On the Run

                                    

                                          


	The storm was dying down and I can see the  tree clearly now. I look back and I see Doc standing there with two  bags in his arms and a face of shock that scared me more than anything in my  life. Wait, my mind unfroze and started thinking again, the name that he said "Meredith? Isn't that my mother's  name? I thought you said she died giving birth to me?" Doc just stood there until he screamed his name, "DOC!". Then he unfroze and he could see the expression on my face, I was just as scared and confused as he was. He than dropped his bags and came to me "The woman that was there, what did she say?"  His expression went from shocked to worried, I have never seen him like  this before, this was not making me feel any better, if anything the complete opposite. Then he grabs  me and asks me again, "Ryker, this is important! What did she say!". I push him off and told him everything that happened right from the  moment I got to the tree, to the moment he got there. He looked confused  but still wouldn't answer my questions. I looked at him and I pleaded with him,  "Doc, please tell me who that woman was. Why did you call her my mothers  name? You told me she died when I was born, so that couldn't be her,  could it?". I was starting to get worried myself, so much was happening  all at once and I couldn't process it all. 
"The sound came from over here!"
The guards were on their way to us. We must have been so loud that they ended up hearing  us. Doc looked at me and said that we needed to move, he would answer  all my questions once we were clear of the guards. 
	We  managed to lose the guards. We both knew we had to get out of that area as fast as we could. We  set out toward the nearest village, Sommerton, where Doc has a trusted  friend who can help us. In every village we visit, Doc always does  someone a huge favor. When they ask what they owe him, he simply asks  for their trust and loyalty in return, to be called upon whenever he  needs it. They of course accept it, this way if something  like this  happens then we have safe places to stay and figure out what  our next  moves are. We moved fast and didn't stop for anything. Sommerton  was  about a twelve hour trip on foot, six if we had our horses, but  that  would draw too much attention to us. Doc wanted to get there in less  than ten hours, which meant no  breaks, no mistakes, and following his  every order.
 After traveling all night we managed to get to  Sommerton in about  nine hours, which wasn't bad but I knew Doc was  still anxious and  worried. Once inside Doc went ahead to make sure that  the soldiers weren't looking for us . When Doc returned, he informed me  that most of the soldiers had left the town, with only a few remaining  to guard it. He warned me to stay vigilant, keep my hood up at all  times, and avoid any unnecessary contact with anyone. 
Luckily we got  there just as the sun was rising so the streets were  still empty and  the shops were barely starting setting up for the day. Sommerton wasn't just any village, this was the  main  trading center of the area. This is where local farmers or  merchants  come to sell off the various items they have to certain  travelers or  the people of the town. What we gathered  from the townspeople is that in the middle of the night  horns were  going off and soldiers were marching out of the town like  they were  preparing to go to war. The only time something like that  happens is if  we are at war and the enemy is close, or by a direct order  from the  king himself. This made me wonder even more, just how much of a  threat  am I? Leaving this village with just barely enough soldiers to protect it, just how desperate are they. This also happens to be the town of  one of  Doc's friends who Doc says that we can trust with our lives when  the  time comes, couldn't have picked a better time.
	All around you hear yelling from the merchants trying   to get people's attention. " ORANGES, FRESH ORANGES!" Then in the other   direction, "CHICKENS! COME GET YOUR CHICKENS, HOWEVER YOU LIKE EM!   ROASTED, RAW, ALIVE, HELL EVEN EGGED. 3 FOR 3 SILVER!". Screamed another   merchant.I wondered if they run out of roasted chickens do they just end up using the live ones for more? 
As   I thought more about the stupid chickens I noticed that we hadn't eaten anything in almost a whole day. Pretty soon my stomach starting noticing too and was getting   angry at me for ignoring it. Even with  the  sounds of the noisy market Doc managed to hear my stomach yelling  "FEED  ME DAMN IT!". 
He then pushed me toward an empty alleyway  and  removed his hood and pack. He started to go through and handed me a   piece of dried meat that we had left over from our trip. Doc then put   his hand out to me and said, "Here kid, this should calm your stomach   until we can get some more provisions, that was the last piece of meat."   I took the meat and started pulling it with my teeth, the taste wasn't   great but it'll do for now.
Doc begins to go through his pack to   check other supplies that he has, "Ryker, go through your pack and   pockets, anything you have that could be sold or traded give it here   now, we need all the coin that we can get right now. " I started to go through my pack sadly everything that was valuable   was left in our house. All I had were clothes, my notebook, and then my   sword, I thought this was left at the shack back in Uriom. 
I looked at it confused and then looked at Doc and asked, "What's this doing here? How did you know about it?" He looked at me and then the sword and sighed. "Listen kid, as much as it pains me to say this, you have to keep that sword now more than ever.", he wraps my hand around the hilt, "Ryker, things are going to be different now, and that means that you are going to have to be prepared for anything. I want you...no I need you to learn how to protect yourself." I looked at him in surprise. 
When he said that I thought to myself, "Did he just say what I think he said?". Then I looked at him and asked him the question I've been asking since I was 7, "Can you teach me how to use the sword?". He looks at me and smirks, "I'll teach you everything I know.". I couldn't believe it the man who told me my whole life to forget about sword fighting is finally going to let me learn, and on top of that he's going to teach me himself! All I could do was just look at him dead in the eye and say "Bring it on old man".
Doc looked at me and then hit me in the back of the head and said,"Don't start getting cocky now you brat, we're still being hunted. We need to hurry and get to Richards house so that we can figure out our next move, got it?"
"Yes sir", I replied.
We left the alley and started to make our way to Richard's house, it was on the other side of the market, which is booming with customers. We used this to our advantage and blended in with the crowd and avoided drawing attention to ourselves. It was amazing seeing all the different kinds of people that were here at the market. There were Southerners from Silvai, then the Easterners from Ulva, Westerners from Talon, and Northerns back from Uirom. This was a giant melting pot of different cultures and resources that you can't really get anywhere else, well besides the capital. I have never been due to obvious reasons but Doc used to tell me that back before he retired from whatever he was doing, he would always be there. It was like all of Irila in one city. You had all three races there humans, dwarves, and believe it or not elves. All the cultures of the world in one place. It is said that anyone can go there and leave experiencing everything the world has to offer. It's like something is calling me and telling me I need to be there. One day I am going to go there and prove myself worthy of being in the light and not have to hide anymore.
I got so lost in my daydreaming that I didn't even notice that we were already at Richard's house. We knock Richards door and waited for a response but nothing. Doc knocked again and again nothing. Doc pushed me behind him and took put his arm behind under his cloak and grabbed something. I couldn't see what it was but I could have sworn there wasn't anything there before hand. Doc only traveled with his medical supplies and a knife wrapped around his ankle. I've never seen him have to use it but this is the first time I see him reach for something on his back. After almost 17 years, I still find myself asking, "Who is this guy?".
Doc grabs the door knob and sees that the door was unlocked. "Something is wrong", Doc said worried. "I've known Richard for over 20 years and he is way too cautious to leave his door unlocked. Something's wrong we better..." Before Doc the door opened and last thing I remember is Doc pulling out a sword that I've never seen before and was too big to be hidden behind him. Before I could react it was too late, someone had knocked me out. Someone had found us.