It was getting hard for Sarah to walk straight. She kept wobbling from side to side, the blood coming out of leaving a trail behind her. Sophie watched in horror, holding her mother’s hand. They had been walking across Redrock for 15 minutes now, beyond the business center of town. During the journey they had gone to the hospital but unfortunately, she couldn’t find any medical potions so they kept going, wandering aimlessly. Presently they were passing small one story brick houses. They were where the humans that hadn’t joined the HDF lived. They could hear the shuffling of blinds, the humans watching from their homes but doing nothing to help. Sarah was beginning to wheeze, her breathing now erratic. She stopped. They were at the end of a cul de sac, surrounded by houses.

“Someone help us please!” she called out.

No response. They continued to watch on in silence. Sarah fell to her knees.

“Mommy!” Sophie exclaimed, fearful for her mother’s life.

“I’m alright baby. I just need to rest for a bit.” Sarah said, sat on the sandy ground.

Sophie ran to the nearest house, banged on the front door.

“Please help us! My mommy’s hurt! Help us please!” she begged.

A shuffling was heard inside. Followed by voices.

“Carol, don't you open that door!” an elderly man shouted.

“B-but Bob it’s a little girl” an old woman responded.

“That thing ain’t a girl! Haven’t you heard from the HDF men? That’s that woman who fucked an elf out there! That thing’s a little abomination!”

“Bob language!”

“What? It’s true! That’s the woman who married an elf and heals all those non-humans. If it weren’t for her they all would’ve gone back to where they belong by now! All this violence is her fault! Now come back Carol, you’re missing the news on the radio.”

A brief silence occurred, followed by the sound of footsteps backing away from the door. Sophie tried knocking at the other houses with no luck. Either no one answered or a scene like what just happened repeated itself. After knocking on the final door, Sophie went back to her mother, who looked sick. Her skin was pale and sweating profusely. She stood up. Put out her hand for her daughter to grab.

“Come on baby, we gotta keep going.”

Sophie latched to her mother once again, following her out of the cul de sac.

They walked some more, and soon found themselves in the park. The sand of the town was now replaced with green grass. Trees replaced buildings. Sarah in the far distance could see the corpse of Richard Colescott, making sure that Sophie looked in the other direction.

“Where are we mommy?” Sophie asked, confused by the sight of nature.

“We’re at the park. This is how the rest of the world looks. It’s nice isn’t it? Outside of Atrad, the world looks like this. You don’t have to worry about heat. You can be outside all day long, you’d never want to go back inside. I wish I could’ve taken you here sooner. I hated how I had to hide you from the world. Now it doesn’t matter.”

Sarah continued to lead her daughter, coming across a playground. They were swings, a small yellow slide, monkey bars, a seesaw, and a climber playset. Sarah sat down on a bench as her daughter stared at all the strange contraptions.

“Children play here. See that thing over there?” Sarah asked, pointing at the swing. “That’s a swing. You move your legs back and forth allowing you to go higher and higher into the air. It was my favorite thing as a kid. I would swing for hours on end,”

Her finger pointed at the slide next. “Slides are fun too. It sucks when it’s hot though, it burns your butt when you go down. That’s the-”

“Mommy we gotta go! We need to find someone to help you!” Sophie interrupted, pulling on her mother’s arm.

Sarah pulled Sophie in close, gave her a hug.

“You’re such a good girl Sophie. Mommy’s so proud of you.”

“Mommy!”

“Don’t you ever forget: Your mommy loves you.”

“Mommy!” Sophie yelled, feeling her mother go cold.

She backed away, and saw Sarah’s body fall to its side on the bench. She went up to her, shaking her body.

“Mommy?”

She kept shaking, thinking if she did it enough her mother would awaken. Tears started to come out of her eyes once more.

“Mommy! Mommy wake up! Don’t leave me alone mommy! Please!”

She wiped her eyes, but no matter how much she did, more tears would come out. Overcome with grief, she sat down, bawling her eyes out.

“What a sad sight.” a voice said to her left.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, looked up. Preacher Roper was staring at Sarah’s corpse, shaking his head solemnly.

“I pity you creature. Things weren’t supposed to go like this. She was supposed to repent tonight. Vienna was supposed to forgive her for all her transgressions. But alas, she passed before I got to her. I’m sorry, but Sarah Madison’s soul is currently burning in hell.”

Sophie began to cry more and more. Footsteps were heard behind her as the rest of Roper’s followers joined him.

“I’m afraid I can’t save your soul either. You see you were never supposed to have been born. Your existence is an affront to nature. If only your parents weren’t so foolish. I don’t know what’ll happen to your soul. Perhaps Vienna will let you burn with your mother.” he hoped.

Sophie got up, trying to run away but Roper grabbed her by the hair.

“No no. It’s over now. Close your eyes. It won’t hurt.”

Roper aimed a finger gun with his other hand when gunshots were heard. He turned, saw each of his followers’ heads explode, took a bullet to the head, sending him over the bench, into a nearby tree, falling at its base.

“Roper! You will do nothing to her!” a deep voice barked.

Sohie looked where she heard the gunshots, saw the deputy reloading his revolver as he walked through the playground, over the corpses of Roper’s followers. He coughed, pounded his chest, his throat still feeling a bit off. Sophie sprinted to him, hugged his leg. The preacher got up, slowly walked from the tree, around the bench, standing about 15 yards away from them. Blood was coming down the side of his head, the bullet having done damage akin to a small hammer hitting his temple.

“Deputy, you live? You looked like a corpse at the station.” Roper remarked.

“Felt like one. Woke up a few minutes ago, saw everyone was dead, Sarah and her daughter nowhere to be found. I’m lucky I found the trail of destruction you left behind. Your followers are good for one thing: their bodies are like breadcrumbs.”

“Yes, the catkin did some damage. At least their souls are with Vienna now.” He eyed Sophie, not really caring that the last of his followers had been killed. “Give me the abomination deputy. This is none of your concern.”

“Looks like you forgot what a deputy’s job is. My job is to protect everyone in this town, and that’s what I’m gonna do. I’ll tell you what’s about to happen, Roper. I’m going to blow your head off.”

****

Bass Reeves vs. Don Black fight music

Sheriff Bass Reeves was not faring well. The fight so far against his former deputy had made him bruised, bloody, and on the verge of collapse. His clothes were torn, looking more like rags. Blood trickled down his limbs, the result of Don’s spear cutting him in multiple places. His back hurt. Not because of old age but because of the Don’s staff slamming into it repeatedly as he tried to move around. No matter how fast he moved, Don was faster. No matter how hard he hit, Don hit harder. The only thing he had accomplished so far was that Don hadn’t entered the town proper. They were still on the battlefield, fighting amongst the dead. If the sheriff didn’t change tactics soon, he was bound to join them. He panted, coughed up some blood. His insides hurt, no doubt the result of crushed ribs cutting into his internal organs.Yet he wasn’t concerned but sanguine.

“You’re on your last legs, Bass. You’re suffering from internal bleeding. You can hardly stand. This fight is over.” His opponent said a few yards away from him.

Unlike the sheriff Don Black looked unharmed. Besides the torn clothes and the bleeding eye, he had no wounds nor showed any sign of fatigue. His aura had protected him from all of the sheriff’s attacks.

“A bit too early to call it Don. I didn’t hear a bell. It ain’t over till it’s over.” the sheriff retorted.

“I know how you fight Bass. There’s nothing else you can do.”

“Oh I know. That’s why it’s time for me to get creative.”

The sheriff smiled, pointed up.

Don Black glanced up, and saw that the moon’s light was blocked. It wasn’t because of a passing cloud, but hundreds of swords were floating in the air, clustered together, their tips pointed right at him. It was as if heaven itself had entered the battle. The swords slowly spread apart from each other until they formed a dome over Don’s head, ready to fall on Don at a moment’s notice. He didn’t need an explanation, he knew the sheriff was using the swords that had littered the battlefield.

“Did you know my ability includes magnetism? Electricity can work wonders. ” the sheriff boasted with a chuckle.

Without another word the sheriff threw down his arm, making the swords fall like there were missiles. They all came at Don with pinpoint accuracy. He jumped out the way, the swords hitting the ground, causing dust to rise into the air.. Before he could land Don saw another sword appear on his right, having not been a part of the main group. It jammed itself into his shoulder, only going an inch deep, his aura having given him a thick layer of protection. Undeterred by it, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he leaped towards the sheriff. In range to attack he swung his weapon only for the sheriff to jump up in a bolt of electricity. Don looked up, and saw that the sheriff was standing on a floating sword. The sheriff then jumped again to another floating sword. Dozens of swords were floating in the air above him, serving as platforms for the sheriff. He bounced from sword to sword, looking like a pinball. Don tried to keep track but then one of the swords tilted, making the moon’s light reflect off it right into his one good eye. He put his hand up to block the light which gave the sheriff an opening. The sheriff, using the sword as a launch point, rocketed off it, going straight to Don’s exposed chest, unleashing an electric dropkick. The blow knocked Don off his feet, making him career across the battlefield into the side of Redrock’s crater. Don tried to get up from the indentation he found himself in, but electricity coursed through his body, making him shog in pain. The sheriff was clearly stronger than Don realized.

The sheriff continued his attack. He ran for Don, being trailed by a long line of swords. He jumped over dead bodies and destroyed trucks, launching the swords at Don’s current position like they were javelins. After getting over the shock, Don rose only to have a sword get plunged into his chest, then another, then another. They kept sticking themselves into his body like in a lethal form of acupuncture. By the end of it Don had about ten swords in his body from the neck down. The sheriff continued towards him, until he was in front of Don. Concentrating electricity into his left fist, he punched Don square in the face with all his strength behind it. But it felt to the sheriff like he had punched a brick wall. Don remained standing, the swords still in his body. The sheriff flicked a look at them, and noticed they had hardly gone into his body. Don Black smiled.

“Now that’s more like it, sheriff.”

He grabbed the sheriff’s arm with a tight grip, and the sheriff could immediately feel his strength being sapped away. Don was absorbing his aura. To stop it he raised the sword in his other hand, cutting his arm off in one clean cut. He then tried to back away but Don was faster. Don punched him in the head, making the sheriff skip across the battlefield like a stone skipping across a pond. He bounced over and over until he had stopped right in front of the trench. Using this brief reprieve Don Black flexed his muscles, making the swords in his body pop out. Blood oozed out of the wounds but that didn’t stop Don from rushing after the sheriff.

The sheriff got up in a daze. His head felt like a truck had slammed into it. He also felt a massive pain where his arm used to be. He looked at it, saw blood pouring out of the stub. To stop the bleeding, he cauterized the wound with a bit of electricity. Until he could get proper medical attention it was the best he could do. Don was running towards him, taking giant strides to close the distance. His mind told him to run away from the approaching tank but he knew he couldn’t do that. He was the only one who could defeat Don. The burden was his and his alone. No one else in Redrock had the strength to fight. Besides, he had to make up for his mistake. He felt that he could have prevented Don from joining the HDF. He should've seen the signs, the discontent that was building up within his former deputy. But like a fool he ignored it. Now he had to make up for it the only way he knew how. He had to put down the mad dog that Don Black had become. It would be a mercy killing.

By the time the sheriff could see straight, Don had already closed the distance between them. His massive frame overtook the sheriff’s field of view. The sheriff tried to jump back but Don’s attack reached him first. He felt Don’s hand grab his head, the immense pressure making it feel like his head was about to be popped like a grape. The sheriff could feel his energy being sapped once again, unfortunately knowing he couldn’t get free this time by slicing off a body part. To make matters worse, Don began to punch the sheriff with his other hand, further scrambling his insides. The sheriff tried to kick himself free but it was no use. Each kick was as effective as a light breeze. The aura draining was taking its toll. If he didn’t get free soon, the sheriff’s body would become akin to that of a limp noodle. The sheriff knew that he didn’t have the strength within to get free, didn’t have the strength within to overpower Don. In a last ditch effort to get free, the sheriff used his remaining strength to summon a nearby sword, a single sword being all he could get. It flew into Don's wrist, forcing Don to let the sheriff go. The sheriff fell onto his knees, and immediately escaped in a bolt of electricity.

Don plucked the sword out of his wrist, letting out a light grunt. He noticed that the sword had ruined the nerves in his wrist. His hand had become limp and couldn’t move it no matter how hard he tried. He became slightly amused. A real injury that had been inflicted in an act of desperation. Don smirked to himself, then began to scan the battlefield to find the sheriff. There was no way Bass ran away, he simply wasn’t that type of man. Yet he couldn’t find him for some reason.

“I thought we were finally going all out!?” Don bellowed.

He began to slowly walk over the battlefield, looking for any signs of the sheriff. Especially any swords coming towards him. The blades seemed to litter the battlefield haphazardly, which was a good sign for Don. It meant they weren’t under control. Only now did Don realize the carnage that had occurred. Human and non-human bodies littered the ground, the bodies stiff and motionless. The air smelled repugnant due to the decay. Yet this was small-scale carnage. Only a few hundred beings fought tonight, nothing compared to real war where thousands upon thousands of bodies clashed. It was still a pity nonetheless that this many humans died. However it was all for the greater good Don thought to himself. After scouring the battlefield for a few minutes he stopped. He noticed a pile of dead human bodies. Curious by the sight he approached it, stared. They were stacked upon each other, like building blocks. Standing before it he began to feel the patter of rain. He looked up, and saw that dark clouds had now covered the sky. Rain started to descend over all of Redrock.

“Fitting. The heavens themselves wish to wash Redrock away.” Don said aloud to himself as he stared upwards.

“That’s one way to look at it.” A muffled voice said from the pile of bodies.

Suddenly the sheriff erupted by the pile of bodies, a ball of electricity in his hand. Before Don could react the sheriff slammed his palm into Don’s one good eye, sending electricity coursing through his body using the eye socket as an entry point. Don screamed, stepped back, covered his eyes with his hands. In the meantime the sheriff reached his hand out, made a sword fly to it. He then started slicing Don all across his body, zipping around him while his opponent tried to cope from the electric shock.

“Thanks for letting me catch my breath Don! You know old folks need their breaks!” the sheriff said as he continued his attack.

He attacked Don’s weak spots, areas like the achilles heel and forearms, all the places that no matter one’s build, are vulnerable. The cuts made the big man totter, his body swaying back and forth as he slowly got over the electricity. However, he did not fall. No matter how many times he got struck, like a mighty tower, he refused to fall. Minutes went by as the sheriff continued to chip away at him, lamenting the fact that he would’ve been doing much more damage had he more aura. But it didn’t matter, the sheriff’s plan didn’t require him to win this way. He just had to buy some more time.

Frustrated by his current predicament, Don let out a huge roar throwing the sheriff off. He followed up with a kick which, despite being blind, hit the sheriff square in the face hitting him across the battlefield.

“These dirty tricks mean nothing, Bass!” Don screamed “I have the aura of over 200 men! I have your deputy’s aura! I have your aura! You do not have the strength to kill me! As long as I have aura I can enhance my other senses! I don’t need sight!”

The sheriff quickly got up to his feet, seeing the raging bull that was Don Black sprinting towards him. He was only 45 yards away and closing fast, yet he was going a lot slower than he was before. The sheriff hobbled, smirked to himself. He looked up at the sky, the rain now fully coming down. It was time. The sheriff summoned more swords around him. They twirled about him like he was the sun and they were the planets. He launched them at Don one after the other. They stuck into Don’s body like before but Don kept running, ignoring the swords as he got within striking distance of the sheriff. The latter knew he didn’t have the strength to move out the way.

“You already tried that!” Don bellowed, cross lining the sheriff at full speed.

The blow made the sheriff’s head go straight to the ground. He was now lying flat on his back, staring up at the clouds above as they rained down on him. He ignored the rain getting into his eyes. He moaned in pain. A few feet away Don Black was panting, the swords still sticking into his body.

“Sounds like you’re having… a rough time” the sheriff said, continuing to lay on his back. It was too painful to move and the fatigue was too great.

“Says the man dying on the ground” Don shot back.

“Yeah...not looking good for me. Doesn’t matter though; I won.”

“Delusional in your final moments are you?”

“Heh I’m old, but not that old. Seems my age made you underestimate me. My mind is still sharp.”

“What?”

“I always knew I was going to be the one to fight you Don. As much as I wanted to get Mason myself, I knew I couldn’t with you by his side. That’s why I’m glad those outsiders came. They can have the glory of taking out Mason. I can take you out and have no regrets.”

The sheriff pointed at the sky.

“I said I had enough strength to kick your ass. There’s a caveat to that. I needed some outside help.” The sheriff continued. “Did you know it was going to rain tonight? I did. It’s why I went along with Sarah’s plan. It was so convenient, like it was fate. Tonight was perfect. Just had to wait until the right moment.”

“What…” Don paused. He heard thunder followed by lightning. He realized what the sheriff was talking about.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me. You really think you can strike me with lightning!? You’re insane! That would never work. You don’t have the strength to do it. I sapped your aura and beat you so hard you can’t stand anymore.”

“Who said I’m using aura to do it?”

A yellow glow emanated from the sheriff. He slowly got up, his bones and limbs in agony as he did so.

“You’re using life energy? You old fool! That will kill you! You’re going to use up the little life force you have left!” Don hollered.

“If it means taking you out, fine by me. I’ve lived a full life Don. I’ve done a lot of good things, a lot of bad things. I’ve experienced great happiness, and great sorrow. Some part of me wishes I did better, made different decisions. Perhaps if I did, we wouldn’t be where we are right now. Or maybe not. I honestly don’t know. All I know is that a man proves his worth by doing the right thing. I know we still have some things to discuss but I think we’ll see each other real soon. If there’s a hell below, we’re all gonna go.”

“Bass don’t!”

Don Black tried to rush towards the sheriff, as the latter became enveloped in a bright light but it was too late. From the skies above came a massive lightning strike hitting Don square in the chest, the swords in his body having served as a magnet. He became enveloped in a light of his own as hundreds of volts surged through his body. He wailed like a banshee from the pain, his aura too weak to block nature’s strike. He felt his body boiling. It was akin to being cooked alive. Every inch of his body became charred in an instant. His body fell to the sheriff’s feet, looking like a piece of coal.

The sheriff’s light went away afterwards and he fell to his knees. His vision became blurry and felt so, so very tired. His body fell over to its right side. He closed his eyes and felt a warmth overcome him. It was a kind warmth, like he was feeling a warm embrace. He opened his eyes, saw that he was in a field. There were verdant hills as far as the eye could see. Red roses bloomed beneath his feet. He looked at his hands. They were devoid of any wrinkles. He felt his face and noticed how smooth it was. He was young again. In the far distance, he could see a woman in a silk white dress looking at the horizon. Her blonde hair billowed behind her. Tears began to pour out his eyes as he walked to her.

With a smile on his face, Bass Reeves, sheriff of the town of Redrock, passed away. The battlefield now only consisted of the dead whirling with the dead. Human and non-human decayed side by side. There was no noise beside the pitter patter of the rain. Yet in the far distance, there was a rumbling. A force three times greater than the HDF’s army was approaching the town. Hundreds of boots marched in long columns. The army consisted of knights in bright silver armor that shone brightly into the night. Some rode on horseback, others marched. Regal banners consisting of yellow and red triangles led the massive procession. At the very tip of the formation, was a man riding a white stallion wearing a red and white regal robe. A white veil covered his face. One of the soldiers on horseback sped up so they could be by his side.

“Lord Alderman. We shall arrive in the town of Redrock within 20 minutes” they said.

The lord slowly nodded, patted the soldier’s head.

“Ugh thank you lord Alderman?”

The soldier slowed down to get back into formation.

“Ah your first time getting pat by the lord?” a fellow soldier on horseback asked.

“Yeah. What was that?”

“Lord Alderman is...unique. Don’t worry, that's just how he shows appreciation.”

The soldier looked ahead, and saw that the lord was staring at the moon as they rode on.

“He does know this is a military operation right? Doesn’t seem like the fighting type.”

“Probably not. That’s why we fight.”

“What are we even fighting? The briefs didn’t mention it.”

“Because we don’t know. Alderman asked for troops, and since his state is on the border of the elven confederacy union thing, the other lords quickly granted his request. I heard he rarely asks for anything from the empire so whatever we’re doing must be important.”

“Heard we were going to an immigrant hub called Redrock.”

“Yeah. Never heard of it until yesterday. It’s in the middle of nowhere. I bet the immigrants started something.”

Rain started to fall on their helmets. The soldiers looked up, and noticed they were now underneath dark clouds. In front Lord Alderman was looking upward as well, his arms spread out. A soldier tried to hand him an umbrella but he smacked it away. In the distance the caravan saw a gargantuan lighting strike. The lord stopped for a brief moment, then kicked his horse into high gear, riding quickly ahead of everyone else.

“Where’s the lord going!?” A soldier asked.

“To Redrock obviously! Come on soldiers double time!” A commanding officer said.

The soldiers quickended their pace, following the lord.