The Beast That was Promised ✔

FOURTEEN: Mistakes

"You two! Up, now!" a voice barked in Emrick's ears. Bleary-eyed, he sat up, forgetting where he was for a long moment. "Did you hear me? I said, get up!"

He was in the enemy camp, in a tent Orvo had shown him to. The man in question was already standing and pulling on his armour without a word. In the open flap of the tent stood an armoured figure glaring down at him in anger. His supposed Captain, giving him orders as they should have been. He needed to follow them if he didn't want to get caught.

His armour had been left next to the spare bedroll Orvo kept in his tent and with a tired groan, he started pulling it on. He didn't dare ask what was going on, not with the Captain staring at him with such anger. The armour was uncomfortable first thing in the morning, his tired joints aching as he stretched them, but he didn't say a word in protest, lest he anger the Captain and blow his cover.

"Be out in two minutes," the Captain snapped and disappeared from the tent opening.

As soon as they were gone, Emrick turned to Orvo. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Orvo said with a shrug as he pulled his helmet on. "This isn't Captain Hyla, you don't need to come."

It was as if he was helping him solidify his cover. "I have the feeling I would get in trouble if I didn't show up, even if it isn't Captain Hyla," he replied.

Orvo didn't argue but under the helmet, his eyes narrowed. Once they were both dressed in their dirty armour, they headed out into the camp. In the predawn light, it looked abandoned, only a few people wandering between the tents like lost souls. Emrick walked at Orvo's side, unsure of where he was supposed to be going. He could run and go for the bridge, but in whatever chaos was ensuing, getting caught would end in a way he didn't want it to.

The captain who had woken them waited by the dead campfire he and Orvo had sat around the night before. There were others with them, but no one he recognised. The Captain glared at them but didn't say a word, waiting impatiently as more people joined the small group. There weren't many of them, twenty at most, which only served to make Emrick even more anxious.

"Now that you're all here," the Captain said when the last woman joined the group, their arms crossed over their chest. "We have a problem. During the night, a group of unknown Askari snuck through town and killed those stationed by the bridge. We have word that they are holed up on the outskirts of Fovatia. It is our job to find and dispatch them."

Of course, he should have expected something like that to happen. They believed that he was one of them and thus, treated him the same as they treated everyone else. If he wanted to get through the town in one piece, he had to act as the one group he'd rather kill than join. He had no other choice. By the end of the day, he would be gone, but until then, he needed to keep up his farse.

He kept as still as possible while the Captain explained what they were going to do, even though his hands were shaking with anger. There were eyes on him as he stood and when he looked over, Orvo narrowed his eyes questioningly. Their conversation from the night before came back to him and all he could do was wonder why Orvo was so complacent in the orders of the Captain.

Probably for the same reasons he was. Getting in trouble was a lot scarier than following orders, even if those orders went against everything they believed. At least for Emrick anyway. It could be the same for his new friend.

"We will head over the bridge and split off into groups until we find the rogue Askari. Don't show any mercy," the Captain said, their gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Come. I want to be done before the sun rises. If you let any of them escape, there will be a worse punishment for you, do you understand?"