"Coin and Silver" by Carson Turnbull

[ShortStoryContest]

The following story has been selected as a featured runner-up in our 2015 short story contest (Contest Theme - "The Self-Destructiveness of Vengeance and Hate")

"Coin and Silver" by Carson Turnbull

Coin and Silver

I stood, hand resting on the hilt of my sword, overlooking the valley. It was beautiful; the sun was setting casting an orange glow on the tree tops, the water of the lake below was sparkling, and the trees were swaying steadily in the wind. I sat down on a rock, watching the sun set. I used to be a slave; not allowed to see any form of beauty, now I embrace it whenever I can.

“I knew you’d be here.” A voice said; I turned to find Slate standing a few paces away.

“I like to watch the sun set.” I responded. Slate was eighteen, two years older than me, with blond hair, green eyes, and smooth features. He was wearing jeans, like me, and a black shirt with his armour over it. My shirt was red, and my armour was resting on a tree. He sat down beside me, looking over the valley.

“You should wear your armour here.”

“I’ll be fine.” I replied, we weren’t too far from the castle, but here you always have to be prepared.

“The amount of people being captured for slavery has increased.” I nodded, slate knows that I have a personal vendetta against slave masters; I’ve killed three so far. “Also the bravery of the grotesque creatures is growing, a farmer and his family were killed yesterday; they’re coming closer.”

“That happens sometimes, there’s probably just a lot at the moment, it’ll pass.” I replied. The grotesque creatures are the result of animals, never a human; we’re smarter, stumbling across remains from the poison world. We don’t know much about that time, it’s almost a legend. All we do know is that humans equipped with poison weapons that caused mutations fought a war that almost destroyed the world; leaving few safe zones for humans and animals to recover from the devastation. It’s been thousands of years since then; nature managed to clean up most of the world, all that remains are small areas of poison that animals stumble into and mutate into grotesque creatures that we have to kill. We as humans managed to survive through it all, and hopefully we won’t be stupid enough to repeat our past mistakes.

“We should go; it’s going to get dark soon.” Slate said, taking me out of my daze. I sighed; the sun was beginning to dip beyond the horizon. I grabbed my armour from the nearby tree and slipped it over my head; it was light and fit well, perfect for fighting and travelling.

We walked back to town together, reaching the first towering gate just before night fall. The guards let us in, and from there we walked through streets filled with houses, shops, and street vendors on an upward slope towards the castle which overlooked the vast lands. The castle was shaped in a way that if you looked at it from any direction you’d think you were looking at the front. I also knew that there was an extensive tunnel system underneath the city. Outside the walls protecting the city were farms which we protect with a smaller wall, and guard towers, if at any time those people are threatened they’re brought into the city. The rest of our kingdom is composed of forest where not many live because of the grotesque creatures that roam there, and small towns protected heavily by kingdom guards and their own people. Beyond our kingdom’s boarders are several other kingdoms and huge slave estates. The Kingdom of Elixe; my kingdom, does not support slavery and we try to set people free as much as we can.

“Silver!” Someone called; I looked around for the person who called my name. It was a messenger, running down the street, he was small, a kid, about eleven. He stopped in front of me, panting. “The king has summoned you.”

“Thank you.” I said, he turned and ran back the way he came. I turned to Slate. “I will be seeing you later, most likely.” He smiled, and walked off in the direction of his house. I began to walk up the main road to the castle, passing through the gate, and finally the very menacing door, entering into the great hall. The walls were opal, and there were large pillars made of marble holding up a beautifully painted ceiling. The floor was filled with deep colors with splashes of blue, purple, and red; it was a beautiful room. I walked to where the king sat, passing many guards who were all dressed up in their fancy armour. I reached the king and bowed.

“Rise” He said. I looked up at king Rankroff.

“Why have you summoned me?” I asked. He looked around at the guards in the room.

“Leave this room.” He commanded. It took no time for the guards to exit the room, leaving me to be his sole protector. There are very few people he will clear the room to talk with, and I am one of them.

“Silver I have received news of a slave master who has been kidnapping children and even babies in this kingdom specifically. He sells these children to enemies of the throne; there are also rumors that he is Metaflis.” Instantly I stood at attention, Metaflis was a name I dreaded, and hated. He was a famous slave master, and took me from my family when I was four, he taught me to fight, and made me return to my loved ones at five to kill them. I wasn’t considered a real human, and was robbed of any chance to have a normal life. I was also told that Metaflis was dead. “I need you to find him; you’re the only kid who has escaped from him, and therefore the only person who knows how he operates. You have to determine if these poisonous rumors are true, and if they are, kill him.”

“My pleasure” I replied, before leaving his chamber. There were rules for slave masters, usually involving life in prison, or slave work, Metaflis’s crimes have run too deep, he does not deserve a trail, and I wouldn’t give it to him if he did.

I went to my chambers and packed what I’d need for the trip. I changed into my travelling clothes, put my armour on, attached my scabbard and sword to my belt, tucked a throwing knife into my boot, and attached a dagger to my belt easily reached by my left hand. Over top everything I put on my black cloak. I glanced in the mirror once to make sure that the weapons were hidden and was met by my piercing black eyes. I did a once over, my brown hair was tied back, my weapons were hidden, and there was a craving for vengeance in my expression.

I exited the city through a tunnel that was not far from my chambers; it’s quicker since the guards don’t mind when people leave that way, it’s just when you try to enter that there’s a problem. The sun was completely gone and the moon was rising in its place, casting an eerie light on the world around me. I walked the short distance to a farm house that I keep my horse Rancher at, when I’m not around the nice family takes care of her. It took me five minutes to prepare Rancher, and then we were off, riding towards the unknown of the future.

Two weeks passed before I finally found where Metaflis was operating out of. I still didn’t know where his slave estate was, but I found a smaller location that he seems to use as a base. Rancher was tied at an inn a couple houses down the lane, and I was scoping out the house that was believed to be where Metaflis was working. So far I had only seen two people exit the building, both were cloaked in darkness but I got the impression that they were running from something more than anything else. The windows were covered but there was light leaking through cracks in the boards.

It was an hour before I finally found my way in; I hadn’t seen it before but there were small nails in the wall that I could climb which would bring me to a second floor window. The nails were small and didn’t look like they could support any weight, but I managed to reach a small ledge that encircled the house. Carefully I shuffled over to the second story window, and climbed through quietly. I found myself in a dark room; I closed the window, and looked for the door.

I stubbed my toe three times before I found the door, and I swore again as my hand hit the door knob. Slowly I began to open it, letting the small sliver of light reach into the room. I didn’t see anyone around, so I opened the door all the way. I found myself on a poorly lit balcony overlooking a large well lit room below. I could see a lot of people moving around, doing different tasks; I also noticed that most of them were children, while the rest were guards. Suddenly a child screamed as she was dragged into the middle of the room, one of the guards pulled out a whip, just seeing that made my blood boil. The guard raised the whip but before he could bring it down I jumped over the banister and landed behind him. He turned around whip still raised as I pulled out my sword and impaled him in the stomach. I wrenched my sword out before he fell over; the blade was wet with blood. The second guard charged me swinging an axe, I dodged the blade, and in return stabbed him under the arm; he yelled in pain as I pulled my sword out, and sliced his neck, he fell to the ground, blood spraying from the wound. Two more guards began to move towards me, they raised their weapons.

“Everyone stop!” A voice bellowed. My blood ran cold as I instantly recognized who was yelling, my eyes narrowed. “Coin, is that you?” He asked, using my slave name. It was Metaflis, alive as ever, I turned to face him; the red of rage seeped into my vision. He was large with brown hair, and nice clothes, he was just as I remembered him except for the scars I had left him with before I ran away at fourteen.

“The name is Silver.” I replied, pointing my sword at him.

“I trained you well.” He commented, looking at the two guards by my feet.

“And that training will result in your death.” Metaflis chuckled.

“I don’t think so.” I took a step towards him, but a sound like heavy footsteps stopped me from taking another. A door in the corner of the room was thrown open; literally, it hit the opposite wall with a loud bang. “You see Coin; I have the weapon of all weapons on my side.” The figure came into view, and it was absolutely horrific. It was seven feet tall and terribly disfigured. Its face was saggy and rotten in some areas, its nose was twisted, it had no lips but perfectly white teeth, and its eyes were a glowing green color I’ve never seen before. Its arms looked puffed up, and it had strange lumps all over its body.

“What is that?” I asked, utterly mortified and disgusted.

“That, Coin, is what happens when you throw a person into the waste from the poison world. Just like animals we survive but are turned into something vile and evil. To kill me you have to get through that; I call him waste.” The creature moved to stand beside Metaflis; my gaze moved from it, to the slave master, and back to the creature. My instincts told me not to attack but I couldn’t stand by and watch Metaflis get away just because he has a menacing guard. I took a step towards them and Waste charged me; slamming into me before I could reach Metaflis. I was sent flying, hitting the floor painfully near the back wall. I rolled onto my back just in time for Waste to grab my neck; he began to squeeze. I gasped for air; my eyes felt like they would fall out, disorganized I fumbled for my dagger as my vision began to fade.

I was near unconsciousness when my hand brushed against the hilt; I grabbed it and cut off his hand. He yelled in pain, as I managed to roll out of the way, grabbing my sword as I did so and pointing it at him. There were still spots in my vision but I could clearly see that Waste was not in pain as he clutched his arm; instead he was watching his hand regrow. I gawked in horror as his hand fully regenerated.

“Now imagine an army of them!” Metaflis declared proudly. I gulped, my throat hurt and my neck was burning, I knew that neither was good. Waste stood up and faced me, I raised my sword higher. He charged, I ran my sword through his chest, letting go of it as I ducked out of the way. He stopped and turned towards me; he pulled the sword out of his chest and tossed it to the side, the wound healed. He came at me again and this time I gave it all I got, daggers out, I cut, stabbed, and used all the techniques I knew but nothing worked. Waste continued to heal. Finally he seemed to get fed up and threw me to the floor by grabbing my arms. Pain shot through my back, I don’t think anything was broken, but it was still bad. Waste then picked me up by my neck, it felt like my throat was being crushed as I gasped for breath. I tried to kick him and get out of his grasp, but nothing seemed to work. I was beginning to fade when I heard Metaflis’s voice through the fog.

“Don’t kill her.” At that I was thrown out the window, glass shattered and I landed in the mud. Several pieces of glass stabbed me in various places, and a weight settled on my limbs. Vaguely I was aware of my sword, and daggers landing beside me, as my vision seemed to get darker. I attempted to blink away the spots as I reached for my sword.

“You there, what are you doing?” I heard a voice call, it sounded distant and foggy. Painfully I turned towards the voice; it belonged to a guard sitting on a horse.

“I need help.” I croaked I could barely speak; my throat both hurt and stung making the pain nearly unbearable. The guard jumped down from his horse and came to kneel over me.

“What happened to you?” He asked, picking up my sword, dagger, and knife as he did so.

“I’m a fighter for Elixe, my horse is at an inn; I need her.” I said quietly, trying to focus on the guard.

“I’ll help you there.” He replied, realizing the urgency of what I said. He put my left arm over his shoulder and helped me up, I let out a cry of pain, but I was able to remain standing. With the guards help we began to make our way over to the inn where Rancher was being kept.

We entered the stable and I pointed to where Rancher was standing, I leaned against the wall, feeling exhausted but beneath that was something else; rage was building inside of me, anger at what Metaflis is planning, and at the fact that I couldn’t kill him when I had the chance. I looked up; there was a commotion at the door that led from the stable into the inn. The stable boy seemed to think that one of the horses was being stolen.

“What is going on out here?” A woman asked she appeared in the doorway scowling.

“I need to take this horse.” The guard replied.

“Rancher is my horse; I need her for something very important.” I said as loudly as I could. The woman and the stable boy looked over at me.

“What happened to you?” The woman demanded.

“I’ll be fine.” I replied as I tugged at my collar attempting to scratch my neck. The woman came closed, eyeing me suspiciously.

“How did you get burn marks around your neck?” She insisted.

“That’s what those are.” I mumbled.

“I’ve seen those burns before; you will die if you don’t get that healed.”

“What?” I exclaimed backing away from her.

“Girl, I don’t know what you’ve been doing but you can’t travel like this. That type of burn eats through your skin, I can help you but you have to come with me.” I glanced over at the guard.

“Ethel has worked for the healer of this town for many years, I would listen to her.” He said; there was an apologetic look on his face. I was torn between the urgency of getting the information I know to a king, and not dying before I could get there. I decided that staying alive and getting at least some rest might be more efficient than possibly dying.

“I can’t waste much time; I’m leaving first thing in the morning at the latest.” I declared.

“Yes, whatever, now come with me.” Ethel commanded, leading me through the door that led into the inn. There were only a few people sitting around the warmly lit room and none paid me any attention as Ethel helped me to one of the vacant rooms. “I need you to sit here, don’t move, or touch your neck.” I nodded; she turned and left the room. The room was small and uninteresting, only having a bed, a wardrobe, and an uncomfortable chair that I was sitting in.

Ethel came back a moment later carrying a washcloth, bandages, and a container filled with some kind of ointment. A girl about eight followed behind her carrying a bowl of water, the child eyed me nervously as she laid the bowl on the wardrobe and left the room. Ethel got to work immediately dabbing a small edge of the wash cloth in the water and cleaning the blood around my neck away. Next she began to dab the dry part of the cloth on the burns, making them sting; I clenched my teeth and kept my face emotionless.

“You have a strong soul for a what, a seventeen year old?”

“Sixteen”

“And you’re a knight for the kingdom of Elixe?” She looked at me questioningly.

“Until I was fourteen I was a slave, trained to fight and kill, I escaped.” I told her, she seemed to want to ask another question but decided against it. After she finished dabbing at my neck, which made me very nervous, she grabbed the container and began to apply large amounts of the ointment to the burns. It had a cooling effect, and numbed the sting almost instantly.

“Two boys had come in with burns like this one time; the first one practically lost his hand because it just eats away at the flesh, luckily we found a herb that counters the effects and makes it heal faster. The healer I worked for had this book from the poison world, it had been passed down through his family for all that time, from what we could tell; these are called chemical burns.”

“Those two boys must have gotten too close to poison from the old world.”

“Yes, but I can understand getting burns on your hands or feet, not around your neck.”

“That is for me to discuss with a king.” I replied, getting defensive, she instantly backed off and began to wrap the bandages around my neck.

“I suggest that you rest here tonight; tend to your other wounds. Tomorrow you can get going; I will have your horse ready for you.” She finished wrapping the bandage and moved in front of the wardrobe. “You have a strong soul, but be careful; you also have a craving for vengeance that could easily destroy everything you’ve made good in your life.”

“I will be fine.” I replied, looking up at her. She nodded and left the room, closing the door. She had left the water, washcloth, and extra bandages for me to use. I glanced at the door quickly before I began ripping shards of glass out of my skin and bandaging them. It was a painful task, but I finished it relatively quickly. I looked out the window; I had a few hours before sunrise, I lied down on the bed and instantly fell asleep.

I woke up as the sun was just coming over the horizon; I felt a little better and was happy that I had decided to stay the night. I left the room pretty much the same as I had got it except for the small pile of coins I put beside the bandages; payment for the kindness that Ethel had shown me. Quietly I made my way down to the stable where Rancher was ready to ride, I smiled as I climbed up and rode out of the stable. The streets of the town were fairly quiet as I rode through them, I passed by the house that Metaflis had used as a base but it looked deserted; he had already cleared out. I looked back once more at the small town before I began to ride.

The town wasn’t far from the great city Wallington of the kingdom Usa, this was where king George resided. I had met the king once before and he seemed fair; I’m hoping he will hear me out and more importantly, believe me. I reached the gates to Wallington which were white and relatively small but most importantly they were open. There were guards standing around the gates but none stopped me as I rode through and into the bustling streets of Wallington. I made my way up the street that led to the castle, which looked more like a large white stone house; this king seemed more modest than others I have met with. I reached the doors to the castle, and someone came to take my horse to the stable, I let them, and walked up to the front door.

“Are you a warrior from the kingdom of Elixe?” The guard at the door asked me.

“Yes.” I replied. He opened the door for me, and stepped aside.

“You have a meeting with King George.”

“Thank you.” I said before walking into the room, slightly curious as to how they knew I needed to speak with him. The guard closed the door behind me and I was stunned at how overwhelming the room seemed. There were paintings everywhere; the walls, the floors, the ceiling, even the pillars had all been painted on by different artists. I was standing on art; the floor was blue, painted to seem like you were standing on water, there were even shadows of fish. The room was marvelous. I looked up at King George who was sitting on his throne at the opposite end of the room, standing beside him was the guard who had helped me; he nodded slightly. Surprised I walked forward and bowed to the king; I could feel his gaze on me.

“Rise and tell me why this is so important.”

“I am Silver of Elixe, but I used to be known as Coin of Metaflis. He was one of the most powerful and dangerous slave traders of our time.”

“Metaflis was killed two years ago.”

“He’s back sire, I don’t know how, but my king heard rumors and I was sent to investigate. I not only discovered that he was alive, but he’s building an army, one that if we don’t stop, will crush us.”

“What type of army?”

“He’s using the poisons from days of old to mutate humans and turn them into grotesque creatures. They’re like the animals who unknowingly wander into the poisons, but stronger, and impossible to kill.”

“How do you know they’re impossible to kill?”

“I fought one sire.” I replied, lifting the bandages around my neck to show him the burn marks, and bruises. “I was trained by both Metaflis, and the guards of Elixe, but it could regenerate its limbs, and I could not defeat it.”

“How did you survive?” The king demanded, leaning forward.

“Metaflis didn’t want me dead yet; he wants me to watch him take over the land with his poisoned army.” King George nodded pensively.

“How can I know that you didn’t just make this all up, in hope that we would launch a full scale attack on Metaflis and kill the one person you truly want to see dead?”

“Father; I saw what happened to her right after the fight; I wouldn’t doubt what this fighter is saying.” The guard said, I looked over at him eyebrows raised; he shrugged.

“You have to understand that if what you’re saying is true; it could mean the end of this world as we know it. That said; there is a way that might stop this, it’s dangerous, and could shatter this world just as easily as grotesque humans if used the wrong way, but it might be our only chance.” He paused for a moment, it seemed like he was fighting a conscious battle whether to tell me or not. Finally he sighed. “You must travel to the kingdom of Ussria, and tell the king that drastic times call for drastic measures, and we have to go all the way. Once you say that there is no knowing what he might do; one thing you will need is the approval from all the kings of this land; my son will get you that. Just remember that once you say that sentence everything you thought you knew, will change, do you accept that?”

“Yes.” I replied instantly.

“Then you must leave now. Go with my son Caesar; he will give you more provisions.” I bowed again.

“Thank you.” I said before following Caesar out of the room.

We walked through several different hallways, and down two flights of stairs. The hallways were only white with gold trim, which was a very big change from the main hallway. Finally Caesar stopped at what seemed to be the entrance to the kitchen.

“We keep bags packed with several days’ worth of food for the knights who have to travel and leave quickly.” Caesar said before he walked over to a cupboard which was full of extra packs. He handed one to me, and took one for himself.

“Thank you prince of Usa” I replied, taking the bag graciously.

“Please, just call me Caesar.”

“Okay Caesar what were you doing in that town so that you would conveniently stumble across me?” I asked. He smiled, as we began to walk again.

“I travel throughout the kingdom a lot, keeping watch over things, I just happened to be in that town at that specific time.”

“Well, thank you for practically saving my life.”

“You are welcome Silver of Elixe.” We continued walking in silence down some more hallways until Caesar brought me to a door that led to the stable. I spotted Rancher and walked over to her, patting her several times before readying her for the long ride ahead. I put the sack of food in one of the saddle bags and mounted her, Caesar joined me and we rode together to the city gate. Politely Caesar bid me farewell, and began to ride in the direction of another kingdom. I faced north in the direction that I knew the kingdom of Ussria was in and began to ride.

A week passed before I reached the main city of Ussria; Mosring. The city was built away into the mountains and the only way to enter was a huge iron gate that almost looked like a curtain. There was a guard house built into the rock above my head and that’s where I directed my call.

“I request council with your king.” A guard appeared looking down at me annoyed.

“Who is making the request?”

“I am Silver of Elixe, and I was sent by King George of Usa, to discuss a matter of utmost importance with your king.”

“The kingdom of Ussria is not at peace with either of those kingdoms.”

“This matter is not just about those two kingdoms; it’s about this whole land, the threat we are facing is against everyone, and at this moment time is not our friend. So could you please allow me in, I am willing to give up all my weapons, I do not mean any harm to your people.” I called. There was a moment of silence as decisions were made. After almost five minutes a guard showed his face again.

“You have to surrender all arms, and allow your hands to be tied.” I sighed.

“I accept.” I responded as the gate began to open and guards ran out to meet me. I jumped down from Rancher, and watched as she was taken away. I also gave them my weapons, starting with my sword, dagger, and lastly the knife in my boot. The weapons were placed in a bag and a guard holding a rope walked forward, I allowed my hands to be tied, and began to walk with the group of guards into the mountain to meet with their king.

The castle was made of black stone carved into the mountain, although the most notable thing about it was that the top of each tower was rounded and gold. It was quite the sight to see as I walked with the small group through the streets, being looked at strangely by the people as we passed. We walked through an archway made of quartz and into a vast hall. The walls were lined with diamonds that reflected the torch light in a spectacular way, and abstract portraits. The guards brought me to stand in front of King Vladin of Ussria, he had an air of superiority and sat menacingly above us, I bowed politely.

“What brings a knight of Elixe to my kingdom?” He asked, his voice booming throughout the huge room.

“King George of Usa told me to tell you that drastic times call for drastic measures, and we have to go all the way.” Instantly the king’s face drained of color, and he lost his demeanor.

“Untie this girl immediately.” He commanded, directing it at the guards. They did as they were told and left his presence. “I need you to tell me everything.” He said, eyeing me with a look of fear. I began to tell my story, leaving nothing out, his face contorted into a look of disgust and horror when I told him about what Metaflis was doing to create his army, and when I finished speaking he just nodded pensively.

“There was an agreement made long ago that we would never use weapons that had the sole purpose of taking human life. That said we knew that we would still have to be prepared for something we could not stop with swords. Long ago when the first kingdoms were being created, after generations of aimless wandering and survival, it was decided that the kingdom of Ussria would hold weapons that could be used in case a situation like this arises.” He paused for a moment, taking a breath and looking around as he did so.

“Through circumstance you were chosen to become the most dangerous person this world has seen in a long time. With the training you will receive you will be able to destroy Metaflis’s army and stop him for good. The only thing is that we can only release you from training once we get the approval from every king. Until then you will only be trained, if we don’t get the approval the training’s stopped and you will leave. There is one thing we need before this begins.”

“What?”

“Your approval” He stated it bluntly. “Do you Silver of Elixe accept this responsibility?”

“Yes” I replied without hesitation.

“Then follow me.”

King Vladin stood up revealing a very slim figure and moved to a door behind his throne that was painted black and hidden by the shadows. He took the key that was hanging around his neck and used it to unlock the door; the door swung open silently and he stepped aside allowing me to pass. It was a dark stairway that lead downwards, but I didn’t know to where. Gathering my courage I began to walk down the stairs with King Vladin following a few paces behind me.

At the bottom of the staircase I pushed open a wooden door to reveal what seemed like a weapons vault lit by torches, although I did not recognize any of the weapons. There were many of them hanging on the walls, some were long while others were small and L shaped. I looked around the room mystified at these weird objects.

“What are they?” I finally asked.

“They’re guns.” A wheezing voice replied, startled I turned around to find what looked like an ancient man sitting in a chair. His skin was like sandpaper, there were only a few strands of hair still left on his head, and he was skin and bones; he reminded me of a mummified corpse.

“Guns?” He began to breathe heavily inhaling and exhaling huge breaths of air; he might have been laughing, or dying.

“Back in a world that is almost legend these are what humans fought with.”

“You mean to tell me that we have kept relics from the poison world throughout all these ages?”

“Yes.” Both the king and the wheezing man replied.

“How?”

“I am also from that world; I protected and took care of these weapons throughout those long centuries, keeping them in working order, and I still do this job now.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible, not when we had technology.” He got a dreamy look in his eye, staring at a place behind me.

“If you were from the poison world, that would make you thousands of years old, you should be dead.” He looked at me with an evil glare.

“Do not call it the poison world around me, there might have been problems, but that’s where I grew up, and actually lived. It can be the old world, or the passed world, but not poisoned.” He said the last word with vile, before turning to examine one of the guns. “We discovered a form of immortality just before my world ended. It was the most advanced combination of genetics and technology we had ever seen. Ten of us tried the formula and it worked; we would not die of disease or old age, we could of course still be killed and when that world ended, the others were killed leaving me as the only survivor, assigned to rot away here protecting our beloved weapons.” I could only nod; I barely understood what he was talking about, all I did know was that I was talking to the oldest person in the history of mankind. “So what is the reason for your visit, I don’t suppose you just want to chat.”

“The code has been given, we are facing something that our weapons cannot defeat, and Silver from Elixe has been chosen as the one to fight.” The ancient man looked me over up and down.

“It was just a matter of time before someone realized the potential of my world’s remains.”

“That person is the most powerful slave trader in this time, and he wants everyone to realize that.”

“So you’re going to fight his army, kill them, and then kill him, because I can tell he did something to you and you want revenge.” The old man spat.

“That man captures children and turns them into killers; he does not deserve any form of power.”

“So let’s give a killer the deadliest weapons this world has ever seen.”

“I am not a killer, I am a knight.”

“Who kills.”

“Only when I must” The old man began to wheeze laugh again.

“Hopefully all the kings won’t agree with this; but until then I will train you. My name is Edgar.”

“Silver of Elixe” I replied.

“Or Coin of Metaflis greatest child warrior throughout the land.” He stated mockingly. “Why did you change your name?”

“Because that is not who I am”

“We shall see.”

*

Three weeks have passed and I have become one of most dangerous people in this land. The guns are easy to handle, and easy to use, but they’re different, beyond anything I’ve ever imagined, and absolutely deadly. Edgar only taught me how to shoot the guns, showing me how to aim, fire, and reload, but he didn’t teach me how to maintain them, a subject I don’t think he wanted to teach me. Every time I handled a gun I felt like I had to be careful, but I also felt strong like nothing could defeat me. I’ve seen what a gun does to a target; it scares me what would happen to a human.

I was sitting at the table in the weapons vault staring at the hand gun that was resting in front of me. Edgar walked in the room, and sat down in the corner.

“You have mastered the art of shooting a gun, your aim could improve but it’s only been three weeks. So now I have to tell you how to kill the grotesque monsters you will be fighting against.” I nodded. “From what you told me they are controlled, but evil, and cannot die due to regeneration. Therefore you have to shoot them in the head with these specific bullets.” He revealed a round of bullets that seemed to be a blueish color. “When people and animals began mutating we invented a bullet that targeted the area’s that were still working which would kill the creature. I kept a lot of those bullets for that specific reason, but you must only use these bullets on the creatures.” I nodded taking the round that he offered me.

“How do the creatures regenerate?” I asked.

“We had a lot of different mutations in the old world; I believe that there was a mixture that would allow people to regenerate and I think that got into the mix of poisons.”

“How did your world end?” He chuckled.

“We got a little too trigger happy, the world fell into a war that it couldn’t recover from.” At that moment the door opened and King Vladin walked into the room.

“Caesar of Usa has arrived with the final word from the different kingdoms.”

“We will finally learn if we can use our weapon.” Edgar mumbled before he began following King Vladin up the stairs, taking the handgun with him, I followed behind them. If all the kings agree it will mean I can reap my revenge on Metaflis and save this land in the process.

When I entered the main hall the first thing I realized was that Slate was standing beside Caesar. I nodded at the both of them and went to stand beside King Vladin who sat down in his throne.

“What were the decisions made by each of the kings?” King Vladin demanded, his voice booming.

“Every king agreed to have Silver of Elixe fight the growing army of Metaflis. Several of the kingdoms are being terrorized by him and he is growing stronger. Silver may be our only hope to return the peace we had.”

“Then it is decided, Silver of Elixe you must swear to defend this land from the oncoming threat, and only use the weapons you possess for that reason.”

“I swear” I called. With a look of disdain Edgar walked forward and gave me the handgun with its sheath I took it, and attached it to my belt. He also handed me the bag with extra bullets of the normal kind and creature killing kind.

“Do not break your swear.” Edgar mumbled.

“I won’t” He nodded once before turning and going back into the weapons vault.

“I have another thing to report sire.” Caesar stated, looking up at the king. “Metaflis attacked Elixe; the kingdom has fallen.” Immediately I looked up, my mind ripped from the gun.

“He remains there at the moment, but we must move quickly before he targets another kingdom.”

“Sire I must go to the aid of my kingdom.” I said, not mentioning to him the burning desire I felt to destroy Metaflis.

“Of course, we prepared your horse when Caesar arrived, I wish you good luck.” With that I ran with Caesar and Slate back to the horses, and we began to ride towards Elixe as fast as possible.

The circular castle that had looked over the kingdom was flattened, I don’t know how, but even from afar I could see that the kingdoms beacon was gone. We slowed to a stop as the three of us neared the once beautiful kingdom. Smoke was rising from many different places, and a lot of the walls and gates were now destroyed.

“What happened to the citizens?” I asked.

“They either managed to escape when the attack first started, or are dead. It is possible that some are hiding in the tunnels; everyone who remains alive is locked in the city, grotesque creatures that cannot be killed guard the exits.”

“They were once human.” I replied, as I checked that the gun was loaded with the proper bullets.

“How are going to fight them?” Slate asked.

“Only I can kill them, but I’ll need you two to slow them down and make sure we don’t get overwhelmed. Use your swords, cut off limbs, and be careful of their touch. We’ll enter through the tunnels, try to get survivors out, and kill as many creatures as we can.”

“It sounds like a plan” Caesar replied. I nodded and we began to ride towards one of the tunnel entrances. When we got close enough, we dismounted, and left our horses at a farm house. We took only our weapons and began to cautiously make our way to the tunnel.

Unsurprisingly it was guarded by two creatures, both of which looked disgusting and menacing. When we got close enough I stopped the two boys and pulled out my gun, clicking off the safety I carefully took aim. It was the first time I was shooting something living; I pulled the trigger. The bang echoed around us as the first guard dropped to the ground dead, the other creature began looking around; again I took aim and pulled the trigger, that guard also fell dead.

“Let’s go.” I whispered, ignoring the looks both guys gave me, as I walked over to the tunnel entrance. I kicked at one of the creatures but it remained dead, I looked into the dark tunnel; they were going to pay for what they’ve done to my kingdom.

Slate, Caesar, and I began to make our way through the tunnel; I held the gun out in front of me, ready to use it if I have to. A lot of the torches had been extinguished so we had to walk through areas of darkness, each time I imagined something unexpected coming after me. It was in one of those areas that I heard something; breathing. Quickly I moved into some light and looked for where it might be coming from. I didn’t know these tunnels as well as I should, and I looked up to Slate for help. He nodded, and walked over to one of the walls. It looked like nothing was there until he stepped behind the wall through a smartly designed passage and came out with several people. They were whispering and scared, but were very much alive.

“Take the closest exit out of here, be quiet, and don’t touch the corpses.” I whispered to the group of people. Some of them nodded as they all began walking towards the way we came, I glanced at Slate and Caesar and we continued wordlessly. We passed through several passageways, it was dark in some, light in others, but it was the suspense that I hated. Every corner we turned I expected to see some grotesque creature waiting for us, but that never happened.

“Where are they?” I mumbled furiously. Both guys shrugged as we continued on, finally exiting the tunnels and walking into the empty streets of my once flourishing kingdom. Most of the houses had been lit on fire and there were dead bodies littering the streets, anger flared inside of me and I gripped the gun tighter. When I was in a time of utter hopelessness these people had accepted me and gave me a place in this world. Now they have been killed because Metaflis wants me to suffer for what I did to him, but he underestimated me, and I will get back at him, he will feel my wrath. I looked over at Slate who had gone pale; he had grown up in this kingdom and within the time of a few weeks it has been destroyed. I looked around the empty street once more, and began walking in the direction of the destroyed castle. Slate and Caesar followed warily, watching to make sure we don’t get attacked from behind.

I turned a corner and stopped, appalled at what I saw. Littering the streets were about one hundred corpses and hunched over them were two grotesque creatures, eating them! The street was a bloody mess; with a shaky hand I raised the gun. I knew I’d never hit one so I lowered it and took a breath, I raised the gun again, this time holding it with both hands.

“Stop!” A desperate voice yelled. I turned in surprise to find King Rankroff stumbling towards us being followed by a hoard of creatures.

“Sire!” I yelled with a mix of amazement and horror.

“He’s alive.” Slate mumbled dumbfounded.

“Found the creatures.” Caesar remarked drily as he pulled out his sword, focusing on the mass of creatures making their way towards the king and us.

“Silver, you have to leave this place, it’s a trap!” The king yelled. “Metaflis is going to Ussria; you have to follow him, for the good of this land.”

“How do you know?”

“He left me here to tell you; kill him Silver, you have to kill him!” At that moment the hoard of creatures converged on the king and he was killed instantaneously.

“Sire, no!” I yelled as I raised my gun and began to fire in the hoard.

“Silver watch out!” Caesar called, I turned around just in time to find the two creatures, blood still dripping down their mouths, running towards us. Quickly I aimed and pulled the trigger but the gun was empty, I began to reload but I was too slow and the hoard of creatures overwhelmed us in a matter of seconds. My world was reduced to slimy flesh, nails, and burns, Caesar and Slate’s swords were flashing as they desperately tried to reduce the amount of attackers. I got the gun reloaded and began to shoot at them but we were easily outnumbered, beside me Caesar screamed as one of the creatures bit his arm, immediately I shot it but more continued to converge on us.

“We have to get out of here!” I yelled.

“Follow me!” Slate commanded as he raised his sword and surged forward. He began to slice at anything he could as he attempted to part the masses, we followed behind him and I found myself using Slate as a shield to move semi-protected through the crowd. Caesar followed behind; their sole purpose seemed to be protecting me. I tried to shoot as many them as I could, but when the gun ran out again I pulled out my sword and began to hack at creatures.

After what seemed like hours, and our attempts seeming to be pointless, I saw that we were almost through. With one last push on Slate we stumbled through the crowd and into the open air, instantly Slate fell to the ground as Caesar made it out.

“We have to go!” Caesar called, as the hoard seemed preoccupied with looking for us in their masses. I turned to Slate and helped him up; he stood for a moment and then fell over again.

“I can’t” He managed to say.

“You have to!” I yelled as Caesar grabbed my arm and began pulling me away from Slate. “No!” I screamed tears of rage in my eyes as the hoard turned towards us. I watched helplessly as three creatures stopped to kill Slate and begin devouring him, as the others moved towards us.

“We have to go!” Caesar commanded as the hoard got closer. I turned to run, half of me wanted to stop and let the hoard take me, but the other part knew that if I died now I wouldn’t get to kill Metaflis myself.

We reached the gate to the city and continued running, the hoard still fresh on our trail. We passed a couple of farm houses, and after what seemed like forever of being chased by grotesque creatures, we reached the farmhouse where our horses were. Without hesitation we got them out, I jumped onto Rancher, as Caesar mounted his own steed, and we began to ride towards Ussria. I looked behind me to see that the hoard was getting farther away but still pursuing us with vigilance. We rode a little while longer and then stopped to catch our breath. I looked back and saw that even if the creatures were far away they were still coming after us.

“What now?” Caesar asked.

“We go to Ussria and kill Metaflis.” I responded.

“I can’t be sure, but I think the creatures will follow us.” Caesar said after a moment of silence.

“I know.” I replied.

“Why?”

“Metaflis probably has them on my scent.”

“But if they follow us all the way to Ussria, a trail of destruction will follow. All towns and houses we go near will be attacked and destroyed.” I nodded.

“I need to kill Metaflis.” I retorted.

“Even if it causes the destruction of numerous towns?” Caesar responded, desperation creeping into his voice.

“What else am I supposed to do; I can’t kill all of them.” I stated.

“Then what’s the point!”

“I don’t know!” I yelled frustrated. We both went silent, watching the hoard of creatures move towards us.

“Do you think there are more powerful weapons in Ussria?” Caesar asked quietly.

“Yes.”

“Could we use those?”

“We could try.”

“Then we go for the weapons, now let’s go; we have a long way to travel and not many stops for rest.” I nodded, it was a good plan, but I couldn’t hide the fact that the real reason I was going to Ussria was to kill Metaflis.

We rode for a week and a half; in the night when we stopped to eat and sleep we could hear the screams of nearby villages being attacked and destroyed. Twice the creatures almost got too close but each time we just continued, spreading destruction throughout the roads we took. I tried not to linger on the screams, the suffering, and tears all being caused by me, instead I focused on one thing and one thing only; Metaflis has to pay, he has to suffer for everything he’s caused. Everything done to me, to the other children, to the people terrorized by these mutated creatures, and to the creatures themselves, was caused by Metaflis and I want to watch him burn.

Finally we came upon the gates of Ussria, the hoard was far behind us at this point and the guards welcomed us warmly. I rode Rancher up to the door of the castle and burst in, King Vladin looked up.

“Silver, back so soon, what happened?” I looked around curiously.

“Where’s Metaflis?” I asked, as Caesar yelled over my voice.

“There’s a giant hoard of creatures coming towards this castle; we need to get more weapons or we will all be slaughtered.” King Vladin immediately stood and moved towards the weapons vault. He unlocked and opened the door; there was a round of gunfire before the king collapsed onto the ground; blood spilling from several wounds. Shocked I grabbed my gun and pointed it at the door; I had reloaded it on the ride. Through the threshold walked Edgar holding a large gun, one that he didn’t teach me how to use. He pointed the gun straight at me.

“I’m sorry Silver; but I can’t let you get these weapons. I saw your burning desire for vengeance as soon as you stepped through that door and I can’t let you have any more.”

“Let the girl have her weapons.” Metaflis said, as he walked out from behind one of the pillars holding a throwing knife. Edgar turned to point the gun at Metaflis but he was too slow, Metaflis threw the knife, which embedded itself in Edgar’s eye. He slumped to the ground, motionless.

“Hello Coin, I see you got my message.” Metaflis said as he walked over to the body of Edgar and picked up the gun; pointing it at me.

“How much you want to bet I can figure out how to use this?” He asked, smiling menacingly.

“You can’t.” I replied angrily. He made a noise, and without warning pointed the large gun at Caesar and pulled the trigger. The bang echoed throughout the room as I ran to Caesar who had collapsed to the floor. Blood was flowing out of a wound in his chest; he was taking ragged breaths, trying unsuccessfully to fight the clutches of death. I grabbed his hand.

“Silver” He looked up at my face. “Or coin.” He mumbled before death took him and he went limp.

“Caesar.” I said his name once before I let go of his hand and turned towards Metaflis.

“You did this!” I yelled.

“Duh.” He said drily.

“All this destruction, and death, it’s because of you.” I accused standing up to face him.

“No! It’s because of you Coin.”

“The name is Silver.” Metaflis laughed.

“Of course, Silver of Elixe, the brave, and noble knight, ready to defend her beloved kingdom from the threats of evil. Is that who you are? Or are you Coin of Metaflis the killer, who cut her parent’s heads off at the age of five, and would readily kill anyone who got in her way. Look around Coin, you did this! Your cause might have seemed noble, but it turned into a lust for vengeance that’s killed more people than it saved.” I glared at him, unwilling to accept his words. He’s killed everyone I know, destroyed my kingdom, and created creatures of evil, I did nothing. Metaflis raised the gun he held and pointed it towards me.

“Coin, I want you to put down your weapons and look outside.” I thought about pulling out my gun but something told me Metaflis would be faster. Reluctantly I dropped my weapons, and let Metaflis walk over and kick them away. He looked at me and smiled before escorting me to the ledge that looked over the Kingdom of Ussria. The city below was in peril; the creatures had managed to get in and were running rampant, slaughtering people by the hundreds. Houses were on fire, people were screaming, I saw several creatures eating the citizens.

“You created them.” I said darkly.

“You led them here.” Metaflis replied.

“I was going to kill them.” I answered, using Caesars excuse.

“Don’t fool yourself; do you really think you could have killed them all even with better weapons. There are too many. You came here looking for me, even if you knew they would follow and cause destruction. You just released them into the land to roam and kill when they see fit.”

“They would have gone anyway.”

“Do you really know that? What if they just remained in Elixe, you could have blocked them off and they would have died.”

“I didn’t know that!”

“That’s because you wanted to come here after me! Don’t you see, I might have created the creatures, but you caused the destruction! We’re almost a team.”

“No!” I declared. Hate was creeping through my mind like a disease, and any logical thoughts became shaded in black. Metaflis was manipulating me, but anger took over and I attacked him. He had no time to react before I ripped the gun from his hands, and threw it over the ledge. I barely saw his look of surprise before I kicked him in the knee and knocked him to the ground. He fell hard onto his back, and I got on top of him, pinning him down.

“Metaflis listen up well; when I was four you ruined my life, everything you’ve done has caused destruction, it’s your fault that I came here seeking revenge, and it’s because of you and your craving for power that every single person in this world will die. Those creatures you created will destroy everything, and the human race will most likely be wiped out, but at least I get to kill you.” I said with hate as my vision filled with red. I raised my fist, but Metaflis was faster managing to punch me in the face, hard. I recoiled from the shock and Metaflis used that leverage to push me off, and begin to run towards the weapons vault. Ignoring the pain in my face I got up and ran after him.

He disappeared down the stairs and I followed close behind. I reached the bottom to find Metaflis pointing a gun he took from the wall at me. I smiled; I knew for a fact that he didn’t know what a safety was. I spread my arms.

“Shoot me!” He pulled the trigger and nothing happened, his look of triumph changed to a look of fear as I pulled a gun off the wall, and made sure that it would work. Out of fear Metaflis jumped behind some metal barrels; each had a sticker with what looked like a flame, but I paid no attention. I aimed the gun at the barrel, hoping the bullet would pierce through, and pulled the trigger; there was a large explosion of fire and I was thrown backwards. I hit the wall painfully as the room began to erupt into flames. I heard screams of pain and they made me smile; Metaflis was getting what he deserved. Fire began to envelop me, burning me, the pain was unbearable but for one precious moment I saw Metaflis screaming in agony. I relished in his screams; watching him burn, as I burned.

The End

[Major]

Great title.
Great name for an author.
A very good attempt,needs a bit of polish on grammar and punctuation but a good yarn.
One thing though, no one wears jeans in futuristic fantasy tales, change to breeks of Melton or breeks of satin or what ever.
Thought the ending was a tad hurried and don't put 'the end', if nothing follows it's obvious.
Enjoyed it thank you.