Roaring Thunder

Prologue

Where is this? What are those red threads floating and curling around me? Am I in an alternate dimension or is this one of those foolish dreams of mine again? Aargh! I... I can’t remember.

Lasting for only a fraction of a second, a longitudinal wave of vibration, which I realise later is fear struck through my head. Sweat begins to flow along the curving surface of my forehead. Just then, I thought that I have, for a moment, caught the glimpse of someone glaring at my back with eyes of that of a predator.

I turn my head around and look over my shoulder. And there I see it. Sitting in the corner of the darkness is a cloud of mist flashing yellow lights every now and then. But what intrigues me the most is not the shape of the being. Rather, it is the pair of eyes in the midst of it that draws my attention the most. Growl...

Is this my end?

'Rex! Rex! Get off the bed already, lazy bum!'

Uhh... what? A bad dream? The first ray of light enters my eyes and stings them. My lids slam shut tightly in response to the sudden pang of pain. Lord!

'Pull the curtains together will you?' My fingers on the bedframe, I pull myself up to a sitting position and slowly open my eyes to face Jason in his brown, tunic and black pants with a sword hanging on his waist. His eyes glares down at mine from beside the windows. 'It's time eh?'

In his slurred voice, he replies. 'Yea, it's time to move out.' He pauses momentarily to take a breath before he finishes.' To move out to war.'

Being orphans who had struggled to make a living out of nowhere, Jason and I had no choice but to train ourselves to be soldiers from young. Without any education as a foundation to make a living in the city, that was the most obvious decision to be made. To die with an accomplishment in hand or to die a meaningless death? Well, we preferred to have the former, even if that meant to us that pain has to be suffered beforehand. That's right. Pain, for us, was nothing.

It was a week before the decision was made. Like stray dogs rummaging the bins for food, we too were no different. We were searching through trash when the blare from the trumpets blew us off our actions. A single look over our shoulders at the source of the sound was all it took to bring the thought of becoming a soldier to us.

Hanging at the waistbelt was a sword in a gold-plated scabbard while the rest of the armor was also shining brightly with every light reflected from its golden surface. Or to be precise, the Armor of Arthur! And there could only be one person in the kingdom of Claudia that could don the sacred treasure of the land with one of the greatest military might in the world. Yes, that person was none other than the then- present Holy Knight himself...

'Sir Luthor!' The crowds cheered as the lines of knights led by Sir Luthor himself made their way towards the palace. With every cheer echoing throughout the streets, the Holy Knight responded to the mass with a smile that brought the ladies to awe and the men to shame. I, meanwhile, can only managed to see him from the back of the crowd, hoping that he would notice me even if it is only for a split second. But, that, never happened.

Clank! My eyes open widely in response to the metallic sound ringing loudly in my ears, my consciousness returns back to the present reality from my recalling of the past. 'Rex?' I look up to my partner standing before the tent's exit, his fingers clutching the hilt of his rapier tightly. I am about to come up with a reply; I am about to walk up to him, to join him when the scene before me changes to that of a battlefield. The grueling sight of knights slashing down one another with their respective blades; The horrendous sight of blood splashing over one another's armors and skin, as it trickles to the ground into a pool of murk.

'What the heck is this?' I stammers as I slowly pull my legs back. 'I need to get away! I need to...'At that moment, my thoughts can only focus on one word. 'Run!' Just when I am about to take a huge step backwards, my first step to running away, a knight from the opposing force rushes towards me. With the tip of his blade aiming at me. s**t! Instinctively, my hands reaches out for the sword hanging at my waist. Even if I didn't, I knew somehow, that I would not make it in time. Not this time, I thought.

'Not this time?' The words are stuck in my head. 'Will there be another time?'

The knight's blade slices through the air easily and swiftly, and with a push, he thrusts it towards me. Towards my heart...When a familiar voice screams out my name from behind me. A hand lays itself on my shoulder and with a tug, I am pulled out of the blade's way! Jason, revealing himself from where I stood seconds ago, unsheathes his rapier for a counter against the thrust. Alas, he too is a moment too late. The thrust comes to a halt with the enemy's blade being planted into Jason's left chest. Some blood from his wound are sprayed onto my face as I have my eyes locked onto the scene that plays out before me.

'Rex!'

Yup, Rex...is his last word. The last thing I hear from him is my name.

'Hey, Rex! Let's go steal the fruits from that orchard again, shall we?' And now...'Hey, Rex! Daydreaming again? Check out my dagger. Shiny, isn't it? I polished it all night you know. ' And now...'Hey Rex!'…I can no longer hope to see that smile on his face again. I can no longer hope to see Jason... Ever again.

And that reality that used to be the present time is now just another fragment of the past. Only, it's a fragment that keep resurfacing every now and then whenever I close my eyes. Whenever I am engulfed in darkness.

My eyelids swing open immediately. Where am I?

'Hey newbie! Daydreaming again during work?' A voice shouting at me from the farm next to me. That's right, this is where I am. This is currently where I belong to. That was just another bad dream. Just another ghost from my past.

Soon after the war, I turned my focus to agriculture. I put an end to my knighthood and began my life anew as a farmer. A farmer like any other farmers whose daily task is to work our sweat out at the farms and at the fields. Planting vegetables and feeding the animals; Plucking out weeds and sweeping away the faeces; Keeping the harvests and the meats in a corner of the farmhouse and sell them at the market in the next morning. For me, I am only tending to the vegetables. Reason? Nah! Which farmer needs a reason to plant vegetables, right? Not me, that's for sure. But if you insist on knowing it, well, I supposed that that will take half a load off my back as compared to the others! Lazy, ain't I?

Monday arrives. It's a day unlike any other, not because of the calm weather nor is it because of the sweet chirping of the birds. Rather, it's because somewhere in my guts, I could feel it. That something big is going to enter my life on this very day. One thing for sure is that this is not the kind of feeling students got when they return to school from the weekends!

Gone is the morning I spent my time loosening the soil for some new seedlings in. And followed by the exit of the morning is the arrival of a hot, sunny afternoon when the burning star is at the zenith shining upon its patient green beings awaiting to conduct their natural feeding process at their utmost limit for the past several hours. I have just taken a few minutes break when my short nap is cut short by the ruckus caused by some rude young men at the entrance to one of the farm. In fact, the mentioned farm is my farm.

'Time to pay your tax, fella!' The tallest man amongst the five shouted at me with one hand holding the hilt of a sword. He has green hair and donned a brown tunic shirt which is common amongst the townspeople. Anyway, overall, he has a normal-looking appearance. But what irritates me the most is not the fact that he's normal-looking (It's obvious since I am not gay!). Instead, it is that smug he got on his face that lit the flame in me.

'Come on! Move your ass, old man!' That smug on his face...I am so going to punch him hard if I've got the chance to do so. Obediently, like the farmer I am supposed to be, I hold in my rage and slowly, but steadily, I rise from my seat. With every step, I fumble around in a tiny sack of mine as I try to find my money, believing it to be in there. At my last step, a few centimeters before the tax collectors, especially the one with the smug-look, I reach out to them with three silver coins in my left palm.

'Will these pennies be enough? You know, being a farmer is hard. I can barely rake in that 50 pennies the baron demanded for in two months. Less so if I have to rake it in in a mere two weeks! (I laughed at my own details of my earnings.) ' It is quite awkward for me at that moment since I am the only one laughing while the ones before me is simply glaring at me with their hateful eyes. My laugh is receding gradually when suddenly, the one with the smug-look smiles at me before saying this. 'You know, old man, mess with us and you will suffer, not us. Remember it, you, senile geezer!'

The words sure do sting, even for a former knight like me. But, don't you know that... 'That the oldies have something in particular that is much greater than the younger ones' physical prowess? You know what that is?'

'It's called experience, folks!'