Rated PG for violence. You can check my portfolio to see the other chapters. Enjoy!
Chapter 3- Battle of Suffering
Tor was the first to attack the girl, his defensive attitude taking over. He shot a gust of wind ahead of him in order to stun her before he attacked. His technique worked, and he grabbed her arm and spun her to the ground. As he was about to attack again, his foot was suddenly captured by a vine. It pulled his leg sharply into the ground, and he fell over. Similar vines crept over his body, entangling the struggling figure in a mass of green ivy. The girl stood up and faced the group.
Tenion and Earth attacked at once, fighting to protect their 7 year old brother. Tenion’s flame kept the girl’s plants at bay as Viti outmatched her in physical combat. But Tenion soon found himself thrown into a tree, leaving a large dent in it. The unconscious body fell to the ground. The girl turned around and used thorns to stun Viti as she tangled her and her brother in vines, as she had with Tor.
Crystal dashed out, and began firing a barrage of icy blasts. The girl was frozen, but she broke out and struck her to the ground. Cerulea quickly approached her sister and placed her hands carefully on her. Within seconds, Crystal was fighting again. The girl, however, distracted Crystal with a large vine as she tangled Cerulea. She then turned and summoned a storm of vines to entangle Crystal.
She turned to the only two people she had yet to trap: the 7 year old Rhys and the injured Liat. Neither would be able to fight her.
The girl smirked as she charged an orb of energy in her palms and fired the blast at Liat. The light enveloped the area.
The light faded, revealing the result of her blast.
Rhys lay there, beaten up by the blast.
“Wha-“ The girl began, but Rhys interrupted her.
“You won’t…” He said “Kill…Liat…”
The boy kept breathing, the girl staring at him.
A pain suddenly pierced her chest, and she fell to the ground, dead.
Liat stood behind her, one of her thorns in hand. He ran over to Rhys.
“Are you alright?” He said, holding the boy’s head up.
“Get them out of the vines…” He replied. Liat obeyed, and used the girl’s knife to cut the others free.
“Rhys!” Tenion and Viti screamed together. The boy’s breathing was strained.
“Guys…” He said “Thank you…for being there for me...”
“Rhys!” Tenion screamed “No! Don’t die!”
“It isn’t your fault…” He said. Tenion and Viti could feel the life slip out of the boy as his breathing stopped.
Rhys was dead.
Viti and Tenion looked back at the cross that marked their brother’s grave. They had ventured to the location where their older brother had died and buried Rhys next to him. They continued walking away, to the exit of the forest.
Crystal, meanwhile, looked back sadly at the mourning siblings. Viti’s braid was floating along with the rest of her dark, brown hair, and tears fell from her otherwise bright green eyes. Tenion’s eyes were already dark brown, but they almost had no color in them anymore. His black hair rested in the middle of his neck, not flowing back, despite their walking.
The branches hung particularly low in this area, and Tor’s light brown, spiky hair brushed against the branches. His pale brown eyes were stained with tears, no different from Liat’s. Liat had always wondered why he and his brother, twins, looked so different. Liat’s hair was dark brown and flat, unlike his brother’s. His eyes also were virtually black. Everything Liat was, his brother was not, and everything he wasn’t, Tor was.
Crystal, meanwhile, seemed strangely cheerful. Her blonde, curly hair floated briskly in the wind, and her teal eyes didn’t even have one tear. Cerulea sharply contrasted her, her hair strait, dark, and put into a pony tail.
Cerulea walked in front of the group, not daring to catch eye contact with anybody. Liat pretended to see the exit, rushing ahead, then stopped and said that it wasn’t there. He looked back at Cerulea, and managed to catch eye contact for a couple of seconds. Her dark blue eyes caught his, and they just stared as they walked on. Cerulea looked away, and the walked on. Little did anybody know that this fake gesture would change their entire adventure so dramatically.
“Look!” Tor said “The exit!” He was right. The doors stood open, welcoming the group. They ran to the exit, their feet pounding on the ground like a stampede of wild hogs. They all halted when they exited the doors. The man from before was there with a clip board.
“Congratulations,” the man said “You guys are the 73rd through 78th to make it out. Names, please?”
“Tor Tuolone.” Tor said quickly, a broad smile across his face. Oh, yeah! Who’s the best? Me!
