King of Creatures

Chapter 23

Amari stared at his bloodied knuckle rings as Max worked on building a fire. He knew Max had lied. That it was he, Amari, that had killed those Flameheads. He couldn't help but feel his stomach drop at the idea that he had killed someone. They deserved it though. He looked down at his arms, the new scars made him feel slightly justified. Amari shuddered as he remembered how it felt when he had gotten those scars. The scraping feeling, the feeling of his skin ripping off his arms. The pain.

He looked back at his arms. Examining them closely. "Wait..." He mumbled to himself, realizing that his scars don't actually match the trauma he had endured. They should be bigger. They cut off chunks of him, not small skinny lines. He lifted his arms up towards the sun rise and stared at the lightening struck scars. "How'd I get these?"

Too much energy, I suppose. Aayma had sat besides Amari, sniffing at his arms. If they had hurt you, your body probably would've already healed you. But this, it may have come from you. An energy burst id say. "Oh." Amari said simply, dropping his arms and his head feeling a twinge of hurt.

"Hey, " Amari said to the feline, who cocked her head and let out a small chirp. "You called them Flameheads." Yes. "Why?" What do you mean? That's what they are called. Aayma curled herself into a ball, letting out a big yawn in the process.

"Really? Oh. I – I thought I had made it up." You did. Amari looked over at the cat, confused. "What? What do you mean?" I mean you did make it up. The name. "But no one was around when I... How'd did you hear it?" Amari thought back, maybe some of the insects that had found their way inside, heard the name and told Aayma? You can do that. If you name an unknown, that's their name. "Name an unknown?"

"Fire's ready." Max declared, throwing one last stick into the flames. Amari shook his head free from thoughts and smiled at Max.

"Great. I'm freezing." He sounded much more happier than he had felt, and it felt fake somehow. Max didn't say anything, he just scooted over as Amari moved to sit closer to the fire. Max dug in his bag, pulling out two bags of chips, handing one to Amari.

"Bought it from the train station." He shrugged. "Hopefully I bought enough snacks to hold us off for a bit." Amari nodded, opening his bag, and eating a few chips. They sat in silence for a while before Max crumbled up his chip bag and threw it into the now dying flame.

"Don't forget to get some sleep okay? I – I forgot to pack sleeping bags so..." He pulled out his extra clothes and handed Amari his book bag. Then he laid down, using the clothes as a pillow. Amari finished his bag of chips but folded the bag and shoved it in his pocket instead of throwing it into the flame. Then he too, laid down.

We might actually make it. I am so pleased my lord but...I'm afraid. I – I feel sick. But I can feel you. You're here. You are here...

Amari awoke in a sweat, breathing heavily and head hurting. He looked over at Max, who was still sleeping, cuddling Aayma. The sun already set, and the fire had gone out. Amari retwisted some of his locks before decided to wake Max up.

"C'mon, we're leaving." Max nodded before sitting up, rubbing his eyes, and yawning. Aayma also yawned and did a big stretch as Amari cleaned their area. Max took his book bag, shoved his clothes back inside and handed Amari an Instant Water Pellet.

"Thanks." Amari said taking the water pellet. He threw it in his mouth and stared down at the path, which seemed to be shining brighter than before. "You ready?" He asked Max, who was dusting dirt off of his pants. He nodded and the two set off once again.

"There's another city up ahead." Amari said after a few hours. Max looked ahead, squinting.

"Oh?" Amari looked up from the path, not really wanting to look away from it too long. There was nothing ahead. Just more dirt path and trees. But he could feel it.

"I-it's not far." He assured Max, who simply nodded. Aayma was busy chasing after birds. "Hey Max?"

"Hmm?"

"When uh, when we get there, could you stick close to me?"

"Yeah. I wasn't g – going to l – leave you o – or anything."

Amari nodded at this and looked back down at the path. He could feel the heat rising in his face. "I – it's just that...I – I'm just kinda scare of going...of going back into a city. C – cause last time – "

"I understand." Max said, saving Amari from finishing his sentence. Amari gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks."

The pair walked in silence, Amari looking down at the path. Not wanting to look anywhere else. He just wanted to look at the path, focus on the path, and get this prophecy thing over with. Every time Amari had strayed from the path, something bad had happened, last time solidified that. Amari knew that he couldn't just ignore it now. He had to complete this prophecy. He couldn't ignore it now.

"Look." Max said, nudging Amari and taking him out of his stupor. Amari looked over at Max who was pointing up at the sky. Amari turned around and looked up to see two lights, green and magenta, dancing across the sky. Underneath the lights was a city. Aayma arched her back, her fur tufting as she hissed.

"What's wrong?" Amari asked, looking down at her alarmed. That's not right...That city. "Are we supposed to go in it?" Yes. It's the one...I'm sure but...Amari, we have to be careful.

Amari swallowed down a lump of fear before shaking out his anxiety. "C'mon, we have to keep moving." Amari looked over at Max, who nodded his head determinedly. Amari nodded his head as well before looking back down at the path. His heart hammering against his chest fiercely as they walked closer to the odd city.