Fear

chapter thirteen

Wit

Reaching for an excuse, I ended up telling the woman - nurse, whatever - that I couldn't remember anything before six months ago, and that I woke up somewhere in the forest. Not the best excuse, but the one I'd come up with on the fly.

With that in mind, I skimmed over my time in the woods and my meeting with Kane and summarized the past six months, concluding with how I met Jax and detailing everything that happened after, exactly as it happened. The kidnapping, what happened to Jax, and though I struggled to tell her, wondering whether I even should or not, I confessed what I did to save him.

Throughout it all, she didn't ask many questions, not even about my background, though I could tell by the way she looked at me when I feigned amnesia she knew I was lying. She had a sort of cock-eyed look that, accented with one eyebrow raised, was almost comical.

Despite clear suspicion, she let me tell my story. Shocked at parts that were shocking and crying at parts even I choked up re-telling. Dabbing at her eyes after I told her about what I had to do to Kane, she thanked me. "Th-thank you, Wit." She sniveled and hiccuped, "I'm not sure what I'd do without him."

Continuing on with the story, I told her about tying Jax onto the plank and when I got to my part with the door she burst out laughing. "I didn't think about that either." Clutching at her sides, she stifled another laugh. "And then what?"

Four days ago

After a struggle, longer than I'd like to admit, I finally just huffed and removed Jax's body at the doorway, took the wood outside, and then dragged him through the door to tie him back on. "Whew. I'm glad I'm a genius." Smug in my small victory, I yanked the rein down the steps with several thumps and plodded through the front yard.

The next four or five hours were some of the hardest of my life. Still getting used to aura, my ability to apply it was shit, to say the least; sporadically faltering mid-tug, my hands were a mess of broken scabs and yellow puss. The bed sheet rope was grimy and wet from the putrid liquid and the slime became a lubricant, adding to an already difficult job.

The sound of pained grunts rang for a very long time.

During some of my well-deserved breaks, I'd sit down against a tree and marvel at the small animals that scampered along the trees and fished for hanging fruits, one of which fell on my head. "Ow, damn you gravity." How did Newton put up with this shit? Soothing the swelling knot on my scalp, I picked up the fruit for inspection. Watching the little hairy animals scarf them down had made me a little hungry.

The pale blue fruit was pear-shaped and squishy; it fit snuggly within my hand. I stared at it and wiped some drool from the side of my lip.

...Should I eat this? Probably not...but if the animals are fine...then

Making a split second decision, I rammed it into my mouth and more or less inhaled the thing. Juice eeked out like a ripe apple and blue liquid crawled down my face.

"Mmmm." Left unsatisfied, I set out to find more...and I found many many more. Shoving any and all foods that I saw another animal eat into my mouth for half an hour, I was finally full. And upon sating my desire, I was filled with immediate regret. What have I just done? What's wrong with me? Dropping another weird plant in my hand, I stumbled backward. Racked with shame I turned and trudged back to the Jaxmobile. Absentmindedly, I grabbed the reins again.

Idiot.

Grieving my poor decisions, my mind wandered as I pulled Jax along, wondering if maybe hunger had replaced my sexual desire.

...God, I hope not.

Wading through the dense leaves, Jax in hand, I stopped to pull the map out. Now, I have no idea how far I've gone, but I'm pretty sure that if I just keeping walking this way, I'll run into the village eventually. At this point, night was looming and the glimmering flora, from the glowing tree leaves to the pulsating flowers, was the only source of light.

"I should probably get some sleep, huh?"

Walking a bit further, I spotted the perfect pit stop: a tree cave. It was a gaping hole inside of an even larger tree. I yanked Jax inside. Gingerly, I hid the Jaxmobile within the alcove of the massive trunk and sunk into another corner.

Holy shit, this place is big.

I looked around the space and it was probably big enough to turn into a small house, if you didn't mind the strange odor. Wrinkling my nose, I noticed something smelled off, but it was too dark to see past my hand in here. Electing to put the problem off until the morning, I curled up in a crevice near Jax and slept.

Waking up to the same smell, my eyes followed the waft to the opposite side of the tree, and when I saw what it was my facial muscles went slack. Because piled in the corner was a heap of those same furry animals I'd seen scaling the trees and plucking those delicious fruits. They were crammed in a stack, along with a couple larger four-footed animals.

My mind went from 'this shit is creepy' to 'I gotta get the fuck outta here' when I saw large three-pronged claw marks that led from a pile of grass to the outside.

Okay. Yup. Grabbing the Jaxmobile, I wrenched him out of there faster than I'd gotten over my food high. I didn't even feel my hands; my blood was pumping so fast the adrenaline had clouded out the pain. Racing through the entrance, I hauled ass as far away as I could get before the aura slipped and the Jaxmobile pulled me backward and I fell over.

Drawing in deep breaths, my mind played over what I saw. The grass mat had a wide wilted dent, more than twice my own size. And you only get a dip like that with a lot of pressure...so then what was lying on it? Where was the home's owner? Anything with a horde of dead animals was not something I wanted to meet anytime soon.

Trying to calm down, I exhaled a few strenuous breaths and tried to think of something else. Eventually, my mind drifted to aura.

Okay, I'm starting to get used to it. Even just now, I'd surprised myself with how long I was able to use it without stopping; I wasn't even focusing on it. Looking at my mutilated hands, I swirled a bit of aura between my fingers. It didn't have a color to distinguish it by but it shifted the light, like a heat wave off cement pavement.

Curious about my strength, I grabbed a rock lying around in the leaves and squeezed down on it. When I unfurled my fingers a minute later, grooves had melded into the rock like a handprint. Shocked, I rolled it around inside my palm, in awe.

"I did this?" Holy shit...I'm badass.

Throwing it up and down, I was wondering what else I could do when I had a sudden thought: could I throw this baby? Spotting a tree, just a bit thicker than my own body, I wound my arm back. I guess I should spread the aura to my shoulder? Standing in pitcher position, I focused the aura into my right arm and hurled it at the tree.

The rock flew like a major league pitch, but it missed the large tree by almost five feet...well, at least the power's there.

"Hwooo," a whistle caught my ear from the side and I jumped in my skin. "Oh, my my my." A man chuckled from behind dense forest shade. As he sauntered closer, I got a better look at him.

He looked to be about twenty-five and he was dressed in expensive, artfully designed, black clothing that had as many tears along the elegant outside fabric as his face did. Oddly contrasting, his frail frame was paired with a face flaunting more experience than I could imagine; thick scar lines ran across his unnervingly pretty face in four or five different places, one in particular just barely missing his right eye.

As he approached, I heard more steps than two feet could make. Craning my neck around, I saw a second man walking behind him. Oh my god, it keeps getting worse. Where did these people come from?

The second man was, even more, an eerie sight. He wore similar black clothing to his companion but he had an addition of an equally black cloth tied around his eyes like a blindfold. Deep green veins webbed from underneath the blindfold in a way I found disturbing. But the guy just got weirder the more I looked. A large crow sat perched on the man's shoulder, glossy black save for a pair of abnormal brown eyes. It felt like the crow stared at me, as I did it. There was something off about its eyes though...It was almost like they were human. A shiver ran down my spine and I thought it better to just ignore the creepy thing. Fuck crows.

One arm holding onto the bag slung over his shoulder, the man who'd whistled walked towards me, but his face blanked at the site of Jax. I couldn't tell what the reaction meant, but part of me thought it was recognition. He took a step closer and - painfully aware of my last meeting like this - I backed up, quickly grabbing a rock from the floor.

Unconcerned and almost amused by the threat, the man waved his hand and continued to stare at Jax. "Hey, kiddo." He turned his black eyes onto me and I nearly buckled under the pressure that suddenly took me. "If I wanted to kill you, I would." When he looked at me it was like when Jax pointed his finger at me; I was struck with a paralyzing fear, something primal. It was as if the man had removed his human skin and revealed a beast underneath.

Then, as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. He gave me a shady smirk and winked. "But I'm a nice guy, so there's no need to be so suspicious. Okay, kiddo?"

Legs quivering, and with no choice but to nod my head, I couldn't help but think: that's the most suspicious thing I've ever heard.

Taking several more steps closer, he had his eyes locked onto Jax. Legs unresponsive to my commands, I could only watch as the man came closer and closer. Hoping to dissuade his attention, I asked a question that I was genuinely curious about. "Why are you guys out here?"

Still sidetracked by Jax's unconscious figure, the man gave an absentminded answer while stroking his chin. "Yeah...we're looking for...a girl named...what's his name?" He side-barred with a nod to Jax.

They're looking for a girl? Why did he want to know Jax's name? Should I tell him? Was there a point in hiding it? Probably not, but it's better to be on the safe side. But I suck at lying...

Unable to make eye contact, I looked everywhere but the mans face. Better to just look at the creepy crow. "His name is...Walter." Finally getting to a part I could be honest about, I finished my stellar improv with face to face confidence. "All I know is his first name." Nice. Good answer.

A little worried about the odd question, I wondered if maybe he already knew. "Do you know him?"

He paused, and as he answered I swear I saw the slightest smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "Nope." Pacing around to Jax's upper body, the man had the nerve to place a foot on Jax's forehead and turn his face over with his sole. Grimacing at his face, he raised his brows, "This kid alright?"

Irked by the way he was treating Jax, but torn because he might be able to help him, I clenched my jaw and answered through gritted teeth. "I don't know. I'm trying to find someone to help him."

"Hmm Hmm, I guess I should make sure the brat's alright." He mumbled. Though, how he spoke and how he acted were very different. Crouching low, the guy rolled up his sleeves, revealing black tattoos etched into his skin rather than inked on; they were jumbled letters, but it was a jumble of jargon I couldn't understand. And I didn't notice before, but his fingers were lined with one or two black stone rings on each finger. They were like onyx diamonds that went well - at least I thought - with his painted black fingernails. Very androgynous tastes.

But he pissed me off again by grabbing Jax's jaw with one hand and using more force than necessary, jerking his face around, humming a tune while he gave a skim inspection. Then laying a loud slap on Jax's cheek, he gave him a 'pch' and rose up. Unfurling his shirtsleeves, he shrugged his shoulders. "Yup yup...he's passed out."

I rolled my eyes. What useful information.

Giving me an eerie side-eye, he asked, "Where are you taking him?"

Pulling the map out of the bag, I let him look at it. I needed to make sure I was going the right way and I didn't see anything wrong with letting him know where I was headed. Maybe we were looking for the same place.

Unrolling the canvas, the man gave the map a cursory glance and smirked as his eyes honed in on the big red dot I pointed out. Rolling it back up, he handed it back and thanked me, before turning and walking off in the opposite direction.

Seeing his back, I noticed a few things for the first time. He had an absolutely massive white sword casually hung along his back and a black leather bag slung over his shoulder.

He stepped further away and then I noticed he wasn't coming back. "Wha- Hey, can you help me?!" I called after him. As much as I liked the guy, Jax is stupid heavy.

Without pausing his gate or turning back the man said, "Nope" and kept walking away. Passing by the blindfolded man, he whispered in his ear. I guess his ears worked at least because the blind man nodded and the bird sprung off his shoulder and flew into the air, disappearing into the forest canopy. When I looked back down from the spectacle the two men had disappeared behind the muddle of crowded trees and dense shade.

Left alone with just Jax again, I grabbed the rein and continued on straight ahead. I was disappointed I'd be doing the work myself but relieved they left at the same time. Because although our interaction was short, I only took away one feeling from it:

Fear.