To Find the Infection
Chapter 5: Rising Tension
The wind blew loudly outside of the clear glass window. It made a painful cry through the tiny cracks of the wooden walls. Even the air was polluted, it was as if the Earth had already died. Zain sat upright and looked around, he was in a bed, draped by a few blankets. On the floor besides the bed, lay a metal bucket, filled what a foul smelling substance. Zain's vomit disgusted himself, but he easily just blew it off.
"I must have underestimated the power of that 'beer'." Zain thought. Remembering what he had said the night before, Zain shuddered.
A knock came at the wooden door opposite of Zain, Tanna and Rahk both entered the room, full of good will and shock at the same time.
Tanna looked at Zain, impressed. "Hey, how the hell did you get up from getting drunk?" he asked, then added, "Don't you still feel sick?"
"My Woodling nature does not allow me to get sick for very long, I immediatly recover from almost any sickness." Zain explained.
"Well, don't you feel tired?" Tanna said.
Before allowing Zain to answer, Rahk threw in his voice, "I'm hungry, I'll be right back..." he said, then ran out the door.
Zain looked puzzled at Rahk, but then looked back towards Tanna. "No, I haven't slept much, all of my dreams have been nothing but nightmares."
"Well I'm a full Saiyan, and I get dead drunk. I don't necessarily get better right away." he said.
"I guess since I'm half Saiyan, that is what causes me to get sick, because none of the full Woodling children my age never got sick, not once." Zain said.
"I see." Tanna said. "So, where exactly did Rahk go? I don't have food here." Tanna questioned.
Before another second passed, Rahk came crashing comically through the clear window, holding a giant bowl in his massive arms, while the shards of glass hit the grown.
"Damnit Rahk, I had just finished putting that window up!" Tanna scolded.
Ignoring Tanna, Rahk told Zain, "I was hungry, so I...uh..borrowed some food without permission." he said. He grabbed a slab of cooked meat out of the bowl, and handed it to Zain. "Wan't some?" he asked him.
"Yes, yes I would." Zain said. "Tanna, eat. We require strength, and strength requires energy, and food is energy." Zain explained, grabbing the meat out of Rahk's hand.
Tanna grabbed a piece of fruit, and shoved the entire thing into his mouth. While still chewing, he told Zain, "I agree, we do need stre.." Tanna paused for a bit, feeling a sharp pain in his throat and stomache. He coughed hard, spitting out some fruit. "Damn! Food went down the wrong hole!" he exclaimed.
"So, what do we do know?" Rahk said to Zain, as he started eating some fruit and some more slabs of meat along with the others. The food's steam quickly shot out of the window, while the fruit's juices splashed around the floor at the mercy of the vile eating habits of two Saiyans and a Demon.
Tanna ignored Rahk and kept eating, again feeling the same sharp pain in his stomache. "I don't know, think of something!" he said rudely.
"We'll follow the wind, the wind never lies. We set out right after we eat, the Earth is beginning the crumble." Zain told the other two.
Rahk felt a strange feeling, something bad and ominous was on its way, but he didn't want to alarm the others. He shrugged it off, and watched the other two go at the food, scarfing it down.
Tanna continued to eat after Zain finally stopped, now completely ignoring the pain in his body, he didn't realize how full he was, then suddenly fell onto his back, and let out a deep sigh.
Zain looked at his companions, he hadn't slept since the Earth had reached out to him. Zain sat cross-legged on the bed, waiting for the blow of the wind, which had suddenly come to a halt.
"Guess Tanna fell asleep Zain." Rahk told him. "Time to wake him up." Rahk walked towards Tanna's ear, and bellowed, "Wake up! It's time to go!"
Without getting a response from Tanna, Zain smiles. "I know how to wake him up." he said. He began to concentrate. After a minute or two, smoke began to appear at Tanna's feet, then, in an instant, a contained fire shot out at the tips of Tanna's boots.
Rahk jumped back, then began to laugh. "I knew you had a sense of humor Zain!" he told him.
"I think being around others does that to you..." Zain added, along with a chuckle.
After seeing that Tanna had yet to react, Zain walked up to Tanna's head, letting the fire dissapear. He put the two tips of his fingers towards Tanna's thoat to feel for a pulse. Zain's eyes widened. He stood up, and turned towards Rahk.
"Rahk, Tanna's dead." Zain told him. No later had he said this, Tanna burped up a green-colored liquid, spilling it all over his wooden floor.
"Augh!" Rahk yelled in disgust. "The bastard puked all over my shoes!"
"From that, I would assume that Tanna had been poisoned by the food you had brought in." Zain told Rahk.
Rahk suddenly felt a slight bit of guilt, but shrugged it off. He grabbed Tanna's leg, and lifted him up like a toy. While examining the body, he asked Zain. "What about us? Why didn't we get poisoned and die?"
"I'm a Woodling, so I don't get sick." Zain said. "And you didn't eat much of anything, Tanna ate most of the food." Zain explained.
"So, who do you think did this?" Rahk asked.
Zain replied, "Anyone who was an enemy of Tanna."
"What about Majotte?" Rahk said, "Tanna did mention that he had the feeling that Majotte was trying to 'finish him off'".
"That's the only suspect we have, Majotte is the only person we know who could actually kill Tanna." Zain said. He stood up, and looked towards the sky. In his own bold voice, he yelled, "From this day forward, I declare all enemies of Tanna to be my own! I shall not rest until I have killed the one who did this to him!" Zain said. "I promise this to my Woodling race!"
Rahk looked at the dead body again. "That sucks too, I wish I could have had a good shot or two on him before he died." Rahk said.
Zain chuckled. "Rahk, let's burn Tanna's body, then get back on the road. The Earth is still infected, and we need to know if anyone knows the whereabouts of this Majotte." Zain finished.
The wind began to blow as Zain stepped into the outside, Rahk and the body shortly following behind him. The city was alive again, people were working everywhere, while the elders sat on stools and watched and talked among each other.
Zain spotted an elderly man, and approached him without caution. "Elder, I know that the older are wise, so, can you tell me if this man," he said, pointing towards Tanna's dead body, "had any enemies besides 'The Juggernaut'?" Zain asked.
The elder examined Tanna's grotesque remains. "No child, Majotte was the only man that was able to stand against this man. It's a shame that he finally met his end." The elder said, then turned away.
"Well, do you know of the location of this Majotte?" Rahk asked the elder.
He looked back at Rahk. "Well, news spread, a few moments ago actually, that he was spotted in this area, not to far from here." he added. The elder pointed towards the North.
Zain looked towards the North with the man's finger. The wind hit Zain from nowhere, towards the same direction. "Rahk, lets go." he said. "Thanks elder." Zain told the man, and he and Rahk began to walk down the dirt road towards the North.
"Majotte." Zain said. "I will find him, and I still need to find the reason for the infection of the earth." Zain said.
"Infection?" the elder man said, able to still hear Zain's voice. Zain walked back to the old man.
"You know of this infection?" Zain said. "Why don't you tell anyone?" Zain questioned.
"The same reason you don't. There would be mass panic, the world would just crumble faster. Better to die later than sooner." the wise man said. Zain nodded. The old man then added, "Have you heard of the mythical Earth Orb?"
"Earth Orb?" Zain repeated. "Please elder, tell me of this Orb."
"I don't know much, but myth had it that the one who finds this magical orb shall be able to control the Earth itself." the old man explained.
Zain thought for a minute. "Thanks elder." He turned back towards Rahk, "Rahk, our mission is clear now," Zain said, "Let's cremate Tanna, then be on our way." he finished.
"So the plan is to find the Earth Orb, fix the Earth itself, and kill 'The Juggernaut'?" Rahk finished, almost sounding surprised at this sudden turn of events.
"That's basically it." Zain said, as they started walking down the road again.
"This trip is starting to get interesting.." Rahk told Zain.
The sun began to rise on the new day. If Majotte was indeed in the area, then there would be no doubt that a battle would soon begin.
Zain thought about what was going to happen. he turned and looked at Rahk.
"Defeating 'The Juggernaut', sound like fun doesnt it?" he told him.