Chapter 5

Bandit had been gone for about a day. Assandra was getting worried. She decided to go look for him.

She walked around the city, calling his name. There was no sign of him anywhere. She was about to give up when she heard a noise from an alleyway.

She cautiously approached and peered inside. Bandit was there, lying on the ground. He was covered in blood and didn’t seem to be moving.

Assandra’s heart sank. She slowly walked into the alleyway, her vision blurring with tears. She knelt down next to Bandit and gently stroked his head.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, her voice shaking. “I should have been there for you. I’m sorry.”

Hearing Assandra’s voice, Bandit twitched. He was alive!

“I got to do something about that wound” Assandra said to herself, looking at his injury.

She ripped a strip of fabric from her shirt and tied it tightly around his leg to try and stop the bleeding. Then she picked him up and carried him back to their home in the ruins.

Assandra tended to Bandit’s wound as best she could. She was relieved that he was going to be okay. They had been through too much together to lose each other now.

The next day, Bandit was up and walking around again. He was a little weak, but otherwise fine. Assandra was glad that he was alright.

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“I know, we’ll have to find something soon” Assandra said.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise. It sounded like something was moving. They hid behind a pile of rubble and waited.

After a few moments, they heard the noise again. It was getting closer. They both held their breath and waited.

Then, they saw it. It was a huge creature, walking on two legs. It was taller than any human they had ever seen. It was wearing some kind of armor and had a sword and shield.

The creature was coming towards them. They could see the fear in each other’s eyes. They were going to die.

But then, the creature stopped and spoke in a voice that was kind and gentle. “Do not be afraid,” it said. “I am here to help.”

Bandit and Assandra were so relieved that they started to cry. The creature said its name was Alex and that it was a warrior from another land. It said that it had been looking for a place to live and that it would like to stay with them.

Alex helped them rebuild the city and they all lived together in peace.

More Assandra & Capybara stories

Background

Part 1 of this tale of Assandra and capybara set the stage. Part 2 was seeded with a general description of the characters (Assandra and the capybara Bandit) as well as the setting (the ruins of a city).

The text marked in bold is the text that started the new part of the story.

“We did this to ourselves”, she thought.

The capybara looked up at her with mournful eyes.

“I know”, she said, “but we’ll find a way to fix it.”

The capybara nodded and they set off into the ruined city.

…

Asandra had always been a survivor. She was born in the slums of the city, and had learned how to take care of herself at an early age. When the city was destroyed, she was one of the few who managed to escape.

She had wandered for days, until she came to the ruins of her old city. It was a wasteland. The buildings were destroyed, the streets were empty, and the sky was dark. Asandra was about to give up hope when she saw a capybara watching her from a distance.

The capybara was wild and timid, but it was also the only friend Asandra had in the wasteland. She named him Bandit and the two of them set out to find a way to rebuild the city.

More Assandra & Capybara stories

Background

This short story came about when I asked my wife for a character and a setting, and she came up with “post-apocalyptic”, “Assandra – with two s’es” and “a capybara”.

I then proceeded to write the intro marked with bold.