The First Collar Ch. 02: A Doomed Patrol

That night went on one fantastic event phasing into the next, dances and drinking followed by a massive feast and of course even more alcohol. Lite lanterns hanging all over the place and casting soft shadows across the vast fields and people moved from field to field celebrating with each newly joined family. Usually, the Grayland Grazers were not ones to get wild, but on this night every year, caution was thrown to the wind, and everybody caught loose and enjoyed themselves. The only people not celebrating were those still standing watch on the wall, but that didn't stop a few rapscallions from traveling to the wall and slipping them some wine and party favors. The day before these festivities, a messenger had arrived from the wall bringing with him word from Olivia's cousin, his message was that he wished to see her and that he had something to tell her. So, she had been planning to be one of those rapscallions tonight, and once she could slip away from her mother, make her way up to the wall to see her cousin. It took moving between a few different parties and finding a family celebration where her mother knew someone to get her distracting so Olivia could grab a bottle and slip away.

Journeying down the long dirt road she made her way to the high wall, and it had been so long since she had seen her cousin, ever since he had taken his place at the wall he had not returned. Olivia's mother would tell her that it was normal, that every recruit was kept at the wall for quite some time while they trained before they were allowed to return to the pastures and their family. Even knowing that it was normal, that did not stop Olivia from feeling nervous that something had gone wrong and that she may never see her cousin again. They had both grown up together, both only children to their parents and both having lost one of their parents when they were very young, it had made them grow so very close. Olivia's father also served on the wall, and he had died while on patrol outside the wall when she was five, Marcus' mother died in labor bringing him into this world when he was around the same age. Because of all that tragedy, their surviving parents who were siblings decided it was best for all of them to move in together, and they did it to bring more stability to all of their home lives. It had worked exactly as they planned, so while Marcus was technically her cousin and she even thought of him as such, in her heart he held the place that a brother would have held if she had ever had a brother. Similarly, her uncle grew to become like a father to her, though not ever entirely as she still had memories of her father, unlike Marcus, who had ultimately adopted Olivia's mother as his own.

Reaching the entry gate, Olivia spoke to the two men and two women that guarded this inward facing gate.

"I am here to see my cousin Marcus Brinewater; I got a message from him that he wants to see me."

The guards turned and looked towards her studying her briefly before speaking, "Do you have some sort of proof?" one of the female guards spoke up to ask her.

"I... no I don't, it was just told to me by a messenger."

The guards looked at each other and began to mumble amongst themselves, Olivia stood there trying not to look nervous, but she had the feeling it was fairly obvious to them that she was. After what seemed to be an eternity of the four guards talking amongst themselves, one of them approached her and motioned to her side.

"What have you got there?" he asked.

Olivia reached to her side and dug her hand into her pants where she had stuffed the bottle that she swiped from the party where she had ditched her mother.

"Oh, this...?"

Moving her hands forward, she displayed the bottle to the guards, their eyes very clearly lite up as some lantern light bounced off the bottle and revealed the label making it clear to them what it was. The guards shifted amongst themselves mumbling once again, and they seemed to be thinking something over and debating it amongst themselves, this was going exactly how Olivia had planned.

She spoke up, "Well... I mean I was going to bring this bottle to my cousin... but I could always give it to you four Instead, I am sure he wouldn't mind."

One of the female guards gave her a slight smirk and knowing glance and then lifted her arm, opening her hand and speaking up. "Give the bottle here and move along to your cousin; we promise not to say anything."

Returning the same glance to the female guard, Olivia handed over the bottle to her and stepped forward following where they motioned her to slip in through a side door and make her way into the fort. One of the male guards stopped her for a moment to explain that he knew Marcus and to point out which way she should go to get to him, Olivia made sure to jot down each direction given to her mentally. It did not take her that long to make her way across the camp it seemed that everyone was either asleep or off having a mini celebration for 'The Day of Merges.' Ducking around a few corridors creeping across one large open area and then slipping up a long series of steps Olivia found herself in the barracks of the fort, counting the number of doors she had been told and she was then standing at Marcus's door. With a very subtle knock she pushed the door in and peeked her head inside the room scanning around until she caught sight of Marcus sitting on his bed reading, he glanced up from his bed, and their eyes met. She leaped into the room and bounded across it, jumping on top of him and embracing Marcus in a big probably too tight hug, they both smiled and held each other for a moment.

Marcus spoke up first "I am glad you came; I didn't know if you would be able to slip away."

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, Marcus, you know me better than that."

They both chuckled, and he nodded, "You have always been rambunctious, I had almost forgotten, it has been so long."

They both reflected on the two years that had passed since Marcus had left for the wall, on everything that had changed for both of them in that time and how much they had missed each other. Sitting up the two broke their hug, and Marcus stood moving across the room to shut the still hanging open door, once it was closed, he turned and looked to Olivia a slightly more serious look on his face.

"So... I think I should get to what I wanted to tell you why I asked you to come to see me tonight, Olive."

Settling into his bed, she spoke: "I am just happy to see you, but um I am curious, so what is it?"

Marcus shifted, walking back and forth a little almost pacing in his room, and he fiddled with his hands and fumbled with his words. "I... well... I think I have a way to get you to the other side of the wall; I can take you with me beyond the wall."

Marcus sounded crazy; what did he mean to go beyond the wall? How could she do that? Going beyond the wall was only for those that serve on the wall and as she has learned since being here not even all of them were allowed out.

"Trust me Olive I know it sounds scary, but I have a way to get you out and back safely, haven't you always wanted to see the world outside? When we were little, it was all you ever talked about."

He was right she did go on regularly about how she wished to see the world outside when she was young, Olivia had a vivacious spirit and being born inside the gray mountains she always looked outwards wondering what lay outside her sight. What was past the mountains not just what was out there but what did it even look like, all she had ever seen her entire life was the long-outstretched fields of the green plains and the rigid, all-encompassing dull gray of the mountains. What was out there? What other shapes and forms could nature take? They had wood brought in that they used to build their fences for the pens and yet she had never seen what a tree looked like. That is all she ever thought about, she would draw out what she imaged and play around in her imaginary outer world sometimes she would have her cousin play with her, and she would pretend to be some strange, mysterious outlander who knew all the secrets of the world dragging him along as she showed him the world. He would often laugh at her ideas, but she could see the look in his eye, she knew he enjoyed it and got into the fantasy as much as she did.

After thinking on it for a while, she looked back up to Marcus and nodded, indicating that she did wish to go and that she would do it.

"Let's do it, only if you promise it won't cause any trouble for you then I will go."

Marcus smiled far broader and fuller than she thinks she had ever seen him smile. "Yes, of course, no trouble at all, when we return everyone will still be passed out or at best waking up from their night, it won't be hard to slip you back out of the fort."

In complete agreement, the two worked quickly throwing a spare set of patrol robes that Marcus had over the basic herder garments that Olivia was wearing and draping the hood over her head to conceal her face. Once dressed and ready the two slipped out of his room and made their way to meet up with the rest of Marcus's patrol team all of which Marcus had spoken to in advance that this may be happening, and they were all ok with it. The robes she wore were more to hide from the gate guards that watched over the exit they were leaving from into the outlands, it worked perfectly, and they slipped out into the world beyond the wall.

Her eyes went wide opening up to the entirety of what was physically possible her heart almost skipping a beat as she took in all that was around her, birds far larger and more beautiful then she had ever seen before flew across the sky. They seemed to be moving between the long-outstretched limbs of the grand domineering trees that spread out everywhere before her. The thing, however significant and imposing it was also seemed to be peaceful and would flow with the breeze almost dancing, it gave her a restful sense of peace inside that she had never felt before. Moving forward taking her first steps out into the world she almost lost full track of what was going on around her until Marcus grabbed her and nudged her to life to keep her moving with the rest of the group. They moved out further and further from the high wall entering into the forest, Olivia felt both excited and terrified as her home grew ever more distant and smaller behind her while her vision became clouded and covered, swallowed up by the trees.

The journey for quite some time moving through the woods and passing from one new wonderous site to another every time Olivia would stop to take it all in and Marcus would give her just a moment before bringing her back in ranks. It was not long before they had made it to the edge of another forest, and all the members of the patrol team were murmuring about how tired they were. So, it was decided by Marcus that they would stop for just a brief rest and that once they had finished resting and eating, they would turn around and make their way back to the gate. As everyone busied themselves setting up the camp, Marcus apologies to Olivia for having to cut the trip short and that he wished he could have shown her more of the Outlands.

"No, Marcus, it is ok, please, this is more than I ever thought I would see, thank you so much for giving me this experience," Olivia said.

They hugged it out and then Marcus went back to help the rest of the patrol team with setting up the temporary camp, as he did Olivia thought to herself that while what she said was true, she did still wish to see more. She knew there was little to no chance she would be able to see all of this again and that if she did it could be a year before she would have the ability to return, and that was assuming Marcus was still on patrol duty at that time.

At that moment a strange noise seemed to echo out from the forest all around her, and Olivia was suddenly shaken from her line of thought, glancing around something seemed to be off. Confusion surrounded Olivia all around her people were busy running around and shouting at one another readying up and pulling out weapons she was not aware anyone had pointed them up and away from the center of a small circle that everyone was forming. Not knowing what was going on or what to do; she stood there petrified as her heart beat faster and progressively faster eyes darting about into the dark woods that surrounded them all.

Little glints of light seemed to pop up into existence and then blink away, and out of existence just as quickly as they came, Strange noises shot their way out of the woods hitting her ear sharply, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Her mind raced, and her imagination took hold of her; she was trying to picture what this could all be what could be going on what was all of this. Then in a sudden movement several people immerged from the woods throwing knives that embedded themselves into the arms of those that were forming the circle some missing and whizzing past her to embed themselves into the ground behind and next to her.

The mysterious men surround her group deflecting the lunges of the patrol team members grabbing some of them and throwing them aside while others begin a back and forth of stabs, slices, and thrusts. Olivia feels the desperate urge to scream well up inside her but hold it back, knowing that there is nobody around, and her voice would never reach all the considerable distance back to where they came from. She sees the violence and ferocity of these men as they beat many of the patrol team every so often a few of them ganging up on one patrolman and disarming him only to stab into them over and over again dark red blood spilling out and lighting up as the light of the campfire reflects of it. She thinks to herself these men must be members of The Tribe she has never heard anyone else talked about ever before much fewer outsiders described as being this brutal and violent. Just as she is formulating these thoughts, one breaks through the line of patrolmen that is crumbling apart and makes his way towards her with a wicked grin on his face.

Bracing herself for what is to come she digs her heels in and tries to decide if she should stand and try and fight or flee and try to break out of the circle of chaos so that she can run and make her way back home. The moments seem to fly by, and she cannot come to a decision her mind is moving too fast, and her body is moving too slowly the man closes in closer, and a knife comes out stretching out like a long metal tendril reaching out for her. Olivia's eyes fixate on it, and she threw a handout in a wild and almost instinctual defensive maneuver, the man coming at her blinked quite surprised. The smirk melting off his face as her hand smacked up against his from the bottom the impact significant enough that he loses his grip and the knife flew from it and spins away across the ground. The man looks over at the knife surprised then his eyes cast back up to Olivia filled will a new sense of fury she can see the anger not well hidden under his semi-blank expression. Filled with adrenaline she swings again hoping for another miracle like the one she feels she had just performed, but no such luck this time as the murderous man grabs hold of her wrist and pulls jerking her aggressively towards him. Stumbling off her feet and losing the stance she was trying to hold she falls towards him, the man's arms spread out to catch and engulf her much like the forest did when she and the patrol team first entered the forest.

Now wrapped up in his arms that squeeze so hard in around her taking her breath away she struggles violently kicking about trying her best to dig her heels into him he moves his body out of the way of her kicks each time; clearly, this man has handled a struggling woman before. She cries out for help but knows there is nobody to help her every other member of the patrol team that has not already fallen is busy dealing with their struggles at the time. Olivia can feel the heavy breath of the man on her neck and can feel him rustling behind her as he loses an extra knife from its hidden sheath and brings it up to her cheek, shivers and freezing she stops struggling, and fear fills her body. The man runs his knife over her cheek and whispers something into Olivia's ear, but she is too frantic with worry and wild with adrenaline, so it does not register in her mind, and his words slip past her going unnoticed. After a long pause and a moment of wandering hands, he pulls back the knife lining it up with her heart preparing to plunge it in before he shoves the knife into her chest someone comes rushing from the side and tackles him off her. Olivia falls to the ground and looks over, seeing Marcus wrestling with the man fighting over the knife in the most intense struggle she has ever seen each fighting for survival and the chance to murder the other.

The struggle is quick even though it feels to go on forever in Olivia's mind, the back and forth between Marcus and the brutal ambusher ends with a sudden advantage gained by the ambusher which leads to a swift smack to the back of Marcus' head with the hilt of the knife which once graces Olivia's cheek. A screech that raises to a scream erupts from her mouth seeing her cousin drop to the floor slumped over knocked out and bleeding both from his head now and continuing to bleed from the arm that was sliced from some previous confrontation. The ambusher refocuses on Olivia and begins to walk his way over flipping his knife in his hand and an evil, menacing smirk crossing his face as he takes way more time then he needs, to cross the distance between them.

A subtle noise begins in the distance and starts percolating uprising and building from the faintest of sounds to a loud thunderous roar of wailing voices as a wild horde of men come crashing through the trees swarming over the whole group of people and situation that has been unfolding. Everyone is knocked over and piled on top of both patrol team, and ambushers alike following behind the swarm three men ride in on horseback moving in a triangle formation moving about the perimeter pushing people out of the way. The lead man on horseback turns his eyes wild, and as red as fire, his gaze meets with both Olivia's and the man standing above her holding the knife, he breaks out of formation and rides his way into the center bringing his horse right up to the ambusher. In one swift motion he leaps from his horse and walks up to the knife-wielding man who seems to now be just as frozen as Olivia once was, the fire-eyed man takes advantage of this and grabs the blade right out of his and hand and swiftly slides it along the other man's throat. A massive amount of blood leaks out pouring down his neck as he gasps and falls over this man that was once such a threat quickly dying right before her eyes.

Fire eyes strode over to Olivia with a steady, determined pace and without a single second of hesitation, the blade in his hand still dripping with the vibrant red blood of the slain attacker. Olivia steadies herself, she felt ashamed at how quickly she was beaten and taken and how defenseless she was, and all the feelings swirling around inside of her made her feel the need to stand up for herself more this time, to not be so weak. So even though this monster of a man was coming her way and she feared for her life, also thought she had lost all sense of what was going on in all the chaos and confusion, she stood up and faced the new threat.

She steadied herself and stared straight into the burning center of the monster's eyes and held herself together she did not move she did not shake or quiver she just held his gaze and put her hands up readying herself for a fight. Fire eyes reached her and stopped standing perfectly in front of her the eyebrow above his left eye raising as he glanced at her fists held high, she held her gaze, a smirk spread across his face but it seemed different from the last man's grin it felt somehow warm. Olivia pushed her fist forward landing a punch firmly in the middle of the man's chest feeling the soft crunch of her flesh against his, she cast her eyes up at him and watched filled with confusion. His smirk shifted and turned into a broad smile, this man who once seemed like the biggest monster in the world bigger even then her initial attacker suddenly began to laugh. Olivia's head tilted confusion raging in her mind as she stared wide eyed up at this man watching his demonic veneer melting away as his laughed bellowed out into the dark forest.