GTQ: The story
- Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:24pm
Thread Topic: GTQ: The story
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(hehe Stockland, very good though)
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Ah,still great the second time I read this.
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Chapter 4
The streets were as empty as before. A slight drizzle had started to come down and left the world seeming grayer than it did already. The light plinking sound of the rain hitting their armor seemed to fill the air around them and the uncomfortable silence with a numbing white noise. Ben trudged forward with the two ladies following behind him. Murky water pooled up in the roads as they sloshed back out onto the main streets. Most of the herds of people had dissipated in the weather; taking refuge wherever they could. The three calmly walked out of the city, giving a simple curt nod towards the guards at the walls. Behind them, a peasant tried to follow, but was stopped and pinned against the ground at sword point. Ana had to force herself not to turn back and look. The sound of armor clattering and the soft impact of his body hitting a wall echoed in her mind. The rain started to pickup into a steady down pour.
As they approached the camp, the two girls finally got an idea of its immensity. Tents stood as far as the eye could see. Some seemed small and meager while others could fit entire houses inside them. As they walked in what seemed like a quiet part of the camp, Ben whispered to the two girls in a voice that could only barely be heard over the rain.
"No matter what you see here you have to promise me that you won't blow your cover."
"We promise." The girls chimed together.
"And if anything goes wrong, we meet back at the camp. Understood?"
"Well how bad could it be?" asked Alice.
Bens answer was cut short by Ana's silent gasp.
They had reached the edge of the camp.
Row after row of dark figures sat kneeling in the mud. Heavy chains around their necks tethered each of them to an individual post. Some were shaking in the cold. Others were visibly injured. They all stared blankly at the ground in front of them; their soaked clothes sticking to their starving bodies. A single guard walked calmly through the rows, watching each of the prisoners in passing. Ben approached him.
"My commanding officer requests two specific prisoners."
The guard stopped walking.
"And which two would that be?" He asked. Staring at Ben, noticeably agitated.
"My soldiers know the faces. We request permission to search the ranks."
"Permission granted"
With that, Ben motioned the two girls to come search. They looked through the lines of hollowed, empty faces and vague expressions that neither of the girls could place. Distant memories of these people peddling goods on the streets of Blanc started to come back to the girls. These people weren't from their village. Ben started to realize this as well. -
"Excuse me, sir." He asked. "Where are the prisoners from the conscription a few weeks ago?"
A scowl formed on the guards face.
"They were taken to hear the song three days ago."
Ben froze. His look of horror hidden behind his mask.
"Shouldn't you have already known that?" Asked the guard; suspicion building behind every word.
"Y-yes." Said Ben; his voice audibly shaken. "I understand."
"Hold up," said the guard. "who's your commanding officer?"
Ben stood still for a moment. A reliable lie was not coming to him quickly enough. The guard started to reach for his sword when Ben threw himself forward, hitting the guard with a solid head-butt. His momentum, knocking the guard off his feet, carried Ben forward into a run.
"RUN!" He shouted back at the girls, running towards the tree line.
They looked at each other, and then back at the guard as he hit the ground. Getting over their shock, they started sprinting after Ben. Alarms in the camp started to sound, and the sound of clattering armor could be heard over the now pouring rain.
The three of them sprinted frantically towards the tree line. Shouts and clanging grew steadily closer and closer. The whistle of arrows flew past their heads. Ben stooped down, grabbed a rock, jumped, spun and threw it without breaking pace. The rock whizzed past Anas head and hit something with a wet smack. There was a gasp of pain, followed by something heavy crashing to the ground.
Alice started to slip between two branches when someone grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away but the slick muddy ground only made her slide. She elbowed back and clipped someones nose. The shock made the attacker lose their grip and Alice's foot found a root. With this new leverage she was able to pull free and dart into the trees. She sprinted as far as she could until she couldn't breathe. Only once she hid in the roots of a tall tree did she realize that she had lost Ana and Ben.
Ana's armor was not meant for someone her size and that was becoming apparent. Her helmet had fallen off during their running and now as she darted between low hanging branches, cuts and scratches formed on her cheeks and neck. She had lost sight of Alice but Ben was still in her view. She tucked her head down to avoid another low branch when her foot got caught in a rut in the ground and her ankle twisted with a juicy pop. She slid through the wet leaves and came to a stop as her head cracked into a root. Ana blacked out. -
Ben heard her crash to the ground and skidded to a stop. He turned back around and raced back towards her. He crouched over her limp body with panic in his face.
"Come on, Ana. Come on!"
The sound of people rushing towards them was growing steadily louder. He slapped her cheek lightly but got no response. He put his hands behind her head and under her body and pulled her up over his shoulder. He turned back around and started running deeper into the woods and away from the sound of people. As he ran, he looked down at the hand that he had put behind her head.
It was covered in blood. -
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