The Land Below our Feet COMPLETE

DEFECTOR

-This is a vast land, brother – The youngest of the two men whispered as they paced behind the line of soldiers heading back to Lowland's gate – We could always run! They would never find us.

-Shut up Orstig! – The other one chastised him nervously – They could hear you, and they would kill us.

-Fine! But why do you always have to be so closed-minded, Yórug? – The chirpy Argantean recruit interjected, rolling his eyes – All I am saying here is that there is plenty of space. I don't see why we must kill everyone, so we can stay.

-That is not for us to decide – Yórug muttered back, reprimanding him – We are just following orders!

-But to what end, though? – Orstig insisted stubbornly – The only reason we enlisted was because they promised us fertile land. We are farmers, brother! We have never been warriors… I do not give a flying s**t about this conquering enterprise at all… Do you?

-Not really – The other one conceded him in a murmur, eyeing the troops worriedly, his sight landing on the leading officer ahead – But if they say this is the way…

-Hey! I took some of their seeds, look! – The young man interrupted him, grabbing him by the elbow and discreetly gesturing to a concealed sack within his armor – I grabbed them while we were in the city. We could leave and pick whatever spot we wanted, grow some crops… live in peace. No one would even bother us.

-Hush! – The older brother nervously waved at him – You are going to get us killed! Why would you ever do such a risky thing?

-Because even if I am not an experienced warrior, I can see that we are losing our chances to win. Njál has gone mental. He is spiraling down, and he is dragging all of us with him… Sending us back is a desperate move. The only thing he is achieving with that is weakening our forces.

Yórug paused for a second, considering his brother's words, before resuming his pacing and distancing himself a little as Orstig trailed rapidly after, catching up with him, and holding him back.

-Listen! You know I am right... Njál is going to keep stubbornly pressing forward in his attempt to tame this wild land, and he will end up consuming all our resources while he is at it. Do you really want to stay and witness the outcome of that?

-N-No, of course not – He stammered apprehensively while struggling to keep his pace – But, you know? I don't want to die either!

-Open your eyes, brother! – Orstig gestured around with frustration – They've sent barely a hundred of us to try and get a whole city back from an unknown enemy's hands. Don´t you see? We are the expendable group! We are already marching towards the slaughter. If we are dying anyway, I would at least rather choose the way I go... Don´t you?

-Fine! – Yórug agreed at last – Do you even have a plan? Or do you want us to start running now and see how far we can get before they shoot us down?

-I will figure something out. Just… - The young green-eyed man paused when a few suspicious looks started being cast their way – Just wait for my signal, all right?

Two days had passed since that outlandish conversation, and Yórug had started to forget all about his brother's delusional ramblings as they kept nearing Lowland's gate.

That night, he had been lying in his bedding, trying to keep himself warm while he sleepily drifted away, when a hand suddenly covered his mouth and he let out a panicked yelp.

-Quiet brother! – Orstig´s voice murmured hurriedly into his ear – They are all asleep, this is our chance! It is now or never… We escape today!

Gulping his rising fear down, the tall blond-haired farmer had stood up and followed his younger brother's lead. Clumsily grabbing his weapon and silently trailing behind him.

-Are you sure about this? – He softly spoke as he blindly paced around the camping site, his hand clutching at his sibling's clothes – We would be on our own in this unfamiliar land.

-I am. Now keep moving – Orstig urged him, placing a bundle into his hand – Here, I stole us some provisions. They should be enough to give us a start.

They had been carefully walking among the dispersed soldiers lying around, when Yórug accidentally brushed someone's foot, and it all went south.

Stricken with fright at this, both deserters started trashing around and trying to escape as soon as possible from the warrior-swarmed grounds. Their frantic moves soon awaking the whole platoon and entailing chaos.

-We have rats! – One of them shouted with realization, quickly guessing their intentions and frenziedly waving his weapon, struggling to aim at them – Stop them! They are trying to flee!

Startled by the screams and the tumultuous wrecking that immediately followed, the pair of brothers had no other option than to impulsively run as fast as they could and without a clear direction. Their feet fueled by the sudden kick of adrenaline rushing through their bodies at the sound of the nearing gunshots coming their way.

They would never know when they had become adrift and separated, their crazed minds clouded by the impending threat and blocking out everything else as they ran aimlessly through the forest. Each step taking them farther away from each other.

It was too late when Orstig finally paused to catch his breath, panting achingly in utter exhaustion before feverishly hiding behind a bush. His heart racing at full speed while his ears perked at the distant noise of the patrol hunting for them. He realized at that moment that he was completely alone, Yórug nowhere to be seen.

Biting his tongue and resisting the urge to call out for him, he cried bitter tears of worry at the uncertainty of his brother's whereabouts.

“Had they captured him?” – He thought to himself, driving crazy with guilt. After all, this had been his idea and now maybe he had pushed him towards a long, merciless death. The sound of his heartbeat booming in his own head, his agitated respiration condensing into puffs and fading in the night's chilly air.

He had spent the rest of the time silently crying, spread on the dirt and wondering about his beloved sibling's demise… Blaming himself and slowly torturing his mind with a million reproaches and increasingly taunting scenarios, while he quietly begged for his absent brother's forgiveness.

The sun was beginning to rise when he finally gathered the courage to get up and start walking in the solitude of the unfamiliar forest. His wavering steps leading him to an unknown destiny.

Now... In the clarity of the new day, he cursed his naivety, he had been such a fool to think they could ever make it. And he had been the sole bearer of this tragedy that he had so stupidly brought upon them.

A few hours later, he had accepted in defeat that he was irremediably lost. So, he sat on a rock and simply decided that he would either wait until his unit captured him... Or until hunger slowly took him away.

No longer after the hopeless man had settled on this somber resolution, a faint noise drew his attention and his ears started making out the distinct sound of bark being pounded repeatedly.

When his curiosity to find out what that could be got bigger than his desire to stay, and depressingly wait for his death, he had stood up and started walking towards the origin of the incessant noise.

Once he got closer to the source of the rattling, he blinked confusedly as he spotted a curvy, tanned girl in the distance. Her small proportions contradicting the force with which she was continuously striking against a tall tree, her movements directed at it as she switched gracefully between a hand-knife and a sharp dagger in a calculated, almost hypnotic dance.

Driven by a wild impulse, he began cautiously approaching the site where the stranger exercised her routine, aided by the surrounding foliage and quietly nearing the enthralling scene, every movement bringing him closer to her.

But, when he poked his head from behind a broad tree trunk, he was surprised to discover the noise had stopped brusquely, and the girl was nowhere to be seen now.

Dumbfounded, he stood up from his crouching position, and he was about to pace forward to inspect the site where he had just spotted her a second before, when the sharp edge of a knife pressed roughly against his back.

With a chill running down his spine, he heard the feminine voice speaking harshly into his ear with an authoritarian tone and in an unfamiliar language... And he knew that he was screwed.