Counting Bodies Like Sheep

A young woman, brainwashed by an evil lord, has flashbacks of her past and comes to her senses when she notices the bodies lying around her.

“I’ll be the one to protect you from your enemies and all your demons,

I’ll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason,

I’ll be the one to protect you from you enemies and your choices

They’re one in the same; I must isolate you,

Isolate and save you from yourself.”

 

 

Dead bodies…they were every where she turned. Screams of agony, of the pain they felt, it surrounded her and engulfed her in fear and sorrow. Who could do such a terrible thing as this? Who could kill innocent men, women, and even children? Who could be so terribly cruel? All of these thoughts hit her at once, tears welling up within her eyes as they roamed over each and every bloodied and bruised body before her. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people were lying there; their heads down and eyes closed. But even as she realized that indeed all of them were dead, she could still hear their souls in her mind screaming for justice, screaming for…blood; her blood. Why were they screaming for her blood? She didn’t understand why the souls of those deceased were demanding her own blood. But even then as she raised her hands up to cover her face, to try to make the voices stop, she saw the blood on her own hands. All this blood, and yet she knew not a single drop of it was hers. Had she…? Would she…?

 

Her own fears were answered as a showy figure approached behind her. She had sensed him before he came near enough, but for some reason she did not fear his presence. A cold, clammy hand touched her shoulder, but she made no move except to look out of the corner of her eye at the hand, but it was not a human hand. Long, pointed fingernails with pale white skin touched her shoulder, and it set a shiver down her spine. It was a feeling so…cold, so dead that she believed whatever it was that touched her must have been dead itself. Though she could hear the souls reaching out, demanding her sacrifice, she knew that even the dead couldn’t talk. And this thing, this cloaked figure, talked. “Perfect, my child,” It said in a low voice that sent yet another chill down her spine. His voice was soothing, almost charming, but there was something otherworldly, enchanting about it. Even though she tried, she could not make a move to either look at the thing behind her, or run away. All she was able to do was to stand there staring out at the bodies of the dead as the figure spoke to her. “You’ve done well. You shall be rewarded for your deeds,” It whispered into her ear, as if it was trying not to allow the dead to hear. But they didn’t, and they wouldn’t. Never again would they smile, laugh, and love. Even though she felt so numb, unable to move, she felt wetness on her cheeks. Was she crying? She felt as if she had never done so before, and it felt out of place—odd, even. The hand on her shoulder tightened its grip, and she knew that the beast had also noticed the wet tears streaming down her face. “What is this, Araya?” The figure asked, his tone changing to sound more concerned, though it was no concern for her wellbeing.

 

“I don’t…I don’t know,” She replied back, her voice ever so soft that it barely made it above a whisper. The hand slackened, and removed itself from her shoulder. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blur of black from the cloak of the figure. His hood was raised, but even that could not hide his glowing golden eyes from view. His eyes gazed into hers, and for a moment Araya swore that he could peer into her soul. But was that really possible? He was definitely not human, but Araya was almost positive that even he could not look into her mind, but even so she could not find it within her to look away, no matter how much the voice inside her head screamed for it. “Come,” The figure had said, tearing his eyes away from her and walking forward where bodies lay scattered all around them. Araya obeyed his command without hesitation, and stepped over body after body as she followed right behind him. She made sure to stare at the back of his cloak, refusing to look down at the bloody mess she had left in her wake. But even she could not keep her eyes from wandering. Slowing her pace, Araya looked out of the corner of her eye as the light hit something in the mist of the bodies. Reaching down she picked up what appeared to be a golden locket, caked in blood and dirt. Wiping it off gingerly, she closed her fist around it as memories began to flood back to her.

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Araya…” He had a large, lopsided grin on his face as he looked at her. “How is it you can beat me at everything? Can’t you give a guy a chance?” He asked, chuckling as he scratched the back of his head. Araya looked up from the game they had been playing for quite some time, a soft smile appearing on her lips. “Now if I did that, Zoan, you’d never learn a damn thing!” She replied back jokingly. Zoan stuck out his bottom lip, but though he tried he could not contain the laugher. He knew that she was joking with him, anyway.

 

“Well you sure know how to make a man fall, eh?...”

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Faron told me you wanted to see me, Zoan.” Araya said softly, walking up to where Zoan had been sitting, waiting for her. “So what did you want? Ah…why are you shaking so much?” She asked, an eyebrow rose as she looked at the boy who found it hard to meet her gaze. “I, ah…Araya, I…” He stuttered, standing up and look at her, but never once into her eyes. “For the past few months I’ve…” He began, but cut himself off before he could finish his sentence. Araya sighed impatiently, placing her hands on her hips. “Oh, spit it out already, would you?” She mumbled, annoyed with his consistent stuttering.

 

“I love you,”

 

That had been the most unsuspected thing she had ever heard come from his mouth. And yet now she was the one finding it hard to form words. “You…wait, you what?” She asked, completely confused by his actions. She almost wondered if this was one of his silly pranks that he always liked to pull on her. Of course, saying something like that for a prank was not humorous in the least in her opinion. “Zoan, stop fooling around—“

 

“I’m not, I love you.” He replied back quickly, and grasped her arm, placing a gold locket in the palm of her hand. “Here.” He added, and Araya looked down at the little locket. It was definitely shaping up to be an interesting night…

 

~*~*~*~

 

“Zoan? Zoan!” She cried out, running over to the body of the young man. Another man with golden eyes was towering over him, a whip in his hands. “Stop it, you’re hurting him!” She yelled, aiming to hit the man with the golden eyes, but he caught her arm before she could get anywhere near his face. He looked down at her, and for a moment Araya feared she might have just sentenced herself as well as Zoan to death. But then his eyes wandered to her wrist and fixated on the tattoo that she had for as long as she could remember. A sadistic smile crossed his face, and he seemed almost pleased with himself. “So you’re the one…” He mused out loud.

 

Before Araya could open her mouth to ask what he spoke of, his grip tightened and he began pulling her away. “Let me go!” She screamed, but he shook his head. “No, you’re coming with me, I’m afraid.” He replied, pulling her along like a ragdoll despite her squirming. No matter how hard she tried to loosen his grip, his strength was much greater compared to hers. “Lord, what should we do with this one?” One of the soldiers asked the man. He didn’t even bother looking back to where Zoan lay unconscious. “Kill him, and burn the village.”

 

“NO! ZOAN!”

 

But it was too late to save him now…

 

~*~*~*~

 

Araya stopped dead in her tracks, her face pale from what she had just suddenly remembered. Her love…Zoan, he had been killed by the same figure that stood before her now. And even as she tried not too, memories of what they did to her…what this beast did to her continued to flood back to her. They had brainwashed her! They had used her, the power she held deep within her, for their own gain. She was serving a King who had sided with the devilish being who stood in front of her, and she was his puppet. She had destroyed so very many innocent lives in the name of war; she had fought anyone who opposed the King’s will. And now…now she had realized just how much she had been used. But as she began remembering these things the beast had turned, the hood falling down to reveal his pale, disfigured face, the fiery red hair, and his golden eyes; the half-demon half-man she had been abducted by so long ago. She remembered his power over her, his ability to get into her mind and force her to do his will.

 

Then…pain, sharp lightning like pain shot through her abdomen. She looked down; her silver colored hair fell into her face as she saw blood streaming from her body. Her eyes widened in horror and she looked back up to the demon before here who stood holding a dagger in his hand that had her blood on it. “Ru…Ruziel…” Then black engulfed her, and she felt herself fall to the ground. The voices around her slowly began to fade away, but she had time to hear enough. The half-demon looked down at her as two soldiers of his King ran up to them. “My lord! What happened?” One asked Ruziel, he looked up calmly at the two, aware of their fear of him. “The operation has failed. Take her to the palace, quickly!” He commanded, and at once they saluted him before picking Araya up. For Araya, even the voices of the dead were beginning to fade, but she could still sense them all around her.

 

It seemed that they were satisfied now…

Author's Note

This is a bit older, maybe about a year or two older, and I'll admit that it's a little cheesy -- and the names (except for Araya, which I LOVE) of the characters are complete crap. Ignore that and, for the most part, it's pretty decent. :)