Chapter 10 Crazies

“Hey, you good?” Sola checked up on him. “Don’t you pass out on me again.” “Yeah. Surprisingly, I’m fine,” Acero told her in between breaths. “Uh, where’s your sword?” She asked. “Inside of me, I think,” he was confused himself. “Well, that’s new. Do I congratulate you, or should I be scared? Like, you’re not going to explode or something, right?” She took a step back. “I did level up. So, I think you congratulate me,” he grinned at her. “On your second week too! Damn, I’m kind of hurt. Maybe I’m not the only special one here,” she smacked him on the shoulder. “Just as the others said, you never know with children of whores,” he said. “Hey, you two! Little Man Farm, 20 minutes,” Narra yelled from the kitchen window. He’d been trying to create something to alarm them so that he wouldn’t have to yell or speak every day. Acero ran to the workshop while Sola was still sitting on the ground. “First one to the shower gets to use it first!” He yelled, already inside the house. “That’s not fair!” She shouted. The three of them walked to their next job. Acero pushed the heavy cart filled with planks, logs, and metal wires. Out of the three of them, he was the one who usually did the heavy lifting. Narra had a peg leg–Acero and Sola were certain it was one of the legs of the old coffee table they found in storage–and Sola didn’t have the mass to push it as fast as him. The more dextrous and creative parts of the job were divided between the other two. “Hey, Narra, how come you don’t use your powers much?” Sola asked. “I don’t need it for the things I do,” he replied. “Wouldn’t it make things easier? All I’ve seen you do with it is bend wood and sometimes meld it together.” “Yeah.” “Can’t you do more stuff with it? Like make a lifelike leg and make it move.” “I’m walking fine right now.” “Maybe you could lift a whole log without even touching it if you tried?” “I don’t want to try,” Narra hissed. “That’s your last question for today.” “Tsk, you’re a horrible mentor, you know,” she pouted. “Never said I wanted to be the best.” Acero, panting and pushing the cart, shot them a glare. “Must be nice to be able to walk and talk,” he said. They passed through the center of the village, the plaza. In the middle of it was a simple water fountain that none of the three of them ever saw work. The water was stagnant, and a variety of plants grew in and around it. Next to the fountain was a manic man screaming at the top of his lungs. It was a person that none of them recognized, an outsider. He wasn’t a resident of the village, they would have known if he was. The rest of the villagers ignored him and continued their day. “War is coming!” The man rang his bell. “Two Metal Kingdom spies caught in the city of Unlad. The end is near! He is returning and taking his territory back!” His eyes matched the intensity of his voice. Narra almost tripped when his fake leg got caught on an uneven piece of cobble. He caught himself before he fell face-first into the ground. “Unlad? Isn’t that a few towns away?” Sola asked. “Second largest city next to the Capital,” Acero confirmed. “But I thought the Metal Kingdom was dying. They wouldn’t start a war.” “Wasn’t it two years ago when they lost their territory on the other side of the mountain ranges near us?” Acero asked. “Yeah, I think?” The manic man ran up towards them and got up in their faces. “Do not make light of the Metal Kingdom! They have not fought back on purpose, they are preparing for something big. There are spies everywhere! It could be your neighbors or even their pets!” He screamed at them with unblinking eyes. Narra pushed him away with a single arm. His arm was like a tree trunk compared to the manic man’s body. “That’s enough of your conspiracies. You chose the wrong place to waste your breath at. Try the bigger villages,” Narra said to him. “Yeah, what would the Metal Kingdom benefit from planting a spy here? I doubt they’ll get any information here,” Sola mocked. Narra grumbled something and continued walking away. “You should heed my warning. They are always listening!” He screamed at them and returned to his position next to the fountain. “Continue with that, and maybe they’ll stop!” Sola yelled back at him. “I know I wished for some excitement to come to town, but I wasn’t talking about crazies screaming at the plaza all day,” she said to them. A long metal structure pierced the earth. It was a mix between a tower and a spear. The tallest structure on Earth. At its highest point was a flat area. Three people were on top of it, and one of them was chained up to a metal chair. “Do I tighten it some more, brother?” The woman with the braided ponytail asked. “No, Kadena. Any more and you’ll kill him,” the tall and lanky man with straight black hair said. “Aww, come on, Pako. He’s still squirming and fighting back!” Kadena pressed her forehead against the captive’s forehead and smiled at him. “Let him resist. It would only bring him more pain anyway,” Pako said. “Fuck you,” the chained man said. “Your father wouldn’t do this! This is why the Metal Kingdom is falling. Both of you combined isn’t even a tenth of your father’s greatness!” The middle-aged man spat on the ground. “Even if Father was here, he wouldn’t order you and your squad to assassinate a noble and have two of your men captured,” Pako stared at him with emotionless eyes. “Nuh-uh!” Kadena exclaimed from the side. “No, no one ordered you to do that,” Pako said. “Mind my me,n I had to take the opportunity to take down an important figure from the enemy’s side! You cannot expect us to live there for 5 years and do nothing but watch our nation slowly die!” The chained man screamed. “No, we expected you to follow orders. I mean, just look at the result of your insubordination,” Pako turned away. “Uh-oh!” Kadena gasped. “Yeah, okay. I didn’t get the answer I wanted. Kadena, do your thing,” Pako waved his hand. “Much obliged!” Kadena smiled. “Glory to the Metal King!” The chained man shouted. She balled her hand into a fist and thrust it into the sky. Kadena squeezed not only her hand but the chains around the man. He exploded in an instant. The blood splattered all over Kadena, staining her childlike smile.