Chapter 4: Tundra Rabbit
There was a reason the island was once called, "The Backwards Place." The island, in so many ways, defied logic. The suddenly animated bodies being one of the many indications. But, as to why the island was called "The Backwards Place," is something different entirely, but equally strange. The island's climate is very odd. Rather than getting warmer in the south and colder at the north, it was the other way around, which made the southern tip of the island freezing cold. Also, the fact that a tundra, a dead land, a grassy plain, and a warm forest exist in such close proximity to one another is very perplexing. Many believe the strange nature of the island to be the result of the powers that the island's ancestors possessed.
Eli was now at the edge of the tundra. Small flurries of snow littered the grass, the green turning into white after just a few steps. Eli had fallen to his hands and knees due to his exhaustion. He had run a kilometer out of pure adrenaline and fear. He was tired, but he wanted to press on, even though the reanimated bodies had given up their chase long ago. Eli huffed and puffed as he struggled to regain his breath. It took him ten minutes to finally get back the energy to walk again. As soon as he was able, he began his trek through the island once more. He was close to the end, and he wanted to finish as quickly as possible. Eli checked his surroundings, making sure there was nothing that posed a threat to him. "Looks like… we got away." Eli said, though he wasn't entirely sure that was the case. He panned around the area, making a few full circles before he finally felt safe. He let out a sigh of relief before moving on.
The sound of his footsteps changed once he got into the deeper snow. Eli stopped to inspect it. He had never seen snow before. He had only seen pictures in his books. He picked up a handful and held it loosely. He tilted his hand and let the snow fall. "It's like… sand?" He squeezed the last bit of snow in his hand, tightly packing it together. It took on a different texture, which confused Eli. "Snow is so… weird." He said with a smile. He dropped the last bit of snow, rubbing the water on his shirt. He moved on into the tundra, but stopped again immediately when he noticed he could see his breath. He breathed out, letting a puff of mist out. He watched it disappear, then let out another long breath. He chuckled and said, "I'm like a dragon, huh Shroud?" Shroud was already bored. Eli sighed and rolled his eyes before moving on.
Before long, Eli came to a stream that cut through the snow. Eli hadn't stopped to take a drink for a while, so he bent down to the stream. The water looked crystal clear and perfectly drinkable. He reached for his flask, finally realizing that he had lost it. "Crap… I lost my flask. I can't just reach in and drink with my hands… I'll get frost bite." Suddenly, a hand came from behind him, holding a metal flask. "Here, you can use mine." Said a feminine voice. "Oh, thanks miss." Eli said as he took the flask. He turned around to see his new friend, but what he saw was… not what he was expecting.
There, standing above him, was a strange creature. It looked to be an odd mixture between a human and a brown furred rabbit. "Hiya." She said cheerfully. "Uh… hi?" Eli said, unsure of what to say. "You look like you've seen a ghost." "No… I've seen a talking bunny." She let out a little laugh and said, "I'm guessing you've never seen anything like me before, huh?" "No… no I haven't." "Well, tell you what, I've got a stew cooking right now. Come to my camp and you can ask me questions while we eat." "O-okay." Eli said shyly. The girl extended her hand to help him up. Eli took it, and suddenly he had a vision. He had a vision of this girl sinking into the ground. Eli snapped out of it before she took notice.
The two of them went to her camp, which wasn't very far. It was next to a small, frozen pond that the stream emptied out into. As the rabbit said, she had a stew cooking. Eli's stomach growled loudly as his nose caught the scent of it. "You haven't eaten in a while." The rabbit said. "Well, I ate two apples, but I probably burned all of that up after I had to run for my life." Eli said, half as a joke. "You were in that war zone then?" "Yeah, we call it the Deadlands." "We?" "I come from a village at the center of the island." Eli explained. "I've never gone past the war zone. I've also never needed to. I have plenty of fish to keep my belly full." She said.
She sat down next to the fire. Eli sat across from her. A pot of stew was sitting above the fire, and based on the smell, it was ready to be served. The stew appeared to have a light brown broth. There were several vegetables floating inside. There appeared to be chopped carrots inside, but they were an odd color. They were a very light shade of orange, almost white. There were onions in it too, but they were a light shade of blue. "Hey, what are those vegetables… and how did you get them to grow in a tundra?" Eli asked. "Oh, those naturally grow here. I call them snow carrots and icy onions." She said. There were also several chunks of meat floating inside. "What's the meat?" "Fish from the pond. I call them tundra trout."
Eli smiled at her names for things. "You have names for everything, huh?" Eli asked. "Yep. I'm here alone, been that way for a while now. I have a lot of time to think." She said. "Do you have a name for yourself?" "Misha." She said. She got out two bowls and poured some of the stew into them. "Well, O'siyo, Misha." Eli said. "O'siyo?" Misha tilted her head, showing she didn't know the words meaning. "Oh, it's just a way of saying hello." Eli explained. "Oh, well, 'O'siyo,'..." Misha paused, waiting for Eli to fill in the gap. "Eli." Eli said as he took the bowl Misha had poured for him. The warmth of the bowl felt good in his cold hands. Eli shut his eyes and bowed his head as he prayed over his food. Misha politely waited for him to finish before she began eating. Once he was done, they both enjoyed some of the stew.
Eli took a bite, and he was amazed. It tasted fantastic, and he loved it. He started eating faster, barely stopping to chew before shoveling more into his mouth. "Woah! Easy there, you're going to choke." Misha said. Eli finally stopped long enough to chew and swallow. "Sorry… it's just really good!" Eli said cheerfully. "Really? I've never had anyone try my cooking before… you really think it's good?" Misha suddenly became shy. "You kidding? It's fantastic!" "Oh… thank you. That's very kind of you to say." Eli knew that if Misha didn't have a layer of fur, he'd see her cheeks turning red. Eli was always amazed at how one simple compliment could make someone shift.
They quietly ate for a little bit. After they were almost finished, Misha started asking questions. "So…" She said. "Yes?" Eli asked. "What's that thing on your shoulder? Is that your ability?" Misha asked. "You can see him?" "Well, yeah, I'm a nen user after all. I did have to use gyo to see it though." She obviously thought Eli knew what that meant, but she was just met with a blank stare. "You… you're not a nen user?" Misha asked. "I don't even know what that is." Eli said. "Huh… well, uh… if you aren't a nen user, then what is that thing on your shoulder?" "This is Shroud. He's part of a species of parasites called Shades. Shroud is the most powerful out of all of them." "Where did they come from? I've never seen anything like it." "Long ago, my people possessed powers that could bend reality as they wished. Foreigners from another land showed up and placed a curse on my people. This curse gave birth to the Shades, taking away the power my people had." "That sounds a lot like nen." Misha said. "What's nen?" Eli asked. Misha cleared her throat and said, "Well, nen is the life force that passes through each and every living creature. It's possible for some to command nen, and use it to create abilities that could make them very powerful and versatile, much like your ancestors." "So… nen and the powers my people had must be one and the same." "It would make sense." Misha said.
"You mentioned ability as a specific term. What are abilities?" Eli asked. "A nen user can create their own unique ability using the nen that they have at their disposal. Every nen user has an ability that they've created." Misha said. "What's yours?" Eli asked. Misha smiled before she suddenly sunk into the ground. Eli was very confused and dropped his bowl. "Misha?" Suddenly, Eli felt something grab him from behind. He shouted in fear, but quickly realized it was Misha and calmed down. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you that badly." Misha chuckled. "I wasn't scared! I was… startled." Eli said. "Sure, you were." Misha said as she went back to her spot and sat down. "As you can see, my ability is intangibility. I can phase through solid objects. It's lame, I know." Misha said. "Lame!? That's awesome!" "You really think so?" Eli knew that she must have gotten some negative criticism in the past, because she seemed very happy to hear someone praise her abilities. "Yeah! That kind of power could have gotten me out of some really sticky situations… a lot of things have tried to eat me lately." Eli said.
Misha chuckled and said, "Thanks… I don't hear compliments often." She smiled warmly at Eli. "That's probably because you're alone out here." Eli said. "No, even when I was with my people, I didn't get complimented often." "What is your kind? And why didn't they like you? You seem really nice." "That was why they didn't like me. My kind is known as the Chimera Ants." "You don't look like an ant." "It's… really weird how we work. Our queen, who definitely looked like an ant, gave birth to all of us." "How many?" Eli asked. "A lot." Misha answered. "So, why do you look like a rabbit while the queen looks like an ant?" Eli asked. "Well, you see, the appearance and biology of the queen's offspring always depended on what the queen ate. If she ate a rabbit, the next offspring would look like a rabbit. If she ate a cat, then a cat they'd be." Misha explained, but she was avoiding something, and Eli could tell.
"But, wait… you look kind of like a human… does that mean…?" Eli didn't want to finish, as the implication was terrifying. Misha sighed and answered with a solemn nod. "Why?" Eli asked. "I don't know… it started with the queen demanding more nutritious food. Humans were apparently the best thing in the area. The queen's soldiers captured countless humans." Misha said. "So, why didn't your people like you?" "When the queen started eating humans, there were several Chimera Ants that were born with human level intelligence, some of them retaining the memories of the humans that were eaten. There was a class system that was set up. The foot soldiers, their commanders, the squad leaders, the royal guards and the queen at the top. I was a squad leader… for a very brief moment." "What happened?" Eli asked. "I tried to get them to stop eating humans… they didn't want to, and they turned against me. I tried my best to convince them not to eat humans. I even used more scientific arguments, showing them books about prion diseases, but they didn't listen. I was forced to flee."
"I'm so sorry." Eli said. "It's okay… I made it out alright… the humans didn't though." Misha said. "I feel so bad for them…" "I know, all of those humans being treated as cattle. It's a shame." "Well, that is bad, but I was talking about the chimera." Eli said, much to Misha's surprise. "What!? But they're the ones eating the people!" Misha complained. "That's not their fault." "How!?" Misha argued. "What's the first thing a chimera is fed once they're born?" Eli asked. "Well… human meat." "What's the first thing they're told when they're born?" "They're told… to serve the queen and to bring her more humans… to eat." Misha was beginning to understand what Eli was getting at. "You see? It's an addiction, one that they were told is normal."
"Please… explain." Misha asked. "I've read about addictive substances in some of my village's books. Let's say that ever since you were a child, you were given one of these substances by your parents, and they told you it was normal. It makes you feel good the first time, so you continue taking it. Now, you're an adult, and you're still taking the substance. You're out on your own now, and nobody is telling you to take the substance, but you still do, even though your health is declining. You go to a doctor, and the doctor tells you that the substance is what's hurting you and causing so much damage. You won't stop taking it though, because you've formed an addiction." Eli explained. "I see… great, now I feel bad for the chimera." "That's a good thing." "I know… I wish I could go back there and try to break through again, but… it's too late now." Misha said. "It's unfortunate, but you always have to have hope." Eli said.
"Is hope what got you through the war zone?" Misha asked. "No… well, yes, but mostly purpose got me through." Eli said proudly. "Purpose?" "I'm trying to get rid of this guy." Eli said as he pointed at Shroud. "Oh?" "Yeah, the same with the rest of my people. I'm headed to another continent because I heard there's some people there that might know how to get rid of the Shades." "Okay… how do you know they'll help?" "Well… that's a fair point. All I have is my mom's onion soup to serve as an offering." Eli said, a little embarrassed. Misha chuckled. "Well, I don't have anything luxurious, but you could take some of my stew with you. It'll never spoil." Misha said. "What?" "Oh, yeah. The tundra trout meat seems to never go bad." "Really? That's amazing." Eli said. "I know. This island is crazy."
Eli looked over to the setting sun. "It's getting late." He said. "Yeah. You can stay at my camp for the night. I don't mind the company." Misha said. "Wado." Eli said, accepting the offer. "What does that word mean?" Misha asked. "It means, 'thank you.'" Eli explained. "I see... before we go to bed though, I want to catch some more fish. You want to come?" "Sure." They both stepped down to the frozen pond. Toward the center, there was a hole cut into the ice, and a fishing pole was resting on a stand just to the side of it. The lure was already inside, waiting for something to take a bite. Misha stepped onto the ice without the least bit of hesitance, but Eli stopped at the edge. Misha looked back and saw Eli wasn't coming. "Are you coming?" She asked. "Is it safe?" Eli asked. "Of course! Look." Misha stomped on the ice. It didn't seem affected, so Eli stepped on.
His boots had enough traction to keep him stable, so he didn't slip. He moved over to Misha's fishing hole. "I just sit here and wait until something takes a bite." Misha said. Eli looked into the hole. Right then, the fishing rod reacted and started to get tugged. "I've got a bite! Step back so I can reel it in." Eli stepped back to give Misha space. Misha grabbed the rod and started fighting with the fish. It must have been a big one, as Misha was struggling greatly against it. She started pulling up, but the fish was pulling straight down. The force of the struggle caused the ice to crack.
Misha heard it and looked down to see the ice breaking. It cracked open, and Misha was gone in an instant. "Misha!" Eli shouted. He went to the edge of the break and looked down into the black water. He couldn't see her. "Shroud, save her!" Shroud obviously didn't want to. "Look, if you don't help her, I'll jump in after her, and there's a very good chance that I'll die from the cold. Do you want that!?" Shroud hesitantly complied.
He extended several tendrils and sunk them into the water below, feeling around for Misha. Shroud found her in seconds then lifted her out of the water and tossed her toward solid ground. Eli ran to her and helped her up. She coughed up some of the ice-cold water. She was shivering, and her body was cold to the touch. "Misha, are you alright!?" Eli asked. "F-f-fire… get the… the fire going." She said. Eli rushed over to the campfire, removing the pot from the stand above it. He placed more kindling on it, getting it as hot as possible. Soon the flame was high and roaring, and the heat coming from it was intense. Misha came over, her body shivering.
She looked at Eli for a second. Eli didn't understand why she was staring. She sighed with a smile and said, "I have to get these wet clothes off." "O-oh! Um, okay." Eli said. He turned around to give her some privacy. Misha quickly got her clothes off then covered herself with a blanket. "You can turn around now." Eli turned back around to face her. She smiled at him. "Thank you. You saved my life." Misha said. "Yeah. I wasn't going to just let you freeze to death." Eli said. "Thank you." Misha repeated. "Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do?" Eli was eager to help her. "Well… two bodies are warmer than one." "You… you want me to…" Eli got very timid. Misha rolled her eyes. "I'm not some perv! Just share the blanket with me so I can warm up faster." "Oh… okay." He went over and climbed into the blanket with Misha. "Thank you." She said. "Of course." Eli said.
Before long, Misha got warmed up enough to go to bed by herself. Eli stayed as well, half because Misha offered, and half because he wanted to be completely sure she was okay. The next morning, Misha and Eli woke up to say their goodbyes. "Thanks for giving me some of your stew to take." Eli said as he tucked away the thermos Misha gave him. "It's the least I could do. You did save my life after all." Misha said. "Still, wado." Eli said. "Good luck on your journey." "Yeah… maybe you could come visit some time. Something tells me I'll be staying there for a while." "Where are you going?" Eli brought out his map and showed the continent marked with red. "I'll see what I can do. I've never seen these places before." Misha said. "Okay. Thanks for everything." Eli said happily.
Misha leaned in close to Eli. "Thanks…" She said as she kissed Eli on the cheek, his face going red instantly. "For everything." She finished. Eli stood still for a moment, taken by surprise by Misha's gesture. Misha giggled and said, "Go on! Those parasites aren't going to kill themselves!" "Oh, uh, right!" Eli said, and he wandered off. It was a short trek through the woods before he found the dock. There was a large boat moored there with an entire crew of men.
Eli approached the boat and crew. He walked onto the pier and towards one man who was taking a break to smoke. "What do you want?" The man asked with a rude tone. "I, um… Amelia sent me." Eli said shyly. The man's body language changed in an instant. He stood up straight, as if he was addressing a commanding officer. "Sorry for my rudeness. I'm Akinari Shinjo. I'm the captain of this ship." He said with a bow. "Oh, uh… I'm Eli." Eli said with a less elegant bow. "Where are you headed boy? We'll take you there immediately." "Um, I'm going to this place." Eli said as he brought out the map and pointed at the marked location.
"Are you sure about that?" Shinjo asked. "Yeah, I am. Amelia told me to go there." Eli explained. The man took another puff of his cigarette then breathed out the smoke with a sigh. "Look, there's a war going on there." Shinjo said. "Between who?" "A race known as the Chimera Ants and the Hunter's Association." "Hunter's Association?" "Right, this island is separate from the rest of the world's affairs… you see, the Hunter's association is a group that manages its members, the Hunters." Shinjo brought out an ID card. "I'm a member myself." He said. "What does the association do?" Eli asked. "Honestly? I'm not sure. The Hunters are more or less independent. They take whatever contracts they want. Sometimes they'll look to the association itself for work, but those are the people that don't make it far in their career." Shinjo said.
Eli wondered about this association. He didn't want to outright ask how strong the Hunters were, as that sounded like a stupid question. So, instead he asked, "What does it take to become a Hunter?" "There's an initiation you have to take. It's a test… well, a series of tests you must take to prove your strength, intelligence, endurance, and determination." "What are the tests?" "They change often, in both location and composition." "How hard are they?" "Death is a normal occurrence in these tests." Shinjo said. Eli went uneasy after hearing that. "Of course, that's just the first part." Shinjo said. "What's the second?" Eli asked. "All Hunters, true Hunters, have to learn how to use nen." "Oh, I've met a Chimera Ant that could use nen." "There's a Chimera Ant on this island?" Shinjo asked with a look of worry. "Don't worry, she's peaceful. She tried to get her kind to stop eating humans, but… they tried to kill her in the end." Eli said. "I see… then we won't bother her. So, are you ready to head out?" Shinjo asked. "Oh, uh, yes sir!" "Then climb aboard. We'll set out in just a few minutes." Eli nodded before walking up the ramp and onto the boat. In just a few minutes, they set out to a place Eli had never seen before. His mind raced at the possibilities.