Out of the Shadows

By GirlMaverick

The sun had not yet approached the horizon when Kay woke up with a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Within an instant she was on her feet, a dagger held in each hand. She saw Tara similarly emerging from the shelter at the opposite end of the clearing. Somehow, she knew it wasn't Tara who had woken her. Apparently, Tara too had sensed something amiss. The eyes of the two girls met, and for a brief instant their thoughts were identical. In an unspoken agreement, Kay went to wake the others while Tara continued to stand guard.

She quickly roused Laura and Tran, and when she went to wake Carol she saw that the older girl was already awake. Quietly, everyone crawled out of their shelters, Tran still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. All five young teens peered out at their surroundings, trying to pierce the darkness.

Kay saw a bush to her left shake slightly. The movement was so small it could have been nothing but a bird, or a snake crawling underneath. Yet Kay's instincts told her that this was not so. Silent as a cat she leapt, stabbing her daggers into the bush. A man's shriek of pain greeted her ears. When she pulled the blades out, they were crimson with blood. As if this was a signal, six other men, armed with various weapons, leapt out of the shadows and attacked.

Kay swiftly finished her opponent while he was still recovering from her previous strike. She whirled around, intending on aiding her beset companions, only to find herself confronted by two of the men who had leapt out at them. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Tara. As with herself, it was all Tara could do to prevent her adversaries from scoring a serious blow. Then, as Kay's own fight led her around the perimeter of the clearing, she caught sight of Carol and Laura. Neither were armed, both had been easily overwhelmed by a single opponent, and were being tightly boud even as she watched. Tran was nowhere to be seen.

Kay didn't have long to worry though. One of her opponents had taken advantage of her momentary distraction to land a solid hit ion her right leg. Jerked back to the situation at hand by a tearing pain in her thigh, she lost sight of her companions.

Kay's adrenaline level was high and she fought like a demon. Yet it was still two full grown men against one thirteen year old girl. Kay was faster, more agile, and a far better strategist, but they were bigger, stronger, had a longer reach, and, most importantly, had the advantage of twice her numbers.

As she went down she caught one, last glimpse of Tara, fallen to the ground and struggling futilely, before everything went dark and she fell into the depths of unconsciousness.

Tran stopped running and leaned back against a tree, panting for breath. When he had seen those men jumping out at him he had panicked. The only thought in his mind had been to run away, as fast and far as he could.

He felt steeped in shame. He'd had years of training with his sword, and as far as he knew the girls had none whatsoever. Two of them weren't even armed for god's sake! And he'd left them, deserted the others when he was needed. His family crest was a bear, yet he'd panicked, and fled like a mere mouse.

He held his hand in front of him and looked at his signet ring. Shaped as a circle, a line ran through the center form top to bottom. To the left of the line was his family crest, to the right it was smooth and blank. That was where his personal crest would sit once he earned it… if he earned it. If he continued to run away as he had, he would never do anything great enough to warrant one. He would be the first in his family not to receive a personal crest.

Thinking of his family saddened Tran. His heart raged silently against the injustice of their deaths. A single tear made it's way down his cheek.

Wiping it away, Tran found himself filled with a new, rock hard resolve. He would not let the girls be slaughtered like his family. He'd had no chance to save his loved ones, but he had a chance to rescue the girls. He would not fail, he refused to. He drew his sword and his whole being felt infused with fire as he headed back to the clearing, intent on his goal.

Tran crept up to the edge of the clearing. The creeps were still there. They had commandeered the camp for themselves. Tran smiled bitterly to himself; at least he'd taken all of his little mementos out of his bag and put them into his pocket before the attack. He'd wanted to keep them near him as he slept.

Being careful to remain concealed behind the trees, Tran surveyed the situation. The six remaining men had towed off the body of the one Kay had killed. They didn't seem to be mourning him at all. On the contrary, they were sitting around a campfire, eating the food they had stolen and celebrating their victory.

"So," one man said. "What are we going to do with them?" He jerked his thumb in the direction of the girls. Their hands and feet had been bound together behind their backs, forcing their bodies to arch backwards To all appearances they were unconscious.

The other men just stared at the one who had spoken, looking as if he'd asked them what one plus one equaled.

Finally one of the men, seemingly the leader spoke. "What do you think we're gonna do with them?" He leered openly at the four girls. "We'll have our fun with them, then we'll kill them. Can't afford to have witnesses."

At this the other men laughed and sent up a cheer.

Tran just stood there, frozen in horror. Was it not enough for these men to kill the girls? They had to rape them first?

Enraged, Tran charged into the clearing, wielding his sword like a figure out of legend. The men were caught unprepared. They all scrambled for their weapons but their leader was the first to reach his. Tran jumped at him in a furry. The man jumped back to evade the attack. Though he was quick, Tran still managed to score a deep wound across the brigand's ribs. If not treated quickly, such a wound could be fatal.

The others, seeing their leader injured, grabbed the loot they had taken from the kids and ran. The injured man uttered an oath and followed suit.

Tran watched until the men were out of sight, then hurried to the girls. He intended to cut them loose and rouse them, fleeing before the bandits regained their courage and returned. Tran easily accomplished the former, using his brothers knife, but, try as he might, he couldn't rouse them. They must have taken very hard blows to the head.

Tran was worried that the men might return. He wanted to leave as soon as possible and felt that there wasn't time to wait for the girls to wake. He tried to drag them away, but his adrenaline rush was over and he wasn't nearly strong enough.

Dejected, he plopped down on the ground, put his head in his hands and began to weep.

Lauren woke not long after that, long before the other three, due to the fact that her body was the most accustomed to physical abuse. Still, when she did wake, it was to a killer headache. Groaning, she rubbed her head.. Wait…rubbed her head!? She was untied!

It wasn't until this point that she noticed the sound of crying. She sat up and saw Tran with his head buried in his arms. She went over to him.

"Tran?" She whispered, "What's going on?" That was as close as she could bring herself to asking the boy what was wrong, or trying to comfort him.

Tran looked up, grief and despair etched across his every feature. When he saw that she was awake however, the despair lifted from his face. The grief was still there, but now it was eclipsed by hope.

"Lauren!" He exclaimed. "You're awake! Hurry, we have to get the others out of here! I ran those men off, but they might be back!"

For a moment Lauren just stood in shock. He'd run the men off!? Was this the same pathetic boy who had driven the rest of them half insane with his incessant whining? Who Kay had taken down in less then a minute? That I knocked unconscious with a single blow?

"Y-you ran them off? As in…chased them away?"

Tran nodded.

"But…how?"

Tran looked at Lauren indignantly. "I can fight you know. With a sword in my hands I'm actually very good. I was top of my swordsmanship class you know."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Conceited much?" She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Tran gave her a sharp look.

Lauren had to work to hide a grin. "Nothing." She gestured towards the still unconscious three. "Let's get them out of here.

Tran nodded and, together, he and Lauren managed to everyone to what they agreed was a safe distance from there previous camp. Then they sat down and waited for everyone to wake.