The Faithfuls

Chapter 2: Jinx

Chapter 2: Jinx

“Hello?” I call. “Is anyone there?” I swore I heard something, or someone, downstairs. I could hear the cracking in the wood. It’s what I like to call my 6th sense really. It must have been another human who has been told horror stories about the Anthrofauna, I think. I slide down the railing of the stairs and stand in the centre of the room. It gets lonely here sometimes... I should have moved into town.

“Right,” I sigh to myself. Talking to yourself is said to be one of the first signs of insanity, but I do it on a regular basis to keep sanity. “Let’s go for a wander through the woods, hey conscience?” I walk in strides out of the arch. When I turn around to face it, I look at how cosy it is, but also how cosy it could be with a friend. I touch my toes, bringing my hands upward slowly in a straight line, encasing the arch in bark. This is how I hide my home from people who wander the woods. Quite easy to do.

I decide to distract myself from reality and sing ‘Freedom’, also known as the only song I have made myself or the song I was singing before I came downstairs. A few ravens fly over my head while I walk through the dense trees. I have always envied birds and dragons, as they can be free with a few flaps of their wings. Flying over everything, everyone. And then, out of absolutely nowhere, a faint crash echoes through the forest. I could barely hear it, but I have a 6th sense, which always comes in handy. I adjust the engineer goggles positioned above my forehead in my hair, and jog towards where the noise came from.

After maybe a few hundred metres of jogging, I come across a pile of branches and leaves strewn across the forest floor. In the centre of the unusual chaos was a boy. His hair was dark like night, with his long black pants being kind of see-through at the bottom of them, and his grey shirt being covered in streaks of shadow. It was hard to tell if it was the picture on the shirt or the shadow of the trees. He lies on his side, groaning and covered in minor cuts and bruises, including one on his left cheek. I try not to laugh. Obviously trying to tree jump... never do it unless you’ve practiced first. I walk over, tying my blood red hair in a ponytail with the vine that was around my wrist. It connects with the vine that was already intertwined in my hair and I kneel down next to him.

I shake him a little so that he wakes up before I speak. “Um... are you ok there?” He rubs his head, and looks at me sceptically with deep green eyes.

I tilt my head and wait until I think he’s not going to speak. “Sorry, you must not have been expecting me to be here. Need a hand?” I stand up and outstretch my hand. Unless he’s extremely superstitious or extremely stubborn, he’ll probably want a hand up. He grabs it, but he’s stronger than what I thought he would be. It takes one huge heave to get him off the ground. I can see that the shadow marks on his shirt are actually printed on there. He brushes himself off, wincing when he covers a few sore spots and adjusts his brown leather jacket.

Finally, he speaks. “Thanks...I’m not going to try and tree jump again anytime soon. It hurts.”

I laugh a little. “Yeah, it took me a while too.” He smiles at me, which, as I am taking it, is an early sign of friendship.

 “You’re not... from the village, are you?” I say.

“No... Why do you ask?”

“No reason... it’s just that people from the village kind of hate me...”

“What are you a criminal or something?” He folds his arms behind his back.

I sigh. “I’m not a criminal... they just don’t accept me, you know?” I give a little chuckle. “For god’s sake, I live in a giant tree in the woods.  Hardly anyone accepts me.” He stops, like he’s thinking.

After a good two or three minutes of me waiting, he speaks. “You’re the girl that was singing before... your home is pretty nice by the way.” I take this info in. He was the person who was at my house before... he seems nice enough...

I laugh. “It is isn’t it? I thought I heard someone before. 6th sense never fails me.”

He puts his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “You’re a very good singer... you know... for being alone in the woods...” I smile at him, and he smiles back.

“My name is Jinx Amadeus, at your service of friendship.” I bow a little.

He lets out a short laugh. “I’m Zeth Luminatrix, at your service of friendship.” He bows to me.  4th friend of my entire teenage life has been acquired.

“You’re still covered in cuts. Need a hand cleaning those up? I’m also a good healer.” I say.

“That would help, yes.” He grins. “Thanks for the offer. First time I’ve had a friend that isn’t a demon.” I make a hand movement for him to follow me, and he gladly comes along.

While we are walking, I ask, “So, which dimension have you come from? I haven’t seen you around Merador before.”

He gives a little sigh. “I came from the Hell Dimension. That’s why my only friends have been demons.”

I can’t hide my excitement. “Really? Cool...I’ve now got a friend from every dimension.”

“Wait...what do you mean?”

“Well, there’s you, and you represent the Hell Dimension. I represent the Merador Dimension. Also, my womanizer friend Brandon, who came from the Lucenthia Dimension. Then there’s Ursa from the Solar Dimension, and finally Muse from the Rithen Dimension.” I smile. “If you want to join the circle of friends you’re welcome to.”

“What does each dimension represent?” He asks. “Sorry, I wasn’t taught that much about the dimensions by my father.”

I look at him curiously. Well for starters, the Hell Dimension doesn’t get taught that much about its neighbours. “Merador represents forests and life. The Hell Dimension, well, represents the opposite of Merador. Lucenthia is the central dimension, and has all elements. The Solar Dimension was created to house evolution and technology. And Rithen is an ocean dimension.”                  

He takes all this in and we don’t speak for the rest of the walk. But I can tell he’s happy, he knows what world he’s living in.