by T Ariyanna
“Great, we got another martyr. Look, kid, there ain't no way in hell I'm dealing with that shit again, so get a move on.” The demon grabbed Void's arm and yanked him to his feet. He pulled Void out of the cell, the girl close behind. As much as Void tried fighting, it only proved how weak the starvation had made him.
Void walked weakly beside the demon as they wandered through the dungeon with no clear objective. “Do you know if Crestyss keeps anything down here? Anything special?” the girl asked, smiling widely at Void. He shook his head frantically, shrinking away from her. He bumped into the demon and froze, expecting retaliation. The demon gave him a quizzical look, so he just continued walking.
Void stared at the ground in front of them while the other two looked at everything they passed. “We're never going to find it at this rate. The others can’t buy us time forever. Hey, kid, if you know anything, you better start talking.”
The demon shook Void gently, and he cringed under the movement. “I don't know anything, I swear. Nothing at all.” He tangled his fingers in his hair, threatening to rip it out.
The girl placed her hand on his arm, and he glanced at her. “It's okay. He's just stressed. We understand you were probably locked in there a while. We're looking for a book, or scroll, we think. Something with secret knowledge in it. Do you know anything about that?”
“Nothing. My mind is empty,” Void replied, emotionless. His sudden loss of tone made the two stare at him oddly. While they paused in their questioning, Void heard a high pitched chime and distant yells.
The two looked at each other, then broke out into a sprint. The demon drug Void behind him, who was barely able to keep up.
“The prisoner's escaped! The intruders must have gotten to him! Find them at all costs! Kill them if you must!” A loud voice boomed through the halls, its origin unclear.
“I knew you should have left me. We're all going to die! Well, you are at least, and I'm going to get it. You should’ve listened to me!” Void screamed, falling behind.
The demon launched Void ahead of him and yelled, “Well, too late now! Get us to the exit, kid! You have to have gone through it at least once!”
Void shook his head, fear rushing through him again. His legs grew heavy, unmovable. He collapsed against a wall, tears blurring his vision.
The girl grabbed his arm, pulling him forward. “I know you're scared, but that's fine! Use it to get out of here, then you'll be free! You won't have to be scared anymore!”
He stared into her eyes, wanting to tell her that she was what was making him so terrified. The light in her eyes struck him, and he thought about all of his dreams that had turned into nightmares. They had always ended with those same eyes, watching his torment and doing nothing.
But it was Grite who ruined the dream, had engraved fear into his mind. The dreams had once been an escape, but now, they were just another torture to dwindle his sanity, if he even had any to begin with. If he got out, there would be no Grite to carve into him, to twist everything he had.
He shook the tears from his eyes and abandoned all thoughts and emotions. He thought to the one time they had shown him the castle, attempting to bribe him into remembering. They hadn't cared if he knew how to get out, sure that he wouldn’t have the spirit or courage to try to leave.
He took off in the direction, his mind working without a trace of fear or emotion. He acted impulsively, doing whatever instinct dictated. He didn't have to look behind him to know that the others were close behind. He could feel them, as though all of their emotions were tangible forces around them. Without emotions of his own, he seemed to cling to those around him, feeding off of them. And the two people behind him were swarming with determination.
They found the stairs to the surface, and Void launched himself up them two at a time. They burst into a brightly lit hallway and Void crashed into a wall, blinded. The demon grabbed him by the wrist, leading him through the halls.
They were heading towards the sounds of a fight, and the fear began to creep up on Void again. “Shouldn't we be going away from the people?” he yelled, his lungs on fire with the effort to keep up.
“They caught our friends, I can hear them up ahead. We have to regroup and get out of here together,” the demon called back.
They rounded a corner into a grand main hall, filled with a hoard of guards. They were surrounding someone, blue flashes coming from the middle.
The demon pushed Void against the wall. “You wait here, and don't get caught.”
Before Void could protest, the demon was charging the guards. He dove straight into the thick of the crowd, and green lightning shot into the air. Void turned to the girl for guidance, but she wasn't paying attention to him. She stared at the crowd with confidence, shaking her limbs out. As she did, they were covered in light blue scales. The black claws on her hands grew longer, and sharpened teeth protruded from her mouth. She smiled evilly, and pounced onto the back of a guard. She climbed over them towards the middle, felling many with shallow cuts from her claws.
Void watched the outbreak in confusion, unsure of what to focus on. All he could see was a writhing mass of bodies. He watched as the floor became littered with bodies and the crowd was thinned. Through a wall of guards, he could pick out the demon and the girl, as well as a Mage and a teen in brown armor who were fighting the guards as well.
A pair of guards broke away from the crowd and noticed Void. They started for him, and he raised his hands to defend himself before he remembered that his only weapons had been cut from his hands.
“There it is! Grab it, quick, before it takes off. Crestyss will have our heads if we let this thing get away from us!” one of the guards said, drawing a dagger from his belt. The second followed the lead, pulling out his own blade.
Void scanned the room around him. He wanted to fight back, wanted to run away, but he didn't know how. He caught a glimpse of the demon tackling a few men at the edge of the circle.
“Hey, hey! You have to help me! Hey!” Void yelled, waving his arms. The guards were watching him, closing in quickly. Void was backed into a wall, and the men cornering him laughed sadistically.
“I heard you could cut this thing into a million pieces and it still wouldn't die,” the second guard said, slashing his dagger through the air.
“I heard they burned it alive for five hours straight, and it healed itself up in just a few minutes!”
“I don't believe it. I say we test it out for ourselves.”
“Agreed. We have to make sure this is the prisoner, right? No use saving something so worthless. I mean, look at it! It looks ready to piss its pants!” the first guard barked. He planted his foot on the ground and darted forward. The blade was aimed straight for Void's heart.
Void glanced to the demon again, praying that he was coming to help. He was preoccupied by a hoard of guards that had surrounded him. They grabbed his arms and forced the demon to his knees. His head dropped, and Void's hopes sunk with him.
With speed that seemed impossible, the demon swung his legs around him, knocking the guards to the ground. He kicked straight up into the air as he jumped, and his foot connected with one guard's jaw. He ducked under another running for him, and flipped him onto his back.
The demon finally caught sight of Void, paralyzed as the guard charged for him. He had gotten used to Grite coming after him, knew what Grite would do and how he would attack. It was an all-new experience to be the target of someone else.
The demon bolted, but Void knew he wouldn't reach them in time. He turned to face his attackers, and something clicked in his mind at the last second. He ducked under the man's arm and stepped around the man. Shifting his weight, he spun back toward the guard and raised his leg into the air. His heel hit the man's cheek, driving his head into the ground. He landed facing the second guard, wasting no time. He crouched low to the ground and pounced, grabbing the man around the waist. They fell to the floor and Void slammed the man's head into the ground, knocking him unconsc
ious.
He stared at the man lying underneath him with disinterest, though his thoughts were screaming incoherently at him, begging him to react in some way. Before he could grasp what he had just done, the demon was at his side. He snatched Void by the arm and yanked him to his feet. Void was dragged through the thresh of the fighting, where they met up with the girl and two other fighters.
“We need to get out of here,” the Mage said. He attacked only from a distance with magic that looked like shards of ice. The teen held off any guards with his bare hands, having a fair amount of brute strength on his side. The girl was darting from the center to the edge and back again, dispatching one or two guards at a time that were getting too close.
The demon shoved Void behind him. He bumped against the teen and froze. He stared down at Void with pure hatred and disgust, not unlike Grite. Void held his gaze until the teen looked away uncomfortably.
“Good, you got him. Now we can get out of here!” the girl said, returning to the group. She stood on her toes to look over the demon's shoulder and waved at Void. He waved back awkwardly. Her cheerful smile was in great contrast with the blood that covered her black talons. Void found himself wondering if this group really was a better alternative to the cell he was accustomed to.
“Holten, lead the way,” the demon said, grabbing onto Void again. The demon glanced at the girl as she filed behind Void. There was an apology in her eyes.
The man wasted no time before barreling through the guards that stood in their path. The teen drew a sword to keep the guards at bay, and the girl was able to pick off any that strayed in behind them. The demon was the only one not fighting the guards. His only concern seemed to be with Void, holding him as close as he could while they ran.
I'm not one they came here for. They don't even care about me. Why is he being so protective? Void thought, staring at the demon ahead of him. Did I miss something?
He was doing his best to keep up, thankful that his body had listened to the logic of his mind for once and sent adrenaline rushing through his veins for aid. It was the only thing keeping him going, he knew. It burned in his arms and legs, swelled in his chest to the point that it was difficult to breathe, but he kept pushing forward. If they were risking so much for him, the least he could do was not make it difficult.
They came upon the front doors quickly, and they burst out into the open air. The sunlight was harsh to Void's eyes, never having seen more than the pitch blackness of the dungeons. The rest of the tower had been painful enough, but the outside world had him on his knees instantly, covering his entire face.
“Get him up! We can't stop now!” the man yelled. The demon was pulling on his arm again, cursing and yelling. Void shoved him off, crying out in pain as he moved his hand away from his face.
“Get off! I can't go any more, just leave me here! Please, just leave me alone already! Don't get killed for something like me. Just go!” he screamed frantically, shaking his head wildly.
He was lifted from the ground by solid arms that cradled him awkwardly. “You know, kid, you're really not as heavy as you look,” the demon grunted. “I already told you, I'm not dealing with the martyr shit anymore.” The demon's last statement was hushed, as though it was only intended for Void to hear.
“Give him to me! We won't get far with you bearing his weight,” the man said. Void was lurched around in the demon's arms.
“You need your hands more than I do. Just get us out of here, fast, and we don't have to worry about who carries the big baby!”
“I'm not a baby,” Void muttered reflexively, though he knew he had no room to argue given the position he was in.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
The demon’s arms tightened around him, and Void stopped squirming. He turned his face into the demon’s chest, raising his arm to shield his eyes from the light. Void grabbed onto the demon’s shoulder when he started running and held on as tight as he could.
With only his hearing to tell the situation, Void didn’t think it was good. They were surrounded by yells of anger and fear, and footsteps followed as they ran. He felt smothered by the excess emotions around him. Something grazed his arm, and he flinched from the shock. He dared a glance behind the demon and saw a crude arrow sticking out of a wall, separating them and a guard that was on their heels.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were an archer?” the demon yelled above the chaos.
“I’m only good underwater!” a new voice replied.
“What happened to the other one?” The demon’s voice was frantic.
“I lost him in the tunnels, I don’t know where he went. Now just get going.” Another arrow struck the wall and broke in half just in front of the guard’s face. Void careened his neck to find the source, but the demon rounded a corner and everything was lost.
While the screaming faded, the sound of a chase was endless. They came to an abrupt halt, and Void nearly fell from the demon’s grasp.
“Holten, what do we—”
The demon stumbled backward, squeezing Void painfully tight. He heard the girl’s soft yelp beside him. Something heavy was dropped into his lap.
“Exit through the east and follow the wall until you find a path to lead you home.” The man’s voice boomed with force. A loud rumbling sound erupted just inches away.
The demon dropped Void to the ground suddenly. He looked up to see the demon clawing at a stone wall that was rising from the ground. Void felt the item given to him, and found a mottled pile of cloth.
Void sat motionless. Everything had drained from his body, and he was left a husk again. Any hint of emotion, any semblance of a person inside the body, was gone. He lost his grip on what he wanted to be, but the pure nature of what he was prevented him from caring at all. The events that had just unfolded had drained everything from him.
The demon held his hand out to Void, offering him help to his feet. Void ignored him and stood on his own, brushing the dust from his legs absentmindedly. The clothing had dropped to the ground, but no one cared. He was aware of the blue eyes glued to him, but it had no effect on him.
“You mean we have to go through the Wastelands? Why don't you just take me to a junkyard? At least they'll treat me better!” the demon shouted. His anxiety was apparent. Void wondered what that felt like. It must be different for the demon, being in a body that didn't react to emotion the same way a person's would, but it seemed close enough to what Void expected. The demon was playing with his hands nervously, and his voice came out at a higher pitch than normal. He tried to mimic the demon's reactions, thinking he could instill the emotion on himself. The demon glared at him from the corner of his eye, and Void ceased.
“Don’t worry, Kaitlyn will protect you. At least this was a success.” The man’s voice was barely audible over the wall forming between them.
“Success? We didn’t get anything done in there except get in Crestyss’ sights!”
“You never know what treasures you hold, you ought to know that by now. You did the right thing, in any case.”
“The right thing, ha! He wasn't the one we're supposed to save!” the demon screamed. He flared his arm out toward Void, and he flinched automatically. The only response were the sounds of fighting.
“Stop scaring him!” the girl hissed, pushing the demon's arm down.
“Now you're on his side? What about Arion? Don't you even still care about him?”
“Of course, I care! We searched that whole dungeon, Cy, and there was nothing there for us! We might not be able to get Arion back this way, but at least we could save this boy! I just want to help someone for once, rather than leaving them to die!”
The girl stomped away, tears springing to her eyes. The demon dropped his head. He angled his body away, but not before Void saw his talons pierce the metal in his arm. The demon snatched the clothing from the ground and shook it out to reveal three large cloaks. He threw one around his shoulders and clenched the other two in his fists.
The gir
l was beside Void again. The smile on her face was forced, as well as her cheerful tone when she asked, “Now that we’re safe, why don’t you tell us your name?”
The boy shrugged. “I don't have one. I’m just Void.”
Cyllorian
“I can't believe we're stuck walking home because you wouldn't let us leave this guy behind! I should’ve just listened to him and left him in the cell. Not too late to ditch him, you know,” Cy groaned, walking ahead of Kaitlyn and Void. She was walking next to the boy on purpose, keeping an eye on him.
The Wastelands were very open, scarcely dotted with trees to provide relief from the harsh winds. The shadow of Centric's wall stretched far, and blocked them from the heat of the sun. Though winter was only beginning, it was showing signs of being merciless. The frigid air had formed frost where the metal overlapped, making his movements stiff. Even his magic felt sharp like ice.
Void was extremely slow, and Cy had to keep stopping so he could catch up. Each time, he glared at Void. The boy stared right back, with no sign of life in his eyes. It sent chills throughout the veins of magic that rushed through him, and he looked away.
Every so often, Void would meet him glare for glare, but it seemed like he was only copying him rather than expressing himself.
“We're not abandoning him, Cy! It wouldn't be right to just leave him on his own, and you know it!” Kaitlyn yelled back. Cy glanced over his shoulder at them. Kaitlyn was walking far too close to Void for his comfort.
“I say he can't be trusted! What if this is some kind of trap, and we're leading him straight to Theresa? What if he kills us in our sleep tonight? They knew we were coming, Kaitlyn, so how do you know we can trust him?”
“I could say the same about you. This could be a trap set up by Crestyss to make me trust you, then tell him whatever he wants from me,” Void retorted, his tone perfectly matching Cy’s. It was a complete change from the weak, miserable kid he had been just a few hours before. It put Cy off seeing emotion in him, knowing what he was.