Hero's call

They were outnumbered ten to one, the small group of five in a tight circle, backs to one another, facing out at the massive group surrounding them. They had been on the run for days, but their luck had finally run out, and their pursuers were holding nothing back anymore.

It had all started after Darius had accidentally killed the head of the royal guard. He had been drunk but minding his own business when the guard had come along and tried to seize him for public indecency. When the guard had been leading him out of the bar, Darius had stumbled, tripping the guard and causing him to fall into the path of an oncoming horse carriage, the hoofs and wheels of which crushed the guard's skull, instantly killing him. His friends had tried to defend him, leading to them all becoming heavily wanted men.

They had had to run. They could either run, hoping to find a new place where they could make a living, or they could stay where they were and be arrested, tried, and killed for an accident that had been completely out of any of their control. They chose the chance at life.

But it hadn't lasted long. Now, as they stood back to back, it was pretty clear to them that this would be their last stand. "It was good knowing you guys," Marcus called out as the group closed in on them. "I hope we take a few of the pigs out on our way."

"You really already giving up, Marc?" Lorena called back. "You don't think we can take them all out? Already laying down your arms? Why'd you even come with us in the first place? With that kind of attitude, you'll only be holding us back."

"Can we not argue about this right now, please?" Darius asked. "I'm kinda trying to think of a plan right now."

"Seems to me," Fred countered, "that there's only one way we're going to get out of this. And that's if the guy who got us here in the first place decides to step up his game."

"You want him to just give himself up?"

"No, Lorena, shut up. He knows what I'm talking about."

Darius sighed. He did know what Fred was talking about. He stepped away from the group, and suddenly all eyes were on him.

"I recommend you guys don't watch this."

His eyes began to glow a vibrant orange, and his hair stood on end. His skin began to fall apart, revealing a blinding light coming from beneath. No one looked away.

In a moment, he was obliterated. There was no sound. No visible change. He was simply gone, and all of the soldiers with him.