Zaino never thought that he would be dying at the age of twenty.

He had such dreams and aspirations, yet here he laid, a bloodied mess on the sand, finding out how it smelled and tasted like for the first and last time of his life. His body refused to cooperate, and complained about the dehydration and starvation he was suffering from, not to mention all of the blood he had lost and was losing. [i]This is it,[/i] he thought. [i]I'm really dying.[/i]

That was when a female voice shook his ears and Zaino felt his instincts give a kick of adrenaline back into his body. He groaned as he rolled to his back, seeing the person and not speaking a word as his hand felt along the hilt of his sword. [b]"Get away,"[/b] he said under heavy pressure, the sword flying out of its scabbard and trying to control his arm as he swung the sword. He completely missed, the sword hovering over the woman's head as he breathed in and out to regain his energy for another one. [b]"Stay back!"[/b] he swung again.