Dark Age Read Free Page B

he said, stretching his long legs, “and so are you. We all are.”
    There was a unique realness to him. He didn’t seem to buy into the spectacle like all the others. “Tell me,” I asked, “how much do you know about the Guard?”
    “Only a little, what do you want to know?” He took a sip from a flask and handed it to me.
    “Anything, really,” I took a sip. The repelling smell was indicative of the strong taste. “I know nothing at all. My dad doesn’t like to talk about it.”
    “It’s an acquired taste,” he took the flask back and downed a big gulp. “Anyway… in a year you will leave the city, go through training, and then join a camp in the woods, mines, or fields, based on your profession.” He brushed through his curly dark-blond hair, “That way we can draw on our existing knowledge and expand our skills for when we return.”
    “So what exactly does a barber do in the Guard? Cut grass?” I asked with a smirk.
    “Good one,” he said with a chuckle. “My father ended up in the woods, so you are not too far off.”
    “And I’ll serve in the mines,” I realized.
    “From there on, you work day in day out, and try your best to not get eaten alive by those demons. You count your days, and before you know it, you are either dead or back home.”
    “Lovely…” I said reaching for the flask again at the thought of my rosy future. “Is that all you got?”
    “You are a curious one, eh? There isn’t much else I know either. You see, when you spend ten years fighting for your life and watch many of your friends die, the last thing you want to do is talk about it. So the old guys generally don’t give away too much.”
    “I know. My father has not said a word, but ‘I will see for myself soon enough’.” I put down the drink, “I just wish there were another option.”
    Peter looked around with focus in his eyes, “We all wish that.”
    “So why don’t we do something about it.”
    “Like what? Kill the old bastard?” he laughed. It was frightening that he dared to say it out loud, “Then what?”
    “I don’t know… leave this valley?” I said, “Perhaps find a place where we are neither getting slaughtered on the outside nor starved from the inside.”
    “You have a point, brother,” he said. “But the time to make secret revolutionary ploys was three gulps ago.”
    “I would have challenged your mortality if all that shine didn’t make you woozy,” I laughed. Part of me was glad that the conversation lit up, part of me wished he had said more.
    “What I know though are three things. First,” he raised his index finger, “you only have little time before your dinner with the Inquisitor. Second,” he pointed at Katrina, “that girl over there has been eyeing us this whole conversation. Either you or me, hard to be sure. And third,” he stood up holding out his hand, “if you are not going to dance with her, I surely will.”
    “She’s with me.,” I said with a grin, “But I am sure Katrina has some friends that would be to your liking”. He was right. I was going to spend ten years out there in the cold pondering about ways to get back in the city. Now was the time to live. “Let’s go Peter.”
    Approaching the group my eyes immediately met hers. We both smiled. “The man of the hour decides to join us,” she teased. “What an honor.”
    “Let’s dance. I only have a few minutes left.”
    She grabbed my hand and ran through the crowd, away from our friends. In the middle of the square she took my other hand and started to spin. It felt different having her near me. It felt as if my mind was filing away every smile and every word she said to me, like a historian afraid of losing access to a revered piece forever. Boldly I took her face in between my palms and pulled her close to me. I escaped my fate, even if it was just for the elusive moment of a kiss.
    Slowly she ran her fingers up my neck, letting chills run down my spine. Her lips softly touched my