Chapter 48 - Cacophony

 "Okay, I'll take it," replied Pan quickly, fearing the blacksmith would change his mind.

 Bjorn on the other hand could have sworn that Pan was rubbing his hands together like a dishonest merchant. Which was saying a lot, since Pan only had one hand.

 "By the way, where's your hammer?" Asked Pan. 

 "I left him upstairs in case I needed to run. It wouldn't have much weight to carry," Bjorn replied in embarrassment.

 'He's an imbecile. I'm surrounded by imbeciles.' Pan thought as he looked at the dead old man, who would be alive if he carried a blade. He would have just killed Bjorn in the dark quickly and noticed Pan as there would be no distractions.

 As he looked at the man on the ground, Pan realized that this was the first time he had killed another person.

 'I shouldn't feel bad, he was a genocidal madman.' Pan thought, as he stared at the pool of blood that formed on the floor. Perhaps it was due to the ongoing stress of trying to survive in the tunnels. But Pan felt nothing, it was… Empty. 

 "Are you alright sir?" Bjorn asked, noticing a tear trickling from Pan's eyes.

 "Yeah, I'm just…" replied Pan unsure of what he was feeling.

 He stood there looking at the corpse for a while. Bjorn said nothing, he had already killed his first man at fourteen. He was a greedy man who tried to take advantage of his old father and threatened his sisters. Bjorn remembers following him into the night, waiting for him to sleep after drinking too much, remembers the chill that ran down his spine, and remembers the helplessness that followed. It was a feeling that couldn't be explained, one that swept away all his righteous action and left him empty, yet made him stronger to deal with Lazark's terrors.

 He understood that Pan was going through this now and decided to let him assimilate the weight of death.

 However, unlike Bjorn. The Siaks didn't seem to mind this and soon hideous screams were heard in the tunnels, making Pan and Bjorn turn their heads.

 The screams were not like the ones Pan heard when killing the vile beings, these seemed heavier, laden with loss. Pan wouldn't feel the difference, but the green did.

 "We must go, without a master to control them they will run around," said Pan, before healing Bjorn some more and helping him to his feet.

 They then followed the path Bjorn came from. Pan walked fast and resolute, seeming not to fear the hundreds of screaming Siaks in the tunnels. 

 'How can he be so confident?' Thought Bjorn. Every scream that echoed from his heart skipped a beat. Fearing that the unseen fallen were nearby and would attack him in his weakened state.

 What Bjorn didn't know, however, is that Pan had already checked the path they were taking for their connection to the green.

 When they reached the stairs Pan helped Bjorn up and then pushed open the lid. A flash of light soon blinded him the moment he stuck his head out.

 It was still night, but the house opposite was on fire and he could hear a cacophony of screams through the city.

 "Shit," whispered Pan as he noticed a Siak feasting on the former residents. He realized there was nowhere to run or hide, the city would soon be flooded with Siaks. Pan didn't know the exact amount but from what he'd seen in the tunnels over the past two days, he knew there must be at least a thousand below the city. A thousand that would soon be above her as well as the one in front of her.

 "We have to get out of town," Pan said cautiously, even though he knew the Siaks couldn't hear, it was still awkward to speak loudly in their presence.

 "But is it the others?" Whispered Bjorn even lower than Pan. 

 "Do you think we'll make a difference here?" Pan replied with a hint of derision, while looking at the city that was now lit by the flames of the fires.

 "But-" 

  "If you want to stay, then stay, I will," declared Pan, interrupting him.

 "Wait, I will," replied Bjorn, grabbing Pan's arm.

 "How much essence do you have left?" Asked Pan.

 "The little I gathered during the walk should give me a couple of hammer blows," replied Bjorn, whereupon Pan raised an eyebrow at the blacksmith's peculiar way of telling his essence. 

 'I still have a room…' Pan thought. Mavis ate half of her essence every day with her five meals, he also spent half of the rest on the throw that killed the old man, could have used less, but he didn't want to risk it. If the old man dodged it would be the end of both him and Bjorn.

 "I'll give you some," Pan declared before touching Bjorn and transferring her essence to him, an act that left the young blacksmith in disbelief.

 'Isn't he green?' Thought Bjorn.