Moral Combat

Moral Combat; Chapter 1 of my book
Topic Started: Dec 15 2008, 09:50 PM (35 Views)
Neon	Dec 15 2008, 09:50 PM Post #1
Hunter Posts: 91 Group: Members Member #8 Joined: Nov 8, 2008	Diaries of _______ Moral Combat Dear Diary... It seemed almost unreal. The night sky was lit with falling stars, or so it seemed. In reality however, it was just war. Heh, just. It sounds like such a foolish word to describe it, but had you seen it, you would understand it. We had to run, and run, to make it to the safehouse. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Tori. A regular, run-of-the-mill kinda guy living and working here. Where is here? Well, it's a small nation called Oliverosi. Nation is probably the wrong word, as there is but one single city, but it's what we call home. I'm not entirely sure how we ended up here, but I have to at least try and explain. It happened on a cold December night. A small group of youths including myself had decided to enjoy our last few days of freedom before Lockdown, which is what we adopted as the name for Christmas; the government forces families to be locked in over the holiday, in an effort to promote goodwill among families. It doesn't really work, as most families get sick of being around one another for such a prolonged amount of time, but at least they try. So there we were, hanging out. Talking, squabbling, mock-swordfighting with tree branches. I was the first to hear it. A siren in the distance, cut off by a thud. Then to the north, there was a flash, followed by a loud explosion. That got everyone's attention pretty damn quickly. Some of them had no idea what was going on. Pitiful. There had been whispers, snippets of information that we were preparing to go to war. But it seemed the war had decided to come to us first. Hell, it seemed, was about to come to our peaceful home. Sirens began to wail all around, and one by one they were cut off by that same distinctive thud. “We have to get out of here.” I turned to the others. “The school is the closest safehouse. Lets go.” Most nodded, or made some other statement of agreement. But one girl stood frozen to the spot. I knew her well, and I knew she was terrified of all this. Her name was Sheherazade. Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “I'm afraid too.” It wasn't even a lie. She looked up at me, and I could see the resolve in her eyes. The others had already began walking in the direction of the school. I turned, but her voice stopped me. “You're...really afraid?” So timid. It wavered, either from fear or cold, probably even both. “I'm afraid.” “You don't show it...” “I know. I can't.” I jutted my thumb in the direction the others went. “They need a leader. Not a single one of them is willing to take the lead. I don't want to do this. Hell, half of them I'd leave behind, given the chance. I can't though. Come on, we have to move.” I held out my hand, and smiled. I was relieved when she clasped it with her own. I didn't really want to carry her there. We hurried forward, through the thickening trees – it was a shortcut, which I hoped would lead us straight to the school walls. “Shouldn't we have caught up with the others by now?...” She asked. I shared her concerns, as we were by no means moving slowly. I was hoping that the others had decided to run there. No telling what was going to happen. As we walked, I looked into the sky above. Glittering stars, and...and what the hell was that!? A grey shadow seemed to shoot across the darkness, and the leaves behind us rustled. “Did you see that?” She asked. “Yeah. Be careful.” “I'm scared...” “I'll protect you. I promise.” I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a silver cylindrical item, about four inches long. I flicked a switch on the side, and a blade slid out with an audible clicking sound. I switched it to lock, and kept my arm raised slightly. Maybe I could fend whatever it was off. The wind was beginning to pick up, icy tendrils licking any bare skin it could, freezing to the bone. Suddenly, a new noise. Liquid hitting the ground. A thud. From the clearing nearby... “Wait here. I'll see what's going on.” I left her near a large, gnarled oak, and snuck towards the entrance of the clearing. It was a shock, to say the least. An armoured soldier stood over a pile of bodies. The once-green grass stained with the blood of the innocent, for that is what they truly were. Beside the bodies, a fire crackled, its light reflecting from the soldier's bloodsoaked weapon, which appeared to be a rather exquisite sword. It seemed he was the only one there. At least, the only one there alive. I steeled myself for what I had to do. I couldn't chance him finding us later on. With his back turned, it would be easy enough to do it. I glanced at my left hand, which held the knife. Like a thief in the night, I sped silently towards my foe, and jammed the blade hilt-deep into the back of his neck. I heard his throat gurgle as he dropped, the sword he had been holding clunking underneath him. Flicking the blade's switch, it slid back in, and I pocketed it once again. It was good for a surprise attack, but I had to assume I'd be facing soldiers face to face from now on. I pushed the body over with my foot, and picked up the sword. Crack! I spun quickly with the soiled blade in my hand, only to see Sheherazade, her face drained of colour entirely. I lowered the blade and jammed its tip into the ground, taking a few deep breaths to compose myself. “I had to do it. If he had found us...” I nodded towards the pile of bodies. “I don't want that, for either of us.” I kept my eyes fixed on hers, looking for any sign of what was going through her mind. If she screamed, we were done for. “We have to go. Now.” I pulled the sword up, and she flinched. “I'm not like them.” I assured her. “I did what I had to do to make sure we get through this. I'm not a monster. I-” A huge explosion stopped me mid-sentence. The ground was shaking, what the hell had that last blast done? “No more time. We have to go NOW!” I ran beside her and grabbed her hand, nearly pulling her off balance. Forcing her to move with me. The ground was still shuddering, and far away more thudding was cutting off the sirens. The trees were beginning to thin out, which meant we were getting close. That's when it happened. The thud was much closer than I had heard it previously. The very bones of the world seemed to be quaking, and the thunderous roar from behind told me that we were in deep shit right now. I pushed myself to run faster, and took a swift look over my shoulder. Honestly, I wished I hadn't. The forest behind us erupted into a plume of black flame, and it was burning towards us. “Don't look back, and don't slow down.” I kept my voice as calm as possible, though having to shout took somewhat away from that. We made it out to the road. The school was right ahead of us, almost there. I turned my head back to the forest, and watched as a shadow fell into the dark flames. I had read about it, but never thought I'd actually SEE it! I had no time to contemplate whether it was lucky or not however, as turning back to the direction we were headed, I spotted a figure. It held a sword similar to the one I had 'borrowed'. I let go of Shehera's hand. “Don't worry.” I launched myself as fast as I could, the sword trailing in my left hand. Dodging and ducking underneath the soldier's initial swing, I suddenly thought that he seemed clumsy. I twisted my body and used the speed and force to unleash a lethal reversed swing into his midriff. It felled him, but he still lived. I didn't want to kill him. “Shehera, come on.” I was relieved to see that she followed me. We finally reached the school, and were soon locked safely behind its doors. The basement was the safest place, and that was where the congregation remained. We can still hear it out there. For now though, we're safe. The youths we had been laughing with earlier that night never made it here. I can only pray they escaped to a different safehouse. The war began on December 10th, 2008. As I write this, the clock strikes midnight, and it is now December 15th. Five days after initial combat began, all the sirens have ceased their wailing. Myself and Shehera have spent not a moment apart. Dear Diary, Merry Christmas.



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