Two Sided War

The day for the walk out is closing in, and as I stated I've chosen to deal with it when it gets closer. No issues have cropped up yet so I just leave it. With all the housing finally done after a at least 3 months work we are finally able to dedicate more time to training, hunting, and improving living standard. We have more people working on more comfortable furniture for the rooms and they are hand crafting it to the persons wants and needs to include beds, sofas, dressers, and other such. With Ren and I more often than not sleeping in the same room, what we decide is to start living in the underground house, which itself has received much improvement. With it mostly completed we start to get furniture for it as well, along with putting finishing touches on it. Of course, with all this progress means we are reaching our first hurdle of the fight: The Generals. We've been making sure everyone has been getting training in for their respective choice of weapon, along with improving our gear standard. its been slow but we are getting to a point of being ready, even with heart crystals which there are a surprising abundance of. Course that doesn't mean we've ran into some issues already. Blood moons a frequent, and there are distant grunts being heard as we slay the monsters coming up to a gate, and slimes have been becoming more agitated than normal, both of the signs are not good. my anxiety has been through the roof with all this planning, or more so my inactivity while we prepare.

"Hey Charles." Ren popped her head into the council room, where our leaders meet and where I work. the room manly consists of just a large table, chairs, and a board.

"Hey Ren. What's up?"

"Just checking in on you. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better, but I cant complain." I look down at al the reports ive been getting; supplies, income, training, issues, everything. everything is coming smoothly and steadily but its too slow right now. At teh rate we are going at, if some event were to break out we might be sorely out matched.

Ren walks up to my desk and glances at the papers on it.

"How about we take a break? Everything seems to be running smoothly, I'm sure they can work without you needing a report." I sigh in relief, setting down my quill and start setting everything away.

"I'd be happy to. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, we still got that date to make up, how about we do that?"

"Right now? We don't have anything planned for it."

"You don't, I do. follow me." I walk in tow as we make a few stops here and there to pick things up, it quickly becomes clear we are going on a picnic, and as we head out of the gates towards a near by hill, we begin to talk. 

"You've been planning this for a bit haven't you?"

"Kinda, I've just made sure to have the blanket and basket, not the food."

"Well, I cant wait to see what we have in store then." We reach the top, where we have a clear view the surrounding field and the ancient tree we live in. 

The food is simple but enjoyable: some simple sandwiches with a salad and fish. We each take our own helping of it and enjoy it, talking and laughing the day away. Soon the food is gone and we are snuggled up to each other starting at the sky. We sit there for who knows how long before we begin to kiss, become more and more passionate as time goes, but its interrupted by an unknown sound.

"Do...do you hear that?" I ask as I separate from Ren who is clearly disappointed and confused 

"No, I don't...yeah, actually I hear something, like a buzzing almost." Its faint but we look around to see a small speck at the horizon, then the same opposite teh other side. As they get closer and as I examine teh distance more, I realize what it is.

"Oh, s**t. Come on, we have to hurry!" I quickly get up and start to hastily put things into the basket. Ren, who responded a little slow out of surprise, starts to help. After that we run a full tilt down the hill as the sounds get closer.

"What is that sound?!"

"Something really bad! We do not want to mess with them by ourselves, we need to get back!" We run full tilt back down the hill and back towards the village. The thing behind us is slowly gaining on us, based on the ever increasing sound, an sound of more buzzing accompanies it as well. I Punch in the comm contact for ty as we run past out point of breathe.

"Hey Charles, whats up?"

"Get all the archers and spearmen on the walls of the main gate now!"

"What?"

"DO IT! We got things who decided to crash the two of us out here and now they decided to tag along for our run and party at the place. We need our men at teh wall right now!"

"Alright, I'll do what I can."

"Good, over and out." I end the call and we continue running for our lives, the things clearly close to us as the buzzing is almost becoming deafening

"Ren!" 

"Yeah?"

"I need you to do something for me!"

"Is now really the time?"

"Just keep running."

"Wasn't planning on stopping" The wall was closing in, with what appears to be no defense yet at the wall.

"Good!" I stop dead in my tracks and materialize my bow out if thin air, a platinum bow with red crystals at the end of teh frame, a gift from the smiths and miners for bringing in so much ore for their high demands recently. I c**k an arrow into the string, pull it back, and let it fly into the closest shot, where it connects solidly with the thing. Ren, realizing that I'm not next to her by the time she reaches the other side of the gate turns around.

"CHARLES! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Buying time! Now go!"

"Not without you I'm not!" Before she could move I spin in place and shot an arrow into the chain mechanism, breaking the hold of the lever and closing the door, along with jamming the system.

"CHARLES YOU F*****G DUNBASS!" I turn back in time to see one of the things in my face. I react barely just in time just as its mandibles close in on where my head was. rolling out of the way, I let loose a few more arrows, then continue my evasion.  soon enough imp swarmed and they start to snap at me, putting nasty bite marks into my arms and legs, one lucky enough to close on my head. If it wasn't for the weird angle it was at and my force on the things mandibles I would have surely lost a piece of my head.

"OPEN FIRE!" Just in the nick of time a shower of arrows rain upon the things, killing the few I was targeting while dodging the rest. Clearly seeing the greater threat coming from the wall, the shift their attention to them and start to charge them, living me bloody and beat up from their assault on me. While the survivors deal with and stop the group of beasts, I look up at my health:

7/175

Just as the realization hits me how low it is, teh exhaustion hits me, and I fall to teh ground as the blackness consumes me.

.                                          .                                       .

When I wake I see my self laying in one of the cots of our med bay, only thing is that I'm the only one here. I sit relatively in the middle left side of the room, and all the way on the farthest right side of the room near the entrance sits a mysterious figure, spinning around a fedora. He continues to looks absent mildly in one direction before...he? she? before they look at me.

"Ah, awake I see. Good, here I thought I was going to have to choose someone else for this."

"W-what?" my voice comes out hoarsely.

"Charles, right? Man I've been waiting to get to talk to you one on one." He gets up and begins to walk to me, and their voice seems familiar. It a deep tenor thats both suave and yet demanding, making me almost want to follow them, obey their orders."

"W-who are you?"

"You don't remember me? I'm crushed, how could you forget the one who your fighting against?" Immediately I sit up straight in my bed and go on full alert, now realizing who they were. "Ah, now you remember, probably was hard considering I didn't have a body then unlike now. By the way, what do you think? Pretty snazzy eh? I was trying to go for a look that showed how handsome I am yet gives off my powerful aura as well." He does a little flourish as he shows off his primarily dark suit with a purple undershirt and an intense blue handkerchief in his front pocket. The air around him also seems to vibrate, literally it looks like its vibrating. 

"Speechless? I know, one of my generals are just amazing at what they do, its so worth the extra payment for them with what they can make. But enough of talking about how wonderful I look, you could use a new set of clothing...hmmm, I got something that might look good on you!" With a snap of his fingers a gust of wind rush by me. When I look down, I see that I am now standing where the cot was, with a mirror in front of me. Instead of the old clothes I was wearing I'm now wearing a suit as well; A dark blue that almost looks black with crimson designs of dragons and flames around the top of the suit, the bottom being manly the crimson color. The color is faded and dark enough that it almost blends in perfectly yet also gives of the amazing design up close. I'm also wearing a golden shimmering vest and tie with a grey long sleeve undershirt.

"Wow..." I stand there as the breath is taken away by the amazing suit and how it looks on me.

"Looks good doesn't it?"

"Yeah...it does. Where did you get this? and to fit me!"

"Just some of the powers I wield, along with my followers. You can have a lot of things like that too if your with me ya know?" I quickly turn to him. S**t, how could I forget how I'm taking to?

"What's your name?"

"Ah, I'm sorry how rude of me, I never did introduce myself did I? I am Osiris." He takes my hand and shakes it.

"Why are you here?"

"Ah, getting down to business are we? I like that about you. Alright, so I got a proposition for you. You can have this here suit, plus more and powers you'd could only imagine and followers, all this, if you do just one thing."

I sit there in silence for a few seconds, considering what he says

"...And what is it exactly?"

"Simple: Betray your group, then die fighting your upcoming foe, one of my long time generals, to join me! It's such an amazing offer I tell you!" 

"..Wa-wait, excuse me? You want m-"

"Not convinced yet? here, I'll sweeten the deal: do all this, and not only will you join me, but you can bring along a few of your friends, including that sweet and sassy girl of yours, Ren was it?"

"Hold up Hold up!"

"Well, what do you think? Want to join Team Calamity?"

I finally get them to stop assaulting me with his words for me to process all this.

"This seems 'good' and all but if I die wont I die for good? How would I join you?"

"Bah, its simple. When you get to a low enough point in your health, you were close to it for where your at, you being to dematerialize, but you remain alive. If you were just left, you would appear after a long wait period to not only heal but gain form again from your spread out essence. Once you reach this point, I can simply snag you back into my place and bring you back to life there, course you'd have to find a way to cohouse your friends here but I doubt that would be hard for you." I sit in silence as I think this over, and over,  and over in my head. What they suggest isn't a bad idea, my friends, me, Ren, would be safe, would be able to live a good life without worry, and the fun we could have with it as well...but what about everyone else? How would they fair when we leave? not only would it be suspicious it would leave them in chaos.

"I...I don't know, its a hard choice to make"

"I understand, you care about everyone who follows you including your, as you call them, family,  but think of it this way, a lot of them are going to end up dying anyways, you know that as well as I do even if you don't want to admit it. You saw it first hand how easy it is almost. Would you want that to happen to your family?"

"Of course not."

"And what about your future with Ren? Would suck if it would all end just because you died all too soon, and thats the worse part. The best you can hope for is just being pushed off for who knows how long untill your out of here, assuming even you can reach that kind of point alive and with enough people if there is one."

"I..I don't know, its a lot take in right now, I cant just leave everyone behind, but I don't want my friend to...to die either."

"I know, I know. Here, I'll let you think this over, especially since our time is almost up here, your about to wake up.You'll have time to figure out an answer. Keep the suit and everything as a memento and incentive for this ok?" Everything started to stretch out and become distant, brighter and translucent as well

"Oh, one more thing, if you don't take my offer I'll make sure your life is hell, starting out with killing Ren. You'll see an example of my wraith here sooner before you have to make a decision. BYYYYEEEEEE!" 

When I wake up I bolt straight up in my cot with a startled gasp. I scare the nurse next to me who was preparing some sort of medicine it looked like.

"Sigh, good your awake." I takes a few seconds of panting before I respond

"I...I'm sorry for startling you" I say half mindedly. 

"It's fine, ill let the doctor know your up so she can look at you. Your friends will be happy to know your awake too, they've been visiting every day since you got here."

"Everyday? How long was I out for?"

"Hmm, if I remember correctly it was for about 6 days. Don't worry though, everything will be fine. I'll let your friends know the news and send them in when they get here." The nurse leaves me. Did...was that dream real? Was what Osiris say true or was I imagining things?

"Charles!" I'm snapped out of my thoughts to see Ren come running in and tackle me, almost sending me out of my cot.

"Owowowowowowowowowow."

"Sorry not sorry. I'm glad your alive, but what were you thinking, trying to fight those things off?! You knew you couldn't fight them, thats why we ran, but yet you then decide to fight them?"

"I was trying to...to save you."

"Well next time save yourself too, ok? I need you alive."

"Heh, ok."

"Good...mmmmm I'm so glad that your alive." This time she gently hugged me, and I hugged her back.

"Me too."

"Alright, well from whatever those things were that attacked him left some infections in the wound, should clear up though in time." The doctor showed up. "Maybe like a few days and you should be fully healed so we can send you back your way if you want."

"Please." he nodded his head.

"I'll have someone get your stuff ready then." He left Ren and I and also Ty who I see has just joined the party.

"Hey man! Great to see that your ok. As much as I hate to ruin this moment though, there somethings that have to be discussed."

"Ty does it have to be right now? He just woke up."

"Sorry but its urgent."

"It's fine Ren. Whats the issues?"

"Well teh first thing is that walkout.  People defiantly left with her, theres a noticeable difference in the population here, but they also raided some of the places and took a lot of stuff with them; Materials and weapons manly. The second thing is, well much worse. The Eater of Souls that were chasing you? Well we found the place they came from, but exactly opposite there, theres also the other place there as well."

"S your telling me that not only is there Corruption, but also Crimson?"

"Afraid so. Thats not it either. An events happening right now, with another on its way; the Slime Rain, and signs of a Goblin Army is coming." I sit there as I wrap my head around all of this. This is what Osiris was talking about with his wraith. This is so much...how are we going to fight this?

"S**t, thats a lot...get everyone prepared and moved over to the empty field, we need to do a lot more preparations than we thought now that were crippled both in numbers and equipment. Have all miners and crafters work over time and have someone at all times keep a look out on the areas and look for the walk outs, at the same time have-"

"Charles, stop." I look over to Ren

"Ren, This has to be dealt with, especially with these Invasions it cant be just ignored, I have to-"

"YOU don't have to do anything, let Ty deal with it for now, besides he can access you easily if he needs help. For now you are staying home."

"Ren, I just-" She swung over me and is now straddling me, clearly with no embarrassment. My checks start to flush a little.

"You are going home to rest, got it?"

"o-ok" I say a little meekly and embarrassed. 

"Good, now lets get going." She drags me out of the cot, and my stuff as well, to our house, and when we finally get there she tosses into teh chair and helps me on the the couch.

"Ummm...What's with the suit? I just noticed it." I look down to see the same exact suit from my dream, down to teh dragons, the colors, everything. it even examples the new cane with the look. It was at this moment that I broke down, crying so hard.

"Charles?! What's wrong?" I just continue to cry, untill nothing came out and just sobbed and hic upped on Ren's shoulder. It lasted about an hour before I finally went quite cuddled up to her.

"Charles, how long?"

"W-what?"

"How long do you think we'll be here? Stuck in this place,  away from our family, away from us being able to be...us?"

"From being us?"

"You know, not worried living and stressed 24/7, especially you where all we need to worry about is school and when and where our next date it."

"I..i don't know...its going to be a long time, years..." I shake my head, start crying again, and pass out attached to her like a young child, finally having my mental breakdown of being here. As I pass out I last think to myself about the deal with Osiris, and wonder if I should take it or not.