The Strange Lady; Athena?

War.

"Over there."

A man called at another who had a spear in his hand and was running after a lone man who was dressed differently from the two.

The caller was quite swift but what he had in his hand was an ax, whose wooden handle seemed to be under a spell of splitting.

The man who they were on was running through the ruins, avoiding the fallen houses and burnt barns. The whole village was in tumult and amongst the several invaders where those two who were keen on taking the poor lone man down.

Unfortunately, the man stumbled on a fallen part of the roof of a house which had been destroyed. He fell on his face, his left hand plunged into a 4-inches nail. He screamed and wrenched in pain.

"Hell of a runner."

The first invader got to the man and towered over him.

"You all and your lot should had left this land when you had the opportunity but look at you now. Where is that will and courage to fight for your land? Or isn't that what you hymn is, or have I mistaken again?"

"You talk too much."

The other invader got to the man crawling on his chest through the ruins. He had managed to fight his wounded hand off the nail.

"Let him continue the race in the afterlife."

The second invader said and plunged his spear into the heart of the man. Then he turned to his mate and hijacked the ax. He turned to the fellow and began to ax several parts of his body.

In no time, the life in the poor lone man skedaddled and perhaps, he would really be able to continue the race in the afterlife; his both legs were chopped off.

"You love the taste of blood eh?"

The first invader asked as the second removed the spear and handed the ax over to the owner. He turned away from him without saying a thing as he walked on looking curiously at the men and women of the land who scrambled about.

Then he seemed to have a sight of another prey and turned to his counterpart,

"Are you coming?"

His face was pale and had several scars which seemed to be gores made by blades but had been filled by both time and nurses.

The other invader who seemed rather reserved nodded his head and followed apace.

As the evil invader ran through the ruins, his legs were swift and perky as though they were made for such task. His eyes were like that of an angered panther which could see nothing but a meal at hand.

The man they were on to who seemed not to be aware of the chase looked at his back. As soon as he discovered that he wasn't running away from danger anymore, but danger was running towards him, he screamed like a woman and sought a place to hide.

But twas rather too late as the evil invader aimed his spear while running and hurled it in the man's direction. The spear split its way into the head of the fellow, sinking into his skull from behind as he fell on his face. In no time, he was bathed in his own blood.

The evil invaders got to him and turned the corpse over. He carved out the dead man's nose. Hell knew what precisely he was going to do with it.

The other invader left the evil one alone and went on his own hunt. He seemed to be weary of such sight of blood and ruthlessness.

Amidst the chaos, there was a young lady with her five years old cute baby girl. The lady was bathed in her own blood, blood streaming from her side. She was hiding under a fallen roof of a hut. She had one of her hands clasped to the side which had been dug by a spear and the second hand covering the mouth of the baby obviously to prevent her from making such noise which would rat the both of them out.

She had been watching the fight from a rear before a stray spear found her and confined her to the temporary hide she had made her shelter. She knew too well that twas just a matter of time. She would be found soon but she feared for the life of her baby.

She muttered in pressured prayer, her voice breaking to the confetti of strength she was striving to sweep into a whole,

"Dear Athena. I have had no faith in you since the beginning of time. Because I have had every right not to believe in any god. My father and mother were plucked away from me at a young age. I had every right to despise you."

She looked down at the circles of blood forming before her. Her own blood. She groaned trying to concentrate on the Prayer and continued,

"And you have every right to ignore my prayers and my supplications. But for the sake of my daughter. She had never offended you. She didn't know that you exist because of me. It's all my blame, do not take it out on her."

She paused again. She could feel her life dispersing gradually. Even now, words were sour in her throat. Words felt like the bile in every meat which every throat would spew.

She found her words, even though they might be her last. But suddenly, she caught the sight of a man with pale face looking in her direction. She had been caught.

She hastened with her prayer,

"All I ask for, dear Athena. Is that you keep my daughter alive. I don't know how."

There was a stray man who came out of nowhere and stood in the way of the pale faced man coming towards her. The stray man stood his ground to fight the pale faced.

That would help her buy enough time. But as soon as she started praying again, the pale faced's ax had sunk in the chests of the stray man.

She mumbled the words as the pale faced ran in rage towards her with spear poised.

"Take my life for all I care, Athena, but spear my daughter's."

She stopped praying and closed her eyes, taking her hand off the wound to cover her daughter's face, the other hand covering her mouth. Twas time to die. She was sure. The scream of the pale faced who was drawing closer said it all.

But what she expected wasn't what she got. She was expecting a spear eating through her veins. But instead, there was a sudden peace.

Her instinct told her that it could be a trick but she didn't know what to believe. But then she heard a thud before her and a wrench of pain.

She couldn't hold back the interest anymore. What did she have to lose if she looked up? She did, and saw the pale faced hanging in the air, staked on his own spear, whose bottom was to the earth.

She couldn't explain what had just happened or how the pale faced had been killed. But then she heard more groaning and screams ahead of her. She looked up.

There was an elegantly dressed lady, whose skin from distance shone like the prime of the sun, tending tender, eyes keen and beauty spurting like flames from her face. Her aura majestic and quickening. Her walk-steps commanding and well-thought.

The lady with baby couldn't keep up with the remaining qualities of the strange lady. How could she? The strange lady was performing some magic;

As the strange lady raised her delicate fingers, the invaders were tossed into the air and their weapons were used against them.

The lady with baby followed the events with her eyes, her mouth agape, as her hand slipped off both the eyes and mouth of her dear baby.

"Athena?"

She muttered. But twas only the matter of time before she finds out. Find out who the strange lady walking towards her was.