The After - End 05

He has never run like this in his life. He could recall when he was little and a boar had pursued him to the end of the forest where he had jumped into the ocean causing the boar to turn away from him as he couldn’t get in the water. Glancing behind, he noticed that he was still being followed. The hot breeze blew through his heavily sweat salted hair. Arrows continued to fizzle past but he was able to dodge very quickly. Breathing heavily, he kept running, though overwhelmingly tired, he pushed himself to keep moving. As he did so, more reflections roamed into his mind.

I should just surrender, they will take me to my family. He began to slow his pace.

His parent's words echoed in his head and kept replaying.

It's no use going after them, there's nothing you can do

I need to save my family, he protested

You don't have what it takes to save them, I know you would never have the gut

I will try everything. His conviction spiked his vigor and he increased his pace

They are better off with him than with you...you will kill them with your own hands, the same way, you've killed me

No, I won't, I will not repeat the same mistake. He countered.

He looked ahead and noticed that the narrow path he had navigated to, led to a sharp corner. At the same time, he felt a hard push on his back that almost made him fall. Quickly regaining his composure, he turned abruptly to see that the archers were gaining grounds, getting ridiculously closer to him. As he increased his pace, he removed the satchel and noticed that it has been destroyed with the feathered arrows released from the archers.

They wanted me dead but why? he was puzzled. If not for the satchel he would have been hit and

probably dead.

On the spur of the moment, he thought out an escape plan. He tossed the ruined bag to the dirt, drew his hood over his head, and entered into the thick bush to hide.

As their fast running steps got closer, his heart began to pound faster to the extent that they both made a rhythm. He bit his lower lip to hold back his shriek and shut his eyes. Trying to stay calm as his life depended on being very still. The two men ran by, but one of them noticed the bag on the floor with the feathered arrows. He ran back and called his partner. They stood by the corner and checked the surrounding. He quietly watched them target arrows into the bush while they wait to probably hear an outcry. Hearing nothing of the like, they picked up the satchel destroyed by their arrows from the dirt and examined it closely.

"I think he is wounded," one of them said

"Nah, It's just a scratch. There's no blood"

"He can't be that far," the other archer said as he glanced around nonchalantly.

Peeping up at them from the dense leaves, he studied them and tried to pay attention to their conversation.

They both looked hefty, have this rugged look that spoke ‘don’t-cross-me’ instead of toughness. He assumed that they were vicious more brutal than the brute riders. Pleading with them was out of the subject. The uniform they had on, showed that they worked for the Grand master. It was a black uniform adorned with red buttons that had the grand master symbol on it - it was of a crooked owl crest. The shirt had no sleeves, their muscles flexed as

they moved their hands and made gestures with the bag. One of the them had an ugly scar on his forearm which made him look more ruthless than the other one.

He knew he had to stay put in his hideout, he could not even overpower one let alone the two of them. With no further hesitation or doubt, they both took off to find him. While they took off, he reasoned that it was not wise for him to come out of hiding in the daylight so, he decided to wait till dark.

And a moonless night with no stars, everywhere was in total darkness. The trees could not be seen as

they were all covered in dark shadows. He came out of his hiding. Having stretched he took in a deep puff of hot air. The air was dry and he was getting parched. He doubted if any river was close. Treading on instinct, he walked slowly as his black habit camouflaged him from the dangers of the night. He ambled on slowly into the dark with so much care and precision, his eyes later readjusted to the darkness. He was able to notice his surroundings, the dark trees, and the creeping creatures hanging on them. Suddenly a prickly feeling crept up the back of his neck, and fear seeped into his mind, this happens when he was being watched. He glanced back but saw only darkness. The prickling moved to the back to his head and then back to his neck, the hair there stood uprightly on goosebumps. His mind became unsettled, he stood for a moment to hear and decipher any sound but he couldn't hear any sound. Then all of a sudden, an owl cooed. He jumped in fear and started to walk very quickly.

After covering many miles, he searched for a place to rest but could not see any shelter. He lifted his

face to the sky in resignation and signed heavily. Then from afar, he noticed red light reflected in the sky. As he rambled on feeling uneasy about the light he caught sight of, instead of retreating he moved

forward using the light reflected on the sky as a guide. His next obvious destination.

It seemed like a fire is blazing.

He followed the blazing light that kept reflecting on the sky, every step he took brought him nearer and closer to a great town. It was different from his village. The wall and buildings had been made from bricks and they had drawings on them but they were all colored in black, the city had a gate, although it was opened wide. The gate looked heavy and very tall, more than the height of a man and it was made with metals. He touched the walls and his palm was stained with a black slimy coat. He didn't know what it was but he rubbed the stain off on his clothes.

Scrambling around, the walls holding the gate stood, but others surrounding the city had crumbled and own and everywhere was deserted. There was no single soul in sight, or corpse lying around. Many chariots and carriages lay by the side covered in the same dark and slimy substance.

It looked like the town has been abandoned for a long time but why is the fire still burning everywhere, could there have been a firestorm, such a disaster hasn't happened for decades.

What's with the sticky stuff anyway?He swapped the stain from one of the carriages with his index finger and sniffed it. The dark substance smelled of sulfur and brimstone. He wondered if this animosity was demonstrated by the brute riders or the Grand Master himself.

“But the whole town, where are the people? They might have been taken as prisoners,” he concluded.

This injustice ought to stop.

Despite his misgivings, he kept moving through the deserted town, it was like an invisible force was pulling him through the town. Though, he struggled to turn back, but the force constrained him to move on.

On getting to the center of the town square, he noticed a lean person with chopped brown hair standing on its ends being burnt at a stake. Cautiously, he moved close and examined the carcass at the stake. His forehead knotted with frowns and his eye bulged shockingly as soon as he recognized the person.

For it was his wife.