-CHAPTER 21-
My fist slammed hard against the table.
"You f*cking bastard!" I lacked the words to describe my feelings, all that I could let out was the guttural hatred controlling me.
"Lavi! Hear him out! Don't you remember? 99a wasn't even a soldier by choice, how do you know that isn't the case with Adir?" Keshet said, calmly.
I breathed heavily. I knew these feelings weren't warranted, and yet I couldn't stop them from absorbing my body and mind.
"Fine." I reluctantly spit out.
"Adir, go ahead and tell us the whole story."
Adir calmed down as well, and began to speak unto us his story.
"Back in grade school, I wasn't the smartest o' kids. Me parents never expected much o' me. I, the middle child, seemed to have been forgotten.
At the time, we lived in Eastern Crater. The furthest outskirts o' the city, so it was still a relatively suburban area.
After school, me favorite thing to do was watch the soldiers stationed around my town. They trained and trained, all to go off somewhere to fight someone else's battle.
For a kid my age, I thought that becoming a soldier, sacrificing me life was the only option I really had. So, I bought me first sword in secret, and me parents never knew.
I put me heart and soul into that sword, I really did…" Adir paused, collecting himself for a moment. "But there's 4 types of soldiers…
The first type of soldier in Sarah is called the, 'Destroyer.' Destroyers have the job of conquering. They fight battles, and adventure foreign lands.
The second type is known as the, 'Informer.' Informers are generally known well by residents of Sarah, because their job is to carry out the will of the royal family across the country. Ya' know the informers alrea'y, as one o' their branches is the, 'Keepers of the Peace,'
The third type is the oldest, and most coveted. It is called the, 'Defender,' The Defender has the, 'sacred,' role of protecting and providing for the royal family.
The fourth and final type was what I was assigned to be, a 'Guardian.' The title is given to those who guard the Laosarch, and, 'put them in their place.'
When I was given the title of Guardian, I was proud. At the time, I felt I was doing something noble. I felt as if I were keeping a dragon sealed away, and protecting the people of the poor village.
When I was hired, I was assigned to a town called, 'Green.' All the Laosarch towns are named after colors, to make them easy to differentiate.
In my youthful ignorance, I did things I could never atone for. At night, when all had fallen asleep, I would take Laosarch and hit them. It would wake them, and it would force the entire house up because o' their shouts."
"I knew it!" I shouted, slamming the table once again and standing up. "You're nothing but a crook, a bastard, a beater! People who do that don't deserve to–"
"Lavi! Hear him out!" Keshet shouted back.
"No! He's a f*cking demon!"
"Lavi, listen to yourself! This man has done so much for you, and yet does nothing but apologize! I don't care what you think he's done, but hold your tongue until he's finished!"
Keshet dragged me back down to my seat.
"Pfft. Go ahead." I muttered.
Adir spoke back up,
"I worked in Green for 2 ½ years, before I was transferred to Red." Naomi, Keshet, and I all shook a bit in our chairs. Thinking, What is this demon going to do in our own town? We don't know what he's capable of. "I moved into the outskirts with the other Guardians, and we formulated a plan to torture the Laosarch even more.
In my second week, we enacted a plan to put Laosarch in their place once and for all.
We targeted a family of 4. They lived on the edge of town, and were easily accessible from the outskirts. Perfect, we thought.
The family comprised of a Father, a Mother, a younger daughter, and an older brother. We decided to target the daughter. Clearly as day I remember her name,
Misha Baumann."
I blinked in disbelief. And then again, I blinked. With each time I blinked, a bead of salty water rolled down my cheeks. My creaky throat could to nothing but respond with a meager,
"Mom?"