It took a few minutes for the surviving was gonna be slaves to calm down from my awesome display of combat. I must say, I did put on quite a show, guess all my training wasn't in vain after all.
"God bless this soul!"
"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"
"We'll forever be indebted to you!"
One by one, I cut the ropes bounding their hands using the same rock I used to cut mine.
Once the last person was finished, I proposed we loot the bodies of our captors.
"Alright fellow "was gonna be" slaves! There's a good chance that backup might come for these guys in case anyone heard the shots, so we should take whatever we can for protection and get a move on."
"Will do, sir!"
"Of course!"
'This is so cool! It's almost how my guys used to sound.'
We went around to each of the corpses lying on the ground, but it wasn't right to say one of them was a dead body. Everyone else went to the guards for loot, but I went right to the leader. Higher status equals better loot right?
I took a look at the man's uniform. Nearly all black, with a cool black jacket and metal boots. He also had some cool leather gloves that I liked so I took those too. For a moment I thought I saw his chest rise.
"You… he'll come for you. I hope you die a thousand… fucking… deaths."
My heart sank at his statement. I know exactly who this man was, and what kind of man he is.
"It's okay, you can rest now. Awesome choice of final words by the way!"
The man stared at me like I ended his life or something, and then went limp.
As much as I tried to feel some kind of remorse, everything that's happened since I got here didn't feel real to me, like a self-insert into a fantasy.
I finished looting him, and went to check on the others.
"Sir! Check out this thingy!"
The young boy showed me a gun.
"That thing is called a gun. Say "gun"!"
"Uhh, gun?"
"Yeah! There you go buddy!"
"I'm not a baby, you sorry old man. I can say words."
"Oh, uhh, sorry then."
'Guess I still don't know how to act around children.'
I moved on to each group and it seemed they all were clueless about guns. I assumed that guns were just popular everywhere so I found this pretty odd.
"Ahh, such revolutionary warfare!"
"What a dangerous weapon this is."
"I wonder what the inside looks like…"
"Please don't stare down the barrel."
Once everyone finished looting, I gathered us together and planned our escape.
"Listen everyone! We must find a route to a safe area, which really is anywhere but here. Does anyone recognize this area?"
There was a short silence. It was understandable as everyone would be nervous in a situation such as this. A young woman was the first to speak.
"I have a cabin… not too far from here."
"Perfect! Young lady, lead the way!"
"Er, well… It would be a decent walk, as it's about a ten miles from here."
"Walk? Who told you that I planned to walk? We will just steal the wagon that we were brought in!"
I turned and pointed in the direction we came from. Everyone had a look of horror as I pointed.
I turned around only to be met with four other wagons full of other goons like these guys that lay by our feet.
Though we were far, they each were lit with a strong light, so it wasn't difficult to see the number of other wagons.
"Okay, I guess we're walking! Hahaha! Now lady miss, hurry and get us out of here!"
"Uhm, yes sir!"
She seemed like a frail, timid girl, but she seemed to know when to focus and make the right choices.
She told us the route to the cabin followed the road we took here, so we began our quick journey out of the field and walked until we couldn't walk anymore, and then walked again because we were scared of the other wagons finding us.
We ended up walking for about 4 hours, when dawn finally arose. Everyone around me was tired, even someone like me couldn't walk that long and not be fatigued in the slightest. Unfortunately, our captors didn't have any water or food, which made this journey really tough.
The grass only got taller the further we went, but eventually I could see a drop off about a hundred or so metres from our position.
"Hey, lady miss, any idea how far the cabin is from here?"
"It's very close, and please, call me Kori."
I know that name. I'd know it better than anyone.
"Kori?! Are you my…"
It seemed my sudden outburst had startled her a little bit. She jumped back slightly while waving her hands in dismissal.
"Eh?! I d-don't know you at all sir! Promise!"
"Hmm, maybe I just mistook you for someone else."
'Well, that's a let down and a half.'
Even the way she looked seemed so familiar to me. Her jet black hair that goes down slightly past her shoulders, her ocean blue eyes, even her smooth and pale skin just threw a sense of nostalgia at me.
"My name is Dokimazo Pali, but just call me Pali, it's easier to say."
"Oh, well, my full name is Kori Goumenszy. It's, uhh, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Kori. Were you born here in Gaul by any chance?"
"Yes I was, is it my name that arouses your curiosity?"
"It sounds foreign so I just assumed."
"My mother gave me that name. She said she planned to name me something more common, but a sudden urge just came over her. Quite odd, don't you think?"
"As odd as it sounds, my parents did the same thing for me."
"Really?! What a coincidence!"
The way she talks, I know she's who I think she is. Maybe something has happened since the last time we met.
*****
Before we knew it, the cabin was just up ahead. It was a lot smaller than I expected. As cramped as it would be, fitting ten people shouldn't pose too much of an issue.
The cabin size didn't seem to bother anyone else, so I went along without complaint.
Once we got inside, it actually looked pretty cozy. The living room had the two classic chairs by the brick fireplace, with a mahogany bookshelf to the left of the fireplace.
Aren't books supposed to be really expensive? She must be well off to have a whole shelf.
No one really talked much in the cabin, we just sat around doing our own thing. I, for one, was sitting on the chair right of the fireplace because it gave off a wise aura.
The boy I talked to earlier gave me his name as we were approaching the cabin. He said his name was Leo, and told me he forgot his last name.
I could see him talking to the other kid I saw on the wagon. Kori was leaning on the wall opposite to me, seemingly lost in thought.
After a few minutes of silently glancing in Kori's direction, it seemed she had some sort of epiphany.
She gasped and walked over to me. She grabbed my shoulders and stood in front of me excitedly.
"Pali! I believe I remember who you are!"
Her being so close, I noticed a nice silver cross necklace dangling around her chest. She also wore a nice black dress, my favourite!
'Holy shit. She's way too close. Keep your cool Pali, don't try anything that will get you arrested or killed by the rest of the group!'
"O-oh really?! So tell me, who am I?"
"You are…"
'Same size as I remember. Damn it Pali, focus! This is important!'
The anticipation was killing me. But I missed the way this felt, being so close to her. I wanted this moment to last forever.
"You are the homeless guy at that fountain that ogles all the women who pass by you!"
"So you do remember! Pardon?"
"I always thought you were creepy so I stayed away from you, but you are far nicer now that I know you better."
This is too fucked up. What happened to her timid and shy attitude? Why is it only when she remembers something that clearly never happened, she gets all talkative?!
"I remember this one time when a woman in a skirt walked by, and you appeared quite desperate, then you pretended to faint so you could peek under her skirt! Haha! "
She just laughed at me. I feel like dying right about now.
"I did no such thing! And how do you know all this stuff anyway?! Are you sure you aren't spying on me?"
"Hahaha! I work with my dad at the fruit shop! I can see you everyday through the stand everyday."
"I guess that explains it. Anyway don't go around telling the people here about that stuff okay?!"
"Not to worry, I won't."
I let out a sigh of relief as she slowly stopped laughing.
"Thanks a lot."
I guess she isn't wrong for calling me a creepy homeless guy. After twenty years of no action, who wouldn't get a little desperate?
As I was totally not thinking about Kori's perfect chest size, I ended up drifting off.
*****
Don't be afraid to kill them. Don't think about who loves them, nor who they love. Just point and shoot.
Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot. Just point and shoot.
*
What the fuck did I ever do to you?! I hate this. I hate all of this.
"Just point and shoot."
Shut up and die, filth.
Just point and shoot.
*
Choose one before I fucking kill them both!
Let her live damn it!
I'm so sorry. Pali, don't get too lonely without me.
Just point and shoot.
*
Don't you fucking touch her!
Just point and shoot.
*
I'll kill all of you bastards. I swear on all that you've stolen from me.
Just point and shoot.
*
—--, let's meet again. In heaven, or in some other plane of existence. I just want to see your face when I wake up everyday.
Just point and shoot.
BANG
*
"No!"
I fell forward from the chair I was sitting on, and hit the smooth wooden floor head first.
"Pali! Are you okay?!"
The first person to come to my aid was as we all expected, Kori.
"I-yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry about me too much, it's just a nightmare."
She sat on her knees just beside my head. I could sense something heavenly approaching.
"Here, just lay down. I need to pay you back for saving me last night so don't think about it too much, okay?"
"Thank you."
A nightmare? No, that's not it
A memory. That's all it was and only ever will be.
Just the things I'd rather forget are the hardest to let go of. I didn't ask for all of that, I just wanted to live a happy life, with a wife and kids or something. But that's exactly what I lost.
Everything, and everyone. Ever since I was reincarnated to this era, I couldn't forget. How could I?
I have to make a choice. Forget everything that happened before and move on, or hold on to the burning memory of the ones who died for me. An impossible choice.
As I laid in Kori's very comfortable lap, I realized something I should've realized ever since I saw that man kill the pleading young woman this morning.
'Lights, guns, in this era? None of those should exist yet. So how do they have it?'