Chapter 3: The Hiaban Battle

     I awoke at 10:00 AM to Chris slapping me across the face. 

     "OW!" I yelled louder than I've ever.

     "Why aren't you up yet! We're waiting for you!" CRAP! I just realized that we were supposed to be training and preparing for battle with the Hiaban clan! I jumped out of bed, almost knocking Chris over, and jumped into the elevator, not caring that I was wearing the clothes from yesterday. "Meet me at the blacksmith's!" Chris yelled at me just as the doors closed. When I got to the bottom, I dashed across the camp to get to the blacksmith's. I saw Michael standing there, looking for me.

     "There you are! I've been waiting for you! Here." He handed me 10 throwing knifes. "You requested them, and I delivered."

     "Thanks!" I saw Chris at the bottom of the tree, glaring at me. "I gotta go, bye!"

     "Get over here!" Chris yelled, and I rushed over as quick as I could. "We have one hour until the battle begins, do you want to live or not?" Chris was grumpier than ever. Today he was wearing his sweater, not his jacket. "Here." He pointed to the target when we got to the training station. "Try to hit the red 'X', got that?" I nodded. I aimed, drew my arm back, and threw. Miss.

     "Damn..." I said under my breath.

     "Keep trying, I'll be back in twenty minutes. I expect to see it on the board at least!"  Chris said, before running off.

     "Yeah, I'll try..." I mumbled, so he couldn't hear.  I waited for him to be gone before I started again. I closed my left eye and aimed. Miss. I cursed myself under my breath. 'Maybe this wasn't a good idea...' I thought.  I plopped down on the ground, twirling the knife.

     "Perseverance is a good trait to have, you know?" I turned and saw Michael walking over.

     "Oh, I was, uh..." He took the knifes from me.

     "You want to close one eye and focus on where you want them to go. Don't change your positioning and try to keep them together. It's better to be precise, even if you're inaccurate." He threw one, hitting the board in the yellow outer ring.

     "But, it's really hard to focus on just one!" He handed me a knife.

     "Try it first." I sighed, and did as I was told. I closed my left eye, pointed, drew back, and threw it. It swirled in the air, barely hitting the board. "Again." He commanded. I tried again, hitting the other side. I repeated this action, getting only one in the blue inner circle.

     "Ugh... Why is this so hard?!" I threw the last knife to the ground.

     "Look, its only going to be hard if you make it hard. But, I can make you another weapon, better suited to you." I perked up a bit. "Though that would be after the battle..." My smile faded.

     "Oh... What kind of weapon would it be?"

     "Probably a close ranged dagger, maybe a sword."

     "Sounds generic..." I sighed. I wanted something cool and interesting, not boring and generally used by fantasy protagonists.

     "Hey, if you can't handle something not 'generic' then generic is all you'll get. Here comes Chris, I'll talk with him." He walked over. I sat down on the ground, pouting slightly. After a short back and forth between the two, Chris walked over with Michael.

     "So you suck at knifes?" He asked nonchalantly.

     "I guess so... But I can't do anything about it now..." Chris shook his head.

     "If you're going to prove yourself, then you're going to have to work a lot harder. Come on, let's prepare with what you've got. Michael? Start working on Jace's weapon." He took my hand, again, and we walked over into his quarters.

     "What are we going to be training in?" I asked.

     "We're learning how to do dual-combat. I'll use my bone knife, you'll use your shield. You defend, I offend." We reached the tree, and we entered it. He let go of my hand and walked into the back, pulling out some light armor, and my shield. "Here, put this on, and take your shield." I took it and slowly put it on.

     "Aren't you going to wear some?" I asked, looking him down. I didn't think his jacket would be proper protection.

     "No, I'm fine. Besides, that's your job. Don't fail, please." He had no humor, and was mildly pissed off. "Hurry up, we have to fight some wolfs, and we've only got an hour before we prepare for slaugh-I mean battle." I paused a bit, but quickly hurried up. I got the chest, arm, and leg plates all on, and slung the shield around my back.

     "I'm ready, but what do you mean by wolfs?" He shook his head.

     "Big black dogs? Sharp teeth? Bit your uncle's arm off?"

     "What?!" I didn't know I had an uncle on my dad's side. "Uncle?"

     "Yeah, your dad's brother. God you don't know a lot..." He took my hand and we walked out into the forest. It was dark in the deep parts, and no one was around except us.

      "Uh... Chris? I'm a bit- N-not scared, but-" I stuttered.

      "You're 'anxious' about fighting wolfs? Totally not scared at all, nope... Don't worry, just follow my lead and don't die. Simple." He stopped. I wriggled out of his grip. "Sh... I hear some..." At that moment a large black blob jumped at us. "JACE, NOW!" He yelled. I ran in front of him and held out my shield. "No you idiot! Now I can't-" The wolf landed on top of the shield, and starting howling and scratching it.

       "What am I supposed to do?!" I yelled, even though he was behind me.

       "Stay behind me so we can switch around and defend what needs to be defended!"

       "That's what I tried to do! What, I'm not supposed to protect you from a large animal jumping onto you?" The wolf  slid off and started to circle us. I kept my shield to it's face. It snapped and tried to bite at us in vain.

        "Just drop it, and let me face it now!" I sighed and lowered my shield, and we traded places. He swiped at the wolf, and we quickly turned back, evading the wolf's claws. We swapped again, this time Chris slit it's chest, causing it to howl in pain. "Hurry, more will come soon!" I nodded, and switched, smashing it's skull a few times.

        "Dead..." I breathed.

        "Well, uh, that was a bit crude, but sure..." He looked into the bushes. "There'll be more soon, we better leave. There's not much time, since we wasted 30 minutes out here." He retook my hand, something I was getting used to, and we returned to the camp. We made it back to his room and he threw me a towel. "Here, wash off the blood."

        "What? Where?" I saw no signs of pluming at all.

        "I have a private shower in the back of the room. Use it. But don't mess it up, or else." He walked out. I stood awkwardly in the room.

        "What does he mean by that?" I shrugged. I made my way to the back room, and saw a strange contraption. It was a box with a bucket attached to a string. The bucket had a filter top on it, and was attached to another pulley in the front of the box. I undressed and stepped in. Hesitantly, I looked in the mirror. My whole top was covered in blood splotches. I shuddered, I didn't notice it until now. Shaking the thought off, I pulled the string, and let the cold water hit me. I yelped at first, taken back by just how cold it was. I got used to it, and let go. I noticed some soap, and used that. After that, I pulled the string, rinsing off again. I let go, and got out. As I did, a knock came on the door.

        "Hey, are you done in there?" I heard Chris on the other side call.

        "Yeah, hold up." I quickly dried off, putting my clothing back on, only to realize it was stained. I sighed, still keeping it on. I opened the door to see him holding clothes for me.

        "Uh, you might want to wash those..."

        "Is there a washing machine too?" I was beginning to question the technology of the Clan.

        "A what? Oh, no. You have to wash it by hand with water from the river. Speaking of such things..." He walked over to the shower, and pulled the bucket off. "God damn it, you wasted my water! That's it, you're not using my shower, unless I'm in it, and I swear to all that is good and holy, you are never going to do that! From now on, you're using the public bath, open each month. Except during  Winter. Sorry." I was confused, and a bit disturbed.

        "Uh, okay..." I slowly changed by shirt while he was ranting.

        "Come on, we gotta get going!" He took my hand, pulled on his hat, and we ran out to the front of the crowd of Clan members. "Jace, stand to my left, slightly behind me." I did as told. "YABAN CLAN MEMBERS! TODAY WE FIGHT OUR GREAT FOE, THE HIABAN CLAN!" Shouts of battle and a few boos erupted from the crowd. After they died down, Chris continued. "BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING, FOR ALL WE KNOW THEY MIGHT HAVE A NEW BREED OF CHUPACABRA!" Murmurs and sounds of distaste arose. 

        "What's a chupacabra? Isn't that a Mexican monster or something?" I whispered.

        "It's a big ugly genetic nightmare." He whispered back. "WE WILL MEET IN THEIR DESIGNATED AREA AND FIGHT THE ANNUAL BATTLE OF CLANS! NOW WE HAVE FIVE MINUTES, GET ANYTHING YOU NEED READY!" He yelled loudest of all. The Clan cheered, and dispersed.

        "Chris, where am I supposed to go?" I was lost in the mass of swarming boys. He took my hand.

        "Stay with me for now, kay?" He didn't wait for a reply as he took me back to his room. He let go and grabbed my shield. "You know what to do right? Just keep switching and blocking. God this was poorly planned..." He looked down for a bit. "Well, come on! Time's a wasting!" He grabbed his knife.

        "Isn't that a bit small for this?"

        "It seems like that now, but just you wait." He said ominously. He took my hand and we ran to the  head of camp. A large mob of boys in bandannas was waiting for us. We were at the front. "YABAN CLAN! ARE WE READY TO FACE OUR DREADED FOE IN COMBAT?" His yell rang across the clan.

        "YES SIR!" The resounding cry rose. He nodded in approval, swerved around, and we were off.  We marched for what felt like hours, until we reached an open field with some trees dotted here and there. A young woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes lead a group of similar looking women. There was a large difference in us, not only in gender, but in uniformity. We had many ages, no standard of clothing, Hell, our leader wore Winter clothing in Summer. We shifted and morphed our ranks, if you could even call us that. The other Clan, who I assumed was the Hiaban Clan, was all in a similar uniform, and the only difference in outfit seemed to be rank. They had three distinct lines, and they stood at attention. The young lady came forward.

        "Christopher Kal-Liek?" She questioned. Chris nodded. 

        "That is me. Where is your Queen?" He used a new calm tone that I never heard before.

        "She is at the hive." Her face was as unwavering as a brick wall. "She cannot be risked on the battlefield." She eyed the group of boys. "Is this your Clan?" There was a hint is disgust in her voice.

        "It is, and I assume that's the Hiaban Clan over there?" He was attempting to be humorous.

        "It is indeed. Are you prepared?"

        "Yeah, I mean, yes, we are." A few of the boys snickered, but were quickly hushed. The Hiaban lady sighed and backed away slightly. She turned to her regiment and waved to the left. They scattered, but remained organized.

        "Hey Chris, why are there so few of them?" 

        "Sh, MEN!" He yelled, and made a waving gesture. The boys scattered at random. A loud female voice boomed out of the sky. 

        "LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" The voice rang throughout the clearing. There was a moment of pure, dead silence. Then, a loud screech erupted, and left my head spinning.

        "Jace, now!" I felt Chris's hand grasp mine firmly. He looked around wildly, and I took in my surroundings. There were boys running everywhere, attacking the Hiaban warriors. I saw a light blond boy, he looked to be 12, stood by with crude medical supplies. On the opposite side, there was a golden haired woman, carrying much more professional equipment. I saw a red light and smelt smoke.

        "W-what's happening?!" My mind was racing. "T-the red light-!" I felt as slap to my face.

        "Come on! We can't waste time!" A woman with a sharp steel spear ran towards us. "Jace!" I quickly snapped around and deflected it. She hissed at us. We switched and Chris swiped with his knife. The small purple triangle at the bottom was glowing.

        "Chris!" I yelped as a laser cut in between us and the warrior. "What the Hell was that?!" I eyes had widened and I felt tears from fear and the smoke.

        "I warned you, didn't I?" His knife now had tiny razors on the side. The warrior was bleeding on her arm. "They're better equipped, better organized, and have more weapons at their disposal." She shook it off and prepared to swipe. I switched again and barely blocked it. We switched and Chris took the advantage of her knock back to find an opening in the armor and stab. He slid it in, and there was a terrifying sound of flesh being pierced and ripped. She yelled in agony, crimson droplets dripping from her armor. He had pierced her near her liver.

        "Oh my God..." I felt warm tears stream down my face. 

        "Chill, we have to do this. You'll get used to it." His voice was calm and unwavering. She staggered to her feet, barely holding her weapon. She let out a distressed breath of air and collapsed. Within seconds, the golden haired woman was by her side and carried her off.

        "What about-" I started.

        "There is a strict  rule about attacking and killing medical personal." He looked around. "If we want an advantage, we need to take out the laser gunners." He pointed to the trees. I noticed platforms that had laser turrets set up on them.

        "How is that even close to fair?"

        "Their grounds, their rules. Though they stole it from us, from my father..." He trailed off, his eyes lightly tinted yellow. "Never mind, thing is, we need to take 'em out." Once again gripping my hand, we ran over to a near by tree. However, as we neared, a laser shot at us. "Left!" He shouted, and quickly evaded the oncoming beam. It dissipated, and a low whirring sound hummed in our ears. "Hurry, it's going to fire again soon." We made a mad dash for the tree. I saw a ladder carved in, and quickly jumped onto it.

        "I'll lead, she's probably armed!" I yelled down to him. Chris nodded and followed after me. The whirring died down as we approached the top. We emerged through an opening at the top. Immediately, a shorter woman with light brown hair pulled into a ponytail, pulled a gun on us. I ducked, using my shield as a cover. "She's got a gun!"

        "What?! That's strictly forbidden with Hiaban and Yaban battles!" He was furious, getting the golden eye coloring. He pushed me out of the way and jumped onto the platform. I head a gunshot and a scream of terror. I got up, and saw Chris had stabbed her in the chest, and had disarmed her by, well, cutting her hand off. She screamed in terror. "You and your Queen know it's highly forbidden to use firearms!" His knife entered deeper.

        "N-no i-it's not!" She cried. Chris's eyes narrowed.

        "Since when?"

        "I-I'm not sure..." She squealed. "Please, l-let me go!" He slid the knife out, causing her to gasp and drip blood from her mouth. "T-thank yo-!" Her sentence was soon cut off by her screams. Chris pushed her off the side of the platform, down to her death.

        "Chris!" I screeched in horror.

        "This isn't fair, we should be the winners." He huffed.

        "What does it matter?" His terrifying eyes flashed at me

        "What does it matter? I'll tell you! If we don't win, we loose people! If we don't win, we loose resources!" His eyes gained dark black spots. "If we loose, we die!" I backed away.

        "I-I didn't know..." He grabbed me by the shirt. 

        "You're just like your father, a coward who runs off and marries Hiaban girls!" The spots faded and his eyes regained their normal color. He dropped me. "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that." He turned away for a second. "Come on, lets heave this thing off of here, and move on." I nodded meekly to his request. We shoved on the warm machine, and slowly pushed it off the side of the platform. We climbed quickly down, and ran to another tree.

        "How do we win?" I had been wondering when I'd have this answered. He hesitated before answering.

        "We win when she says we win." He said at last.

        "Who?"

        "The Silver Queen." He said the word with disgust and the first hint of fear I've ever heard from him. I decided it'd be best to not ask more questions and trudge on. We made it to another ladder, and I hurried up it. Yet another short lady with a brown ponytail waited for us. I quickly pinned her to the side of the tree. Chris got up and nodded.

        "What?" I was genuinely confused.

        "Throw her down." He sighed. I looked at her then the ground and solemnly nodded. She didn't seem afraid, only mildly shocked. I pushed her over, and she fell down. I quickly turned away and helped Chris with the laser generator.

        "How many left?" We moved to the side and scanned the field. It was now stained with blood and scorch marks.

        "Two down, two to go." He pointed to one diagonal from us. "They've ruined this place..." He muttered under his breath.

        "You good?" I questioned.

        "Yeah, yeah, it's nothing." He shrugged whatever he was thinking about off. "Come on." We slid down the ladder again and rushed off. We got cut off by two warriors charging at us. "Jason!" He yelled, and I nodded. We switched and I covered him from behind. I knocked the warrior back, and kicked her legs quickly. We switched, and the warrior Chris was fighting had a nasty gash on her face. She yelled and charged me, slicing at me with a cleaver like blade, barely deflecting off my shield. I quickly checked on Chris, who had defeated the woman I fought. He switched with me, and slid under the warrior. Before she could twirl around, he stabbed the back of her neck, sending her to the ground. "Their only unprotected spot." He noted. We quickly rushed over to the laser tower, now firing at us. We maneuvered around the ray, until we got close. However, as we neared, the whirring stopped. 

        "What?" I was caught off guard, and proceeded with caution. As I got closer, I heard a yelp devolve into a gurgle. The body slid down from above me, causing me to scream.

        "What is it?" Chris yelled up, before noticing the body. I scrambled up, and saw a red haired Hiaban girl.

        "There's a red haired Hiaban warrior up here!" I yelled down. He quickly got up and turned around.

        "Chris?" She looked at him then me.

        "Andrea!" He shouted with joy.

        "Who?" I felt awkward not knowing who she was.

        "Jace, this is one of our most important allies. This is Andrea, she's an exHiaban Clan member, and she fights on our side against them!" His face was a giant grin. "It's been a while!"

        "Yeah, it has!" She smiled widely. "Who's this?"

        "Oh, this is Jason, he's our newest member." She smiled and nodded.

        "Nice to meet you, unfortunately, we've got a battle to fight." She pointed to the tower on the other side. "I got her, you two focus on the ground." Chris nodded as did I. 

        "Meet up with us afterwards, okay?" He asked, seemingly kinder than usual. Andrea nodded and we all took off down the ladder. She dashed out, and immediately a shout rang across the battlefield.

        "Andrea the traitor is here!" It was the same voice from before, the Silver Queen.

        "RELEASE THE CHUPACABRAS!" The leader from before shouted, presumably through a speaking amplifier of some sort. We ran in the opposite direction, the sound of mutilated dogish barks pierced the air.

        "W-what's that?" I asked sheepishly.

        "That Jace, is a Chupacabra bark." He stated bluntly. "I'm going to do something pretty cool, but probably dangerous for you, okay?" I barely had time to nod, before his eyes turned a deep golden color, blazing brightly as the sun itself. His knife had all three triangles glowing. There were razors on the side, now spinning. He leaped extremely high into the air, and decapitated a Chupacabra, 10 feet away from me.

A/N: AUGHHH Sorry guys, it's been so long! And yet, it's STILL not over yet! This is a  super long chapter, but never fear, the last few bits will be coming soon! So, please, enjoy what we have here, and I'd suggest checking out my book, Planitalia, if you like this one. Thanks for reading!