Remnants

Chapter Two

| Raynor |

--*--

Broken blades of grass clung to my face as I laid sprawled across the ground. My ears rang and my chest stung.

I shuffled to my feet, wiping the loose dirt from beneath my eyes before peering through the thick clouds of dust.

The tree. It sat a few inches from my feet, its enormous trunk resting about a meter deep in the earth.

I scanned the rest of the area through squinted eyes, and came across the boulder. It sat within the sizeable crater created by its powerful impact. It was massive... easily twice my size.

I stumbled forward, coughing, and brushed the loose grass and dirt from my palms.

Jaric. Cora. Avery!

Where were they?

The dust continued to obscure my vision, so with a deep breath, I relaxed my mind and concentrated my energy, expanding it outward. Right away, I sensed three robust energy signatures within the vicinity.

What a relief.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Jaric's voice boomed from the other side of the trunk.

I walked over to the head of the tree and scanned through its thick leaves. "Cora! Are you hurt?" I shouted.

"I'm fine. Don't you worry about me," Jaric shouted bitterly, "And I'm sure she's okay. It's just a fallen tree."

As if on cue, Cora emerged from beneath the leaves. She scrambled atop the trunk, straightening her bow and coughing as she gathered herself. "I'm okay," she said, patting the leaves from her leather pants and short, ginger brown hair.

I smiled.

"See? What'd I say?" Jaric chuckled. "She has the resilience of a pest."

Cora shot a death glare at him. "I will hurt you!"

"You know what?" he said, soaring over the tree trunk, "I think I like the sound of that." He landed in a skid a few meters in front of me, sending a small cloud of dust up into my face. He smirked as he collected himself.

"What?" Cora's voice cracked, "What's wrong with you?"

I stepped away. I didn't care to stick around for what was to come; I didn't have the time...nor patience.

Finding Avery was now my main objective.

The attack was enough to startle anyone, so I couldn't help but be concerned. Being the leader of this dysfunctional squad placed me responsible for her safety, something I took with the utmost seriousness.

Surprisingly, I found her standing rather calmly, brushing the loose dirt from her chest. She combed her wavy, golden-blonde hair over her shoulder before looking down at her sullied shirt. "I liked this shirt," I barely heard her mutter through a pout.

I couldn't help but smile at her childlike demeanor, and for a moment, I was whisked away in thought – back to 'better' days. Back to the days of untainted innocence. Back to when the world was a lot less dark. Sadly, my blissful moment was interrupted by another thunderous roar that boomed from deep within the forest.

Avery held her ears and groaned. "What is that?" she asked.

"Orcs!" Cora shouted as she stared into the forest.

"Orcs?" Jaric sighed, "Sure. Why not."

"How many?" I asked.

"Four," Cora answered, hopping down from the tree trunk.