He had been running for days now.

Nowhere to go.

Nowhere to hide.

Just running.

Running from the devastation.

He ran into the root of a great oak tree. It must have been as tall as a mountain. Standing strong, looming over the rest of the valley. He looked behind him. He could still see the fire. The fires of Hell. The fires that showed him he had lost everything, and everyone.

Zeth ducked under the root, and started running again. He wouldn't be caught in that warzone. No, he wanted to live. He did not want to burn. He did not want to feel the icy sting of a metal blade slicing through him. No, he wanted, if anything, to die in his sleep, of old age. Not to painfully and abruptly drop dead.

He didn't know how long he'd been running, three days altogether, probably. It must have been just past midnight when the onslaught started, but now he could feel the warm embrace of the sun once again as it clambered over the mountains. It shed light on his skin, and on his surroundings. It had been so dark he hadn't even realized that he was in the next town over. A humble villager more developed than his own home town that stood at the entrance to the valley. It made its money from mines. There was a giant cave system full of rescources beneath his feet. The houses, rather than stone and cobble, was made of metal and bricks. The name, he could not call to mind. He was weary. His stomach growled like a lone wolf. He needed food.

There was a bar close by, only about twenty or thirty blocks away. He looked behind him. No one seemed to have followed. He hoped that he was not the only one to escape that horror. He waded into the smoky tavern, and ordered some chicken. The man beside him, whilst clutching a bottle of water, stared hard at the fresh meat that had entered the establishment.

"You seem tired, lad." He said, a thick rasp gripping his voice in a powerful vice. "Where have you wandered in from, the desert?"

Zeth leaned his head toward the stocky man beside him, too tired to turn. "I have dragged myself from Valepido, thank you." A plate was dropped before him, a breast of chicken resting on the porcelain. "I have been running all night."

The stocky man turned to the young one. "Why would you do that, son?"

Zeth's eyes widened, realizing his mistake. He should be warning everyone."Griefers." The stocky man stood up, nearly knocking over his water. "Griefers attacked us in the middle of the night. They, they came out of nowhere." A thought occurred to him. "They were wearing green, green of the grass and the trees, that's why we didn't see them. They hid and attacked!" Zeth jumped out of his seat, a new burst of adrenaline coursing through him as a revelation struck him. He had to warn this town.

"Griefers!" He yelled, running down one of the gravel roads as the populace began to awake. "Griefers are coming! From the South! Griefers are coming from the South! They have attacked Valepido! They will surely strike he-"

He stopped, as he felt something punch him in the back. He felt an intense pain in his chest, an icy stinging pain. He put his hands down to feel his chest. They became wet. He looked at them. They were red. He looked down.

There was an arrow head sticking out of his chest.

He looked behind him. There was a man, wearing green and brown leather, aiming a bow at him. He had sharp blue eyes. He pulled the arrow back, looking for a kill. Zeth had time to see another Griefer pull out a flint and steel before the archer fired his second arrow. He felt another pain in his left eye. Then, a deep darkness engulfed his vision.

He felt cold.

So very cold.

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Hope you like this little short story. This was made as an app for something called the Pen and Ink Society that's being set up on PMC, and was interested. So I decided to make this for the app. It is a short story, trying to show the damage griefing does. Instead of just rants and explanations, I chose to just showwhat happens.

Anyway, if you like it, pls diamond this and don't forget to subscribe to me here or on Youtube to Come Fly With Me! See ya!

www.youtube.com/user/3Ravens98