Beating (Book 1: Acts of the Hearth)

Chapter 31

In the present day, the young leader of the VeChrome tribe prepares for the battle against the gray shadowy menace that currently threatens his people.

     Walles stands before his mother. The woman raises his arms to shoulder height and places a special sort of wooden armor on his shoulders. The wood glows faintly through the lines engraved in it. She clads the young leader with shin guards made of the same material; tying each of the four pieces to the part of his body she attached them to.

     “If only your father had listened to me when I told him about the strengthening sap that rested in those withering trees. Then, I wouldn’t have to let our only son go off and lead the men to battle.” Angela states sweetly to Walles.

     “Will it really work…?” he expresses nervously. The older woman shoots the boy a sharp angering look. “Don’t start with this nonsense again, Walles! You are walking into victory! Have I not supplied you with the necessary tools to fight our enemy?” the woman says to him as she switches between annoyed and endearing.

     The boy flinches at the warping of his mother’s words and intentions. He quickly represses the reality of the situation before him and twist it to blind determination.

     “You will make your father proud, won’t you…?” Angela asks as she tightly grips Walles’s shoulders. “But, dad’s dead…” he thinks to himself.

     The woman tilts her head slightly. “That coward prince has brought fear to my family. You don’t need that child’s influence. Just be a strong man; like your father.” she demands of him as her grip is released.

     Walles walks out of the tent. Fear haunts him with each step. The memories of his father’s cries of anguish replay in his head as he walks by the people who bow and smile at him.

     Haunting images of the gray shadowy vines covering the body of the man he adored more than anyone, flicker ever rapidly as he looks to the men in the crowd that carried his maimed body back during that battle.

     All at once the weight of his reality falls heavy upon the young chief’s chest. Walles begins hyperventilating faster and quicker as he continues to walk. The people’s smiles soon turn to stares of concern.

     The boy gasps loudly with wheezing as the view he watches before him tilts and turns. His view becomes shorter and shorter as the men rush in to grab him. Time moves slowly for him as his mother’s head hangs over him. The woman smacks her tongue against her teeth and rolls her eyes.

     “Ma—mom…I can’t! I can’t do it! Dad couldn’t do it! I’m scared… I’m scared!” the young boy cries with erratic breathing through the sentences. Angela frowns at him. “He will be fine once he is on the battlefield. Our Chief is just a little confused at the moment. You’ll watch after my boy, won’t you?” the woman begs kindly to the warriors.

     Travis stands afar off, but still nearby to witness Walles’s breakdown. He starts to walk over to the fallen young boy. Vivian slams her hand down on his shoulder and pulls him back aggressively. “Hello? Did you forget about your own plan? You’re going to wait until he needs your help on the battlefield, right?” Vivian squares up to Travis with a glare of intensity.

     Travis turns to look at her, but quickly returns his attention back to Walles. Men armed for battle proceed to carry the distraught chief to the dried lands.

     “Those idiots! Would you let go already?! They’re dragging him away to his death!” the young man roars as he snaps his shoulder out of the young woman’s grip. He continues walking forward.

     Vivian cuts off his advance. Slams her forearm into his neck with her bicep; raising his arm, wrapping her own around them both and tosses Travis to the muddy ground. The young man falls bottom first into the mud as it sticks to the edges of his robe. The young woman stands before him, high above his sight.