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- 29
"Close your eyes," she said. "I have a surprise."
Tainn always managed to bring big surprises every year for my birthday, and it seemed like this year would be no different from the year before - we had left headquarters during one of the free recesses of our schedules we had to follow, and we had moved through the forest with ease, when suddenly the ground had started to turn more barren and lifeless. Tainn made me stop running after a while. I closed my eyes to see whatever surprise I was to get this year.
As she pulled me along with her in speedy steps and an iron grip, I couldn't shake myself off even when I nearly tripped a hundred times while I played blind. She just laughed at me and told me to be more careful about where I was going with her general "I'm laughing at your expense" laugh, and continued to cascade me forward. Finally, when she stopped, I felt a huge impulse to open my eyes immediately, but I knew I would have to play by Tainn's rules or I could kiss my own life goodbye.
"Alright, open them," she said. As slowly and dramatically as possible, I began to slowly open one eyelid, but then Tainn slapped me on the back of the head and chuckled. "Come on you idiot, stop playing around or I'll never let you see your gift!" I merely smiled at the threat, which was honest because I knew she would never let me see it again if I didn't look now, so I opened my eyes and gazed out at the magnificent setting that stood, a mere feet away and yet almost like it was further from me than any fantasy. The forests we had been bustling through seemed to end a few paces behind us, and now we were surrounded in a desert like terrain, with a single, large crated lying ahead of the both of us - this is where the war had taken place, where the feud had gone down and ended - at least, until recently. It almost seemed like the dark times were coming back, and history was going to repeat itself. I couldn't help but wonder why someone would let something so devastating, so idiotic that it caused many lives to be lost, to happen again and again until either the cycle broke, or there was nothing left.
"This is..." I began to say, but the words wouldn't come out - not right, anyway. at the very center of the crater, there stood a long and slender twenty foot pole with two waving, torn flags at the top - one blue for the Sharks, and the yellow as a symbol for the Dogs. Looking at it, it almost seems like peace, like a unity between the two, was really at hand. Yet the truth didn't escape me in the least.
"Yeah," Tainn said, knowing I'd recognized this place perfectly even though it was a new sight for me. I wonder if she had been here already, or knew that it was here and waited to bring me. It didn't really matter. "This is it - the Holy grounds. The place where our ancestors fought against the Sharks in the Second Great War. It's been so long since that day... That day finally ended with peace... Forced peace, but peace that was needed. And thus..."
"The Calvary was born," I responded, feeling suddenly taut. The Calvary was group of drafted, "elite" beings who had once been a part of the Sharks or the Dogs who grew sick of the fighting and banded together with the Government to stop the fighting. However, as time went on, rumors started going around that the "members" of the Calvary hadn't been true members, but forced members. When the Sharks and Dogs began to ponder this idea, they wanted to destroy the group, but outside nations took the Calvary's side and said if any attack was made, it would be a war much bigger than the first two Great Wars that had occurred. Tainn had it in her head that the Calvary may have bribed the other nations, or may have even threatened them - I believed maybe the Calvary was just a pawn used by the other nations, or the other way around.
Tainn moved forward, closer to the landmark, and I chased after her a short distance, a little unsure.
"Are you sure we can be here?" I asked. "I mean, you know this place is said to be Holy ground. A place where only true members can see and visit. If any of the others catch us..."
"Please," she said, merely waving it off. "I scouted the area a few days worth of times. No one comes here, sadly. I guess maybe it's too hard for some people, you know?" Tainn began to move forward to the edge of the large, round crevice, and I followed suit as she then took a seat on the edge and so did I. "Besides, we won't have to wait much longer to get permission to come here - I mean, we're practically ready for the ceremony. So, why not just get a kick start here? After all, it is your birthday. Though it seems like we'll have to keep these celebrations a secret once we're in - you know, the whole 'no holidays!' rule. Man, that is going to be so wrong," Tainn said, exaggerating. "I mean, rules are... Are life! Without them we'd be... Well, we'd be no better than... That squirrel over there!" She said rather dramatically, and pointed over to where on the edge of the crater, a squirrel had approached it with suspicion, but when it heard her accuse it and point at it, it panicked and ran off.
"I thought you said that rules were meant to be broken, didn't you?" I said with a simple smile, and Tainn just looked at me with a vindictive smile, but then burst into laughter, unable to hold a serious face even with all her strength.
"Well, you're not exactly the best at keeping that pattern either, now are you, Muraco?" Tainn joked back, and I couldn't help but feel like laughing, too. She was right that I simply could never follow many rules, if any at all. "Oh, that reminds me!" she said in a rather hasty manner, and reached into her light brown backpack slung over her right shoulder, her long, curly dirty blonde hair falling in her face.
It never really registered to me how small she could be - she was only about five foot two, and weighed around a hundred pounds, so small and tiny, yet not anorexic in the slightest; it made me feel a little like a giant compared to her, with my five foot nine size, and my natural build I had that wasn't much to brag about, but enough to garner some respect. She was healthy, and always radiating with her light painted across her faded tan peach skin, which seemed to resemble a slightly darkened version of her bright pale, but full of life, skin. She had hazel eyes, which seemed to deeply contrast with my bright, blue eyes which all the others seemed to baffle over. Of course, in a way, both Tainn and I were different from most of the members of the group, seeing as how despite my skin clearly showing my Native American standpoint, my hair was also a more stylish brunette rendition of a bowl cut, which not many seemed to wear except for some our own sixteen years of age. And Tainn, with her abnormally bright hair and skin, we stuck out like sore thumbs among most of the others who had clear native pride in our ancestors way of style. Tainn and I saw trying to replicate that look as tired and exhausting, even scary in how it could seem so cult-like if we were ever taken in the wrong direction. One of the members once joked if the two of us ever had children, they'd be pure model potential, but honestly, Tainn is the only one of us who could ever truly be a model.
"I brought us a little... snack," she said as she hesitated to bring out whatever type of food she'd brought for us to share, and immediately I did not feel safe.
"Oh please don't tell me it's what I think it is," I said hesitantly, and she just nervously chuckled.
"Well," she started, as she then plucked a plastic bag out of her pack, which contained a large piece of raw meat with the blood seeming to starting to seep out of the meat and onto the bottom of the bag. "We are going to have to get used to the taste, right? I mean, it's part of the ritual, no matter how... icky it may be," she said, and shuddered a bit as she placed it in the space between us, opened the bag, and placed the raw meat on the top and then pulled her hand away, waiting for me to make the first move.
"You're gonna make me eat the first bite, aren't you?" I said hesitantly, looking at her with a quizzical expression. She just looked at me with disbelief, like she couldn't believe I just asked that.
"'First bite'? Ha! The whole thing is yours, champ. I ain't eating any of that," she said with a smile on her face, and I couldn't believe she was going to make me see this through. I sighed and picked up the piece of meat and stuck it in my mouth, and ripped a piece off as hard as I tried, but I ended up slapping my face with the meat instead with its slippery hold.
"You suck, you know that, right?" I said, trying to take a bite without having the same result again, and she just looked forward to the pole and laughed.
"Hey, don't forget who knows your big secret, cowboy!" she said.
It took a harsh ten minutes, but I finally finished as she left me in silence, and then I felt like vomiting, but knew I had to keep it in if I was to pass tonight.
"Are you ready for tonight?" she asked as she handed me a clean napkin, and I wiped my mouth of the remaining blood and nodded, hoping that I wasn't just saying it to get out of this conversation.
"Yeah," I said, nodding, and trying my best to keep what little confidence I had now after eating that horrendous meal. "Tonight, we die."
"It's gonna be a great birthday this year, isn't?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
This is a story I'm currently trying to write, based on a dream I had which then I outlined and added things to for a story, so I really wanted to get feedback and thoughts on it since this is my first attempt at actually writing it as a story. I blame Supernatural for giving me the idea when I was watching an episode of it for the premise, and then my imagination for everything I currently have sparked it up to be in my notes and my manner of writing.
Anyway, critiques and the like would be amazing.
Tainn always managed to bring big surprises every year for my birthday, and it seemed like this year would be no different from the year before - we had left headquarters during one of the free recesses of our schedules we had to follow, and we had moved through the forest with ease, when suddenly the ground had started to turn more barren and lifeless. Tainn made me stop running after a while. I closed my eyes to see whatever surprise I was to get this year.
As she pulled me along with her in speedy steps and an iron grip, I couldn't shake myself off even when I nearly tripped a hundred times while I played blind. She just laughed at me and told me to be more careful about where I was going with her general "I'm laughing at your expense" laugh, and continued to cascade me forward. Finally, when she stopped, I felt a huge impulse to open my eyes immediately, but I knew I would have to play by Tainn's rules or I could kiss my own life goodbye.
"Alright, open them," she said. As slowly and dramatically as possible, I began to slowly open one eyelid, but then Tainn slapped me on the back of the head and chuckled. "Come on you idiot, stop playing around or I'll never let you see your gift!" I merely smiled at the threat, which was honest because I knew she would never let me see it again if I didn't look now, so I opened my eyes and gazed out at the magnificent setting that stood, a mere feet away and yet almost like it was further from me than any fantasy. The forests we had been bustling through seemed to end a few paces behind us, and now we were surrounded in a desert like terrain, with a single, large crated lying ahead of the both of us - this is where the war had taken place, where the feud had gone down and ended - at least, until recently. It almost seemed like the dark times were coming back, and history was going to repeat itself. I couldn't help but wonder why someone would let something so devastating, so idiotic that it caused many lives to be lost, to happen again and again until either the cycle broke, or there was nothing left.
"This is..." I began to say, but the words wouldn't come out - not right, anyway. at the very center of the crater, there stood a long and slender twenty foot pole with two waving, torn flags at the top - one blue for the Sharks, and the yellow as a symbol for the Dogs. Looking at it, it almost seems like peace, like a unity between the two, was really at hand. Yet the truth didn't escape me in the least.
"Yeah," Tainn said, knowing I'd recognized this place perfectly even though it was a new sight for me. I wonder if she had been here already, or knew that it was here and waited to bring me. It didn't really matter. "This is it - the Holy grounds. The place where our ancestors fought against the Sharks in the Second Great War. It's been so long since that day... That day finally ended with peace... Forced peace, but peace that was needed. And thus..."
"The Calvary was born," I responded, feeling suddenly taut. The Calvary was group of drafted, "elite" beings who had once been a part of the Sharks or the Dogs who grew sick of the fighting and banded together with the Government to stop the fighting. However, as time went on, rumors started going around that the "members" of the Calvary hadn't been true members, but forced members. When the Sharks and Dogs began to ponder this idea, they wanted to destroy the group, but outside nations took the Calvary's side and said if any attack was made, it would be a war much bigger than the first two Great Wars that had occurred. Tainn had it in her head that the Calvary may have bribed the other nations, or may have even threatened them - I believed maybe the Calvary was just a pawn used by the other nations, or the other way around.
Tainn moved forward, closer to the landmark, and I chased after her a short distance, a little unsure.
"Are you sure we can be here?" I asked. "I mean, you know this place is said to be Holy ground. A place where only true members can see and visit. If any of the others catch us..."
"Please," she said, merely waving it off. "I scouted the area a few days worth of times. No one comes here, sadly. I guess maybe it's too hard for some people, you know?" Tainn began to move forward to the edge of the large, round crevice, and I followed suit as she then took a seat on the edge and so did I. "Besides, we won't have to wait much longer to get permission to come here - I mean, we're practically ready for the ceremony. So, why not just get a kick start here? After all, it is your birthday. Though it seems like we'll have to keep these celebrations a secret once we're in - you know, the whole 'no holidays!' rule. Man, that is going to be so wrong," Tainn said, exaggerating. "I mean, rules are... Are life! Without them we'd be... Well, we'd be no better than... That squirrel over there!" She said rather dramatically, and pointed over to where on the edge of the crater, a squirrel had approached it with suspicion, but when it heard her accuse it and point at it, it panicked and ran off.
"I thought you said that rules were meant to be broken, didn't you?" I said with a simple smile, and Tainn just looked at me with a vindictive smile, but then burst into laughter, unable to hold a serious face even with all her strength.
"Well, you're not exactly the best at keeping that pattern either, now are you, Muraco?" Tainn joked back, and I couldn't help but feel like laughing, too. She was right that I simply could never follow many rules, if any at all. "Oh, that reminds me!" she said in a rather hasty manner, and reached into her light brown backpack slung over her right shoulder, her long, curly dirty blonde hair falling in her face.
It never really registered to me how small she could be - she was only about five foot two, and weighed around a hundred pounds, so small and tiny, yet not anorexic in the slightest; it made me feel a little like a giant compared to her, with my five foot nine size, and my natural build I had that wasn't much to brag about, but enough to garner some respect. She was healthy, and always radiating with her light painted across her faded tan peach skin, which seemed to resemble a slightly darkened version of her bright pale, but full of life, skin. She had hazel eyes, which seemed to deeply contrast with my bright, blue eyes which all the others seemed to baffle over. Of course, in a way, both Tainn and I were different from most of the members of the group, seeing as how despite my skin clearly showing my Native American standpoint, my hair was also a more stylish brunette rendition of a bowl cut, which not many seemed to wear except for some our own sixteen years of age. And Tainn, with her abnormally bright hair and skin, we stuck out like sore thumbs among most of the others who had clear native pride in our ancestors way of style. Tainn and I saw trying to replicate that look as tired and exhausting, even scary in how it could seem so cult-like if we were ever taken in the wrong direction. One of the members once joked if the two of us ever had children, they'd be pure model potential, but honestly, Tainn is the only one of us who could ever truly be a model.
"I brought us a little... snack," she said as she hesitated to bring out whatever type of food she'd brought for us to share, and immediately I did not feel safe.
"Oh please don't tell me it's what I think it is," I said hesitantly, and she just nervously chuckled.
"Well," she started, as she then plucked a plastic bag out of her pack, which contained a large piece of raw meat with the blood seeming to starting to seep out of the meat and onto the bottom of the bag. "We are going to have to get used to the taste, right? I mean, it's part of the ritual, no matter how... icky it may be," she said, and shuddered a bit as she placed it in the space between us, opened the bag, and placed the raw meat on the top and then pulled her hand away, waiting for me to make the first move.
"You're gonna make me eat the first bite, aren't you?" I said hesitantly, looking at her with a quizzical expression. She just looked at me with disbelief, like she couldn't believe I just asked that.
"'First bite'? Ha! The whole thing is yours, champ. I ain't eating any of that," she said with a smile on her face, and I couldn't believe she was going to make me see this through. I sighed and picked up the piece of meat and stuck it in my mouth, and ripped a piece off as hard as I tried, but I ended up slapping my face with the meat instead with its slippery hold.
"You suck, you know that, right?" I said, trying to take a bite without having the same result again, and she just looked forward to the pole and laughed.
"Hey, don't forget who knows your big secret, cowboy!" she said.
It took a harsh ten minutes, but I finally finished as she left me in silence, and then I felt like vomiting, but knew I had to keep it in if I was to pass tonight.
"Are you ready for tonight?" she asked as she handed me a clean napkin, and I wiped my mouth of the remaining blood and nodded, hoping that I wasn't just saying it to get out of this conversation.
"Yeah," I said, nodding, and trying my best to keep what little confidence I had now after eating that horrendous meal. "Tonight, we die."
"It's gonna be a great birthday this year, isn't?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:
This is a story I'm currently trying to write, based on a dream I had which then I outlined and added things to for a story, so I really wanted to get feedback and thoughts on it since this is my first attempt at actually writing it as a story. I blame Supernatural for giving me the idea when I was watching an episode of it for the premise, and then my imagination for everything I currently have sparked it up to be in my notes and my manner of writing.
Anyway, critiques and the like would be amazing.
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