King Vyxen

9.

                              "We lost three women in the night, they succumbed to their wounds, two kids also died from a severe fever earlier in the morning" Ms. Kang's monotone voice carried across the expanse of the tent, sighing, she finishing off her report.

Arisa hugged her sweater closer to her body, feeling her mouth go dry, Ms. Kang had returned in the middle of the night and after looking at Renae she had gone out to the makeshift tents to make use of her skills.

"How many have recovered?" The dark skin guy she had seen in the restauant stopped his pacing as he asked the question, his tired tormented eyes staring at the Doctor, Arisa had heard that he had held a woman in his arms as she drew her last breath that night and she couldn't begin to imagine the pain he was enduring as he resumed pacing.

Ms. Kang turned to him, her dark tresses in disarray, eyes cast downwards "none" she muttered solemnly.

A chilling silence descended upon the room, Arisa felt her failure sink in.

What on earth was I thinking? She thought I can't help these people!

Arisa tucked her legs under her, while Stan rested his head on her thigh. She stroked him listening to the list of additional supplies they would need, her heart sinking as more problems just kept piling on top of one another, she failed them.

Cradling her face in the palm of her hand she let the tears fall, because just a few hours ago she'd vowed to help them at any cost and now one by one they were slipping through her fingertips.

Ms. Kang kneeled beside Arisa, the only comfort offered was a small sympathetic pat on the shoulder "There's only so much we can do, Arisa"

Now she understood the reason why the Beta had been so adamant about taking her away from this, she hadn't listened to him and he had lost his temper, storming off, but she saw him through the night, watching her but never really helping, it irritated her.

Ms. Kang's words registered in her mind she stood slowly, knowing exactly what she had to do, but dreading it with every fiber of her being.

Pushing aside the free-flowing flap on the tent and entering the small campgrounds, Arisa glanced around the silent and gloomy atmosphere that only highlighted the mournful nature of the morning.

Now the empty town she had seen before made sense, the men she had seen walking around were guards of some sort, that desolate place just on the outskirts, the thing that invaded her house, her supposed brother, the pieces were sort of falling into place.

Still, she couldn't come to a conclusion that didn't leave her feeling a little insane.

She could feel their eyes on her, as she made her way to the edge of the forest. The men stationed in the depths of the forest, she wasn't sure if they were there to protect the volunteers or just to protect their precious lands, sighing she tried to pinpoint the very moment her life began to get so complicated, as she walked silently through the woods.

The grass fresh with dew clung to her exposed skin, the silence of the forest reminded her of her dream and she wondered briefly if that was what death was like, just floating in oblivion, soundless, timeless and weightless. A shiver ran down her spine as she shook the thought away.

She broke the tree lines, standing face to face with the brick mansion bathing in the first rays of sunlight, she swallowed her pride . . every last bit of it, because as much as the people behind the door were the last persons she wanted to see, they were the only source of help she knew.

Walking up the stone steps she watched as men walked through the yard with broad wooden boards on their shoulder, two women, the first she had seen aside from the elderly ladies, with light white and peach colored clothing and food, the small group of people walked along the dirt track until they disappeared into the little town, their laughter making its way to Arisa's ears.

Arisa couldn't help but be dumbfounded, it didn't occur to her that the world would continue no matter how terrible one's faith was, because here the people were, laughing and enjoying life when just a breath away from them, over a dozen women and children were fighting for their lives.

Feeling anger bubble deep within her chest she marched up the stairs, walking blindly down the halls, she soon realized she didn't know where she was going.

Huffing at her own stupidity, she continued walking, hoping she would see someone soon.

Eventually, the nude colored walls gave way to raw blood red bricks and cold brownstone floors, Arisa didn't realize the change of scenery until a cool gust of wind cast a ripple of goose bumps along her skin, she turned to her left, seeing a dark narrow passageway.

Frowning, when she finally realized she'd probably strayed further away from her destination she looked at the passageway in wonder. Her feet, of their own accord, walked towards the entrance and while her heart tugged painfully in her chest from beating with such ferocity she didn't stop.

The hall was dark, Arisa couldn't make out her hands as they reach before her trying to feel what was in front of them, she felt her stomach drop and an ear-splitting scream threatened to rip from her throat if she hadn't landed on solid ground a few seconds after.

Breathing harshly she walked further down the hall until she saw the rays peeping through small cracks of the boarded window.

Puzzled she walked towards it, running her fingers along their rough lengths only to take note of the dust that was left on her fingertips, the only sign Arisa needed to know that it had been that way for a while.

Biting her lip and standing on the tip of her toes she tried to peep through the holes but couldn't get a good view of the outside, throwing an annoyed glance at the boards she spun on her heels to get back to the task at hand, only to stop short by the portrait in front of her.

A detailed oil painting of a man lay carefully before her, half of it hidden by a brown worn out cloth that hugged its dusty mahogany sides tightly, He stared at her, blue eyes clear and light, he had soft features, so soft that Arisa was sure he was a charmer, he was smiling, but even with the divine skills the author had, Arisa could see that the smile was not natural and that made her frown as she walked closer to the painting, watching in awe as the light cast upon his golden dreads giving him an angelic glow.

Her fingertips were just an inch from the painting, feeling mesmerized by the way his eyes pulsated with vibrancy as the rays of sunlight flickered continuously over them, but a low, warning snarl stopped her, gasping she jumped back feeling her insides ignite and her fingers tremble

"What the fuck are you doing down here!?"