Manolo's song to the bull took just a few minutes to long- who knew, only two minutes could drastically change life as we know it. He still burst through the very ground with mighty flourish, ready to battle Chakal, but the battle was already over. San Angel residents crowded around and greeted him warmly, happy he was back, but a storm cloud hung over the town. It was like Chakal had come, taken all the goodness out of the town, and left. Later Manolo would understand how literal that metaphor was. After slipping by the mass of people, he searched out his two best friends: Maria and Joaquin. He was sure someone had gone totell them of his revival, but neither of them had appeared to greet him which was... odd, but not impossible. Perhaps they had wanted to see him alone? It would be nice, alone with them. It seemed ever since Maria had returned, the tension between them was high.
By the time he finds her, the sky has grown heavy and gray with rain clouds. She's standing beneath the tree he sang to her at. Her sword is loosely clutched in her hand, her body tensed, and she's staring intensely out, across the open expanse of desert. Hoof prints and blood decorate the ground, and it's obvious Chakal had gotten away, but why had he not destroyed the city? Why did it seem like everything was fine if Chakal was alive?
He open his mouth to call for her, but a sharp crack screeches out from the sky and all at once the rain pour down. He's soaked instantly and a shiver tears through him, but Maria is stone still. The only change is that she is possibly tenser, and he grip around her sword has tightened considerably. He open his mouth once more to jokingly ask if she's planning on getting pneumonia out in the rain, but it snaps shut when Maria suddenly lets out and cry of anger and throws her sword haphazardly in front of her. Halfway through her yell transforms into a wail of anguish and she takes a few stumbling steps away from him.
Her hair is slicked down to her face and rain drops drip off her chin.
He opens his mouth only once more, determined this time to put an end to this sickening silence. "Maria!" He calls short, sweet, and to the point.
Her body still once more as she recognizes his voice- as she puts two and two together. She spins around like a top and locks eyes with him. He watches as her face scrunched up, and her eyes, already red a puffy from previously shed tears, begin to water one more. She runs to him then, just a short twenty feet and she launches herself into his arms. She is cold beneath his touch, her skin cooled from the rain, and she buries her face in his shirt. Wet sobs rack through her. He steers them backwards until the are safely shielded from the rain beneath their tree, then he helps her sit with him and listens to her hitched breathing mixing with the patter of the rain.
After what seemed like years... "Am I dead?" she manages to breath into his chest, still holding him like he would disappear in an instant.
His arms had reflexively wrapped around her. "No, of course not..." He soothes gently, "I'm just... back."
She pulls back suddenly and wipes at her eyes fiercely. "Where have you been?" She demands, the old anger for his death surging through her veins- anything to distract her from the crippling grief consuming her from the inside out.
So he makes himself comfortable and begins to spin his tale of loss and gain. He tells her all about his mother and his oddball ancestors. She lets herself be sucked into the beauty of his story, the fantastic way he tells it, and the peace she feels having him back... He tells her of the maze with the stone boulders seeking to crush him and the quest to find La Muerte. he tells her about how the sword broke when it came in contact with his soul, and how the candle maker lit candles for every soul, and he told her of La Muerte reaction when he revealed Xibalba had been cheating... She had let out a short, stuttering, fake laugh around that part of the story, but if he noticed her didn't mention it.
Then he sobered up and told her about his one condition for coming back to life. He had to battle all the bulls the Sanchez men had killed. He spoke of how they fused into one, fire edged, vengeful Toro... He told her of how instead of killing the animal, he had embraced who he really was and sang to it, asking for forgiveness, and when he was forgiven he was free of death's grip.
"...So I went around town searching for you and Joaquin-" She only flinches slightly at his name, "-to reunite with you both. Where is mi hermano anyway?" He asks, glancing around the tree like Joaquin would suddenly appear.
She pulls away from his arms and rubs absent mindedly at a bruise on her arm. The nervous rubbing would soon develop into a small self-comfort habit, but for now it was harmless. "You told me about what happened down there... now I need to tell you what happened up here." Her voice is firm.
She turns to look out toward the horizon. The rain had come to a slow drizzle during his tale, and the storm finally seems to break, revealing the orange-red sky beneath it. The sun had just begun to set.
"Chakal attacked the city." She starts bluntly, "He came looking for the medal of everlasting life. You know, the one Joaquin had?"
She's doing her very best not to look at him, "Chakal managed to get the Medal and the upper hand on us all...
Joaquin is pinned beneath several Bandidos. Pain is splitting up his bruises and lacerations, but he does not let his weakness show. The entire town is rallied around, ready to make a last stand. They're looking for a miracle, but miracles don't exist. Joaquin knows they don't. The medal of everlasting life was no miracle, it was a curse. The town was going to be destroyed, and Chakal couldn't even get hurt. He had to do something!
"Please, Chakal, just don't hurt them!" He begs. Chakal glares down at him, unamused, and ready to execute him, "I'll give you anything!" Joaquin barters.
Chakal doesn't smile, but his sunken eyes slide over to rest on Maria's form, "I want her." He replies with a nasty look on his face. He knew Joaquin would never give her to him.
"No!" Joaquin may be the town hero, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. Chakal has the medal, and if he wants something, he can get it... and if they fight him, and he wants Maria, than whose to say he wont just take her? She will fight, of course, but with the medal will give him the upper hand. He needs another bartering chip... anything, to get his eyes off of Maria.
"Anything but her," he fixes his offer, desperate to do something. If the town fights, they will surely be slaughtered! "What about..." His tongue feels heavy in his mouth as he scrambles to offer something Chakal may want- Money? no he has enough of that! Weapons? San Angel has very few.
"Me." It slips out of his mouth as a whisper.
Chakal's eyes narrow, "What did you say?"
Joaquin's breathing grows heavier as the bandidos lean on him, "What about me?" he repeats, louder this time, "I'll come with you willingly as long as you promise to never harm or return to San Angel ever again!"
"Joaquin! No!" Maria shouts, taking a step towards him. He doesn't look at her.
The man seems to genuinely be considering his offer. "What makes you so sure I won't come back once you are gone?" He asks, motioning for his lackeys to let up on the pressure they were crushing him under.
The hero's eyes stare directly into Chakal's, "I am not an idiot." Joaquin says simply, "I have heard about you all across the nation, and one thing has been the same in every story. You always honor your word." He says surely.
The tension in the air was so thick you could barely breathe. No one mover a muscle, and not even the animals called. It was as if even they knew the next words out of Chakal's mouth were important. The hulking man took several steps closer to Joaquin. His minions scattered, not wanting to get in the way of his sword. They were sure he was going to execute the man. With one fluid movement Chakal's hands was around Joaquin's throat and he had hoisted him into the air, cutting off his air supply. Joaquin's hands scrabbled at his metal ones, desperate to release the pressure.
His gruesome lips curled into the closest thing to a grin as he could manage, "I accept." He announced darkly, and drops Joaquin to the ground.
He mockingly raises his right hand, "I, Chakal, promise not to harm or return to San Angel as long as el Heroe promises to willingly come with me."
The promise is made. Joaquin feels numb as he hears Maria shout out obscenities and try to wrestle her way through the bandidos to reach him. Chakal turns on heel and begins to leave, and it feels almost like slow motion. Everything was happening so quickly. Suddenly a bandido thumps the back of his head with the butt of his sword and Joaquin saw stars. Said Bandido hauled him to his feet and shoved Joaquin's horse, Plata's, reins into his hand.
"Word of advice:" He outlaw creaked, "Don't fall behind."
Joaquin nodded numbly. He could feel the warmth of his blood trickling down the back of his head from his wound, and the dull throb working it's way into his brain was less than pleasant. Plata looks concerned, but the horse allows him to mount without a fight. He turns back to look at Maria...
"Maria." He says softly. A bandido is holding her back and away from him, but he was careful not to hurt her. She almost seems to hear him as her eyes suddenly raise and she locks eyes with him.
"Joaquin!" She calls, "Don't do this! Please, you can't leave me too!" She screams.
His heart pangs, but he can't back down now. "We almost got married, Maria." He doesn't know why he needed to say that, but he did. "As an almost wedding gift, I ask that you stay here."
Her eyed widen. "Do not come after me." He says firmly, leaving no room for argument.
He and Plata spin around and take off after the army. The bandidos keeping the crowd at bay hop on their own horses and join him. Maria attempts to run after them, but realizes it futile when she reaches the tree- the same tree she was under now.
Her hands are trembling and her eyes are wet once more. Manolo is speechless, unable to process what Maria had been telling him. Joaquin was... gone? How was that possible? What would happen to him, would he be killed? or sold into slavery, or something even worse?
"What's our plane?" he asks finally and Maria shakes her head.
"There is no plan, Manny." She whispers softly, "No one knows where Chakal's hideout is and Joaquin asked me not come after him." She mutters.
He stares unseeing at the town. "Then we wait." he decides.
"What?" She glances at him. His eyes are dry, but just barely. His shoulders are hunched and his face is dark.
"We wait for him." He says evenly, "He'll come back to us."
She touches his hand softly, "Manolo..."
"He will come back." He repeats, teeth gritting.
Joaquin would return. He had too.
This story is basically written to quench my hunger for the book of life angst. Lots of hurt!Joaquin and blood and injuries. Death too. This will follow mostly Joaquins story living under Chakals iron fist and all the bad things done to him. idk yet tho, it may go a different directionnnnn... :/
I don't own the book of life, Jorge gutierrez does!
Enjoy!