"Alright, Decklan, you gotta trust me now. Put this on while we run past the clergy." Caleb held out a sack with two eye holes cut out of it. Alex looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow, showing his confusion, and he slowly removed his hand from Caleb's.
"Run past who? Caleb, what's going on?"
Caleb quickly tried to explain. "The church of Volos has the mine entrance locked down; they wouldn't let anyone in or out until they purified the area." He rolled his eyes. "Of course that would take days or weeks, so I had to get you out before you starved." Caleb smirked as he tugged the mask on and held the other out to Alex. "Trust your little brother, alright, I always got your back."
Alex hesitantly took the sack from his hands and pulled it over his face, the itchy fabric rubbing his skin. "Why would a church care about a mine collapse?" Alex had dozens of questions, but he figured the most pressing one was the danger in front of them.
Caleb tilts his head a bit slightly confused, and he gestures to the two dead bodies on the ground. "Well, you met them, haven't you? The undead. Im just glad you survived." Alex glanced at the two dead bodies, and he pieces together why he had to fight the man twice. "Well, how do you know I'm not undead?" Alex tried not to sound nervous as he asked this question; his eyes under the mask glow a bit more red as he inspects Caleb's response.
Caleb joyfully smacks Alex's shoulder, and he chuckles, "Well, you're here talking to me, aren't you? The undead are mindless things, your my brother! And I always look out for my big bro." Caleb gestures for Alex to follow as he turns to leave the cave, and Alex relaxed slightly, even if it still left some questions unanswered.
Alex followed behind Caleb as they walked to the cave-in, and they both crouched down to step through into the rest of the cave. "Alright, Alex, I need you to stay close and run like hell; they won't care if you're still alive. The Church of Volos is a bunch of fanatics."
"Alright, I'm right behind you." Alex prepared himself as they walked through the rest of the cave past the cave-in and reached a bend in the cave. Caleb pressed against the wall and creeped forward until he was near the corner.
"It came from deeper in the cave. Be on guard." A gruff voice was heard, and the sound of various footsteps was heading this way. Caleb looked back and nodded at Alex before he braced himself.
"Run!" Caleb bolted forward, followed by Alex running at full speed. "Intruders! Quick block the exit; I'll slow them down!" There were three people in white robes, one of which threw back his hood to reveal an older man with short gray hair. He crouched into a ready stance as Caleb and Alex ran at him. A shimmering white mist started to rise from his bottom half before he launched himself forward at inhuman speeds.
Alarm bells rang in Alex's head, and he grabbed Caleb and dove to the side just before the robed man appeared where Caleb just was.
"Damn, he's Awoken!" Caleb shouted this out to Alex as if it explained anything, and he entered a fighting stance. A white mist rose off his body before he launched himself forward towards the man. He swung at the man, and his opponent gritted his teeth and raised his forearm to block the white mist now around his arms.
"Keep running; I can handle this!" Caleb shouted over his shoulder, but an alluring scent hit Alex's nose and he glanced back, seeing the bottom half of the fabric covering Caleb's face was slowly soaking with blood. Alex turned and ran back towards the two fighting.
Blows were being exchanged, and the man in robes was being pushed back as Caleb hit him on the side of the face and then sent a kick to his other side. The man stumbles, unable to keep up with Caleb, but Caleb was heaving with effort, the blood now dripping down his chest.
The man finds an opportunity, and with a blur, his leg snaps out and slams into Caleb's abs, causing him to take several steps back as he recovers. Alex reached the fight, and he swung for the robed man with his pickaxe, but even mid-swing he could feel danger. His instincts roared, and he tried to pull back, but his pickaxe hit the man's raised arm, the white mist rising off it. The arm felt like it was solid stone or even harder; the reverberations down the pickaxe made Alex's arms ache.
The man scowled, "The unenlightened should know their place!" Alex felt danger heading for his head, and he quickly crouched before a blurred, shimmering fist appeared where his head just was. Alex couldn't find an opening; anywhere he thought to strike, his instincts roared danger. Alex's eyes widened, and he jumped back just as a leg blurred past where he just was.
The man gritted his teeth in frustration, his focus now on Alex, "Slippery little worm!" Before he could strike again, arms wrapped around him from behind, and he was lifted off the ground. Caleb lifted the man and bent backwards, slamming him down behind him head first in a suplex.
The man went limp, his head hitting the rocks as Caleb then let him fall next to him. Caleb collapsed into a heaving coughing fit, the mask a bloody mess. "Caleb!" Alex dropped the pickaxe and rushed forward, helping him sit up. "What's wrong? Can you move?"
Caleb nodded, and he struggled but was able to stand with Alex's help. "I pushed myself; I was spent after breaking that boulder." He coughed as he took a few steps with Alex's help. "I shouldn't have used aura, but I didn't have a choice; he would have killed us." After taking a few steps, he took his arm from around Alex, and he stabilized himself a bit on his own.
"We got to get out of here. I need to rest or you're gonna be carrying me," he started to walk towards the exit, still blocked by two people. "Let us out; we're not undead, but your friend might be if you don't go help him." Caleb gestures back at the old man lying on the rocky ground. The two people in robes glance at each other before they rush forward and go past Caleb and Alex, heading to help the man. Caleb's shoulders visibly relax as they go past, and he starts to limp towards the entrance.
"We're lucky he was the only Awoken; otherwise we would be done for."
"Awoken?" Alex walked next to Caleb as they neared the exit.
"That's right, I forgot. You having no memories is going to be difficult. I hope there's some way to restore them. Maybe we'll visit the alchemist tomorrow. Yes, Awoken, someone who's awoken their aura; the white mist you see around him and me when we fought." Caleb stumbled a bit, and Alex quickly caught him to help him before they continued walking.
"Aura is life force, and I used way too much. I was spent after breaking the boulder apart, but then I pushed myself and I paid the price. I'll be better with some rest, but for now we need to be careful not to get in another scrape. Lucky for us, we're here." Caleb nodded ahead towards an opening. There were wooden wagons filled with rock and various tools out to the side, along with a small road. On either side of the road, trees towered above, and above them, stars shone in the night sky.
Alex paused as they exited the cave, his eyes transfixed on the night sky, the stars glimmering in his eyes; he had never seen so many before the entire sky was glitter. He looked around, and the night was lit beautifully by the stars. The night wasn't dark, only dim, and they could easily navigate their way to the road.
"Come on, let's get to town before I pass out." Caleb's words brought Alex out of his entranced stupor, and he ran to get beside Caleb as Caleb took the sack off his head. The short black hair on top of his head was a sweaty, ruffled mess, and the bottom half of his face was smeared with the blood leaking from his nose and mouth.
Alex's eyes widened at the sight, seeing how serious he was bleeding. "Should we stop Caleb? You don't look good."
"No, we keep going; they'll be looking for us soon; we need to get to my place before they find us," Caleb waved away Alex's concern.
Alex nodded then focused for a moment as he forced his fangs to stay put away despite the blood scent in the air and his own desire battling away inside. He reached up and took the mask off, his red eyes reflecting the starlight a bit as he felt his mouth with his tongue, glad to have his fangs under control.
"Alright, well then we'll take any breaks you need, but you lead the way; I don't know where we're going."
Caleb sighed and shook his head. "Just wait, buddy, we'll have the alchemist see what he can do tomorrow. I promise you, I'll get your memories back." He made sure to give Alex a reassuring smile as they walked down the path. A smile that Alex didn't return for fear of showing his fangs, but he did nod. "Of course, tomarrow." A bit of nervousness crept into Alex's voice as he spoke, mainly because he didn't know if an 'alchemist' would be able to see he's undead after an examination. The thoughts of where they were going and tomarrow were filling Alex's mind as they made their way forward.