Eclipse

The Knight

Rain hated saving people. People that were not Misty. The fewer people he had to worry about, the easier it was to protect her. Definitely easiest if there was no one else. But the child before him, he couldn’t leave him. Misty didn’t even need to say anything before Rain picked him up. It was the first time that he and Misty didn’t argue about saving somewhere. His instincts were set on saving the child before them. Surprisingly so, not even when their village was ravaged did he consider it – saving someone that wasn’t Misty. Maybe he did, but he was too consumed in his desire to protect Misty that he wouldn’t have noticed. He had to protect the one who gave him life – by saving him and giving him his name.

That day, Rain saved Misty against her own wishes. Her safety was the first priority for him. She hated him for that. He might have been able to save the others. Maybe. But he couldn’t take the risk. He had to get her to safety first and by that time, it was already too late. She didn’t speak to him for a whole month after that incident. But Rain didn’t mind. He would take on her wrath tenfold if it guaranteed her safety. But this time, for the first time, he wanted to save someone else. And he didn’t even know why.

Quickly, Rain picked up the child and carried him on his back. He was frail, but he was conscious. He said nothing amidst his shivering even when Rain picked him up. Normally, he would have been frightened if strangers took him like that. It didn’t matter if they were humans. People these days were not any better than Darkens. They would capture people to use as slaves, sport, or even live bait. The world had long gone to ruins and there was no assurance that it would be better if they got rid of the Darkens. Whatever ran through his mind at the time, Rain was sure he considered them a better option than being killed by Darkens.

Luckily, this forest still had trees. Many of the trees had long died out since the droughts started. The ones that remained adapted. They were not as green and luscious as they would have been otherwise, but they were sturdy. Oceans had turned to rivers, seas to lakes – just like the one that Misty found him in. But just like in the old days, trees still shed their leaves. The archer’s arrows pushed them towards the areas where the leaves had just fallen. Their crunchy sound would give away their positions even more so as they get farther away from him. Or her. They sure were not going to wait to find out.

The child on Rain’s back grew heavier with every passing second. Rain was certain he wasn’t heavier than Misty, but he never took cognizance of her weight. It was getting harder to use the trees as their numbers dwindled even more. And the leaves ahead would not help. They needed Misty’s ability

“I’ll distract him with my mist,” Misty said.

“But that would mean…,” Rain said. But before he could say anything more, Misty cut in.

“We are not leaving the child,” she said.

“I never said that,” Rain said as calmly as he could.

“But you were going to,” Misty snapped. Rain could see the sadness in her eyes. It was the first time that he would actually suggest something other than leaving a man behind. So, it made sense that she would doubt him.

“I’ll buy you time. Take the boy and find shelter. We’ll rendezvous here in the morning,” Rain said. But even more than she hated the idea of leaving the child behind, she seemed to hate this one even more.

“What! No!” she yelled, forgetting that they were being pursued. The few arrows that hit the tree before them reminded her of that immediately.

“No, I won’t let you,” she said a lot more quietly this time. But of what use was it when the archer already knew their position from her outburst?

The child on her back pointed towards a path. It was the first thing he did all night. If Rain wasn’t hearing him breathe, he’d have thought he was dead, even with his eyes wide open. However, somehow they didn’t notice it earlier, but the path was clear – a sign that people passed that path often. They thought that the archer was trying to push them towards the freshly fallen leaves, but he wasn’t. He was trying to take them farther away from that path!

“Is that your home?” Rain asked. The boy simply nodded. He looked towards Misty. She was just as uncertain as he was. Should they trust that the people there wouldn’t harm them? Saving one or two people was one thing. Even if they turned on them, they could manage themselves. But a group of people was different. You would think that knowing this would make Misty less determined to save others. But somehow, she never wanted to give up on humanity. She wanted to see the light in them. Rain for one never saw the light in anyone, not even Glade. The only light that existed to him was Misty. As long as she was with him, he needed no one else. But he worried a lot if she felt the same way. Maybe that contributed to why he didn’t want to bring people into their fold. He was scared that they would take her away from him. Unfortunately, his fears weren’t unfounded in the end.

“Let’s risk it,” she said.

“And what makes you think I’ll wait,” a voice said from behind the trees before them.

Instinctively, Rain ran in front of Misty, dropping the child before her. Whatever it was, he would protect Misty. He put up my fists, ready for a fight as he quickly gathered as much lightning energy within him as possible. But as soon as he saw what was before them, his hands dropped slowly and whatever lightning energy Rain managed to build up withered away swiftly. Before them was an emissary of death - a Knight.