Strike! ストライキ

Chapter 5: Captured?!

"Dammit, Sole! I should have known something was wrong! The town looked deserted from the outside!"  

She blocks the Caravala's arm with her sword but another knocks her backwards. She glances at me and then back at the approaching children.  

"Shit. If you weren't here i'd beat these freaks down in a minute."

She glances around at the circle of Caravala surrounding us and then takes off running. I follow her instinctively, running as fast as my legs can carry me. She breaks into the treeline, branches flying but it doesn't seem to phase her determination. She keeps running, the children running along behind us. I cannot see them but their eyes and the sound of them hissing echos through the trees. I turn my attention away from the pursuing Caravala.

"Where are we going?"

  "Last time I checked," she ducks under a branch, "There was a cliff over here."

  "A-A cliff! Why are we running towards it?"

She gives me a wide grin and grabs me. She hoists me up easily, my slender body jammed under her arm.  I watch the ground drop ahead of us and gasp, shielding my eyes. Karvella flies outward, her feet leaving the ground leave me feeling nauseated. I open my eyes slowly. We are soaring through the air with nothing but dense woods beneath us. The air blows my hair back somewhat viciously and the sinking feeling in my stomach grows more painful to bear.

"Are we flying," I manage to whisper through the harsh wind.

"Hell no, we're falling! Woo hoo!"

I swallow at the smile on her face as we crash through the over top of the forest, slamming into the ground. The impact of the fall goes up Karvella's body and out through me. I shiver at the pain. I stand up quickly when I realize that i'm laying on Karvella. For a moment she is still which concerns me but then she starts laughing boisterously. She rolls in the grass, laughing so loudly, the forest seems to shake. Wait. The forest is shaking or at least the trees are. I hear rustling in the bushes surrounding us.

  "Karvella, shh!"

She continues her laughing fit despite my warning for her to be quiet. Karvella doesn't even stop snickering when we are surrounded by a group of masked people. They all wear black cloaks and have deformed golden masks that cover their faces. Caravala, maybe? The figure in the front has a lion mask on their face. He approaches us but I run in front of him with my arm extended.

"G-Get away from us."

I can feel him narrow his eyes through the mask, taking me in. I start to get tense suddenly, my heart beginning to race. I put on the best glare I can, trying desperately to make my arm mobilize. 

"Who are you," one hisses, "tell us now!"

"We are just travelers," I say, nervously, "honestly."

Karvella only laughs harder. The leader glances towards Karvella and stalks over to her.

"Girl, you have five swords! Are you really just a traveler?"

"No. I am a bounty hunter," Karvella giggles, "You should take him as your prisoner! He's a Caravala!"

The leader looks at me with intense eyes. They all grab me, pulling my coat off to reveal my arm. I stare in shock at Karvella, not understanding her reason for revealing this fact to these strangers. She winks at me as they bolt my arms behind my back with steel cuffs and push me forward. The leader again turns to Karvella, reaching for his sword.

"How do we know that you aren't a Caravala as well? Show me your identification, bounty hunter!"

Karvella stands, still giggling like she's insane and pulls out a leather pouch. She goes through it for a moment and pulls out a silver disk-like piece. The lion mask examines it closely, flipping it every which way.

"Who knows why'd they let a kid join...," he sighs and starts to walk ahead; his men follow him, "We are from the town of Haine."

"Haine? Is it a prosperous town?"

He nods towards Karvella. The three men securing me take turns roughly pushing me forward. I turn my eyes towards Karvella but she doesn't seem to interested in me anymore.

"Many of us had our homes and families taken away from us about 10 years ago when those damned kids showed up from the forest. At first we were unsure of what they were so we ignored their presence. But then...," the anger in his eyes send a chill down my spine, "The first child disappeared."

Karvella frowns and glances back at me for a second. I am not prepared for it so she turns away before I can ask for her help.

"Two more kids went missing a week later," he growled, "One of them my own."

"Why didn't you just kill them all after that?"

The man sighs. 

"I was about to but our selfish leader stopped us. He said that we'd only bring the Caravala's wrath down upon us if we tried to fight them. I argued with him until he had me beaten and locked up for treason."

I stare at the man, his head is hung and sadness drips from his voice. Karvella has a strange yet understanding look on her face. The lion mask man stops and turns towards me suddenly. Karvella's hands quickly go to her sword. At least I know that she won't let me die. He reaches for my face and tilts it upwards.

"We can find a way to kill of all of the damned Caravala. A cure for the plague," he growled, "We have a doctor in our town who would be happy to experiment on this demon."

Karvella snickers beneath her breath and I turn pale.