Great Heads

4: Running

Kaleb

I cleaved the woods with an axe for the fire. Alec watched me as I did so. He had rounded up feeding the horses and was now getting better after some days of rest.

The house that we lived in was a spacious one, well furnished and the compound had flowers and trees planted around it. One could even mistake it for a palace.

We had our helpers and never had problems with meals on the table. This didn't mean we were lazy. We worked hard every day, at home and on the field and we often assisted the workers. 

You see, we didn't see them as slaves but rather as family. We didn't get much time to play and enjoy our childhood like the children we were. We weren't humorous and playful lads. This was our lives.

“What do you think it's like?” Alec asked me. He stood, with his back leaning on a tree and arms folded with legs crossed. He was this cool-natured person that often showed that his thoughts differed from others.

“You'll have to be more specific.” I continued chopping.

“The war. I heard they need more men for the fight against the Great city.”

My brother, Alec, had a way of obtaining information and knowing things before I did.

I didn’t give him a reply. I didn't have one because I had never been in one, just like him. We were probably wondering the same thing about the war. As for the current war, I was sure they weren't going to send a bunch of children to go die.

 “When will this all end? Probably when our blood have been spilled on battlegrounds and tears dancing down the eyes of our loved ones, mourning our deaths? When did it all start? What are we even fighting for? I don't want to die for nothing. Do you?”

I smashed the wood with the axe for the final time before speaking. I tried changing the topic as it made me feel uncomfortable. This was Rocain land, asking such questions and speaking like that could get one’s throat slit.

“Why don't you take this to Ahgust, huh?” My breath was ragged from the work. Ahgust was one of the helpers.

 I thought to change the topic which Alec had brought up as it was dangerous and poisonous to the mind. A warrior should never ask such questions. I thought.

It was now the next day and my mother, Alec and I bade farewell to father. He had been called back for duty to join in the fight against the Great city. They were our biggest threat. 

I witnessed mother bitterly weep as if he had gone. As if he wasn't coming back home.

I often heard people say that no one ever makes it back alive from there. If they did, they’d never remain the same as they were, mentally and physically. Though warriors were still sent there anyways.

A whole month had now passed and a knock was heard on our front door. For me, it was all too sudden. Everything seemed to have happened as fast as the best hunter’s spear shot to a prey.

  Mrs. Silvia, who was one of the helpers closest and trusted by mother, informed her of a messenger at the doorstep. Mother went to see who it was and the message the person had for her.

I heard a sudden wail from where I was in the mansion. I wondered if it was what the messenger had told her that had caused such a dire reaction. Was the message that shocking?

I went to check what it was, and seeing my mother roll carelessly on the floor made my heart lurch with slight pain. Mrs. Silvia tried consoling her but to no avail. I needn’t be told what it meant.

My brother and I were clad in our best black attire, and so was mother and every other Rocainian that were present at the ceremony. Mother couldn't help crying. So many others experienced the same thing. 

People gathered to honour the war heroes.

Why did he die?

What did he even die for?

I was starting to ask the same questions my brother had once asked me. 

If someone like father, a trained Rocainian warrior, and an ex-commander in the army could die like this, then what stance did we even have in the war? What chance did we have of winning when finally we had completed training and become warriors ourselves?

Was this war futile? The man whom my brother and I had looked up to all these years was now no more.

“Great city.”  I heard Alec say. He laughed out hysterically, causing me and the few people that were around him to think he had gone mad. “I will destroy every single one of them. They will all pay for what they have caused.” 

His laughter was mixed with a bit of crazy and fury. I gave him a weird look wondering what had gotten into him. I then figured that was probably his way of reacting to the situation. I looked away minding my business. He was like that sometimes. It was sometimes-strange-Alec after all. He wasn't the only one. We all didn't feel alright.

Father's death was too sudden. If a trained Rocainian warrior, an ex-commander in the army could die like this, then who were we to even think of having a chance in the war? It scared me now.

Days passed and misfortune started settling in and soon became ours. Father's death wasn't the only tragedy that struck us. I will never forget that night. I remember that night vividly, even after the night's incident had ended, it still stuck with me. It kept on replaying in my head in my dreams. 

“They knooow!” I heard mother's voice echoe.

Mrs. Silvia took me by the hand. We went to Alec's room and she did the same. We followed the secret exit in the mansion to escape and we were placed on a horse. We were perplexed and showed our wonder. The way the situation was, there wasn’t any time to ask questions.

“My sons, Alec and Kaleb. Flee from this town for we are no longer welcome.” Mrs. Silvia quoted mother’s words as we rode fast on our horses. “Keep running and never turn back for there is nothing to return to. Head southwards until you find a town called Forestille. It will be your own home. Forelenes are nice warm-hearted people by nature. They shall take you in for you are also Forelenes. These are the words of your mother.”

Mrs. Silvia informed us, making sure she didn’t miss a word. I knew it was mother because I could imagine her voice saying this. 

We were now some miles away from the mansion. As we rode, I turned back and saw the house being raided by townspeople. They had pitchforks and torches in their hands. They appeared angry like they were going to tear the house into shreds. 

Mother was in the middle of it all. She kept begging for her life but it didn't seem to change anything.

Tears brimmed my eyes as I saw them cast their stones at her. It was surreal. I felt my heart squeeze in pain and shock.

“Mother…!” I yelled out in great agony.

There was nothing I could do. If we hadn't left the time we did, we too would have suffered the same fate. It was late for her now. Slowly, the grisly scene that I could hardly even bear to watch left my sight. My breathing didn't seem normal to me anymore. It was like each breath I took hurt so much.

We continued riding. As we rode on, none of us let out a word. We didn't speak but I knew we had a thousand and one things running through our minds. I did. We just had to focus on surviving. I remembered crying so much that my vision became clouded.

Mrs. Silvia rode on a separate horse while I and Alec stayed on another horse. Alec was the one at the front, riding. 

We had learnt horseback riding during one of our training sessions. 

I wasn't able to see Alec's expression since his eyes were on the road. I wasn't sure if he had seen what I did, but he definitely didn't feel alright. We were all suffering from anguish.

The moment we thought we had gone far, far away from danger, the unexpected happened.

An arrow that was as sharp as a prickly thorn suddenly struck Mrs. Silvia from behind. She fell instantly, leaving the horse running aimlessly.

“Faster Alec! Faster!” I cried as I held him tightly from behind.

He held the reins tightly and swung them, making the animal go faster. We both could feel the same thing— fear!

Men were chasing behind us. I couldn't tell how many because at that moment I dreaded turning my head backwards. I was afraid of having an arrow or more in my eye(s). It felt like we were going to die at any moment now. There wasn't a slightest idea of how we were going to escape.