The Dawnbreaker Gambit: Grayscale Book 1, page 35
The golems started walking towards me again. These guys wanted to kill me, and there was nothing I could do.
I looked at the girl in the coffin. I bet these guys were the ones that put her in there! No one deserved to be trapped like that.
At the very least, I could get her out of there, even if I…
I got up and put my hand against the wall, waiting for them to get closer.
There was just enough space between their legs that I’d be able to get past them. Once they were standing a couple of feet away from me, they raised their arms just like I thought.
I pushed off the wall and ran straight towards them, sliding under the left golem’s legs as his fist smashed the wall. I reached the girl’s coffin and tried to pry it open.
No good, it was super tight! I couldn’t even get my fingers under the lid.
I heard the sound of shifting rock and turned around.
The golems were coming. If I didn’t hurry, they’d be back over here soon.
Shoot! How was I supposed to get this thing open?
I turned back around and looked at the hole in the center. It was the only thing I hadn’t tried yet, so it was worth a shot! I jammed my arm in as far as I could and reached around until I found some sort of handle inside.
“ELIMINATE.”
I looked back and saw the golems were almost here.
I pulled the handle and as soon as I did, something sharp stabbed my arm. I yelped and tried to pull my arm free, but whatever stabbed me had locked me in place.
A glowing white lock appeared on the coffin, before shattering. Then a black lock appeared and did the same thing. After the black lock shattered, my arm was let go and I finally pulled free.
The room swayed and I fell to my knees in front of the coffin. My arm was still dripping with blood from where I was stabbed.
I turned and a golem was standing over me, his buddy slightly behind him.
Something hissed nearby as the golem raised his fist.
I couldn’t run away; I was too dizzy. I didn’t even manage to get the girl out.
So much for my first big adventure.
I closed my eyes as the golem lowered his fist towards me and hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much.
I guess the golem was pretty tired. A few seconds passed but nothing happened.
“Hey,” someone said. “Are you okay?”
I opened my eyes and saw the girl from the coffin standing in front of me.
She was holding the golem’s fist in place and it looked like it was struggling to get free. She pulled back and shoved it, sending the golem falling backward into his friend and they hit the ground with a thunderous crash.
She was wearing a dark black shirt with a black skirt and had long black hair that went past her shoulders. She looked a bit older than me, maybe a couple of years.
She looked even prettier outside the coffin.
The sound of moving stone snapped me back to reality. The golems were getting back up.
“Stay there, I’ll handle this,” she said. Blue light gathered under her feet. “Spring.”
The girl launched herself into the air, almost going through the hole in the ceiling I’d made. Something that looked dark red wrapped around her hands as she mumbled words that I couldn’t make out. She flipped and aimed her feet at the ceiling a blue circle forming under her, before launching herself at the golem that had finally managed to sit up.
She punched a giant hole straight through its chest and the golem collapsed, motionless.
The second golem made it to its feet and turned around to face her.
“Sit down,” she aimed her palm at the golem, blue light forming in it. “Bullet Storm.”
Small blasts of water shot out of her hand and pierced the golem’s head and chest, as well as knocking off its left arm at the shoulder. The golem fell to the ground and just like his friend, stopped moving.
The girl flipped her hair and stared at the fallen golems.
“These things were supposed to protect me, and they couldn’t even keep you out, it’s kinda funny,” she turned and walked back to me. “I’m Lana, what’s your name?”
She offered me her hand and pulled me up.
“I’m Damian,” I pointed at the golems. “You beat them like they were nothing…you’re awesome!”
Lana laughed. “It’s no big deal. It’d be a different story if these things were made by dragons, those ones are really tough.” She looked at me and then back at the coffin. “Were you the one who let me out of there?”
I smiled and nodded. “Yup!”
“Really?” She asked.
“Yup!”
She frowned a bit. “And you were having trouble with those golems?”
“They started attacking me for no reason and going ‘INTRUDER ELIMINATE’,” I replied, doing my best impression of the golem’s slow gait.
Lana covered her mouth and failed to stifle a laugh which made me smile.
For some reason, her laugh made my chest feel lighter.
“Why were you locked up? Did you do something bad?” I asked.
Lana stared at me silently for a second. “No.”
“Then why?” I asked again.
“It was…to help people.” She said.
I tilted my head and blinked. “I don’t get it.”
Lana shook her head with a slight smile. “Don’t worry about it.”
“How long were you in there?” I asked.
“That’s…” She trailed off. “…Actually a good question. What year is it?”
“Eight-seventy-four,” I replied.
Lana stared at me with a blank expression. “Eight-seventy-four…?” She kept staring at me before she dropped to the ground.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. I got closer to her, but she kept staring blankly ahead. “Are you okay?”
“One hundred fifty years…I’ve been sealed away…for one hundred fifty years.” She mumbled.
I crouched down so I could stare at her face.
“Hmm…you don’t look one hundred fifty,” I commented.
She stared at me for a second, before letting out a snort.
“Whenever I wake up from a nap I usually wanna go outside,” I said. I stood up and offered her my hand. “Wanna play with me?”
She looked at my hand and smiled before taking it. “Sure.”
* * *
“You’re it!” I tapped Lana on the shoulder and took off through the forest.
“You get a ten-second head start!” Lana called after me.
I swerved through the trees and tried to get some distance between us.
“Ten…nine…eight…” The sound of her counting started to fade away as I got further.
I turned around to check if she was coming yet and saw her still standing where I’d left her. The forest wasn’t very dense where we were, so I was sure she could still see me too. I didn’t want to get too far ahead and leave her behind.
She started running towards me. I should’ve remembered she was really fast!
I turned around and sprinted full speed ahead.
There was a clearing in front of me. I didn’t want to be out in the open, but if I tried to turn, she’d catch me instantly.
Just as I reached the edge of the clearing, I heard her coming up behind me.
“I’ve got you!”
I looked over my shoulder and saw her right there, stretching out to tag me.
I should’ve been paying attention because as soon as I turned, I tripped on something. Lana crashed into me and we tumbled into the clearing together. We came to a stop after a couple of seconds and I stared straight up in a daze.
Lana was awkwardly sprawled over me and she started to get up. I tried to crawl out from under her, but she grabbed my arms and pinned them down, kneeling over me.
“You’re not getting away that easy!” Lana laughed.
I laughed with her as I tried to wriggle free and she kept me locked in place.
When she stopped laughing I stopped struggling and stared at her. She was watching me intensely for some reason and I started to feel a little embarrassed.
She was kinda close. I didn’t know what was going on, but it felt…weird.
Nice, but weird.
Lana let go and got off of me, moving off to the side.
“Sorry…” She said.
I sat up and looked at her. She was making the same blank face from earlier.
“Are you upset?” I asked. “It’s not my fault is it?”
She took a deep breath and looked down at the ground.
“No, no, you didn’t do anything it’s just…when you told me what year it was, I was a bit overwhelmed. It’s been over a hundred years, everyone I know is probably gone by now. Including…including my parents, my friends…everyone.”
I stared at her. It would suck if I lost mom and dad. I didn’t have many friends, but it would suck to lose the ones I have. I’d be sad too.
“I’ll be your friend,” I said.
She looked up at me. “What?”
“You’re sad since you don’t have anymore friends, so I’ll be your friend to make up the difference!” I smiled and stuck my hand out.
She kept staring at me before she smiled back.
“Okay… let’s be friends.” She said as she shook my hand.
Chapter Forty-Nine: Homebound
After we finished playing we decided to head back to my house. We’d been walking for about ten minutes before Lana said something.
“You do know where you’re going,” Lana cast a glance my way. “Right?”
I smiled at her. “Nope!”
Lana stopped walking so I stopped too.
“What do you mean ‘nope’?” She asked.
“Well, when I woke up this morning I spent a couple of hours getting pumped up cause I wanted to explore this forest, but since I’ve never gone this deep before I ended up getting lost,” I shrugged. “Something good came out of it though, I found you after all!”
Lana’s mouth hung open slightly as she shook her head. “You’re a weird kid, you know that?”
“I get that a lot.”
“C’mon then, we should probably keep moving,” Lana said as she started walking again.
We continued in silence for a while, nothing but the rustling of trees and the occasional chirping to accompany us.
It was getting darker. I knew we’d been playing for a while, but I didn’t think it’d been that long. Then again, it took me a while to even find Lana in the first place, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Another twenty minutes passed before we broke the silence.
“Hopefully we can get back before it’s too dark. My parents are gonna be mad if I’m late.” I said.
“Are they strict?” Lana asked.
“Not as long as I listen to them. We always eat dinner together so it’s important I’m home before dark.” I explained.
“It sounds like you have a nice family.”
I looked over at her and saw she had a slight frown.
Darn it, I forgot.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Something caught my foot and I fell forward, my face slamming into the dirt. My knee scraped the ground as I landed. “Ow…”
“Hey, are you all right?” Lana asked.
I pushed myself off the ground and turned over. I’d tripped over a branch. I’d been tripping over a lot of stuff today. I looked at my knee and sure enough, it was bleeding.
Lana knelt down next to me and looked at my knee. She stared at it for a second and swallowed loudly.
“You’re hurt,” Lana’s eyes narrowed as she looked into mine. “Again.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. It sounded like she was upset.
“…Sorry?”
“I’m surprised your parents let you go anywhere on your own, you seem like a handful.” Water flowed around Lana’s hand and hovered on it, almost like it was stuck to her. “You should be more careful.”
“It’s not like I fell on purpose.” I pouted.
She pressed her hand to my wound, and it stung a bit. She continued until it was clean, and then she ripped the bottom corner of her skirt and wrapped it tightly around my knee.
“T-thanks,” I said as I started to stand up. I didn’t make it very far because I fell back down awkwardly.
“No, you don’t,” Lana stopped me and lifted me into her arms.
“I can walk on my own!”
“Obviously you can’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be so banged up. This is happening whether you like it or not.” She said sternly.
She started walking and I decided not to argue.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“Mhm.” She answered.
* * *
I don’t know how long we’d been walking, but the forest had gotten much darker.
“This isn’t good. It’s almost nighttime.” I said.
“We’d better hurry then,” Lana said. “I don’t want you getting in trouble because of me.”
“It’s not your fault, I was the one that-”
The sound of howling cut me off and I shrank into Lana’s arms a bit.
“Hey. Hey, Damian.”
I turned to look at Lana’s face.
“It’s okay. You’re safe with me.”
She winked at me.
That howling was the biggest reason I’d stayed out of these woods for so long. They never come into town because of the wards, but once you’re in the forest you’re in wolf territory.
But Lana was right. I’d watched her take down a couple of golems, so she could easily beat up some wolves, right?
Lana stopped moving and stared straight ahead.
“Lana? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Shh.” She stood there silently for a moment. “I hear someone shouting.”
“What are they saying?” I asked.
She listened for a few seconds before she answered. “…It sounds like your name.”
“It must be mom and dad! Let’s go to them!” I exclaimed.
“Sure thing.” Lana laughed.
Lana broke into a light jog as we started going forward again.
“Mom! Dad! We’re over here!” I shouted.
“They’re not close enough to hear you yet,” Lana said.
My face started heating up. “Oh…right.”
After a couple of minutes, I heard something that vaguely sounded like shouting. A few minutes after that, I could tell they were calling my name. Bright lights peered through the trees. They looked like flashlights.
“We’re over here! Mom! Dad!” I shouted again.
“Damian!” Mom shouted.
The lights aimed in our direction and I started waving my arm.
“Over here!” I yelled.
It wasn’t long before we came face to face with my parents.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Mom said, looking at the bandage on my leg.
“Of course, I’m okay,” I grinned. “I was with Lana.”
* * *
After my parents took us back home we all sat down for dinner together, after they made us wash our hands of course.
“So, your name’s Lana, right? I don’t recognize you, did your family just move here?” Dad asked.
“Oh no,” Lana shook her head. “I’m not from around here.”
I rushed to swallow the piece of chicken I’d jammed in my mouth.
“I found her in some really cool temple in the woods! There were golems, actual golems! I think I made them mad since I broke their floor, and I tried to say sorry, but they didn’t care. They just kept saying ‘INTRUDER ELIMINATE’, but I saw Lana sitting in this really cool looking coffin and when I opened it for her, she beat them up in an instant!”
“Thank you for looking after our son, you’ll have to excuse his imagination.” My dad said.
Lana wore a thin smile. “He’s not lying. I actually was stuck there for a very long time…at least until Damian let me out.”
My parents looked at each other with frowns on their faces.
“Is there anyone we can contact for you? Parents or relatives?” Dad asked.
“Do you even have a place to stay tonight?” Mom asked.
Lana shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anyone you can call for me. I suppose I could always go back to my…‘temple’, but I don’t want to see that place anytime soon.”
My parents looked at each other for a few seconds and exchanged nods.
“You’ll be staying here with us then,” Dad said.
“What? No, I can’t impose on you any more than I ha-” Lana began.
“Stop that talk right now,” Mom said. “You have no family and nowhere to go, what kind of people would we be if we sent a young woman out on her own in the middle of the night? Especially one that was kind enough to spend the day with our son and help him get back home.”
“Besides, it seems like our boy’s taken a liking to you,” Dad added.
I stared at Lana and tried to make my eyes as wide as possible.
“Please stay Lana. Pleaase…” I begged.
She stared back at me for a few seconds and her face quivered a bit. It was working! Just a little bit more!
“Pleeaasse…” I continued.
She finally looked away and slowly nodded. “Fine, I can stay…for a while anyway.”
“Yes! We’re gonna have so much fun together!” I shouted.
“Save it for tomorrow, you can at least let her get settled in before you start roping her into your little schemes,” Dad said.
“Hehe.” I grinned at him.
“You haven’t touched much of your food, are you okay dear?” Mom asked Lana.
“I’m fine, I just don’t have much of an appetite sorry,” Lana explained.
“I’ll finish it for you!” I offered.
Lana smiled at me and pushed her plate towards me. “Sure thing.”
“I’ll go get a bath started, can you run to the store and buy her some clothes?” Mom asked dad.
Dad stared blankly at her. “You want me to do that?”
Mom stared back and nodded her head. “Good point, we’ll switch jobs. Would you like to come with me, Lana?”
“Sure.” Lana smiled and stood up.
The two of them started to walk out of the kitchen before mom turned around.
