Game of Survival

by T R Tells

  Don’t risk your life for anyone, you’ll only be caught in the aftermath, Hel said. She appeared in front of Thea and she jumped, letting out a cry.

  Her eyes brimmed with tears and she shivered violently.

  “B-But I have to do something!” Thea stuttered. The tears that were in her eyes fell down her cheeks and she started to heave heavily as she started to hyperventilate. “Th-They’re going to die.”

  And what use will you be to them? You can do nothing, but snivel and cry in the corner. You will be a liability—Look what happened with your sister; you could do nothing.

  Thea flinched.

  Her face distraught and her eyes were red. Hel’s words stung deeply and a sharp pain entered in her gut. She was powerless like Hel said, what could she possibly do to help?

  Fight. Even if it seems like you’re outnumbered. Fight. A voice said into her head. Thea couldn’t discern the voice, but she knew that the voice was right.

  “N-No,” Thea stuttered. She slowly stood to her feet; Hel looked at her with a blank look on her face. Thea flinched and shrunk back from her gaze.

  What did you say?

  Thea pressed her back to the wall and gulped. “I-I’m going to save them. I don’t-don’t care what yous’ say.”

  You’ll regret that decision.

  Thea kept her back against the wall but still focused on Hel as the demon woman continued to stare at but did not move.

  Thea fumbled for the door handle, her breathing came out in quick rapid succession and swung the door open.

  She raced out the door, tripping several times, but did not lose her balance as she ran up the hill and to Twinleaf as fast as she could.

  ***

  Thea leaned her hands on her knees and took deep, uneven breaths. She started to dry heave and making unpleasant noises.

  She gasped and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Thea stared at the odd mush of throw up, her stomach did twists, and she had to look away to keep from throwing up. When Thea looked up, she did not expect the sight that awaited her in the center of town: a cluster of villagers on their knees and three armored men standing over them, blades in hand. Meanwhile, the other two grabbed the chins of the villagers and turned their heads roughly before letting go and moving on. She moved as quietly as she could, hiding behind bushes, and inching closer to hear what was going on.

  “. . . This seems like everyone,” a gruff male voice said. The Kingsland Guard and looked at the fearful crowd. “If any of you know who a Magi is, you best speak up now, if you wish to keep your lives.”.

  The villagers crowded together, holding onto one another, and looked from one person to another; wondering if someone would give them up to the Guards.

  As Thea watched, her attention was pulled when another Guard dragged a woman into the square by her hair. She screamed and cried as she pleaded with the guard to let her go, but he callously ignored her. He shoved her into the line, while a man slammed into the guard and punched him in the face.

  “Leave my wife alone, you monster! We haven’t done anything wrong!” the man roared.

  The guard sneered at him, as he wiped the blood from his nose. He drew his blade. The man was so focused on his wife that he didn’t notice the sword swinging at him. He gasped as it sliced through his jugular, killing him instantly. The wife screamed in agony as her husband’s dark red blood spurted from his neck and onto her face, soaking her. His head rolled away, hitting another woman in the line, who screamed.

  “Obviously there’s something your husband didn’t want us to know about you,” the guard snarled at her.

  She cried in protest as the guard drove his sword into her neck, without releasing her hair, and cleanly removed her head. He held up her head in triumph, glaring at the others in the square.

  "Anyone else care to be a hero?" He dared them to move, wanting an excuse to kill more of them. When no one moved, he tossed the woman's head in the crowd, and the villagers cried out in hysteria.

  Thea’s face paled as she watched the spectacle. She tried to move but found herself immobile to do anything.

  I told you that you wouldn’t be able to do anything.

  Thea gasped and turned around; the bushes rustled when she moved. A Guard, who was in close proximity, heard the noise but dismissed it like a wild animal.

  “But I can’t. . . They’re slaughtering them.” Thea whispered in a squeaky whine.

  And there’s nothing you can do if you don’t want to die.

  It didn’t take long for an idea to come up with an idea. “But you can.”

  A shiver ran down Thea’s spine, it was like she could sense Hel smiling.

  Are you sure? What happens next. . . Will be out of your control.

  Thea nodded, unaware of what Hel had in store.

  Do not say I didn’t warn you.

  ***

  Fear was a beautiful thing. It drove people to do the stupidest things, of which Hel had always found to be a tool. Taking any leverage, exploiting even the smallest sign of weakness can be the difference between being the predator or the prey. Hel was always the predator. Nervousness stirred in the back of her host’s mind, but she quickly shoved it aside.

  One would never expect a ten-year-old to be a threat, especially a full-grown adult in armor, but Hel’s possession over Thea’s body increased her strength significantly. She appeared from the bushes and stalked the guard who had beheaded that couple when his back was turned, she saw her opportunity.

  She went for the guard’s knee, in hopes of plunging the knife in the weak spot in the joint of the armor. However, she wasn’t as quick as he was, and the guard grabbed her by the collar of her dress. While most would be terrified in her situation, Hel was fully in charge and made her have no fear.

  The Kingsland Guard sneered at her and he reached for his sword. The villagers who saw the child stalk toward the Guard shriek in fear at what he might do to her.

  But without a second thought, she plunged her tiny knife into his wrist that gripped her hand. Blood instantly sprayed her. It covered her face, her hair and soaked into her dress. The guard dropped her, his sword still in his hand.

  He slashed his sword at her but merely nicked her arm. The pain caused panic to bubble up from her host; but as the adrenaline pumped through her veins, she allowed herself to be overpowered.

  She jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, putting him in a chokehold. There was no feeling better than that of a pulse slowly weakening as it is being extinguished. Choking the Mundane from behind wasn’t as much fun since the color draining from their face or the desperation in their eyes wasn’t visible to her.

  The villagers screamed as they took in who the child was and was terrified to imagine the innocent child, they had thought they knew.

  Another Kingsland Guard ran to defend his comrade and saw who the attacker was, he had a look of confusion when he saw who the enemy was. The guard went for his sword, hoping to plunge it into her heart, but he failed to draw his blade quick enough when she slashed at his knees. Amusement danced in her eyes as she saw him feebly fumbling for a weapon that was just out of reach.

  She stepped on his hand—hard—as he screamed in pain. The agonizing plea was soothing to her ears. In a desperate panic, he dug his nails into her leg and tried to pull her down to the ground. Blood flowed from where his nails dug into her flesh, but she did not falter

  Hel’s host stirred at the pain in an attempt to break free from the control, but she was far too weak.

  As soon as her host faded into the background, she plunged the sword into the man’s back. The man lurched forward and gasped, trying to claw at her leg one last time. (nice!) She twisted the sword’s pommel deeper into his chest and heard the satisfying squish of his flesh. When the life finally drained from his eyes, she released her hold, and a small puddle of blood slowly formed from underneath him.

  She cupped her hands, taking some of the blood, and trailed it down her face, slowly.
>
  Everything happened in slow motion and one by one the Kingsland Guards hit the ground. There was a madness in her eyes, her lips curved up menacingly in a half-snarl half-grin, and aside from her physical form, the crowd saw nothing mundane in the crimson monster standing before them.

  The terror that gripped the villager's hearts left them frozen in place. Through their cries of fear were muttered prayers, begging Thili, the Goddess of Protection, to keep this beast away from them. Several women in the crowd fainted; some even vomited, the acidic stench mixed with the coppery scent of blood, created a pungent smell. None of them had ever seen anything like this horrible scene playing out in front of them. While most of them were happy that the men who had assaulted their townspeople were dead, a pragmatic few had the thought that this could bring the law down upon them; but the small girl oozing with crimson ichor terrified them more than the law.

  ***

  Thea’s head throbbed, her arms and torso were on fire, and she was wet and sticky. She blinked and looked around, as she saw the faces of the others in Twinleaf, all looking at her in terror. She turned her head, but aside from a few burning buildings, she couldn’t see what would cause the amount of fear she’d seen in their eyes until she looked down. Now that every single Guard was dead, Hel left Thea, leaving only a tingling sensation in the back of her mind.

  Thea stood in a puddle of blood, flanked by dead Kingsland Guards, and blood flowed freely from several wounds.

  She blinked slowly, confused and exhausted.

  “W-What happened?” Thea asked meekly.

  She stared at her bloody hands and her vision was slightly dazed by it. Her skin paled at the sight.

  Many in the crowd flinched when she spoke as if her words could cut them down. Hel? What’s going on?

  You killed them; Hel lied. You managed to slay them all, without my help - I’m impressed. A smug satisfaction and sadistic glee radiated from Hel.

  “W-What?” Thea weakly said. She grabbed the sides of her head and she started crying. “No. No, that can’t be true. I didn’t. . . I couldn’t do all of this?”

  What is the matter? I thought you wanted to save the villagers. I thought you wanted to make the Guards pay. Did you not wish for death to befall upon them?

  Thea tried to regain her bearings, looking around at the bloody field around her, and squeaked out, “T-This. . . I didn’t want this.”

  A voice called out from the crowd: “What have you done?”

  “Do you know what you’ve done? The Kingsland Guards are going to come down on us for this!” With each word, he took another step, advancing menacingly on the confused and bloody girl.

  “I-I don’t know what happened! It wasn’t my fault!” Thea wept, diluting the blood smeared on her face and creating pink streaks rolling down her cheeks.

  Do not break down here! Hel yelled at her. Stop showing weakness to these people.

  “You’re a monster!” a brown-haired villager yelled. “They were only here because of you. You slaughtered them without a thought. What’s wrong with you?!” He leaned down and picked up a small stone from the ground. “You’re a monster, rotten to the core! You shouldn’t be here!” He threw the stone at Thea, hitting her in the shoulder.

  Thea cried out and stumbled back at the impact, she grabbed her arm and tripped over the dead guard.

  “Monster! You should have died instead of her!” one of the villagers shouted, pointing angrily at the woman the Kingsland Guards had killed earlier. He hurled another rock at Thea, striking her in the forehead as she tried to get up.

  Black spots clouded Thea’s vision and she pressed her hand to the right side of her head. The warm ooze of blood-soaked her fingertips, blood slowly leaked out of the wound and made it hard to see clearly.

  She wiped the blood with her hand and looked at her palm to see bright red blood.

  The others joined in, slowly at first, screaming at Thea that she was a monster, that she should be dead, along with many expletives she'd never heard before. Thea snapped her head up in time to see them with stones in her hand. Run you fool! She raised her arms defensively and picked up the edges of her skirts to make a run for it as they threw small stones at her.

  She flinched as a stone hit the small of her back, but she bit back a scream and continued to keep running.

  ***

  Thea barely remembered running down the hill back to her home. The village was six miles away and on any other given occasion would have been a brisk walk, but tonight it was agonizing to every part of Thea’s body. Her heart beat fast and her muscles ached—from her arm where she held the sword, to her thighs where she ran like a mad woman, and her forehead throbbed from where she struck.

  She fell face first into the dirt, scraping her knees in the process. She gritted her teeth trying her best to keep any sound from escaping.

  “H-Hel…Please, please, come back…” she begged for the demon to return to her, but, she did not respond as she usually did. Her vision, blurry from the tears, made her eyes sting for she realized once more that she was, yet again, alone.

  She laid there not daring to move so her muscles wouldn’t flare like fire in agony. Her lips trembled and she sniffed, Thea closed her eyes.

  She mumbled something under her breath and with aching strength she pushed her body up with her arms, digging her fingernails into the cold earth. She bent her knees, the bloody wound from her knees stinging, but she ignored it and lifted her entire body off the ground.

  She sucked in a breath and puffed out her chest. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were puffy, stained with tears, the sticky blood from her wound got in her eye, blinding her. She knew she couldn’t stay here.

  Dominya’s words echoed in her head, “You have to keep going, Thea. That’s the only way to survive. Keep moving forward.”

  Thea struggled to her feet as she repeated to herself, over and over, “Keep moving forward. . . Keep surviving and moving forward. . .”

  ***

  When Thea awoke to the sun shining through the window of her little home, she found herself on the floor right next to the dark piss stain. Her muscles were tight, and her body ached when she moved, reminding her of last night’s events. The smell of iron wafted up to her nose, her clothes covered in blood, and her body reeked of a strong stench. She lifted her shirt to scrutinize the details she couldn’t see the other night, where she found a cut so deep it was near the bone on her bicep, along with several different cuts of varying severity. The majority of her body covered in dark purple bruises, from the stones and the fights with the Kingsland Guards.

  She limped over to the cabinet by the wall and opened the draw to find a needle and thread. Her hands were shaking as she stared at the splintered wooden needle and carefully aimed the thread into the tiny hole. She had to attempt it several times before the thread slipped through.

  Thea brought the thread to her teeth and snapped the thread from the spool.

  She brought the needled thread to her skin where her hands trembled, and her eyes stared at the dry blood that stuck to her skin. She had sewn through all manner of things, but never through flesh. A soft gasp escaped her lips, knowing she couldn’t wait any longer, and quickly stuck the needle into her skin.

  She let out a whimper and flinched as the tip pierced her flesh. She bit her lip and pushed her hand further so that the needle could slide through her skin. Thea let out a cry, lifting her head, and a tear rolled out of her eye.

  Her vision flickered for a moment. She winced and saw a spray of blood flying from a guard's throat, completely covering her. It flashed again, and she saw her hand holding a sword as it swiped at the knees of an armored man. Thea's stomach twisted in tight knots as sickness and fear clung to her.

  She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and continued to sew through the open wound, despite the excruciating pain. She felt a lingering pressure in the back of her mind and knew that it was Hel.

  “You left me,” Thea croaked, her voice hoar
se from not using it. “I could have died.”

  But you didn’t. I told you that you could have died, but you surprised me by what you did. You should feel victorious. Hel told her as Thea stuck the needle through her skin for the fourth time.

  “I-I don’t feel victorious. . . I don’t remember,” Thea said, her lip quivered. “W-What happened, Hel? I remember asked you for—” Thea gasped, and her eyes widened as she realized the truth.

  You asked me and I helped. I told you that you might regret it, I helped you survive, not your sister. You trust no one, but me—Now go and bathe, you reek. And Eat something; you’ll need to regain your strength.

  Chapter Three

  The Month of Leaffall, Year 657 of Ya’skr

  It had been three months since the Kingsland Guards took Dominya. Thea had survived eating what food remained in the house, but when the food ran out, she had to leave or as Hel liked to put, fending for herself.

  She left the home that she had grown up in and had, for most of her memories, when nightfall had graced the sky’s presence. She didn’t want villagers to see her leaving when she passed through Twinleaf and while she thought of going to other towns that headed further south, Hel had convinced her that rumors might have spread, and they would be waiting for Thea with armed weapons.

  Thea flinched. The pain in her body was slowly starting to subside, but every so often, like the cut on her forehead, she would immense pain.

  It would be a long three-day trip to Kingsland.

  The first nights were the loneliest, at the very least, she had stayed in her house in her own bed for the first few months; she missed Dominya tucking her in and singing her to sleep. However, now she was in the open woods, surrounded by darkness, and nothing but the light of the stars to illuminate light.

  “What are we going to do in Kingsland once we’re there?” Thea asked, one night, she had become slightly more accustomed sleeping on the beads of grass but every so often the sounds of nature would make her alert and jump in a state of fear.