I groaned as the girl kept shaking me. "Wake up," she kept shouting as the shakes started getting more violent. I rubbed my eyes and looked at her.
"I'm up," I said in a defeated voice.
She smiled at me, and I looked away as I sat up. "Who are you?" I asked the pink-haired girl now standing practically over me.
"The name is Erin," she said with a playful smile. "How about you, what's your name?" She tilted her head slowly.
I placed my hand on my side and smiled. "I'm Ren. It's a pleasure to meet you, though I wish we could have met under different circumstances," I laughed.
I slid out of the bed and stood up, starting to make the bed look neat again.
"Erin, I have a question. Where or how did you find me?"
She looked around the room before answering. "Well, you were out cold in the streets. To be honest, I thought you were one of the bandits that kept attacking this village."
I laughed at her comment before taking a more serious tone. "I'm not a bandit. Of course I've never met anyone from here before, but if this village needs help, I'll help fight."
Erin looked at me as if she was reading my soul. "You're a good person. I can just read people in a way, so that's why I helped you. Plus, you don't rock the bandits' gang clothes or have the tattoo they all have on their neck."
I walked over to the corner of the room where my shoes and sword were. I slipped on my shoes and walked to the chair with my jacket draped over it.
"Huh, so what's this tattoo they have? Or even their clothes? Because the last thing I want to do is rep a criminal organization."
Erin laughed at the question but could tell I was serious. "Well, they have a tattoo of an albatross. It's a bird mostly found over the ocean, and they have long narrow wings. Really, you can't miss one if you saw it. Then their clothes are a leather jacket with a devil face on it."
I ended up laughing at what Erin said. "Sorry, it's not funny, but how do they go from a majestic bird that can represent freedom to repping the devil on their back, which is notoriously known as the destroyer of mankind."
Erin shrugged her shoulders. "Personally, you're asking better questions. I just know that when we see their tattoo or their jacket, it means they want us to pay the ridiculous taxes they put on the village."
I threw my jacket on and slid my sword over my back. I looked at Erin. "So, how do I look?"
She smiled. "You look like a ninja from one of those old stories my mom used to read to me."
I smiled hearing what she said, but as I paced around the room, which was rather small, I happened upon some pictures laid out on a table.
"If you don't mind me asking, Erin, who are these people?"
She poked up beside me and played with her hair a little bit before placing her arms over the chair, all defeated. "These are people who have lost their lives to the bandits that terrorize this village."
I clenched my sword tightly. Erin noticed but didn't say anything. I pointed to a girl in a picture that looked like Erin.
"Who is that, your mother?"
Erin smiled with tears forming in her eyes. "Yes, that was her. She was the strongest person in this village. When the bandits came knocking, she came swinging. I wish to be like her, but I'm too weak."
I pointed to another picture, this time of a little boy being carried by Erin. "Who is this one?"
She looked at the picture and perked up. "That was my baby brother. I couldn't pay the bandits, so they took him as collateral. They say he's still alive, but I don't buy it, so I don't get my hopes up."
I felt Erin clenching my shoulders, looking at me with tears in her eyes. "Help me save my village and free my people. I am scared of what they are going to do."
I wiped her tears away, and I placed my hand on her head with my other hand gripping my sword. "I'm going to kick their ass back to where they came from."
Erin backed away. "You can't."
I looked at her. "Why not? We can't let them get away with what they are doing."
Erin nodded in agreement but also shook her head. "I don't want to make you a target for the bandits. All I did was heal you up, and you already want to fight?"
I gripped my sword tightly. "Look, I think you and I are both alike in a way. I feel wrong about you saving me, so I want to repay you by kicking these bandits out for good. And that way we don't need to owe each other a debt, so it's a win-win. Why not take it?"
I extended my hand for a partnership.
Erin looked down at the pictures before looking back up at me, and as she reached for my hand, all we heard was a lady scream, "Help me, they are trying to kill me!"