Mythology: Night's bane
Chapter 4: Up the mountain
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*knock, Knock, Knock* Three sharp, audible knocks up against the door to Luna's apartment
The disturbing noises rang through the house, Aiyano groaned and rolled over on the couch, her nose twitched as the only reaction, other than that she didn't get any closer to being awake
"Oh come on…." Takashi grimaced as he knocked yet again from outside the dark wooden door, his impatience rising alongside his annoyance, he needed to get inside, without him they wouldn't be able to get to this mountain that Luna was aiming to travel to, that and he really didn't feel like coming back after driving all the way here from his house on the other side of the city
After the fifth time, Aiyano's eyes shot open, she growled and stumbled to her feet, her head was swimming with pain from getting up to quick, she grit her teeth and marched over to the door, the incessant banging on the door was grinding her nerves to mush
"Listen buddy I don't know who you think you are…" she flung open the door with a forceful fling and met face to…well chest with Takashi
She gazed up with an open mouth
"Oh jeez Takashi it's just you…" she said as she narrowed her cerulean eyes and stomped back to the couch, she dove right back onto the leather furnishing and just about fell back asleep laying on her stomach, Not even regarding or talking to Takashi
Takashi walked in and shut the door, making sure to lock it, he strolled in and peeked around the quant home, unsure of what he should do, he could wake up Luna, but part of him fear what would become of him if he did such a thing. She was rather fond of sleep and he didn't want to be the one to take her away from that. He glanced over at Aiyano who was unmoving upon the brown leather centerpiece of the living room; He rolled his dull brown eyes with a scoff
'Such a surprise that she would fall asleep again,' he thought sarcastically, he turned to the kitchen and pulled out a dark wooden and white cloth chair from the transparent glass dining table. He sat down with a barely audible grunt and shifted around getting comfortable, he reached into his pocket and took out his smartphone which was encased in a black and blue cover
'Well….guess I'm going to wait for a little while…' he told himself with an irritated thought
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The roof of her room faded back into existence as Luna was plucked from her rather pleasant dream, the white painted roof came into a foggy focus, Luna shut her eyes tightly and rubbed her eyes, she yawned and sat up lifting one arm in the air as she stretched her back
Once she felt her spine pop she relaxed and lazily slid out of bed, she stepped heavily over to her dresser with half closed eyes and picked out a few articles of clothing as she rifled through her drawers, a purple flowery blouse and a pair of white shorts
Just as she put on her shirt she heard a knock on her bedroom door, she jumped violently with a frightened look, she relaxed when the recollection of Aiyano staying here flowed back into her mind
She walked over to the door and opened it; she got a grand surprise when it was Takashi who was at the door and not Aiyano, she shut the door with amazing force and laid her back up against the door blocking Takashi from coming in, a heated red blush on her face, she did have all her clothes on but even still….she wasn't expecting to see a 175cm tall guy sitting in her doorway in the morning
She heard Takashi knock again, she sighed
"Luna? If you up to it we can start heading to that mountain, T-that's why I came here so early…sorry I should have called you or something…"
Luna's eyes grew wide, the mountain! She had nearly forgotten about it!
Takashi watched her open the door again, this time she stepped out and walked right past him, hunched over and looking very dazed, before she was out of sight she called to him without so much as a glance
"Come on, let's wake up Aiyano…." She said with an unmotivated groan
Takashi rolled his eyes and followed her to wake up the she-devil
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"Tree….tree…..tree Auggg! Is there something to do besides counting trees?" Aiyano yelled with a huff from the back seat of Takashi's car, Luna and Takashi both sighed at the same time, they glanced at each other with a smile at their timing. Luna cast her attention back to Aiyano
"Hey is there something to do beside complain the whole ride to the mountain?" She said with a chuckle as she sat up and turned to her friend, Takashi started laughing, Aiyano crossed her arms and refused to look at the both of them
Luna sat back in her seat "Don't you have like the most expensive phone on the market? Why not text someone or play a game?"
Aiyano growled and balled up her fist "I wish I could! But guess what? There is no signal this far out of the city!"
Takashi zoned out the bicker of the two girls, He tried his best to focus on the road, After he had to get off the highway Takashi found himself with an old cracked concrete road, Not much to look at and it was barren much like the ones that come to mind when an old used road simply gets bypassed by a newer, better engineered road. Not a single car in sight aside from one or two every half hour, still the rural scenery was a nice change from the city, if his memory was as good as it used to be, then the mountain should be in sight soon. By this point in time Luna and Aiyano had stopped bickering, much to Takashi's relief. Luna stared out the window, her lazy gaze catching very few things that brought interest, even though she was trying to keep her mind off it she kept contemplating what exactly this Night's bane place was, Was it really a town for people like her? That phrase stuck to her mind like glue
'Like her'
'What am I exactly?' Luna thought with a disturbed shudder, as she contemplated what she just said for a moment, she found herself feeling even more of a mystery
'I don't even know what I am…am I really just a monster? A creature that will never be able to coexist with humans? The person that wrote the letter said I could…but how can I trust them? Does this stupid clan even exist? Am I just a pawn in some sick game?' She was so deep in thought she didn't even hear Takashi call her name
"Luna….Luna….Luna!" He repeated three times, the third time she finally snapped out of her day dream
"Huh?! What?" she said looking around with a nervous expression
He simply pointed his finger toward something ahead of them
"We're here"
Luna looked out the windshield, Sure enough an enormous mountain was in view, it was covered in snow at the top, and the sides of it were hidden under an entire forest, the size of it compared to the other mountains around it was crazy, it was nearly twice the size of the mountains that flanked it.
"Oh man…." She said with awe, her mouth was open as she stared right at the place she was going to call home, or she hoped she would
"Jeez I don't like the looks of them sides Luna…" Aiyano said with a hesitant tone
"What do you mean?" Luna asked with a sneer
"No, no not you the freakin mountain! Look it's got almost completely vertical walls!" Aiyano said pointing with her finger
"I think she's trying to say that the mountain looks really steep" Takashi translated Aiyano's confusing adjectives
"Yea" Aiyano said with defeat, just opting to agree with Takashi
Luna looked back to the mountain, they were not kidding
"Well….you doesn't know that, it could be fine, it may just be the angle we are at" Luna said with a slightly sure tone
"I like the optimism Luna, but it doesn't look too good" Takashi said with a chuckle
Luna bit her upper lip "Well one way or another Im going to have to scale it.." she said with a meager laugh, as she stared up at the mountain, it was starting to look intimidating to say the least
At 3:43, after a good 2 hours of driving, complaining, anxiety and anger the group arrives at the nearest point to the mountain on the road, Ahead of them was a bridge that spanned across a huge fracture in the earth's crust, to the right of the bridge was the rest of the fissure, Dense Forestry on either side of it. Inside the monstrous break was nothing but large boulders from the sides of the fracture that had broken loose, not much was down there other than that.
However on the left where the mountain was, that was a different story, a valley seemed to run the circumference of the Mountain at first glance or at least this portion of it, That in itself was a mystery, A valley that can the circumference of an entire mountain? It's almost like a moat that one would find around a castle. The fracture was literally perpendicular to the valley, Almost like a Topographical 'T' and inside the valley was a large river, All things green and natural were on the side of the mountain, Trees coated the mountain much like a coat on a human, all manner of animals could be seen roaming around on the mountain, the way the bright and lush green contrasted with the darker and more ominous pigment of exposed rock of the mountain was nothing short of a natural masterpiece. On the side of the valley that Luna was on was a completely different story, although it had trees, most of them were not as vibrate and colorful as the ones on the mountain's stead.
Takashi pulled off to the left right before they crossed the bridge to continue on the road, they all got out of the car to marvel at this natural masterpiece
Luna, Aiyano and Takashi all walked to the edge of the valley, the side that they were on anyways
The silence was broken with Aiyano's smart remark
Aiyano leaned forward and gazed over the sides of the massive valley "Well that sure puts a wrench in the works don't it Luna?" She said with a grin as she turned to look at her friend
Luna was shaking from apprehension, the valley had to be 120m diameter, and how in the world would she even get down into the valley and back up with all the boulders and loose soil that barely clung to the roots of trees on the opposing side? Heck the rock that was on the mountain side looked a heck of a lot similar to the Granite that she studied in science class for geology, and granite is some of the toughest natural occurring substances on earth, no way was she getting over to that mountain.
Takashi observed most of the opposing valley side with a keen eye, however still nothing remotely possible was in sight; everything was either too steep or just too loose, if neither of those then granite was visible from spots where all the loose soil had given way, You can't climb on granite because of its toughness, For there are almost no cracks or indentations to grab on to.
Aiyano wasn't even really looking much, she practically gave up when she saw the sheer size of the mountain, if this clan was at the top they had a lot of hiking to do.
Luna was gritting her teeth anxiously; her hope was slowly diminishing with each passing second, as she cast her gaze to her right idly something in the distance caught her attention, she squinted her eyes trying to find out what exactly it was
"H-hey…..Aiyano you see that?" Luna asked her friend giving her a bump on the shoulder to grab her attention
Aiyano stuttered as she was brought out of a daydream and looked to where she pointed
"Yea I do…..I think it's a….bridge…" She said in a whisper like voice
Takashi caught the word bridge and cut in "Huh? Bridge? Where?"
"Right there Takashi, you see it?" Luna said pointing down the valley at the faint brown line in the distance
"Yea I do….come on, maybe that's your ticket across!" he exclaimed and starting to walk to the car
"Let's go guys! It's not too far" he yelled as he pulled open the driver side door and sat down in the seat
Both Aiyano and Luna jogged to the car, When the Click of seat belts reached Takashi's ears he put the car into gear, Aiyano looked over to Luna, who was in very deep thought and saying she look troubled would be a vast understatement
"Luna….you okay?" Aiyano asked
Luna barely acknowledged her, still thinking on whatever subject dominated her mind
"Anything you want to share with me? 'Cause you know im here for you" Aiyano said with a cocky grin
Luna couldn't help but smile a bit
"Yea Aiyano I know, I guess im just still a bit curious about this whole situation….." She trailed off there, not wanting to say anymore, she didn't want to explain her depressing thoughts of her being Human or an animal. Aiyano would say something brash and brush it off, But Luna felt that it wasn't that easily dismissed
Takashi interrupted Aiyano before she could question Luna further, He stopped on a small green field, it was pleasant to say the least with its charming little atmosphere, it was most likely cleared as an entrance for the bridge.
"Dang it is a bridge, good eye guys!" he said grinning, he stepped out of the car and started to walk to it
Luna smiled at Aiyano "I don't care what they say about you Aiyano, You really are nice deep down" She said with a mischievous grin, It was nice to see that Aiyano truly cared for her
Aiyano smiled with pride as Luna stepped out of the car "Hmm yea I am pretty nice…Wait! Who says what about me?!" Aiyano exclaimed, quickly realizing the meaning of the her friend's statement
As Takashi Approached the Bridge he noticed two things about it, one, its wood was a rich, light brown color, by this he could tell that it was new. Two, it was wide, enough for him to drive his car onto if it wasn't a wood and rope bridge
"Huh, Not to far of a drop here" Takashi commented as he gazed down into the valley from the edge of the cliff face just to the right of the bridge, it rose to a drop of about 20 meters here, much shorter that it was where they had just been. He looked behind himself and noticed that Luna and Aiyano were just behind him, Luna walked up beside him; she too looked down the valley
"Look safe to you?" Takashi questioned Luna
She looked up to him and smiled "a lot safer than attempting to climb down the valley and backup"
Takashi chuckled "Here you go ahead; Aiyano and I will grab the bags"
Luna raised an eyebrow and turned to face him as he walked to the car
"You got it? Or you need my help?" Luna asked, placing a hand on her hip
"Nah im fine, go ahead we'll be right there"
Luna smirked and spun on her heel to the bridge, she placed one precarious foot on the first board, then another foot a bit faster, she gently placed all her weight on the bridge
'Hmm, it's a lot better than I thought" She continued down the light colored bridge with caution, when she reached about three fourths of the way she heard Aiyano yell something to Takashi, she dismissed it and continued across to the other side
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"Here, catch!" Aiyano shouted and tossed a bag to Takashi, he flung his hands up in pure reaction and failed to grab it as it hurtled into his chest, he exhaled violently and groaned
"Thanks…." Takashi said with a wince
"You're welcome ya big baby" Aiyano said as she grabbed her bag that was packed to the point of nearly bursting, She huffed and slung the bag on her shoulder
"You know you could have packed a little lighter" Takashi said with a tone of disbelief and a raised eyebrow, the way Aiyano was carrying it made it seem like it weighed a ton. She huffed and turned to the bridge, ignoring Takashi's words. He sighed and walked up behind her in a hurried pace and snatched the bag off her back, earning an irate "HEY!," He set it down on the trunk hatch of his car and began rummaging through it despite Aiyano's Protests, He fished out a hairdryer and stared at it for a moment then looked at her with an expression that could only convey the message 'seriously?'
"What?" She asked innocently and shrugged
He shook the thing for emphasis as he said "This is a hairdryer, it requires electricity and we are climbing up a mountain, one of the largest in Japan at that"
She snatched it from his outstretched hand and held it like a precious gem "Well what if they have electricity in this Night bane place?" she said with a defiant tone.
Takashi felt like face palming himself so hard it would leave a red mark "It's a clan on a mountain Aiyano, I don't think they have electricity on a mountain" He remarked with annoyance
She grumbled and opened the door to Takashi's car and tossed it onto the backseat "You never know!" She said pointing a finger at Takashi
Takashi looked around in the bag some more, when he pulled out a curler he couldn't help but sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose, shaking his head the whole time
"What?" Aiyano said with a chuckle this time
"I just said that Mountains don't have elect-!" He was cut off when the sound of a motor reached his ears, it was loud, or at least loud enough to roar over the sound of the river in the valley, Suddenly a Buzz began in the back of his head, he set the curler and bag down and hurried to the front of his car so he could hear better
"Aiyano, you hear that?" he asked as she walked up beside him
She tilted her head to try and listen to the noise Takashi was talking about; when she heard it she shrugged
"Yea it's a car so what?" She asked, placing a hand on her hip, not sure why Takashi was so riled up
He turned to her with eyes wide "I have no idea why, but I have a bad idea about this…." He was telling the truth, for some ungodly reason a ghostly feeling just ran up his spine when he heard that noise
He shook his head back and forth "I must be delusional" he said aloud, Aiyano was seriously creeped out by now
"What? Delusional? What are you talking about Takashi?" She asked, stepping in front of him and shaking his shoulders as he stood blank faced, staring down the road
The truck came into view and he snapped out of it, looking down at Aiyano he spoke
"Sorry I-I don't know what got into me, I guess it's…..well I c-can't really explain it" They both were jolted out of their talk when the truck turned the corner and came into view, not even within a few seconds it had pulled up right next to Takashi's car
It was disturbing to see what it looked like; it was Black on black on black (an exaggeration on how distinctive the lack of hue is) It was raised a good 10cm past the normal height of the stock lift, and had tinted windows that he could barely see into, its engine was loud and spewed a black, congesting smoke out of the tail pipe, Now that he looked at the vehicle it was more of a Jeep like machine, you know, one that is built for off-road travel
At the same time the two doors opened, and two people hopped out of the truck, the first man Takashi saw was the passenger
Man he looked gruff and was monstrous in size for japan, standing easily 15 cm taller than Takashi and Takashi was the tallest kid in his class, maybe even the school. He was very muscular almost to the point of being scary, like he did a workout routine every other day, The man had scars all over his arms, the beginning of a large scar peeked out from the top of his grey muscle shirt, it most likely ran across his entire chest, his grey military pants covered two large black boots, When the man's gaze finally fell on Takashi, he held back his surprise, Four excruciating looking scar ran across his face, left to right, from one end of his face to the other, They barely missed his eyes, However one line did go across his right eyelid, though the eye looked fine, Lucky him. He walked up to Takashi and Aiyano, with a warm grin on his face, not a smile mind you, but he wasn't hostile, at least he didn't portray to be that way at first. Takashi and Aiyano stood on the far side of the hood of his car; the man walked up and stood on the side opposite to them
Before he spoke Takashi noticed the Driver, His eyes widened when he saw a girl, a little older than him walk up beside the first man, She was clothed in an odd Outfit, possibly what one would call combat armor, though not nearly as thick as what the military wore, but not as thin as regular clothing, It was all dark green with the exception of Leather bindings along the legs and arms, Two brown straps ran down the shoulders and clipped to the belt, Takashi's Eyes widened, it was made for ammunition for a firearm, not doubt. Her hair was short in a military style cut, and she stood in an erect type of body posture. Takashi was sure she had a no nonsense kind of attitude. Her skin was fair like that of the first man; she was in no way Asian. She stood with her hands behind her back; she narrowed her gaze when she realized Takashi was staring at her.
The man spoke with a deep, rather comforting voice, surprisingly he spoke Japanese, he would have to considering the fact he lived in Japan "Son, May I ask what you and this young lady are doing out this far in the mountains?"
Takashi was nervous but took a breath and told a semi-honest answer
"Oh we were just going to climb the mountains, get away from the city" He said stretching the truth, the man's expression tightened with a tinge of anger
"Son, let me tell you something, This Mountain is no place to climb, why even go for this one? There are plenty of smaller ones that are much more scenic and easier to climb than this one, why make the trip all the way for this one?"
Takashi felt sweat for on his brow, the man scrutinizing gaze working a nervous chill up his spine, Before Takashi could respond he spoke again
"Was it the legend that enticed you to come here?" he said leaning on the roof of Takashi's car
"W-what legend?" Aiyano asked, before Takashi could even ask the question himself
His slightly angered expression lightened "Really? I am surprised that you don't know, I mean, it was this generation of kids that spread it around, at least I think so…" He said contemplating the last part with a hand to his chin
Aiyano and Takashi both answered with a shake of a head and "No sir"
He grinned "Really? Well I could tell you but it's a Just a ghost story, unless of course you are interested?" He asked
Takashi had no desire for it but before he could voice his objection, Aiyano had already beaten him to the punch
"Sure why not, I always am up for scary stuff!" She said with a cross of her arms and grin
Takashi could see his eyebrows rise in surprise, the man leaned down on the car once more. Takashi was quick to question his interest in trying to scare them off with this ghost story…
"Well I haven't told it in a while so why not?" he said with a glint in his eye
He cleared his throat and spoke yet again "Well it goes something like this if I remember right…Many people have said that something inhuman lives in the mountain, Something that is able to kill or remove someone without a sound or trace, many, many hiking group supposedly would have a missing member and not even notice it until they stopped for water or food, A lot of wolves are heard howling at night, but the howl is different, louder, longer and makes a bear growl sound like a pussy cat that scratches at the door to go out at night, some thought it was just wolves that injured or….killed them, but they were wrong, one body was almost purposely left on that very bridge…" he gestured to the bridge behind them
"The body was a young girl who hiked up the mountain with her family, and was lost halfway through the trip, When the family ran up to her lifeless husk with tears of sorrow they noticed something that made their blood go ice cold, claw marks, The distance between the marks was attributed to the size of the paw of whatever clawed her to death, This creature is enormous, If the proportions are right then this thing is almost Three to Three and a half meters in length and One hundred and eighty to Two hundred and ten Centimeters tall." He stared off into space, almost like he was reliving something, He Lifted his hand to his face as he traced the middle most claw mark, Takashi felt himself get sick with the thought of whatever cut him up
He shook his head back to reality and returned his smile "But that's nothing but ghosts and Fairy tales as I said, every bit of it, But im sure you two can see why it attracts attention"
Takashi nodded in agreement; Aiyano looked unimpressed with this "Ghost story"
"So why not you pack up and head to the mountains that are closer to the city" He said as he got up and cracked his neck from resting so long
Takashi was all for leaving, but gosh dang it! Aiyano was asking questions again! Takashi was sure she never heard the old tale of how curiosity killed the cat.
"But sense it's just Ghosts and fairy tales, why can't we climb the mountain?" She gave a confident smirk
The man did not take too kindly to that kind of behavior but his partner spoke before he did; apparently Takashi wasn't the only getting interrupted
"Listen, like he said it's a steep mountain and not very enjoyable to climb" The girl said with a minimum amount of emotion
But as Aiyano always did, she kept pressing
"Well I think we can manage a steep cliff or two" She said grabbing Takashi's Arm and pulling him closer to further her point
The man shook his head "Listen, just listen for a second please, This mountain has no value in recreation, it's difficult to climb and all the cliffs are covered in trees so you can't even enjoy the view, The steep trail may not seem like much at first, but once the air thins out and you have been hiking for a few hours it makes you feel miserable" He expressed his point with many hand motions, he clearly didn't want them to go up this mountain and his patience was thinning
Then His partner gave a sneer and looked at Aiyano
"And you don't look like one that can go to long without losing all your stamina"
The man hit her on the shoulder lightly for saying such an out of turn and Ad hominem comment
"Well thanks for the warning but I think we will be on our way, come on Takashi, grab your stuff" Aiyano said defiantly, and grabbed his bag and tossed it to him, who once again, caught it clumsily
As they walked away the man rubbed his temples in frustration with an aggravated sigh, he lifted up his hand to stop them before they turned and left
"Listen, the creature may not exist…but the bear that killed those people does!"
Takashi felt Goosebumps pop up all over his skin
"Didn't….you just say that the entire story was false?" Takashi asked with a breaking voice
Aiyano stopped at bit ahead of Takashi, catching on to what he was saying, she too turned around and looked a tad uneasy
The man stepped back; he could tell he was caught in a lie "Well…." He was cut off by Aiyano
"So that girl? And all those hikers? They did die?" She said taking a step forward, hoping that he was lying this whole time
The man spat back "Now listen he-"Takashi cut him off
"They did really pass away didn't they? So what killed them? That bear or-or that Creature?" He said getting hysteric, his gaze traced to where Luna was, starting to fear for her, but she wasn't there, What if that creature was going to get her…
Then it clicked, The Creatures are those that are inviting Luna to the mountain…..Are considered to be a monster by this guy
'Best to not let him know about them then….' He thought, he glanced at Aiyano hoping that she made the same connection
The man was getting visibly irritated so he stepped back to the truck for a moment and hunched over, he sighed and waved to the girl next to him, she started speaking in his place
"To answer your questions, Yes, as unfortunate as it is those people did die"
Takashi let out a sigh of sadness, how terrible to die on some mountain without your family?
She continued "but not from some creature. It was from a bear that had gotten the taste of human flesh, my father has tried time and time again to end that monster once and for all" She took in a heavy breath "however…. it still stalks the mountain and that is why we don't let people venture up the mountain, now please….please just leave" she expressed with such an irritated tone Aiyano was sure she was about to pull a gun out on them or something
Takashi was sure something was inconstant with what they were saying, but he wasn't sure…It just kept going back to the bear statement, that the bear had killed those people….Bears….why did that make him feel like they were lying…..
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Luna observed her surroundings, taking in the scent of the gigantic trees and flowers that blanketed the mountain like an overcoat; the forest floor was covered in leaves, Brush, grass, bushes and all manner of vines tangled around and nearly engulfed every space that wasn't occupied by something else.
"Should have brought a machete…" She thought with a disheartened groan and ran her hand through her hair.
'If I try and Walk through that I'll be cut up by thorns or curled up in vines' She thought with grimace as she paced around looking for some reasonable way past the obstruction that seemed to go all around the mountain
'I could always transform…that would make it a whole lot easier' She pondered for a moment
'Oh wait…..Im still with Takashi and Aiyano' she turned around to see what was taking them so long
They were bickering by the car, Aiyano looked angry and Takashi was waving a hairdryer in his hand while he was saying something to Aiyano
Luna chuckled, it seemed like they always bickered, like two little old women, that thought made her laugh. Her laugh died when a sound hit her ears, it apparently was heard by Takashi as well, the roar of an engine as it rounded the turn
Luna ran back across the bridge, then the scent from the Vehicle hit her nose
It smelled of diesel, pollution and toxicity if she could explain it best, but it was the lingering scent that gave her a chill
A coppery like smell, one that she would smell when someone got a cut or was wounded, but then it would smell like a human. No this one had a wild smell to it…like…like
Her blood
Whatever blood was on that truck, it was similar to hers and she felt her natural instincts claw at the back of her skull telling her every neuron to run away and leave them to their fate, whatever that truck was it smelled like death
Her human side was in control though, and she fought the urge to escape
She started to sprint toward Takashi and Aiyano with as much force as she could muster, she made it across the bridge and onto the grass, but the truck came into view, she ducked down immediately by a tree, not wanting to be seen by it at all, Her chest heaved from her exertion, She really wanted to yelled to Takashi and Aiyano to get out of there, but what if the people in the truck hear her?
She peeked around the tree's girth, an enormous man stepped out of the passenger's side, she couldn't get a look for detail but he was no civilian, looking more military oriented
Luna's eyes picked up more movement from across the hood of the truck; coming from the driver's side was a young lady, clad in some sort of….armor. Luna covered her nose in disgust, the stench that covered the truck was getting to her, while the man talked to Takashi and Aiyano she crept up in the shadows, deliberately taking her time so that no sound or glance would give away her cover
She stepped behind a bush that was a good 20 meters away from the car, Luna moved her feet and peered over the top of the bush but when she re adjusted her footing a second time a loud snap rang out, She lowered her head as quick as lightning, her heard raced faster than it would have if she ran the mile at school and she was sure that she wasn't long for this world after that
But despite her fears, no yell came to her ears, any gunshots or sounds of them approaching, with cautious relief she wiped her forehead clean of cold sweat and took a deep breath and continued her lethargic approach, listening and watching for any sign of hostility toward her friends.
She felt relief run its way through her as she reach a safe hiding spot not even 15 yards away from Takashi and Aiyano, now she felt better and could retaliate if something bad happened, but with any luck nothing would
Boy was she wrong…
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Then it hit him, much like an epiphany would to someone searching for answers
In Biology he remembers a significant lesson, coming to the conclusion in record time he spoke up with a forceful voice
"You are still lying!" he said pointing an accusing finger at the girl
"The only bear natives to Japan is the Asian black bear and the only mountains they ever have been known to live in is the Himalayas, not the mountains here in japan!" The girl closed her eyes and sighed, she had failed to trick them
All attention was turned to the man when he gave a chuckle and spoke softly, He had been out witted despite his best attempts
"Listen kid I liked you, I really did" He said with a sigh, as he looked at the ground, he raised his head and both his arms; he reached in the back of the truck and hoisted out a rifle. Takashi could practically feel his nerves freeze in place
"But there are some things in this world you should just stop digging your nose into, But hey at least you helped me out, Now I know for the next time to use a different story" he chambered a round making Takashi freeze and Aiyano let out a helpless squeak
He raised the rifle and adjusted his stance, the rifle leveled with Takashi; Takashi stood like a statue, still in shock that this was happening, Both he and Aiyano Panicked and dropped their bags onto the grass that they stood apon
"Wait! Wait! Please we can still leave! Why would you shoot us?!" Takashi cried out, confusion and terror trembled through him like an earthquake
The man shook his head with a emotionless gaze, he didn't even seem that much like a human anymore with that impersonal and icy stare. Aiyano and Takashi were sure that they had met their end.
With just one last painful phrase the man raised the rifle yet again
"Didn't you ever hear the phrase, Curiosity killed the cat?"