Burn Bright

People were rushing around, Gerard's announcement got the whole village in an uproar. People were readying for a battle, Bandit was looking around for either her mother or her father but couldn't find them. After twenty minutes of searching she finally spotted her mother, her long black braid separating herself from the other people surrounding her. Bandit rushed over to her mother who was talking with a few of the elders, she could tell her mother was frazzled by the way she was talking with her hands.

The elders looked worried themselves, they hadn't seen a war with the warlocks in over sixty years. The last one they barely came out victorious, they weren't sure if they could beat the warlocks this time. Bandit grabbed Lindsay's arm gently, she looked at her daughter with sad eyes, “I'm sorry sweetie, I can't talk now. Go find your uncle, he'll make sure you get home okay.”

Bandit nodded, knowing her mother had important business with the elders. She scanned the crowd until she saw Mikey, he was still with Kristen and Luke. He held Kristen protectively, he wouldn't admit to anyone that he was scared, however he was terrified. The warlocks were the people that murdered his parents when Gerard and him were kids. All he could think about was his mother’s empty eyes.He knew that they were serious about their threat, they wanted blood and they were going to get it.

Bandit ran up to Mikey and Kristen looked at her with apologetic eyes, “I'm sorry that this happened on your birthday Bandit.” She said, Mikey nodded in agreement.

“Do you need me to walk you home?” Mikey asked, Bandit nodded her head. Mikey kissed Kristen goodbye and ushered Bandit away. “You okay kid?” He asked looking at Bandit with a worried expression.
Bandit shook her head, “I don't know…what's going to happen now? If we are going to war against the warlocks how are we supposed to win? They know how to use magic, all we have is a couple people who can turn into animals.”

“We've done it before Miss B, we can do it again. Don't worry we'll get these guys.” Mikey tried to reassure his niece, but his tone wasn't very believable.

“Those poor men…do you think all the others that disappeared are dead too?” She asked, looking up at her uncle. Mikey sighed and scratched the back of neck.

“Honestly B, yeah. The warlocks don't keep prisoners for long.”

“How do you know?” Bandit asked.

“They didn't keep my parents for longer than a day.” Mikey muttered before motioning to his niece’s home.
“Here we are…stay inside until your father or mother comes home.” He turned away before Bandit had the chance to say anything. Her father hadn't really talked about his parents much, she knew that they were killed by warlocks, but she hadn't know that they were their prisoners.

Bandit sighed and closed the door, she walked to her room and collapsed on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling and yearned to be on top of that mountain again. She wanted to feel the wind rushing through her hair, she didn't want to feel the pressures of the tribe. She didn't want to know about the impending war with the warlocks. She didn't want to have the fear inside her, the fear that people she loved could be killed. As the chief her father was a big target, he may not understand her, but he taught her so much, and she did love him.

Bandit got back to her feet and slipped out of her dress, she pulled on her cotton sleep pants and the wool sweater her mother had made for her. She fell back on the bed and let her eyelids close, she wanted sleep to take her away to a place where there were no warlocks, there was no war, and she could be happy and free.

She was flying, she smiled at her reflection on top of the water. She brushed her fingers across the glassy water, making ripples in the service. She laughed in wonder as she flew higher and higher, above the mountain tops, above the clouds. She let a holler escape from her mouth, nobody was here to judge her, nobody was here to talk about honoring the tribe. It was just her, her and the wind. She was free.

“Bandit! Bandit! Wake up!” She felt her shoulders being shook and her eyes jolted awake. Her mother was there, ash covered her face and hair fell loosely from her braid. “C’mon sweetie we got to go.” Suddenly Bandit was aware of the screams she heard from outside her room. Orange light made her room glow, her village was on fire. Bandit shot up to her feet and hurriedly pulled on her boots. Lindsay grabbed Bandit’s hand and they ran out of the house.

Bandit’s eyes grew wide in horror as flames fell from the sky and crashed onto the houses of the village. Gerard saw his family and rushed towards them, “Are you two okay?” He yelled over the commotion. Both Lindsay and Bandit nodded, he wrapped his arm around Bandit and he escorted them through the village. Houses were being burned to the ground, bodies were smoldering, men, women, and children, it didn't matter. Bandit looked at every body that she could, making sure that it wasn't a loved one.

Frank was carrying his young son, and held his daughter’s hand. They ran deeper into the forest, she had to ignore the fact that he just watched his wife and one of his daughters die. The house collapsed on top of them, there was nothing that he could've done. He just had to make sure the rest of his family was safe. His daughter struggled to keep up with her father, he was a lot faster than she was, even with her training. Frank finally made it to the underground safe house. He ushered his daughter in first and followed in closely after her.

Gerard and his family made it to the safe house, Bandit and Lindsay pushed aside the wall of ivy leaves that covered the entrance into a cave, Bandit was in awe of how big the area was. Some of the people of the village had already made it, they were all covered in soot, and some had some serious burns. Gerard looked over his daughter to make sure she hadn't been injured, once he confirmed that she hadn't, he kissed the top of her head lovingly. He brought both his wife and daughter into a hug, “I was terrified that I lost you both.” He whispered and Bandit could've sworn she saw a tear fall from his eye.

More people began to pile in, only a few elders had made it so far. Without the elders the tribe didn't stand a chance of defeating the warlocks, they were the only ones who knew some spells that could counter the warlocks attacks. Mikey, Kristen, and Luke were the last to arrive, Mikey walked up to his brother, “We got everyone that we could out…but the whole village is gone.”

Gerard eyed the bright red burn that adorned Mikey’s skin, along his jawline and on his neck. “You're injured.” He stated.

“I tried to save one of the elders but the building collapsed just as I was about to go in.” Mikey explained, he looked around the room and figured only about half of the tribe made it. “What are we going to do now?”

Gerard sighed heavily, “I don't know, we only have a weeks worth of supplies down here.”

“Tomorrow morning Frank, Ray, Luke and I will see if anyone or anything survived the fires. I didn't think the warlocks would launch an attack of this magnitude. This is bold, even for them.” Mikey stated, Gerard agreed with his brother. This attack was merciless, uncharacteristically violent for the warlocks. Yes they took the men of the tribe, but, with the exception of his mother, they had not gone after women or children; and tonight countless women and children had been killed, including more than half of the elders.

“Alright, try and get of some sleep, and make sure to get some ointment on that burn of yours, we can't afford for that to get infected,” Gerard stated, Mikey nodded and walked away, Kristen following close behind, Gerard turned to face his daughter, “Same thing goes for you, try and get some sleep. But there is a favor I must ask of you.”

“Anything father, what do you need?” Bandit asked, anxious to help her father in any way possible.

“I need you to stay here. Do not leave this place. The woods are not safe anymore, the warlocks will take anyone, it won't matter that you are a child.” Gerard ordered.

Bandit’s heart fell, “But I can help, when will you trust me? I'm not a child anymore.”

“This is not a debate Bandit, you will stay down here where it is safe.” Gerard growled, Bandit felt hurt, her father didn't trust her. As the chief’s daughter she should be helping out above, she should be helping to protect her tribe, not hiding underground like a coward.

“Mikey has been training me in combat, I know how to defend myself. Let me help the tribe.” Bandit begged.

“You are my daughter, and I am telling you that you are going to stay down here. That is final.” Gerard barked, before turning on his heel and walking away. Lindsay extended her hand to comfort her daughter but Bandit pushed it away and stormed off. Bandit found an unoccupied corner and sat down, she was angry, angry that her father wasn't allowing her to help. How am I ever going to take over the tribe if he never lets me have responsibilities, Bandit thought bitterly to herself.

Before shutting her eyes and trying to get some sleep, she came up with a plan. She was going to help her tribe even if her father forbid it. Tomorrow she was going to find the location of the warlocks, and then her tribe would have the upper hand, they would no longer be in the dark about the warlocks location. Because of her, her tribe would be victorious.

Notes

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