WELCOME TO TRENCH

My Past Is Following Me

CLANCY'S POV

I wake up to the sound of leaves crunching at my feet. Opening my eyes, I look to see a squirrel that is searching for food around here. Huh, I think. Not gonna find much luck here, little buddy. I haven't found food in this area for literally DAYS. I'm beginning to think I should just find my way back to Dema but...why? Why would I want to go back to a place like that?

The squirrel scampers away and I get up and begin to walk further and further away from the only home I've ever known: Dema. That was the first place that Nico decided to show his (my) true face to everyone. The day I...lost control. I shudder, never wanting to relive that day again. Nico seems to have disappeared since then, but you can never truly be too careful.

I start to think of where I should go to find food, shelter, PEOPLE, anything for that matter. Just civilization in general to be honest, would be nice at this point. Ned is my only companion. He and I first met when Josh and I needed help pouring the highly flammable chlorine into our enemy's pool so that even the fumes would cause him to incinerate as soon as he walked out of his house. I'll never forget the way he peeked at me that day from around the trailer door, with his big eyes, and those little horns that just make him look like an adorable little demon. I sigh, looking down at him. He looks back, probably wondering what I'm even talking about.

Although he travels with me everywhere I go, he still hasn't quite learned how to speak and understand English yet. He barely even had his own little lingo when I first found him. The way we communicate is by certain signals that we do with our bodies. It sounds weird, but it's the truth. How else would I have gotten him to help Josh and me? 

As I walk, I come across the seemingly most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my lifetime, crouching on the ground over a pile of leaves, who seems lost. Her face miraculously glows in the fading sunlight, which makes her look astonishingly ethereal. I don't know if I should help her or not though. She may be a spy from the Dema Society. Then again, why would there be random Dema spies in the forest miles away from what they're spying for? I shake my head at the thought and walk over to her. "Hey uh, you uh, need some help there?" I ask, lightly tapping her left shoulder that's facing me.

She turns suddenly and karate chops me right in the chest, specifically in the sternum. "HI-YAH! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, SUCKER?!"

 My peaceful stance turns to frightful and groaning in pain on the ground, she knocked me THAT hard. "Ahh, I just, aw God that- hurts so freaking bad, Jesus, why'd you have to do THAT?!"

The girl squints at me. "Who are you, and what do you WANT WITH ME?!" She looks about ready to attack me again so I try to hobble away from her as best as I can.

 "All I said, was, do you need some help, for God's sake, can you just answer the freaking question without attacking me?!" I say between gasps for air.

 She looks down at me and sighs, seeming to snap out of her overly defensive demeanor. "Sorry. I just-it's hard to know who to trust anymore. If you really want to know, I'm just trying to find my way to...somewhere." She finishes, sighing.

 I slowly get up, cocking my head at her answer. "Where are you trying to go? I'm...fairly local to this area, in fact I've kinda grown up here."

 Her face seems to glow even more than it already does (if that is even a slight possibility really...) at my answer. "Really? That sounds awesome. Can you take me to-" she stops.

My eyebrows rise and then crinkle up. "W-where?" Please don't say what I think you're going to say, please please don't say what I think you're going to say, please, please, please! I pray desperately to myself.

She grabs my shoulders fiercely and changes her words from a simple question to a straight DEMAND.

 "I need you to take me to...Dema."