"Little Fighter"

People have been coming to this city for as long as I can remember. Special people of so many different races, mysterious backgrounds, and unusual personalities. Some of these people do magic, while others are uniquely talented with fighting and weapons, but one thing they always have in common is that when they die, they come back to life. Some die a bit more than others, and on very rare occasion some have died and never come back. That is an unusual occurrence. The other citizens in town have started calling these new people ”rezzies” because they resurrect, and they tend to not like the rezzies very much at all.

I think the rezzies are amazing! My parents tell me I should stay away from them and ignore them, but I want to be just like them. How did they know they could come back from the dead? Did they know before they died the first time? I have so many questions for them, and I listen to them whenever they're around. They speak all manner of strange things, about far off places, people I don't know, even monsters I've never even heard of. Their lives seem so interesting compared to my dull life. My parents would scold me if they knew how much time I spent listening to the rezzies and dreaming of being one.

Not too long ago, I found one of my father’s hunting knives and decided to learn to fight like the rezzies. I've seen some of them without any weapons at all, but that usually means they have magic or potions. I swiped a few books when they weren't looking, and I learned that I couldn't even do the simplest of spells, and the potions recipes looked way too dangerous. I decided that I'd learn to fight with my knife for now, and then later I'd save enough coins to buy myself a small sword. Fighting side by side with my heroes... what a dream! I'll do anything to make that my reality.

Monsters attack the town almost constantly these days, but the rezzies always fight them off. It happens so frequently that I can practice on the sidelines. I've copied the fighters as best as I could, and I've watched some of them sneak up and take out enemies with one swift strike between the shoulder blades. I stumbled and faltered at first, but after a while I could feel myself getting faster and stronger. Every spinning jump began to feel more fluid. Practiced thrusts and parries became predictable. I knew my skills as a fighter were getting better.

It wasn't too long after that a group of monsters strolled into town. The rezzies quickly jumped to action, and the whole lot of them spread out and divided amongst themselves, a good plan on the monster’s side. One sly creature decided to try to get the upper hand on a couple of rezzies by sneaking down a side alley out of their view, but little did he know that he would run into me instead! I crouched behind a large wooden barrel, knife in hand, and I knew in my bones that I was ready to face him. As his shadow cast over my barrel, I jumped out from behind to confront my foe.

He was a grotesque creature, tall and beastly. His hot, stinking breath filled my nostrils as he loomed over me, and I had to stifle the urge to retch at his feet. He was several heads taller than me, but that didn't matter in the slightest. He would make a lovely thud when he fell. With a growling smirk, the creature lashed at me with sharp, yellowed claws. I easily dodged his swing as being light-footed and quick on my toes was the very first thing I mastered. I lunged at him from the side, and my steel tasted its first drops of blood! Blood spurted from his forearm as he bellowed in pain. A cocky grin spread across my face as my confidence grew tenfold. I flourished as I attempted to dodge his next attack, but this time he made contact. A sharp pain radiated across my shoulder blades as his razor sharp claws tore through my cloak and met soft flesh, and through the ringing in my ears I heard someone shriek in pain. It was a familiar cry... or was it my own? I felt warm sticky fluid trickling down my back, matting my shirt to my skin. I stumbled, and trying to regain my composure through blurred vision, I prepared to strike again. As I glared up at him, I suddenly realized he wasn't attempting to attack. He simply smiled. Menacingly.

More hot breath poured over my shoulder before I could realize what was happening. I jumped to the side out of instinct and that's when I saw him; another monster had joined the alley fight. I wanted to turn and run, but everything happened too quickly for me to react. He leered at me as he brought the weight of his fury down on my minuscule frame and his slender claws tore through my chest like warm butter. The world began to slow as I fell to the ground, gasping for air, my knife dropping from my grasp and clattering at my side. The pain in my chest was blinding as blood poured from the deep gashes, but I couldn't bring my arms to move and stifle the blood loss. The monsters stooped over my body one last time, and I thought they would finish me off then and there. Instead they merely nodded at each other and ran off to battle the rezzies that were just outside the alley. My body felt so heavy, and the sounds around me seemed so far away.

The lights around me began to blur together, and a sudden horrifying realization washed over me: I was dying. Could this be the moment I find out I have the same magic in me that the rezzies do? It's not a question I look forward to answering but I suppose I'll be finding out sooner than I thought. Everything had started to feel colder, but at least the pain was going away. I slowly turned my head toward the end of the alley where the rest of the fight had taken place and noticed some blurred movement in the distance, static silhouettes of human-like blobs, though colors and faces were all washed together. Their voices seemed muted and echoey, like someone trying to talk through water. Was that a shout? I can't be sure, it still sounded so far away, even as they approached me. They were still blurry once they reached me, and the words they spoke were a jumbled mess as they fell on my ears. I think they've knelt down beside me, but it's all too dark to tell.

The last thing I felt was the brush of fabric against my cheek as they pulled me into their lap and tried to save me.