M.R. Short Story: Sunset

Sunset

Ro-nael Gatin slammed his hatchet into the man nearest him. The man squealed in pain and collapsed to the ground, grasping his injured shoulder. The man looked up at Ro just in time to see the sharp blade falling on his head, the last thing he'd ever see.
Once the man was dead, Ro turned to see how many enemies were remaining. Ayl Dattem was several paces away, choking a man with his own bandana. Ro wondered if he should go over to help, but the man was soon dead. Ayl stood straight, tying the bandana around his neck once more."Well, tha' was fun, ayloo!" Ayl chuckled. "Too bad tha' Dipen wasn't among these guys, though."Ro sighed in reply.He wasn't even supposed to be in the physical world. He was meant to be a guardian of the spirit realm, alongside Mernao Rulek, Ry Pengol, and Mr. Crowli. But the day before he was to set out with Mernao and Pengol, Ayl suddenly returned. Ro had believed Ayl to be dead after facing several terrorists in a burning base only months before. Yet Ayl had returned to Ro, soon after the war with the terrorists had ended and the new village had been built. Ro had no idea how Ayl had survived.Due to Ayl's abrupt arrival, Ro told Mernao and Pengol that he wouldn't be going with them to the Kaster Lands' island, where the portal to the spirit realm was located. He told them that he'd catch up later, but told nobody about Ayl's return. He spent the next day in Ayl's company, telling Ayl how the war had ended and they'd been victorious. Yet the new terrorist leader, Charles Dipen, was still at large.Ayl therefore decided to join Ro's hunt for the man, wanting to see the ultimate fall of the remaining terrorists. The two therefore set out alone, and had been following small leads for the past month. Ro could have sworn that this lead would have brought them straight to Dipen, as a factory full of terrorists sounded like the perfect hiding spot for the terrorist leader. But he was wrong.Ro sat down on a nearby crate, resting his hand on his palm as he surveyed the bodies around them. The small factory had once been producing clothing, but it had long since stopped its production. He peered around at the crates, wondering if there'd be any paperwork within them.Ayl saw where he was looking and shrugged. "It's worth checkin' ou', I supposes," he said.He walked to the nearest crate and opened it up, while Ro got off the box he had just sat down on. He pulled the lid off the box easily, but there was nothing inside. He turned to the next crate several paces away. The metallic smell of blood grew stronger as he walked over the dead bodies.Ro reached the crate and pulled at the lid. It seemed stuck. He heaved on it, wishing once more for his broader and stronger body. But no matter how much he wished for his original body again, he'd always be stuck in a body that was not his. His older body was weaker and seemed to get more tired the longer they trailed after Dipen. Ayl was soon at his side to help him with the lid. Ayl was in an older body than his original body too. He wasn't as old as Ro, and seemed to have more strength. The tan-skinned man pulled hard, and the lid was finally pried off.Ro took a step back in surprise, his hand flying to cover his nose. The smell of blood had gotten stronger because of what lay inside the box, not because of the bodies he had walked by. Ayl covered his face with his bandana, squinting down at the contents in disgust.Severed limbs lay within the crate: arms, legs, hands, and feet, all torn apart from one another. Ro felt a bit queasy; though he'd be an assassin most of his life, he had never seen anything quite like it. "You reckon this is Dipen's work?" Ro muttered, his voice muffled behind his hand.Ayl shrugged. "Possibly, ay-Ro. Is it askin' too much fer this to be Dipen himself?""Probably," Ro grunted. "Let's look for the rest of the body..."The two rummaged through more crates, stumbling upon empty boxes or ones stuffed with moldy clothes. Finally, they came across two more boxes with body parts. One held most of the person's body. The other held his head. A weird sensation crossed over Ro as he stared down at the severed head.It was his father figure, Alec. There was no mistaking the large, broken nose or the big jaw. His eyes were closed, but Ro had no doubt that one would be sky blue and the other mud brown. Before Ro could stop himself, he turned away and threw up. Ayl slammed the lid back on top of the box, glancing over at Ro anxiously. "I thought he was dead," Ro mumbled, wiping his mouth. "I thought you had him get killed, back when you invaded that base!"Ayl moved closer to Ro, clearly hesitating. Finally, he mumbled, "I thought they would've killed him, Ro. I didn't think he'd be their prisoner all this time... I'm...sorry."Ro shook his head, feeling dizzy. Alec was more than just a prisoner to the terrorists—he had been tortured. It was so clear from all the bruises and cuts along his severed body parts that he had been torn apart before finally being murdered. Though Ro still had not forgiven his father figure for being the secret leader of the terrorists in his attempt to bring them down, Ro found that he still cared about the man. And now he was certainly dead—for good.He threw up again as he saw Alec's severed head in his mind's eye. How could anyone do that to a person? Was Alec still alive when they'd torn his body apart? Had he and Ayl just missed them, and could have saved Alec had they come sooner?But before Ro could think any further, there were suddenly screams all around them. Ro's gaze snapped up, just in time to see they were surrounded! Ro got to his feet shakily, raising his hatchet in front of him. He shifted closer to Ayl, who went back-to-back with Ro. They faced their oncoming enemies, wondering how the terrorists could have snuck up on them without a sound and where they had come from.Then, Ro's heart sunk as he realized that they probably used magic to conceal themselves, before popping out for the final attack. Magic was no longer able to harm another person; at most, it could be used in self-defense. Ro wondered briefly if he'd be able to use his water magic in self-defense, but then shrugged it off; he had never been good with magic.He waited for the men to come upon him, but his legs were still shaky and he felt light-headed. Alec's dead face loomed in his mind, and Ro found that he could not concentrate at the oncoming terrorists. He swung his hatchet blindly, blundering around. He felt weapons slice through his skin, stab into his thick uniform. Blood raced down his arms. But all he could see was Alec.He had no idea how long he was fighting for—though he was more flailing than fighting, he realized. Bodies fell around him, surprisingly enough; whether it was at his hand or Ayl's, he did not know.Then, Charles Dipen was standing right in front of him. Usually, when Ro was in a battle rage, he was barely aware of who was where or if they were even on his side or not. But seeing Charles Dipen, an old man with silver hair and a scowl upon his withered face, seemed to take him out of that battle rage. He paused completely and stared with a slightly gaping mouth.Suddenly, he was slammed hard on the head from behind. He fell to the ground and stared up groggily at Dipen in a daze, a single strand of thought in his head: Was he going to die? But no—Ayl was tackling the old man to the ground, hammering at his head with what looked like a piece of the crate. The war cries were distant and indistinguishable as Ro's vision began to fade. Everything went black, and his mind went empty.