Loyalty

A green arm slammed down. 

It hit the ground and…

*crack* 

The ground burst and dirt filled the air. 

Olive slipped around the behemoth arm. 

She wrapped herself around it and locked it in place. 

Then, she pushed against the ground and kicked the Orc's knee. 

The beast's knee snapped back. 

He tumbled to the ground where Olive was waiting. 

She readied her blade and struck. 

A line of red seeped from the Orc's neck before he fell to the ground, lifeless. 

An arrow hurled through the air. 

It weaved between the battlefield towards Olive's back, but before it could pierce her — a turtle shell of hardened blood erupted from Olive's nape. 

The arrow bounced off the blood shell and ricocheted into the grass. 

Up in the air, Leon traced the arrow. 

He dug his rifle's stock into his shoulder and peered through the scope. Between the reticles, Leon saw a beastly woman. 

He pulled the trigger. 

*BANG* 

The Orc's skull shattered. 

But while Leon was tracing one arrow, a volley of them pierced the sky. 

A flood of arrows burst through the leaves and erupted into the air. They arched high above before returning to earth, plummeting down onto the fighting humans. 

"SCATTER!!" Leon roared. 

Leon pushed Koa as hard as he could. 

The Hawaiian man tumbled through the air and crashed into a tree. 

Below, Darnell grabbed an Orc's carcass and draped it over himself. 

Olive didn't stop. Neither did Isaac. 

From his aerial view, Leon tracked the cohort. 

Koa was safe, Darnell was safe, Teddy and Morgan had escaped. 

He looked at Olive. He remembered the red shield that miraculously saved her moments ago. 

Then, he looked at Isaac. How will he escape the arrows? 

Leon burned his mana. He soared through the air and flew towards Isaac. 

He dove down until he hovered just above him. Leon grabbed two handfuls of |Fairy Dust| and tossed them into the air. 

The arrows cut through the dust, but in doing so, they became coated in the gold substance. 

Leon's mana flared. He grit his teeth and pulled on the arrows. 

The arrows plummeting unto Isaac slowed in the air. Then, they completely stopped. 

Blood dripped from Leon's nose and his vision grew hazy, but he couldn't stop there. 

His eyes cut across the forest. In the distance, between the trees, the Orc women readied their arrows. 

They were hidden expertly. 

Hidden from all those on the ground. 

Lucky for Leon. 

He flipped the glowing arrows around and shot them back into the sky! 

Defying gravity, the arrows picked up speed. They tore through the clouds before spiraling down. 

Leon watched with bated breaths. 

The arrows rained atop the Orc's and sent them scattering underneath the trees, but the arrows lost their glow. 

Leon's light flickered and he fell out of the sky. 

But Isaac had made it. 

He cut across the field and arrived before Miles. 

Isaac's sword glowed blue and he slammed it overtop Miles's head! 

Miles's claws burst forth. He narrowly dodged Isaac's overhead swing as he swiveled around his elder. 

But Isaac was prepared. After his overhead slash, Isaac seamlessly transitioned into a horizontal swing! 

*ting* 

His sword cut into Miles's claws. 

Miles felt the weight of Isaac's swing. 

Overpowered, Miles jumped back. His wrists tingled and the bones in his forearm felt bruised. 

"What's there to gain!!?" Isaac shouted. 

He raised his sword and pointed it towards Miles. 

"Have you no loyalty?" Isaac's gaze sharpened. 

"Kha-haha!" But Miles laughed. 

He spread his arms open. 

"Loyalty?!?" He yelled. "It was YOU who abandoned me! It was MY PEOPLE who laughed at me!! Who DISREGARDED ME!!!" 

Miles lunged forward. He swiped his claws skyward and threatened to cut into Isaac's chin. 

Isaac tilted his blade and, using the dull edge, parried Miles's claws to the side. 

The strength of the impact forced Miles's arms open and sent his balance awry. 

Then, Isaac stepped forward. He slammed his foot into Miles's space, between his legs, and charged. 

Isaac shoulder-bashed Miles. He dug his shoulder underneath Miles's chin and exploded forth. 

Miles tumbled backwards. He stumbled across the forest floor, his feet entailed in the grass, and he fell to the ground. 

Isaac's sword burned blue. He gripped the blade's handle with both hands and brought the weapon above his head. 

Looking down at Miles spread helplessly over the grass, Isaac brought his sword down. 

*TING* 

Miles barely reacted in time. He brought his claws to his chest and crossed his arms. 

Isaac's sword crashed against his claws. 

The blade was stopped and yet…  

*BOOM* 

The blue energy built within the sword continued on. 

It exploded upon impact with Miles's claws, cracking them almost instantly. 

Miles's claws shattered. 

Isaac's swing broke through. 

His sword plummeted unto Miles's chest. 

Blood spurted. Ribs cracked. A gush of air exploded past Miles's lips. 

Meanwhile, Olive was overwhelmed. 

No matter how many lives she reaped, the Orc's continued to pour in. 

At seemingly all times, she was met with five opponents. 

Ten arms. Ten legs. Ten eyes. 

Olive moved her body with acrobatic grace. She did her best to avoid direct blows, but with so many sharpened nails coming her way and so many ravenous maws licking their lips in anticipation around her — she was bound to slip up. 

First, her thigh was clipped. A gluttonous gash appeared along her hamstring which came with a searing pain. 

Immediately, her mobility was cut down. 

She moved slower than before, not by much, but by enough. 

A clenched fist erupted behind her. It barreled towards the back of Olive's head, but before it could bludgeon her, blood sprayed outward. 

Thin tendrils of crimson materialized in the air behind Olive. Interlocking like chains, a web of blood caught the monster's fist before it could reach Olive. 

But the mites within Olive could only do so much. 

At the same time, a jade beast came charging. 

He sprinted through the grass and spread his arms. 

The Orc lowered his center of gravity until he was below Olive's chin. He pushed against the ground and rammed into Olive's side. 

The Orc tackled her to the ground and pinned her down. He grabbed Olive's wrists and squeezed them together. 

*crack* 

The sound of Olive's wrists snapping echoed throughout her body. 

She had the sudden urge to scream out in pain, but she fought against the feeling. 

Instead, she leaned up from the ground as high as she could and dug her fangs into the Orc's bicep. 

Olive bit down. She put everything she had into her jaw and clenched the Orc's arm between her teeth. 

Blood splattered from the Orc. It squirted onto Olive's face and drowned her vision. 

Olive blinked erratically, but she couldn't rid the blood that easily. 

She crazily swung her neck and pulled back. 

She was doing everything in her power to rip the Orc's arm apart and when she opened her eyes — all she perceived was seen through a crimson veil. 

A blood red world. 

Through the blood, Olive saw an open palm reach towards her. 

An Orc grabbed her head and slammed her skull into the dirt. 

Olive's senses all activated at once. 

She was disorientated and fuzzy. 

Her jaw naturally unclenched. The muscles in her neck weakened so much that her head fell helplessly to the ground. 

She looked around. 

Leon was unconscious on top of a pile of jade corpses. 

Koa was stuck in a tree more distraught than ever. 

Darnell was surrounded on all fronts and, just then, an Orc caught his silver arm and pressed it against his chest. 

The Orc pulled Darnell's arm back, dragging the African-American to the ground where he was toppled and Orc-handled into submission. 

Isaac was still standing, but even he was on the ropes. 

Orc's continued to pile around him and just before her vision blackened, Olive saw more Orc's emerge from the trees. 

Leading the Orc's, a green beast with red tattoos narrowed on Isaac. 

Olive closed her eyes. It was over. 

She had no reason to watch any longer. 

***

Teddy and Morgan exploded through a line of trees. 

They arrived at the base of a toppling hill, battered and bruised. 

They mutually directed their eyes upon the peak of the hill. 

There, wooden structures loomed over the horizon. Men and women worked in tandem delivering goods to and fro. 

"Teddy?" From the wind, a small voice spoke up. 

Exhausted and panicked, Teddy spun around in fear. 

Morgan too, she held her hands forward and conjured a streak of lighting between her palms. 

They ran for over twenty-four hours straight. They were both paranoid and desperate. 

Behind them, they saw no one. 

Naturally, their anxiety spiked. 

"It is Teddy!" The wind spoke once more. 

A figure dropped from above and landed in the grass. 

Teddy jolted back. 

Morgan ran forward. 

She closed her eyes and pushed her arms out.

*zzz-zap* 

Lightning entered Clark's body. 

Immediately, his muscles constricted. Clark's posture straightened and he shook aggressively. 

Foam breached his lips as his eyes rolled behind his head. 

Teddy watched the scene aghast. 

"Wait!" He yelled at Morgan. "It's Clark!" 

Teddy ran forward and grabbed Morgan's arm. He pulled her back and the two tumbled to the ground. 

Meanwhile, Clark continued to shake. 

He collapsed and spasmed in the dirt. 

Morgan finally opened her eyes. In fact, upon seeing Clark spasm, she widened them. 

"Oh shit! Oh fuck! Oh God!" Morgan ran to Clark's side. 

She pushed his body over and laid him on his side. Then, she began patting his back. 

Clark hurled his stomach's contents into the grass, but his seizure finally stopped. 

Thereafter, a group of men sparring in the open field caught wind of the circus yonder. 

They saw Clark unconscious on the floor and two familiar faces above him, but Teddy and Morgan looked haggard beyond belief. 

The day eventually passed and night fell. 

Clark awoke in the infirmary. Beside him, Teddy and Morgan each occupied a bed of their own, but they were still fast asleep. 

The infirmary door suddenly cracked open. 

A group of three walked in. 

An old brown woman with a face full of piercings and gauges in her ears. 

Another brown woman, although younger than the first, she was middle-aged and wore an afro. 

Lastly, a blacker than black man. The man was huge, monstrous muscles threatened to tear his shirt apart and he had thighs like hams to keep him straight. 

"Hey baby —" the oldest brown woman spoke first, "it's good to see you up and about. We were worried about you, you know." 

Clark parted his lips to reply, but a cat got his tongue before he could do so. 

"Come on Mama Chi, you're scaring the boy." The second woman interrupted. 

The large man stepped forward. 

"Clark, my son." The black man's voice was deep and raspy. "Tell us what happened."