"Easy there, Bugsy," Sergeant A'tynn shouted, running after me at the grassy field. "Your horse needs to rest."
"Sorry, Sarge," I shouted back, as I tried to slow my horse down with my bridle. "I don't know how to control the horse."
The sergeant headed in front of me and took out a piece of fruit, holding the horse's face with both hands. "Easy, girl," he shushed, feeding her a treat. He scratched her chin gently as he stroked her black mane, smiling. I got down from my horse and let out a frustrated sigh. "I didn't do good, right?"
"You did alright, Bugsy," he replied, glancing at me with a fatherly look. "You just need to learn how to control your horse, that's all."
"Yeah, working on that," I chuckled. "It's not as easy as it looks in the movies."
He raised his eyebrows. "What's a movie?"
"It's where we watch how a story unfolds on a big screen," I explained. "It's kinda like a stage play, except it's on a screen rather than a live actor."
"That sounds interesting," he smiled, as he handed me a pistol. "Now let's practice using a gun. Have you used a gun before?"
I shook my head. "No, but I was shot on the shoulder before. It was excruciating for me."
He hissed, squinting his eyes. "I know that feeling. Did you remove the bullet yourself or did you have help?"
"I removed it with my bare hand."
He handed me his pistol, with the ejection port opened, with no bullets inside. "Alright Bugsy, before you start using your gun, you must load them up with bullets."
I did what he instructed and locked the ejection port by pressing it down. "Then what?"
"Make sure you wear your ear muzzles during training. Contrary to theatre plays, gunshots are quite loud and could make you jump."
I gave a nod and covered my ears with the ear muzzles, and held the grip of my pistol with both hands, aiming at the target board at a huge distance. "Pull the Glock slide first," he instructed. "Then, you pull the trigger. Make sure you lean your body a little forward, understood?"
"Yes, sir," I answered, as I pulled the Glock slide and aimed at the middle circle, pulling the trigger.
Bang!
I closed my eyes as smoke was coming out from my bullet. I opened my eyes and blew it away, only to find a bullet on the huge circle of the target board. "Damn it," I groaned. "I missed a shot."
"It's alright, Bugsy," he reassured me. "At least you hit something."
I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms. "Is that sarcasm I hear?"
"Maybe, maybe not," he chuckled, sitting down a rock. "What makes you think that, Bugsy?"
"You sound a lot like my aunt," I sat next to him.
"Your aunt, eh? Is she single?"
I snorted, holding back my laughter. "Aren't you married with two girls?"
He scratched the back of his neck as his face turned red. "I'm guessing Cassie told you that, eh?"
Then, the messenger ran towards our direction, delivering us a scroll. Sergeant A'tynn thanked him as he opened the scroll, reading it. "Bugsy," he gestured at me. "You know what to do."
I bobbed my head as I gathered around my friends to the field, where we lined up in the usual straight line and guard our arms behind our back, our legs stood close together. "Alright cadets, we have another mission. There have been sightings of a demon hound in the border town between Arendia and Angelis. The Knights of Moon are dispatched to investigate and put an end to the monster. If you spot it, shoot to kill. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir," we chanted in unison. As we were eased, we gathered our weapons and wore our armour, hopping onto our horses, except for me. I rode with Sergeant A'tynn since I'm still learning how to ride a horse, but I'm not complaining, though.
We rode into the forest, passing by the silver trees and the surrounding shrubbery. The cool wind didn't blow today, making the air feel hot and humid. My body felt sticky underneath my armour as I felt the scorching sun burning my armour. "How long to the border town?" I asked, feeling a little warm.
"Another 3 hours," told Sergeant A'tynn, wiping the sweat underneath his helmet. "We'll stop along the way so don't worry about it."
"Yes, sir," I nodded, looking at Cassie, who was riding beside us. "The border town is where most people would go and have fun. We usually go there to watch a play and hang out at the brewery."
I raised my eyebrows. "You guys drink alcohol?"
Cassie burst out in laughter, slapping her thighs. "Of course we can," she said. "We're basically adults."
"I'm not an adult yet," I sulked. "I've just turned sixteen."
Nat snorted. "That's the age you turned into an adult."
"Really? In my world, I have to wait for two years to be declared an adult."
"That's sad," Gatsby commented, as we continued the journey. After hours on the road, we arrived in the town of Lavinia. Their houses were painted in white, matched with a brown pane around the walls. With the roof made out of straw, the townsfolk saw us riding on their stony road and gathered around us.
As we got down from our horses, the town's elderly approached him and shook hands with our leader. "Thank goodness you're here," he spoke frantically. "Please, follow me."
The town's chief, Tienis Kermath, led us inside his home and poured us a cup of Red Grass tea. "Thank you," I smiled as I took a sip of the crimson tea. "This taste a lot like lemon tea back home."
"I'm glad you liked it," he smiled as he sat the opposite of us. "Anyways, we must discuss our current situation with the demon hound."
"Yes," Sergeant A'tynn stirred his tea with a small spoon. "We have reports of the creature roaming around this town. Could you elaborate it much further?"
"Yes, Sarge. One of the folks here, Zanqia was picking some berries with her sisters when she saw the creature wandering around the woods."
"Is she alright?" Cassie asked, her eyes widened. "The girls are alright, but they suffered some scratches on their back. Zanqia had it worse."
"What does the demon hound look like?" I asked, sensing something familiar with the creature.
"Lets see, the demon hound is skinless, no eyelids, has razor-sharp teeth, and has a large build."
My heart stopped as I heard the description from Tienis. "Does this creature have a deafening scream?"
"Yes, it does. You're quite perceptive for a human."
I felt my waist tightening around me, shortening my breathing. Feeling sweat trickling down from my forehead, I put my cup down on the table and walked out from Tienis's home, my head spinning. Stumbling on the road, I dropped on my knees in the alleyway, my hands trembling.
"Bugsy," Cassie called out, kneeling beside me. "Are you okay?"
I turned my head to her, staring at her with a blank face. My visions turned blurry as Cassie pulled me up, wrapping her arms around my shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Not a word came out of my mouth. Cassie let out a soft sigh and rubbed my back, as she took my hand and strolled beside me. "Don't worry, the sergeant's not mad at you."
Still didn't say anything to Cassie. I want to tell her everything about what happened years ago in the church but I can't. I tried to say something to her but my throat felt heavy whenever I wanted to speak out. The demon hounds. That was the one who Father Conrad summoned to the church's basement. He summoned the demon hound that bit off both my toes.
Fuck Father Conrad! Fuck me! I've seen the demon hound before but i don't know how to stop it. Damn it! Why does it have to come back to me now? Why now?
We headed back inside Tienis's house and sat down. "You're alright, Bugsy?" asked Sergeant A'tynn, with a concerned look on his face.
I shook my head. "I've seen the demon hound back home. But I wish I could tell you how to stop it."
He looked down at my feet and gave a slight nod to me. "We could head to the witch doctor here in town. He could provide us with a way to stop the beast."
We thanked the town's chief and stepped out of his home, walking together on the road. "Do you want to continue this mission or do you want to go home?"
"I want to continue it," I answered, wrapping my arms around myself.
"Alright then, I won't stop you since you choose to do so."
I tightened my lips as I stayed close to Cassie, holding her hand. I feel like a burden to the sergeant. Somehow, he was willing to put up my panic attacks and gave me a choice to back away from the mission. I should've chosen the latter but at the same time, I don't want to seem like a coward. Besides, I want to finish the mission with my comrades. Can't just abandon it halfway through.
Knocked on the doors belonging to the witch doctor, who greeted us with a wide grin. Come in, come in," he croaked at us, gesturing his hands at us. "I've been expecting you."
I winced as we found ourselves inside a musty hole, with dead frogs hanging by the window pane and a strong smell lingering around the room. Gesza Enqamen pushed his large cauldron towards us and plucked a strand of my hair, to my dismay. "I know you've encountered with the demon hound before," he pointed at me. "That's why I need your hair. Makes it easier to track down the source."
"Right, of course," I rubbed the side of my head. "Was it the same one that I've met?"
"That is correct, Bugsy. This hound was summoned by someone to find you. Looks like he's hungry for your blood."
"Why would that thing wants her?" Nat growled, crossing his arms.
"You should ask the one who summoned it here, Nat. The hound is just doing his master's bidding."
Estut mi getrye o qial.
"Eureka! The portal is located at an old abandoned mansion. You'll find the hound waiting for you there but be warned, it'll not be an easy ride."
The sergeant thanked the silver-haired man as he slid a handful of coins to him and gestured us to follow him. "Take these with you," Gesza handed us a small bottle of clear potion. "You need to pour it on the demonic drawing to banished it back to where it belongs."
"Thank you," Lani bowed, as she climbed on top of her horse.
"Good luck, all of you, but be careful."
"We will," I told him, as we rode up the hill, surrounded with dead trees around us and a thick fog blocking our pathways. Oh dear, I shivered. Who on Earth would live here? This person must have thick skin to go through this every single day. If I were the tenant, I would have left just after one night.
Jumping off our horses, the sergeant led us inside the abandoned building, filled with cobwebs at the corner of the wall and worn-out furniture covered in specks of dust. The floors squeaked as we all took a step, echoing the whole room. Then, there was a soft knock beneath us.
Knowing that was the demon hound, Sergeant A'tynn pulled out his gun and loaded it bullets, ordering us to do the same. "Lani, Gatsby, Ten, you three with me. The rest of you will close the portal."
"Yes, sir," Lani nodded. "And be quick. We can't stay here too long."
Climbing down the stairs towards the basement, he kicked the door opened and went inside, pointing his gun at the hound. They growled at him as they got closer to the beast. It was exactly like how I remembered it. My heart palpitated as I noticed the demonic circle drawn on the floor, surrounded with four candles.
As the demon hound began to rn towards me, the Sergeant charged at the beast and tackled it with his bare arms, punching its eyes. "That's the portal," he shouted at me. "Close it now."
"Yes, sir," I shouted back as I caught the potion Lani tossed at me. Biting off the cork from the bottle, I poured the potion on the demonic circle, weakening the beast. 541Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSAYfnEisE
"It's working," Lani fired her shots towards its back. "Keep pouring it."
I finished the whole bottle and heard the skinless monster cough blood from its mouth, prompting Gatsby to stabbed it with his sword. "Why isn't he going back to hell?"
Nat pointed at the four lit candles circling around the circle. "We need to extinguish the flames. The ritual's not done yet."
"I'll do it," said Cassie as she blew the candles, making the room pitch black. I panted as I heard the horrifying screech coming from the beast. With its last breath, the demon hound pounded on top of me, choking me with its bloody paws. I reached for my pistol from the holster and pulled the trigger, firing at its back leg.
It whimpered in pain as I pushed it off me. The sergeant lit up the torches and glanced at me, giving me his hands. I grabbed his hands and got up, only to find no sign of the demon hound. "Where did it go?" I huffed, holding my blood-stained armour.
"I think it's gone," Nat told me. "Probably went back to hell."
"Nice shot, Bugsy," Gatsby praised.
I shook my head. "I was supposed to aim for the eye."
"Still, you managed to do that in the dark," Cassie placed her hand on my shoulder. "That's very impressive."
"Well done, all of you," smiled Sergeant A'tynn. "The mission was a complete success. All of you are dismissed. You're done for today."
The cadets cheered as they headed out of the basement, leaving me with the sergeant. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"There's something bothering my mind," I shivered, holding my trembling hand. "Who summoned the beast, and why is it after me?"
He frowned as we looked around our surroundings, uncertain.
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