Gamer To Farmer
Chapter 18: The Reason Bad Things Happen
A/N: I will leave the important author note till the end of the chapter. One that needs to be mentioned ahead of time. The Witch that I have in this chapter is in no way connected to my other fic. I found out today about the two new Harvest Moon games that are coming out soon. The Witch is actually a character that appears in one of the new versions and she serves as an opposing force to the Harvest Goddess. I have no idea what she looks like, so I'm making a guess. Natsume, do not sue me, for I hope that I am not leaking some secret that you have hidden. I do not own this Witch.
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My mind raced to figure out what could have gone wrong as I headed towards the Clinic. It seemed so far away, although I easily could have made it there in ten minutes. Now, these ten minutes seemed to take forever, even though I was running The Clinic was now in sight. Everything else seemed to fade away, forming a dull black background to my destination.
The early morning sun had vanished as if covered by a ominous veil of death. The only light that still shimmered with life was coming from the window of the Clinic. I found myself stopping at this beacon, peering into the building. Inside was the office of Doctor Evan. Through his doorway I could just barely see into the emergency room.
Elli was sprawled across the table with tubes and machines hooked up to her. Her chest rose with every breath that was being mechanically fed into her body. The doctor was standing beside her, searching through his medical books, shaking his head. What was it that had happened?
I couldn't handle not knowing any longer. I reached over to the door and attempted to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. I tried the door a second time, this time pulling at the door, but with a similar result. Giving up on the door, I returned to my position at the window.
Now, Doctor Evan was looking intently at one of the monitors. I could faintly make out a faint, but high pitched wail. Evan solemnly walked over to the bedside, taking hold of the blanket that was draped over Elli. With one swift movement, he pulled the blanket up and over Elli's face. Next he looked at his watch and wrote something on his clipboard.
I was in shock. My eyes began to well with tears as I came to grips with what had happened. I couldn't believe it. Whatever had happened to Elli had been the death of her. Evan closed the curtain around the emergency room right as Stu waddled up to him. The doctor took a deep breath before stooping down to Stu's level. He must be telling Stu the bad news, because the young boy began whimpering before bursting out into tears.
"I just love messing with people's lives." A female voice stated from behind me. I turned to face the person who had snuck up without making a sound. Whoever she was, I was ready to take my anger out on her.
Standing before me was a woman who looked incredibly similar to the Harvest Goddess. This woman was shrouded with an evil black aura. Her hair was a dark red, pulled back into a long ponytail. Her eyes matched her hair color, giving her the appearance of a demon.
"Who are you?" I demanded as I stepped away from the window. I realized that even the floor had given away. The two of us were alone in the blackness, just like the first time that I had met the Harvest Goddess.
The woman snickered. "You've never heard of me? Comes as no surprise, the people around here don't really believe in me. I'm known around here as the Witch."
I nodded my head in understanding. Indeed I had heard of her. I often heard some of my fellow villagers use her name along with profanity and curses while they were drunk. She served as an opposing force to the Harvest Goddess, which was a surprise, seeing that they were sisters.
"Did you have something to do with this?" I asked as I pointed back towards the clinic, which had now become part of the darkness along with everything else.
The Witch let out a hideous cackle of delight. "So you finally figured who has been trying to mess up your life. That's right, it's been me!"
It made sense. If the Witch had been trying to mess up my life, she had been doing an extremely good job at it. This last attempt, though, had pushed me over the edge. It was time for the reckoning. "Why?!? Why are you focusing all of your hatred against me?" I demanded.
The Witch shrugged her shoulders. "I hate this place. Everyone is so happy. It makes me sick. I figured if I could break you, the rest of the village would soon follow. Too bad that this is only a test."
"What do you mean a test?" I inquired, letting the hatred in my voice echo my feelings.
"Wow, you sure are dense." The Witch shook her head in disbelief. "You should have figured out by now that this is only a dream. My sister and I only show ourselves to people who are asleep or in a 'life crisis." The Witch emphasized life crisis with a pair of finger quotes.
"You mean that Elli is all right?" I asked, relieved that I was only dreaming.
"She's still fine, nothing has happened to her. It's just that the two of you have been having too much fun lately. I was getting bored. You'd better wake up soon if you want to keep your chickens." With that the Witch vanished into the darkness.
I eyes began to flutter open. I was still seated in the cart, surrounded by trees. It was still dark outside; my guess was that the time was about five. Blimp had pulled the cart to a stop under a tree and was happily grazing the grounds. I must have fallen asleep on the way back from Forget-Me-Not Valley. A rustle sounded from the bushes nearby, attracting my attention. "He's awake! We waited too long." A hushed voice stated from near the source of the rustling.
I remembered the warning about bandits that roamed the woods. Suddenly the bushes erupted and I was surrounded by a half dozen men. I reached beside me for something to use as a weapon but found nothing. The next thing I knew, my arms were snared with a rope and I was yanked from my perch. I hit the ground with a heavy thud, knocking the breath from me.
The owner of the other end of the rope carefully approached me. He stared at me with interest, probably intrigued by the scornful look that I was giving him. I knew that if I managed to get loose, I had found targets to get revenge against. The Witch had unknowingly fueled the violent tendencies that had been held dormant since my mother had burned Mage's Farm down.
The man with the rope tied his end to a huge tree before joining his comrades in searching the cart. "Hey! Get away from there! Leave my animals alone!" I yelled out at the bandits.
One of the bandits stopped his search and walked over to me. Suddenly, a huge explosion of pain erupted in my side as he kicked out at me. I tried to make it to my feet and charge at him, but the rope kept me on the ground. The bandit smiled at my helpless state, taking great pride with every kick that he tolled out on me.
"Marcus, quit that! We have what we need. Let's get out of here!" The apparent leader of the group of bandits called out. He had climbed into the driver's seat of the cart and was ready to retreat. The one called Marcus heard the order, but was intent on dolling out another strike. His foot was raised in the air as he prepared to stomp my face against the tree trunk.
Suddenly the air was filled with a loud battle yell. A figure came crashing out of the bushes, heading straight towards Marcus. The bandit was caught off guard as the new arrival delivered a harsh tackle, sending the bandit into an unconscious pile in the bushes. I finally recognized who the new guy was. It was Neil! "What are you doing here?" I asked as he brandished a knife. The remaining bandits were encircling the two of us.
Neil used his knife to cut through the rope that had me bound. "Homer was complaining about something so I came out to check on him. I heard you shout out. I figured that you were in need of some help."
I looked in the direction that he came from. Just barely visible through the trees, I could see the outline of Mineral Town. As I watched, a couple of lights flickered to life. More reinforcements were on their way. The bandits seemed to notice this too, and were quick to make their escape. I was ready to give chase after them, but Neil stopped me. "Just leave them. They didn't steal anything. Plus, we have one of them." He pointed towards the knocked out bandit.
I walked up to Marcus. Now, I had the opportunity to get revenge. I was just about to kick the bandit when some other villagers showed up, among them was Officer Harris. I let out a small sigh as he came over and placed a pair of hand cuffs on the bandit, who was now coming to. "I'll turn this guy over to the regional police." Harris stated. "They've been looking for these guys fro quite some time." I was amazed at how prepared Harris was, like he was never off duty.
The group of us made the trek back to Mineral Town. Harris asked if I could go with him to deposit the prisoner and to give a statement. I agreed. Neil took control of the cart, leading the animals back to Mage's Farm.
Mineral Town didn't really have a jail. Harris used the Inn whenever he needed to imprison somebody. This was no exception, as Marcus was locked in one of the rooms. Harris then proceeded to use the phone to call the regional police force. "Are you alright?" He asked once he was done with the police.
I nodded my head in response, but winced in pain as I did so. Maybe the bandit had caused some damage with his attacks. Harris took note of the pain that I had unwillingly shown. "I'm adding assault to the charges against those bandits. You, in the meantime, should go to the Clinic and get yourself examined. I don't need you for anything else." He explained.
I thanked Harris for everything that he had done before excusing myself, making an exit. Then, I made my way to the Clinic. I was really hoping that I hadn't broken anything. That would have really sucked. I had already broken too many so far during the two months and a bit that I had stayed in Mineral Town. Maybe my meeting with the Witch would change that.
Evan quickly gave me an examination once I arrived at the Clinic. I was relieved to learn that I had only received some bruising from the encounter. Nothing more. I was just about to leave and head back to the farm when the Clinic doors rocketed open.
Elli came bursting into the examination room. She saw me and quickly collapsed into my arms. "I came as soon as I found out. I'm so glad you're all right." She managed to say through the tears that escaped her eyes.
I rubbed her back reassuringly. "Sorry to worry you. I just couldn't stand being away from you for any longer. I had to see you." I took hold of her hand, leading her back towards the farm.
On the way back, I spotted the Harvest Goddess and the Witch arguing. Elli obviously couldn't see them, because they were in clear sight. Between the Harvest Goddess and the Witch was a chalkboard, split into two columns, one for each. The Harvest Goddess triumphantly placed a mark under her side of the board. The two sides were about equal. Then, the two vanished into a cloud of smoke.
I was thinking about what the Witch had told me. She had said that if she could break me, she could break the village. What was so important about me? Then it came to me. Ahead of us was Mage's Farm. I realized that she was trying to stop me from succeeding against my father's challenge. That way, Mineral Town would be destroyed and her sister defeated. It all made perfect sense.
There were too many problems arising from this challenge. I had expected some mild problems, such as a passive rival in a battle for the love of a woman. Or maybe a bad bag of seeds that resulted in a poor harvest. But, I hadn't expected anything of the caliber of trouble that I had faced so far. Hopefully, peaceful times were ahead.
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A/N: There you go. The chapter is done and it is time for the life update. The good heavily outweighs the bad. As of last Thursday, I am now engaged to Mage. It may seem a little stupid for a seventeen year old guy to be engaged, but it is really true love. If it wasn't for the cancer, I would have waited for another year or two. I got her to read your reviews and she became a lot happier. Thanks for your support, for it really means a lot to us. Till next time, Tint and Mage out.