Chapter 3: Beyond the darkness
I ran through the forest night, the strong winds and leaves thrashed against my face. For once, I was scared of the dark; I was scared of the night. And I could find myself no longer, I was lost in my mind. The cold embrace of the rain was no longer there to comfort me. I ran and ran, I didn't want to look back because I was scared what I would find behind me. My little legs carried me through the endless woods, I wasn't sure how long I ran for. Eventually I tripped over the roots of a tree. I fell forward, landing on my face, splashing the mud, Cyrus's scalchop slipped out of my hand. I felt a significant amount of pain in my left hand.
"AHHH!" I screamed as I tried to get back up, drops of blood left small patches of red on my chest.
The rain continued to pour on me as laid in the open mud. 'What do I do now?' I thought to myself.
"I'm sorry... I don't know anymore. What can I do... I'm useless, and I always bring harm to others. I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore. Say... mum, what should I do when I find dad? Should I help him? Should I leave him... I don't know." I muttered, eyes already dry from the crying.
I don't know how long I spent my time pondering the unimaginable things that I could do, and what I should do... to survive. Too many times, I arrived at the conclusion for murder. Too many times, I thought of exploiting the emotions of humanity, especially those that were innocent. Then I arrived at...
'Nothing will change... I'll just die. Nobody cares, nobody wants me. What do I want... death, war... I want everyone to feel the pain I felt. To be hunted... to have your entire family skinned and burned and eaten. They won't eat me, if they do... I'll bite them from the inside... burn them... eat their insides till they can't even digest the thought of their own deaths.'
"It's so fucking annoying... I'll kill them all." I screamed, and I kept on going until my voice gave way. And I started to cough out blood, I felt faint... and frustration.
As I finished, I saw Cyrus's scalchop, laying in the mud in front of me. The sharpened end of the shell flickered in the moon light. "My brothers weapon huh? In the end... he fared no better than I did... wanted to say goodbye to mother. In the end he died a useless shit like me." I said, letting out a load laugh. 'I wonder...' I reached for the scalchop, it called to me. It was begging me to do what was right, what I thought I needed to do. My heart said otherwise, but that would not stop me. I decide when I should stop, for there was nothing else worth fighting for...
"Cyrus... M-oth-er." I stuttered, raising the sharpened end of the scalchop to my neck. "I'm coming to join you. We will be together again, as a happy family. Then everything will be back to normal again. Yeah... that's what will happen..."
I took a deep breath, and pressed the scalchop firmly against my neck. There was nothing left to lose, there is no reason for me to continue on with the game of life.
"Ok... I'm ready for this." I muttered. I swallowed hard and took a final deep breath, it was silent, quick and peaceful. I wanted it to end this way and...that's when she came into my life.
"Hey seaweed!" A female voice yawned behind me.
My conscious kicked in, I sprung open my eyes and lowered the scalchop.
"Mum?" I gasped while turning around, awfully confused.
"Mum? No ones ya bloody mother, wanker." She said placing two of her white and black paws on my head.
She was an Emolga, black eyes, tiny nose, and yellow cheek patches, she is somewhat pretty. Her ears, positioned at the top of its head, are rounded in shape and black in coloration, with yellow and white sections of coloration on the inside of its ears. She sported a vaguely hood-like patterning of black around her head with a spiky extension of the pattern above its face. She had yellow winglike flaps connected to its three-fingered arms. Her black and white fur appears to be dry, she had sheltered herself from the rain. Judging by her appearance, she looked to be around 3 years older than me.
"What are you-" I asked before receiving a painful electric shock, I plummeted back into the mud dropping the scalchop.
"Life is a rare gift kid." The Emolga said, placing her foot on my head before snatching the scalchop off the ground. My face sunk into the mud. "You don't want to waste it."
"There is nothing left to waste, the others are the ones that did the wasting for me!" I cried, my tears sinking into the mud. "Please...I want to die. I don't to live want anymore!"
"Get your shit together, ya bastard. Please don't suicide in front of my house. It leaves a bad image..." She said, the little drops of rain dancing on her fur.
The feeling came back again. I felt sick, like my insides wanted to turn inside out.
"Mum and Cyrus..." I cried as she lifted her foot off my head.
She walked under a nearby tree. Above that tree was a large wooden structure with a window. The structure doesn't look natural, it was man made. She then proceeded to climb a vine that was wrapped around the tree to reach the structure.
She took Cyrus's shell, I wanted the shell back but... it was hopeless. I was beaten to the ground, both my body and my spirit were broken, I didn't want to live anymore. My legs stung when I tried to get up, the pouring rain did not make my life easier.
"Please kill me. Someone please kill me." I whispered before curling myself into a ball to keep warm, completely given up.
"Kid. Sleeping is already difficult enough with the storm going on outside. I don't need you crying, and then suiciding." She said, her head peaking out of the window. "Go back to your parents."
I started crying again, reminded of what happened a few minutes ago.
"Mother…they are gone." I whispered to myself.
"Ach! Wankers…Go back to where you came from." She muttered to herself before using a wooden board to shut the window.
'If I can't take my own life than I may as well let nature do the work for me, either the cold will kill me or the Mightyenas will' I thought to myself. I felt the temperature of my body drop, the cold numbed my body sending shivers down my spine. It felt like an ice bath. My shaking got more and more intense, and the world around me started to fade. Breaking away like clusters of sand. The hissing of the rain went silent, and soon I was alone in my endless slumber. I wanted it to end this way, to end it nice and peacefully.
"Wake up you parker!" The same female voice yelled, I was laying in some sort of bed. I felt two warm paws pressing on my chest, I didn't want to open my eyes as I still felt like dozing off. "Five more minutes..." I murmured
"AHHH!" I screamed after receiving another painful shock, snapping me awake.
"Bloody hell kid you're finally awake." the Emolga said.
I sat up in shock, confused to what was happening... or what was going to happen. All I had in mind was fear, frantic and impossible to describe... genuine fear. The Emolga sat in front of me, giving me a blank stare. My head swung left and right, trying to get a hold of the situation. But mostly to figure out whether I was alive or not.
We were in a wooden structure, four walls, one window and a trap door leading outside. The structure was made for humans. On the wall to my left, stood a small book shelf, it had around 12 books on it, and a candle on top to light up the room. In front of me, was a brown desk with three draws underneath it, on that desk was some neatly folded human clothing and a small firearm. Above the desk hung three bows, they were made for humans, giving me a chill down my spine. The bed I was sitting on had several large coats folded into neat piles. Behind me was the window, it was still night and the rain kept on raining relentlessly. Next to the window was a drying rack, it had several berries dangling on it, the berries were all brown and wrinkly.
I stared into the Emolga's large black eyes; but her eyes weren't cute like before, they looked intimidating; so I was scared to even move. I wasn't sure if I should've been scared. 'Was she going to eat me? If she wanted to I'd already be dead right?' Were the thoughts that were racing through my head.
"…Why did you bring me here?" I stuttered, I was still cold. "Are you going to eat me?"
"Well, I'm not going to just let you freeze to death kid. I like it better when my prey's flesh is warm." She joked.
"If you going to eat me, please make it fast." I encouraged, crawling out of the sheets and offering myself to her. I was still covered in mud and Cyrus dried blood.
"Of course I'm not going to eat you, ya wanker." The Emolga murmured, flicking my forehead.
"Ouch!...Then why did you save me?" I demand while rubbing my head.
"I'm not just gonna let you die at my doorstep am I? You bloody idiot." She said in annoyed tone.
I looked at my hands and body, they were bruised and covered in mud. The thing that really stood out was Cyrus's blood. His blood felt like a scar, reminding me of the horrors that had happened. The scene of Cyrus getting shot was stuck in my head, his blood exploded out of him. He didn't scream, but he was still alive for a few seconds after being shot, I didn't want to think about the pain he had experienced. I wanted to forget what happened to Cyrus... but I couldn't, I couldn't just throw him away. I needed to remind myself of the reality I lived in.
"Cyrus…" I whispered, my eyes tearing up again. I tucked myself back into the bed sheets.
"My God kid, would ya stop crying for flipping sake!" The Emolga growled. "Where are your bloody parents."
"They're…dead!" I cried, the tears letting loose again. "They're all gone! Mum I'm sorry!"
It was the feeling of guilt and helplessness that made me cry, I could have done something but I stood there and watched them die.
"Huh…that explains the loud banging sounds. Human hunters." She observed calmly.
"I don't want to bother you too much." I started, pulling myself out of the sheets. Some tears were running down my cheeks. The bruises on my legs didn't make movement easy. "I should probably leave."
"Kid. Sit the fuck back down." She commanded. "If I let you get out that trap door, you're just going find ways to kill yourself. I don't want that happening. You're staying with me."
I obeyed her orders and sat back down. Did she offer me a home? Or did she offer to keep me in probable little rape dungeon? I wanted to be grateful that I now had someone who cared for me, but at the same time I didn't. I needed to be sure that her heart was really in the right place.
"Why? Why are doing this?" I asked. "Why are letting me stay with you? How long will I have to stay? What are going to do to me?"
"You're staying with me until you are old enough to take care of yourself. I'd rather see you die as a Serperior than a Snivy." She replied. "Besides, I could use an assistant, you know... a companion. It gets quite lonely when your living by yourself, I need a friend and you need a home. To be honest, I kinda feel bad for you. Plus it's a win, win situation for me."
I was astonished, the Emolga was the first creature who didn't actively discriminate me, she was concerned with my wellbeing. She gave me a reason, a reason that made me want to continue life. This was the best thing that happened today, not only have I gained my first friend, I have someone who shows me sympathy. When things went south, she gave me another chance. I felt tears of joy flowing up, but I held them back as my crying pisses her off.
"I-I don't know how to thank you. I don't even know your name.."
"The name is Lachesis." She smiled.
"My name is Matthew." I replied, I was so happy that I found someone that cared for me. Still sitting in the bed, I opened my arms and leaned in to hug her.
"No!" Lachesis snapped, swatting away both of my arms and my body. "Go clean yourself up ya wanker."
I looked down at my body and hands, they were covered in mud and Cyrus dried blood.
Don't get too much blood on your hands.
"Here." Lachesis said, pushing out a wooden bucket filled with clean water behind the desk. The bucket was almost as tall as her. She then opened the lowest draw and pulled out a small grey rag.
"Catch." She said, throwing me the piece of cloth before pointing at the bucket. The rag landed on my face. "Go wash yourself up. Don't worry kid, there ain't any funny business going on around here."
I stood up and walked over to the bucket, I peered over the buckets edge and saw my reflection. The water was like a mirror, bouncing back and revealing the most intricate details. A mirror always tells the truth. I stared at my reflection, across my cheeks were three red lines that Cyrus's paw had painted. Those last gentle strokes across my cheeks left their bloody trails, what was left of him were his blood and scalchop.
"I guess…" I sighed, dipping the rag into the bucket before raising the cloth to my cheeks. "Cyrus, this is the last goodbye."
As I finished, with one swift move I wiped the blood on my cheeks. Never again shall I have the blood of my loved ones spilled on me. I shall never make the same mistake again.
'They are all dead because of me. Why did I save that human? Why am I still alive? Humans…it was all their fault. They shall pay for what they've done.'