Mystic

Chapter 19; Matthew

Matthew stood at the back of the pack, feeling awkward. Amira, Cairo, and Farah were having a conversation in Javanese, and Matthew couldn't understand a word. In the first day of traveling, Amira would translate for him, but she had long forgotten. Matthew wondered if Amira even remembered he was there. The faint sound of splashing water distracted him, and he started towards the trees. Just before he entered the thick forest, Matthew hesitated. What if they got lost? Matthew quickly dismissed the thought. Cairo, who was the son of a merchant, had likely traveled these paths before, and the sound had come from up ahead. He would take a little detour, then meet back up with them later. Matthew dove into the undergrowth, silently pushing his way through the dense forest.

The brambles started to thin, and Matthew could see a small river up ahead. Rocks stacked up against the shores, and a fallen tree stretched across the clear waters. Matthew stood at the very edge of the river and looked out. He thought he saw movement towards the center, but there was too much sediment in the water to be sure. He would need to get closer. Matthew slowly walked across the log, careful not to lose his footing. Once he got to the center, He sat down and peered into the murky water. There was definitely something under there, but Matthew couldn't tell what. He leaned further out into the water, anxious to get a glimpse of the mysterious creature. As he did, a huge wave of water appeared out of nowhere, knocking Matthew off of the log and into the ice-cold water. He kicked for the surface, but something was dragging him down. He opened his eyes and looked down. Several green, slimy hands were clawing at his feet, dragging him down. He aimed his left arm at the waters below him. He willed his phoenix feather to ignite, and it's magic sent a jet of flames down into the creatures. For a brief moment, he could see their faces. Their skin was an ugly green color, and their eyes were a soulless black. Their ears stretched high above their heads and ended in wicked points. Their noses were slits, like a snake, and their had mouths full of pointed teeth. Instead of legs, they had hundreds of small tentacles. Startled by the sudden light and heat, the creatures retreated into the depths, all but one. The unfortunate creature had been caught in the flames, and it floated lifelessly to the surface. Matthew swam towards the surface, desperate for air. Once he broke the surface, he swam to shore and breathed heavily. Surveying his surroundings, Matthew could see that he was several yards away from where he had been. He took his sketchbook out of his soggy bag to let the pages dry. It wasn't the first time he had gotten the book wet, but he was still worried that some of the pages might be lost. Once he knew the sketchbook was safe, he tried to remember the creatures he had encountered. He thought of the one he had killed, it's charred body turning slowly in the water. It's black eyes had turned a translucent gray. It was the heat that had lead to it's death, but it appeared that the creatures were extremely sensitive to light. He drew a rough drawing of one of the creatures in the mud, trying to remember their appearance. Once his sketchbook dried, he would try to recreate the drawing. He hadn't heard any legends about such creatures, and believed that they might be a completely new species. He would have to ask around, but he might have discovered something completely new. Soaking wet, Matthew struggled through the undergrowth with his notebook in hand. Once he had found the path again, he headed back down the path, hoping to catch up with them. He had walked about half a mile before he saw them. 

They stood in a circle, arguing in Javanese. Matthew sighed. When Amira saw him coming down the path, she ran over to him.

"Where were you!?" she asked angrily, "And why are you so wet!?"

"River." Matthew replied.

"We weren't sure where you'd gone! What were you doing, anyway?" Cairo asked in broken Deanish. 

"Research." Matthew answered.

"Research? You were doing research!? By a river!?" Amira shouted. Farah looked uneasily between them. She was the only one who couldn't speak Deanish, and Matthew knew how she felt. He shrugged as if to say sorry, then answered Amira.

"Yes, I was, " Matthew pushed himself and tried to explain. "I heard a sound, and I went to investigate." 

"You went to 'Investigate'?" Amira asked skeptically.

"Uh, yes?"

"Whatever." Amira scoffed, then stormed off to talk to Farah.

"Don't tell me you fell in!" Cairo joked. 

"No, something under the water pulled me down. I was able to scare them off, though." Matthew told him.

"What was it?" Cairo asked.

"I don't know... some sort of water demon, I'd guess."

"But, demons aren't real, right?" Cairo asked nervously.

"They are real, all right." Matthew told him. Cairo laughed, but then saw the serious expression on Matthew's face and stopped. He looked extremely nervous. 

"You've seen one?" Cairo whispered in awe.

"No, but I've seen dragons before. Among other things." 

"Where!?" Cairo asked excitedly. Matthew pointed towards the sky, then gave a low whistle. Orion heard, and flew lower to the ground where Cairo could see.

"What!? That was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Do you control it or something?" 

"No, Orion is my friend, my partner in crime. I found him when we were both younger. He had hurt his wing." Matthew confided. Something about Cairo but Matthew at ease, and he felt that he could trust him. 

"Whoa." Cairo said, amazed. Matthew took out his notebook and showed Cairo all the creatures he had seen in his travels.

"You've seen wraiths?" Cairo asked once he was finished.

"I saw a glimpse of one. According to local legends, if I had seen any more, I'd be dead." Matthew said.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Cairo asked.

"Research. Three years of it. I've pretty much lived in the Highland Expanse since I was fifteen."

"You started when you were fifteen?"

"Well, yeah. That's when I found Orion, too."

"You have to be the most interesting man alive." Cairo told Matthew.

"Not really." Matthew said.

"Why not? You have traveled the wild highlands for most of your life, searching for the most mysterious creatures on the planet! What isn't interesting about that?" Cairo argued.

"I guess." Matthew said. There was an awkward pause, and Matthew tried to keep the conversation going.

"What about you? I am sure you've been to lots of interesting places." Matthew asked. Cairo told Matthew about his life on the roads, and all of the places he had seen. He had been all over Yamen, and several towns in the highlands. Matthew was glad that the focus was off him, and was listening intently when suddenly, Amira screamed. Matthew turned around to see a startled Amira looking up at the trees. He too looked up, but he didn't see anything unusual.

"What is it?" Cairo asked, confused. Then he too looked up at the trees, and his jaw dropped. "Oh my gods."

Farah looked up, then looked at Matthew, confused.

"I don't know either." Matthew told her, even though he knew she couldn't understand. He hoped she could hear the confusion in his voice. Matthew placed his hand on Cairo's shoulder to get his attention.

"What do you see?" Matthew asked.

"You can't see them?" Cairo asked, fear rising in his voice.

"See what?" Matthew asked.

"Bodies. Hundreds of dead bodies."