Deja Vu

You really don't want to hurt the men. These aren't soldiers; they're common farmers. You don't have any choice now, though, do you?

Not wanting to kill the men, you sheath your sword and ready your fists. You reach the first man and thrust your arm into his stomach, using your momentum to knock him to the ground. You then swing your fists at two more opponents and send them staggering back. You knock a fourth man's dagger out of his hands and proceed to strike him unconscious.

You feel something rising within you. It's a strange, haunting feeling, as if you've lived this before. You're afraid.

You shake your head to clear your thoughts. You have to focus. You turn your attention back to the melee.

Then you feel a stabbing pain in your lower back as another farmer slashes his dagger into you. You elbow him, spin around, and knock him down, but as you do you feel a bludgeoning pain in the back of your neck and you fall to your knees. You try to stand but the farmers overwhelm you. Another hit and you're knocked to the ground. You turn and look up to see a farmer standing over you, ready to give you your finishing blow. He swings his fist down toward your head. He strikes you and a blinding pain erupts in your head. The world spins and your vision goes dark. You submit to the pain.

You can remember it all, and it pains you. You've been through something horrible.

Still shaken from by the fight, you want to sink into a deep merciful sleep... but you don't. You can't. You know that to give in now would be to give in forever. You force yourself to stay awake.

Your head is pounding, and every bone in your body aches. Still, you shake away the pain and look around the room.

You're sitting on the floor of a cold, dark room. Dim rays of light shine in above you, giving a sort of ghostly illumination to the room. The walls and floor are made of hard, forbidding stone. A metal barred door lies on the opposite wall.

You glace at your clothing. Instead of your armor, you're wearing a simple, ragged, dirty brown dress. Your sword is gone as well.

You feel that your arms are suspended above you. Looking up, you see that they're chained to the wall. You struggle to escape, but you can't.

Just then you see movement in the shadows on the other side of the door. A dark figure steps out. You recogize him as the leader of the mob from the night before.

"So," he says softly, "you're awake.

"Yes," you say coldly.

The man is silent. Then he says, "We've gotten rid of your friend Greger."

Your heart sinks. "You mean..."

"Executed an hour ago," the man says, his face and voice emotionless. "Hung like the common thief was.

Your close your eyes. Then a thought strikes you. You open your eyes and ask, "Why didn't you kill me, too?"

"We have our reasons," he says stiffly. He pauses a moment, then asks, "You're one of the New Amazons, right?"

You nod.

He stares at you suspiciously. "One of our hunters found your village burned to the ground this morning. Hundreds of bodies were found lying around it." An odd expression passes over his face. "How did you survive?"

You drop your head. "I... I don't know."

"You... don't know?" he says.

You shake your head.

Though you've turned your eyes away from him, you can feel the man's glare. After a moment he says, barely containing his anger, "Fine. Don't tell us. Trust me, you'll be more miserable for it." You hear his footsteps as he storms away. As he opens the door, he says, "Welcome home, Karen."

You jerk your head up. Home? "Wait!" you call after him, but it's too late. He's gone.

You're alone.

You spend hours in the cold solitude of the room. As you sit a thousand thoughts race through your mind. What did he mean? Are you home? Does he know who you are? And what happened to Aaron?

You think about Aaron. He's too far away now for you to catch up with him. You've failed. You huddle on the floor and cry.

Eventually...

1. ...you hear a sobbing sound.

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