Animegas (Editing)

Confessions

“Sammy,” Max said. “He woke up.”

I nodded and poured some stew into a bowl. There was a soft plop as I dropped a tree root into the food. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the bedroom. “Hello,” I said as politely as I could. “How are you feeling?”

The boy looked at me, panicked. His wrists were raw from the rope. “Where am I?” He demanded. “Why am I tied up?”

I felt kind of bad for him, but I couldn’t allow myself to be tricked if he was dangerous. “Sorry about that. But I don’t know you. I don’t know if you’re a danger to us or not. And I can’t put my brother in the way of harm.” I handed him the bowl and a spoon. He ate the entire thing, not showing any signs of noticing the root.

“So,” the boy said, “how am I getting out of here?”

I smirked. “I’m going hunting. When I get back, I will ask you a few questions. Then, you’re free to go.”

With that, i walked out of the room. Max looked at me with wide eyes. I gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t let him escape.” I whispered to Max. “No matter what he says to you, don’t untie him.” He nodded and grabbed his spear. Lovely, I was leaving this guy in the hands of a 6 year old

All I really did was check the snares and took my time walking back with the one animal I had caught. After that, I harvested some stuff from our garden and re-planted a few things. Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the dagger that Sylva had given me. It was sharp and fit perfectly in my hand. Alright, let’s get this party started.

“Did he escape?” I asked Max. He shook his head and went outside to do who-knows-what. Sighing in relief, I stalked into the room. The boy was just where I had left him. The bowl had been scraped clean. His brown hair was matted on his forehead. The boy looked at me with earthy brown eyes.

“So,” he said, “The questions…?”

I smirked. He had already eaten the root, I didn’t have to play nice anymore. I pulled out my silver dagger. “See this?” I asked. The boy nodded. “It will sever the soul of anything without a pure heart. So, unless you want to figure out how pure your heart is, I suggest you tell me ONLY the truth. Got it?” His eyes were wide. The boy nodded frantically.

“Good, now,” I knelt in front of him, “what’s your name?”

“Erik,” He answered. I could feel the beating of his heart through the root, he was telling the truth.

“Okay, Erik. Are you human, an Animega...or something else?”

“Animega.” Again, truth. So far he was okay.

“What is your Animega form?”

“A wolf.”

“Do you have any...special gifts?”

“I can control the earth.”

“Why were you in this forest.”

“I was lost.” Lies. I made a fist and he cried out in pain. “What did you do to me?” he choked. I unclenched my fist.

“One thing you should know about me. I can control plants, dead or alive. And right now, there is a root wrapped around your heart. I will take it out once you answer all of my questions, truthfully. Now, why were you in the forest?”

“My sister and I were running.”

“From what?”

Tears began to brim his eyes. “I don’t know what it was, exactly. It looked human, but it’s skin was blacker than the night, and it’s eyes were pure red. That thin, it wore a black cloak and flew through the forest like a ghost. Everything it touched...died. My sister...she...she’s gone.”

My eyes flickered to the ground. I no longer felt any emotion besides pain and sadness.. tears threatened to spill. One escaped and I wiped it away.

“Have you...have you seen anything like it before?” Erik shook his head. “Last question. If I let you stay...will you swear on your life to never betray us? And to help me protect my brother?”

He looked up at me, surprised. My body was trembling slightly. Something like that thing...lurking in the shadows. I couldn’t run away, I had to protect this forest while Sylva was gone. Erik nodded. I sighed and cut away the ropes. The binds fell to the ground and Erik rubbed his raw wrists. I could only look at the dagger in my hands. “Is it...still out there?”

“Probably.”

I placed a tree seed outside in the ground and placed a hand over it. The tree covered the only winder and the roots spread out as far as I could make it go. I took off my warm shoes and felt the ground with my feet. “If anything gets within 2 miles of this place, I’ll know. But just in case, we need to stay silent and lay low.” Erik and I walked over to the garden. He covered it will a hollow dome of rock and dirt. I covered the mound with various plants so it wouldn’t look out of place.

“Max!” I called. “Come back! Quickly!” A small mountain lion bounded towards me. “Into the shack.” I instructed. The lion bobbed his head and darted into the shack. I looked out over the horizon and followed Erik and Max into the shack, growing a tree right in front of the entrance. Erik kept watch through the Earth, and I with my roots. As I prepared dinner, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.

“Anything?” I asked.

“Nothing except for a few animals scampering to safely. You?”

“Same.”

The three of us ate dinner in silence. Afterwords, Erik and I took shifts. I took the first one and sat in the darkness in silence. After a couple of hours, i woke up Erik.