even now she struggled to move her head to gaze at Marie.

"Yes," she replied, "it looks hopeless."

The woman smiled sadly, "I see... You should hurry and leave then."

Marie shook her head, "I can't, I would be spotted by them. And I can't just up and abandon you. If I go, you're at least coming with me."

"No, I won't leave until my son returns..."

She closed her eyes and sighed wearily, "he'll be out there now somewhere, fighting in that mess."

Marie looked back out of the damp window. The invaders were now directly beneath them. She counted at least twenty of them.

Across from the invaders stood a small force of soldiers. They formed a defensive line along the street and faced the advancing invaders. Though they stood valiantly, the fear in the soldier's faces was palpable. Without warning, a soldier dropped his weapon and fled, running for dear life. A second later, another followed suit. Soon after, the line broke as soldiers began abandoning the fight. Eventually, only a lone soldier remained standing in defiance of the invaders.

"Cowards..." Marie muttered under her breath. She called the fleeing soldiers cowards but couldn't help feeling ashamed herself. What was she doing? Staying here when a person needed help. She had to do something. But what though? she didn't know how to fight. All she did was tend to her farm and take care of the animals. She'd never even seen real combat before.

"What should I do?" Marie asked, more to herself than anyone else.

"You should fight."

Marie turned to look at the old woman again, "I can't, I'm useless."

The woman's voice was faint and raspy as she spoke, barely audible over the sound of rain falling, "you are not useless, you're a knight. You've got the strength, determination and courage to make a difference. Don't give up hope yet. You can fight."

Marie looked back out of the window. The lone soldier fought a single invader, swinging his blade wildly trying to keep him at bay. The rest of the invaders had formed a circle around the two men. Marie's hand pressed against the glass as she watched the battle go on. The soldier fought bravely but was clearly outmatched. He was eventually going to fall.

"Alright." Marie said as she rose from the floor. "Alright, I'll fight."

Marie walked over to the bedside of the woman and clutched her hand tightly, "thank you for steeling my resolve. Hopefully I'll survive so that I can make it up to you. But I guess this will do for now."

Marie then manifested two loafs of bread out of thin air and placed them on the table next to the bed.

"What's this?"

"It's for you and your son. I know he will return to you safely."

A smile spread across the old woman's face, "Be careful amd fight smart."

Marie took a deep breath and turned to look at the window. There was no time to waste, she thought as she started running straight at it. The window shattered into many pieces upon impact as Marie jumped through into the cold open air. For a moment, she hung suspended in mid-air, looking down at the battle. In an instant, her longsword materialised in her hand. She pointed the sword downward as she plummeted down towards the ground.

Her sword found its target as she drove the blade into the shoulder of the invader the soldier had been fighting. She crashed into the man hard enough that he fell to the ground. With one swift motion, she grunted as she pulled her weapon free from the shoulder and drove it back down into the man's chest. As the body slumped, Marie scrambled to her feet and lunged at the nearest invader. Luckily the invader she had lunged at was still stunned by her sudden appearance and couldn't react quick enough to stop her blade from reaching his neck. He died without a chance to cry out.

Before anyone else could react, Marie squeezed her essence core and let her essence envelop her body. She then formed dozens of clucking chickens from her essence . Her new creations rushed forward to peck and attack any nearby enemies. Their claws ripped flesh as they attacked their prey. The invaders struggled to defend themselves from the onslaught of poultry. One of the invaders managed to get close enough to strike at Marie, but one of her newly summoned chicken companions intercepted the blow. Marie backed away and used more of her essence to form a hulking pig this time. The creature oinked and snorted as it charged at the invader. The pig quickly knocked down the attacker and proceeded to eat at his face, tearing off chunks of meat. His screams filled the sky as the pig tore him apart.

With all her new minions wreaking havoc on the invaders, Marie moved among them, striking with her sword whenever possible. She killed three more invaders before she noticed the remaining soldier who hadn't fled earlier. He stood alone, surrounded by four of the invaders.

She ran towards him and raised her sword high above her head but an invader struck first. A spear pierced the side of her torso and threw her backward. She hit the ground hard and rolled onto her hands and knees. Warm blood trickled down her stomach. She gasped for breath as pain coursed through her entire body.

The invader that had attacked her, a human woman, loomed over her. She kicked Marie in the head sending her sprawling unto her back. Marie coughed uncontrollably as she lay there helpless. Blood dripped steadily from her mouth and nose. The invader stepped closer and mounted her. She wrapped her legs around Marie's waist and held her down while she unleashed punch after punch.

Marie tried desperately to summon more animals but each blow made her mind go blank. They smashed into her face like rocks. After what felt like forever, the invader finally stopped her barrage. She sat upright, breathing heavily. Marie opened her eyes just in time to see the invader pull a knife. It glinted brightly in the rain as the invader brought it down into Marie's gut. Marie screamed and thrashed about as the invader stabbed repeatedly into her abdomen. Pain exploded throughout her whole being. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she writhed in agony.

Marie was desperate now. She didn't want to die. But yet death seemed inevitable here. All hope left her as the knife kept on being plunged into her. No matter how much she resisted or thrived, nothing would stop this. She wanted to scream but only tears came forth instead. And then suddenly something strange happened; a calmness settled over her. If she was going to die then so be it. Letting herself slip into unconsciousness wasn't such a bad idea. This way she wouldn't feel the pain anymore. Death sounded nice right now…

"NO!"

A voice rang out loud. Something inside her snapped and everything changed. If she was going to die, then she would at least take this bitch with her to the grave.

In one fluid movement, Marie shot up with both her hands and grabbed hold of the invader's throat. Startled, the invader dropped her blood soaked knife. She looked shocked as Marie tightened her grip on her neck. Marie's skinny arms began bulging as they grew larger than normal. Muscles swelled beneath her skin. She felt unnaturally strong. The invader's eyes widened as she clawed futilely at Marie's fingers as she strained against this new found strength.

Suddenly, the invader gave a violent jerk as Marie snapped her neck backwards. The invader's head whipped violently around as her neck broke. Then, with a final spasm, her body collapsed atop Marie. For several long seconds, Marie lay there unmoving as the invader slowly slid off of her.

The strength that Marie had a moment ago, suddenly faded away. She panted and trembled as she struggled to stay awake. She couldn't actually believe she had won that fight. Now she just needed to hurry and find a medic or-

Another invader was aproaching her. This one brandished a broadsword menacingly.

Marie's vision swam as she watched the man come closer. With no other option available to her, she closed her eyes and waited for the end to come.

Squelch!

Something wet and warm splattered across Marie's cheek. She willed her heavy eyelids to open again and saw that the invader's head had been squished. A red skinned woman stood over the now corpse of the invader.

It was K'thlara. She had come.