Fear was a force that could penetrate even the most solid and stable minds. While not being physical, fear could crumble even the toughest of men, driving them to the brink of insanity. Mason Heartson had felt fear before, of course. He had known the fear of getting caught breaking a rule, or the fear of hurting himself doing something reckless. He understood the basics of fear, the pounding of the heart, the rush of adrenaline, the mixture of chemicals in his brain warning him of danger. Mason thought that this feeling was fear, but as he stood on the roof, completely surrounded, he realized he was completely mistaken. Nothing could have prepared Mason for this feeling, the

 

Clair: MASON ARE YOU LISTENING?!

 

Mason finally turned towards his maid, who had her sword out in front of her. 

 

Clair: I said, we’re going to make it through this. All we have to do is clear a path through these guys and then we can escape the roof. We’ll be harder to spot on the ground and we should be able to lose them if we head into the forest.

 

Mason nodded, unable to move his lips. The Heartson manor, for privacy reasons, was surrounded by a massive forest, with thick trees grouped together. If they managed to escape into the forest, they might have a chance.

 

Clair: Stay behind me and keep your head low. 

 

Finally it seemed that the enemies had grown impatient and a horde of soldiers came marching forward with an assortment of weapons drawn. 

 

Clair and Thomas drew their swords and stepped to either side of Mason to protect him. They both knew that, as long as Mason was close, the enemies couldn’t use projectiles to attack, in case they accidentally hit Mason himself.

 

The two did a good job defending at first, baiting enemies to attack one at a time and swiftly cutting them down, but eventually, the enemy caught on and began attacking in large groups. 

 

As the first wave of enemies rushed at Clair, she positioned her body low, changing the position of her sword, and rushed at them all with blinding speed. The blitz caught the mob off guard and she was able to get cheap shots at muscles in their legs, causing them to crumble to the ground. As Clair caught her breath, she peered ahead to see more and more enemies, all charging. This time, Clair understood that charging would be unwise, so she backed up to get closer to Mason and Thomas. 

 

Thomas’ first instinct when faced with the group of enemies in front of him was to panic. Despite all his training, he had never been in a fight against so many opponents at once, however, he took a moment to close his eyes, and when he opened them, he smiled. This was no different than a test of strength, and he had been through tons of those already. 

 

Raising his sword, Thomas abandoned all traditional stance and examined the enemies in front of him. They were all taller than him, and he assumed they were stronger than him as well. Their armor looked flimsy, and he had already cut through a lot of them before, so he assumed that he could take one down with a single good slice. There were about fifteen men in front of him, which was troublesome, but they all had short weapons such as knives and daggers, so they would have to get close to attack him.

 

Thomas finally devised a plan and stood ready for the men to charge him. As the men came closer, Thomas extended his arm behind him and threw his sword into the group of oncoming men as hard as he could. The men stood still for a moment, completely dumbfounded by the move Thomas had performed, and Thomas used this opportunity to rush at the group. He punched and kicked at the men closest to him, and cracked another man's collar, causing him to drop the dagger that was in his hand. Thomas quickly picked the weapon up and sliced through three more men causing them to crumple to the ground. 

 

Running with more speed, Thomas dashed through the remaining men, hitting as many as he could, and retrieved his sword that had fallen. He looked out and saw that only six men were still standing, and he smiled once again, raising his sword and preparing his next attack. Pouring power into his legs, he ran into the closest man, kicking him in the chest and slicing at his chest. Leaping back to avoid the second man's attack, Thomas did a similar motion. He then ran at the remaining men and isolated them, bouncing around attacking them one by one, until finally, there was no one left standing.

 

Thomas and Clair continued fighting, using strategy to take down large groups of enemies, but as one group fell, more and more rushed forward, and the two became more and more tired. 

 

Mason stood pinned between the two fighters, trying to figure out a way to be useful. He realized that if he could activate the black flame like before, he could assist the others and take down a few soldiers, so he quickly raised his hands and shut his eyes, attempting to reactivate his power. For a few seconds nothing happened, but after a while, he felt a burning sensation. Before he could fully develop the spark of a flame that was forming, he felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder and opened his eyes. 

 

Looking down, Mason saw an arrow lodged into his shoulder, with blood flowing from the wounded area. The force of the arrow, along with the shock of getting hit, caused Mason to crumble to the ground, and he began rolling off the roof. 

 

 

Thomas and Clair abandoned their attempts to fight the enemies on the roof and sprinted towards Mason, but they were not fast enough, Mason slid off the side of the roof and landed on the ground with a thud. The two attempted to jump off the roof to catch up to him, but a large number of soldiers blocked their path.

 

Mason, now on the ground, looked up and saw that Thomas and Clair were too far away to catch up to him, and he noticed that a group of soldiers who had been standing by the entrance of the manor were rushing towards him attempting to capture him. With no other option, Mason stood up, ignoring the pain that had spread throughout his body, and he rushed into the forest attempting to escape his pursuers.

Clair and Thomas were completely distraught. There were still a few dozen enemies littered around the roof, and Mason was now being chased through the forest on his own. With little options left, Mason and Thomas revised their strategy, deciding now to work together to defeat the enemies on the roof so that they could catch up to Mason.

 

The two fought like they had fought in the manor, with Clair taking the lead, and Thomas backing her up, defending her from stray fighters attempting to get cheap shots on them.

 

The enemy, noticing Mason was now gone, quickly drew their gallery of rifles, bows, and spears, in an attempt to take the two out from a distance. Clair looked over at the enemies ahead of her who were preparing to open fire and felt the small force of fear creep up on her again, but she managed to stabilize herself and think of a plan.

 

Clair: Thomas, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to hold out on your own for a bit.

 

Thomas: Where are you going?

 

Clair: Don’t worry about me, just focus on the enemies in front of you.

 

Clair understood she didn’t have any more time to continue talking, and instead turned around, facing the enemies who had now drawn their weapons. Clair quickly rushed at the nearest soldier to her and stabbed him straight through the chest, no longer caring about Thomas’ no killing rule. One of the soldiers who was far away said a command to the soldiers nearest to him and they quickly began opening fire on Clair and Thomas. Clair used the impaled soldier as a makeshift human shield and redirected the soldier's fire to herself as she closed the distance.

 

As Clair got closer and closer, the firing line grew worried and some attempted to turn and run to put more distance between themselves and Clair, but it was too late. With an inhuman speed, Clair cut through the line of soldiers as if they were made of paper, no longer caring about precision, but instead cutting through everything as if in a frenzy. 

 

After only a few seconds, Clair looked down at the mess of blood on her clothes and all around her on the floor. It wasn’t a clean job, but she understood it was necessary. Clair turned around once again and headed towards Thomas to finish up the rest of the enemies on the roof so that they could rescue Mason as quickly as possible.

 

To Thomas’ credit, he did a decent job holding back the line of enemies on his own. With about twenty enemies left on the roof, Thomas continued his strategy of isolation. He’d divide the enemies into smaller groups and take them out with his unpredictable fighting style to confuse and defeat one group, and then move onto the next. While the strategy was efficient, Thomas understood he was growing more and more fatigued. As his movements grew more and more sluggish, Thomas found himself slowing down, which allowed multiple enemies to group up at once. The horde of men rushed towards Thomas, who had grown too tired to even run away. 

 

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD

 

Thomas watched in amazement as the enemies in front of him fell to the ground one by one, each one with an arrow in their back. The enemies who weren’t immediately pierced turned their backs to try to identify the source of the aerial attack, and Thomas used this to his advantage, mustering enough strength to charge at the remaining soldiers, and slicing through their armor.

 

After all the enemies on the roof had fallen, Thomas turned towards Clair who had a bow and quiver strapped to her back.

 

Thomas: Expert swordsman and has great aim with a bow? Just who exactly are you?

 

Clair: I could ask you the same thing. I don’t know many fifteen year olds who can take on an army of grown soldiers on their own.

 

Thomas: Sixteen actually, and we can reintroduce ourselves later. 

 

Clair: Right, for now we need to recover Mason quickly before the idiot gets himself killed.

 

The two carefully made their way off the roof, and traced Mason's tracks through the dirt to reach the forest. They made great progress but after only a little progress through the thick trees, Clair put her hand up to stop Thomas.

 

Clair: Do you smell that?

 

Thomas: No, what do you me-

 

Before Thomas could finish his sentence, the putrid smell Clair had warned of hit his nose. Thomas knew the smell all too well and felt a wave of nausea, but he stayed calm looking at Clair signaling that he now understood what she was talking about.

 

Clair: This smell, the smell of smoke, means only one thing. They’re burning down this whole forest to flush out Mason, and unless we can traverse through the flames, he’s on his own.

Mason was absolutely terrified as he stumbled through the forest.

 

His legs throbbed from the impact of the fall and his shoulder burned from the puncture of the arrow. 

 

Mason clutched his arm and limped forward, determined to get away. His mind was completely clouded with fear. Mason feared the enemies who were pursuing him, he feared what would happen to his friends if they didn’t make it off the roof, and he feared what would happen to himself if he allowed himself to be captured. 

 

Mason traversed through the swarm of trees for what seemed like an eternity, until he finally heard the sound that he had been fearing. The sound of an army running through the dirt behind him. 

 

Mason picked up his pace, ignoring the pain in his legs and forcing himself to break into a jog, but he knew it wasn’t enough. The sound of the enemy creeped closer and closer and Mason’s mind went ablaze trying to figure out what to do. 

 

RUN, STOP, FIGHT, SCREAM, CRY, DIE, JUMP, CRAWL, HIDE

 

Mason couldn’t figure out what to do and the confusion tore a hole into his brain until finally he couldn’t take it. He let the exhaustion of the brain and the mind get to him and his legs gave out causing him to collapse on the ground. 

 

It’s over

 

Mason prepared for the attack, he prepared for the enemy that had finally discovered him to pick him off the ground and drag him away. Clair and Thomas’ struggling had been for nothing. They would die, and he would be taken away and killed as well.

 

But the attack never came. The footsteps came to a stop around him, but instead of orders to kill or attack, the only sound Mason heard was laughter. It was deep, cold laughter, but it was unmistakably the sound of glee.

 

Mason opened his eyes and saw the sight that he had been fearing. An army of armored soldiers surrounded him with weapons drawn and aimed at him. The source of the laughter was a soldier with white armor and no helmet. He had a fair face and dark black eyes. Unlike the other soldiers, he had no gun, instead carrying two swords strapped to his back. He continued laughing, clutching his stomach until he noticed Mason had opened his eyes. Clearing his throat he walked forward towards Mason and examined him closely. 

 

White Soldier: So, this is humanity's mighty savior. I wouldn't have guessed by looking at him.

 

The man continued to laugh softly, walking forward until he was right in front of Mason. Finally, the man raised his hand out towards Mason, who was still lying on the ground.

 

Mason didn’t take his hand, instead staring up at the man with a puzzled expression on his face.

 

Mason: What do you mean, “savior”.

 

White Soldier: Well use your context clues young man. Has no one told you anything.

 

Mason: I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

White Soldier: Don’t play dumb Mason. Hurry about and stand up so you can fulfill your duty.

 

Mason continued to stare at the man, his mind now a pile of mush sloshing around in his skull. 

 

The white soldier seemed to grow impatient and lifted Mason up without waiting for him to take his hand. 

 

White Soldier: And take this thing out of your arm will you.

 

The man grabbed the arrow that was lodged in Mason’s arm and without warning ripped the arrow out of his shoulder. Mason let out a violent scream as blood splattered all around them. Mason fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder and looked up at the man with anger in his eyes.

 

White Soldier: You really are clueless aren’t you. It takes longer for it to heal if you leave it lodged in your arm. 

 

Mason: Wh-Who the hell are you.

 

White Soldier: How rude of me. It’s been a while since I’ve introduced myself so I apologize and hope you’ll forgive me. My name is Edward Bassett and I am the vice commander of Black Hole. 

 

He outstretched his hand towards Mason again, and this time, reluctantly, Mason took his hand and stood up. His mind was still a mess but Mason decided to ignore the questions that plagued him. Instead Mason focused on thinking of an escape plan.

 

Edward: Well, since the signal hasn’t been rung yet, I suppose we still have some time to mess around. 

 

Edward drew the two swords on his back and looked towards Mason with a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

 

Edward: How about we see what the astral of death’s successor can do!

 

Mason stood confused for a second, wondering what the man in front of him was talking about, until his brain finally began working, and he noticed Edward lunge forward to strike him. 

 

Mason’s body moved on its own and his eyes once again became an unnatural shade of black. He leapt out of the way of Edwards first strike but Edward advanced again, using the momentum of the strike to lunge forward again. 

 

Steam began curling off of Mason’s body and his body ached. Mason dodged more swings but Edwards' speed was inhuman, and it became harder and harder to dodge each strike.

 

Edward: Come on, come on, give me a real fight Mason!

 

Mason tried to think about what Clair had taught him about fighting, and he looked for a pattern in Edward’s swings but it was as if Edward was striking randomly. There was no rhythm or style to Edwards attacks, he simply attacked in a frenzy.

 

Mason realized he had no other options, so he closed his eyes, letting his body fill up with heat and drew from the power that he had used earlier to save Clair. He felt the fire on his hand and thrust his fist as hard as he could at Edward, hoping to get a clean hit at the stomach, but Edward effortlessly deflected the punch with one sword, using the other to send a shallow cut against Mason’s chest.

 

Edward: Hurry up and get up kid. No offense but that was an incredibly pathetic attempt at fighting back. I was given orders not to kill you but you’re making it difficult.

 

Edward began laughing again as Mason withered in pain. 

 

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die.

 

Fear beat itself into Mason’s brain until it was the only thing Mason could think of.

 

Crawl, Escape, Live

 

A voice sprung up inside Mason’s head. It wasn’t himself, but it was as if another consciousness had entered his mind, attempting to save him.

 

Mason didn’t bother to think about it, instead using his arms to drag his body across the forest floor. If he could just go a little further, maybe Clair and Thomas could find him. If he could just recover a little bit, maybe he could summon another flame and take care of the Edward.

 

Mason watched in astonishment as the group of soldiers moved out of Mason’s way, allowing him to continue crawling.

 

I can do this, I can make it, I can live

 

Hope entered Mason’s heart. Just a bit further, he can do this, he can live.

 

But the flower of hope that had bloomed inside of Mason was crushed as he stared in horror at the sight in front of him.

 

A monster, a beast in the form of flames enveloped the trees in front of him. The entire forest was burning to the ground and the flames would soon reach him. 

 

Edward: There’s nowhere to go Mason. That’s our signal it’s time to go. I wish I could have had more fun though.

 

Mason turned his back to see Edward who had a horrific smile stretched across his face. Heat of the flames grew hotter and hotter as they got closer, and Mason began feeling feverish. Soldiers marched forward and picked him up by his armpits and Mason was too weak to resist. His vision was blurred and his hearing disappeared. 

 

As Mason grew unconscious, he let himself succumb to fear, giving up on the little hope that was left. Staring at the flames, he wondered if Thomas and Clair were staring back at him, through the ash.