Two and One: Chapter 5

 Laira and Hope were kneeling on the ground, and their eyes were closed. They were chanting and singing.

The demons rushed towards the three of them.

"Hurry, Grak!" Laira shouted.

Grakdar grunted, but he did not move.

The demons charged towards him, and he swung his sword, knocking the demons back.

"Run, you fools!" he yelled, and he backed up.

The demons swarmed around him, and he knew he had no chance. Hope grabbed his hand.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light.

Hope opened her eyes and stared at Laira. They were in the middle of a forest clearing, full of flowers and light. The sky was dark and full of clouds, and the air smelled of wet grass.

Laira smiled, "We are safe."

Hope stared at her empty hand. "The tree. You took us through the roots with a tree travel spell? But..."

"It is the only way. They are our ancestors."

Hope hugged her sister. "It worked."

They both looked around.

Grakdar was not there.

"Oh, no," Laira said.

"Where is he?" Hope asked. "He is still fighting the demons! The tree did not take him! We must go back!"

Laira shook her head. "The magic will not work. We are too far away."

"We have to try," Hope said, and she reached out her hand.

"Hope," Laira said. "I am so sorry. We can't go back."

Hope stared at her sister. "We have to go back," she repeated.

"We can't," Laira said. "We are miles away. To the nearest Elf Tree. Even if we ran, we would be too late."

"But, Grakdar," Hope said, her eyes welling with tears.

"I know," Laira replied.

Hope turned away, unable to speak. She closed her eyes and cried.

"Hope," Laira said.

Hope didn't answer.

"Please, Hope," Laira said. "Grakdar was a brave warrior. He died honorably. I will make a prayer to the Great Tree to honor his memory."

Hope shook her head, her eyes filled with tears.

"It is not fair," she said. "It is not fair that he is gone."

"I know," Laira replied. "But we have to move on. We have to live. That is what he would have wanted."

Hope wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Are you alright?" Laira asked.

"No," Hope said.

"I'm sorry," Laira said.

"You should be," Hope replied. "You took us away from him. You saved us and left him to die."

"I had no choice," Laira said, trying to comfort her sister. "The tree's magic refused to take an orc. I can't control that!"

"It is not right," Hope said, tears running down her face.

"I know," Laira said, pulling her into an embrace.

"It is not fair."

"I know," Laira said. "But it is what happened."

Hope buried her face into her sister's chest and cried.

"Come," Laira said, taking her sister's hand. "Let's find shelter. It is not safe here. Let us do what he taught us to do. Survive."

Laira and Hope walked through the forest, looking for shelter. The forest was beautiful, but the dark clouds still loomed overhead, putting a deathly shadow upon everything in the woods.

"It is not right," Hope said, wiping the tears from her face.

"I'm sorry," Laira said. "The tree did not know better. There is nothing we can do."

"But we can stop the demons," Hope said. "What about what the elders said? That we have to save the world?"

"I don't know, Hope," Laira replied. "But we can't fight them. We are not warriors. I am a healer, and you are a mage."

"Grakdar was a warrior. And you saved him. Only to leave him there with the demons."

"He told us to run," Laira said. "To hide. We did."

"Yes, but now, he is dead. And we are still alive. That is not fair."

"Nothing is fair," Laira said.

"Why not?"

"Because the gods are cruel," Laira said.

"No, they are not," Hope replied.

"Yes, they are. Look at the world. It is a mess. And the demons are killing everyone. Why should we save a world that has treated us so badly?"

"Because it is the right thing to do," Hope said.

"How do you know?" Laira asked.

"I just know. Deep down. We have to stop the demons. Grakdar said the demons would destroy everything. He was right."

"I know," Laira sighed.

"We have to save the world."

"Even if it means sacrificing ourselves?"

"Yes."

"You are foolish, sister," Laira said, and she took Hope's hand. "Come. We need shelter."

Laira and Hope walked through the forest, looking for shelter.

"The clouds are getting worse," Hope said.

"I know," Laira said, looking up at the black storm clouds swirling overhead.

"We should find a place to hide," Hope said. "Look, some fallen logs over there, there is a spot under them, we could make shelter there."

"That would be good," Laira said, and the two walked towards the fallen logs.

"What will we eat?" Hope asked.

"We will find something," Laira replied.

"Like what?"

"Animals, berries, anything."

"And if we don't?"

"We will die," Laira replied.

The two sisters found a small cave under the logs, and they crawled inside.

"This will be our home for a while," Laira said.

"Will we be safe here?"

"I think so," Laira said.

The two sat quietly, the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"Why does it have to be like this?" Hope asked.

"Like what?"

"All of it. Why do the demons have to kill everyone? Why do the gods let them? Why does it have to be such a struggle?"

"Because the gods are cruel," Laira said.

"They can't be that cruel," Hope said.

"Yes, they can. And they are."

"But why?"

"Because that is the way of the world."

"I don't want the world to be that way," Hope said.

"Neither do I," Laira said. "But there are human gods, elf gods, orc gods, and all sorts of gods who battle over this world, and us little people get to suffer."

"It's not fair," Hope said.

"No, it is not."

The two sat quietly, the darkness settling around them.

"I miss him," Hope said.

"I know. I do too."

"He was a good orc," Hope said.

"He was," Laira replied.

"I wish things could have been different," Hope said.

"I do too," Laira replied. "Why don't you make the inside of the cave comfortable, and I will look for food?"

Hope sighed, "Are you sure it is safe alone?"

Laira shrugged, "What choice do we have? I will stay close."

"Okay," Hope said, and the two separated.

Hope started arranging the sticks and rocks into a shelter.

"Don't stray too far," she called.

"I won't," Laira replied, and she disappeared into the forest.

Hope watched her go and then went back to her work.

"What are we going to do?" she asked herself as she built a fire.

The forest was quiet, and the silence was eerie.

"I hope she is okay," she said, and she started to worry.

Hope had never been alone before. Not like this. She had always had her sister. Or her mother. Or someone.

Now, she was alone. In the forest. With demons and other creatures.

"She'll be back soon," she told herself, but she was worried.

Hope tried to stay busy, building the fire and the shelter. She found moss they could make cushions out of, and a few large leaves they could use to cover with and stay warm. She wasn't even sure when night would fall. The storm clouds were so dark, it was hard to tell.

"I hope she's okay," Hope said.

The sound of a branch breaking made her jump, and she spun around.

"Laira?"

There was no answer.

"Laira!" she called, but the only response was the wind through the trees.

Hope shivered and pulled her cloak tighter around her.

She heard the sound again, and she turned, her heart racing.

"Who's there?"

There was no answer.

"Please. Come out."

Again, no answer.

"Laira! Please, come out. This isn't funny."

A low growl echoed through the forest, and Hope felt a shiver run down her spine.