Chapter Twenty-one: A new Friend

"There's a holin outside."

My eyes widen to the realization of danger.

Haru slips her hand away from my mouth and sneaks her way to the window so she can peek through to see what lies within the clear night.

I thought those things only hung around Zemfen? This is really bad, I hope there's only one. I've never seen a holin before, but I've heard rumors of them. People from Zemfen have come to Kai village before and told us about the terror that they can bring. From what I know concerning those monsters, it sounds like their sole purpose is to destroy humans. They move like shadows in the night and have a deafening screech. Red glowing eyes that dig deep into one's soul and razor-sharp teeth that can easily rip a limb off. I can only imagine what they look like in person. I peer around the room for the others as my vision slowly adjusts to the darkness. A familiar cackling echoes from outside and I carefully move my way to the opened window with Haru. My heart stops at the sight of a misty shadow that sluggishly walks past us not too far off. It looks exactly like those things that I encountered at Erekin during the fire! Wait, is that what a holin looks like? Did I actually fight a band of those monsters!?

The crackling moan coming from the creature almost sounds human. The mist of blackness trails behind its human-like body as it slowly puts one foot in front of the other.

My heart beats erratically and my palms feel slick from my own sweat.

I actually fought a holin.

The thing advances down the path within the village as we stare at its backside. So, I guess we just wait until it's gone then.

Haru pulls back from the window and lets her back rest on the wall near it.

I take this chance to do the same and query what's on my mind at the moment, "Haru, where are the others, and why isn't Mueimma making a scene out of this?"

She glances at me and replies, "They're supposed to be patrolling around the hotel and trying to hunt down the holins by surprise. Not sure what's up with Mueimma, though."

"You mean there's more of them?" I'm trying to not be too loud.

"They usually travel in groups. I'm here to keep you safe."

I'm not that helpless, I can still handle myself. I wonder if this is the same group from before and they've come back for vengeance or something. The fog doesn't lessen the creepy ambiance any, though, but I think I can at least ward off one holin if it decides to come after me. This better be a test from Vensen, I feel like he's watching us, and that's how it usually turns out now. Suddenly, the sound of someone crying fills my ears. Is that coming from within the building? My posterior gets up from the wooden floor and I crawl my way over to the noise on my hands and knees.

Haru calls out to me in a whisper, "What are you doing?"

"Don't you hear that? Someone is crying," I reply quietly while staring back at her. "The holins can hear it." I stand up and before I make it to the door she reaches over my shoulder to hand me my dagger.

"You'll need this then."

"Thanks." I grab the new leathered sheath firmly.

"And me as well," she puts in bluntly.

"Good idea." It sucks how we have to whisper everything since it's difficult to see in the dark for body language. Haru follows behind me as we go on towards the noise. Strange, it's almost like I can actually see. I mean, I can see, or sense the outline of the objects as I slowly walk down the hall towards the sniveling sound at least. I'm surprised at the fact that none of the holins outside are showing any interest by trying to get in so far... Maybe it's a trap-no, I don't think I've heard of a holin setting one up like this before. They like to hunt, not lure. The sobbing is getting louder, which means we're getting closer. I turn the corner and hear it coming from one of the rooms. Is everyone staying hidden; I sure hope so. I look back to Haru for her approval, then we both creep closer. I peek around the open door-frame and see a little girl covering her face with her hands as she keeps tearing up. My feet advance towards her quietly.

She looks up, startled at our presence.

"Don't be scared," I say to her in a hushed tone as I come closer, "We're not here to hurt you."

"No," she retorts quietly, "Save yourselves."

Confused about her statement, I come up to her anyway and kneel down to her side to comfort her.

"No," she tries to push me away with her little nubby hands that are coated with her dark brown skin, "If you stay with me, they'll just kill you."

"Who?" I inquire.

"The monsters outside, they're after me."

Haru comes close to the other side of the girl. "Why would they be after you? Holins don't usually care who they're after, they just want to kill anything that's human."

I try glaring at her for making such a morbid comment.

"I know they're after me. I did something I wasn't supposed to." The little girl hides her face in her cupped hands and starts sobbing again.

I place my arm around her and start to coo her. "Hey now, there's no need for tears at a moment like this. Let's focus on keeping you safe and getting rid of these nasty monsters; alright?"

After a few sniffles, the little girl looks up to me with her big magenta eyes. "You-you wanna protect me?"

I nod with confidence

"But why; you don't even know my name."

I hold her little body with a tighter grip. "Hi, my name is Vila, nice to meet you."

From the shining moon, I can hardly see her smile. "I'm Oumi."

A bashing sound from within the building impedes our bonding. A more demonic crackling echoes from the hallway and branches into the room where we stay dormant.

Oumi cuddles closer in fear as I caress her blue hair and Haru prepares for battle with her katana.

"Haru, Vila." A head pops out from the other side of the window. It's Zaru!

I pick up Oumi to lend her to him and he pulls her through the square hole. He helps Haru and I do the same. We now stand in the darkness where the monsters of the night await us.

I pick up Oumi again as we stray away from the village in a sprint through the woods. "What's going on?" I ask Zaru as I trail behind him.

"There's too many so we have to wait it out in the bunkers until dawn." He leads up to a very small and abandoned lav and brings us to the hidden entryway that was once underneath a table.

I then realize that Zaru is holding my hand as I carry Oumi with one arm.

He pulls away and says a few words to stray from it, "Muiemma has to stay in the house since she can't fit through the hole."

My eyes then gaze to the faint image of this loveable ousada as the moon shines on her white fur with light blue markings. "Keep the monsters away; okay girl?"

The tip of her tongue slides up my cheek as I hear her give a small whimper of concern.

I hug what I can of her head tightly and sit on the edge of the hole to slide in which brings me into the underground tunnels towards the bunker. Oumi comes through and I catch her with ease.

She giggles and then the other two come in with Zaru shutting the panel.

Some torches have already been lit by the others, so I can see a good portion of the structure as we walk down to the main area. It's pretty chilly down here compared to the usual warm night that I'm used to in Aishy. This, however, doesn't stop me from examining the old bricks that make up the walls and concrete path beneath us that was made for the Blood War. As we approach the place where the other villagers rendezvous, the lighting becomes more prominent from old technology and man-made flames.

Caru runs up and snatches her sister into her arms as Haru does the same.

"That should be everyone," Zaru states as he walks past them.

The two quickly glide over and pull him into the hugging gang.

Zaru is probably slightly embarrassed with the affection but embraces his sisters anyway.

I look down to Oumi to see if she's okay as our hands stay locked together.

Her sparkling eyes glimmer with the burning torches and worn out bulbs.

I can't help but wonder about her family. "Oumi, do you have any parents? They must be worried about you."

She glances to the floor and messes around with her blue dress by her free hand. "I'm cold, Vila-kan."

"You can just call me Vila, it's fine." She's probably still having trouble with trusting me, which is okay. I wouldn't tell a stranger about my complex family situation either. I take her over to one of the fires that were started by the people so she can stop shivering.

"So, who's your new friend?" Apparently, we're next to Pick. He takes the heavy blanket from his back and wraps it around Oumi's small, fragile body.

"Oh, Haru and I found her in the hotel we were staying at. She was all alone in one of the rooms so we took her with us when Zaru showed up to lead us here." That's about the gist of it, there's really nothing else I can say on the matter.

"I see; what's your name little one?"

A big smile puffs up her cheeks as she answers him, "My name is Oumi, Sir."

He smiles back. "Oumi, that's a lovely name. Do you know where your parents are?"

Her smile then fades away and she neglects to look at him. "I don't have any, Sir."

Pick frowns as well and gently combs the top of her head. "I'm sorry little one, we can keep you safe for now."

Oumi turns around in the blanket and hugs me with joy. "I know, Vila-kan told me so."