I followed the footprints till I got to the small river not too far from the market. There were many footprints there this time, and it was hard to figure out which was which because they were all blotched together. The smaller footprints which I assumed to be Adriana's, were firmly pressed down by two different sets of bigger ones belonging to much heavier people... perhaps, male?
I was just about to move away from that spot, when a ray of reflected light hit my eyes. It didn't take long to track the source. There it was, a little piece of shimmering pink silk. No doubt it was Adriana's. I gently dusted the mud on it and put it into my breast pocket. Almost at exactly the same spot, there was a dusty old bit of rag. Even from the spot where I crouched, I could perceive it's pungent odor of alamanda mary gold. That stuff could knock a man out in two seconds, talk less a woman.
Immediately I became alarmed! Was Adriana in danger?! Had she been kidnapped by slavers?! I wondered. I quickly stretched my body to it's usual height whilst looking around cautiously. There was only a small pathway leading away from the river, and if those slavers had taken Adriana, they must've gone this way. I gritted my teeth and balled my fists in anger. "If they've harmed even one hair in her head...!" I swore underneath my breath. There was no time to walk down the trail. I began to run down it.
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I had ran for about twenty minutes or so when I stopped. Not that I was tired, but the forest was unusually quiet. Nothing could be heard except the occasional chirp of a bird lost somewhere in the vast canopies that stretched far above my head. I bent down and crawled to a spot where I could see down, well into a valley. And there...I saw her. It was Adriana. She was sitting, bound on the root of a small tree, and to my horror, the slavers who had taken her captive were Jim and Louis. The deputies of the Moore.
Louis looked around impatiently. "Jim, it's been a while already. Do you think Bren's gonna come?" he asked. "He'll be here. I can feel it." said Jim stroking his red hair. "Well..." continued Louis. "... even if he doesn't show up, I have nothing to lose. I can take out my revenge on Bren's lady friend, by having a little fun." he said cupping Adriana's chin, he and the red head laughing.
Adriana jerked her chin free in disgust. "Get away from me you revolting beast!" she said. Louis laughed louder this time around. "That's how I'll be with you if Bren doesn't show up. A beast!"
My foot knocked against a small stone and sent it falling down the ridge. I froze in shock. That no doubt alerted my soon to be assailants.
"What's that?" asked Louis. "Could it be Bren?" said Jim grinning evily, expectantly. "Go check while I watch princess over here." said Louis. Jim had begun to climb up the ridge when Adriana started to yell. "Bren! Gaius! Help! I'm over here!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Louis began to tell her to shut up, but when she proved stubborn, he hit her. This made her head collide with a large stone to her right, and she passed out.
I was in a trial. If I behaved without caution, lives could be lost. Possibly mine, and even Adriana's. A crunch at the edge of the stone told me that Jim was at the top of the ridge. And among the four people present in the woods there, the three of us who were conscious held our breaths in anticipation of the next few seconds that would determine our lives forever.
I closed my eyes briefly, and for the first time since I arrived in oritat, I unsheathed my sword. In the blink of an eye, I charged at the slaver with all the hatred, and all the anger that had been suffocating me since my family, my country was massacred. Jim anticipated that move, and we knocked each other down the ridge.
Immediately we settled on the floor below, he produced a small dagger from his boot, and lunged at my throat. I dodged, landing two heavy punches on his face with quick succession. We drew apart almost immediately, and I noticed a smidge of blood on his weapon. I traced it's source to a cut on my lap.
Louis probably didn't interfere with our fight because of Jim's pride and also because he believed that he was more than equal to the task of killing me singlehandedly. Being a cheating ruthless bastard, he picked up a fistful of dirt and flung it into my open eyes.
I was caught off guard, and as the brittle sand particles raked through my eyes causing me much pain, he rushed towards me giving me a slug to the face, two to the gut, and a kick in the shins. I was writhing in pains on the floor, but my eyes cleared just in time to grab hold of his knife hand as he aimed for my throat once again.
Then I remembered! I had a small dagger in my breast pocket! And somehow during the desperate struggle for life and death, I was able to stab him in the neck. Fresh blood gushed out of the wound on to my clothes, and in moments, my once new uniform was drenched in blood.
"Noo!" Louis screamed as he saw Jim lay deathly still after I pushed him off me. "You bastard!" he said, a tear trickling down his beard. Louis reached for his gun, and shot at me multiple times. I didn't have enough time to dodge the bullets, so l merely rolled away from Jim's still body making him miss multiple times.
The bullets were aimed for my head, and the close range at which they missed was so close that for some moments I could hear a shrill whistle inside my head and I gnashed my teeth in pain. Louis probably thought that at least two of the shots met me, so he moved a step forward and said "Goodbye Bren. This one's for my brothers." I found out that I had rolled towards my sword which had fallen to the floor when Jim tackled me. I flung it at him. The force of the throw was so great that the sword went deep into the tender bark of a young tree.
At first I thought I'd missed, but then he turned towards me, eyes wide in shock. Louis dropped his gun and reached up to his neck which was now gushing out blood. He reached out to me with his free hand in one last futile attempt, then fell heavily to the floor with a thud.
I got up, slowly. Then I moved towards him. If I'd been a second late in throwing the sword, I would've been dead. I heard a rustle of leaves and turned around sharply, all my senses super alert. Jim had revived. He drew the knife out of his neck, and flung it at me with every last ounce of energy left in him.
He was a second too late and I reached out, grabbed Louis's gun and shot him until it was out of bullets. I expected killing the Moore and his lackeys to bring me much pleasure, but instead there was just this emptiness I felt.
I sank to my knees on the floor, and buried my face in my blood stained palms, nearly sobbing. I heard a soft moan behind me, and then I remembered! Adriana! I rushed towards her in a flurry, and raised her body gently to a sitting position.
I gasped when I saw quite a serious bruise on her forehead. The swirl of purple and blood red skin added an aesthetically pleasing combination to her fair white skin. I stooped and tenderly kissed the bruise. The only regret I had about killing Jim and Louis was that I would only get to do it once, but, I was the cause of this. I knew I wanted revenge, but... not this way. Not at the cost of someone else's life. Someone who was innocent of this blood feud between the slavers who'd killed my family and I.
In the nearest future, I determined to do all in my power to make sure that I never put anyone close to me in danger, ever again. I gently took Adriana up in my arms, cursing underneath my breath as her foot collided with the wound on my lap, and started for home. My home? No...Adriana's. Definitely Adriana's.