*Short chapter, but at least it's something. The next chapter will be longer.*
RISAK
We have been walking for so long. I see Taurel, our One-Pawed Savior, up ahead. To my left is Sparkle, and to my right is the wolf.
It's as if Taurel never gets tired. "Hurry up, we're almost there," I hear him say.
Just continue walking forward. Focus on the backpack he's wearing. We just have to focus. That's it. Focus...
I lose my train of thought when I hear someone stumble. Swinging my head to the left, I watch Sparkle trying to regain her balance.
"Ugh, this is gross!" she exclaims as she cleans off the mud from her feet.
Taurel turns around to face us. "We're almost there. Do you really have to complain now?"
He glares at Sparkle, and she takes a few steps back. I must have been staring at her because she motions with her paw for me to follow her. With a sigh, I also take a few steps back.
When we're a few yards behind Taurel and the wolf, Sparkle faces me. She grins; I bite my lip.
"Risak, I've been wondering," she says while twisting a strand of her hair around a finger. "Do you think that I'm doing the right thing?"
The question surprises me.
Of course she's doing the right thing. Of course we are. Why would she even ask?
Her arm falls down at her side. The strand of hair she was twisting around her finger falls in front of her face. I focus on that strand of red-pink hair in the center of her face. It's as if her face is divided into two.
"Of course, you're doing the right thing. We'll become heroes for what we're doing," I tell her.
She nods her head. That strand of hair doesn't move.
"Do you want to know the truth?" she asks.
I am confused. What does she mean? "The truth?"
"I've been doing this because I believe. I believe that when we get our paws on Duke, I can save him."
"Save him?" I ask.
Sparkle nods again. "Yes. When we have Duke, I'm going to make sure that he doesn't do anything bad. You see, Risak, the only reason I'm doing all this is because I want to prevent Duke from turning into the monster that you and Taurel say he is. I'm going to save him by making things right again. I have waited long enough. It's time to right the wrong."
Her hair flows behind her as she catches up with Taurel. I follow her, my thoughts racing.
I suddenly stop as I remember a thought that flashed in my mind. It was only from an hour or two ago.
The first thing I noticed were the eyes. One second, they were completely black. The next second, they were completely white. When they turned black again, I saw a little red in them. When they turned white again, I found out what the red was. He had drops of blood speckled in his eyes.
The next thing I noticed was the rest of his face. He was smirking at me. Blood was pouring out of his mouth. It was dripping down his chin and the front of his neck.
Then he held up his right arm. Multiple trails of blood were twisting around the arm. However, the blood wasn't bothering him.
He walked toward me. The look in his face terrified me.
The last thing I remember is him saying, "I am the Duke Fierdan. Do not underestimate us."
It's just a thought. It wouldn't make sense for Duke to say "us" instead of "me", right?
I shake my head. "I'm sorry, but it's too late. Things won't ever be like how they were before."
I put a paw on her shoulder. "Duke can't be saved."
That's why I have to kill him.
I suddenly hear cruel laughter.
"Kill him? What part of "do not underestimate" do you not understand? If you want to kill Duke, you will have to kill me as well. Unfortunately, I am not ready to die."
ARDERE
We finally began on our journey to central fox territory. I feel like I'm the only one excited about it.
"Hey Duke, we're finally going. Aren't you excited?" I say with a smile on my face.
"Yeah, this is so exciting. I'm having so much fun," Duke says and rolls his eyes.
"We're gonna kill so many phantoms. We'll be there to save the day," I say enthusiastically.
I sigh as I look at Duke and Dawn. They definitely don't look happy.
"What happened?" I ask them.
"Shut up, Ardere. You don't have to know everything that happens between Duke and me," Dawn says.
Duke sighs. "Oh, there you go again. Shut the hell up, Dawn. You have no right to treat Ardere like poop."
He stomps his foot and passes Dawn and me. His body is slightly twitching. Is it anger, or is there another emotion underneath?
"I'm gonna kill every last one of them," I hear Duke growl. "Every last one."
TWINKLE
"You liar! You told me that they were okay. This doesn't look okay, Duke!"
How much time did I spend just looking at the rubble? How long was I sad, and how long was I mad?
It must have been a while because I suddenly hear a voice.
"What are you doing out here?"
I turn around and gasp at the guy who spoke to me. He surprised me.
"Why are you outside of the shelters? It's not safe out here."
I glare at him. "I'm fine on my own, thanks."
He walks closer. "Your parents are probably in one of the shelters. I can bring you there if you'd like. You look like you're not from around here."
"I live here," I sigh.
He smiles as I frown. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just haven't seen you before."
I arch an eyebrow. "And I never saw you before."
This guy is suspicious. He has short and spiky hair. It's silver. What guy has silver hair? He also has light gray eyes. On his eyelids, are tiny tattoos. He has more under his eyes.
"I monitor one of the shelters. With so many phantoms roaming around, it's not safe for citizens to go outside the shelters."
"I can protect myself, but thanks for the offer. You should go."
He stares at me as he says, "I'm not going anywhere. Come on, I can bring you to your parents."
"Why are you outside? Did you hear me?" I ask.
He hesitates for a moment before nodding his head.
I sigh and allow him to lead me to one of the shelters.
We aren't there yet when he turns around to face me.
"People call me Jinx, by the way. Phantoms won't be able to hurt me."
I take out the blue sword from inside my jacket. "I'm Twinkle, and phantoms won't be able to hurt me either."
I smile as he looks at the blue blade.
A few minutes later, he shakes his head. I put the sword back inside the jacket.
"We're here," Jinx announces.
"I don't see anything," I reply.
"Just follow me, Twinkle."
"Okay," I say while gripping the sword inside my jacket. "Let's go."
If he does one thing out of line, then I'll kill him. Whether that guy is a stranger like Jinx, or a former lover like Duke. One step out of line, and they're dead.
FIERDAN
"Do you believe in parallel worlds? Or how about the multiple realities theory?"
Fauna sighs as she holds Night Crow in her paw.
"This is how you do small talk? Really?"
I start to get off the couch when Fauna tells me to sit back down again.
"Oh, what's small talk?" I ask trying to sound as genuinely curious as I can.
"Never mind," Fauna replies. "So this guy's Night Crow, huh?"
I already introduced him to you. Why are you asking again?
"Uh... yeah. The black bird in your right paw is called Night Crow."
Then Fauna laughs. I don't know what is so funny.
I lean back and close my eyes. "I made him. He used to just be a pile of black goop that I shaped into a bird. I made it come to life. I created Night Crow."
"So you used magic to create other living things, huh? That's interesting," Fauna says.
I shrug. "Interesting, huh?"
Another awkward silence follows.
DUKE
Why can't I stop twitching? Pull it together, dude. It's not Soulless. You're just upset because you were arguing with Dawn before.
Suddenly, I stop walking.
I look behind me. I only see Dawn.
"Hey! Where's Ardere?"
She rolls her eyes. "He's so excited that he went ahead of you. Pay attention some time, Duke."
I look at the ground and kick some pebbles.
"Do you hear that?" I ask, lowering my voice.
"Hear what? There's nothing here."
Freaking Fennie can't hear. Great, I'm going crazy again.
"Stay over here, Dawn. I'm gonna take a look up ahead."
She gives me a blank stare. I roll my eyes. "There's something going on, and I'm going to find out what it is."
"Have fun," she replies right before I begin running after Ardere.
I hide behind a tree when it happens.
There's this guy crouching a short distance away from Ardere. He's at eye level with Ardere.
"Hello," is the only word I hear him say.
I breathe a sigh of relief as I watch Ardere run back towards Dawn.
Then I step away from the tree.
That guy must be Taurel.
"I'm sick of hiding. It's about time we finished this game."
No comments:
Post a Comment