Jul 2022
" You know? " Caspian's weak voice cut through the air, breaking the silence between us; making me flinch a little. We were on the edges of the Borderlands, crouched behind old ruins from the desolate lower districts, a hush hung over us so heavy that you could hold it. " You know... those haunted houses over there, they used to be homes, Lauris, people used to live there... ".
I saw him flinch a little at the sound of silver salute mortars exploding in the lands we had run from, I turned to face my younger brother but he was already gone, I caught sight of him scrambling through a broken window, the soft thud of him and his carry-pack hitting the floor. I ran to find him, my chest burning from weeks of starvation and lungs clogged with dust and smoke, I finally caught up to him and found my 8-year-old sibling on his knees laughing and I froze.
He was my ward, my obligation, my family and in the process of putting as much distance between our worn and torn bodies and the burning wreck of our home as possible, I'd forgotten the surge of warmth I'd get each time Caspian smiled. From where I was standing, I could see the teiwaz rune carved into his skin, a symbol of victory, of battle and of the gods.
Well where were our ******* benevolent gods when their disciples lay burning, screaming, starving? Nowhere. We were our own gods now, and it was up to us to make it out of God's broken plan.
I coughed lightly to get his attention and Caspian grinned as he spun around, in his hand was a gecko. You'd think a small creature like that wouldn't strike so much surprise into me, but in such an arid and empty place like the Borderlands, it's a wonder anything made it past the Predators.
" Look! Look! Look! " Little Caspian waddled up to me, carefully cradling the gecko in his hands and I was back in our old home, I was 14 again and not scarred by war and violence, we were playing at the beach, not worrying about bombs going off- and just as he reached me -𝘉𝘈𝘕𝘎- a mortar shell had gone off right where we were hiding before he'd run for the tiny guardian.
I pulled him right up against him and pulled his mask over his face. Once I was sure there weren't Scouts following that explosion, I tilted C's face up to look at me " ******* serendipitous little **** you are... I would say don't run off again but if you hadn't-" I glanced over at what was now just ash and smoke and fire and flinched.
Before I had a chance to think, I felt a wrist grab mine with some strength and yank me backwards through the shattered window, I heard Caspian yell, I saw the Hagalaz symbol carved into this Scouts hand and my heart stopped. This wasn't a Scout, this was a Predator, I shook myself from their grip violently and stumbled back against the wall.
They pulled off their dust mask, looked me dead in the eyes, and with a voice that felt like it echoed from everywhere whispered.
"Kings and Gods have bowed to us for centuries, what makes you think you can run for this long? Lauris..."
I saw him flinch a little at the sound of silver salute mortars exploding in the lands we had run from, I turned to face my younger brother but he was already gone, I caught sight of him scrambling through a broken window, the soft thud of him and his carry-pack hitting the floor. I ran to find him, my chest burning from weeks of starvation and lungs clogged with dust and smoke, I finally caught up to him and found my 8-year-old sibling on his knees laughing and I froze.
He was my ward, my obligation, my family and in the process of putting as much distance between our worn and torn bodies and the burning wreck of our home as possible, I'd forgotten the surge of warmth I'd get each time Caspian smiled. From where I was standing, I could see the teiwaz rune carved into his skin, a symbol of victory, of battle and of the gods.
Well where were our ******* benevolent gods when their disciples lay burning, screaming, starving? Nowhere. We were our own gods now, and it was up to us to make it out of God's broken plan.
I coughed lightly to get his attention and Caspian grinned as he spun around, in his hand was a gecko. You'd think a small creature like that wouldn't strike so much surprise into me, but in such an arid and empty place like the Borderlands, it's a wonder anything made it past the Predators.
" Look! Look! Look! " Little Caspian waddled up to me, carefully cradling the gecko in his hands and I was back in our old home, I was 14 again and not scarred by war and violence, we were playing at the beach, not worrying about bombs going off- and just as he reached me -𝘉𝘈𝘕𝘎- a mortar shell had gone off right where we were hiding before he'd run for the tiny guardian.
I pulled him right up against him and pulled his mask over his face. Once I was sure there weren't Scouts following that explosion, I tilted C's face up to look at me " ******* serendipitous little **** you are... I would say don't run off again but if you hadn't-" I glanced over at what was now just ash and smoke and fire and flinched.
Before I had a chance to think, I felt a wrist grab mine with some strength and yank me backwards through the shattered window, I heard Caspian yell, I saw the Hagalaz symbol carved into this Scouts hand and my heart stopped. This wasn't a Scout, this was a Predator, I shook myself from their grip violently and stumbled back against the wall.
They pulled off their dust mask, looked me dead in the eyes, and with a voice that felt like it echoed from everywhere whispered.
"Kings and Gods have bowed to us for centuries, what makes you think you can run for this long? Lauris..."
