A Promise of Death

Running.

I shift my feet, concern growing in my face. I could hear the steps of the bandits surrounding us, their breathe shakily blowing out. I could detect courage and rage-- but also fear. The bandits are scared of us, I realize, my ears perking as I heard the sound of metal leaving it's sheath. I glanced towards Riella, who seemed to have noticed it aswell. She let out a low growl, her aquamarine cold. "Brother?" she whispered to me, "Are we ready to fight?"

I looked at her, surprised by her aggressive reaction. "I guess," I murmur, one eye still on the leader who stood in front of us.

"We can use a SB." I nodded to Riella's sentence, watching her pull out a small, black ball, with the letters SB painted onto its smooth surface. "G'Night," she purrs, a smirk on her face as she tossed it towards the leader, who had watched the exchange of words with furrowed brows. "Brother!" Riella shouts as smoke starts to surround the area. I was quickly stepping away, holding my breath so not to breath in the noxious fumes.

"I'm alright," I whisper as I see the girl jump up beside me, her ears down. She coughed once, then grabbed my hand, her palms sweaty. I could tell she was anxious to get out, and I realized I was, too. She started to run away from the approaching fog, dragging me along with her.

Two steel doors blocked us from the outside. Large signs that read "Push" were labeled on the front. I slammed my shoulder into one of them, as Riella did to the other. Wind buffeted my hair and went through my nose, sharp and dry.

"Let's run!" Riella shouts, and we race into the forest that surrounded the cracked parking lot. Branches slammed at my face, Brambles tripping me. But I kept running.

After running for what seemed like hours, we stumbled upon an old, yet beautiful, building. Tall, shining, weeping willow trees stood around the large enclosure, their leaves sparkling a bright amber and crystal amethyst. Large doors were plastered on the front of the building, an half of an emblem on each door, creating a large on in between. Two wings sprouted from a large flower with beautiful, dark eyes.

Riella stepped up, placing her hand to the side of one door. I copied her moments, my hand falling into the grooves of the material. We looked at eachother, and nodded, pushing our palms into the space.