Commander Able

A dull drone filled the air. Aircraft swiftly broke the treeline and began encircling the mountain with expert maneuvering. Thunder erupted and an indistinguishable cluster's silhouette formed in the flurry of snow. I ignored the pain consuming my mind, burning the image into my head. The four seemed beyond human, clad in black coats lined with fur, weapons that seemed far above the technological standards available to most, and the smugness that triumphed over even the chief when he tortured us.

As far as I cared, we had already been rescued, but the result of this wouldn't be ideal. I need Orism. My mind came to a quick conclusion, 'If they kill him I won't get any answers.' Out of the four, one man stepped forward, a man with authority radiating from his frame. His features were cut from marble, and his eyes were grey like steel.

"I am Able, Commander of the Royal Guard's Third Cohort. Mehel Orism, today I will execute your death sentence." They exchanged no more words as I saw the chief pull a second hand axe from his waistband.

The situation was escalating. Despite that, I felt no real danger from the situation, instead I could pay a little attention to my own injuries without worrying about accumulating more and the fact that my vision kept blurring and my chest hurt considerably was no good sign.

'Something is wrong with my lungs..' I could feel it slowly getting harder to draw breath, despite that I lingered, holding on to consciousness.

Some men come to fight, others to talk, but the man who announced himself as Able came to perform an execution. When Chief Orism charged, the surrounding snow had erupted, chunks of the cold dirt beneath went flying in all directions. 'For a fat-arse, he sure is fast..'

When the axe cocked back to ready his blow with a bit of excessive flair, I felt a powerful gust of wind from my back that rolled by nearly limp body closer to the fight by a few yards. When the blow was leased a torrent of wind far stronger than any so far experienced exploded out and sent me rolling into a nearby mound of snow.

From the sound of it, at least five blows had been leased, but all were defended. I cleared myself from the mound just in time to see Able's back-handed slap that intercepted the axe unapologetically. As the axe made contact for the last time, its cold metal shattered. When I saw his bored expression, I quivered. 'Even in a fight to the death.. he's so unbothered.'

"Is that the limit of your abilities? You've gotten far despite your lack of skill."

I could barely keep up. Where Able threw one strike with gauntleted fists, I saw Orism's body recoil from three different points before the man flew back from the force of the blows. 'His shoulder, hip, and foot are done for.'

"I WON'T DIE HERE!" Orism roared. Luckily, he didn't trigger an avalanche with that. He inhaled and his large gut expanded to at least twice its normal size. Able closed the distance before any defining action could be taken, the space around his gauntlets slightly distorted and a crack of purple lightning rode around the distortion.

His fist vanished briefly and a clean hole in the former chief's diaphragm released a strong gale of wind, a bit of an overdramatic last breath. Whatever he had been planning would never surface. Able stepped away and returned to the group of three. He discussed something with them, but my mind was elsewhere now.

'What was he going to say? What happened to her..?' Only Orism knew the whereabouts of my sister. A black mist slowly consumed the area.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck.' My world focused on the corpse, and I slowly made my way over, limping from some unnoticed injury. I saw shadows creep from my sides, and muted voices speaking some incomprehensible language, their words only added to my confusion.

Desperation crept into my mind, and soon I stumbled over to his side and collapsed. Trembling hands gripped at his collar and pulled him in. I shook once, then twice, trying to wake the man. "Don't die yet, I…" Speaking became difficult. My chest felt heavy now, and trying to breathe seemed to narrow my vision further. The shadows slowly went to surround me, and I lashed out with my arm once to stop them from closing in.

"Go away!" I went to say, but my words did not escape my lips. I could no longer speak. Warmness leaked from my lips and dripped onto the collar of the man I still held on to.

The shadows loomed over me now and reached for their chests area. Slowly, they peeled away a cloak of sorts, revealing flaming skulls with familiar patterns carved along their ridges. They mocked me with their expressions. I prepared to stand and lunge for the nearest, but a great fear suppressed that course of action. I kept my hands on Orism's collar and only wished the dead could speak.

My hands came loose when something caught my attention in the corner of my eyes, a club of sorts, only a hair's breadth away from striking me. Said hand was raised in my defense with no conscious effort, but my speed was far too lacking, and the smack sent me into oblivion.