Jaws that bite, claws that catch

Part 6

The weight of the Calamity didn't truly hit Wild till nearly three weeks after he woke up in the shrine.

The king of Hyrule painted quite the gruesome picture, but that's all it was to Wild: a picture. Something flat, untouchable, a scene created by someone else. When Wild explored the lands and came across the ruins of villages and outlooks, there too he felt nothing. A hundred years and all that was left were broken stones and pieces of wood. Not exactly heart wrenching.

Three weeks of running across Hyrule, eating apples and chasing foxes, a sudden huge lightening storm rolled in. Wild had to quickly flee into a nearby cave for shelter. What he saw in there still gives him nightmares to this day.

It wasn't hard to figure out what happened. During the Calamity people fled into the cave for safety. They didn't know there was only one way in and out. They got themselves cornered, and when the Guardians came, they were nothing more than sitting ducks.

The walls of the cave still bore the burn marks from the Guardian blasts. Scattered on the floor, piled up on each other, were human bones. They were everywhere, broken and shattered and disconnected in one form or another. Unlike the villages made out of wood, bones did not decompose so easily after a hundred years. The sight of dozens, possibly hundreds of people piled up like this had Wild running out of the cave in horror. The full weight of Calamity bore down on him that day.

The sight at the riverbank was no different. The sight of the men and women sprawled out, killed for no other reason than because they were nearby, broke something inside of Wild. Not even the creepy guard deserved this.

Weaver was scrutinizing him. The man was immensely observant, picking up on clues no other would think twice about. Just from reading Wild's facial clues, he knew Wild was ignorant of the bodies in the water. Any twitch or random eye blink could result in giving away all of Wild's secrets.

"I didn't kill these people," said Wild. That was the truth and Weaver could see it. "I'm a victim in this too. I'm trying to protect myself."

"Did you see who did?" Weaver asked.

"I didn't see the killings." True. "I was thrown over the side before anything happened." True.

"Thrown over the side by whom? "

"A friend. I upset him and he wanted to... punish me. I haven't seen him since."

"That's the truth?"

"You know it is."

"Hmmm..." Weaver looked over at the bodies. "Is your friend the one who killed these people?"

"I don't have proof."

"It was a yes or no question."

"I can't help you."

Weaver twirled on him and grabbed fistful of Wild's tunic, hauling him up. "You're playing games again. You think you've figured me out? Saying half-truths? Don't think of me as naive, boy."

Wild gritted his teeth. He was so sick and tired of being pushed around like this. "You want the truth? Here it is. The person who did this is not someone you can handle! He will kill you all! Every last one of you! I am the only one standing between you and his destruction. The longer you hold me, hurt me, the worse punishment he will inflict upon you. I am trying to stop him, but I can't do that if I'm in chains. Now, am I lying, sir? "

Weaver let him go. He smirked. "No, you're not. Let us talk, Sidon."