Clay Emberson's Perspective:
I enveloped my clenched fist in a burning flame and struck the nearest Demon Tribe member. I felt my fist char his skin and shatter his ribs. The Demon Tribe member shot back from the force of my attack and slammed into the nearest tunnel wall, dead on impact.
"Theresa! Get the fuck in the house now!" I shouted as I brought my flame-covered fist down onto the skull of a rabid wolf. The flames engulfed his head and left the smell of burning flesh and fur as I continued to fend off our attackers.
I peeked over my shoulder to see Theresa closing the door behind her.
'Thank the Goddess she's alright,' I thought to myself, 'Please, Cato, survive this,' I begged to no one but myself and my Goddess.
I steeled myself and prepared for the next attackers. They had already breached the square, and I could only assume they started towards where the ceremony took place.
As a wolf, and I could only assume, a Beast Tribe member, rounded the corner, I enveloped my fists in bright red flames.
"Get the fuck out of here!" I shouted towards my next opponent.
"Oh," the soldier responded, with a sarcastic smile, "and why should I do that? You peace-loving Fire holders aren't worthy of living on Terra." He spat in front of him and continued to walk towards me with his wolf.
This wolf was almost twice the size of the corpse that lay burning next to me.
'Shit,' I thought, 'am I going to survive?'
I shook this thought out as quickly as it had arrived and raised my flaming gauntlets in front of my face. The enemy soldier smiled a bright grin before dashing forward with his wolf.
I threw my right hand forward in a quick jab that caught the wolf square in the nose. As I felt my knuckles connect with its soft muzzle, I forced even more source energy through my fist and attempted to engulf the wolf's head with my flames.
The wolf reeled back and narrowly managed to dodge a ball of fire the size of its head. However, I had covered its snout with burn marks.
The ball of fire dissipated on the ceiling of the tunnel, and I regained my position.
'Shit, that used a lot of my source energy; I'll have to end this quick.' I thought to myself.
But, something seemed off. The soldier and his beast had stopped their attack. The soldier was beaming a disgustingly satisfied grin as he looked at me.
When I realized he was smiling at what was behind me, it was too late.
The squelch of flesh and organs ripping apart made me keel over. I stared at my hands on the ground as my vision started to go blurry.
'No. Fuck no. I'm not dying to these scum.'
I groped at my abdomen only to find a significant metal spike jutting out of where most of my organs should have been.
'fuck.'
My vision began to darken as I heard a familiar scream.
'No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!'
It took all my strength to crane my neck to look at the house I had been protecting. Our attackers had blown off the door and gone inside.
At the bottom of our wooden stair set was a pool of blood. My eyes followed the cascading red up the stairs to find the wolf I had slightly burned, covered in blood.
My vision began fading as I realized the only thing I had been fighting for had been brutally devoured.
Before my vision went dark, I heard the soldier say something,
"—ife made a good snack for my dog!" he cackled, bending over next to me.
I used the last of my strength to raise my hand to the soldier's face.
"Uh, oh, be careful!" the soldier mocked, "he's gonna slap me!" the soldier turned to his comrade and laughed. When the soldier turned back around, he was met by my hand again.
"No," I coughed out blood as I talked, "not a.... slap," I finished as I ignited all of the source energy inside me out of my hand.
The last thing I witnessed was that wretched soldier's head as it erupted into flames.
'Forgive me, Theresa, Ruth, Cato. Forgive me. I couldn't protect you three. I'm sorry.'
Tears clouded my vision as the pool of blood beneath me grew more significant.
'I'm sorry.'
~~~
Blaze Smock's Perspective:
I held onto Angelica as she continued to dry heave. She had vomited everything she had inside her and was now coughing violently.
I tried to gather myself as I looked around the cavern. Children were floating in the lake below, either visibly dead from injuries or motionless, indicating they had drowned.
I looked at the once impeccable bridge we were on now smeared in blood and other bodily fluids from the many children around us. I turned towards the rock house where Cato had entered just before the rumbling began.
'Why hasn't he left yet? Why isn't he looking for us right now?' I racked my head for answers, but I had no idea how we met the Goddess. For all I knew, he could still be talking to her.
Angelica and I stayed still while the rumbling started to subside. Of the near two hundred children who had come down for this ceremony, maybe half of us were still alive, not including those who were currently injured and losing a lot of blood.
The beautiful crystals had turned into symbols of death as they come cascading down onto the bridge destroying anything in their path.
Once the rumbling had subsided, we started to hear loud marching footsteps from the tunnel we had come through.
I could hear Angelica's breathing get faster and faster as the marching got louder. My heart started to beat so fast I could feel it against my ribs.
'Who were they?' I thought, 'Why today? Why now?' I racked my brain, trying to look for at least one answer as to why they might have attacked. But I couldn't find one. I didn't even know who was attacking us. How would I be able to think of their possible motive?
As the marching increased in volume, I looked at the end of the bridge and the tunnel. Some children sought protection near the exit because of the falling crystals and now stared intently at the tunnel.
The first child out of the three near the tunnel slowly stood up. He poked his head around the corner of the tunnel entrance and attempted to ask, "Hello?"
But, before the child could even get the first syllable out, his head was bitten clean off by jaws the size of his trim torso.
A wolf crunched on the boy's skull as his headless corpse fell limp in front of the tunnel. The two other children near the tunnel entrance released blood-curdling screams as they became the next meal for the wolf.
What followed after the wolf was even more devastating. Beast and Demon Tribe members had flooded our home. I could only assume they were attempting to destroy our Goddess and crystal of communication.
I turned to Angelica and grabbed her by the shoulders. I stared into her eyes and said one simple word, "Hide."
Angelica, who had been violently shaking since she stopped dry heaving, started to make her way towards the rock house that towered up above us.
'There should be enough room in that thing to keep her safe. She needs to find a good hiding spot, and then hopefully she'll be okay.' I prayed and prayed that Angelica would survive this.
I gripped the side of the bridge and hoisted myself up. My legs were shaking uncontrollably, but I managed to stay standing. The soldiers and their beasts continued to murder the small children brutally as they advanced up the bridge. Some children took their chance in the water, only to be met with a slower death as they sunk and resurfaced, floating on their stomachs.
I tried to deepen my breaths to control my source energy flow more accurately, but it was futile. I was in a deep panic as I feared for my life.
'Was this it? Not even a shitty contract?' I spat onto the bridge in frustration, and the growing pool of blood surrounding me devoured the white saliva.
As I stood with my shoes soaked in blood, I drew my source energy blade out of my hand.
My shoes were heavy from the liquid they were carrying, but I didn't care.
A wolf started coming towards me and leaped into the air. Ducking its jaws, I slid through the pool of blood on my right, swung my bladed left hand towards its throat, and prayed.
I felt my source energy diminish as I fought to keep my blade stable while it penetrated right through the wolf's neck. I yanked on my left arm and pulled my blade out, bringing a rhythmic gushing of blood from the wolf's injury.
The wolf backed away and staggered before falling to the ground, its head in a pool of its blood.
'Holy shit, that worked?' I thought to myself, 'but now isn't the time to celebrate.'
I scanned the bridge in front of me and realized that maybe fifteen children were alive right now. I was the only one standing to fight, which made me an easy target for the enemy soldiers. They slowly stepped over the wolf's corpse and began to close the distance.
Once one of the soldiers was within striking range, I swung my left arm at his thigh, right above the knee, hoping to sever a leg with my remaining source energy.
But, much to my surprise, my arm stopped. It seemed as if I was pushing against an invisible wall. I looked up at the soldier in front of me and whispered,
"Nature Tribe?"
"Bingo!" The soldier said as he flashed a smile.
I stood stunned at my floating arm and the man, a part of a tribe that had never fought with the other tribes.
He looked down at me and smirked. Just as the smile started to leave his face, I heard the horrid crunch of bones I had heard earlier.
~~~
Angelica Light's Perspective:
I entered the rock room shakily as I crawled through the straw blocking the entrance.
There was a table and a sign that read:
"Grab the crystal, and the Goddess will speak with you."
But, there was just an empty table inside this room. There was nothing else, nowhere to hide, nothing to grab. I was trapped.
I crawled under the table, the only thing I could hide under, and stared out of the straw down the bridge.
I covered my mouth as I witnessed Blaze takedown an enormous wolf almost twice his size. Then as he recovered, I watched as he attempted to attack the man in front of him.
He swung his left arm down with incredible speed but stopped abruptly right in front of the man's thigh. As Blaze stood there stunned, I watched as a root twisted into a spike erupted through Blaze's right thigh, cracking the bone in half and splitting his muscles. Blaze crumpled onto his other knee as his right leg stayed suspended on the spike.
I tried not to scream as I witnessed the boy I treasured more than my life itself turn around and smile over his shoulder at the rock house I was inside.
His smile was so bright. It seemed as if nothing was wrong with Terra when he smiled like that.
As quickly as his smile appeared, it started to fade as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. I ripped my eyes from Blaze's face to see a root protruding right through where his heart and lung should have been.
I brought both hands over my mouth as tears erupted from my eyes. Holding back audible sobs, I watched as the soldiers continued to kill the children waiting to meet their Goddess and fed their remains to the beasts.
The soldier that had murdered Blaze pushed aside the straw to the rock house.
"Fuck, really? All that work, and there's no damn crystal." The soldier sighed and kicked the table I was beneath.
I flinched instinctually but kept my mouth covered. Rage filled my head as the soldier started to turn around. I could feel my source energy bubbling into my hands, ready to shoot a projectile at this wretched soldier.
The soldier sighed again with his back to the table, "Too bad your source energy is so noticeable. I probably wouldn't have killed you otherwise."
The soldier spun on his heels to face the table again. Right as he turned, I launched my two projectiles at both of his knees. He quickly sidestepped the attack and crouched down to be at eye level with me.
When I saw his face, my vision flooded with red, the only thing going through my mind; 'Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him!'
The soldier noticed the anger plastered over my face and frowned. With the flick of his hand, a root erupted through my stomach.
I keeled over and coughed out blood, creating a pool beneath the table. I reached my hand out as my vision started to blur, attempting to form one last attack.
But, right as I launched it, a root erupted from the ground and pierced through my wrist. The condensed source energy immediately dispersed, and the soldier stood back up.
"What a waste of time," he said as he turned around, "It was fun playing with you, little girl!" the soldier released a smirk as he looked over his shoulder at me.
I turned away from the soldier to see Blaze, wide-eyed, yet no light within them. He was dead. And I would be soon.
As my vision faded, I could only think of one thing;
'Where are you, Cato? Are you okay?'
Then, everything was black.