Blood Of The Travelers ( #wattys2020)

the Fenifurs fog

We all stood there in silence we are stunned, well more shocked really. The fact that the fenifur was that honorable, to spare my life with the help from the god of life and death of course.
"well that was something."
"a gift from the black death, that's impressive, legend says that, you are now holding the bone of the first person that he killed." Athenia hugs me from behind, she is still shaking. I guess that there is one thing that even vampires are afraid of. Nemiryiruss enters my mind
"even dragons hold him in a high regard, when the war between gods broke out the first time, he was the only one who didn't pick sides. You stood up to the most bad ass creature that has ever roamed free."
Well that is something, I don't know what to think, I think that anyone can become a monster when pushed to that limit. It could be that pride leads men to monster hood, or traveling n the darkness for so long can drive them mad, and turn them into monsters, but one thing I know for sure is that he was no monster.
"both are true young one you would do well to remember that in the times to come. For brothers fall, and friends can become enemies, do not let hate fill your heart. Because that is the true killer of men, and beasts alike."
"Xavier we should get moving we have allot of ground to cover and we are running out of time."
"yup." Is all I say, I help Athenia back into the car, and close her door I walk around to other side and sit down. I turn the engine over, we set off towards our destination.
"you are brave for a mortal, I almost fear you." She finally breaks the silence
" honey I am neither good nor bad, just like life I navigate the situation with grace and courage, I try and live my life with love, trust, and respect. L'amor che move il sole E l'alter stelle, it means the love that moves the sun and the other stars."
"that's beautiful."
"thanks, I don't want to become a monster, and I try and hide my anger until the situation calls for it. The thing is that with this... this was all thrown onto my lap, and im trying to figure this all out at once, but the one thing that I do know is that we have to be a team, not just for the simple fact that it helps keep moral up, but if I lose one more person, fell like im trying to keep up with all this but on the inside I'm about to break. I mean I'm free from your father and hunted by your borther, and you I really lke you. Now grandpa, danny , and J.R have been dragged into this , not willingly I might add. I just feel like im cursed something good happens, then someone comes in and pulls the rug out from underneithe my feet."
"Xavier, I understand that this is allot to take in, trust me I know. But im hear to stay, everyone eles is hear to stay, we are here to stay, this... whole situation is fucked up, and I'm sorry. From the bottom of my heart I'm sorry." She has tears in her eyes
"if I could take all this back I would do it in heart beat, no one deserves the amount of stress, and the emotional roller coaster, because of this you are breaking apart mentally, and emotionally." She picks up the phone and texts someone, and waits for a response. The text alert comes back, and she smiles.
" pull off at the next exit we need to have a meeting." We pull off and find a hotel. We get out and get a room and walk in, I sit down.
"okay guys" Athenia starts off
"we need to talk about what's going on with Xavier, all this information, and situations. That it's taking a toll on him, he hasn't slept, or had good meal in a long time." I feel my face get hot.
"its true no matter how much I can heal his body, but it is his energy that I'm using."
" no matter how many times that you heal his injuries, his mind and emotions, are still trying to heal." Grandpa, puts in.
"no matter how you cut it, this whole thing hasn't taken that much of toll on us, but for him it has taken the most out of. He has acted like a bullet shield for us."
"I agree."
"so lets stay here and rest, and catch up, we can fill in some blanks from your time in that hole." Every one looks at me, and I look right back they all have pride in their eyes, they are all proud of me. For what I bet it all varies, but I still feel like atlas, holding world on my shoulders. These people they didn't have to help me out in my time of need, but they did. These people are more than my friends they are my family.
"okay some rest should do me some good, and guys I know that this putting allot of stress on you, I know that you didn't have to help me, and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart." I don't know why but I can feel tears start to well in my eyes. I head back to my room and lay down on the bed, I don't even bother to take my boots off. I drift into sleep, it's the best rest that gotten in a long time. I start to dream, I am in the fenifurs fog, and I just start heading start hoping that I don't get lost, after what seems like miles of dead tress the fog starts to lift, it turns from death and decay to a beautiful summers day, with a green clearing, full of sweet grass, and butter flys, there is so much life here that I cant believe what I'm looking at. In the middle of this blissfully euphoric clearing, on a old stump of a tree sits the black death. But his fur isnt black its more of a midnight blue, than a pitch steal your soul kind of black, he is just watching with these intense hazel eyes, in his lap sits his battle axe, and the wound on his shoulder is completely healed. I start to approach him with hesitant foot steps waiting for him to rush me, but he never does.
"so you have found my little patch of bliss human, nicely done."
"this isn't what I was expecting, at all."
"I wasn't always "the black death" you know, I used to be peaceful, but now I that is not the case."
"if you don't mind me asking why did you summon me here?"
"I didn't summon you here, what makes you think that want anyone here at all?"
"that may be the case but that still doesn't answer my question." This response gets a playful laugh from him
" look man I just want to know why I am here."
"why do you think that I am male?"
"wait what? Come on you have such a deep voice, and you are very large indeed."
"for my kind little one, I am actually what you would call the runt." My jaw nearly hit the floor,
"well. Are you male or female?" he or she stands up on the stump does a little twirl and sits back down, it has a playful grin on its face,
"you humans are fun to toy with, but you have to figure that out on your own, search your memories and see, until then you need your sleep little one." There was something at the end of its voice that was soft, almost motherly, like something you would say to a small child. I want to ask more questions but I'm pulled from the clearing, and returned back into the darkness of sleep. I shoot upright n my bed, with my head spinning, I put my head in my hands, I look over and see Athenia sleeping silently next me. I grab my pack of smokes and go outside, and light it up. "what did that thing mean search my memories, and I shall know the truth." I think to myself "and what is the story behind the name "black death"? there is defiantly more than what meets the eye with that one, but can I trust it?" that's the big question that needs to be answered and what is the deal with gods getting in the way of everything? God my life just feels like one big D&D campaign. I look out across the parking lot to the highway, and thin back to what my life used to be like, how I would look at this place and see only beauty now, it couldn't be more different, I look out across the parking lot and count cars, see who has left and come back, and if there are any new cars, I count my steps to exits, and think about all the what ifs. I think as if this all a game, but isnt life just one giant game, I mean look at me I have nearly died more than one person should have, I mean hell I have already died once, the real deal no heartbeat, nothing flat lined. That should have been that, I should be dead right now but I'm not, I'm here on this grand adventure "Yay". I flick my but out into the lot, and grab another out of the pack.
"young hatchling your mind should not dwell on all of life's great mysteries." Oh yea and now not only am I connected by my very soul to an angel, but now one of the first dragons, yea if I were to sit down and talk to a stranger about all that I have seen and now know, they would lock me up and throw away the key. I let out the smoke in my lungs because its starting to burn. So much of my life has yet to be lived, I still don't know what the end games is yet, I have no idea what I'm going to tell my parents, or if I'm even going to live to be able to see them, and what my school life? All my friends are dead, so am I going to have to move schools or what, for fucks sakes everything is up in the air right now, if this were a book it would called rambling from the main character, to make that everyone is on the same page as the author. I try and quite my racing mind and focus on what we are going to next, this pit stop is about me, and how I'm holding up with everything that has happened because lord knows that this, this shit right here is only beginning of what is to come over however long this is going to take, again just one giant D&D campaign. I chuckle to myself, I haven't done a good D&D campaign in such a long time, I cant even remember my characters name anymore. I head back inside thinking of what my next move is, when I look over to the bed and see Athenia sprawled out in her bra and panties,
"don't get go to lift off, just yet man now is not the time, do you not remember the border line breakdown that you just had outside?" I do so I look down at the floor and go over to the couch, I take my boots off, and shirt off and grab a blanket from the hall closet, I lay down and let sleep take me, hopefully I don't have any more weird dreams. I wake up feeling refreshed, I blink the sleep from my eyes, I crack my neck and sit up. Athina stirs on the bed and lets out a little moan, I look outside and see that it is still dark outside, just before dawn judging by the time on the clock, I step outside into the still air, nothing moves there is not a sound in the air, not even the birds are awake yet. Its peaceful I love it, this right here in my little patch of bliss, I walk over t my car and take out my 9 mm, open the trunk and reload the clips, put it back in its pocket this weight feels good it makes me feel safe. I shut the trunk and walk over to a bench where I sit down and, take out a smoke, lit it up and just really and truly relax. I hear footsteps coming up from behind me, I look over my left shoulder to see Danny coming up. He sits down without saying a word, he just sits there, weighting for me to break down probably, I roll my eyes at the thought of it.
He clears his throat,
"look man before you say anything I'm fine, I'm not going to have a mental breakdown just yet."
"actually was going to ask for a smoke."
"oh"
"yea but seeing as though you are hurting and don't want anyone to know what's really going on that's fine."
I hand him a smoke and he lights it up, takes a breath and just waits for me to speak.
"look man what do you want from me, you want me to tell you that everything fine when its not? You want me to tell that I didn't want any of this? I mean fuck... look man I know that everyone is worried abut me and that's what this pit stop is for but really I'm fine."
"okay man what ever you say."
Danny don't you fucking do it."
"do what?" he has a smile on his face, "you have so much on your shoulders like atlas, man no wants this but you know what I know you, you might not say it but you are hurting on the inside, there has been so much shit go down in the past week that most people wouldn't be able to handle it, but I know you bro. I grew up with you, you were always asking these kinds of questions, so suck it the fuck up and deal with it, man you are hard you have lived a hard life and made it through everything that this life has thrown at you so far, what's a littlie more shit on your plate."
"what if I lose one you guys?"
" like who the vamp, the angel, or the immortal?"
"good point."
"man you should only focus on getting back your family. That is the end game here, see I know you so well that now that you are thinking about the worst possible case, that you don't make it, that one of us dies. Well what can you do? That's apart of life people die, but this is the deal man, if one us dies get a tattoo to remember us and live the rest of your life for us, party harder, within reason, and fight as if every fight was your last that's the only way to live through this."
"so it is what it is, get back to my family, and live every day like s my last? Is that about the jest of what you are saying?"
He takes a drag and lets it out with a smile on his face "yup that's the sum of things." I smile back at him, this is why I love him he has the ability to see thing the way that they are, the truth of life, he cuts through the bullshit, and speaks the truth.
"hey thanks man you cut through the bs and say what needs to be said."
"noprob man that's what I'm here for." He gets up and heads back I watch him, go back inside. I turn around and see grandpa standing right in front of me. I jump and reach for my piece, I grabs me and throws me over the bench onto the ground. I'm flat on my back witch know is bad there are to many openings for my to attack. I have my gun in my hand, as I bend my legs back and trust them upwards and get on my feet, he is in a fighting potion, I toss my gun on the ground, and he rush me, I side step at the last second, and sweep my foot to the weak spot just behind the knee, slam my open hand on his chest and he falls back. He has a smile on his face, I cock a half gin, he stands up and bows to me, I bow back n respect to him. He tries a leg kick which I block but his left slams into my face, I should have seen that coming. He fakes with his right and tries an upper cut I lean back and try for a head kick, he sees this coming, and doges. He steps forward to try and catch my foot and keep in place but I try and use a roundhouse, he catch my foot. With my other foot I use him as a spring board and back flip. He jabs at me a couple of times then goes straight with a right that turns into an elbow at the last second, I try and block but it only slows it down. I still feel the sting fro that last connect. He is not messing around, this isn't just a sparring match, he intends to hurt me. He tries a take down but I drop my weight and slip my arm under his neck, I start to squeeze when he deliver a knee right into my stomach I let go, and we break apart for a moment. He try's a flying head kick, bad move unless your opponent is dazed, I grab his leg mid air and slam him into the ground. He lands hard, I'm bouncing on my feet but he waves me off, stand up and bows, he walks over the bench and sits down holding his left side. I sit down beside him and offer him a smoke, he takes it with a smile.
"that is how I know that you are not broken, that all this hasn't taken the sting from your punch. That's good." I say nothing just smile.
"that focus that you had just now, keep it up and you be able to beat me one day."
"sorry about the house grandpa."
"it was just a house boy, I can always buy another one. The good thing Is that you are okay and safe, you have been put through hell Xavier but still you have the grace to keep your head clear in the heat of the moment, you put all your troubles out of your head and focus on the task at hand, but in these down times everything comes back to you all at once, clouds your judgement you need to meditate and clear you head, we all have to this from time to time."
"even you?"
He chuckles, "yes even me, kid."
"thanks grandpa I needed that."
1."you will make it through this kid, I have no doubt about that." He gets up and leaves. I sit there and watch the sun come up, and the birds wake up and start to sing. I get up and walk to my car, grab my iPod that had put on the changer the day before, turn it on and see that its at a full battery. I grab my headphones and go back to the bench, I put my head phones and scroll through my music, select the song coming home by Artic Empire. I close m eye and let the music take me to wherever it wants to, I travel through space and time, other dementions the things I see I cannot describe, there are flashes of my pervious lives, I keep drifting throughout the universe keeping my mind free and clear. I try and focus on my past lives, and seeing the truth in them, they are more like dreams really, and that makes them slippery, I try and catch one but with no luck, I keep trying until I get one. I'm he fenifurs clearing again although this time I'm seeing it in a third persons view, I see myself talking with the thing, then I see something else, just a flash of something it was so quick that I'm not surprised that I missed it the first time. I hear the song starting to end, I run back to the hotel and lay down, I put on another song, and focus on the clearing, I start to emerge onto it, its more real instead of something blurry that I'm trying to remember. It is clear and tangible I look around and don't see the fenifur, I run to the stump and look at it, I notice a rather large hole in the center of it, I stick my finger in it and here a clicking sound then the center of the tree opens up like a trap door, god why is it always someplace under ground? I climb down the ladder that's there and into a well lit tunnel, its lit by torches and is quite large, it must be how the fenifur avoids the fog, I walk back into the tunnel for what must be a couple of miles and come to another ladder. I climb up it and it leads to a hatch I open it up, I stand up and see I'm in the burnt out remains of a house, everything is in ruin, there are tracks leading out, one set going both ways in the soot. I fallow them, leading out of the house, my footfalls are dead silent in this soot, there are no sounds of anything outside. I reach the entry way of the house and step outside into a forest. I look up at the house and see that it is also a tree, this entire forest burnt down to the ground, no life what so ever, everything is just charcoal. I look at the surrounding trees and notice that they are houses as well, now cold hallowed remains of what these homes used to look like. Welcome mats, dolls and everything in-between has been burnt to a cinder. I keep fallowing the tracks around tree after burnt out tree, remains of pots and market stalls, litter the walkway, this place must have been very popular. I would have love to have seen this when it was alive and thriving, but now there is no color here, no life... no remains of happiness of this town by the looks of it used to be like. I look up and at the base of what looks like an ancient tree are now just its charred remains, this tree looks like the starting point of the fire, I walk up to it and notice that the base is off, like something has been stacked here, because the base proportions are off, like way off. I dig though the charcoal, and soot until my fingers hit something hard, I pull it up and see that its part of a shoulder plate, just like the one that the fenifur wears, although this one is burnt, there is no shine to it any more, just like this place. No light no hope, what this place once was it is no longer. I look around and start to get the full picture, this wasn't just a forest it was an actual town, I look around and notice that the reason why the proportions are off is because at the base of the tree are bodies, burned out remains of the fenifur. I take a step back as I realize this. I take a moment to compose myself, this why the fog fallows him or her everywhere, he or she survived this horrible attack. I see the door just inside the tree, I step in and see even more bodies burnt to a crisp, this wasn't a war it was and extermination, a inhalation of a entire populous. I walk further into the dwelling and see stairs, still intact some how. I walk up and what I find horrifies me, on the first landing are bodies huddled together, burnt to a crisp, they are so well preserved that the fear on their faces is clearly visible, I keep walking up and on the second landing is what looks like an office, on the back wall I what is even more horrifying than on the last landing, chained to the back wall by its feet and hands, are the remains of huge body, although this body has so many weapons sticking out of it that it is really hard to distinguish just how big this thing really is. It looks like it had really slow and painful death, I head out of the house and keep fallowing the tracks up a hill, my head is spinning what could have caused such devastation, what could have chocked the life out of this forest, so that nothing can grow, no more creeks and rivers can freely run, no more life to this place at all. I look out and see that the whole forest was set ablaze. All starting from that one ancient tree, I look to the sky and can still see that there is smoke rising from somewhere out there where there are hot stops still burning. I continue my climb and fallowing the track until I come to a clearing on the mountain, I look up and at the very top of the mountain and see one single tree, the only difference is that this tree is alive fully green and everything. It sticks out like a sore thumb in this environment. I look up towards the trail and see just how steep it gets. I start to fallow it up, all the while never losing sight of the tree house. I climb until my muscles start to burn, I look up at the sky and see that it is dusk, the sky casts an awesome orange glow across the mountain, if this place had life then it would have been beautiful to see. I take a break and keep climbing towards the top of this dead mountain. I wish that whatever happened here didn't, I bet that this place was beautiful, thriving. As the sky darkens I jolt back to my room with Athenia, standing over me.
"you okay?" she asks me with a concerned look on her face.
"yea just peachy, how did you sleep?"
"okay, would have been better if you were snuggling me though." She sticks her tongue out in a playful mood. I chuckle and shake my head,
"what?"
"thank you, for everything, I know that I have said this before, but this time I mean, from the bottom of my soul. I know that you care for me in such a way that only you can. You see me for me, and everything about me, like you have known me forever. That is a true friend, I hope that if we make it through this that I might have a chance to be something more than just friends, but right now if we became something more."
"you are afraid that you caring for me will put the other in danger at a critical moment right?"
"yes, but I just want you to know that I really like you, and I want us to be something more, but right now i don't think that its in the cards."
"I agree, I have also thought about confessing how I feel about you, to well you, but this is not the time for these things."
That last part sounds cold cut off, almost unfeeling. Like I had let her down in some way, I know that sounds like I totality rejected her, but really cant let my personal feelings get in the way of the end game now that I know what it is.
"I'm going to get dressed could please give me the room." She looks like she is in tears almost. I get up and leave, I reach into my pocket and grab a smoke.