"Whaddya-"
Then a huge wave of pain flowed through her body as Lamia jabbed her. Her eyes widened from the pain. Her world was spinning, making her nauseous.
Lamia leaned down and whispered something she thought she wouldn't hear from again.
"Clarton..."
...
...
...
Blake awoke with a jolt. She looked around and saw that the guys were still asleep. Blake wiped her forehead and noticed she was sweating. She looked up and saw that the sky was just breaking into dawn. Japhet came flying down with a rabbit that he must have recently caught. He gave it to her for her to have breakfast. Blake grinned and nudged the eagle with her index finger and took the dead animal.
But before she took it, she felt like she was being watched. She looked around but didn't see anything. She shrugged the feeling off and took her knife out. She was going to skin it but she looked up and saw Lamia standing right at the foot of the camp. Blake nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted him. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Lamia said, "Go back… To Clarton…" before they felt a slight breeze and he disappeared. Blake stared at the space where Lamia had stood and muttered, "I gotta start drinkin' water before I go ta sleep…"
…
…
…
The gangs have been riding for about 4 hours in the blazing heat now. She knew they were aching to at least get off their horses for just a moment, but she also knew they couldn't stop and needed to keep moving. Blake was leading the gangs to the town; her hometown. She really hasn't said anything in those past hours, minus what looks like talking to herself. "Ha'en't been back to dat damn place since tha' incident… Wonder if anyone would remember me…" Lamia, who was walking beside her (and unnoticed by the others) nodded slowly and adjusted his coat. "It wouldn't be much of a surprise, too, if they didn't remember. People, Blake," he said, "will tend to move on with their lives." She couldn't disagree with him on that. "Suppose so…" she muttered. Behind her, Butch was starting to get worried about Blake's behavior now. Ever since Scuzz had gotten that pocket watch out the other night, she had been acting like the watch was a long lost friend. He suddenly felt a nudge on his arm.
"Whaddya suppose 's bitin' Blake?" Ray whispered. Butch only shook his head. "Migh' have somet'in' ta do wit' that watch fer all I know," he replied. "Y-y-ya know, I.. I,uh, I coulda jes t-t-t-taken tha' ol' watch b-b-b-back, Butch," Scuzz offered. Butch looked over at the stuttering scuzzy young man right next to him. "Ya really don' have ta-"
"HOLD UP!" Blake ordered raising her hand up for a halt. They all stopped their horses just a few feet away from Blake and her horse. Something was making both Blake and Lamia uneasy. "Somethin' do'en' feel righ'…" she announced. "Well now what's the bloody problem?" Edgar complained. "Not so sure, Ed…" Blake quietly replied. She smelled the air. It was filled with some sort of burning smell. "Anyone else smell that?" Blake asked making sure she wasn't crazy. The sniffed the air. "It ain't you," Skinny replied. "It's pretty fain' though, si- er, I mean, ma'am."
Blake nodded and smelled the air again, not hearing Butch all her name.
That's when it had hit her.
Burning wood… and flesh.
Blake took off on her horse; Japhet took off flying in her direction. Butch screamed her name before she had gotten too far for her to hear them. He looked at the gangs and yelled, "The Hell y'all lookin' at?" and took off after her, the gangs followed suit. Blake had a gut feeling now that something was not supposed to have happened all those years. Blake didn't hear them catching up to her and yelling her name. "Now wha' de hell's up wit' her?" Freighter asked loudly. Butch replied back, "Jes' catch up ta her!" 'Blake, ya better be careful there…' he thought.
Blake could see the smoke rising as she got closer, panic filled her face. Her heart was racing by the second. "Something's wrong! I don't sense any sign of life in this place!" Lamia explained as he was right beside her. 'Tha' didn' help!' Blake thought to herself.
Blake found the sign pointing to her town but it was all tattered and chopped up. The smoke filled her senses as she got even closer to the town… And found something she was never expecting.
Clarton. Her home… Was in ruins.
Blake got off her horse slowly and just looked about at the burned down city. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the destruction. She heard Butch call her name out. "Blake!" but she didn't turn around and watch them come in and see the looks of shock on their faces. They got off and stood next to Blake, gaping in disgust and horror. "Dios mío…" Jesús muttered in his native tongue.
The whole town was in complete burnt ruins. Bodies of innocent townsfolk were everywhere. The bodies were either shot to death, had a limb lost, gutted open, or stabbed to death. Ray had to turn around and throw up from the sight. Blake was the first one to slowly step into the destruction and take a better look at it. She took her hand and gently slid it against a hitching post. She could see quick visions of people screaming in terror, running like a chicken with its head cut off, buildings collapsing from the burning fire.
Blake stopped at the bank and said, "See if y'all can fin' any thin'. Find somethin'. I don' care what it is…" and went further down the down. Butch turned to the gangs and nodded. He went and followed Blake while everyone else spread out.
Edgar took Scuzz to the bank and investigated the destruction in there. Scuzz, however, stopped at the door way. He felt like he had been here before. "Ed!" he called out. Edgar turned around to him. "… Wh-wh-what was th' n-name of this p-p-place again?" he asked. Edgar replied monotonously, "Clarton. That's what-a she said." 'Clarton…', Scuzz thought…
…
…
…
"Do you really have ta go, Scotty?" whined Clarabelle. "Y-y-yeah.. Mah boss'll h-have mah h-head if I d-d-don' show up," Scuzz sadly sighed. He had only been here for two weeks, but that was his only time away from Blake, his boss. And now he had to leave. "Surely yer boss would understan' 'bout us." "I'm s-s-sure 'bout it, b-b-b-but knowin' th-that girl…" Scuzz muttered.
"But y-y-ya know wh-what." Clarabelle looked up at her fiance, "I-i-i-I'll be back…. Fer th' b-b-both o' ya," he assured putting his hand on her slightly swollen belly. She gave him her beautiful smile and pulled him down for a kiss. The two kissed passionately for a while until Scuzz broke it to breathe.
He mounted on his horse and bid his lover farewell, and rode off…
…
…
…
"SCUZZ!" Scuzz jumped on his spot and didn't realize he was still at the doorway. Edgar gave him a 'hurry up!' look and went up the stairs. Scuzz stepped over the bodies and followed Edgar.
…
…
…
Blake kept walking until she found a school house. She stood at the entrance for a long time, just looking at it. She felt Butch coming from behind. "I use ta go ta this school…" she said in a quiet tone. "I kinda assume ya didn' have alotta friends back then," Butch wondered out loud. Blake nodded. "Yeah. Not a lot."
Blake walked up to the one room building and saw the inside. Not much changed since she was there years ago. Minus the dead bodies of course. She looked over in the corner of the room and saw bodies of young kids piled up. It disgusted her. She looked over in the other corner and saw the body of the teacher, a woman probably in her early twenties. Blake turned to leave the school house… until she heard something move.
Butch came in and saw the mass pile of bodies in the corner. He just shook his head slowly in disgust.
Blake slowly walked over to what she assumed was the teacher and knelt down to examine her. She nudged the woman to see if she was really dead. Blake raised an eyebrow as she noticed the woman was holding on to what she thought was a baby.
The woman opened her eyes widely.
Blake yelped and crab walked away from her before she hit a desk. Butch turned around and saw Blake; her look looked like she had seen a ghost. While still trying to collect herself, Blake lifted her finger and pointed to the woman, saying shakily, "I-I think sh-she's still alive!"
He though the talking-to-yourself was weird enough, but to say that a dead woman was still alive?! Butch gave Blake a judgmental look. She saw his look. "I'm serious! Look at her!" The woman lifted herself and said in a low tone, "I'm sorry…"
Okay. Now he definitely believed her. Blake put her hand over where her heart was and said, "Good God! Don' do that ta me!" The woman nodded and apologized again. Butch walked over to the woman and knelt down to her eye level and asked, "How long have ya been here?" "'bout a few days…," she recollected. Once Blake recovered from her jump scare heart attack, she scooted over to hear the conversation.
"Wha' de hell happened here?" Blake asked. Butch turned to her but the woman replied, "Someone.. A man-"
"Nobody was wit' him?"
She shook her head.
"The man, didn' really git ta see what his face looked like, he… he had a book. He used it an' next thin' I knew, th' whole town got caught in all these flames… He.. I think he summoned these demons of some sort…"
Butch looked at Blake and whispered, "Whaddya think?" She hesitated for a moment. Then she asked, "Did ya, by 'ny chance, see wha' th' man looked like?" The woman tried to remember but she weakly shrugged and replied, "All I remember is he wore grey."
Cue Butch's look of realization. Joe!
"Is… Are you Blake…?" the woman suddenly asked. Blake, still looking at the woman, points to herself in slight confusion. "Why?" She smiled, "Is… is Scotty wit' ya…?" 'Scotty?' That's when she realized the woman meant Scuzz. "Oh! Yeah, he's here! He's with us." The woman smiled weakly. "Could any of you bring him to me…?" Butch nodded and stood up to walk out the door. He stopped and turned to the woman, saying, "By th' way, what was yer name again?"
She simply replied, "Clarabelle…"
…
…
…
Scuzz stumbled on the dead bodies going up the steps to the second floor. 'Damn! Didn't thin' a bank coul' have dis many floors!" he thought to himself. He followed Edgar into the second floor's safe area. More bodies were thrown everywhere. Edgar pokes one of them with his cane. "Looks like every one o' them's been dead for a few days now!" He lifts one of the heads. "Definitely not something a normal human could-a do." Scuzz noted then that burn marks on the bodies weren't something a torch would do. So how could this be possible?
"Scuzz?!" a voice called out. Scuzz lifted his head and looked at Edgar. "Who-"
"SCUZZ!" called out the voice but louder. This time, Scuzz ran down the stairs, but tripped on the last few steps and face planted on the floor. Butch face palmed himself from the humility. Once Scuzz recoiled from the fall, he came up to Butch and asked what the deal was. "Well, um.. did you know anybody tha' lived here?"
Scuzz thought about it for a second before shrugging and said, "Well, um, I, uh, I g-got a gir-er uh, f-f-ianc-c-e Clarab-b-belle. Why?"
"We found her."
…
…
…
"You been hidin' here for how long now?" Bake asked. "Three days…" Clarabelle said tiredly. "How 'bout th' baby? How long's he-"
"It's a girl."
"Oh. Well,uh, how long's she been born?"
"Just a week…" The sound of her tone didn't sound so good.
"You think she'll be able ta see him?"
"'fraid not…"
"Why's that?"
"…She's been dead for days…"
…
…
…
Scuzz ran ahead of Butch to where the school house was. When Butch told him about Clarabelle, he knew the look of despair and worry on the young man's face. He didn't think he could have taken it any harder than that. Scuzz found the school house and ran up to the entrance. "CLARABELLE!?" he called out.
Inside Blake turned her head and saw Scuzz's silhouette stand at the entrance of the school. She couldn't make out the look of horror, despair, and sadness filling his bearded face. In reaction to his appearance, Blake had on a look neither Butch nor Scuzz have ever seen before: sadness.
The twenty-three year old man slowly walked over to his dying lover and knelt down to her. Blake got up and put her back against the wall putting her hat over her eyes. "C-C-Clarabelle…? It's me…" he said softly to her, fighting back the tears in his eyes. Clarabelle stroked his face and smiled. "I knew you'd come back, Scotty… Jes' like ya promised." A tear fell from Scuzz's eye. "I know, Clare… I-I told ya I'd n-n..never break someth-thin' like that…"
(Author's note: This is the part where you can look up and play It's Hard to Say Goodbye by Michael Ortega. It's really sad and it about made me cry when I wrote this to it. Play it throughout the rest of this chapter)
Butch, leaning on the doorway, hung his head and hid his eyes from either of them, including Blake, because now they were filling up with tears. He had been down that same road one time too many. Blake didn't want to watch this from where she was and found a desk to perch on, watching with sadness in her eyes. "Tha..tha' ahre baby…?" Scuzz muttered. Clarabelle looked down at the bundle and frowned. "Yes… But…"
He didn't like that sound in her voice. "B-b-but wh-what?" He choked up. She gave him the bundle. "She's been gone for a while, hun… I couldn' do anythin' 'bout it…" Scuzz held the bundle and looked at who could have been his daughter. His bottom lip quivered as he shuddered, losing his battle with the tears as the flow down his face. "Her…? M-m-m-my… My Annabelle," he uttered in a cracked voice. Clarabelle leaned on his shoulder. "That's what ya wanted to name her…?" He nodded silently. "I think it's beautiful…" He nodded again. "I know…" he said resting his scuzzy brown haired head on hers. He put an arm around her and held her close to him. Scuzz averted his sky blue eyes to her and placed a kiss on her head.
Blake couldn't take it anymore and got up from the desk and rushed outside, getting out of Butch's way, never looking at him. Butch lifted his head up a bit and saw the couple's last moment together. His face filled with the expressions he never felt in a long time: regret, sadness, questioning, and sorrow. He knew exactly how Scuzz was feeling.
"Could you do one thin' for me, Scott…" Scuzz looked down at his lover. "Yeah…?" he replied softly. "Hold me… and Annabelle…" Scuzz didn't hesitate to do so and was losing the fight to hold a sob. "You think… they'll be there…?" she asked. Scuzz hesitated, stroking her dirty blonde hair.
"…I know they will…"
Clarabelle looked up at him as Scuzz looked down at her, closing the gap between them. The two kissed for a long time before they broke apart. Clarabelle whispered, "Thank you, Scuzz… For everything…"
And passed.
Scuzz felt his shoulders move up and down when he realized Clarabelle had passed. The tears he held in his eyes now came down like a waterfall. The building was soon filled with the sound of him crying. He brought his two girls together and never wanted to let go. Scuzz never heard the sound of spurs clinking and never noticed Butch kneeling down to his eye level. Butch gave out a heavy staggering sigh. "Son…" he muttered making Scuzz look at him; but Butch had his eyes right at the floor. "Son… I-"
He was caught off guard when Scuzz put his arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. Butch, though a little awkward in this situation, wrapped his arms around Scuzz and just not say anything to him. It took him a while to speak up and comfort him. "Son. I know sometimes it's hard lettin' go an' say good bye… I would know that…"
Scuzz kept crying.
"An'… I'm sorry…"