A Dark Rider (Part 2)

His mind almost seemed absent at that point as she held on to him, thinking about how this little girl looked so vulnerable and helpless in front of him. She looked like she was about ten or less, just like he was back then. No, maybe he was even younger than her. Slowly as he remembered, the bad memories kept flooding in.

Almost forgetting where he was at that moment, at the front of the shack, his mount roars, fending off more enemies than they had anticipated. The rider quickly covers the little girl with his hooded clock and runs out to take care of the bandits surrounding his mount.

Without hesitation or thought, the rider swung his sword, falling the bandits one after the other. Yet the ones that picked off the bandits the fastest were the new enemies their fight had attracted. Three black wolves had their mouths and claws already drenched in blood from the remaining bandits. They had their den deep in the woods, as it seemed, and would have explained why the three in the shack had died the way they did. It was a miracle they hadn't smelled out the scent of the girl before he got-

"Ahh...!"

A loud cry came from the back of the shack, calling the attention of everybody there. The rider's eyes widened, realizing his blunder as he moved without hesitation to the source, and not before an unusual explosion came from that same direction.

In front of him, at the back of the now half-destroyed shed, were two dead wolves, one dead bandit, and one last bandit still standing with a sword. The little girl at the center. She stood there in awe and tears as the dark mist slowly swirled around her whole body.

"Y- You demon! We were told to take you in alive, but I am going to fucking kill you!" the last bandit screams as he charges at her.

"Please, just leave me alone!" the little girl shouted as the dark mist swirled violently around her and towards the bandit, enveloping him in the air and finally crushing him right in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the dark mist around her and the slight blood that splattered over her hand and dress. "N-no no. this...isn't real. Not again." Her hands trembled as her voice creaked, and she was almost unable to breathe.

The rider stood still in front of the scene without a word. Her eyes slowly looked unto him.

"Please, stop, just... stay back! Don't come any close to me!"

"...It's alright. Calm down..."

"Don't...don't come near me, or you'll also get killed!" she screams as the rider moves forward, making her slowly back away with the mist still swirling violently around her. Just as she turns to run away, the rider grabs her arms. "I said don't come any closer!".

The dark mist envelops her body as it quickly crawls over to the rider's hand. Her sudden burst of anger quickly turns into cries as the rider grunts in pain.

"S-stop. I said stop! Just stop hurting him, please!" the girl begged as the mist enveloped him, causing the scars over his arm to slowly grow.

"It's ok. I'm...fine.", the rider calls out, still in pain.

"No, you are not!" she shouted, tears in her eyes once more.

"Just close...just close your eyes.", he groaned.

She quickly closed her eyes, but soon after, she shook her head, trying to pull away from him.

"I...I can't. The voices. They scare me! I don't want to be all alone.", she called out, her voice held back by her cry.

Frozen in place by the dark mist, the rider's eyes could only start at the helpless girl in front of him, almost forgetting about the danger he was in. Just like before, the memories came flooding in. The memories of how he was left alone to fend for himself and how helpless he was.

As the rain slowly began to fall, the memories grew more vivid and resembled the unfortunate day of childhood even more. The rider moved forward despite the pain. His eyes misted over, and whether it was from the pain or the rain, water drops moved over his cheeks as he shifted his body to hug the girl. His body felt like it was being torn from the insides.

"It's ok, it's ok...It's ok now.", the rider whispered as he panted, hugging her tight. He remembered even more how helpless he felt, how lonely he was, and how he wanted someone to tell him the exact words he was telling her. His hug got tighter.

"I was so scared. I didn't want to hurt them. But they came closer and-"

"It's alright."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." the little girl whimpered in his arms. Her voice hitched as her body relaxed. The dark mist slowly disappeared over the rider.

"It's ok. I got you." the rider exhaled, feeling the relief of the dark mist from his body.

Slowly, tears continued to fall freely from her cheeks as the rain washed them away. Finally, not being able to hold it in anymore, she lets out an audible cry, one filled with fear, loneliness, and relief. Even as the rain around them got louder with them at the center of the mess of chaos, her helpless cries still rang through the forest and rain.

"It's now. I got you."