The Forgotten Rogue

Chapter 12

One kill became two and as weeks slowly trudged by, merging into months, the kill number on Emeric's name grew to 20...

Amongst the immense crowd of spectators he had become known as the Reaper. A name he hated thoroughly because it remined him of what he'd become. A monster that brought death upon everyone and everything...

He had broken his promise to his mother...He had taken lives, but now his sole mission in life was to honour his father's last wish...He had to survive no matter what...He had to do whatever it took to stay alive.

On one particular long, tedious day in his cell, Emeric was waiting for Axel to be brought back from the Dome, but his nerves were growing on edge. It had been a few hours since his friend had been taken...He was a seasoned warrior and usually finished his fights briskly...Staying away for hours wasn't Axel's type of thing.

As yet another hour slowly crawled by, Emeric had had enough...He started banging on his cell bars and called for a guard...After a few minutes, half a dozen came to halt the ruckus that Emeric was causing.

"Where's Axel?" he asked as the guards stopped in front of his cell. The guards looked at him with uncomprehending eyes, "Who?" Emeric pointed to the cell opposite his.

The guards looked at each other and then broke out in laughter, "Hope you said goodbye...He was transferred." As the one guard spoke, the others sniggered. Emeric frowned with confusion, "Transferred where?"

Once again the guards sniggered with uncontrollable laughter. They turned and started walking away.

"Transferred where?" Emeric desperately called after them...slamming a fist against the bars.

Without stopping, one of the guards called back to him, "To his grave."

The words seemed to physically hit Emeric and made him stumble backwards...he placed a reassuring hand on the wall, trying to keep himself from falling, but the emotions coursing through him became almost unbearable.

It couldn't be true...Axel couldn't really be dead...he was a brilliant warrior...how could he be dead?

Emeric slowed his breathing to try and calm his nerves...but it was in vain...his heart was hammering in his chest...a constant drum that reassured life... yet Axel was dead... his heart had met its final beat.

And with that the guards exited the cell hall, leaving Emeric to mourn the sudden unexpected loss of his only friend. He had never known anyone besides his parents. Axel had been the only other person who hadn't looked upon him with scorn. He had made Emeric's life in the cell much more pleasant and they had become close friends...

And now...

Emeric didn't allow himself to think along those lines.

He couldn't bring himself to accept that once again, someone he cared about had been killed...and once again he hadn't been able to do anything...

Emeric tried keeping his emotions in... but they were boiling up and got too much to hold in.

"Damnit!" Emeric yelled as he slammed his fist into the cell bars...Tears threatened to spring to his eyes, however, he kept them suppressed, not willing to show his captors any form of weakness.

*****

Before the hour had passed, the guards came for Emeric...

'Not now.'  He thought bitterly...

Still mourning his friend, Emeric wasn't mentally prepared for a battle...It took a lot out of him to take a life...and at the moment he didn't have much to give...If anything...