Prompt: A bolt of magic zips right above your head, barely missing you by an inch or so. You look up, face to face with a wizard radiating crashing waves of magical energy. They smirk, and points their crooked finger towards you,
“I finally found you! You thought you can hide from me!?”
Edit: Warning this isn’t a happy story.
All was going well. The war was being wrapped up. Certainly, there had been a few regrettable accidents, but the army had even managed to seem kind. I sighed. War was never kind.
A laugh went up among a group of soldiers playing cards. They were certainly taking advantage of their precious downtime.
“Sir! We’re back!”
I turned. Jeremiah and his unit had returned. “Did you find anything?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
I frowned. The information broker had clearly said that it was here. “Check the town again. This time take ten more of our men and get help from the wizards. I want every inch covered.”
“Yes sir!” He began gathering up the extra soldiers. They quickly set off, jogging lightly back into the still-smoking ruins of the village.
“Sir! Bad news sir!” called out a youthful voice. Isa, the newest recruit, was running towards me. She waved a small square of paper as she did. “The broker’s dead!”
The message was short and simple. Credence is dead. Someone had leaked, and we were no doubt wasting our time in this village. I folded the paper in two and stuck it in my pocket. “Thanks for delivering this. Now go pack up.”
“Are we leaving?” she asked.
“Yes, I’ll tell the whole squadron once Jeremiah gets back.” I glanced at the sun, which was quickly lowering itself below the horizon. It wasn’t going to be fun, making it back to forward base before the sun set.
I turned away. The sea was still and silent, the waves hardly ripples. Ripples. There was something under the water.
A massive geyser of water burst out of the sea, crashing down on the soldiers’ huts. “EVERYONE TAKE COVER!” I yelled helplessly. Magic. Soldiers ducked as the waters rose onto the beach. Enemy troops were everywhere.
Fires hissed as seawater rose over the logs and coals, snuffing them out. I grabbed my spear, rushing down to the beach. Men and women fought in the sand, like warped monsters, filthy and screaming. I rammed the point of my spear into the first enemy I saw, driving it halfway into his gut. Drawing my sword, I opened his neck from ear to ear, blood spraying into the air.
Isa lay dead on the ground beside me, a knife in her eye. Gregory, he who had lied about his age to get in, lay scarcely a few feet beyond her. The veteran, Erik, was dead too, surrounded by the corpses of his foes. Everywhere I looked, bodies lay. But the fight raged on.
A wave slammed into my back, sending me flying into the sand.
“I finally found you! You thought you can hide from me?" laughed a voice. I rolled over twice, before getting to my feet. Better lost dignity than a lost life, I thought, my vision hazy. Something wet and hot dripped on my leg. Blood. The man I had killed must’ve gotten a hit in. I wanted to laugh. Was I finally breaking? I stuck my sword out in front of me, the position remembered only by my body, while my mind wandered a thousand miles away. I forced myself back into the moment.
“You!” I gasped with sudden realization.
Credence smiled. “Me.”
“You betrayed us!” My heart filled with sudden rage. Isa. Gregory. Erik. So many dead. “Why? Why would you…”
Credence laughed out loud, and the sound rose over the cries of the dying and the screams of the living. “Don’t you remember? Three years ago, in that tavern? You ruined my entire life right then. Don’t think you can get away with it now.”
I tried to think back. Three years ago. In a tavern. “I don’t remember a thing.”
“You don’t remember a thing?” he asked incredulously. “I was young, just newly enlisted, ready to take on the world. But you told the commanders that I was stupid and unreliable. As a joke. You ruined my life for a joke!”
“I’m sorry.” I spat blood into the sand. It looked strangely pretty, dark and red on the pale beach. “But I don’t remember.”
He lifted his hand. “Then you never will.” A magic circle formed in his palm, energy gathering inside of it.
Out of nowhere, an arrow crashed into his skull. He fell, lifeless, to the ground. I looked up. Dozens of soldiers had appeared out of the shadows, several of them sporting glowing magic circles, and bolts of magic of every color soared out of them. Jeremiah was back, and he had brought the cavalry.
I laughed, really and truly laughed. I’m sorry, my mind said. Sorry for what? I asked. War had never been kind. Then I laughed again. A brilliant bolt of pain ripped through my head. Then, everything faded to black.