Unfriendly Friends

A week. A week for us to set up shelters. A week for us to prepare our attack. A week to see who the winner will be.

Tension grew between the people. Some were too afraid to sleep, in case any group of bloodthirsty Savages find them. Or maybe one of the two factions competing over the region.

Warmonger readied the attacking teams for combat. Usually, only Phantoms would slip into their combat gear and not ask questions. But scouts rivaled them with their willingness to put down their lives.

Everything took place in a small clearing, away from main routes. Luckily, rain didn't bother us while we were rebuilding.

Specter would often leave the shelter, just to hunt down animals and get water. Enough to supply the entire shelter. Specter didn't speak. Everything they did was silent, not a single word coming from them or anyone else.

It was a silent contract. We wouldn't question them, and they would supply us.

But lately, I feel like that contract is on the brink of being broken. People have gotten more jumpy, more curious, a lot more depressed. The only thing we could do was tell stories or give speeches.

Defender finished fighting her own war inside her mind. She began coming to terms with the fact she has killed other humans. Her joyful nature slowly began blooming again. Like a flower during spring.

Except this flower bloomed when everything was dark. Strange, sure. But we accepted how things were, she enjoyed distracting people away from what was around them.

What most surprised me were her stories. When I told mine, they were about the crazy things I saw during other conflicts. Edward would tell about impressive amounts of destruction. But she talked about her life before she picked the shield.

She would tell stories of her family. The food she enjoyed. Her favorite memory and the thing that made her apply into special combat programs.

But this was just a distraction. Because below her cheerful voice, whispers of violence and death's song floated around Warmonger's piece of the clearing.

There, we discussed our plans of attack. We know this was a suicide mission, and we would most likely not make it out in one piece.

Phantoms played games with scouts. Their games were all about beating the other down into submission. Or proving who can withstand the most amount of pain.

A rare sight for sure. Phantoms would only cooperate with scouts when it they had to. Usually, Phantoms would see themselves as the better counterpart because they aren't as childish.

Most of the scouts Specter finds worthy don't make it in. Because scouts are the rowdy ones, the ones that crack jokes and take nothing seriously.

But this was the calm before the storm. They got to know each other more and would hear encouraging speeches by Warmonger. And that's how we met our unfriendly friends.

Two days until the battle began, Edward and I stopped by to listen in on Warmonger's speech. We were enjoying it. The way how she spoke about a triumphant warrior being able to take down entire armies was encouraging.

Seeing how they began right where we were. In the middle of a conflict with no help.

Warmonger continued her story until we heard distant walking. Specter was here with us, they sat on the floor across from us. Back leaning on a tree.

It wasn't one person walking, not two, not four. Far from five. A good guess would be around eighty feet stepping down all at once.

Twigs snapped, rocks were kicked around, and the dead nature of the forest around was felt alive. But not alive in a good way, it was more like a restless alive.

Warmonger slowed down her speech. Everyone stopped what they were doing. We all listened intently. Our minds weren't playing tricks on us. Whoever was just beyond those trees was marching directly towards us.

In unison, we all lifted our weapons up and braced for whatever was going to happen next. All except for Specter. They were still listening, and they were very calm about it.

Then, the first row of faces emerged. Savages stepped closer towards us. They all had weapons in hand and blood all over them. From behind the first row, I noticed how someone was licking the edges of their weapon.

Phantoms and scouts alike both went berserk. They charged directly towards the Savages. Weapons in hand, violence in intent, and fury in mind.

Suddenly, the Savages dropped their weapons on the ground and dropped to one knee. The rows behind them followed them.

A risky move considering how close a pack of over-protective assassins and campers were to them. Out of respect, Phantoms slowed down their run.

Scouts kept going until a Phantom yelled at them to stop. We were staring at each other, us with curiosity and them with maybe another thought.

Edward drew out a dagger from his pocket and slowly stepped towards the Savages. "What a pleasant surprise, my boys here were getting hungry for some actual chaos. Perhaps an all out rumble could fill them up?"

A Savage stood up and stepped closer to Edward. She locked eyes with him. Her skin and clothes, everything was so clean.

She replied. "Fighting is all you do. And maybe all you'll ever do. Point me to the direction of the stone that claims hearts can't change? I would like to read it for myself."

Her reply confused Edward. "What?"

"Look at my family. I brought Savages from all around the neighboring region together into one unified family. An entire region ran by us. Lately we've been admiring your decisions. What you fought for." Her soothing voice echoed between us.

Edward turned to look at me. Utter confusion clouded his eyes. Understandably too.

I got closer to her. "What does that mean?"

"It means we wish to befriend you. For you to take us in. We wondered flooded towns and charred cities aimlessly. You give us a purpose. Everyone before you is just a small fraction of our true power."

Specter gently stood up. Their body twisted like a skeleton. In a heartbeat, they appeared right beside the Savage.

Inside of Specter's hand was a knife. One specifically made for self-arm. They held it up to the Savages neck for a few minutes. Then lowered their hand.

Specter opened his hand to greet them. "A liar would panic under the pressure of their throat being sliced. This one would accept to die with no secrets."

She innocently smiled and shook hands with Specter. The robotic voice skeleton was welcoming someone from a faction that was out to kill him.

"If you wish to prove your loyalty, meet us in two days. When we'll attack the region up North. Or you can admit trickery and crawl back into the shadows." Specter's voice randomly sounded less robotic.

That was something no one ever heard of before. Specter's voice became human for a split second. There was someone inside that armor. I just didn't know who.

"We bleed the same blood. Expect us in the morning."

The Savage backed off, and her family stood back up. They backed away from us, weapons back in hand. But not pointed upwards, they were tipped down. Another sign of obedience.

Our strange encounter was over, but this was only the first encounter.