The wind blew fiercely, blowing sand around wildly. This was the worst of a wasteland
storm. A cloud of sand and debris hurtled through the air. The area was covered in dust
and dirt, not a drop of water for miles around. In the terrible and unforgiving wasteland,
few living creatures survived. It was said that storms like this would tear the flesh from
your very bones.
Through the loud howling of the merciless wind, a faint coughing could be heard. A hand
reached out through the dust and debris, followed by a boy, and another. The shorter boy
had short, sandy brown hair, almost the color of the sand that danced wildly around his
head.
His eyes that squinted in the bright sunlight were a bright blue, and his face was a dark
crimson color, the endless sun of the wasteland had made it that dark color.
The taller boy had short yellow hair. He had the same reddish skin tone as the other. His eyes squinted in the blazing heat as well, and his eyes were a piercing green.
Both boys wore loose, light brown pants that billowed out in the wind. The fabric was ripped and dirty. They both also wore shirts of the same color that fell to their knees. each had a bright red scarf wrapped around their face.
The boys were fourteen and had lived their lives alone in the unforgiving wasteland, forced to survive with what little water they could find, and the game that they caught. They were the only living men that could be outside during a great storm of the desert and live.
The taller boy carried a gun in his left hand that was about three feet long. When he was not carrying it, he had a sling across his back in which it fit perfectly. The shorter boy held a small silver dagger.
As soon as the two friends had walked out of the cloud of dust they opened their eyes wide and gasped. In front of them towered a wall, at least fifty feet high, and a hundred feet in length. At the center of the monstrous wall stood a single black gate. The shorter boy, whose name was Dax, gasped and looked at his gaping friend “Sig, is that… is that…? What is that?” he exclaimed, awed.
Sig, the older boy who had never talked in his life shrugged, still staring, open-mouthed at the terrifying, but beautiful wall and its black gate.
The two boys stood still for what seemed like hours to them, but could have been only a minute, before shaking their heads and starting forward.
Once they had reached the enormous black gate, Dax stared in wonder for a minute before asking “Should we go in?” Sig’s only response was a quick nod before knocking steadily on the gate. A clear loud note rung in their ears, but nothing happened.
Sig and Dax looked at each other and smiled. Dax put his hand against the wall of the what appeared to be a city and groped along for a handhold. He found none.
Disappointed, Dax examined the side of the wall that stretched far east. He started walking along the wall, and beckoned Sig to follow.
Sig reached back and set his gun in the sling on his back and followed Dax. Dax walked slowly, looking up and down the huge wall. After about twenty minutes of toiling along the side of the wall, Dax spotted a small hole in the wall, just barely large enough for them to crawl through.
Dax smiled and bent down on his hands and knees, and disappeared into the darkness of the hole. Sig, frustrated, crawled in after him.
After at least an hour of crawling blindly through the darkness, Dax spotted light ahead. He turned around to make sure Sig was still there but could see nothing. He sighed and turned around, blindly groping his way around.
“Sig? You still there?” He whispered. He heard an answering grunt from not too far away and smiled, at least he was still there, even though he had no idea where they were. He turned and looked at the light ahead, he could see people moving out there. He gulped and continued along.
When he got closer to the light, he realized it was a way out. He swallowed a sigh of relief and peered out of the hole. He couldn’t see anyone around anymore so he pulled himself out of the tunnel and dropped to the ground, Sig following.
As soon as they were out in the open, they realized that they were in a city. A huge city.
“Freeze!”
Dax spun around. Coming toward them was a group of people. Leading the group was a woman, pointing a gun at him and Sig. She wore a red shirt that showed her belly and had a strange design on it. She wore jeans with many rips in them and red embroidery adorning them. A holster that obviously held her gun was strapped to her pants. Her face was tattooed with strange symbols, the symbols also adorned her arms and what was visible of her legs. Her hair was bright red, almost as red as the shirt she wore.
The group of men behind her, obviously guards, wore bright red armor and the same strange tattoos. Dax gulped, it was the woman at the front that had said ’freeze’
Arol, for that was the woman’s name shoved her gun into Sigs neck. Dax screamed and bolted away.
“Forget him,” Arol said “the king wants him!” She said to the guards. She raised her gun and hit Sig on the head with it. Sig gasped as the gun was thrust upon him again, he gasped for breath.
Still Dax ran, ignoring his friends pain “Don’t worry Sig, I’ll save you before you know it!” He yelled over his shoulder as he rounded a bend and disappeared out of sight. As soon as his friend had disappeared, Sig fell to the ground, unconscious.
Three years later
King Endil, a man with dark brown hair wearing a long red robe looked at the almost dead man laying on the prison bench. The man they had caught three years ago, trying to sneak into Belezza city. He was covered in bruises and scars from all the terrible beatings he had received from Endil’s captain of the guard, Arol.
Arol stood next to her king “And what will we do with it now, my king?” she asked.
King Endil straightened himself “Finish him off tonight. For now you have other things to attend to.”
Arol nodded and followed her king out of the cell.
Not five minutes after the guard and her king had left, a ferret wriggled into the cell from a tiny hole in the wall. The ferret was white with many brown splotches. On his hands, or rather paws, fingerless gloves gripped a small dagger. A red scarf covered his neck.
The ferret jumped up onto the bench and looked at the man on it. “What’d they do to you?” he exclaimed amazed.
The man stirred slightly. “Sig! It’s me Dax! Please don’t be dead! Say something!” Dax pleaded, worried. He then remembered that his friend was a mute. “Just this once! Say something, anything!”
Sig stirred again. Nothing. Then he reared up “I’m going to kill him!” he screamed angrily.
Dax looked at his friend in amazement, “Shhh” he whispered “Right now we have to get out of here!”
Sig opened his eyes again “Dax? What happened to you?” He asked amazed, and apparently in a better mood.
Dax shrugged “It’s a long story. Right now, we just have to get out of here!”
After an hour, many bruises, detours and a lot of getting lost, Sig and Dax stood outside the prison. The last time Sig had breathed fresh air was three whole years ago, and it felt great.
Now that they were in the sunlight, Dax could see how different his friend looked. Sig’s yellow hair had grown to his shoulders. His face was now more worn and had an always angry expression. His skin had also become pale and was no longer the dark color it used to be.
Dax had also changed dramatically, of course. But not only in appearance. The city had made him less tough, not only because he was a ferret. He was now a liar and deceiver.
“Now what?” Said Dax, climbing onto Sigs shoulder.
“Well, first off, where the heck are we!?” Sig said angrily.
Dax looked at him for a moment before responding “This place is called Belezza city, and you’ll have to get used to it, cause there’s no way out. King Endil rules this place.” Dax pointed north, towards a towering palace at least one hundred feet high, “That is the palace, where he lives.”
Sig glared at the palace, hatred burning in his eyes “That King,” he spat, “Is the man who tortured me for three years! And I’m going to kill him!”
Dax looked at his friend, surprised. “And how do expect to do that. It’s impossible!” Dax said angrily. He paused for a moment “There always is the Rebels…” He murmured thoughtfully.
“What?” Sig asked, giving Dax a puzzled look.
“The Rebels.” Dax repeated, “An underground group, trying to overthrow the king. You could join them, it might be able to get you close to him. I don’t know anything about them except that the leaders name is Terra.”
Sig smiled “Terra? Okay, and how do I find these…Rebels.” he asked.
“Find a dead end alley near the city wall.” Dax replied, climbing off Sig’s shoulder. Sig nodded and started walking, unsure where to go.
After hours of searching, Sig and Dax feet (and paws) hurt badly. But still they drove on, determined to get to their destination. Well, Sig was anyway.
Dax groaned “Come on, lets rest, we can find it later.” he kept saying, Sig just shook his head and continued on.
After a few more hours, they finally found the alley. A woman, who looked like she was in her twenties, paced at the end of the alley. She had shoulder-length blond hair that was barely visible under a plain blue bandana. She wore a sky blue tube top and a small jean jacket. Fingerless gloves adorned her hands, and she wore a chain bracelet on her left hand, and a blue, metal one on her right. Her shorts were navy blue and on either leg were two holsters that held a gun and a dagger hung at her back.
As soon as the two friends stepped foot into the alley, she turned and glared coldly at them. Dax gulped as she started walking towards them. Sig stood still as the woman looked Sig square in the eyes. “Um, are you…Terra?” he asked stiffly.
“Maybe she’s a mute…like you used to be.” Dax said when she didn’t respond.
The woman drew her dagger and shoved it against Sig’s chest. “Who are you and what do you want?” She questioned coldly. Dax gulped again and jumped off Sig’s shoulder.
Sig looked calmly into the woman’s hazel eyes “Are you… Terra?” he asked again. She nodded. “Then I want to join the Rebels.” He ventured nervously.
Terra withdrew the dagger and reached behind her to put it back in it’s sheath. She looked at Sig for a moment. “You still haven’t answered my first question.” She said angrily, drawing the gun that hung from a holster on her left hip.
She shoved the gun into the side of his head. Sig shivered at the cold bite of the muzzle against his head. He bit his lip and answered “I’m Sig, and the rat is Dax.”
Dax glared at his friend. He opened his mouth, as if to pull a nasty joke or sharp comment, but decided better of it and closed his mouth.
“Why do you want to join the Rebels?”
Sig shrugged “I have a… something to settle with the king.” he replied.
“Whatever.” Terra replied “I think I can trust you.” She walked up to the wall of the alley and groped along the wall for a few minutes, seemingly looking for something. Her hand slid onto a button. The wall rumbled for a moment, before part of it, big enough for a man to walk into, slid back to reveal a passage.
Sig watched thoughtfully as Terra walked in. When he didn’t follow, Terra flipped her hair and pointed her gun at him again “If you decide not to join, I’ll have to kill you.” Dax opened his eyes wide and looked at Sig.
Sig looked at Terra, then at Dax. He followed her. There’s nothing else to do, he told himself, After all, there’s nothing more dangerous than an enemy with nothing to lose. And that’s exactly what I am.
It took what seemed like hours for Terra to explain what the Rebels cause was, the few rules and basic mission structure. Dax spent half the time annoying both Sig and Terra with his endless face-making.
But Sig and Dax new what they were going to be doing, and that’s what mattered. Well, Sig did anyway.
Terra led Sig and Dax into a large, underground room. At the center of the room sat a large white desk, covered in paper. Behind it, on the wall a large map of Belezza city was taped, along with various other posters, of Terra and what appeared to be other Rebels in various poses and fighting stances. There was even a poster of a cruel-looking King Endil with bloody words “Death to Endil”. At one end of the room stood a black-marble heart, and inside burned a fire.
Sig watched the dancing flames, imagining images of war and death. He shuddered, the torture did more to him than alter his appearance.
“Here’s your first mission”
Terra’s voice jerked Sig back to reality. He rubbed his throbbing temple and looked up “Yeah…?”
“There’s an ammo dump at the prison that, if used, could kill thousands. The King is probably planning something horrible with all that ammunition. You have to destroy it before he and Arol have a chance to use it!” Terra explained.
The blond girl walked up to the desk and searched through a file. After leafing through the papers, she came across a small map of the city. She removed it and set it on the desk. She grabbed a ball point pen from a stack of pens and circled an area on the map, beckoning Sig come and look at the map.
“This is where the prison is.” She said tracing her hand over the circle. She marked an X on another area on the map, on the other side of the city “This is the hideout, where we are now.” She said, putting her index finger on the X.
“So you want us to get rid of this ammo, huh?” Dax begun “Well, this is your problem! What if thousands die? As long as it’s not us, right Sig?” He asked and continued without waiting for a reply “Come on Sig! We can just leave and get that Endil guy ourselves!”
“Dax!” Sig exclaimed, giving his friend an astonished look. How can he say that? Sig thought I don’t give a care about most of the people in this city, but thousands would die! And we need the Rebels help to get revenge on King Endil.
“Dax, we need to do this. Aren’t you up for a little rumble?” He asked, grinning, thinking of all the fun they’d have blowing up ammo.
Dax considered it for a moment and grinned “You’re right, this could be fun!” He laughed. “You can count on us, Terra!”
Terra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, “Are you still here?”
An hour later, Sig and Dax were staring at the very prison they had just escaped from. Dax gulped “Are you sure this was such a great idea?”
Sig grinned “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Dax!” He gripped the side of the prison wall and started climbing, glad that it wasn’t a smooth wall like the city wall.
After a few minutes, Sig reached his hands up and grasped a window sill. His sweaty hands fought to stay holding the sill until he could climb into the open window, Dax following.
Sig jumped down onto the floor of the prison. He looked around, cells everywhere. Not a guard in sight, but he thought he could hear voices from around a bend to the right.
Dax jumped up on his best friends shoulder. “You hear that?” He whispered.
Sig nodded and put his index finger to his lips, gesturing for Dax to be quiet. Dax closed his mouth and leaned on Sig’s head.
Sig peered around the corner, sure enough, two guards stood guarding a long hall. Sig silently reached behind him and drew his gun, examining the guards crimson armor, searching for a weak point. The neck. There was no armor protecting their necks. Sig grinned and aimed his gun at the neck. They still didn’t see him. Bang! One guard fell, dead. Before the other could react, he was bleeding to death too. Sig put his gun away and continued along the hall.
Sig walked aimlessly along the corridor until he finally came to a door. He studied it for a moment before pushing on it. It didn’t budge. He leaned all of his weight against the door, but it still didn’t move. He backed up and took a running leap at it and it finally swung open.
He sighed and walked quietly in. At the center of a huge room were hundreds of steel boxes piled up to the ceiling. Sig figured that it must be the ammo that he was charged to destroy.
Dax jumped off Sig’s shoulder and looked up. “Wow.” Was all he could manage to say.
How could Terra have expected me to destroy all this? Sig wondered.
“Freeze!”
Sig spun around. A group of guards, about twenty or more, was running down the hall that they had came from. Dax gulped and jumped onto Sig’s shoulder. Sig drew his gun and began shooting at the guards. But before long, he realized that there were just too many guards.
An idea came to his mind and he raced for the stack of ammo. The guards continued shooting at him. A bullet was coming straight at him, and he ducked just before it hit him, and it smashed into the ammo, creating a small explosion. Sig held on to a small rail on the wall as the room shook with the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, all Sig and Dax saw were dead bodies of the guards and broken parts of the steel boxes. Sig grinned and headed back into hall from which they had come.
An hour later, Sig was back at the Rebels hideout. “And it was all blown up.” He finished explaining to Terra.
Terra nodded “That’s great, er…” She paused for a moment “I don’t really have anything else for you to do right now…” She muttered.
Sig shrugged “Um, okay. Whatever, I’ll come back later.” He turned his back to Terra and grinned as he walked out of the room. Dax jumped off the desk and followed his friend.
Sig slid his finger onto the button that opened the secret door. The door slid slowly open and he stepped out into the sunlight. He squinted for a moment until his eyes were adjusted to the light.
Sig looked up at the palace towering above the city. That stupid king is somewhere up there, and I’m going to find him, he told himself. Dax jumped onto Sig’s shoulder “What are you staring at?” He asked.
Sig shook his head “I’m going to give Endil a little surprise.” He said, grinning evilly. Dax frowned and smacked his head.
Sig eyed the ferret for a moment before starting to walk towards the palace.
Two hours later Sig stared up at the towering palace. How am I going to get up there? Sig wondered hopelessly.
“Uh, Sig… You do know that there are elevators underground that will take you up there, right?” Dax asked.
Sig smacked his head. “Why didn’t you say that before?!” He roared angrily “We could have saved a lot of time, instead of having to walk through the city for hours just to find that there wasn’t a way in!”
Dax shrugged “I thought you knew…”
“You’ve been here for three years while I was in prison! You expect me to know as much about this stupid city as you do?!” Sig pushed the furry ferret off his shoulder and stomped away.
Dax stared after his retreating friend and shook his head, fighting the tears that urged him to cry. He crossed his arms and silently followed his friend. He wouldn’t leave his friend no matter what happened.
Sig looked over his shoulder to see if Dax was following. He didn’t even see him at all. He sighed Yeah, figures. I never should have thought he would stay with me. He put his hands in his pockets and dragged his feet along in search of the elevators.
After walking around for hours, Sig was ready to give up hope. The sun had scorched his skin and his feet were sore from walking around for so long.
Sig looked up and saw a door on the palace wall and approached it. I have nothing to loose he told himself, besides, I have no where else to go.
He looked around to make sure no one was around, he saw no one, so he pushed open the door. To his surprise, it slid open easily. He smiled and stepped into the elevator.
Sig grasped the railing on the side of the elevator. He could see no controls to operate it, so he stood back for a moment, staring at the ceiling.
After a minute, the door slammed shut. Sig started, surprised, and looked around. The elevator lurched and shot up at full speed, making Sig’s stomach churn.
When the elevator came to a sudden stop, Sig thought he was going to be sick. The door opened and he staggered out, dizzily.
Once Sig felt more stable, he looked up. In front of him stretched two long halls. He looked from the left to the right passages. Great! Now where do I go? He sighed, and took the left way.
Dax walked dizzily out of the elevator and looked up. “Where did he go?” He asked himself. He sighed and took the right hall, hoping that he was still following his friend.
Sig staggered out of the hall and into a circular room. He sighed, he was going around in circles. He looked at the ceiling, angrily, as if that was his escape.
“Ah!” He heard a small shriek and fell face first to the ground. He clenched his fist and sat up, looking behind him to see what he had tripped on.
“Dax!?” Sig looked at the ferret, surprised. “What are you doing here!?”
Dax shrugged, looking at his paws.
Sig stood up and glared at Dax “Go away!”
“Sig… What is wrong with you? I just wanted to know you were okay!” Dax yelled angrily.
Sig looked away “I don’t need help from a ferret!” He yelled “I can take care of myself!”
Dax looked at his paws “Fine… Have it your own way. See if I care.” He said sadly.
Sig ignored him and stalked out of the room.
Dax watched his best friend leave him again. He sighed and looked up, just in time to see one of the kings guards enter the room. He gulped and drew his small dagger, ready to fight. The guard looked around him and saw him. Dax grimaced and ran toward the guard, dagger ready.
When Dax was a few inches from sticking his dagger into the guards leg, the guard picked him up and laughed at him. Dax scowled and struggled to break free.
The guard laughed again and hit Dax on the head, knocking him out.
Sig trudged slowly along the hall, lost in thought.
Maybe I shouldn’t have treated him like that…
He deserved it!
No he didn’t! He came even when I got angry at him.
Sig put his hands on his head. Thoughts spun around his brain, and he didn’t know what to think. He felt like screaming, but he didn’t.
Sig dismissed the thoughts and kept walking until he came to a large room. He gasped when he looked up. The room was huge. Tapestries and weapons covered the walls on either side. A long red carpet stretched down to where he stood from a throne at the end.
Sig gulped. Sitting on the throne was a dark haired man wearing a long red robe. A golden crown adorned his head. He was staring right at Sig.
But the King was not what made Sig nervous. It was the unconscious ferret in a cage next to the throne. Dax.
Next to Dax’s cage stood Arol. Her red hair that fell over her tattooed face made it hard to identify her, but Sig would recognize her anytime.
“Ah, so you’ve finally come?” King Endil’s voice gave Sig the chills.
Sig didn’t answer him and just started walking up to the throne. When he was a few yards from the throne Arol drew her gun and aimed it at Dax “One more step, and the ferret gets it.”
Sig gulped and looked determinedly at Arol, but didn’t move. He couldn’t risk loosing Dax. He looked at the ground, trying to think of something to do. Movement from behind the throne caught his eye.
He looked up and saw a flash of blond hair. He smiled. Terra. She peeked out from behind the throne and smiled at him, giving a thumbs up.
He grinned and looked up at the King. “Fine. You win. Do whatever you want, but don’t hurt the ferret.”
The King and his guard smiled. Sig realized that Dax had woke up and was staring at him in astonishment. He clenched his fists and shook his head, mouthing “Don’t do it!”
Sig just winked at him.
Terra jumped out from behind the throne, surprising the king and making him fall on top of her. She gave a small yelp as she was trapped under him.
Sig took his chance for revenge. Before the king could get up, he drew his gun and shot him in the head.
Blood poured out of the gun wound, the king was dead. But Sig didn’t care about that. He turned to Arol and Dax. Arol had drawn both her guns and was advancing towards Sig. He held his gun tightly and aimed it at her chest and pulled the trigger.
Arol dodged the bullet and continued advancing.
Terra pushed the body off her and stood up, drawing her gun. Arol looked from Terra to Sig.
“You win this time, but I’ll be back.” She spat at them and turned around, and ran out of the room.
Terra started to run after her, but Sig stopped her “No, let her go.” He said and turned to Dax.
Dax glared at him from inside the cage. “Well…”
Sig smiled and opened the cage. The ferret jumped out and looked up at his friend “Thanks…” he smiled.
Sig smiled “I owe it to you.”, he said, thinking of when Dax had saved him when he was in prison, “Besides, I couldn’t let anything happen to you!”
Dax grinned and jumped onto his best friends shoulder.
Terra walked up to them and smiled “You have no clue how great this day is. By defeating Endil, you’ve saved many, many lives.”
One Week Later
Sig stood on the balcony of the palace, staring into the sunset. Terra stood next to him. Somehow, he didn’t feel great about killing the King. His revenge didn’t feel as great as he had thought it would. But he knew that, by defeating the evil king, he had saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives.
Terra sighed “I still can’t believe that Belezza city is free from Endil!”
Sig nodded “You know, I don’t feel all that great about killing him and getting revenge, only all the lives that were saved by doing it.”
Terra nodded looked into his green eyes, and he stared back into her bright blue eyes. They both smiled. Sig felt a feeling he had never felt before, looking into Terra’s beautiful eyes. Is this love? He wondered.
Sig put his arms around Terra and drew her near to him. She smiled and gave him a small kiss. Sig looked at her oddly for a moment, then smiled and pulled her into another kiss. Yes, this is love. And it is the best feeling that I have ever experienced.
Xx Vampire Dragon xX Community Member 
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