Chapter Twenty-Two: Curiosity Killed the Cat
The Marketplace was pretty empty when Earthrealm's champions arrived, but there were a few Outworlders were lingering around. Most of them had gone to watch the tournament, so the city was almost barren. Johnny Cage went by some of the stands and barrels of fruit.
"Wow. I would kill for a banana right now. I'm starving."
Cage looked around to see if anyone could sell him the fruit, but the people who were there ignored him. The actor tried to get the attention of a man nearby who had his back turned to him.
"Excuse me, do you work at this stand? If you do, I would like to…"
"Get lost."
Johnny frowned at the man's rudeness. He only asked him a simple question.
"I'm sorry?"
The man stopped what he was doing and turned around. He had long, brown hair that was pulled back into a braid and a scar ran from the top of his left cheek down to his chin. His face bore the meanest scowl as he looked at Cage.
"Did I stutter, Earthrealmer? I said get lost."
"Jeez, man, I was just asking for…"
"Johnny, stop."
Smoke walked to Cage's side and grabbed his shoulder. The ninja then looked at the Outworlder.
"We apologize for intruding. We will leave now."
"But, Smoke…"
"We are leaving."
Tomas pulled Johnny away from the vendor and they joined Sub-zero, who was holding onto Cyrax. They forgot to ask Raiden if he could take the robot somewhere safe during Mortal Kombat. Now they were stuck taking turns carrying him, but the ninjas were not complaining. They were glad to have their friend back. Johnny looked back at Smoke as they continued down the street.
"What was that back there? That guy had no right to act like a jerk to someone he just met!"
"You should not expect any kindness from Outworlders. We are Earthrealmers and Earthrealm is Shao Kahn's enemy, as well as all of Outworld."
"Yeah, but still, he have to… huh?"
The three Men stopped in their tracks. Someone was walking towards them. It was a little girl with straight, blonde hair and emerald green eyes. She was holding something out in her hands as she stopped in front of Johnny Cage.
"Is that for me?"
The girl nodded and quickly put the object in Cage's hands. It was a banana, just like the actor wanted. He smiled down at the child.
"Thanks, kid. I owe you one."
The girl said nothing. Instead, she looked over at Smoke and stared at him. Tomas felt as though the kid was staring into his soul. It made him uncomfortable. After a couple of seconds went by, the little girl ran away. The girl's behavior confused the Earthrealmers, but they just shrugged it off and started walking again. Johnny keeled his banana and took a bite out of it. His eyes widen as he chewed.
"I don't if it's because I'm really hungry or not, but this is the best banana I have ever eaten! You see, Smoke? Not everyone's so bad."
"She is a child. She has yet to comprehend that a war is happening around her."
Thinking about the girl, Tomas thought about the way she looked at him. She seemed… curious about the ninja in particular. Did he do something that interested the child?
"Hey, look over there!"
Johnny pointed at a canine-like creature that was sleeping nearby. It had horns in place of ears and four eyes. The animal was not even aware of their presence. Sub-zero wanted to keep it that way.
"I do not know what that creature is, but I think it would be best that we let it be."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
Kuai was surprised that Cage had actually agreed with him. And without any sort of protest.
"Alright. So, we should go on…"
Before Sub-zero could finish his sentence, Johnny sprinted towards the animal. He held his hands up high in the air as he ran.
"I'm sorry, but I have to touch it!"
"Dammit, Cage! You idiot!"
Kuai ran after the actor while Tomas stayed behind. A part of him wanted Johnny to reach the animal before Sub-zero caught him. The ninja could imagine it now: the beast wakes up just as Cage is about to touch and the actor runs away with the animal on his tail. It sounded like a scene from a cartoon. The thought made Smoke smile under his mask.
He was about to go help Sub-zero, but Tomas stopped when he saw something in the corner of his eye. At a run-down house nearby, the girl he saw earlier was sitting on some steps. She was looking straight at him and Smoke looked back. A few seconds went by before a voice from inside the house called to the child. The little girl kept her eyes on Tomas and did not look away until she was at the door. She turned and went inside the house.
Smoke did not know why, but he was curious about the girl. As well as the house itself. He could feel a strange energy coming from it. It was not bad, but it was not good either. Without thinking, the ninja headed towards the girl's home and walked up the steps. He stopped in front of the door and took a look around.
The windows were boarded up and from the cracks between the boards, Tomas could see only darkness. If he had not seen the girl go inside, the ninja would have thought no one was home. He raised his hand to knock on the door.
"You can come in."
Smoke had not even touched the door before a voice beckoned him inside. He was hesitant about coming in, but his curiosity got the better of him. Tomas slowly opened the door and walked inside. He did not see the child anywhere. In fact, he could not see anything. It was not until a light resonated from a room to Smoke's left that he knew where he was going.
Tomas went into the room and could not believe what he was seeing. Despite what the house looked like on the outside, the inside was pretty decent. In the room Smoke was currently in, there were shelves with what looked like family photos on them and a few sets of flowers were placed around the area. A red carpet with gold embroidery on the edges of it decorated the floor and a brown table sat in the middle of it.
Sitting behind the table, an small, elderly woman was messing with some colored beads that she was using to make a bracelet. Plenty of those bracelets adorned her arms and a few hung from her short, graying hair. The old woman did not look up as Smoke approached the table, but she knew he was there.
"Hello, young man."
"… Hello."
Tomas was being wary of the woman. The energy he felt was not coming from the house. It was practically pouring from the old lady. She must have sensed the ninja's discomfort because she dropped her beads on the table and looked up. Her eyes were pure white with gray swirling around in them. Almost like looking at the sky on a rainy day. The woman smiled softly at her guest.
"Please, there is no need to be so tense. I am only an old woman."
"Yes, but looks can be deceiving."
"Wise words."
The elderly lady held her hand to the wooden chair in front of her.
"Have a seat."
"I am fine standing up, thank you."
"I insist. Please."
The woman kept a smile on her face, encouraging Smoke. He sighed, but he pulled out the chair and sat down before the lady. She went back to playing with her beads.
"May I ask why you decided to come to my home?"
" To be honest, I was looking for a little girl that came in here. I just wanted to make sure she was alright."
"Dies she have blonde hair and green eyes?"
"Yes, she does."
"I see. Soliel likes to wander, but I know she can take care of herself. But I still cannot help but worry about her."
At least now Tomas knew the girl's name.
"Is she your granddaughter?"
"No, actually. In fact, I am not related to her at all. I found her as a baby in an alleyway about seven years ago. To this day, Soliel still has not spoken a word to anyone."
"Is she a mute?"
"She is capable of speech, but I suppose she just chooses not to talk. I cannot force her to speak if she does not want to."
The old woman fell silent as she fiddled with her beads again. After a moment, she spoke up again.
"You seem lost."
"Excuse me?"
"I am sorry. I did not mean to be rude, it is just… is something bothering you?"
Yes. A lot was bothering Smoke, but he was not going to tell a stranger about it.
"Let's just say that a lot has happened since the Mortal Kombat tournament began."
"You are fighting in the tournament?"
"Yes. I am fighting for Earthrealm."
"I thought so."
"Is that a problem?"
The woman laughed. It was reasonable for Tomas to expect her to throw him out once she knew he was an Earthrealmer. She should not even have the ninja in her house.
"I have no quarrel with Earthrealm. You are welcomed here."
"… Thank you."
"Gratitude is not necessary. But you could tell me your name."
"I am called Smoke."
"Smoke? I do hope that is a nickname."
"Ha, ha. It is, I assure you."
"Thank the gods. My name is Esme. It is a pleasure to meet you."
The old lady held her hand out to Tomas. The ninja grabbed her hand and shook it. As soon as he touched the woman, Smoke started to feel light-headed. Esme held on to Tomas' hand.
"I feel your pain, your grief, your anger… such a spiral of emotions within you."
"What are you… talking…?"
"You are fighting an internal battle in your mind. Something terrible is trying to claw its way to the surface. And it has succeeded on a number of occasions."
Smoke placed his free hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. What was wrong with him?
"Who are you, Smoke? What are you?"
"Just… stop."
Tomas squeezed Esme's hand and the pressure of his grip caused the woman to help in pain. He opened his eyes and looked up at the old lady. Esme gasped as she saw that his eyes were no longer their normal silver color. They were blood red.
"What in the name of…"
"STOP!"
An incredible force separated the two, causing Smoke to let go of Esme. The woman fell backwards and her hit head against the wall while Tomas fell out of his chair and landed on the floor. It took Esme some time to get up as she clutched the back of her head. It throbbed horribly, but she was not going to allow herself to pass out. She went to the other side of the table to check on Smoke, but surprisingly, he was not alone.
Kneeling beside the unconscious ninja, a man with short, graying-black hair had two fingers on Smoke's neck to check his pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a strong pulse from the ninja. The man looked up at Esme, who was standing a few feet away.
"You are messing with a force you do not understand, Esme. That is going to get you killed."
"… Who are you?"
That was not the question she wanted to ask, but it was the only one Esme could manage to speak out. The man in front of her shook his head.
"I am the man who just saved your life, witch."