Chapter 57 - Breaking Point

“Stay down.” Andrew hissed at the group he had saved from the fires and explosions. They would have died if he had not interfered.

After parting from his friends, Andrew headed back to the empty Obron’s residence. There had been chaos everywhere, and now…

“Shhh…” Andrew waved his wards to stay closer to the wall. The surrounding buildings were just rubble now. There weren’t many places where six people could hide.

And now it was worse.

The explosions, screaming, praying, death, fire and worse were everywhere. Andrew blinked the tears out of his eyes. He wasn’t ready. This was too much. His trembling arms betrayed his state of mind. The help had to come soon. He couldn’t do this alone.

And yet, currently, Andrew was the best bet these people had. With Mr Crow as a guide, they could get out of the city. He could save these people. They trusted him to get them out.

Mr Crow called his voice almost entirely drowned by another explosion. But it was a sign it was safe to move further. The attackers had moved further south to raise more hell, to kill more people.

Andrew had failed to save so many. He cursed his cowardice and how indecisive he could be. There had been a chance to kill a team of these intruders.

Three of them had stood before Andrew, none the wiser of his presence, slaughtering their way towards one of the guard stations. All of them were weak, and only one used a mana bolt.

And Andrew had done nothing. He felt himself start to hyperventilate. It took him almost a minute to become calm enough to resume breathing normally.

“We move,” Andrew commanded the tethered bunch. Two men, two women and a young boy. There were more people along the way who begged for help, but he could not take them. He could not bring more with him and ensure they were safe. Five was already pushing what was possible for him and Mr Crow.

After the first step, they were forced to stop for a moment as the ruined building in front of them collapsed in flames. It didn’t matter much, but they had to take a short detour.

When Andrew stepped over another dead family, he had to admit it did matter. Every time they had to prolong their path, it was harrowing. He doubted there would come a day he would be able to sleep without seeing these dead eyes in his dreams.

A loud boom reminded them that they had to move faster. Andrew quickened his step and winced when he had to step into a large pool of blood to advance. His shoes were coloured red from how much gore there was on the ground.

Mr Crow cawed, and Andrew stopped his party. Two guards rushed around the corner and spotted them. “Survivors!” One of them exclaimed.

It was the last time he did. A large bolder smashed the man into a pile of burning wood, extinguishing his life.

The other feared better. The woman responded immediately and jumped to the side, and the attack aimed at her missed.

Andrew did not watch further. He rushed the five followers to run. They had to get away.

The alley they ran through was early untouched. Only at the end of it, there were more corpses. Andrew felt the energy sap out of him. They had to make a choice if they turned left or right.

Both choices led towards a confrontation.

A part of him wished Mila and Isabel were here. Especially the former. Andrew oftentimes hated how Mila acted, but she ‘ACTED’. There rarely was a moment of indecision with her.

Andrew could talk, but now he needed to act. And it was hard.

“M-Mister…” One of the women tried to speak.

But Andrew did not register it. Would right be better or left? Mr Crow gave a sign. On the left, guards had won.

“Left.” Came an easy decision. Behind them, a sad scream announced the death of the guard woman.

They started to run. The street was too open. They were too easy to spot. Andrew clenched his teeth. Mr Crow’s voice was drowned by a rumbling noise of something heavy smashing together.

“M-Mister!”

There was a call behind Andrew, forcing his attention to shift. He looked back, noticing one of the men was holding his stomach, stimming the bleeding.

“When?” Andrew palled. “When? When?” He demanded. They had been so careful!

“I am fine.” The man panted. “We have to move.”

He did not look fine. Andrew rushed towards the man to see how bad it was. There was a large, bleeding gash cutting into the man’s torso.

“We can’t wait!” One of the women tugged on Andrew’s cloak.

“He will have to move.” The other man pleaded.

“When?” Andrew did not understand. When had the man been injured? How had he missed it?

“Mister!” The boy cried.

“Move…” Andrew whispered. Yes, that was what they had to do. The Obron’s residence was not far. They just had to reach the underground passage. Silinth had secured and reinforced it. “Move!” He commanded.

There was another Mr Crow’s attempt at giving Andrew a message, and again, it was drowned by the surrounding mayhem.

“There!” Two armed men found them standing in the middle of the street.

They had just started to move. Andrew managed to turn his head just in time to see one of the men release a crossbow bolt towards their group.

The bolt flew in slow motion. Andrew saw it clearly. Silinth had hammered into him again and again how important it was for a mage to be able to follow fast movements.

But it didn’t help. Andrew froze. He had to do something. Anything. A spell. Yes, he knew a few. There had to be one that he could use. A simple mana bolt would do. Just shoot it at the projectile to intercept it.

Andrew fumbled the first attempt. And it was all it took for another life to be lost. The bolt vanished in the back of one of the women, making her trip and fall to never rise again.

“No…” All he managed was a whisper. This was so unnecessary. These people were civilians. They knew not how to fight. All of this bloodshed for the nebulous goal of inflicting enough fear to scare away the predators.

Mr Crow’s high-pitched call filled the street. The two attackers stumbled. They dropped their weapons and grabbed their heads, trying to keep out the bird’s mental attack from their minds.

But before Andrew could gather himself, one of the flaming supporting beams from the nearby building gave and nearly crushed them. He managed to grab the boy and pull the surviving women out of the way, but…

The uninjured men left the injured one to die. He didn’t even try to help. Andrew froze, his eyes wide. Why? Why hadn’t the man helped the other? Why were humans so selfish? Why couldn’t he do more?

Andrew felt his breathing grow faster once again. He was sweating cold sweat despite the blaze that surrounded them.

Mr Crow tried to wake Andrew up. He heard his buddy’s call. The boy in his hands struggled, and the woman took him away. It was hard to breathe. He needed more air.

With the flaming debris in the way, the two attackers were cut off from them. Andrew knew this was the chance they needed. Mr Crow tried to snap him out of the trance by swooping by and pecking his forehead.

It worked. Somewhat. Andrew started to move, but his mind was elsewhere. Those two were under his protection, and he failed to save them. “Why didn’t you help?” His whisper was dry and coarse. The surviving man didn’t hear him.

“Why didn’t you HELP?” Andrew needed to know. He reached out and yanked the man back. “Why?”

But the man only looked at him in confusion. “Let go!” He swatted Andrew’s hand away. “We have to-”

The following heavy impact nearby overcame the man’s words. Andrew just looked at the three people that were left. They were now ahead of him, trying to escape. Were they planning to leave him behind?

After what Andrew had done for them? He had led them this far, and now they saw him as an obstacle. Even the child looked at him as if he was the strange one.

That couldn’t be. Was he in the wrong? Andrew felt the panic grow worse. The surroundings grew blurry. His limbs filled with lead, refusing to move.

“CALM DOWN!”

A sudden voice woke Andrew up. Just like the woman’s earlier, this one was overbearing as well and made everyone aware of it. It made them listen.

“FIND THE CLOSEST GUARD OR SOLDIER AND SEEK THEIR INSTRUCTIONS! THOSE WHO CAN HEAD TOWARDS THE CLOSEST GATES AND LEAVE THE CITY!” The voice of an elderly man ordered.

The surrounding chaos seemed to retreat. The flames died down. The sounds of fighting lessened. The smoke above them cleared.

But just as soon as the clarity appeared, it was consumed by the madness that still permeated the city.

Andrew felt some energy return to his body. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. There still was more to do. He couldn’t give up now.

The trio in front of him… They didn’t even know about the passage. They couldn’t run all the way to the gate. There were too many enemies still in the streets. Andrew had to tell them-

But these people Andrew had rescued were already running. They had relied on him, and now they left him behind.

“Why?” Andrew whispered. Mr Crow let out a sad cry above him.

Isabel and Mila would never have left him. They would have done everything to help. Yes, these people were strangers, but they were all human? Why hadn’t they helped him as he had them?

Andrew felt, somewhere deep inside him, a precious something break. He had left Isabel and Mila behind. Why had he left them behind?

Tears rolled down his cheeks, soon to be evaporated by the rising heat. Andrew felt his legs give. He landed painfully on his knees, hitting the ground.

There had been a good reason for Andrew to leave. He couldn’t stand seeing his friends take lives. He didn’t want to acknowledge that side of the girls. His reasoning had been so self-righteous. He truly believed it was for the best to show them that there was a choice to turn around and leave.

That had been a mistake, hadn’t it? Andrew hesitated. He still believed that they all had the option to turn around.

But…

But now that Andrew was here alone, abandoned by the same humans he had saved, he realised how foolish he had been.

Would Isabel and Mila stop now that he was here? No, of course, they wouldn’t. The difference was that Andrew had left them alone, possibly to die. He had missed the chance to try and do better. To prove that there were other ways. To see how they lived and help them to be better persons.

“There!” New voices called out.

Mr Crow sang above Andrew as he raised his eyes to see who it was. More enemies. Five of them. Through his blurry eyes, he couldn’t make out if they were part of the intruders or defenders.

And did it matter? Mr Crow informed him they had raised their weapons. Three of them were seemingly capable of casting spells.

But Andrew still had more to do. He still had to get back to earth and see his family. Andrew still had to get stronger. He still had to get back to his friends and apologise.

“Do what you must,” Andrew whispered.

An angry snarl announced the help's arrival. Terminator had finally found his way through the passage after he was called.

Andrew hung his head as the five people in front of him were torn into shreds as his bond proved just how apt his name was. This was, after all, the wolf’s duty the master had given to him.