☢︎︎---☢︎︎
"Today, the elect will be chosen.
Today, for five of you, everything will change. You will be honored no matter the outcome but I believe the outcome will be life. For you, your families, the children, the entire civilization we've...
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It took them a few days to find Auden. They went back to the spot where they killed the two strangers find their bodies gone and foot prints in their place. They were able to track those back to a small camp. Auden was being held in a small hut and even though they couldn't see him, they heard his screaming.
They were torturing him.
As much as Armada wanted to bust in and immediately kill every stranger there, they counted eight massively burly men who lived within the camp. They came and went so Reese assumed that this was just an in between area for them and not a permanent residence.
They had to have a plan. They made they way back to the pod where they spent another day concocting a plan of action to get Auden back. They watched the strangers, learned their shifts and their distinctions.
They knew if they killed anymore of them, then there would be hell to pay for all of them. They didn't know if Auden killed anymore of the strangers so they figured they might already have a price tag on their heads.
It didn't matter. If peace was an option, they'd have to take it until there was more than two of them to fight in a war. Two against who knows how many isn't a war anyway, it's suicide.
Armada and Reese made their way silently to the back of the hut which held Auden. They watched as the last stranger of the night walked out of the hut and according to their schedule, another one wouldn't go in for 8 to 10 minutes. It had to be enough time.
Reese and Armada exchanged nods and Armada moved forward with as much stealth as she could muster and she slid underneath the thick straw lining the hut to squeeze inside. She was smaller than Reese so he was the one to keep watch.
Armada's breathe caught in her throat as she witnessed the state of her friend before her. He was forced to his knees with both of his wrists tied to the poles that ran across the ceiling. He was shirtless and cut a million times. Some of his fingernails were missing, his left eyes was purple and swollen shut, and his nose was crooked and had dried blood underneath it. "Auden." She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He gasped and glanced up as he shook his head. "Please. No more. No more." He whimpered. "Sh." She caressed his head as she grabbed her knife to cut the ropes. "I'm getting you out of here."
"Please!" Auden shouted with a crunching strain in his throat. "Auden." Armada placed her hand over his mouth and bent down to his level. "Look at me." She demanded.
Auden finally opened his better eye to look at her and he immediately started tearing up. "You have to go." He whispered. "What? No." She shook her head in confusion.
"I'm dead already. Save yourself." He told her. "I'm not leaving without you so shut up and let me cut you free." She snarled at him through tears of anguish.
"Armada you don't understand. The strangers-" armada cut him off while cutting at the ropes. "I know. There's eight of them. We've been watching them - we've got it handled."
"I told them." Auden whispers. Armada stopped to look at him. "What did you say?" "...I told them about us. They know everything about us." Auden refused to look at her as he shook his head. Tears and spit were mixing as he stared at the ground. "They're coming for you next."
Armada felt her throat close up at the news. Then she heard the brushing of hands furiously against the straw of the hut. Reese was talking her strangers were coming. "We have to go now." Armada cut the other rope and Auden collapsed to the ground. "No matter how much pain you feel, you will crawl under that straw and you will run with us. Do you hear me?" Armada grabbed his face harshly.
"Do you?" She shook him. Auden nodded weakly. "Go. Now." She shoved him towards the straw and he started crawling underneath it with small grunts of pain. Armada made her own way out from underneath it with the help of Reese pulling on her wrist. The both of them grabbed Auden and yanked him from the hut.
"Sh." Reese held up his finger to his lip as the foot steps got louder and closer. They heard sudden movement of straw and the hut shook. "The honon ste gone!" They heard a man shout and chaos ensued.
"Run." Reese says as they pitched Auden over their shoulders and tan for the forest.
"Der emo laik!" "Odon der!"
Armada felt her heartbeat in her ears as her and Reese's steps struggled to keep the same pace. Auden tried to help but he was only tripping over his own feet. "Nou!" Wind wooshed past Armada's head and she realized they were shooting arrows at them.
A sudden grunt of pain released from Reese and their steps slowed. "Reese!" Armada shouted. "I'm fine. Let's keep going!" He grunted.
Another grunt of pain and Reese collapsed to the ground. Auden fell right after him in a heap on the forest floor. "No no no." Armada mumbled as she saw four arrows protruding from Reese's back. He struggled to reach for them and pull them out as he squirmed in pain. Auden was still except for his shallow breathing.
Their footsteps were getting closer. "Just go." Reese told her. She shook her head. "Never." "We'll all die here if you don't." "Then I guess we'll all die here." Reese's head fell to the ground as his strength gave out.
Armada turned to see the strangers break through the thick brush and point their arrows at the three of them. "Well then." Armada stared as tears welled in her eyes. "If it isn't the consequences of my own actions. You know, I thought you guys would be more attractive." She chuckled unamused as tears fell. "And here I was thinking tall, dark, and handsome would save me. Imagine my surprise when I find out he'd rather put an arrow in my heart!" She felt her heart beat so fast it burned within her chest. She always thought she'd go out blades swinging, war cry on her lips...here she was defenseless in front of a bunch of men. Strangers.
The strangers all exchanged looks before they started laughing. Confusion filled Armada as she looked to see Reese and Auden barely breathing. "Jus drein jus daun." One stranger said with his deep gravelly voice. She watched as he raised his heavy blade as he stepped towards her.
