Animalia: The Green Forest, Book 2

Chapter 16

"I now see the impact my past actions have made," The look of fear in Vixy's eyes as she spoke almost made Luca sneer.
"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I've caused." Vixy's blue eyes glistened with tears.
You're sorry? Luca watched his mother run away. You don't understand what I went through because of you. He narrowed his eyes as he carefully took note of the direction she headed in. An idea formed in his mind.
"Alex, Samson," Luca practically purred when he turned back to the two teenagers that were with him. "Go home. I'll catch up to the two of you later. Don't worry about me"
None of them moved. Alex shot Samson a terrified glance. Samson was staring at Luca with a look of horror.
Why aren't they listening to me? Luca fought the urge to snarl at them. "Go home," he put more force in his words as he repeated himself. "Don't make me say it again."
Alex was frozen. Luca was nearly ready to drag her back home until Samson moved toward the small female and started to nudge her back home himself. He was gentle in his movements, but he was also quick too.
Luca roughly pushed past Alex and Samson. Alex's fear scent hit him strong; it excited him. A shudder ran through his body.
Luca had his head and tail raised in a powerful manner as he swaggered through the forest. He carefully followed his mother's scent trail, making sure to stay hidden.
Vixy's trail led straight to the abandoned house. There was a mixture of fresh and stale scents there. She's been staying here for a while. Luca realized. Anger boiled in him. What right does she have, thinking she can stay here after what she did to me? He pushed his way into the house.
Luca fought back a shiver when he entered. I haven't been here for for a while. He looked around. Ten years. I was last in here ten years ago.
Luca turned to face the kitchen. Memories suddenly intruded and came to life in front of him. A younger version of himself; ten years younger, was watching his mother cook and serve him squirrel in the kitchen.
"This has always been your favorite food," Vixy's eyes were void of any emotion as she spoke. "I wonder if you'll still love it in the future?"
Luca felt a pain in his chest as he watched the scene. I still love it. He thought bitterly.
Luca scooted to the side when the younger version of himself and his mother passed by him as they left the kitchen. The apparitions didn't seem to be aware of his presence. Luca caught a glimpse of his younger self smiling and bouncing with excitement as they headed outside. The sight was unbearable to him. He turned his head away.
Luca backed away from the kitchen. With a heavy heart, he turned and forced himself to enter the hallway.
Vixy's scent was very fresh here. She's somewhere in here right now. Luca glanced around at the doors from each side of the hall. She lived in this room. Luca recalled as he faced the door to the left. Her scent there was very strong.
The door was closed. Luca opened it and stormed inside. His mother was sitting on a bed. The dark blue dress that she had worn ten years ago lay in front of her. She jumped and faced him with wide eyes when he entered.
"L-Luca," Vixy gasped. She scrambled off the bed and stood up straight. "What are you doing in here?"
Luca stalked forward to stand right in front of his mother. "What am I doing here?" He breathed out. "I'm here to see you, of course."
Vixy's eyes shone with hope. "You wanted to see me?" She whispered. Her tail started to wag. "Does this mean you forgive me?"
Forgive you? Luca looked down at his mother. You don't deserve forgiveness.
Vixy's blue eyes sadly flicked to the floor when Luca didn't answer. "How bad did it hurt?" She murmured.
Luca narrowed his eyes at his mother. "It hurt pretty bad, I guess," he replied coldly. "But it stopped hurting after a while. Especially after Iris started taking care of me. She loved me so much, and I loved her too."
"I see." Vixy nodded. She looked back up at Luca and pointed at her own right eye. "How bad. . . how bad did this hurt?"
Luca blinked. "It hurt pretty bad," he fought back a shiver as he remembered that night. "The pain wasn't like anything I've ever experienced before. I thought it would never end. And I've never been able to see out of that eye again." He realized he was opening up to his mother.
Vixy's eyes were pools of sadness and compassion. "Oh, my poor son," she sounded so broken. "I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that."
'You didn't deserve that.' Her words rang in Luca's ears. It only made him angrier. "No, I didn't," he hissed. "But it happened anyway."
"How did it happen?" Vixy was staring at his scarred eye in horror.
"I didn't come here to talk about my face," Luca gritted his teeth.
Vixy looked taken aback. "Oh," her face fell. "I'm sorry. How rude of me. . ."
Luca's tail started to swish. "You will be sorry," he cooed. "I've never forgiven you for what you did to me."
Vixy froze. "What? Why are you here then?" She asked shrilly. Then she stiffened.
Luca's tail started to swish faster. His fox ears flattened, his unusual black claws slid out. "You put me through ten years of misery," he snarled. "I barely got any sleep because I always had nightmares of you. I developed so much anxiety because of you. You're the reason why my life has fallen apart."
Vixy's blue eyes rounded with fear. It reminded Luca of the look she gave him when he was younger.
Luca felt his anger strengthen. His head started to spin, his vision blurred. There was a muted cry. Luca tried to say something, but his mind was too distorted for him to speak clearly.
The next few moments seemed like a hazy dream to Luca. A shriek, followed by the sounded of a body dropping only sharpened his confusion.
It took minutes for Luca's senses to recover. Blood dripped from his mouth. It was only when he looked down-and saw the motionless body, saw the torn throat, saw the blood seeping out and staining the carpet red-he'd realized what he'd done.
Luca struggled to breathe. He leaned down and cradled the body. He could not stop the tears that spilled from his eyes now. He used a single hand to wipe the blood away.
Luca held the body close, feeling his emotions spiraling out of control again. Flames erupted around him, engulfing the pair in a red wave. The flames reached the body, turning it into piles of ash in his arms. All the fear, pain, and anger Luca once felt seemed to burn away with it too.
Luca stared at the ashes in his hands. I did it. He felt a massive weight being lifted off of his shoulders. I finally freed myself. But he couldn't stop his tears from flowing.