MAEVE [Arc 1]

Chapter 8: Remember me

Perspective: Maeve

Every day, I wake to the chirping of birds.
To the sound of leaves, to the sound of wind.
These are things you expect in life's daily routine.
Routines make life predictable, inflexible, and easily tilted off balance.
And when that balance is lost, a person can lose themselves, and everything goes into chaos.
So every day, I wake to the chirping of birds, fearing the day they scream...

Ethan:
"MAEVE, GET UP!"

I shoot up from my bed and my gaze darts around the room as the sudden sound of screams and cries of horror from the outside echo through the wall. I look over at the clock; it's three in the morning.

Maeve:
"What's going on?!"

Ethan rummages through my closet and tosses me my clothes along with my cloak.

Ethan:
"I DON'T KNOW, BUT WE'RE LEAVING, NOW. I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANY BACKTALK, GRAB YOUR SHIT, AND LET'S GO."

Ethan bolts back down the stairs without saying another word. I look over to the shut window blinds in front of my bed, still confused as to what is happening. As I begin to walk over to the window, I hear what sounds like a table being split in two. I pull my pants on and head over to the door, grabbing the knife that I keep on my nightstand, stuffing it into my cloak's inner pocket. After bolting down the stairs, I see Ethan being approached by two red-cloaked men.

Ethan:
"Look, I don't know what you want, but you can take anything. Just don't injure the patients."

He seems to be calm. Both of the men stand there with their arms crossed, almost seeming amused. They must have entered through the side door, which means the front door should still be fine. I'm not sure what's going on, but I know Ethan is too much of a pacifist to resort to violence when it comes down to it. If I have to, I will kill these men to protect him, but right now, they seem to be passive, so I'll take this opportunity to relocate. I crouch down and begin approaching them as they're faced away from me, not thinking of the possibility of a flank. Then, as I round the corner near the front door, it explodes, knocking me to the ground with my cloak wrapping over my head. Winded and battered, I raise myself off the floor and reach for my knife. I want to avoid using my necklace until the moment is right. If I use it now, I won't be able to use it again for another half hour. However the right moment has already passed as a sword stabs through my chest and a foot pins me to the ground. Blood vomits from my mouth as my left lung is punctured. I watch as a man dressed in stripes of yellow strolls past me. As the man approaches him, he commands his men to round up any mana crystals they can find.

Ethan:
"I SAID YOU CAN TAKE ANYTHING, OKAY, JUST PLEASE, DON'T KILL HER."

There is a gunshot; a flash of red fills the room for only a moment. Every molecule within my body cries out in agony as I watch the only thing I cared about more than myself fall to the floor in a spout of blood. Ethan grunts on the floor, clutching onto the hole in his chest and begging for the man to stop. Blood pours from his wound. Losing complete control of myself, I curse, kick, and scream bloody murder. In a blind fit of fury, I reach for my necklace but the moment I do, I feel the sword in my back pull out of me and stab into my left arm, cutting into my cloak. The man standing on top of me smashes my right hand with his other foot, rendering me immobile. The yellow striped leader's attention is brought off of Ethan and on to me. He softly smiles and orders the others to burn the place down. Fire begins spreading around the house, and the smell of soot fills the air. I look at Ethan; he is surrounded by a pool of his own blood. I need to save him before he bleeds out. I need to get to him. I need to move. I need to move now. I scream and kick as hard as I can. I cough as I feel my throat tear apart. I beg, I plead, I scream every word deep in my heart. If there's a god, if there is someone who cares, if there's anyone who gives a damn, don't let him die here. I don't want to lose it all again.