In Times To Come

The knocking continued in hard, long pounds; one after the other. The door shook with every violent hit. Whoever it was seemed to be in a hurry and desperate to get in. Mikeal tried to sneak a peek through the shudders on the windows.

“Soldiers,” he breathed quietly. He went back to peering through the little crack.

“Get upstairs,” came Zarek’s command.

I backed up slowly, ready to bolt at any second. If all else failed, I follow his instructions and barricade myself in the room above.

Jace hurried to my side. “You really are all too popular,” he said to me in a hushed voice. I looked at him for a moment, speechless.

‘What am I supposed to do about it?’ I thought as he corralled me to the stairs.

More forceful knocking.

“One moment!” yelled Jace to the door.

Zarek had his sword at the ready, his focus trained on the door and on whoever might be behind it.

“Doctor!” I jumped at the sound of someone from outside. “Doctor, we must speak with you!”

“It’s Travis!” said Mikeal excitedly.

“Travis?” asked Zarek.

“Lord Vash’s men!” He ran from the window and to the door, ready to fling it open at any moment, but waiting for the doctor’s approval.

“Zarek?” asked Jace, looking at him.

“By all means,” responded Zarek as he backed away from the door.

Mikeal opened the door wide, letting in a tall and lanky elf. Behind him followed seven other men; each one in a dark, orange uniform. The man in front rushed in, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw there were two extra persons present in the room.

“So our information was correct,” he said firmly.

“And what information would that be?” asked Zarek as he moved toward the man.

“Zarek!” exclaimed the elf. “It’s been years.”

“Good to see you, too, Travis.” The men shook hands and then got down to business.

“An informant of ours got word to us that two people, an elf and a human, were brought here from the desert.” He paused and motioned for Mikeal to close the door. “At first we thought the worst, that Bin had caught up with you and-“

“Bin?” interrupted Zarek.

“Yes. He’s a beast, that man; hired by Lord Travitt to find you.”

“We know him,” answered Zarek solemnly.

“I thought as much,” continued Travis. “What happened to him?”

“A friend is taking care of him,” said Zarek confidently. Travis looked uneasy, but otherwise calm.

“If they are a friend or yours I’m sure there’s nothing to fear; from him that is. You are still very much in danger here.” He looked over at me for the first time, but quickly averted his gaze.

“We had planned to leave tonight,” confirmed Zarek.

“As you should,” responded Travis quickly. “Chances are, if we know, they know. We would like to accompany you on your journey. We are willing to provide our services all the way to the capital.”

“Capital?” It was the first I had spoken.

Travis looked at me and then back to Zarek, wearing a rather confused expression. “That is your destination, is it not?”

“Yes,” added Zarek hastily.

“Then we shouldn’t waste any more time.” Travis turned to the men behind him. “You two, stay with the doctor. As for the rest of you, follow me. Once in the alleys, take protective measures, these two must reach the capital safely. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” chimed his men.

“Good,” he turned back around. “Are you ready?”

Zarek crossed the room, swinging his pack over his shoulder, and led me over into the middle of the men before nodding. In a flash we were out the door and sprinting through the narrow streets of Travitt.

Everything looked the same as we blurred past; buildings, corners, alleys, all of it. We turned corners frequently, never letting up our pace. I figured we looked very suspicious, running for our lives like this, but with not a soul on the streets, we would have looked suspicious anyway.

Often we would come to what looked like a dead end, when in reality there was another turn hidden just beyond piled boxes or the wall itself was a fake and could be easily swung open. This town was like a labyrinth. A maze that once you were in, you could never escape from.

“This is it,” said Travis as we halted in front of what could only have been the outer wall of the city. He and three of his men came to the front and began pushing against the wall with all of their might.

“Sir!” yelled one his men guarding our rear. He pointed up at a dark cloud. Below, between the buildings, I could just see a faint, orange glow.

“They’re on to us! Push men!” The four pushed even harder and the wall began to slide back with a stone-like groan.

I was the first to be squeezed between the wall followed shortly by Zarek, Travis, and then the soldiers. Everyone pitched in to shove the wall back and closed, just as shouts could be heard from down the street. The grating sound stopped as the wall slid back into place.