Chapter 4

Lights burned into my skull. I clamped my eyes shut as much as it hurt to do so. I could feel a heat all through out my body. It felt like I was swimming in boiling water. My flesh seared to my melted clothes. I screamed out in pain but I was completely silent. I screamed again but my throat produced a rasping squeak.

Someone was shaking my shoulder and I could faintly hear a muffled voice. I focused on the voice over the smoldering pain in my entire body. It was my name. They were calling my name. I could hear them repeating my name as the voice got clearer and louder.

"Joshua!" Addie had a vice grip on my shoulder. "Wake the fuck up!"

I shouted in surprise and shot up on my hands panting.

"What is going on? You were screaming and scratching at your skin!" She grabbed my arm forcefully and thrust it in front of my face. There were visible red streaks in my bandages and rips in the cloth.

"Nightmare." I wrenched my arm out of her hand and turned over to try to go back to bitter sleep.

"Well, obviously." She huffed. She paused for a moment. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I looked over my shoulder to look her in the eyes. "No." I turned back and pulled the covers over my shoulder with great difficulty. Addie pulled the blanket up and rested the edge over my neck. She patted me on the shoulder before standing up to leave.

"Thank you." I mumbled under the blankets.

"Mmhm." She replied before leaving the room quietly.

After tossing and turning an a futile attempt at easing the searing sensation to my skin, I gave up. Addie had gone several days ago and no one has seen her since. I can only assume she is trying to finish her next task with Daniel.

As much I wanted to forget about the thought of her in danger, I couldn't. I stood up and holstered my pistol at my hip. I was going to find her.

The sky was painted a light pink with the late signs of dawn. The moon and stars were still out and the campfires were smoldering in the pits creating a serene atmosphere. The water sloshed around my knees as I waded through the river and out into the Eastern Virgin. The howling of Yao Guai in the distance was unsettling but I trudged on in my eager journey for signs of Addie.

I kept low and to the sides of the river and canyons until the river opened up to the campground. I slipped up the trail quietly. A gun shot sounded to the right and I ducked under a bush. I held my breath as several dirty pairs of feet passed and stopped in front of a picnic table. They spoke the White Legs language. I could only pick up a few words. Threats and taunts. Empty words on deaf ears.

They started to poke around shrubs with the barrels of their guns roughly. There were three of them. One of me. I don't know how many guns they have, but I have one. They were getting closer and I reached for my hip as quietly as possible. They were loud and reckless. They could very easily call for reinforcements if necessary.

My heartbeat sped up as the White Leg grew closer with every bush and tree he thrust his gun into angrily. My hand rested on my gun now in front of me at the ready. I could see his face threw the leaves. He was no more than two feet away. He smelled of Datura tea and gun powder.

I let out a shaky breath and laid my finger on the trigger. I was looking down the barrel of the gun that was getting closer to my face. The cold metal thumped once against my forehead. The White Leg gasped and threw hand into the bush. I held my breath, about to pull the trigger.

A thunderous roar tore threw the early morning air. The White Leg swung around to be face to face with a Yao Guai on its back legs. It brought its paw down on the man's side as he screamed and fired off shots into its neck.

The other two men were too frightened to move. I sat still in shock at the sight before me. The man was under the creature being torn to pieces. Another Yao Guai jumped down from the ledge and landed on the other two White Legs. Growling and screams in pain rang through the canyons as the men were quickly being shredded in front of me. Blood spattered against the walls of the cliffs and through the bushes. A drop of blood dropped through the leaves and onto the gauze on my nose. As quickly as it started, it was over. The animals stood over the bodies with blood dripping from their necks. The larger on sniffed at the air in my direction and stepped over the man and towards me.

This is it. This is where I die. I could finally properly atone for my sins against mankind. Its nose pushed through the leaves with ease and its bared teeth clanked against the barrel of my pistol. I shut my eyes and awaited my fate.

A whistle was heard a short distance from the camp. I opened my eyes in time to see the animal look at the source of the noise and a woman ran past the bush and jump onto the picnic table. Addie was standing on the table with a whistle. In her mouth.

The Yao Guai walked up slowly to her. I jumped out of the bush. "Addie, what the living hell are you doing? You'll get yourself killed!"

"I'm fine." She replied nonchalantly. The animals looked over to growl at me and continued towards her. She jumped down and they rubbed up against her gently.

"How are you doing that?"

"They're just big babies. I have this cool whistle that calms animals down." She held up an interesting whistle carved into the shape of a rabbit.

"Where did you get it?"

She shrugged and turned to give one of the animals a strip of meat. It pulled it out of her hand gingerly and rolled over to the ground with a lazy "oomph". The other nudged her hand. She pulled out another strip of meat and it snapped it out of her hand greedily.

"That's... something else."

"I like animals. I can't recall ever hurting one." She rubbed the fat animals on the stomachs. They rolled over onto their backs and growled with playful delight. They twisted their large bodies on the ground.

I held my hand out and she took it. "Where have you been?"

"Getting more shit to do more shit so I can just do more shit." She spat out bitterly.

"I'm sorry you were dragged into this, Addie."

"Don't be. I know I would probably just drag myself into it if no one else did."

I gave her my elbow and she wrapped her arm through it at my side as we walked towards the Dead Horses camp. We kicked up water with ever step. She turned to see the animals running off in another directions.

"There they go."

I cleared my throat as I tried to remember a lost scripture that would be relevant to the topic of the Dead Horses and Sorrows. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered Zion. Remember, O lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem who said, "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation." O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. Happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. Do you know what that means?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me with confusion. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"The Bible."

"I'm not that dense. I'm asking why you brought it up."

"I needed to talk about the situation at hand."

"Why are you talking about killing children with rocks, Joshua? Whatever you're wanting me to do, I'll do anything that doesn't involve that."

I stared at her in disbelief. "We aren't going to harm children."

"Then what does that mean?"

"The White Legs shall drag away the children of God and murder them along with their culture. They are a nasty people."

"Oh." She picked up the pace.

"Anything else you might want to ask?"

She looked up at the sky. The sun was coming up over the canyon. The sight was breathtaking. "How's the sandcastle?"