Chapter 6 Alone in the woods
I laid back, wrapped up in a blanket my coughing had gotten better now that I was in the warmth, Neo was nuzzled up beside me as we watched the fire crackle. Neo grasped my hand as she closed her eyes to rest.
My ears flicked as I looked around, Ice and Naniele had already fallen asleep together, Oscar was pacing and Maria was reading through a book, I'm guessing it's a type of journal due to the untitled covered and the few other.
"It's a diary?" Oscar asked.
"The head of this household, Bartleby. Apparently, he and several other families founded this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell." Maria explained.
"Grimm?" Oscar continued noticing I was taking interest in the conversation.
"Just one of many hardships. Slowed down their farming, made everything harder... It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds." She said as she continued to read through the book.
"Hey guys. Qrow said we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow." Ruby said as she walked into the room, I moved the blanket so that it would wrap around both me and Neo.
"Thank goodness." Blake said as everyone began to move to get into a better sleeping position.
"Hmph, the last thing you'll catch me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do." Maria mumbled. "Go to bed." She mocked making me chuckle.
"Silver, you should too." She told me.
"Yeah... I don't have my medication for that, used to then the problem at Beacon happened." I sighed getting comfortable.
I sat quietly watching the fire throughout the night, my eyes drifting close but the rest of my body was fully aware, each change in smell and new sound was noted. By time I heard someone wake up, every joint in my body was stiff almost as if I had been sat there for a few years.
I raised my head and looked at Ruby as she opened the curtains, I hissed at the sudden bright light.
"Close the window..." Weiss groaned I blinked to get used to the light, I wriggled a little to wake Neo up but she just gripped my jacket tighter unwilling to get up.
"Sweetheart I need to stretch, if you don't get up, I will throw you into the snow." I told her as I slowly got up, my knees creaking and clicking as I got up on my feet, I stretched my arms over my head and yawned.
"I think that's the best sleep I'll get before we get to Argus." I smiled picking up Neo and heading outside soon dropping her into a big pile of snow.
"I told you." I smiled before going in and doing the same with Ice and Naniele, though something about them seemed off, the way they slouched and just didn't seem all that bothered about the task at hand as I hooked Grimmgash to the trailer I made from the shelving units and pieces of the tractor.
"Can we just go back to bed?" Oscar asked, I scowled to myself hearing that.
"If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?" Blake replied.
"You wanna make it?"
"Not really." Their back to forth conversation ended there.
"You guys got the bike ready?" Ruby asked, it seemed only me and Ruby are the ones actually feeling good this morning.
"Well, it's done now. So, let's hook this thing up and-" There was a sudden bang, I snapped around to see that the tire on their flatbed trailer had blown. I sighed in relief.
"You people are just beacons for bad luck, aren't you?" Maria said I sighed.
"Don't remind us." I called over.
"So, whose sitting in which?" Cole asked, his pupils unusually dilated, something was off with everyone, now that I looked to find that the rest of my team, RWBY and Oscar also having unusually dilated eyes.
"You'll ride with us." I told him as I fitted the reigns on Grimmgash.
"I'm starting to think the universe just doesn't want us getting to Atlas." Yang said, I threw the reigns onto the little bench the driver would sit on and walked over.
"It's just a flat tire, I'm sure there's a spare." Ruby told her.
"Or a way to fix it." I said.
"It's not just that, it's everything. Storms, crashes, monsters..." Yang sighed. "I'm so tired..." She said.
"Me too. It feels like we're always having to fight to get by." Blake said I blinked in disbelief.
"Yeah. But that's what we signed up for." Ruby explained.
"We signed up to try and save the world, not just... delay the inevitable." Oscar told her.
"Last night, I..." Weiss slipped an arm around herself. "why are we even going to Atlas?"
"Weiss, we have to." Ruby told her but everyone held the same troubled look.
"Why? Ozpin hid the Relics behind giant doors under enormous schools, but... how long would it take Salem to find a lamp in the middle of nowhere?" Yang argued.
NO DON'T LET THEM LOSE IT
I heard the voices in my head scream.
"What? The Grimm might-"
"They'd find it eventually, sure, but bury it or just throw it down the well, it would take years. It might not even happen in our lifetime. But we could be done with it now." Yang told her baby sister.
Ruby removed the lamp from her belt glancing at it then at her teammates, my heart leapt into my throat as she held it out over the dark well.
"I am... really... tired..." She muttered I tensed up ready to tackle her and hopefully get a hold of the relic, luckily, she hesitated and began to pull the relic away, something must have spooked her as she dropped the lamp.
"NO!" I screamed jumping down after it.
"Silver!" I heard Ice yell as I disappeared down into the depths.
Just then a new scent hit my nose, overpowering the scent of the damp rocks...
Grimm.
Quickly getting to my feet and shaking the water off, I trudged through the cold waters growling softly to myself as I followed the slightly moving water until I saw a blue glow, jogging the best I could over I picked up the relic.
Looking up I felt my heart freeze. Multiple humanoid-looking Grimm of different sizes are bunched together. Some tall some hunched over, all of them probably the same type of Grimm, they didn't pay any mind to me as I moved away, now carrying the relic by the handle I snuck away, often looking back to make sure they weren't following me. I quickly unhooked my axe upon hearing footsteps.
"Silver, you've got the relic?" It was Ruby
I then looked over hearing the snapping as the creatures looked over and began moving, I quickly turned on my heels and backed up to give them the relic. As they moved into the view of team RWBY they let out an ear-piercing scream. I only howled in pain while everyone just hunched over.
"What is this...?" Yang asked.
"My weapon... feels heavy..." Blake said, my eyes widened. I ran over to them, gave Ruby the relic and nudged them all to start moving.
I then saw Ice and Neo was bringing up the rear.
"Shit..." Ice groaned I felt my throat go dry.
"Run!" Maria yelled as she came from behind the team.
"Now!" With that they followed Maria, I turned to face the Grimm, standing at my full height I swing with my axe, the edge easily slicing through them but there were far too many, I continued to back up trying to keep them at bay.
The apathy stared at me and screeched again almost as if they were also confused on why it didn't affect me.
"Trust me, I'm confused to." I told them as I continued hacking away. I soon realised that this was hopeless as more and more just kept appearing. I turned tail and ran trying to find my team, my heart racing at the thought of how these things would affect my friends.
Suddenly I came to an opening into a wine cellar.
"Silver!" Ice smiled but it didn't last long as there was a scream, a clatter and a thump, turning I saw that the Grimm had caught up and Blake was on the ground. Unhooking my axe, I threw it with all my might making one jolt backwards forcing a few more to stop. I then looked over to see Ice laid lifelessly on the floor and Neo up against a few barrels her eyes slowly closing.
I screamed and it just happened, the haze returned sending me into a fit of blind rage. I don't remember much, just the feeling of my fingers digging into something soft and tearing it.
"Blake!" Ruby screamed there was a bright silver flash and a horrific burning sensation on my back, it had knocked me from my blind rage and brought me back to what was happening.
I cried out falling to my knees the backs of my arms were slightly smoking through my clothes.
"I've got her!" Ruby called as she dragged Blake away, I got up and shook myself before glaring angrily at the Grimm. My arms shifted into the Fenrir Gauntlets and grabbed my axe ready to unleash hell.
"What just happened?" Maria asked.
"They're locked!" Weiss cried out.
"Out of my way!" Yang yelled, but was stopped when the Grimm recovered and screamed once again.
I couldn't help but watch as my two teammates fell to the ground their bodies giving up, I turned back and screamed again this time with an axe in hand I began dispatching apathy after apathy but there was still too many to count.
"Ruby... what colour are your eyes?" Maria asked.
"They're... silver..." She replied.
"You have a family? Friends?"
"What?" I turned to see Ruby look up at me and the other creatures.
"Don't think about them. Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them, the way they make you feel. Focus!" Maria told her, I swung again slashing a few more but I was being forced back.
"Life... is beautiful. It is precious. And it must... be protected." With that there was a blinding silver light. I opened my maw to let out a shrill cry of agony. Falling to the ground I suddenly heard the cellar doors open and everyone moving in a panic.
"I've got her!" I heard Ice yell as I felt him pick me up and move to where I guess was towards the door.
"Uncle Qrow get up!" Ruby cried, her voice was muffled and was nearly drowned out by the ringing in my ears.
All of a sudden, I felt myself being dropped into a cold pile. With a whimper I curled up on myself just wanting to hide away in the snow.
"Come one we're leaving. Ice you know how to drive that thing?" Cole yelled over as the ringing ended.
"Come on baby sis I've got you." It was Cole this time.
"I'm... not a... baby." My words were slurred and I hissed when I felt someone touch my face.
"I've got some aloe we can use on those." Cole said as I was laid on the flatbed that I made, turning my head I saw the main house now filled with fire.
Closing my eyes, I heard the revving of Yang's bike and the cracking of the reigns.
I sat up with the help of Cole, Neo and Naniele and felt my coat being removed along with my vest and over shirt. Rolling me onto my front I felt Neo's small hands rub something over the burns on my back, arms and face.
"What the hell were those things?" Ice yelled.
"The Apathy. They're not strong or ferocious. They drain your will to go on. Bartleby's estate was haemorrhaging money towards the end. He wanted to cut costs on Huntsman protection, but in order to do that, he needed everyone calm... always." Maria explained as Oscar read from the journal.
"Managed to get two away from their pack. Hike back was miserable, but got the bastards in the cellar. Wife thinks I was out sealing the waterway entrance. I'll do it tomorrow and tell her the truth once these things take the edge off of everyone. I'm tired." Oscar read out.
"The next page proves that he did, but not before the rest of the pack followed their missing pair all the way home. My guess is they made their way beneath the estate through the water tunnels that Bartleby sealed up the next morning. Bartleby's plan worked. No one was angry or sad or scared. No one was anything. And then... no one was left." She said taking the book from Oscar and then chucking it into the snow.
"I'm... sorry for what I said... about giving up." Weiss said. Grimmgash snorted as he came to a stop.
"Me too. We can't quit until the lamp is safe." Yang said.
"It's not your fault. It was those... things."
"I should have known. The signs were all there, but I'd never seen an entire settlement withered away like that. I suppose my mind just isn't what it used to be." Maria said to them.
"Hey, I lost a teammate to those things, he was like a brother to me... I should have noticed the signs as soon as I woke up, that feeling of dread that just saps away your will to pick yourself up and start the day..." Cole said, I slowly sat up to let Neo check my chest over for any of those burns.
"Miss Calavera? How do you know so much about the Grimm? And in the tunnels, you knew exactly what to say to make me... to make my eyes do that. How?" Ruby asked.
"Well, isn't it obvious, girl? I had Silver Eyes. But one thing I want to know, is how were you immune to the apathy effect?" She said pointing at me with her cane.
"Jinn said something about a Grimm Shifter with their mortal face still intact." I then spread my arms out.
"I am the Grimm Shifter, with their mortal face still intact... well for the most part." I smiled rubbing the healing burns on my face.