Chapter 22: On the Run

"You can come out now mister Darwin!" Charlie peeps from the bedroom door. I get up off the ground and follow the boy into the main room again.

"Darwin, some of the villagers claimed say your horse was spotted to the north of the village yesterday night." Keilan beams. "Maybe they're close by."

"That sounds promising." I say, watching the shapes of the knights disappear into the distance through the window. "I should head out then."

"Are you sure? You don't know if its safe and you're quite injured." Keilan replies, hushing her son who tugs at her dress.

"I can't let them get too far or I'll be searching even longer." I reason, dusting off my pants nonchalantly with a fake grin. The pain really was quite intense but I had a gut feeling nothing good would come if I stayed. Keilan simply shakes her head woefully before pacing over to the door.

"You really need to rest, Darwin." She says with concern.

"I know, but it would hurt more than any of these wounds to find out something unspeakable happened to either of them. Besides, I can't risk putting people like you in danger because of me." I say as Keilan sighs.

"You have a good heart, Darwin, but you must still play it smart in this world."

"I will. I can't die here after all." I nod, pushing the wooden door open a crack before peering out to make sure no soldiers were still lingering nearby.

"Take this at least." Keilan hands me a pouch of dried goods. I take the pouch gracefully and hobble through the door with a smile.

"Please come back and visit mister hero!" Charlie waves happily.

"Someday, maybe!" I say back before turning to the road. The unfamiliar fields sway in the wind as I begin making my way back towards the woods where I came from. Hopefully this time there's no bandits. I let out a disgruntled laugh before the pain in my torso seizes against my breath. I grasp my side and continue walking forward in a trance. Nightmarish thoughts racing through my mind of what could have happened. I shake my head. No, I can't let it get to me right now. It would be better finding them dead than not finding them at all. Closure counts, right?

The afternoon sun pelts down on my clothes and I can feel my skin dampening quickly. The shade from the trees overhead helps some but despite being hot the sky remains rather gloomy. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge at every noise. In some ways I'm fearful its more bandits and on the contrast I'm hoping its the damn dog again.

My feet guide themselves as I trudge across the barren path. Whistles of noises foreign to me tangle themselves between the branches. If this world was my own I'd be yelling at the top of my lungs. I sigh; ready to press onward when a muffled cry catches my ears. I clutch the hilt of my sword as I lean in to try and pinpoint the source of the sound. My heart picks up the pace as my breath falls into silence.

"Let go of me!" A distant yet familiar voice hollers. It's got to be Stella. I slowly approach the voices through the woods, my grip tight on my sword as I prepare to lash out at any unsuspected movement. My eyes dart between the gnarly trunks. A scene of two men dragging a small girl by the arms through the brush appears in front of me. Stella struggles against their grasp but its no use. Her tiny body heaves, the tears in her eyes blind her as she continues to throw a fit.

"Easy there kiddo-" One of the men laughs, seemingly unamused by the tantrum.

"Where's Cynthia? Where's Lucy? Where's Darwin?" Stella screams, kicking one of the men in the leg in protest.

"Shut your trap you bastard child, you're lucky the boss agreed not to sell you or worse." He spits back at her with a stern glare. He tightens his grip on her and tugs her along carelessly. Stella wails.

I can feel heat rise into my face as I watch the scene unfold. "Kill Darwin Bright and you will be most powerful." My blade hisses. I fight with myself to not lunge out and dice the men into small pieces. Stella has been through enough already. I take a deep breath and walk out into the clear.

"Drop her." I demand as I make my presence known to the men. They stop in their tracks.

"Eh? Who are you big boy?" One of the men chuckles, gripping Stella a little tighter.

"I said put her down." I say calmly, approaching them slowly.

"Why are you so concerned about this little runt? She's just a pain in the ass."

"Drop her." I say again with a little more edge. "Don't make this difficult for yourselves."

"Who do you think you are chump?" The second man chirps. "You don't scare me."

"Maybe I don't right now," I say, drawing Locke's blade. "But I will."

The men swap glances before the one on the left pulls out a small dagger. He holds Stella tight against his chest with the metal to her throat. The second man pulls out an axe.

"Darwin!" Stella whimpers. She squeezes her eyes shut.

"You need to learn to mind your business boy." The man with the axe grumbles. His mean glare flashes before me as he swings his weapon past my face. I dodge it calmly.

"Who says this isn't my business." I argue, dodging his uncoordinated swings one after another. His confidence begins to fray as his attempts to fight have been all but an embarrassment to anyone watching. He screams, flailing his axe around blindly. I sigh, finally having enough of this show. With a single swift movement I send his axe hurling into a nearby trunk.

"W-Who are you?" He mutters. His face flooding with shock and terror.

"No one nice." I say as I shift my gaze to the man holing Stella who cowers at my presence.

"Let her go and tell me where you came from and I just might let you live." I say. Immediately the man releases Stella who limps over to me. I pull her into a tight embrace as the men scramble for words.

"We came from a Houndstooth camp nearby. We picked up this runt with a dog and an elf woman a little while ago. Elf lady is worth a lot so we shipped her off to the headman." One of them stammers.

"Who is this headman?"

"Our leader of course. He rules the Houndstooth guild and all of Crestia."

"Where can I find him?"

"T-The city fort sir! In the palace probably."

"We were supposed to dispose of the kid. Boss said they were possibly affiliated with some wanted mass murderer-" The man stops mid sentence to look up at me. "Wait... You're him aren't you?" He says, eyes widening.

"Sorry you figured it out. I didn't want to do this." I grunt, pushing Stella behind me as I come forward with my blade.

"Close your eyes Stella." I say as I lift the sword's body into the air.

"No! You can't do this! We're only following orders!" The men let out a silent screams as I approach.

"Get out of here and don't tell a soul or I'll come find you." I growl under my breath. They nod rapidly and trample each other as they scurry like rats into the forest.

I sheathe my blade and turn towards Stella who is still covering her eyes with her back turned towards me.

"Are you okay?" I ask her tenderly, tapping her on the shoulder. She pops out of her stance.

"I think so..." Stella mumbles, falling forward into me. I catch her, scooping her up into my arms.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner."

"I'm happy you came." She says tiredly.

"We're going to find Cynthia, don't worry." I say, trying to sound comforting.

"What about Teddy and Lucy? They're our family too."

I pause. Family?

"We'll find them after too." I reply half heartedly. "I promise."