In Other Lands

by Sarah Rees Brennan

It was obscene, his camp becoming the backdrop for this horror. There was someone dead on the ground, facedown: Elliot could only be thankful. He did not want to see if it was someone he knew. There was a man in chainmail bearing down on him. “I come on a mission of peace,” said Elliot, and got backhanded with a chainmail fist. Elliot tasted blood and saw stars in a gray daytime sky. “Did I stutter?” Elliot asked, feeling his mouth fill with blood. “I said I come on a mission of peace, moron.” The chainmailed guy drew his sword. Elliot hated his life, especially when he saw two of the guys’ buddies closing in to help him slaughter an unarmed student. Elliot tensed, wondering if he should run toward the sound of fighting, where there might be assistance, or away. The chainmailed guy collapsed, spat blood, and dropped his sword: Luke had his own blade out of chainmailed guy’s back and in the chest of the second man before the group realized what was happening. In less than three seconds the three men after Elliot were dead.