Kaley followed Dakota out of the gate and into the crisp morning air. The sun wasn’t up yet, but Fighters and Brutes had gathered, ready for whatever lay ahead in the trees.
“Hey Dakota.” Andrew and four other Fighters approached him. “Tony said we are with you.”
Dakota nodded. He knew why Tony had put Andrew in his group, even though he was perfectly capable of leading his own Fighters. Andrew was meant to keep an eye on Dakota, and he was okay with it. He didn’t need to be babysat, but if it made Tony feel better, then so be it.
“When we get to the Brute camp, you are not to engage until I give the say. We need to make sure we aren’t walking into a trap. This is the closest they have made camp since the night we found Anastasia.”
Dakota found her standing next to another group of Fighters. He was in constant awe, even now, at how beautiful she was. She looked so incredible and powerful standing there, sword in her hand. She had a cloak wrapped around her shoulders and pinned at her neck, and the leather she wore under it hugged every curve of her body.
It pissed him off.
“Let’s move.” Tony began walking and the group followed him.
Anastasia didn’t even look at Dakota. She could feel his eyes on her, every cell in her body firing at the thought of him standing there watching her. He shouldn’t be out here. She could feel the anger rolling off him in waves, and that would only get him into trouble.
She shot Tony a look, knowing he would understand it. He shrugged, and Anastasia understood it as well. Dakota would have come regardless, and this way Tony could keep an eye on him.
She made a mental note to watch him as well.
When they came up on the base of the mountains, Tony, Argento, Dakota, and Anastasia crept to the edge.
“I count fifteen,” Argento offered.
“Same,” Anastasia agreed.
“There’s more,” Dakota added.
“What do you mean?” Argento asked him.
“Look at those tents, there are more than fifteen in this camp.”
“Some may be out,” Anastasia argued.
“Unlikely, look at the fires. There are at least ten and they are all lit. What reason would they have for being that spread out unless there were more? And why light them all if they weren’t all there? It would be stupid to attract more attention with the smoke than necessary.”
“He’s right,” Tony replied.
“Send me in first,” Dakota said.
“No,” Anastasia said simply. “I should go in first.”
“Absolutely not.” Dakota scoffed. “What possible reason would we have to show you first? You are the only one who can handle things if they get bad; we send you in first and we show our hand early.”
“And what reason would we have for sending you in?” she argued back.
“I can draw them out, then we can see exactly what we are dealing with,” he said simply. Anger aside, it was the best plan.
“That’s ridiculous.” She turned and shook her head.
“It is actually quite wise,” Argento offered.
“Excuse me?” Anastasia’s head whipped around towards him.
“I agree,” Tony chimed in, and Anastasia threw her hands up.
“Are you serious? You will be sending him into a camp with possibly dozens of Brutes and you are okay with that?” She all but yelled it, fear gripping her heart.
“What does it matter to you?” Dakota growled. “Would be one less distraction, wouldn’t it?”
His words cut straight to her heart, and she knew she had lost the argument.
“Do whatever the hell you want. You’re going to anyways.” She turned back towards the group.
Dakota stood staring after her.
“You be careful, Dakota. You will be going in with your group and you need to wait for us before you attack. You will be significantly outnumbered, and it’s important that you play this smart.”
“Got it, Tony. I won’t risk their lives like that, we will wait.”
“Andrew, remember you have a baby coming. Your wife will kill me if I don’t bring you home.” Tony shook his hand.
Andrew laughed, “Got it.”
“May all the strength follow you, Dakota. We will be right in when we get a better look at what is in there.”
“Thank you, Argento.”
Dakota, Andrew and the other three Fighters headed for the gate to the camp.
“Well, isn’t this a sight?” One of the enemy Brutes scoffed when he saw them come from the trees. “Fools.”
Four more Brutes came from behind and surrounded them, pushing them towards the gate.
“What’s up, assholes?” Dakota taunted.
Confused, the Brutes looked from one another.
“Come on, I find it hard to believe you’ve never been called an asshole before.”
At their looks, he continued, “Anyways, where’s this big bad Vincent? He around? Because you see, I have a bone to pick with him.”
“You annoy me.” The Brute who had spotted them first waved his hand and the gate opened. “He annoys me.”
The Brutes pushed them forward into the camp, and Dakota swallowed a bite of fear. He wasn’t sure what was behind the gates, but somehow, he knew it was worse than anything they had seen before.
Watching him walk into the Brute camp was the most difficult thing she had ever done. He had appeared so arrogant, as if he wasn’t afraid at all, and although she knew it to be a front, she was still concerned that he didn’t understand how much danger he was actually in.
“What the hell was that?” she asked when she saw a black shape take form in front of Dakota. He didn’t seem to see it, and that worried her even more.
She looked at Argento, who looked dumbfounded.
“It can’t be,” he whispered worriedly.
“What is it?”
“It’s a Trepido. A horrific monster who brings your worst fears to life. I believe your world knows them as the boogeyman.”
Tony’s eyes widened. “I thought they were a myth.”
“Far from it.” Argento motioned for his Brutes. “They are horrific and live on a planet that is separated from ours by only a thin veil. I do not know how Vincent would have gotten them to come here. He must have offered them something out of nightmares.”
“We have to get him out of there.” Anastasia lit her blade with flame and started for the tree line.
“You can’t go in there, Anastasia.” Argento put his hand up.
“Get out of my way, Argento,” she growled, and started to push past him, but he gripped her arm. “We can’t just leave him there!”
“We aren’t going to, but you are incredibly powerful. If they get into your head, there is no telling the damage you could do.” Argento’s men moved to stand behind him.
“He is right, Anastasia. We will get them out, but you have to stay here,” Tony insisted.
She knew in her heart they were right, and yet she still wanted to argue. When the screams broke out, she knew she had to give in.
She ran to the hill and watched in horror as each Fighter began running in separate directions while the enemy Brutes watched, amused.
“Go!” she yelled at Tony and Argento.
“Mom!” Dakota screamed, and ran for her. The Brutes were pulling her away and she was bleeding from her head.
“Dakota, save me! Dakota, help!”
“Mom, I’m coming!” he yelled after her.
How had they gotten her? Hadn’t she been back at their village when they had left? How had she gotten here before them? Her screams ripped straight to his soul, and he pushed through a circle of Brutes. One had his mother by the throat, and Dakota knew she didn’t have long.
“Let her go!”
“No. I think we will keep her.” The Brute lifted her and laughed.
Dakota launched into an attack.
Anastasia watched as Tony and Argento burst through the gates. The shadow figures around them began moving at dangerously fast speeds.
“Focus, men!” Argento yelled. “Stay rooted in reality. Focus only on what the task at hand is!”
Anastasia watched in horror. They had hoped it wouldn’t have been a trap, and yet that was exactly what it was. The enemy Brutes were taking the Fighters out one by one with ease. They laughed at the fear on each man’s face. She looked down at her hands and saw that her skin was glowing. How long was she supposed to stand here and watch this bloodbath?
Her focus turned back to Dakota, who was standing in a group of a dozen Brutes. They were toying with him, and when he charged, Anastasia felt she had waited long enough. She focused on her mind and did her best to put up walls. She would keep the Trepidos out of her head, and she would stop the monsters from causing any more deaths.
When she emerged in the gate, she saw Tony and Argento trying to calm a frantic Andrew.
“Melanie!” he screamed, lunging for empty space. “Let me go, they have her! They are going to kill her!”
“Andrew, it isn’t real! Melanie is perfectly safe!”
Anastasia saw one of the shadows hovering near him and she walked towards it. She called on light and threw the energy at the form. When it hit the monster, the shadow disappeared, and a monster took its place. Anastasia had never seen anything like it. The thing stood at least ten feet tall and had razor-sharp teeth that it bared at her. Its eyes were black and its body was an indescribable shade of black. It reminded her of a black hole. It wasn’t a color so much as it was void of any light.
It hissed, and Anastasia shoved her blade into its chest. It crumpled to the ground, and the shadows that had been following the other Fighters disappeared with it.
“You better run,” she muttered, and ran towards where she had seen Dakota.
“Mom, hang on!” he yelled as he fought the Brutes. He had only taken two down, and the others stood watching him.
“Dakota, hurry!” she screamed, and the Brute holding her laughed.
“Dakota!” Anastasia cried as she jumped into the fight. The shadow that had been following him was still there, and he was still stuck in whatever nightmare it was portraying.
“Dakota, it’s not real!” she yelled at him.
The Brutes that had been watching him attacked, and she knew that she had to get him out of the illusion or they would kill him. She did what she had with the earlier monster, and it disappeared as well, only not in time.
Confused, Dakota turned to look at her a moment too late, and she watched as a blade buried itself into his abdomen.
“Dakota!” she screamed, and fought off the other Brutes, afraid to use any magic if there were any of her people around.
“Anastasia? Where’s my mom?” he whispered as he fell to the ground.
“She’s fine, Dakota, it wasn’t real. None of it was real.”
At least a dozen more Brutes ran towards her, and she lit her blade again and bared her teeth.
“Bring it on, assholes, I can’t wait to get a piece of you.”
“What is an asshole?” she heard one of the Brutes ask the other before they charged.
She threw up her hands and watched as they all stopped in place. She focused and released their consciousness. Anger filling her mind, she wanted nothing more than for them to feel the pain she was going to inflict.
“You like to watch people face their worst fears? How about we make you face yours?” She shoved her blade into the stomach of one of the beasts and laughed when the others felt his pain. “That fun for you guys?” she yelled.
“Anastasia.” Tony’s voice cut through her anger, and she turned to face him. “This isn’t you. You need to come back.”
She felt the power rising in her blood, and she took a deep breath. When she looked at Dakota lying on the ground, she felt the stab at her heart and released the Brutes. Tony and the others attacked them, and she fell to her knees beside Dakota and cradled his head in her lap. Flashbacks of Brady came to her mind. Dakota couldn’t die today. She wouldn’t survive it. “Dakota, I need you.”
She pulled her cloak off her shoulders and pressed it to the wound in his abdomen.
Tony knelt beside her. “We need to get him out of here.”
She nodded and stood when he lifted him.
Tony and the others ran for the gate carrying Dakota while she stood staring at the carnage. Blood and broken bodies littered the ground, Fighter and Brute alike, and she screamed. She didn’t know how else to alleviate the anger that filled her heart.
“Anastasia, we need to go.” Argento touched her shoulder gently. She shook his large hand off and headed for the largest tent.
“What are you looking for?” he asked, following her.
“What else is out there?” she asked, and turned to face him.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s you guys and now these boogeymen, what else is out there?” she repeated. “What other monsters should we worry about?”
“We are hardly monsters, Anastasia. The Brutes were once peaceful. It was your uncle who changed that.” She heard the warning in his voice, but she was so angry that she ignored it. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. What about these boogeymen?”
“Trepidos. They were never peaceful.”
“So what else is out there, Argento?”
“There are so many different races, it would be easier for me to explain them if we see them.”
“Like today? Do you not see the death around us? We walked right into a trap!”
“Now we will be expecting this, it will not happen again.”
“Easy for you to say.” She scoffed and started pushing through papers.
“What is that supposed to mean? My friends are lying out there in pools of their own blood.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t see any of your Brutes out there.”
“I’m not talking about the Brutes. Those Fighters out there, those are my friends. Dakota is my friend, and I do not understand what is going on with you, or why he seems to think so highly of you, since the only thing I see is a coward.”
“Excuse me?” she yelled. “I was right out there with you fighting, was I not?”
“You were, but that does not show true bravery. Anyone can fight when they need to, it takes a true hero to fight even when there is no battle raging. To stand by those they love even when they are not being tested. You abandoned Dakota. You are the reason he is facing death right now. You took away everything he was fighting for, and then you wonder why he was manipulated so easily, why he fell prey to the boogeymen, as you say.”
“The other Fighters did as well,” she growled, knowing he was right.
“They were not the center of the show. They made a game out of taunting him because he was already so angry.”
A loud bang pulled them from their argument, and they ran out to see one of Vincent’s Brutes dragging a body through the street.
Argento bolted for the Brute. He shoved him away from the covered body and dispatched him easily.
Anastasia watched as he knelt and gently uncovered the body of the most beautiful woman Anastasia had ever seen.
“No, no,” Argento cried as he cradled her to his chest. “Calista, I’m so sorry.”
Anastasia could see that the woman was dead, and as she started to kneel next to Argento, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She braced for an attack, and watched as a Brute carrying a baby came running out of the tent. She started to raise her sword but recognized him as Griffith.
“Argento.” The Brute knelt next to him on the ground.
Argento looked to him and his eyes widened when he saw the small bundle in Griffith’s arms. “It is her, my king,” Griffith told him, and gently laid the baby in his arms.
Argento stood and began walking towards the gate, his eyes never leaving the face of the infant.
“Who is that?” Anastasia asked, pointing to the woman lying on the ground.
“That is Calista, our queen.”
Anastasia’s eyes widened.
“She is Argento’s wife.”
“Oh my God.”
“The baby is his daughter. Calista went missing right after they discovered she was with child. It had been such a happy time for my people, as it is very hard for our women to become pregnant. We need to follow to ensure he is not attacked.”
Anastasia nodded, and Griffith lifted the queen’s body. They followed Argento on the walk back to the village. She noted that the Fighters must have taken the bodies of their people with them for burial.