Runaway

His warm breath showered his face as he dashed up the porch. Maxwell’s stomach twisted in horror as his eyes fell on the open door. Its ominous frame teasing the knight to tossed furniture and damaged items. He slowly stumbled inside, squeezing the handle of his sword.

“No, no, no, no, no…” He whispered, his voice eventually contorting into a shout. “Abigail!”

“Max!”

His eyes honed in on the source.

He dashed to her room.

The three were inside.

Abigail was holding Alice in the corner.

Then his heart sank.

Laying on his sister’s leg was John’s pale face. His eyes glued to the room’s center where the corpse of a mysterious man lay, a pool of blood slithering from his body. Next to the corpse was another man, wiping blood from his blade. He turned to face the knight. Like the corpse, he too wore a cloak, and a black, metallic mask covered his face.

Maxwell’s eyes narrowed in rage. Having a knife, the figure had to get close to him. Knowing this, the knight fully anticipated the attacker’s dash. He unleashed a fury of quick strikes, bouncing the blade off the knight’s body in quick succession.

“Max!” Abigail wailed.

But the knight knew what to focus on protecting, the leather, specifically his side. Using both his blade and forearm, he blocked and parried the blows. As the pair stomped out of the bedroom and into the home’s main floor, Maxwell found his opportunity. Taking a gamble, he kicked forward, shoving his shoulder into the bastard’s chest. He stumbled back with a surprised wheeze, dropping the blade. Wasting no time, the knight ran his sword into the figure’s stomach. The weapon easily burrowed through his body, smoothly exiting through his back.

Despite his pain, the man laughed. “W-W-When we don’t c-c-come back, he’ll come. Enjoy that k-k-knight.”

Maxwell tugged the blade free, letting the attacker crumble to the ground, still as the furniture he and his ally had destroyed.

Wasting no time, he dashed back to the room, immediately falling beside John.

“Where are you hurt?! Where did he cut you?!”

Gritting his teeth, he pointed to his side. Wasting no time, Maxwell yanked the boy’s shirt up, revealing a leather guard.

“I-I-I threw it on when I heard Alice. Did me a favor, huh?”

Maxwell chuckled. “Yeah… it did.”

But the blade had bit through it, giving John a fair wound.

“Wow! Impressive!”

The knight’s blood stopped. His eyes left John, looking to the horrified faces of Alice and Abigail. Their eyes were glued to the room’s entrance, the shadow of a man partially covering their faces. The silhouette’s identity was revealed by the hat on its head. Slowly, the knight looked over his shoulder, seeing the Grand Luminary stand in the door frame.

“Don’t worry. We’ve taken care of the others already, corpses too. Alchemists are so sloppy at times…”

He then tossed the knight a vile. Maxwell instinctively caught it, opening his palm to examine it. “A special creation of ours. The boy will die without it. Use it or not, that is up to you all. With this, I consider us even on debt.” He laughed. “I fully anticipate you rejecting my offer, but regardless I look forward to the next time we meet.”

Meeting a familiar set of purple eyes, he nodded his head. “Take care, Alice.”

Her face was white with dread.

The Grand Luminary turned and left them.

“Do-Do it, Max!” John yelled, eyes stern.

“John!” Abigail whimpered. “Are you sure?”

The knight remained quiet, keeping his eyes on John.

No hesitation, no weakness, his brown gaze was filled with determination.

With a nod Maxwell gave the boy his knife’s handle to bite on as he anxiously opened the vile and poured it on his wound.

John roared, teeth digging into the weapon’s grip. Maxwell kept the boy’s legs and arms firm as his body jolted in agony.

Abigail wailed. “John! John!”

The knight watched in awe as his wound cauterized.

“That’s… better…” The knife slipped to the floor as John sighed and closed his eyes.

Blood pumping Maxwell’s fingers leapt to the boy’s neck.

A heavy breath left his lips as a pulse tapped his fingers. “He’s okay.”

Abigail, one arm around Alice, the other on John, trembled, fear in her eyes.

The sight tore Maxwell asunder.

Her and Alice’s chests heaved as the situation began to set in.

Now was not the time for Maxwell to have doubt. He had to direct them.

He firmly placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Look at me.” The command calmly left his lips and within seconds he was staring at purple and green.

“Breathe. I’m here. You’re okay.”

Abigail began to speak. “M-Ma-“

“We need to go.”

“G-Go?!”

He nodded with confidence. “That won’t be the last of them. Its not safe here.”

Color drained from Abigail’s face as her eyes darkened with despair. “Max… This is our home… Our father built it…”

“I understand. We’ll come back, but I need to get you, John, and Alice somewhere safe. Abigail, I need you and Alice to pack some supplies. Please.”

He gently squeezed her shoulder.

She nodded multiple times. “O-Okay…”

He looked to Alice. “You hear me? Help her, okay?”

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

He gently raised the sleeping John from Abigail’s leg and held the boy in his arms.

“John!” She wailed, raising her arms to him.

“He’s okay, Abigail. He’s sleeping. He’s going to be okay.”

Hands on her chest, squeezing her sweater, Abigail nodded.

“Lets focus on one thing at a time, okay?”

She nodded, moving out of the room. Maxwell followed them out, guarding the entrance as the girls dutifully filled their backpacks with various necessities.

A cold sweat had ran down the knight’s back when he saw both the corpses, and the blood absent from the home.

…

Leading the quiet pair, Maxwell stepped outside. She stepped next to him. “No one else has come. He killed them. We should be okay for a while. I’ll keep checking. But… We also have guards.” Lifting her slender arm, She pointed to the darkness.

The same eyes littered the void, iris’s expanding and contracting with excitement.

 

Yummy yummy!

Tasty tasy!

They were good!

Kill more of them!

Let us kill more of them!

They look tasty!

No! He said not to touch them!

Awwww!

Look! More of them!

Oh!

 

Screams of horror and agony erupted from the forest. Abigail and Alice gasped, pressing against Maxwell’s back.

“Stay close to me.” He whispered.

Holding John close to him, Maxwell and the girls marched west. The eyes lingering around them.

…

She emerged from the trees, giving the knight a grin and thumbs up.

“We can stop here.” He whispered.

It was a long march, the sun began peeking at them through the trees. This was a good spot. A small plateau tucked away in an army of trees. The knight gently set John on the grass. Abigail rushed to his side. “How is he?!” She asked, hands investigating his face and body. Maxwell looked to his wound, seeing it healing at an unnatural pace.

“He’s okay.”

Alice laid her head on his chest. “I can hear his heart.”

“Thank you, Alice.” Abigail whispered.

Alice nodded and Abigail slid away, resting against a fallen log that sat a few feet away.

She released a long breath. To Maxwell it looked as if an anvil had been lifted off her shoulders.

He glanced back to Alice, seeing she had already fallen asleep, fingers burrowed into John’s shirt. Maxwell rubbed her head and moved to Abigail, sitting beside her and dreading what she was going to say.

“Are you okay?” Abigail asked.

He blinked in surprise. “Y-Yeah… What about you?”

“I’m… I’m good.” She sighed. Exhaustion hung on her face. “Knowing that John is okay, suddenly I just feel exhausted. Its a wave of relief. I feel like I could sleep for days.” A weak smile formed on her lips.

“I’m sorry.” The knight said. “This is all my fault.”

Abigail gave him a look of confusion. “You saved us. How could this be your fault?”

“It wouldn’t have happened if me and Alice stayed away.”

Silence.

“Talk to me, Maxwell.” She demanded.

He looked to her. Despite the exhaustion, her eyes glowed with determination. He quickly stared back into to the forest, mind racing.

Abigail would hate him.

He didn’t care, as long as she and her brother were alive. But, what was he to do? Take Alice and go after getting Abigail and John somewhere safe? What about Alice? Could she live like that? What of Abigail and John? Nothing guaranteed they would not be hunted or killed after he left. What if these people considered them enemies by association? So, take everyone? Then what? This wasn’t fair to Abigail or John. To rip them from their home, their history, their family.

“Max!”

His eyes widened in shock as she put her hands on the cheeks of his helmet and forced him to face her. She then raised her hands, sliding his helmet off and setting it on her lap.

“Talk to me, Max! Not as a knight, but as Max! What’s going on!?”

He took a haggard breath. “Okay.”

…

Abigail’s eyes were wide in horror, hands over her mouth. “Max…”

He nodded. “I don’t know what to do, Abigail.” He clenched his fist. Words zipping out his mouth. “We shouldn’t have come to you. I put you two in danger. I never would have thought we’d be followed. Or they would find us. You were all almost killed. John was forced to kill someone. And he was injured.”

Maxwell’s limbs shook. This wasn’t right of him. He had no right wallowing in his mistake. The three with him were the ones suffering. He was a tornado that ruined their lives. First, he failed to protect Alana. Then, he brought the horrors to Abigail and John.

Warmth.

His eyes widened as Abigail’s fingers brushed his cheeks. She gently raised his face to her. He looked to Abigail. Despite her exhaustion she smiled. “We’ve been through a lot, haven’t we?”

“I…”

“If you want me to yell at you, you’re mistaken. I’m too tired.” She chuckled weakly, dropping her hands from his cheeks and laying her head on the log. “We would never blame you, or hate you, Max. John would be dead twice over if it wasn’t for you. And if John had died I would’ve…”

His eyes widened.

“And Alice. She wouldn’t be here either.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “She’s such a good girl. I’m so glad to have met her! For you to say bringing her to us was a mistake… This Alana, I’m sure she’s resting easy, knowing that Alice is with you. And my parents, you avenged them. You’ve done so much for us, so why do you fear us? We care about you, Max!”

“A-Abigail…” He said, completely lost.

She gently ran her fingers over his helmet. “You don’t have to face these burdens by yourself. Let us help you. Let me help you. You can’t do these things yourself. You’ll break.” She then smiled, wiping her eyes. “But, if you feel you do owe us something, then I can offer you a goal.”

“What’s that?”

She smiled. “Stay with us. Let us help you, and you help us. This mission, this request of mine, won’t end when you complete your mission. It will be ongoing long after. I mean, you’re going to have to help us move back home.”

She offered him the helmet. “Do we have a deal, knight? Does that sound fair?”

Maxwell took the armor from her soft hands and covered his burning face. “We do, Abigail.”