The Faithfuls

Chapter 7: Jinx

Chapter 7: Jinx

I sit awake in my hammock that night, not able to sleep. Zeth is slightly drooling again, and the Ursa’s hand is hanging out of her hammock. I think from the beginning of today, and what happened. I have known for a long time our pasts would come to haunt us. It just happened to be Zeth’s first. I can’t take it anymore. I silently get out of my hammock, and go downstairs. I open the arch as quietly as possible, and close it behind me.

The woods are dark and mysterious. Just the way I like it. I pass a few humans coming back to their village from a hunt, their weapons menacing to me, as they were the weapons that killed my people.

I climb a large, skinny stumped tree, and I look over the forest. This is my home. But it is also my nightmare. I jump across a few more branches, seeing my tree in the distance. I decide to not be stealthy anymore, and sing freedom.

I never knew that people could actually accept me,

I never knew it was the key to being free,

But I just want another chance at youth,

I don’t want nightmares through and through,

I know the Faithfuls are strong inside,

But if I met them then would my race be alive?

I am interrupted by something in the wind. Not normal here, that’s all I can tell of it. I sense that it’s a person, but not shadow. Not Raiku. The next thing I know I’m knocked off the branch by what I see to be a person with a giant scythe. I get up, and see that it was a woman older than me. She held a giant silver scythe in her hands, the end pointed at me.

Obviously also a gun. She too wears engineer goggles, except hers are on her forehead.

“What do you want from me?” I call to her.

She keeps the scythe level with my face. “You are a friend of the shadow lord.”

“You mean Zeth? Wait... how do you know that?”

“My master deserves his place.”

“Your master is Raiku Xion?” I say.

“He is a righteous man, and deserves that position more than your petty teenage friend.” She spits.

“I don’t want any trouble. I’m just a friend of-“

“See? That’s the reason why my master sent me to get you. You’re encouraging Zeth’s hope.” Something flies out of the scythes gun barrel and I flip out of the way, now seeing an animal tranquiliser in the tree behind where I was. She knows I think as I dodge out of the way of another dart. Then she goes for the up close approach. She uses the force of a bullet coming out of the scythe to power herself into a wall of earth I quickly brought out of the ground. The thing I do next is just out of instinct. I jump and punch her in the face. I then step back a little, looking at her red hair in a plat and her blue body suit and high top black boots are covered in small splotches of dirt.

“I have been ordered to get rid of nature’s impurities!” She roars. “And I will not lose to a petty teenage girl full of secrets!” She launches herself at me, and we go back and forth from dodging attacks like darts and punches. Eventually I start to get tired, so I trip her to the ground and run back towards my home. She comes into pursuit after me, her speed unconquerable. Eventually she’s a few steps behind me as she levels the dart to my arm. I only just notice it before the dart enters my skin. At that moment, everything goes blurry as I see that I was so close to home, the tree only just in the distance. I fall to the ground as the woman kneels in front of me. All I hear before I go unconscious is “We know who you are. And all your dearest must die.” And then the world goes black.