A few weeks ago, I had to write a short story for school. I got really into it... And I'm really proud of the results. It's called Fearest, and it's about a guy named Hane and his girl named Krylia. I know it's kind of long, but do try to read it all
. It's a bit emotional towards the end... But, I do want feedback from everyone!
Fearest
Everyone has a reason to run away from their problems. For Hane and Krylia, it was no different. They were only teenagers after all, and they had lost their parents, the only people they could truly depend on. Who could blame them for running away from their village? Beginning a new life somewhere else with each other seemed like the only thing they could do.
As Hane walked along the forest path, he couldn???t stop thinking about what he had done, and what possessed him to do it. The thought of not being in control of himself overwhelmed him. What exactly gave Hane a reason to burn down his own village and kill most of the inhabitants? Hane knew it didn???t seem like something he would do, it wasn???t like him. The fire killing Krylia???s parents made him feel worse. Hane didn???t know whether Krylia had already forgiven him, but he didn???t want to talk to her to make sure... keeping her safe would be enough, he thought.
???It???s not far from here,??? Krylia muttered as she stepped along the silent path, Hane right on her trail. ???The border is beyond Dhampir???s Castle. We???ll be safe once we pass there.???
As the couple progressed through the misted castle grounds, the night sky slowly advanced from the peach-red twilight, to the fearful dusk. Krylia suddenly stopped. She turned and looked at Hane. Hane knew Krylia???s face well enough to know she was worried. ???You know... you don???t have to come with me... I can take care of myself??? Krylia said softly.
???I know,??? Hane replied abruptly. ???But if we???re going to die, we may as well die together.??? Hane knew Krylia didn???t like hearing about death, but he also knew it was as good a time as any to make sure she knew what they were getting themselves into. Krylia then sighed, and continued walking.
Neither of them spoke while moving along the deserted road, they were only capable of valuing the silence, as both knew it wouldn???t last. As Krylia led Hane through the castle grounds, Hane used the time to take a decent view of Dhampir???s Castle. As it stood in the moonlight, Hane noticed clouds looming above the main turret. Many of the trees surrounding it were dead; the only leaves were the black bats perching on the branches. He knew it looked eerie, and he knew it looked creepy; but Hane couldn???t decide if he was afraid or not. As of the present moment, he was focused on protecting Krylia and escaping.
???We???re coming! We???re coming!??? yelled a distant voice. Hane and Krylia quickly turned to the direction of the voices. They noticed an angry mob of villagers were heading towards them. Some of the villagers had lit torches, others had muskets. In the flickering light he could see that every man, woman and child in the mob had blood dripping from their mouths. It didn???t even take Hane a second to realise that they had all become Vampires. ???We???re coming to get you!??? the crowd yelled.
???Oh, diddums...??? Hane said under his breath.
???It???s funny how they all became what they couldn???t destroy.??? Krylia muttered.
???We should probably start moving???. Hane took hold of Krylia???s hand, and the two sprinted into the woods. As Hane entered the woods, he reached into his supplies bag, grabbed a musket and handed it to Krylia. Krylia stared at Hane for a second.
???I don???t want to kill anyone??? Krylia said worried.
???You don???t have to???
???So why are you giving this to me???? Krylia asked.
???Just... don???t die.??? Krylia sighed and looked at Hane displeasingly. She didn???t believe in violence, she knew there were better ways to solve problems. But at the same time, she knew the demonic forces possessing the villagers wouldn???t struggle to kill her. With hesitation, she followed Hane; hoping she wouldn???t have to use the musket.
Hane and Krylia ran aimlessly through the forest. Hane could only see Dhampir???s Castle faintly through the canopy, but what he could see was enough to guide him there. They could both hear gunshots in the distance, which forced the couple to run faster. Hane knew it would be pointless to turn around and fight the villagers, as he was outnumbered.
His heart was beating rapidly as he dragged Krylia out of the villagers??? sight. As he dashed through the ghostly tree trunks, he realised a young boy had already seen them.
???There! Over there!??? the boy bellowed as he pointed at Hane and Krylia. The young boy then hurried over to the couple and took hold of Krylia... it almost seemed like he was trying to chew through her neck. As Krylia tried to fight him off, Hane took Krylia???s musket and shot his head. The boy dropped to the ground with half a face. It was a horrible sight, but Hane knew he had to do it to protect Krylia. He hoped she knew that too.
Not saying anything, Krylia continued to run for her life as Hane reloaded the musket. He knew he didn???t have enough bullets to wipe out all of the villagers, so escaping was obviously a higher priority than molesting clueless townspeople. As Hane looked ahead, he was relieved to realise that Dhampir???s Castle was close, and he would only need to run for a little longer. Maybe they???ll escape after all, he thought.
To their dismay, Krylia tripped on a tree???s root, causing them both to fall to the ground. Krylia, as she screamed, struggled to remove her leg from the tree???s grip. Hane assisted her, but by the time they were both standing up, the horde of deranged villages were only several metres away. They were too tired to run, not that it would be any help anyway. Hane shot a few villagers, but there were far too many to pull off a decent attack.
???Hane... what are we going to do???? Krylia screamed.
???There???s nothing we can do??? Hane replied. Hane felt Krylia grasp his hand, she was breathing heavily. Hane???s thoughts were everywhere. Hane was afraid; at the minute of his death, fear consumed him. Maybe he deserved to end his life at this point... maybe Hane deserved to go to Hell. But as he felt all of his thoughts sweeping through his mind, he decided to ignore everything.
Hane realised something vital on that split second before his death. He realised that he loved Krylia, and he was sure that she loved him. Hane wanted to spend eternity with her, but he knew that such a destiny would never take a place in his life. He knew there was still time to tell her before bullets, scythes and sickles were driven into his body, but his own cowardice pulled him back.
???Will I see you in heaven???? Krylia asked.
???Heaven is only for angels??? Hane replied. Hane closed his eyes, hoping that death wouldn???t hurt. At that time, he felt strange. He had the feeling he had had before he burnt his village to ashes. Why was he feeling this way...? Hane heard gunshots, and Krylia???s final scream... at that, he knew she had died. Hane wasn???t depressed at this, as he knew his own death would come in short time.
As each devastating second passed, Hane asked himself ???Am I dead yet????... He then realised that he wasn???t dead. He opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn???t standing where he was when he had closed them. He could see the villagers in the distance... what had happened? Did the demons inside of Hane rescue him?
When the villagers had left the area, Hane sprinted back to where he should have been, and where he should have died. He wondered if Krylia had teleported too.
???Krylia! Krylia!??? he called. He then looked down. He wished he hadn???t. There, lying helplessly, was Krylia... covered in wounds and blood. Hane didn???t know how to feel. Should he be depressed? Should he feel suicidal? Should he feel vengeful? Hane didn???t feel anything. There was simply no emotion within his mind.
Hane was shaking; he was hoping that everything that had just happened wasn???t real. He was hoping that he wasn???t real. Hane sat by a nearby tree, still staring at Krylia???s bleeding, motionless body. As he looked beyond the selfless canopy, he saw the illuminating moon sweep through the night sky.
What was he to do now? During that night, Hane realised that his mission in life was to protect his best friend. Now that he had already failed, there were no goals... there was nothing left for Hane.
???Krylia...??? Hane whispered as he lay in the cold soil, amongst the befallen leaves, holding the cold, dead hand of his only love. As tears of despair ran over his shadowy face, he knew that the soul of Krylia had reached Heaven. But Hane was left in sorrow to believe that the demons inside of him would take him to the fiery depths of Hell. Knowing that he would never spend another second with Krylia, he whispered ???Rest in peace???.
