Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Fight for your life

No one forgets their first fight. No one.

Ahead of me a man drew a long sword. He wore the uniform of Burne's Badgers. He lunged at me, but I didn't move. Part of me wondered why one of the Badgers would attack. Did they think we were invaders? Could we talk our way out of this. But it wasn't just that.

I hesitated because I didn't think I could kill someone for any reason. I always thought I could if the situation called for it, but you truly can't know until it comes time to actually do it. That time had come for me, and I couldn't go through with it.

He lifted his sword high, ready to cleave me in two. His face showed nothing but raw rage, as if I were responsible for all the evils in my world and his. That's when I saw it. The rage I saw, it was too powerful, far more powerful than any human could possibly show. The nose was too long, the mouth was too wide open...a dozen things were wrong. I saw every detail in that moment, a moment made impossibly slow by the adreneline coursing through my veins, and I knew that this man was not a man at all.

It made things a lot easier.

I brought my short sword over me and angled it along the side of my body, stepping aside as I did. His sword slid off mine harmlessly. His cut was long, too long. His sword struck the floor with a loud clang. He was in no position to counter an attack.

I swung the weapon at an angle, slicing through the carotid artery. The blade cut deep, but I felt no resistance. If I did hit the artery, blood would start spewing forth immediately, covering me and anything else nearby. Instead, all I saw was a gaping, dark hole.

The man's face twisted in ways no human face could. His skin changed to a pale grey. He looked up at me, ignoring the wound in his neck. His mouth opened wider than was possible for a human. A sound eminated from the creature, a moan that sounded like a baritone singer, but several octaves too deep. It rose in pitch and volume quickly until it became a roar. His face vibrated as the unnatural sound spilled from him.

I spun--just like Sensei said not to do--and cut at his neck again. Only then did I realize how sharp the sword really was. The creature's head separated from its body so easily I nearly lost my balance. It was as if there was no bone tissue there at all. I had little time to ponder it.

An arrow hit the floor inches from my feet. I looked up just in time to see an arrow land in the head of the soldier who fired at me. He fell over the railing and hit the ground. His body crumpled as if every bone in his body was broken.

Anna winked at me as she nocked another arrow. "Behind you."

I spun. Two of them came at me, their faces distorted beyond anything human. The kenjutsu training came back to me in a rush. I parried and countered without thought, as if I had been doing it all my life. I never thought I would be able to use the training in real life, and yet there I was.

It seemed like minutes, but later I learned it only took me seconds to take both of them down. I looked around. I wasn't afraid, not in the slightest. All I wanted was more opponents to cut down.

I saw the flash of magic as the chests of two guards burst into flame. The smell of ozone filled the air, followed by the smell of burning flesh. As I watched, Audry and Saul took out the remaining guards. Their bodies lay on the floor, but they no longer looked human. Their faces display a neutral expressions. They had no lips, no nose, and their eyes appeared shrunken in.

"Dopplegangers," Marc said. "Dear gods."

Audry still held her sword at ready. A dark gray ooze covered it. "Listen."

We did. Upstairs we heard the clash of steel on steel.

"Follow me," Saul said. He charged up the stairs two at a time. I followed behind him. Moments before I was exhausted by our run through the woods and our climb up the hill to the keep. Now I felt invigorated. I almost overran Saul.

We charged to the top of the keep. Bodies lay on the floor. Some were human. Others were not. All wore the uniforms of Burne's Badgers. I knew separating the humans from the copies would be difficult.

The last set of stairs took into open air. The muffled sounds of battle became clear as we dashed out on to the roof. We stood in the middle of battle and stared in complete confusion. Everyone looked the same. Everyone wore the uniform of Burne's Badgers, and they all looked human.

"Uh, okay," Anna said, repeatedly aiming her bow on one soldier and then another. "Ideas?"

I was flumoxed. How do you tell a person apart from a perfect copy?

Or were they perfect copies?

"Hold!" I shouted. A few looked at me, but then ignored me when their opponent resumed their attack.

A bright light appeared over our heads. It drowned out the torches like a midnight sun. All battle ceased as warriors shielded their eyes. I wished for my sunglasses in my backpack back at Marc's place.

"He said HOLD!" Marc's voice boomed far louder than I could have managed. I imagined he woke people up in town. Everyone fell silent and regarded me while carefully eyeing their respective opponent. Saul and Audry gestured toward as if to say, "well?"

"That's better," I said, and cleared my throat. "Now, for whoever are the invaders, you should know that your friends downstairs are dead."

"You hear that fiend," one soldier said to another. "Your days are numbered." He lifted his weapon.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I stepped forward. "Did I tell you to start again?"

Another soldier spoke up. "We--"

"Did I ask you?" I said. "Did I?" The soldier shook his head. "Then keep it zipped."

The soldier remained silent, as did everyone else, probably more out of confusion than anything. Well, at least I had their attention.

"All right," I went on. "Here's the scoop. We got some who are real and some who are wannabes. Now as much as I'm enjoying this I think we need to be a bit more efficient about this. Don't you agree?"

No one said anything.

"I said, don't you agree?"

Everyone nodded in the affirmative.

"Good, 'cause I hate this not knowing. Just like those cliff hangers they always have at the end of the TV season? God, I hate that. I gotta wait months, and I by then I forgot the original story already."

I glanced back at the others. The confusion I spread was contagious. Finally, Anna smiled and motioned for me to get to the point.

"Right," I said, and addressed the soldiers. They looked at each other, even those who were once opponents. Their confusion I had caused seemed to overwhelm their desire to kill each other.

Whatever works.

"Now, we can sit here and hack at each other all day, or," I held up my sword, "we can find out who's who."

I held out my hand and ran it along the sword's edge. It stung, but I ignored the pain. Blood began to dribble down my hand. I showed it to everyone. I saw the others nod in understanding.

"We've got a foolproof way to see who's who. Now, you can give yourself up now and we'll treat you fairly," that got more looks of confusion, "or we can find out the hard way."

The soldiers looked at each other for a moment. I couldn't read any of their faces. Finally, one stepped forward with his sword held out. The others took a step away from him, holding their own swords ready. The soldier took his own hand and ran it across his blade. Blood dripped on to the ground.

"An excellent idea, sir," the man said. Only then did I notice he wore different armor from the others. It looked like plate mail. And his sword was different from the others, longer and with a longer pommel. It might have been a bastard sword.

The man turned and showed his bleeding hand to everyone. "Do it," he said. Voice was calm, but the tone said, "Do it or else."

Two others stepped forward. They sliced their palms and showed blood. The man nodded and gestured for the two to stand behind him. Saul kept an eye on them nonetheless. Shortly thereafter, another stepped forward. He held his hand up to the blade of his sword and ran it down the blade. He turned it to show the others, but we never saw the results.

The soldier turned on his heel and thrust his sword at another. The other soldier stared in shock. He could not react in time. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to.

An arrow imbedded itself in the soldier's skull. No blood poured from the wound. The soldier's back was too me, but I could see his skin turn a dull grey. The soldier collapsed in a heap. Five other soldiers took a step back, staring at the boneless body. Three others did not.

"You guys look like you want to have a heart to heart," I said.

One looked right at me. His face rippled and he took a step toward me. One of the others did the same, standing behind him. Everyone took a step back as their bodies distorted into odd proportions.

"We will not surrender human." It's voice sounded strained as if it could not handle speech well. "You will fall before--"

Anna shot an arrow through its skull. A knife appeared in the skull of another. Both had surprised looks on their face, and then fell forward. Their arms flapped unnaturally when they hit the ground.

"They made their choice," Saul said, putting away his other throwing knife. "What say you?"

The last one stood looking at everyone. He looked at the bodies of his fellows and then held up his hands.

"Smartest thing you did all day," the taller soldier said. He turned and faced us. "Thanks for coming."

"Thought you might need help Rufus," Audry said.

"Yes but how did you know?"

"The boy," I said. "Jon. He--"

"Ah, damn it," Saul said. "I forgot."

"We all did," Marc said. "And I'll bet he's long gone by now."

"Telling others what happened," Audry said.

"More Dopplegangers?" I asked.

"Likely," Marc said, "but who can say?"

"He can," Rufus said, gesturing at the lone soldier off in the corner. His skin had changed color and his nose shrivelled. With his mind focused on his current dilemna, he forgot to maintain his human form.

"I won't talk," it said. It's voice sounded as if he had been gargling gravel. "I can't."

"Sure you can," Anna said. She drew a dagger. "You just need to be shown how."