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As they stood watching the castle under seige Kat almost sighed as she watched
the carnage unfold below them.
“We should head back to the town,”D said and she turned to look at him,”We
can’t do anything to help them.”
As he spoke his eyes met with hers for a moment before he began walking back
towards the house and the path. Without a word Katrina followed him and as they passed
by the house she fought the urge to shudder as she remembered the sight from the inside.
Quickly walking past it they soon found themselves on the path and within a few hours as
dusk began to set the orchard came into view. They moved through the orchard and as it
rose to a hill just before it blended into the village they heard screaming and saw a column
of smoke rising from ahead.
“What the hell’s going on down there?” Kat asked and D glanced at her.
“Trouble in the village. Come on,”he said as he broke into a run, Katrina close
beside him.
As they entered the town they drew their swords as Katrina suveryed the scene
before them. The town was alight and several adult bodies littered the street with knives,
axes, and other things sticking in them. All around them people ran and hid, terrified as
several small pale children ran about giggling. Their white hair and faces making them
look unhuman.
“What the...” D uttered as he looked at the sight, for once in his life appearing
quite shocked.
“This is disturbing,”Katrina said quietly as she glanced at him, becoming slightly
shocked to see him surprised himself.
Kat looked back toward the children and noticed one not too far off as she
asked,”Are they the missing children? What happened to them?”
D raised his sword in front of himself as he answered,”I think so. Possessed by
demons at the hands of whoever kidnapped them.”
“Isn’t there any other way to do this?” Kat asked quietly,”Without having to fight
and possibily kill them?”
As the child got close enough to them D picked it up and threw him into a wall.
As they watched the child crumpled up for a second then laughed happily as it got up,
unhurt. Kat just looked at D with a semi shocked expression to the violence to the child
and it’s reaction.
“So how do we stop them?” She asked as she continued watching it.
“No idea,”D replied.
“They aren’t children anymore,”D continued,”They’re monsters. That one wasn’t
even hurt.”
As he spoke they watched a pair of children run down a middle aged man,
chopping his arms off with axes.
“But...”she uttered as she looked at him, then the man.
Dropping her head with a sigh she murmured,”You’re right...”
Raising her head she looked up to see the child from before come over to them
armed this time. As D looked at it coming closer he knocked it away from them quickly.
“There must be some way,”D said as he watched the child fly backwards into the
wall again.
“Jade,”the symbiot interjected,”Jade will destroy the spirits.”
Katrina looked at his hand as she asked,”Where are we going to find enough jade
though?”
“The temple,” D answered simply as he pointed to a small Zen temple on the other
side of the village,”But we have to get past these children somehow.”
He was quiet as he thought and soon Kat’s calm but firm voice interupted his
thoughts.
“You go... get the jade... I'll create a distraction for you.”
D nodded and she looked at him.
“Ready?”
“When you are,”he replied and she nodded, as she ran toward a group of the
children as if to crash into them.
Turning at the last moment she drew their attention to her as she stopped a few
feet away from them. Looking over them a second she watched D run off to the temple
leaping from the ground to the rooftops to the ground again to avoid the children. In a
few minutes he had reached the temple and disappeared inside as the children began to
encircle Katrina.
As she stood there, trying to keep an eye on the large crowd of them surrounding
her one of them ran forward and punched her in the back. The amount of force was
unblieveable and blow sent her flying forward putting her dangerously close to the other
children infront of her. As she got back on her feet the circle closed in tighter around her.
“Hurry up D...”she quietly mumbled and while she was distracted one of the
children grabbed her leg.
As she tried to shake off the pulling child she fell to the ground from force and as
she went to get up she watched as the other child came over. Toddling over she watched
as it brought it’s tiny fist down on her leg and she cried out as she felt the bone snap from
the force of the punch. Suddenly though the child’s eyes rolled back and the girl fell to the
ground unconscious. The other children now focused on the new threat and they saw D
standing there, several slivers of jade in each hand. D was silent and as Katrina looked at
the girl on the ground she glanced upward and saw D standing there.
“Good timing,”she said with a smile.
Remaining silent D quickly rushed towards the children and in a flurry of motion
the children fell back to the ground, unconscious with small pieces of jade stuck in them.
Kneeling beside her D examined her leg as she looked at him, remaining quite still.
“You’re hurt,”he said quietly.
“I’ll live,”she said in a dismissive tone, and to try to prove her words she went to
move, only to remain on the ground, wincing from pain.
“Barely,”he said as he tugged at her pant leg to look at the wound,”It’s bad.”
“Well at least you got the jade and stopped the kids,”she stated quietly,”That’s
what matters...”
“True,”D admitted, then added,”But they’ll return soon. We need to get you off
the street.”
Nodding she went to try and move again to which D protested calmly.
“Here... wait.”
As she watched him she felt her leg begin to hurt more. D searched around for
something to use as a splint but couldn’t find anything. Finally he pushed a child aside and
grabbed a small board from beside the town well. Moving her leg to a position to make it
easier for him to put the splint on she winced in pain as she moved it.
Placing the wood beside her leg he tore the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped it
around it to hold the board in place. Kat let out a quiet cry of pain as he worked but was
silent again shortly after. D though had noticed and looked up at her worriedly from his
work of wrapping her leg.
“Is it ok?” He asked, making eye contact with her.
She nodded slightly as she replied,”It should be ok. Thanks. You shouldn’t have
ripped your shirt up for it though.”
He shrugged and merely said,”Here, let me help you.”
He put his arms around her and lifted her up, carful to keep he leg stable. Kat
complied with him and allowed him to help her, wincing only slightly at the pain she felt.
As he held her he glanced around town, realizing most everyone was injured or hiding.
Kat joined him in glancing around and quietly spoke.
“This isn’t good... We have to somehow help these people and destroy whatever
took the children.”
She was quiet for a moment then continued,”I’m afraid though that I’m not going
to be much help now...”
“It’s too late for those the children hurt,”D stated quietly.
She looked down and sighed as he continued,”But whatever created these
monsters will return here soon and we will destroy it.”
“How?”She asked as she looked up at him.
“I can barely walk right now. I can’t even stand on my own....”
“You will in time,”he replied quietly as he walked slowly towards the inn where
they stayed once.
“I guess then we just have to hope it doesn’t come back too soon then,”she said
quietly.
“For now we rest, and wait,”D stated simply and she nodded quietly in response.