Six Will Stand (First Draft)

Chapter 5

Cade opened his eyes to see Fai and Caleb leaning over him. Fai was hovering worriedly over Cade while Caleb, who looked as calm as if he were just out on an afternoon stroll, was wrapping Cade's head in a bandage. Tight enough to stop the bleeding, but not tight enough to cut off circulation; he had clearly done this before. His face broke into a smile when he saw Cade's open eyes. "Ah, sleeping beauty awakens! How are you feeling?"

"S-sleeping beauty?" Cade stuttered. Recovering quickly, he brushed it off and said, "I'm...doing better than whatever the heck Bad was trying to make me do— Er, Bad is the corrupt half of my Half-Pure Lycoris. But, did you see Riv anywhere?"

Caleb looked at Fai and Marion. Josh was still nowhere in sight. "No, why? And do you think you can sit up on your own or do you need help?"

Cade looked dejected for a moment. "Oh...." Shaking his head (and feeling a slight pang of guilt after he did it), he said, "I...think I can stand...." Legs shaking, he used the tree next to him to steady himself. Taking in a ragged breath, he noticed something on the ground near the tree.

The gold and silver bow and quiver. Cade immediately began walking to it, head spinning a bit. The blood loss sure was getting to him....

"Hey, K-Dee, take it easy, will ya?" Fai supported Cade as he stumbled a little, the blond's hand reaching up to stop the pain in his head wound.

"The...bow...." Cade pointed to the weapon in the grass, its metallic sheen sparkling in the darkening twilight. Marion ran over and picked it up for them.

"Here," she said, handing the bow and quiver full of silver arrows to Fai. Ruffling the small girl's head, Fai smiled in thanks.

Turning around, Fai faced Caleb. "So...now what?"

Caleb shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know why you guys were assigned guardians. I guess...." He thought for a moment. "When Josh gets back we should get to the nearest town. Cade needs rest and healing, and it's better than being in the middle of the woods. After that I say we continue onto Sina City. Maybe we can figure out why you two are important." He looked hesitantly at Fai. "Unless you have a better idea...."

The redhead nodded, the bow and quiver now slung across his back. "That sounds good," he said as he helped Cade sit down, leaning the blond against a tree. "Where did your twin go, though, anyway? He shouldn't have been gone for this long, right? It's been nearly twenty minutes...."

Caleb looked over worriedly. "I know, but I don't want to...." He stopped abruptly, listening. He glanced at the others sharply, putting his finger to his lips. He turned to the right, drawing his sword. He preferred sword fighting; the arm brace was for emergencies.

The bush shivered and a figure leaped out. In a flash, Caleb had his sword at the attacker's throat, but the attacker had the same idea. The point of his sword was at Caleb's neck behind his head. Caleb looked at his attacker and, noticing the mirror image, instantly dropped his sword. He rushed over to his twin, took his arm and lead him to a nearby rock.

Josh dropped his sword on the way over. He sat down, leaning against the rock. Caleb looked sternly at his brother. He gestured with his chin. "Jacket. Off."

Josh stripped the jacket off to reveal his bare shoulders. The skin was scraped raw and bleeding, and the company noticed a long fresh scratch on the right side of his face. Caleb took his brother's chin in his hands and examined his face. He looked shocked, but when he spoke, it was not what the others had expected. "Dang. They really went easy on you."

Josh nodded, wincing slightly. "Tell me about it. I was expecting a five or a six. Maybe even a four. They gave me more like a nine or ten."

"You guessing or did they tell you?"

Caleb took out a small bandage and water from his canteen and began to clean the scratch on Josh's face. Josh cringed a little but managed to stay still. "I'm guessing. They don't talk much."

Caleb continued to clean the wound as he asked, "Back or chest?"

Josh shook his head. "Neither."

Caleb froze. He looked at his brother for a moment in shock. Then, "Seriously?"

Josh shrugged. "You said it yourself: they went easy on me."

Caleb was still recovering from his shock. "Yes, but that's not normal."

"You're telling me."

"Woah, woah, woah." Fai looked at Josh, stunned. "What the heck are you two talking about?"

Marion walked over to Josh and tugged on one of his fingers. "Are you okay?" She tried reaching up to touch his shoulders, but she was too short to get to the wounds. "I can heal them for you," she said, brown eyes flicking between Josh's blue ones.

Josh smiled at the little girl and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, kiddo. But that might not be the best idea."

Caleb nodded. "Unfortunately, he's right. If they found out we were interacting with you guys...." He let his sentence drop, his face suddenly paler than it had been a moment ago.

Marion pouted for a moment before she nodded, understanding their reasoning. "But...if you can tell us...what did happen to you?"

Josh exchanged a look with his brother. "You're not gonna like it," he warned.

"Were you punished because of Cade?" The girl whispered, making sure the said boy wasn't able to hear, even though he had fallen asleep against the tree already.

Josh gestured to Cade's head wound. "That's not a little scrape. In all honesty though...I was shocked they only gave me a nine or ten...."

His twin nodded. "Yeah, that's just weird. I was expecting at least a five...."

"So, is this scale backwards or something?" Fai huffed. "Eh, I think I got it. And, maybe your...authority people knew that it wasn't entirely your fault, since you couldn't really do anything." Fai shrugged. "But I'm not the expert, so don't take my word for it."

Caleb looked at him. "That logic works, for normal people. Unfortunately, they have been known to not follow that before. I mean, Riv had just become your guardian when you had your serious injury, and yet she got a two. A one is the worst, and that's if your charge dies. That's a beating to death. Two is a beating bad enough that if no one helped you afterward, you would be dead. They weren't sure if you were going to survive for a longer period of time, and that's what a two is. If they beat a three year old that badly for that, your theory wouldn't be the reason now. It has to be something else...."

After an uncomfortable silence, Josh leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. "I think we should just camp here for the night. I don't think Cade could get very far, and the less I move tonight the better. Tomorrow we'll head for...for.... Where exactly are we going again?"

Caleb sighed. "Sina City."

Josh snapped his finger. "Right! Well tomorrow we'll head for...whatever he just said...and stock on supplies there." Fai and Marion nodded, took their sleeping mats out, and curled up on them. Within minutes, both were fast asleep.

Caleb opened his mouth to talk when Josh interrupted him. "Oh, no you don't. You took first watch last night. It's my turn." Caleb looked like he was going to protest, then he clearly thought better of it. He stripped off his outer jacket, bunched it into a ball, and used it as a pillow.

Josh looked at the darkening sky. He looked at Fai, Cade, and Marion, all snoring peacefully. He shook his head mournfully. "What've we done to you guys?"