Yoshi

The market is always fun. So many things to see, so many colors and so many people. There is nothing like it in the world. The bright red of the awnings over the open stalls competed with the riot of color found on the merchandise and clothing of the sellers and the buyers alike. We were going to get rice and fresh fish. The market place is full of life and full of noise. It is a fun place. I had many friends there it is one of the best places to meet, a fun place to play while mom shopped for the things that we need.

Today is different dad, came with Mom and I to do our shopping. I decided to stay close. Dad always convinced Mom to get me a treat. That made today special.

The market street is full as always but the tension is so thick that even I could feel it. The people in the street walked with heads bowed never looking more the a few feet in front of their shoes. The tension stemmed from the presence of so many armed Samurai walking though out the market. The people are afraid of them. I had been told that I was not allowed to look them in the eye. If I did they would kill me. I was very frightened.

"We should be quick," I heard my dad whisper to my mother.

"I think that you are right," I heard her reply, “Yoshi I don’t want you to run off today. We need to leave as soon as we can.”

The air filled with screams and a terrible noise. A spray of rich red blood misted the air. Several people near me including my mother were ripped open and hurled bleeding to the ground. Grabbing me my father pushed me down to the ground and underneath a vendor's street cart. He then rolled under the cart himself. It all happened so fast. In the blink of an eye my happy exciting day dissolved into a nightmare of blood and horror.

I saw him, I saw my mother's killer. He was dressed as and carrying the weapons of a Samurai but instead of the traditional black and gold of our local colors he wore the white and green of a rival lord. His weapon was still blazing a way as he randomly killed people in the street. It looked like he was aiming at the local Samurai but not caring whom his bullets killed his body jerked and went into convulsions as he was buried under a hail of returning fire. Many people in the crush surrounding him also fell. Samurai don’t care about the common people they only care about putting bullets into their rivals. Gunfire erupted from the buildings surrounding he market and poured down into the street indiscriminately killing Samurai and commoner alike. I saw one of the local Samurai scream something into his radio. I could not here what was said. The noise from the automatic weapons was too loud to even hear what my father was screaming to me.

We were laying on top of a heavy sheet of metal. Father pushed me off of it then heaving it over so that it leaned against the side of the building creating a small space between the metal and the building. He reaching over he pulled me into the space behind the sheet. I think that he may have intended to get behind the cover but I will never know for sure because the act of pulling me to safety put his head in the line of fire. I can only hope that he did not feel the bullets that splattered his brain all over my face.

I could here it coming now, I could hear the coming of the helicopters that were bring the provinces reinforcements. The, helicopter bust into view over the top of the building this was not a troop transport but a gun ship. It opened fire with rockets into the windows of the buildings effectively ending the gunfire coming from the building. Most of the rivals were down on the street now trying to finish off the locals. The helicopter then raked the street with fire from its pulse laser cannon turning a street once full of life into a road of death.

The sheet of metal that my father placed in front of me to protect me served its job well the metal glowed from the energy that it had absorbed.

Peering cautiously around the metal I looked out on the scene of destruction. I saw the destruction all of the dead littering the street. For a moment I thought that I was the only one alive. Then I saw them they them. There were some samurai that were still alive but they were not ours they were from the rival province. They were looking or something watching they pulled one old lady from the rubble. Without a sound one of them drew his sword for its sheath and decapitated her with a fluid stoke. Knowing that had to hide I crouched behind the sheet of metal.

I can't stay here, I have to leave if I stay here they will find me and kill me.

Crouching I again peered around the metal there were four of them left alive. It looked like we five were the only ones on the street. They are getting closer. They are looking my way. I can't leave now. I need to wait until they look the other way.

They are looking away now is my chance.

Bolting from behind the steel I ran my fastest.

I am gonna die. They are gonna kill me. They are going shot me in the back.

"There goes one. Shot her before she can get away."

The bullets snapped around me but they did not touch me. Not understanding but not caring I keep running.

"Stop her! We can't let her get away."

Still running flat out I could hear them pounding the street behind me. They were chasing me. There was not anything I could do about running as fast as I could I was not fast enough. They are right behind me now I can almost feel their breath.

I can’t escape. It is so miserably unfair. Why do they want me dead? I don't understand. These people killed my mother.

Fear frustration and anger grew in me. Fueling the muscles in my legs causing me to pull ahead of the samurai.

I can’t escape. I am just not fast enough. They are going to kill me. Fine, if they are going to kill me then I want them to know that I am not afraid to look them in the eyes.

Turning and looking them in the eye I screamed my hate and defiance into here faces. I poured all of the energy that I had into that scream.

The scream hit them with a physical force all of them flew backwards though the air and smashed into vendor carts and bouncing of the walls and the ground. Two of the four lay very still with their heads and limbs twisted at unnatural angels. The third died painfully impaled on a broken pole that once held a merchant's sign. The fourth still moved. His hand reached for his pistol at his belt. Without thought I grabbed the sword that fell at my feet the one they were going to kill me with and ran closer to the nearly broken samurai.

I have to get there before he can get his gun out.

Concentrating on that one thought I forced my legs to move faster than they had ever moved before.

Movement and motion seemed to slow. Just a couple more feet. Almost there. The gun came up the sword sweep down just as his gun lined up on my chest his hand spun off his arm and bounce a couple of time on the ground. The sword swept down again and again. With out finesse and without style I hacked his body until he stopped moving.

As soon as his body stopped moving I ran as fast as I could.
I ran as fast as I could until I got to the end of the market street. The area was completely deserted It seemed the all the people were afraid to be on the street. I can’t say that I blame them. I was on the street and I did not want to be there. I wanted to be off the street. Looking around quickly I tried to see were to go. I could not see anywhere that looked safe.

I can’t stay here. I can’t stay here. Where do I go? I can’t go anywhere. I killed him I killed them. They will find me and they will kill me.

I awoke with a scream of frustration and to the sound of loose objects and Dan crashing down to the ground. Dan bounced off the bed and onto the floor.

Stifling a groan he said, “another one?”

“Yeah, the market again.”

Dan pulled himself off the floor and sat down on our bed next to me. I felt his arms wrap around me and was comforted by his presence and his warm silence. The fear slowly faded as I relaxed into his arms. I had just about got to sleep when it struck me.

“Dan I am sorry about the levitation.”

“No worries Yoshi, sometimes I like to sleep above the covers.”

That is Dan’s strange sense of humor. We had been married for two years and still I could not predict when he would say something completely off the wall like that. I could not help but to giggle just a bit before sleep overtook me once more.