Earlene and Sirens

Chapter 4

----Present----

David scratched the back of his neck. "So wait, you wake up and startle a random boy, then a bunch of Hoplites tries to kill you?"

"Yes, that 's exactly what happened." Earlene took a sip of his tea. He liked his tea with milk, but no sugar.

David sipped his tea. David liked his tea with milk and sugar, two scoops to be exact. "What happened afterward?"

----Two and a half days ago----

After the Hoplite Captain yelled his command, his soldiers began to charge towards Earlene. With a yelp of surprise, Earlene swung around and fled. He continued running, arrows, and javelins falling behind him before he came towards the end of the docks, which were quite far in the sea. Before he could react, an arrow entered his shoulder, causing him to cringe in pain. He quickly ripped out the arrow. It hadn't drawn blood, it was stopped by his second layer of armor. Earlene quickly stepped to his left, narrowly dodging the Captain's sword, before Earlene blocked another sword blow with his own.

"End of the line." The Hoplite Captain raised his spatha and shield, getting into a fighting stance. Earlene swallowed. In turn, he raised his sword and shield, himself getting into a fighting stance. The Hoplite lunged forward with his sword, Earlene dodged to the left, barely staying on the docks. He swung around and slashed his sword downwards. It caught the Hoplite Captain by the neck and slammed him down. Before he could get up, Earlene kicked him while he was down, right into the harbor's frigid black water.

A roar of fury rose from the Hoplite crowd before they began charging. Earlene jumped backward and nearly fell. Aw crud, I'm cornered, and I don't think I can take these guys! He searched for a route of escape...and found it. A barrel labeled "Flaming Oil" with a candle lantern on top. Moving quickly, Earlene sliced the barrel's top off, then crouching so his shield covered his entire body. As he expected, the candle fell into the barrel and ignited the oil, causing an explosion. It flung them all backward, Earlene and Hoplites. Earlene fell into the deep waters, where he quickly succumbed to the dark waters.