The Secondary Saga

[Gildarts]

Earnest eyes held on him.

Abner. He had survived the trial. Among the rest, while they all were battered, beaten, and their expressions told of sick nightmares they had endured. Among it all, his presence alone was enough to reassure Christa that the future was still obtainable.

The Swamp of Sadness certainly had taken its toll on those who had survived so far. Gathered here, were only about half of the number they had started with. Christa hadn’t even known some of there names - not that it mattered to her whether some of them lived or died. However, it was worth it to note that they had all began in the same place. Battling the same battles, bewildered at the very first chapter of their story together.

Then there were the orcs, howling, hankering, and oh, that giant fucking spider she had slain. No one seemed to remember that, but it happened. Grobdum was even here now, his sword wielded for their side, but in her opinion, it was too easily swayed.

What else had they endured? The epics that unraveled with time reminded her of the same lightless night that had shrouded them in the temple did the same here. The night the pair met. Abner’s identifiable cigarette now drifted to Christa’s nose as she recalled all those booby-traps and the endless tumbling of rock and clay until the entire temple became a tomb for those who had not run quick enough to escape.

Then there was those zombies, speaking of which, where was that one guy from the beginning? A frown subtly creased her lips as she assumed the worst. She would miss that familiar yet undead face. As well as a few others who had been loyal to the cause. Her fingers felt the cold grips of her pistol. Metal, unyielding, and solid; all composing the perfect means for her to achieve her goal. The others had gathered round, close in the night, distant from the shadows that drowned the trees in the ever-shaking breeze.

The group had endured a lot after so much time had passed and so many friggin’ days, their last test had taken the highest toll. Even Christa could have told Abner that the odds of anyone else returning from the swamp were low to none. Hell, it was a miracle to see that a handful of them had managed to survive.

Christa, had she been guessing, would have put her money on the underdog, the pegasi. As unrealistic as a talking horse may have seemed in her world, they were now in the Omniverse, and Raw Onion had hidden skill that the woman couldn’t help but to admire. The pony also had wings...

A jagged breath released from the girl’s nose as her eyes touched over Lyra, Clayton, and a few other familiar faces. Abner had suggested they stay. Waiting. But for how long? An itchy finger hung on the edge of her trigger. Those who waited were little more than prey.

Christa leaned an inclined chin over to Isaac, who had stumbled not far from her. She was back to business, it seemed, as everyone only began to recover from the horrors of war and haunted sadness, Christa spoke something in Isaac’s ear. "How much water do you have left, old man?" Her words said one thing, however Isaac knew what she spoke to mean another. Because her audience would be listening. Waiting is pointless. Her eyes told him. We’re sitting ducks, even in the darkness. Rattled and shaken, no one was in any condition to rest, even Christa seemed as though she feared falling asleep, even if there was that faint notion that the worst was behind them. As far as she was concerned, the only thing they had going for them, was that their scents had been covered by the sloppy mud, but even that would soon wipe off with time and a little perspiration.

The warrior readied her pistol, close-ranged and chasing the chill her senses were picking up on coming from the treeline. What could she detect? Not a damn thing.

Hell, Christa had no idea what sort of creatures inhabited in this forest. It was a wasteland, full of only trees and shrub. A pesky green. Each chlorophyll life-form could have been magically cursed for all they knew. All she knew was that she was on solid ground.