To Find the Infection
Chapter 3: Zain's the Woodling
The road twisted and turned. There were so many different directions to go, and only one lifetime to go to each one. One could get lost in the maze of the roads; one would love to as a matter of fact. To go to random cities and ports, to see the world and all of its glory! That was the dream of an adventurer. Unfortunately, this is not the story of an adventurer; this is a story of the Earth's final moments, its final farewell to humanity. That is, unless, a handful of people could stop it…
Zain and Rahk walked calmly down the swirling roads, taking precise turns whenever it split, nonstop. The wind continued to blow in the direction that they walked. They would never get lost, the wind is never wrong.
They approached a new village. Zain's eyes grew at the sight of this one, as it was completely opposite to what he had seen in the village he found Rahk in. There was a large populace here; people crowded the lands, buying and trading food to other townspeople. Children ran around in circles, playing games like tag, whilst their mothers fetched their dinner for that night. The men were busy selling items to others, while the more muscle bound men continued the task of cutting wood and making weapons. It was more like a metropolis of the middle ages.
"Before we go any longer," Rahk said to Zain, pointing to a nearby building, "I think we should stop here for a drink." Rahk then looked down onto Zain. He smiled, then added, "And if you don't drink, then you will today."
Zain looked at Rahk, obviously puzzled at Rahk's words. "Drink?" He said, his eyes blankly blinking towards the building. "I drink water, of course..." Zain spoke. Rahk walked ahead of Zain. Feeling thirsty however, Zain decides that a drink will do well for him. He quickly followed Rahk into the building, the bar.
Zain immediately had a negative feel of the place. It stunk, horribly. There was a foul odor looming in the air, from what, he'd rather not know. There were many tough looking characters in the bar, though half of them seemed dizzy, and one even vomits on the floor. Zain felt dizzy himself, but managed to pull himself together. Rahk sat down on a stool at the front of the bar, away from the terrible smell, with a glad-looking Zain sitting next to him.
"Bartender, two beers." Rahk quickly spoke to a large man behind the counter. Rahk moves closer to Zain. "Zain, watch your back in here." Rahk warned him. Zain again put on the curious face. Rahk sighed. "There are many pirates and thieves, all just waiting to pick a fight." No sooner had he said this a man had slammed the bar door open. The entire building went silent, except for the bartender that is. The man's shadow loomed over the bar, as everyone stared at him, walking towards Rahk and Zain, and then, sitting down on the side opposite of Rahk.
"A beer please." The man says, not in the most polite way however. The man looked fierce. He wore a blue coat with a white shirt, and had grayish-black hair with dark gray streaks zigzagging from front to back from aging. He wore black pants with black boots and made a loud knocking sound when he walked. He smiled when his beer, along with Rahk and Zain's, arrived at the counter, in front of their eyes.
Rahk grabbed his own beer, and looked back at Zain. "Drink it, it's better than water." He said.
The man sitting next to Rahk looked at him and Zain. He felt a tingling sensation inside his body; it told him that these two were exceptionally strong fighters. He decided to stir up a conversation with the two strangers. "So," he said, taking a sip of his beer, "what are your names?"
Rahk smiled at the newcomer. "To you, it's God." He chuckled, a sarcastic smile spread across his face.
"Very funny…" the man replied.
"You look familiar." Rahk said. "Who did you say you were?"
The man grinned. In a bold voice, he told Rahk and Zain, "I am Tanna, the only man to have survived after battling with "The Juggernaut!"
Rahk seemed obviously unsatisfied. "That man Majotte?" Rahk asked Tanna. "I can kick his ass anytime I wanted to." He replied to Tanna.
"I wouldn't be too sure, 'God'," Tanna said, his face concentrated. "Majotte is a powerful foe, and is never to be taken lightly." He said, taking another drink from his beer. "Sometimes I feel like he is still after me, trying to finish me off."
Suddenly, a man grabbed Tanna by the shoulder. Tanna looked at the man, who was clearly drunk. "What do you want?" Tanna asked the man.
"Money." The man replied. "YOUR money." He said. He pulled a knife out of his left pocket, and lunged towards Tanna. Tanna sighed deeply, and yawned as the man's knife grew closer to Tanna's shoulder.
The knife made contact, then, miraculously, bounced back off. The knife spun ferociously back at the stranger, and impaled him in the arm. The drunk screamed in pain, as his blood ran down his arm. He rolled onto the floor, everyone else laughing at the man, for only a fool would try to fight someone like Tanna.
Rahk looked back at Zain. "Did you see that?" Rahk asked. "He used his energy to bounce the attack back at the man. Also, according to him, he's survived a battle with the man named Majotte."
"Exactly who is Majotte?" Zain asked Tanna. It was obvious he wouldn't know, being in the woods as long as Zain had made him unaware of the outside world.
"Majotte is an extremely powerful man, capable of things most people would believe unimaginable. He enjoys a good fight, and always wins at the end, at the expense of the loser of the battle's life." Rahk explained.
Rahk turned back towards Tanna. "So, where exactly did you come from? A modern earthling couldn't possibly do something like that." He asked.
Tanna replied, "I don't exactly know. I was sent from the planet of the Saiyan race, with a mission to destroy this planet. When I had arrived however, something came over me, I just couldn't do it." He quickly added, "But don't think I'm soft!"
Rahk laughed, "I'm sure you have proved that you are indeed not soft! So," Rahk said, "You're one of those Saiyans I've heard of?"
Tanna replied again, "Yes. There really isn't much of us left in the universe, we all sort of suddenly died out, but we can cause some severe damage to any places we go…"
Zain looked at Tanna, this time, with interest. "A Saiyan…like me." Zain thought. He looked down at his beer, which remained untouched. Ripples constantly moved around in the mug whenever something slammed down on the counter. Zain finally took a sip of his own beer. His face stretched in excitement; the beer tasted great! With greed for more, Zain gulped the entire mug down, and asked for another. His mind, however, was not used to the alcohol. In a matter of minutes, he was drunk.
"So what's your background Rahk?" Zain said thickly. Without giving Rahk any chance to reply, he added, "My mother was a Woodling, a peaceful forest race completely intoned with nature." He hiccupped as he spoke, "I never knew my father. All I know is that he was a Saiyan. That makes me half Saiyan." Zain continued, "Yep, I'm half Woodling, half Saiyan! I don't know much about my mom though, because our race was killed off." Zain began to cry loudly and out of control. The entire bar again stood silent, hearing his cries. "I'm the last of my," Zain tries to finish, "of my…" he suddenly fell off of the stool, and hit the wooden floor hard. He hiccupped one more time, then passes out on the floor.
Rahk frowned at the passed out youngster, while Tanna laughed. "Jesus Christ! Now I have to carry him, and now I am surrounded by Saiyans, no offence Tanna." Rahk picks up Zain by the arm, and puts him around his back like a small child. "So, do you know where we can rest for awhile Tanna? I don't think Zain will feel very good when he wakes up." Rahk asked, chuckling at the thought of Zain falling again.
Tanna flips a golden coin towards the bartender. "For the three beers." He mutters. The bartender nods, and the three walk outside. Tanna looks at the other two. "I have a place just outside this village, we can go there to rest." He says to Rahk.
"Good," Rahk said, "because Zain will have a hangover when he wakes up, and I don't want to hear any bitching." He chuckled, as the three began the short walk towards Tanna's house. It was then that Rahk realized that the sun had nearly set; the sky was painted orange-purple. Night had come, they needed a good rest.
Tomorrow would be a long day.