Chapter 2: And A Legend to Be Remembered
The silence was eating Klyne.
"Where are the mana beasts? They should have passed straight by here.", he said aloud.
The captain responded, "Be patient, that's all we can do for now."
Minutes felt like hours, hours like days. The longer time went on, the more suspenseful he felt.
It wasn't until the sun was being covered by the tops of the trees when the captain announced, "We'll head back for now -- let the Secondary Defense Team know that nothing is coming."
Standing next to the captain, Victor spoke, "Wait a second..."
They all paused, not one of them dare breathe, in fear of missing a sound that would determine life or death.
"Where did the insects go?", Arlo said, barely lower than a whisper. In the trench, Aywin, Recht, and Klyne all looked to him before Aywin followed, "Maybe because it's getting darker.."
Recht cut in, "..No. He's right... They should be getting louder this late, though I here none."
Klyne could hear his heart in his chest and each breath expand and contract his chest. His mouth was dry, his back still hurt, and he was sticky from sweat. At that moment, all could be ignored as he listened....,
waited.....,
"SSSCCCCRRRRRRRRCCCCHHHHH!!!!!!!
"Oh, shit!", Klyne could help but yell.
"Be Ready!!!", the captain yelled.
Victor, Orym, and Theo all took defensive stances next to him.
It was the same noise Klyne heard before as he'd run in the forest. He waited for the same sobbing scream to follow, the kind that made you irk in pity and regret; he waited and waited -- but the only sound that followed was silence.
Still in the trench, Klyne stood waiting for something to happen. His heart was beating faster now and his breaths felt heavy. A flash of darkness appeared on the ground as he looked to the sword that he gripped beside him.
"Wait..., what was that?", he whispered.
"What was what?", Aywin replied.
"That darkness just.."
*BOOOOOOMMMMM
"SSCCCRRRRRRRCCCCCHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
"Ah! Fuck!", a few of the men yelled.
An enormous, black bird had crashed in front of Captain and the other men to the southeast. Standing at six feet, it's beady eyes were level with the Captain Drew's. Its menacing wings flapped over and over and its body jumped back and forth. Great gusts of wind were made from its 15-foot wingspan, collecting dirt and debris and shooting it outwards.
"Now!!!", the captain yelled.
*SSHCK
Dirt, rocks, and mud flew as Recht launched his body forward.
A second later, he appeared 40 feet East of the trench, behind the left side of the enormous creature.
Facing the black bird, he slid backward, one hand on the ground, the other wielding his sword back at his side.
His slide didn't stop until his foot hit a root and...
*SNAP!
Using it as traction, he propelled his body forward once more. In a blur of a motion, he passed under the bird, sword pointed out from his side.
*SSSCCCRRRCCCCHHH!!
Recht had severed the bird's entire leg off!! It lay useless to the side as the bird flapped its wings in an erratic attempt to keep upright.
Gusts of wind blew dirt in every direction. A wave hit Klyne and he jerked his head back into the trench for cover. As he turned, he noticed Arlo and Aywin sitting across from him. Both were petrified -- they had ignored the captain's command and sat scared in the trench.
He slid into a sitting position, back against the wall of the trench, and everything went dark.
.
.
*Crack!!
The bird lunged forward and crushed Orym's head in its beak. It had utilized the storm of dust to attack as Orym was blinded.
"NOOOO!!!", Theo yelled.
"WAIT!", the captain yelled.
It was too late.
In three bounding steps, Theo had thrown his sword up from behind him and, in utilizing every bit of power in his triceps and abdomen, swung it back down to try and decapitate the winged-beast.
In effort and frustration, he screamed.
The bird flapped both wings down hard, avoiding the arc motion.
Theo, not expecting to miss, staggered forward, the sword's momentum carrying him.
The blade hit the ground and the beast snapped forward biting into his abdomen. It released its clamp and the motionless body of Theo fell over Orym's.
.
.
Captain, Victor, Theo, and Orym, had all been standing in front of the bird when it'd initially landed. Now, only Victor and the captain remained, but both were paralyzed in their blindness. Tears ran down their cheeks as they tried to keep their eyes open, but neither could for long.
Recht, in a burst of speed, had expended all the oxygen in his lungs, and inhaled a mass of dirt trying to catch his breath. He was now keeled over to the side coughing and gasping for air.
Captain and Victor, still held up their swords, not making the same mistake as Orym from earlier.
"Everyone!", the captain yelled.
The winged beast jerked back at his sudden shout.
"You need to leave! Move to the South.."
"Wait..", Victor said as the captain talked.
The captain either ignoring or not in acknowledgment of these words continued, "-- if the Secondary Defense Team has not yet fallen back. Let them know we have lost and continue to retreat."
After no one moved, the Captain yelled.
"Go, damnit!"
Recht hoisted his body up and staggered to the trench.
"Aywin *cough*, Arlo, we need *cough cough* to go", he barely managed to say.
At those words, they both looked up to him. Aywin jerked up, ready to do whatever was necessary to leave, but Arlo still sat there, shivering and scared.
"Arlo, we *cough cough* need to go!", Recht repeated, followed by a coughing fit.
Finally, Arlo spoke, "We can't leave yet! Captain will kill it! If we leave now, i-it'll e-e-eat us."
Not having the breath or time to speak, Recht fortified himself and declared, "Aywin, get Klyne *cough*, we'll leave without Arlo.".
"No! Wait!", Arlo responded, as Aywin hoisted the unconscious boy of Klyne.
"No...", Recht replied, as he helped lift Klyne from the trench.
Aywin climbed up from the trench and picked up Klyne once more. After he'd situated him on his back, he turned and said down to Arlo, "Please! Get up here and let's leave."
"No! If we leave we'll die! Just let the captain take care of it and then we can all walk away together."
Recht, looking down at Arlo until now, did an about and directed himself and Aywin away.
**waaaaahhhh
Sounds of Arlo crying could be heard as they walked away.
.
.
"They're leaving!", the captain yelled to Victor, "You need to go!"
"Sir, the only reason why the mana beast isn't attacking is because both of us are prepared to attack it if it goes for the other one."
"I'm capable of blocking a few of it's attacks, so GO!"
"That won't give us enough time, sir! If I leave, it'll go for you immediately! Even if you can block a 'few', how far can we go in that time!?"
"Aaaaahhhh! Damnit, fine!", Captain Drew shouted in desperation.
The bird burst forward at the captain, but Victor launched a direct jab toward the beast's left eye. The beast pulled back, and Victor converted the jab into a feint returning to his readied his stance.
"Then we have to beat it.", the captain announced.
"Do you actually think we can.", his voice lifted with hope.
"I'm not going to let another one of my team members die, so we have to beat it. It's our only option."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
PatrickA02
PatrickA02 Three things:
.
1) Just checked this on my phone and my spacing was wack in earlier chapters. I'm going to see what I can do about that.
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2) HOLY CRAP! TWO PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY READING THIS! I totally started this to escape my Java Fundamentals and Calculus III classes.
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3) This week is finals week babyyyyyyy. And then I'm donnnnneeeee. You bet your ass I'm going to be uploading at least a chapter a day.
... Maybe three.
*smirk*
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