'Let her go!' Kypher yelled.
'If you give in.' The man said. Kypher clenched his fists and dropped to his knees.
'I... I surrender.' He mumbled.
'I'm sorry, what did you say?' The man said.
'I surrender!' Kypher yelled.
'That's what I thought.' The man said. He cut his mum's throat, threw her body on the floor and Kypher had pure hatred in his eyes.
'No!' Kypher yelled. He got up and ran to the man. He swung his fist and hit the man right on the cheek. He kicked the man’s ribs and I heard it crack. He was going to elbow the man’s neck but the man was quick. He rolled away from Kypher, Kypher elbowed the floor instead. The man kicked Kypher's head and Kypher flew towards a wall. He slammed into the wall and fell to the floor, unconscious.
'Kypher!' I yelled and ran to him. The man stood in front of me and back-handed me. I fell and tasted blood in my mouth.
'You better not interfere young lady.' He said, picked up Kypher and walked away. I got up and followed him.
Kypher's Point Of View
I woke up, I was in a cage with metal bars. I felt whatever I was on stopped moving and that man appeared in front of me.
'We're here.' He said.
'Where?' I asked.
'The dungeons.' He said. I looked at a mirror next to me, I was covered in blood, cuts, bruises and dirt from the fight, he probably beat me up after I was knocked out. The cage door opened and I walked out. The man pushed me and I started walking. I was in a dark forest, it was black everywhere, there was no wind blowing and there were statues of lizards and other animals on rocks. The entrance looked like the doors to hell. There were signs saying "Danger! Criminals inside!" everywhere. There were torches around it and the fire lite brightly. I walked in and instantly the air grew hot and dry. There was a thick, blood red fog everywhere in the dungeon.
'What the...' I mumbled and that man chuckled.
'The dungeon is the most feared place on Earth right now. So many criminals commit suicide or kill each other, better watch out.' The man said and pushed me into an open cell door. He closed it and I watched him walk away.
'So why are you here?' I heard a girl ask. I turned around and saw a girl sharpening a knife. She was wearing a black hood, black long sleeved top, black gloves, black pants and black boots. She had knives on her boots, guessing spare knives. She stopped sharpening her knife and put it on the table, which she had her legs on. She put her feet on the floor, walked towards me and stopped in front of me.
'Are you a visitor? You're just a kid.' She said, putting a finger on my chin. I moved it away.
'No I’m not. I was framed for killing someone. And you're just a kid too if you haven't noticed. Anyway why are you here?' I asked.
'I killed fifteen people.' She said.
'How?' I asked.
'To be honest I don't remember.' She said then shook her head.
'Anyway names Annabelle.' She said and held out her hand.
'Kypher.' I said. I held her hand and shook it. I tried to pull away but she gripped my hand hard so I couldn't move.
'Listen kid, this dungeon has made people commit suicide from madness. You will always stay with me, I don't want to end up insane.' She said then let go.
'Sure, I need some company.' I said and she smiled.
'Also the cell doors open at midnight so I'd sleep now if I were you.' She said. There was a double bed at the far end of the cell. I walked to it, crawled in and fell asleep.
'Hey wake up!' I heard Annabelle yell. I shot up, jumped out of bed and clenched my fists.
'What?' I asked.
'Nothing, five minutes to midnight. Get changed into the clothes on the table.' She said. I got changed into the same clothes as her except a guy’s version I guess. I had a black hood, black long sleeved shirt, black gloves, black pants and black combat boots. I had knives on my boots as well and she handed me a sword. The blade was gold with some inscriptions written on it and it had a dim, golden glow.
'You know how to use one?' She asked.
'Yeah.' I said. It was light-weight and balanced. It had a nice feel to it, like it was made for me.
'Where'd you get this?' I asked.
'Some old lady gave it to me and said give it to a boy named Kypher.' She said.
'It feels perfect for me.' I said.
'OK, this is what's going to happen. Follow me, don't make eye contact with anyone and try not to start trouble.' She said and the cell door opened. I felt my heart started beating faster and I felt terrified. Annabelle started walking and I followed her. I saw a lot of men walking around, some were talking with each other and some just stared at me. I just stared at the back of Annabelle's head and followed her. We got to some sort of shop and we entered.
'Welcome to the shop of magic, how may I be of service?' An old lady asked.
'I need a shield. A magical shield.' Annabelle said and the lady walked away. She came back after ten minutes with a shield. It was gold like my sword, had some inscriptions on it and It had a dim golden glow to it. It moved the fog away and I could see clearly.
'Anything else?' She asked.
'Yeah can you enchant my sword?' I asked.
'I'm sorry dear but it is already enchanted.' She said.
'What do these... letters say?' I asked and gave it to her. She looked at it and handed it back.
'It tells a prophecy of a young man who... never mind, it's just a tale.' She said and I knew she wasn't telling me something.
'When you hold these two, you become a warrior.' She said. I felt my fear disappear and I felt confident. We walked out and I looked around. I saw all the people glance at me then go back to whatever they were doing.
'They seem scared of you.' Annabelle said.
'This is so weird.' I said. We walked back to the cell and the doors closed. I put my sword and shield under the bed and took off my boots. I crawled into bed, faced the cell door and closed my eyes. I felt the bed move and I opened my eyes. Annabelle was in front of me, already asleep. How can I sleep when everything I see, hear or feel frightens me? I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
One week later
I woke up and Annabelle was still asleep. I heard footsteps approaching my cell and I shook her.
'Annabelle.' I whispered. No response.
'Annabelle wake up.' I said a little louder. Still nothing. I slapped her cheek and she woke up. The cell door opened and she shot out of bed. I grabbed my sword and shield and she held her knives. A man walked in and he raised his hands up.
'I come to deliver a message from our gang’s boss. He wants to meet you.' He said. I saw an emblem on his shirt and Annabelle lowered her knives. The emblem was a skull, broken at the top with a snake crawling around it, coming out of the eye sockets from the broken part at the top
'The leader of the unseen wants to meet us?' She asked.
'Yeah. Follow me.' He said and walked away. He followed him and he looked around.
'Where's the fog?' He asked.
'My sword and shield get rid of it.' I answered.
'That's nice to know. By the way, names Marco.' He said.
'Kypher.' I said.
'Annabelle.' She said. We got to a different section of the dungeons, there were small houses almost everywhere you looked, a huge cafeteria with people eating, talking and laughing and at the end of the place was a little throne room. There were emblems of the unseen symbol painted on the walls.
'Everyone leave me.' He said and everyone walked away. He took off his coat and he stood up. We walked to us and stopped a few meters away. He seemed young, maybe mid-twenties, with a strong face, brown eyes, short brown hair, a muscular body, heavily tanned skin, a small beard and seemed confident.
'Kypher, Annabelle. I've been expecting you for years now. I want you to join my clan.' He said.
'Yeah I’m up.' I said.
'Sure I’ll join.' Annabelle said.
'OK, sit here.' He said. We sat on a chair and he walked behind us.
'Lift your right sleeves up.' He said and we did.
'You might wanna close your eyes.' He said. I looked over to Annabelle. He had a branding iron with the emblem as the metal. He pushed it onto her right arm and she started screaming. He pulled away and the emblem glowed purple on her upper right arm. She was still screaming and clutching it in pain. He walked towards me and I gripped my sword and shield as tightly as I could. He pushed the branding iron onto my upper right arm. It was so weird I felt unbelievable pain for two seconds then none. It glowed purple and I felt incredibly powerful.
'Brace yourselves, your lives will change forever tomorrow.' He said.
'What's gonna happen?' I asked.
'Find the three keys my son.' He said and walked back to his throne. We started walking back. I turned around.
'Hey about-' I was about to ask but he was gone. I shrugged and started walking back to our cell. I sat on the chair and Annabelle laid on the bed. I couldn't stop thinking about what he said. "Your lives will change tomorrow. Find the three keys." I wonder what does that mean. What three keys, why do I need them, how will my life change? Too many questions but not any answers.
Two hours later, Thea's Point Of View
I felt bad about leaving Kypher. That dungeon just scared me off and something felt wrong about that place. I felt... connected to it. I was sitting on the edge of my bed and thought about what could happen to Kypher. That's it. I stood up, got dressed into some random clothes and walked to the armory.
'Good morning Thea, how may I help you?' The man asked.
'I need armor. Heavy armor. A sword and a shield too.' I said.
'Without question.' He said. I waited an hour and he walked out.
'Come try it on.' He said. I walked inside and put on the armor. It was a perfect fit. I slid my left arm into the shield and put my sword in my sheath.
'Thanks. Tell my mum to pay her with my money.' I said and ran off. The fastest way to get there is by car.
'Step aside girl.' I heard a man say and I moved. Two guards were next to a man in chains.
'Off to the dungeons with you.' One said. I followed the guards until we got to a car. I jumped in where the prisoner was and waited.
'Hey, little girl. You shouldn't be here.' He said.
'You don't seem like a criminal.' I said.
'I'm not, I got framed.' He said. I cut the bars and he slowly crouched out.
'Thank you.' He said and jumped out. I waited until the car stopped and a guard opened the door.
'Alright get-' He started but I jumped on him, covered his mouth and stabbed his throat.
'Eh yo! Get out of there now before I shoot!' I heard the other guard yell. I walked out and put my hands in the air. He shot and I lowered my shield just in time. I waited until he was out of ammo, ran to him, cut his stomach and arms. He fell to the floor and I wiped my sword on his clothes. I walked past them and entered the dungeons.
'Kypher!' I yelled and heard my voice echo. I took a step and my footstep echoed.
'Thea? Thea!' I heard Kypher yell. I ran forward and saw Kypher. I ran into him and hugged him.
'Why are you in armor?' He asked.
'I thought we were gonna be like in a big battle.' I answered. We started running to the door but it slammed shut.
'Kypher, Annabelle and Thea. Never thought I’d see the three of you together.' I heard a familiar voice say.
'Come down here and fight!' Kypher yelled. A man appeared from above and landed in front of me.
'I already beat you up Kypher, now I can beat Annabelle and you at the same time.' He said to me.
'Who are you?' I asked.
'My names Codern, leader of the Deputies!' He yelled.
'Who are they exactly?' I asked.
'The controllers of the city you live in foolish girl.' He said.
'Fair enough.' I said and he charged at me.