Chapter 4 Preparing for a Conflict Long Forgotten
Hello good people. Now the next chapter is finally up. Please read it, and REVIEW! I only have one reviewer, KHUnknow. So, this one is dedicated to him/her. The great reviewer of Darkness Falls on Mineral Town. I don't care if you don't have a profile, leave an anonymous review please. IT says I got like at least eighty hits on my story, but only a couple reviews. Anyways... here you go.
I floated in a world of gray. Voices flowed all around me. Voices telling me about my past memories. Voices telling me things which I had never heard before. The voices told stories, both true and not true as I struggled to comprehend it all.
Then I listened to the voice telling me my memories of Mineral Town. I remembered visiting my Grandpa, and playing on his farm. I rode the horse, played with chickens, and watched cows. Then one day I stepped into the mountains looking for something to do. A small girl about my age came to me and asked if I wanted to play with her. I did, and what a day that was. We did almost everything for the rest of the trip together. We played tag, we played hide and seek, we played at the beach, etc. etc. My mind focused in on the memory, for it was one that I held more dear to me than many of the others. Soon the voice disappeared, and I was reliving the memory.
"Hello," said a voice to my left. I turned and saw a little girl about my age walking up to me. Of course, I was only five years old at the time.
"You look like your pretty bored. So am I!" she said with a bright smile. "Do you want to play with me?"
"Sure," I said as I leapt to my feet.
We spent the rest of the day playing together in the mountains. The girl then brought me to the Harvest Goddess fountain.
"Isn't it pretty?" the little girl asked.
"Sure is," I said as I skipped a small stone across it.
"Carter says that if you throw an offering into th' pond the Harvest Goddess will come up and see you."
I looked at her in a confused manner, for at that time I didn't fully understand that other people had different religions.
Then we began playing tag. The sun then went down, and it was time for me to return home.
"Will you play with me again tomorrow?" the little girl asked me.
"Uh-huh," I said childishly. "You didn't tell me what your name is?"
"My name is..."
I awoke immediately in a strange white room. I opened my eyes, and sat up in bed, looking around. The bed had golden sheets and the room was filled with bright sunlight. But I had never seen sunlight like this before. It was very bright, and very wonderful. Like the glory of God. A figure stood to the right of my bed.
"You are doing great sonny," said a strangely familiar voice. "But you made a major mistake back there."
"Grandpa?" I asked in surprise and alarm.
"Ay, tis me Zach. It is good to see you again."
I leaped up from the bed, and grasped the old man in a large bear hug. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I held the man who I had lost. Grandpa enveloped me in his burly arms, for even in his old age he had strength.
"I thought I'd lost you," I said as I hugged him tighter. "I guess it was all a dream. Me going to Mineral Town and inheriting the farm and all. I thought you were really dead."
"I am dead son," my Grandfather said in a quiet voice.
"Huh?" I asked as I pulled away from him.
"You going to Mineral Town wasn't a dream. But this is. At first I thought you were brave when I saw you doing what you did. Then I thought that you were reckless. Then I realized that in truth you just had forgotten. No son. You can't afford to do this in times like these."
"What are you talking about Gramps?"
"When ye went outside at night. As I recall before I died I left you a letter with warnings on it. One of them was to never ever go outside at night. But you did."
"I completely forgot about that," I said. "I thought it was a wild dog outside."
"Nah son. It's the creatures."
"Creatures?" I asked. "What creatures."
"You will learn in due time Zach."
"So, did whatever it was kill me? Am I in heaven right now? Is that why you are here?"
"Nah son. To tell you the truth you are lying in your bed on the farm. You never did come up with a name for it yet did ye? But your mind has journeyed here in a dream. I have to warn ye that what's goin on in this town is pretty sinister. It is not something to be underestimated. Ye done a great job o that so far."
"How can you..."
"God is allowin me to send ye this dream. It is through 'is work, not mine. Let me tell ye, the evil is not something to be underestimated, but it is not something to be overestimated either. It has its weaknesses too. And I'm sure that you can conquer them. I cannot tell you everything, for you must learn these things from experience. Farwell to ye now. Know that I am fine here in heaven, and am chillin as I told ye in the letter. It is great. But I can't tell you much, for you must wait until it is your time to learn what heaven truly is like. Good bye sonny, good luck, and God bless you."
"No wait!" I said as the room around me began to fade. Then I awoke to find myself lying in my bed back at the farm.
I was surprised to find Ann laying across my chest, as if she had fallen asleep while sitting on the edge of the bed. Let me tell you, if you wake up with a pretty girl sleeping against you, it is quite embarrassing. To say I blushed is an understatement. I carefully slid out from under Ann, and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. As I walked, I let a few tears fall from my eyes. I had almost thought that I could see my Grandfather again. I almost was able to be with him forever. But I wasn't dead. My tasks were not complete.
I began by frying up some bacon in a skillet. The crisp morning air flowed in through the window, and the sound of the bacon sizzling added to the serene atmosphere. I began to feel at home in this little shack of mine. Sure, it wasn't much, but for the first time in my entire life, I owned the place which I lived in. I loved the freedom of living by myself away from my parents. Sure, I loved them, and missed them, but the freedom was still incredibly desirable. After waiting my entire life, I finally began to feel like an adult. Sure, I was eighteen, but I owned my own house, and had my own occupation. That had been my goal during my childhood, to grow up and have a happy life. And now, let me tell you, this felt like it was going to be a wonderful life. Glory to God, who created all of this. Glory to his son, who died for all of this.
I finished the bacon, and flipped them onto a plate, and began frying up some eggs. I heard Ann stirring as I continued cooking. She then got up, and walked into the kitchen, looking rather frazzled. It appeared as though she did not have a good night's rest in any way, shape or form. She yawned briefly, before brushing her hair back with her fingers.
"Good morning sunshine," I said cheerfully.
"Morning," Ann replied. "Are you okay?"
"Never felt better," I said. "Had a good night's sleep, worked up a couple of nice dreams, and got to cook in the morning. So far the day is off to a wonderful start."
"Last night," Ann said with a hint of fear in her voice. I turned to her, my cheerfulness gone.
"What happened last nigh," I asked. "I do not remember much."
"Well," Ann began. "After you went outside," she shivered at this statement, "I sat around your house for a while. Then I noticed the note... OH! You'll never guess, but your Grandfather left you a letter before he died."
"I read it already," I said.
"Well, I noticed it, and looked to see what it was. When I saw it was from your Grandfather, I couldn't help reading it. Sorry. But anyways, when I read the part about how you shouldn't go outside at night... I became really frightened. Because wild dogs have never been a problem here in Mineral Town, leaving me to wonder what the howling really was. So anyways, I ran out to find you and warn you of this. I found you lying about twenty feet from the house. You were unconscious. So I carried...dragged you inside the house. You're heavy by the way. I put you in the bed, and checked your pulse. It was still beating, but you weren't breathing. So I performed rescue breathing," she blushed a deep crimson at this, "and got you breathing again. I put you in bed, and stayed up for a while, because I was afraid that you might stop breathing again in the middle of the night. Then I... I guess I fell asleep."
"I'm sorry," I said. "I should have remembered my Grandpa's warnings, and stayed inside."
I bowed my head, and thought about how foolishly I had acted last night. Ann put a hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay Zach," she said sympathetically.
I almost started crying for my Grandfather all over again, but I held the tears in.
"What did happen to you last night?" Ann asked me with a concerned look on her face.
So I explained all that I remembered. I explained how I had begun running back to the house in fear of whatever was out there. I then explained how I could hear something following me. Then I explained how I had heard a loud noise, and then... nothing but blackness.
Ann said nothing after this, but I could see it in her eyes that she was afraid. Afraid of what was happening to the town. Afraid that something might happen to me. I tried to look at her and tell her than everything was all right, but I couldn't. Because I no longer believed that things were this way. I too, was afraid.
"Do your parents know you are here?" I asked Ann.
"I told them before I left that I might be out all night. You see, some nights I go out into the mountains and sleep out under the stars. My parents are well accustomed to me doing this."
This seemed strange to me, for in some parts of the world it was just plain unwise to sleep outside in the open unguarded. But this was a small town with much less criminals than the city.
"Hey," I said gesturing at the eggs. "Want some eggs?"
Ann smiled, and nodded. "Thanks Zach," she replied.
After she had left, I began to think of what had happened last night. Ann had found me unconscious in the yard. On top of that, I wasn't breathing. But nothing had been around my neck keeping my breath from coming through. Nothing had hit my head, stunning me either. But the thing which most scared me was that my breath had stopped. If Ann hadn't have noticed the letter, then I probably would be dead by now. I now realized how dark the evil was that plagued this town. I picked up my phone and began dialing. I now realized that I had to prepare for a conflict long forgotten.
I called up my parents, and asked them to ship me some of my belongings. But before those would arrive, I would have to rely on my own wit. And my wit was telling me to go out into the forest and cut myself a nice long staff.
I stepped out the door and stopped. Did I really have the courage to return to the mountains? I remembered my Grandfather's warnings clearly. "Beware the creature of the mountains..."
I still did not know who this creature was. But I knew that I would find out eventually. And I didn't know if I was prepared. In the woods, I cut a long branch from a tree, and cut off the small branches from it. It would serve as a good staff. On my way back to my farm, I stopped to see the Goddess.
"Goddess," I said to the spring. "Come out and talk to me."
The water did not stir.
"I'm not going to throw in an offering. Come out and speak with me. I have words to say to you."
Once again nothing happened.
"Come on! You can't avoid talking to me, your rival, your enemy. Never ignore your enemy when he is speaking to you."
A light flashed, and the Goddess materialized in thin air before me on her cloud.
"What do you want heathen?"
"I think that you already know why I have come to speak to you," I said. "I was attacked last night. I can only assume that you know something about it. What was it that attacked me, and how were you involved?"
The Harvest Goddess smirked. "I told you that you can't live here and not worship me. The spirits of the isle become angry. And I'm afraid that if you offer no gifts to me, then I can do nothing to protect you."
"Oh yeah," I said. "I bet you organized the attack, didn't you? You want me to die, don't you?"
"I'll tell you this Zach," the Goddess snapped. "I the Goddess, I rule over this town. I allow the people to live here, but this is not their island. It belongs to my children. The spirits of the forest, and the spirits of the mountains. Have you met the Harvest Sprites yet? They are my children. I created them to live on this island. But they are all supernatural beings. They obey no physical laws, except the laws which I have created for them. But within the boundary of these laws, they are free to do whatever they want. They cannot kill, or harm anyone without my consent. The people of the town worship me, so I let them live. But you, you give me no reason to protect you. So I can do nothing to prevent my children from feasting upon your heart. Give me a reason to help you, and I will. Otherwise, leave me alone."
With that the Harvest Goddess disappeared into her spring. I took my staff, and walked back to my farm. I would have to be on my guard from now on. For now, I would relax. I began harvesting my crops, for several of the plants were ripe. I piled them into the shipping box, and walked into the town to visit Ann. The Inn was empty today, and Doug looked a bit unhappy about the lack of business. He brightened up when I entered the room, however.
"Hello Zach," he said. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," I replied. "How are you?"
"Just dandy," he said. "Ann's upstairs if you want to visit her."
I nodded, and started for the stairs. I walked up the stairs, all the while noticing a faint song echoing down from the second floor. I opened the door to the upstairs, and walked in. The song continued, from the first door on my left. It was cracked open, so I slowly opened it up. Ann was in the room, dusting some of the furniture. She was humming as she did this.
"Fa-la-la la!" she hummed cheerfully.
"Hey Ann," I said.
"EEP!" she shrieked and turned to face me.
"Zach! DON'T SNEAK UP BEHIND ME LIKE THAT!"
I stepped back at this angry reply, and held my hands up.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"It's okay Zach," Ann said, back to her cheerful self. "I'm really not mad. I was just cleaning, I sometimes get lost in thought when I clean."
I smiled.
"So Zach," Ann said, "do you like cleaning."
"Well... not really," I began.
"My Dad positively hates cleaning," Ann said. "So I have to do all of the cleaning in our home. But it's okay, I enjoy it. So, can I do anything for you?"
"I just wanted to say hi, and ask if you wanted to hang out with me or something."
"Of course!" Ann said enthusiastically as she placed the duster down on the table. "Just give me a few minutes to make myself decent."
"You look more than decent to me," I said.
"Thanks," Ann said smiling. "But seriously, I'd better fix my hair a bit."
I shook my head as I exited the room. She acted like a tomboy sometimes, but in truth she could be very girly at times. Fix her hair up a bit? I hadn't noticed that it needed adjustment. I walked back down the stairs.
"Hey Mr. Donovan," I said as I reached the bottom. "Is it okay if Ann and I go out and hang out or something?"
Doug smiled with his traditional fatherly glow. "Of course Zach. You can call me Doug if you want, I really don't mind. Sure, you and Ann can go out if you want. I'm rather happy that you're spending so much time with her."
Doug grinned after this as if all of this were a game.
"Why?" I asked.
"To tell you the truth Zach," Doug said with a glint in his eye, "Ann's never spent so much time with a boy before in her entire life."
"Okay! I'm ready!" Ann said as she came running down the stairs. She had changed out of her traditional overalls, and was no wearing a green T-shirt, and a jean skirt. Apparently she had done more than fix her hair. Doug winked at me and turned to see his daughter off.
"Dad," Ann said to Doug. "We're-"
"Zach already asked," Doug said. "Of course you can go. Enjoy yourselves."
Ann smiled, and the two of us left the inn.
"I thought you said you were just going to fix your hair," I said eying Ann's outfit.
"Hey," Ann said. "I was uncomfortable."
"Whatever," I said. "So, where do you want to go?"
"Let's go to the peak of mother's hill and look at the view," Ann suggested.
I nodded in reply, but inside I wasn't sure about this idea. Mother's hill stood in the depths of the forest, near the mountains. The forest lay just to the south of my farm. It was a large forest, stretching across almost the entire island, save only the town. In the middle of the forest the twin mountains rose up from the ground. The reason why both mountains were almost exactly alike was unknown. But right in the valley between these two mountains lay the Harvest Goddess spring. Beyond the mountains lay Mother's Hill. Mother's hill was very large for a hill. For its height was almost a third of the mountains. But this whole area, the forest, mother's hill, the Harvest Goddess spring, and the lake which sat at the bottom of Mother's hill, was all considered to be a part of the mountains. That is why whenever you left the town you were considered to be in the mountains even if you weren't climbing them.
But what was it about that whole region that creeped me out. Sure, the Harvest Goddess lived within that area, but it wasn't her that set me on edge. Maybe it was these "children" that she spoke of. Whatever the reason, I felt much more comfortable in the Town than outside of it. What was worse was my farm was closer to the mountains than any other part of the town. All of that was too the north of my farm.
The two of us walked down past my farm into the forest. A small log cabin stood right at the entrance to the mountains.
"Who lives their?" I asked Ann.
"Gotz the woodcutter," she said. "He is kind of a loner. That is why he lives out here in the mountains as opposed to back in the village. In fact, nobody has seen him in years. He used to come up to the town to shop, but not anymore. I think that he gets his food shipped right to his house. The last time I remember seeing him was at a Hail Goddess festival three years ago. That's the day of the year when all the villagers gather in Rose Square and sacrifice animals to the Spirits of the island and the Harvest Goddess."
I thought about this. Rose square was basically a social gathering for all the town. Most festivals took place there, and people went there to socialize. It was a wide open area next to the beach with trash cans and a couple of benches. I slowly put the festival in my list of festivals to miss.
"Then he just disappeared. I never saw him again. He never left the cabin since."
In silence we continued walking, passing the clearing where the Harvest Goddess spring was, and walking between the twin mountains. Then we reached the bottom of Mother's Hill. Ann and I began hiking up the hill. Soon the green grass gave way to rocky ground. Ann and I walked over to the edge of a cliff, and looked down at the massive view of the forest below.
"Whoa," I said to the girl next to me. "I had no idea the forest was this large."
"Yup," Ann replied. "It covers practically the entire island."
Ann and I sat down on the ground, and I began spreading out a table cloth.
"I brought some lunch along," I said. "Want some?"
"Sure," Ann said as she sat down next to me.
I opened my rucksack and pulled out two sandwiches. I handed one to Ann, and kept the other for myself. I then pulled out a bag of chips and layed it down on the table cloth. I then produced two bottles of water, and handed one to Ann. We ate our sandwiches and then sat around talking and munching on the chips.
"I did not expect interference from a creature like you."
"Why is this so hard for you to understand? The boy belongs to me. He is mine. He does not belong to you."
"This island is mine. I claim ownership over all the people who live here. And that includes new arrivals.'
'He belonged to me long before he came to this island. I will not give him up to you. He is mine.'
'You insulate creature. I control this town. All of the spirits of this land obey my command. What makes you think you can talk that way about me?"
"Things don't have to be this way. We are not on opposite sides in this. In fact the two of us are very much alike in many ways. Your desire is the town. My desire is the boy. Perhaps we can work out a compromise. In all incidences but this, the two of us would be working together. How about this? The boy remains mine. But I use him to help you. I help you in your quests on this island. I will help you accomplish your goals. For if your goals are accomplished, it would help me as well."
"Of course spirit. We both are working for the same central goal, and we must work for what is most important. This will work. But I need the boy to do some things for me. Listen closely creature, and I will tell them to you."
"Yes. He will do what you want him to do, for I want what you want!"
"What a pretty view," Ann said as she looked down at the forest below us.
"Yeah," I replied, looking up at the clouds in a dreamy sort of way.
"Is something wrong Zach?" Ann asked when she saw me looking at the clouds.
"Ann," I said. "Tell me, did I know you once before?"
"What are you talking about?" Ann asked cocking her head.
"Did we ever meet years ago? Do you remember anything like that?"
"Uh... not that I can think of right now," Ann said. "Why?"
"No reason," I replied. "I'm just trying to comprehend the memories which I have."
Ann nodded, but I could tell that she did not understand. I sighed, and began folding up the table cloth. I then put it and the bag of chips back in my rucksack.
"I gotta head home now," I said to Ann.
"I'd better head home to," Ann replied.
"I'll walk you home if you want," I suggested.
"Thanks Zach."
I walked Ann to the entrance to the Inn.
"Thanks for today Zach," Ann said cheerfully.
"Your welcome," I said smiling.
Without warning Ann reached out and gave me a hug. I was surprised, but I hugged her back.
Ann then pulled away. "See you later," she said before running into the Inn.
"Bye Ann," I yelled after her.
I then turned and started back down the path. I was beginning to think that maybe Ann did like me back. But I would need more evidence before I made assumptions like this. Plus, I didn't have the guts yet to ask her out.
I then saw the strange man who I had bumped into while walking in the street a couple of days ago. He was also the same man who had come to this town on the same Ferry as I did. I was about to try introducing myself to him again, but then I noticed the yellow coat which he wore around his upper body. I recalled the words of my Grandfather. "Beware the creature of the mountains, and the man in the yellow coat." I would find out who this man was later, but I would bring my staff with me.
Like it? Good? Bad? I NEED TO KNOW! And please, I am open to suggestions about what you guys think I should do in the future of this story. In fact, I would prefer it if you guys would suggest possible futures of this story. Fare thee well.
