This is the Cirno News Network with a breaking news story. Mysterious movement is afoot, as the railroad companies have reported more and more hauling contracts for various land bound vehicles. While normally a luxury in this day and age, the various rail lines have observed that an increasing amount of flatbed railcars are being dedicated to transportation of diesel trucks of a variety of makes and models. No explanation has been offered as yet to why so many are being transported, or why so many are being produced in the first place. Perhaps Detroit has heard of some new oil finds on the continent that have eluded us for the past century and a half? More as this story develops!
Thank you, and enjoy the show. This has been THE STRONGEST! Now back to your irregularly scheduled fic.
Touhoumon: Gray Version
Chapter 3: Night of the First Day
Harsh mistress, the sun is. It gives the plants life, and it keeps us warm. And yet, it beats us down, sweltering us, drying us up. Just as much as it gives us life in one form or another, it also takes it away. Still, it at least is impartial in its judgment, giving all near the same punishment. And for those of us who cannot bear the judgment of its burning rays, we must instead grow stronger or act smarter. We must outwit or outlast, while taking full advantage of gifts we receive.
Or, as I would rather put it, damn it's hot out here.
Tending to crops is hard business, after all. In the heat of the day, traveling between rows of corn, picking and pulling at any weeds that you may fine, is no fun at all. Same as caring for the wheat. Making sure that there are no creatures eating at them, be they bugs or rodents. Especially rabbits.
One good thing about the sparrows being around is that there are far fewer of the rodents than there used to be. Most either only come out sparingly, staying in the safety of their burrows. To that regard, they never venture far from their holes in the ground. Of course, there are the few occasions when the burrows are constructed under our farmland. Like trying to grasp the wind when stamping out the bloody things…
It might be obvious of me, but they do breed like rabbits. The only thing that can match their promiscuity is the voracity of the sparrows. Hungry all the time, the buggers are. I'm just glad that they don't eat plants of any kind, or we'd have been forced out of house and home ages ago.
Still, the wheat was growing well enough, alongside the corn. Walking the few acres we had was a long and hard slough, even if we had nothing to do. Fortunately, it would be a month or so until we had to harvest either, and it will have cooled enough by then. And we wouldn't have to be out here sweating like the dickens in a collared shirt.
It might be easier, of course, if we bothered to hire the local steam combine to reap everything. There wasn't much of a point, however. We could gather the crop with a scythe easily enough. With the four of us, it came in well enough. And with our newest addition… Well, it will be even easier. Even if father won't be letting her near a blade for quite some time.
Still, she's taking to it easily enough. Using that curious headwing of hers instead of a straw hat or faded ball cap, she was able to keep the sun out. And she never did seem to tire greatly from the heat, eyes always bright and alert. Not to mention the few things she saw that even we missed. Of course, there were the complaints about not being allowed to go back and read her book, but they were few and far between. Had to have give and take, after all. And having a monster helping us is a boon we can't pass up.
Still, we passed the hours as best we could. There was nothing too poorly wrong with the main crops. We've had stronger in the past, but rains had been scarcer the past year. We were satisfied that it was enough to feed us for a while longer. But once the sun had lowered more, we had retreated to near the house, where the more eclectic crops grew.
Mother had great foresight when she acquired all of those seeds years ago. It had once been common, I believe, for giant stores to sell fruits and vegetable seeds of all types, from around the entire world. She had always loved to grow her own food in that regard… So when the explosion came, she had plenty of seeds to go around. And she kept up her garden quite well.
Not to mention her wall of tomatoes that were hers, and only hers. But that's another story.
Still, the various fruits and vegetables in the garden were growing well. Not that all of us care for everything in particular. But when you're dependent upon a plant to grow, sometimes one just eats what they can.
The garden needed just as intensive of care as the fields did. Anything that might even possibly stunt the growth of the various vines and stalks was allowed to keep root. Out of the ground it came. The one thing we did wish for was some method to control the blasted insects everywhere. I couldn't do more than squish the occasional one that was too slow to move. For every one that I did kill, though, there seemed to be five to take its place.
However, I did have an idea. Turning to my companion, I asked her if she could use her wings to blow them away. Nonplussed, she did as I asked. The resulting wind was not able to keep the bug away permanent, but it was enough to knock me over onto the ground. I need to keep a note to myself: never let the bird monster blow you over with her wings. She's stronger than she looks.
Eventually, the sun started to sink in the sky once more. It was then that we headed inside for the hottest part of the day. More chores to do, but it was needed to be done.
Later in the evening, I found myself being sent out to the nearby creek. Needed to make a run to check and see if the troughs were still in shape. It's a big old contraption we rigged up a few years back. We didn't do anything quite as severe as divert the stream, but we found a section high enough that we could push it back into our own small water tower. One advantage of living in these parts was that gravity can do most of the hard work for you.
We do, however, have a well for when the tower is empty. It would be dumb not to, after all. But with the tower, we never have to worry about the well running dry, unless the stream gets blocked up for some reason.
It was a good luxury, having water run this far out. But such a thing was almost a necessity, after all. It would be quite the hazard, having to go out to the stream every time you wished to wash clothes, or draw water for a bath. Better to take the water to you, where it's safe, instead of going where monsters lie.
Which leads back to my current activity. The troughs to start to rot with age. We would have used old pieces of metal, but the rust would have eventually gotten into the water supply. Plus, all the plastic pipes we could have used were on the far side of the tank, for output.
The whole time, that little monster was still with me. She barely even looked tired, to my eyes. Still sharp, still looking about as if she had just woken up. Is such endurance natural for their kind? I have to wonder.
As we entered the treelike, I unslung the shotgun from my back. I feel her turn and give me a look on the back of her head, but she doesn't say anything. We begin to follow the trail, , seeing nothing more than wooden planks with water on top. The occasional leaf floats along the top of the water, as if a small boat sailing on a river.
As much as I wished to keep quiet and keep an ear out for the sparrows, this silence was deafening. And since she didn't have much to say… "You seem quiet now. Something bothering you?"
She just kept staring forward, a finger trailing through the water as we walked. "Just thinking some." After a few more seconds, she finally ventured out, "Is this really what you humans do, every day?"
Relaxing my arms, I looked back at her. "What do you mean? All this work, you mean?"
"Yes." Her red eyes turned to me. "I've seen humans do this all the time, but it just seems so… Strange. All this work caring for plants to eat, when you could do what you did this morning, and eat for a week on just that." She looked back away, headwing flexing back and forth. "I just don't understand why you go through that effort."
I wonder if it's just the animal in her talking? She did say that she was originally a bird of sometime. And how do birds act? From day to day, just living as they need. Hunting when they're hungry, and chirping at others the rest of the time. Is that why she is as obsessed with books as much as she is? "Because we need to store and prepare for the rest of the year. We're not as strong and as fast as you are. We can't simply take whatever animal that we want."
She tilted her head, slowing down her steps to ask, "But why is that the case? Can't you take your gun and kill one? It shouldn't take too much effort, considering what you did this morning."
I simply shook my head. "It isn't that simple. The shells in my gun cost money to buy, or make. We can't get a lot of stuff here, be it oil for the truck, or some kinds of food. Much less salt for curing the meat, or metal, or rope. Replacement parts for the trike, or hardware…" I shut my mouth before I rambled on too much. "There are lots of things we need, that we can't make here. So, we have to buy or trade for them."
Tokiko opened her mouth, before turning away and closing it. "Still, I don't see how you can't simply make most of it here. You don't need any of that stuff you can't make to stay alive, do you?"
"And stay alive longer, no." I shrugged again, reciting one of the things I had heard from those in town. "Life expectancies have gone down ever since the explosion. People are dying earlier and earlier. There are simply not the methods to keep people alive longer. But sister and mother know a lot about how to keep us healthy. We have to keep clean, and keep the house in good shape. Keep out the elements, and prevent us from exerting too harshly." I grinned tightly at that last thought. "I'd rather not work myself to death, after all."
Seeing that she still wasn't following, I motioned to the book still in her hand. "How else could you get that book, though? Did you steal it from someone, or did you have to work for it?"
She blinked idly. "I helped people back in the village. When they would let me. They gave me a few of this coins, or a spare book or two. I had a good collection, before it all was taken."
Trying to keep the conversation so she wouldn't stay so downcast, I said, "It's the same thing. We have to work for what we want, and what we need. But we're not working for anything directly; instead, we work and trade it for hard currency. Plus, it helps the others in town know they can trust us. If we regularly trade them food or meat, they know we can be trusted to pay the bills." I narrowed my eyes for a second. "But wait, you know what money is, so why do you…"
She shrugged, her wings fluttering slightly. "Because, while I do know how to use them, it isn't the same as understanding why. It just seems such a complicated way to do things."
"It is. I suppose we just don't trust easily. If we go through that much effort, are we not more trustworthy than one who doesn't push themselves as far?" I lowered my hand, where it brushed against the iron ball still in my pocket. "Besides, if we hadn't have built up such credit, my father wouldn't have been able to get those balls. And if that wasn't the case…"
Seeing her freeze, I felt the sudden urge to slap myself. What had that thing done, in order to protect me? "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have brought that up." As she continued to stand still, I raised my hand in order to lay it on her shoulder. "Tokiko… Are you there?"
Finally, she began to move. Rather, she began to shiver. "Fell through a gap… Saw something. Eternity. Watching me, staring at me. Did something to my mind." Turning, she gazed at me with empty eyes. "Can't attack you now, even if you deserved it. Must… listen."
Alright, this was getting real creepy. The thing brainwashed her? Is that why she's been so friendly? "Tokiko! Snap out of it! You're not in there anymore. That thing is away. Far away." My hand moved to the side of her head, to make sure she could look at me. "Tokiko!"
Slowly, she blinked at me before her pupils dilated and came back into focus. "Human? What are you doing?"
Good, she came back down to earth. I think. "You zoned out there for a second. Are… are you alright?
She immediately began to shiver once again. Before I could motion to break her out again, she said, "Sorry, was just too… Too much. Horrible thing, that is." Her headwing fluttered, brushing my hand off of her head. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just move on. Not getting anything done if we're just going to stand here, are we?"
Yeah, had definitely screwed up here. Still, what more could I say? I'm sorry? We both know that I'm not sorry for throwing it. Taking the only choice to survive isn't something you should apologize for, is it? Liar if you do, hypocrite if you don't.
I bid my silence for a while longer, yet this time it suffered even more than before. I was barely even paying attention to my job. It wasn't that important now, as we had seen the water flowing. There might be a jam or a leak upstream, but such a thing would be small, and easy to fix. And could be ignored for the time being.
For the second time on our trip, we had a silence surrounding us. This time, it was even worse. Stale, and cold. So, I introduced another question to stir the air. "Just wondering, but I noticed something… Do you not have any ears?"
Perhaps it was a dumb question, as she gave me a look that clearly showed me that she thought it was one too. However, her face cracked into a small grin and she replied, "Not as you might think of them. I'm a bird, remember? I just have earholes on the side of my head. Not like those weird fleshy things on the side of your head."
I have to admit, that line made me snort. "Really. Weird fleshy things? These are perfectly normal. What are those weird feathery things on your back, if that's the case." At least she was talking again. Distractions, and all that? I think that is how one does these things.
A soft cuff to the back of my head interrupted any mental musing I was indulging in. So she can touch me, just not attack me? I suppose that makes as much sense as anything. "Feathery things? What do you mean, calling my wings 'things'?" She began to… preen herself? I suppose that would be the right word. It's just a bit odd to see a human doing something that only a bird would normally do.
"Well, a human doesn't have anything like wings, or that, so they are just weird things to me." I tried to keep my tone light, in order she knew I was joking. Even though I was only joking somewhat. They are kinda weird. Kinda pretty at the same time.
I pushed the obvious connection out of my head. The monsters weren't angels. We had thought that, once upon a time… but they aren't. It's such a damned shame. Whole damn thing is a mess. Still, at least this one is normal, so maybe I could apply the mental image to her?
Maybe.
By that point, she had wrapped her wings around herself. "Well, if you want to be that way…" She peered around the wall of feathers that she had constructed before chuckling softly. "This reminds me of what two of the ones I could have called friends acted like all the time."
"Oh?" She hadn't mentioned anything like that before. So there were a few decent sort where she came from? …Granted, decent sort that liked to eat people, maybe. I do hope that isn't the case, though. "What did they do?"
She trotted on forward, staring into the boughs that crisscrossed above us? "They loved to tease each other about their differences. Remember who I told you about earlier? The original Mystia?"
Well, I suppose that made sense. Birds of a feather and everything. "You did mention her. But you didn't exactly tell me much, except that she was the original."
"She was unique." She turned towards me, giving me a look. "Different. Always so vibrant and free, even if she was tied down to her stand." At my nonplussed face, she grinned and explained. "She sold lamprey. Eel, too, when she managed to catch it. She didn't have to do such a thing, but I believe she enjoyed it. And she always had such lovely singing." The headwing fluttered as she recalled.
"But there was another she was always close with. An insect youkai. Wriggle." She looked back away from me. "She wasn't nearly as grand a spirit as Mystia, closer to the earth. But still, she carried herself with aplomb wherever she went. Tattered hat on her head, tarnished glass on her face, and an old cane nearly always present in one hand…" The winged girl giggled, fluttering about. "She always looked a bit ridiculous, but she never cared. She thought she looked professional. Mystia thought it looked good on her."
Another girl? This time a bug? Why does my skin crawl at the thought of that? But perhaps I shouldn't ask myself questions whose answer I already know. "Are all the monsters that you know girls? It just seems a bit odd."
She shrugged at that. "No clue. I've never really thought about it before. Everything was normal to me, so it never crossed my mind." Yup, it wasn't a problem to her, as it has always been that way. "But they did love to tease each other about their differences. The feathery ears, the antennae, the wings on one, and the glow the other had at night." She turned back towards me, a soft smile on her face.
"And I know at one point, Mystia would always go up to Wriggle, wrapping her arms and wings around her while muttering how's she's glad that they're different. Otherwise, Wriggle wouldn't have looked nearly as delicious to her." She sighed at the thought. "They always broke out into laughter after that point. Couldn't keep the act going any longer."
Strangest thing, that is. "I don't suppose that's… normal? Threatening to eat each other?"
"It's not that unusual. Apparently, youkai taste nasty to other youkai. Not that I would know, really…" She shook her head. "Stuck to my fish and frogs when I was there. But it was just a game between the two of them. Always two of a kind, yet not even close to being the same. It was… nice."
I nodded to her as we continued to walk. Sounded like a nice, normal everyday life. Not having to worry to survive all of the time. "Do you wish you could have stayed? Or taken them with you?"
"Sometimes I wish they could have come. But they were the close friends. Besides, Wriggle would have never left." She smiled faintly. "She was in charge of the forest. Took care of it. The only reason she would ever leave is if the forest burned down. Completely, that is."
"Gotcha." In charge of the forest? Almost sounds like one of those things in the stories that sister told me to read once. Elves? Could possibly be. I would have asked more, but the slow lapping of running water finally crossed my ear. Before I could even turn back to Tokiko and tell her, she had already taken off. Are her ears that sensitive? Well, earholes. Close enough.
When I cleared the last of the underbrush, I found her with her shoes off already. How she had managed to get out of shin high boots that lace up all the way that quickly, I do not know. It had only been a few seconds. But she was sitting on the banks, splashing the water with a look on contentedness on her face. So much like a child at times. Then again, I suppose I am too, if I am struck by the right fell mood.
Still, it was kinda cute. I cleared my throat, in an attempt to get her attention. She only flashed me a grin before going back to kicking her feet in the water. With small chuckle, I strode up beside her. I let my eyes slip through the treeline, trying to spot if any of the sparrows were watching us. Either due to fortune, or the realization that there is a stronger monster in the vicinity, they stayed away.
Letting her enjoy her fun, I turned to the outlet we had created for the stream. It was still in relatively good shape, the piece of plastic untouched by the years. The wood it drained into was almost the exact opposite. Slowly rotting from the constant water, it would need to be replaced soon. Perhaps this winter, once the stream dried on up. We'd have to find a few good trees for that, though. Either that, or we could buy the planks in town. If we could afford such an expense.
Making a mental note to pay better attention on the way down and see if any other planks needed replacement, I turned back to the stream. Kneeling down, I scooped up a bit of water and splashed it over my face. It wasn't the same as a bath, but it did help cool down and wash away the salt on my face. Taking a moment to wash my face a bit more, I peered over at the youkai. She still was enjoying herself, ignoring anything else.
Well, since she wasn't paying attention to what I was doing, I suppose I'd have a wee bit of fun. Besides, it was this, or shake her out of her reverie. This would be more entertaining. Slinging my gun, I scooped up a bit of water in my hands. Taking care that none spilled out, I slowly inched my way over towards her. Saying her name, I tossed it towards her as she turned her head, catching her full in the face.
Alright, that may have been a little mean, but she had been enjoying the water so much. A little more couldn't have hurt, could it? After sputtering a bit, wiping off her face with her headwing, she glared at me. "So that's how you want to play it?" Her grin widening, exposing her rather sharp teeth, she held up a hand, palm up. A small ball of light crackled into existence. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the very sight. Was this… magic?
With a casual arc of her hand, the ball fell from her possession and into the stream. In particular, the portion of the stream right next to me. The water proceeded to explode out from the creek, directly onto me. The experience could be adequately compared to receiving a face full of water from a large wooden bucket.
Repeatedly.
Needless to say, I was soaked. My shoes and the bottom of my pants hadn't gotten off to poorly, but my shirt was soaked. I shook my arms out in an attempt to remove the excess water, but I didn't have much success. Giving up, I shot her a glare, to which she only giggled. "Serves you right, you know."
It probably does. Doesn't make me feel any better about it. "If you say so, little birdie. You seemed to be enjoying the water so much, I thought you'd want some more."
She rolled her eyes, before reaching over to pat me on the shoulder. "There there. I do. That's why I didn't do too much. But it seemed like you needed a bath. You smelled a little bit." To that, I could only roll my eyes. Of course I smelled. We don't have any magic fragrance emitters or whatever here. We just simply deal with the smell, and wash it off when we can.
"Whatever you say. Come on, we should be heading back." Of course, there was another thing. If I allowed it to dry on me, I'd probably only stink more. And if she wanted me to smell better… I decided I might as well take off the shirt. I was wet enough anyways that I would stay cool. And I could stick the shirt on the line as we went back in.
Nowhere in my mind did it cross my mind that she might think… oddly of me doing such a thing. After all, I'd done it many a time before with sister and mother around, so how was it different?
So as she was busy lacing up her boots, having used the sleeves of her dress to wipe her feet dry, I had taken off my shirt. Slinging it over the other shoulder from my shotgun, I turned towards her. "You ready now? We needed to be heading on. It'll be hitting dusk here in a few."
She absently nodded at me, before doing a double take. Immediately hiding her eyes behind her headwing, she turned away. I could see the dark of her pupils peaking out between, though. "A-alright. Whatever. You go ahead and lead. I'll watch your back."
There had to be a joke in there about her watching me so she could see what parts looked best to eat. Would it be the shoulder? But I didn't feel like doing it, so I shrugged and began to head back. At least the trough would be easier to examine, without a winged girl to distract me.
I received a few odd looks when we had made it back, mostly wondering why in the world that I was wearing wet pants, amongst everything else. I had snagged a clean shirt off the line, so that may have added to it. Still, no questions had been asked.
After heading back to my room, in order to change into the rest of a set of dry clothes, I made my way back to the sitting room. Father was still there, knife in hand and chopping away at a bit of wood. His eyes, however, were on the youkai that sat across the room. Of course, that was the most interesting sight of all. Then again, anybody who was not in our family would have been out of place in the sitting room, but still the point remains valid.
It was amusing, how similar she seemed to be to sister. The two were sitting right next to each other, absorbed in their own respective books. If it wasn't for the fact that they looked nothing alike, one with dark brown hair and the other with white… feather hair stuff on hers. Perhaps white down? That might be the best analogy.
And, as always, mother was located in her rocker by the fire. She had leaned back in the chair, eyes closed, simply enjoying the quiet of the night. She didn't even crack an eye as I made my way through the doorframe and leaned against it, my customary spot taken by a winged one.
My father glanced over at me as I walked in. With a shake of his head and a sigh, he stood up and turned to me. "I'm heading on to bed. You be getting her on out to the shed before you turn in yourself, alright? I'm not to be wanting her in this house too late." Barely waiting for a sign of confirmation, he walked past me, heading towards the back of the house.
Letting the silence unfold around me, I made a motion to take his chair, before stopping. Deciding to settle in our the wall, I had almost become comfortable before a voice called to me. "Son, come have a seat. It's alright."
Glancing over at my mother, I waited for a moment before nodding and walking over. Sitting into the large chair, I stared into the fire while eying mother out of the corner of my eye. She had a ghost of a smile on her face, before turning over towards sister and Tokiko. "Dear, might you be willing to tell us what you're reading?"
The girl paused for a moment, before blinking rapidly. "You mean me?" She seemed oddly confused. Had she not been asked that before? "Oh, alright then, I suppose I can tell…" She held the book up facing us, open. "It's not so much a story, but a bunch of stories. Stories about legendary items, and people."
Encouraged by the response, mother asked further. "Which one were you just reading now, dear?" I suppose that would be the best thing to ask. As far as I could tell, the book seemed to be entirely in gibberish. Bunch of lines that looked like hieroglyphics.
"Just a few legends from this country… Was there really a thirty foot tall giant who cut down all the trees in the great planes?" She tilted her head, curiously. She meant Paul Bunyan, I suppose? She doesn't think that's real, does she? …Of course, as soon as I thought that, I wondered how odd it would be for a winged girl with no ears to wonder if a thirty foot tall man was real.
"Paul Bunyan, you mean?" Mother seemed to not think it quite so ridiculous either. Or perhaps she was simply appeasing the girl. It was certainly possible. "Perhaps he did. It's said that he carved out the Great Lakes with his axe, and that he dug out the lakes for his ox to take a drink."
Her eyes widened, and she began to bounce ever so slightly in her seat. "So he might have? That's wonderful! It says in here that he also created Mount Hood or somesuch when he had to put his campfire out. And later, when he was camping in the… upper peninsula? Well, it says that it had gotten so cold, that the flames in his lanterns froze. He couldn't sleep, so they had to stick them way outside the camp, far enough that they couldn't get any light. But when winter came, the lanterns unfroze and set the whole place on fire! And they had to get him to come stamp the fires out!"
She continued on rambling, seemingly lost in her lecture. I noticed that sister was growing a slight frown out of the corner of her eye. "And that's not all. In here, it says there was something about his brother. A man that built this great big steel smoke-breathing contraption. One that ran on rails. It carried hundreds of carriages behind it, and went so fast that it outran itself. I think it was called the Wabash Cannon-"
Her explanation was interrupted by a flick to her nose. "Please be quiet. I'm trying to read." Sister had apparently decided that the explanation was too long, and wanted some peace and quiet of her own.
Mother apparently disagreed. "Joy, now be nice with our new guest. There's no need to be rude when she's simply excited about things." She leaned forward in the chair, the wooden creak echoing in the house. "If you'd like some quite, you can take a lantern into your room. Just don't be keeping it going to late, you hear me?"
With naught a word, sister took that as license to leave. Swinging over to pluck a lantern from a nearby stand, she clutched her book to her chest and stepped across the room, gliding to her room without looking back. "That girl… sometimes I wonder. Still, her heart is in the right place when it matters. And we all have our foibles."
Interrupting her musings, she turned back to Tokiko. "Now, young one, I do appreciate your enthusiasm. But why do these legends interest you so much?"
Lowering the book to her lap, I noticed the grip of her fingers imperceptibly tighten. "Legends are… important where I come from. It is a place of legends, of magic. Everything there is from some sort of legend, like those contained in this book. But, if people stop believing in these legends… If they stop believing in us… We'll eventually fade away and die." She brought her wings around herself protectively. "It's what happened to us already."
Mother just smiled gently. "Well, perhaps I should tell you a legend then. Have you ever heard of John Henry?" The youkai shook her head, before she furiously began flipping through her pages. Spotting some entry, she began to open her mouth, before mother stopped her. "Let me tell you, dear. Sometimes, the spoken word is better than the written."
"The story is about a man… a poor man, born nearly two centuries ago. Maybe he was born a slave, or maybe he was born free. We do not truly know. But he was a strong man, and was the hardest worker on the rails that there has ever been. He single-handedly drove the steel into the ground that created the tracks for your smoke breathing contraptions to follow."
She sank further into her chair, pulling a shawl closer around her. "But one day, the railroad company brought a new steam engine up. A steam hammer, that could do the work that he and the rest of his crew were doing. The owner said that this would be a new and better way to build the railroads."
"John Henry disagreed." By this point, the young girl seemed to be enraptured. Her eyes seemed to be nearly comically wide. "He didn't want to be forced out of work; but more importantly, he didn't want the others who worked with him to lose their jobs either. So he challenged the owner of the company. He would race the steam hammer. And if he could beat it, they would get rid of the engine. Sure of his bet, the owner agreed."
"So the race began. John Henry swung his hammer into the ground, driving the steel as fast as he could. But the steam hammer kept up with him. So he had to swing faster, and faster." Every time she said the word, she swung her own hand in a small arc, as if to demonstrate. "It eventually got to the point that he was swinging so fast, he created a veritable whirlwind. The owner tried to get him to come back down, saying that the mountain was caving in. But it was simply his hammers. But eventually, he managed to make it to the top, with the steam hammer behind him. He had won."
Tokiko tilted her head. "But what happened after that? Did the owner keep his deal?"
Mother shook her head sadly. "No… John Henry, realizing that he had won, smiled, and fell over. He died instantly, with his hammer in his hand." At the girl's shocked face, she explained. "What matters is not that he had not made the deal. What matters is that he had shown that a man, even the lowest of men as those at the time considered him could be better than any machine. That one man was always better than a machine."
"It's something you should think about. Now, after everything that has happened… It's men like that we try to emulate. Because the machine is no longer around. He inspires people, all people, of how great they can be." She leveled a steady look at the bird. "If your legends are dying, perhaps they need to remind the world of how great they are?"
Blinking in confusion, the youkai slowly nodded. "I think I may see what you mean… Maybe."
Standing up, mother walked over and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "Perhaps that is something that you can think on while you go to sleep. But it's time for you to head out. I imagine that you'll be having another long day tomorrow."
Standing up, Tokiko nodded to mother once, before replying, "Alright. Goodnight… ma'am. Night human." Giving that last remark with but a flicker of her eyes towards me, she strode out of the room herself, slipping through the door while barely opening it.
As the latch clicked shut, mother shut her eyes and smiled softly. "Curious one, that is. Like a child. Is she not, son?"
Startled out of my thoughts, I replied best that I could. "A bit. She acts normally, but so oddly at times. It's a bit unusual." I raised up my hands and shrugged. "But she is a monster… Just not one of them."
"So she is." Humming a bit, she turned back towards me. "We've tried to raise you two up the best we could. Joy will never be like she was before… But perhaps that is for the best. You're both strong children." She gave me another one of her smiles. "You could do well to remember what I said, too. You're worth more than whatever machine you and your father have rigged up. And you're stronger than that gun of yours, or those balls. Just tools, that's all. It's the man that uses them that shows how strong they are."
"Mmmm." Not much I could say to that. Still, I suppose it is nice hearing such things from her. "You ever think that it would have been better if it had never happened?"
"Who knows? You two would have both been happier children. We wouldn't have had to take care of a farm out here." She looked away from me, as if staring into the distance. "Your sister would certainly have been happier. But you might not have taken it so well. You've always been rather free-spirited, while she's loved her books." Her face was covered with a sly grin. "Which makes me glad that you've found a friend that likes them so. Even if she is a monster. Perhaps she can teach you to enjoy them."
I snorted at that. "Maybe. But I'm not holding my breath." Innately beating down the urge to actually do that, I asked, "You're not implying anything, are you?"
"Not at all. What might give you that idea?" Besides that look on your face? Not much. "But no. She seems like a rather… interesting girl. Polite, it seems. At least when she wants to be."
"Yeah, perhaps." She's been rather free-spirited this whole time, even if she was so taciturn only this morning. After she attempted to eat me. "It is a bit odd though. She wasn't so friendly this morning. I had to feed her before she would open up a bit. And she certainly seemed keen on eating me before that."
Mother shook her head. "I certainly can't tell you. I've only seen her act after she's been less monstrous, I suppose." Walking past me, she patted me on the shoulder. "Still, take good care of her. Since you're the one who threw that ball, I reckon that you're the one who has the ultimate responsibility. Even if the thing malfunctioned in that regard…"
Walking past me, she said, "Don't stay up to late. You've an early day tomorrow."
It wasn't five minutes until I had put out the fire and had settled into my own bed.
The creaking of the wooden floor of the hallway awoke me, much earlier than usual. Rubbing my eyes to rid me of the sleep in them, I grumbled as I turned back over. It didn't do this too much on occasion, but it sometimes happened. Especially if sister had to head to the bathroom at this time of night. I laid there for a few seconds as I attempted to drift off once more.
However, as the floor creaked a second time, my curiosity overcame my weariness. Slipping out of bed, I inched open the door, which turned with nary a sound on its waxed hinges.
As the ticking of my clock sounded louder and louder in the dead of the night, I peered out, to see if anything was going on. My eyes, having adjusted to the light of the moon, saw little in the hallway. Until a shadow passed over the very end. The shadow of a wing.
Wondering what Tokiko was doing inside the house after we had gone to all the effort to impress upon her how much she needs to stay out, I opened the door all the way and entered the hallway. That at the end stood a winged figure, her wings spread wide as she looked either at the wall, or at me. However, something seemed wrong about everything. The wings just didn't look right… Those weren't her wings. Plus the figure was wrong. Too full compared to her. Not to mention her head… there were two wings on her head. And there were ears. Two feathery ears.
Before I could dart, the figure sauntered forward, hips rolling from side to side. Eventually entering a moonbeam, she stared me down, pink eyes surrounded by a shock of pink hair. The smile of her mouth showed her teeth, canines glinting in the night light. "Well, hello there, little human, remember me?"
As I began to edge back towards the door, hoping that she couldn't see such movement, she walked closer. "Now, why the hurry to get away? I'm so glad to see you. After all, you made me so unhappy. Chasing me away earlier, only to go and take that other birdie for your own?"
Well, so much for that. But as long as she was talking, she wasn't attacking, right? So I should just let her keep doing so, and I'll move as slowly as I can towards my room. "I wish that you'd have taken me instead. I could have had so much fun with you. Much more than my new master. But such a shame… I'll have to take you instead." Her grin widened, nearly splitting her face in two. But if you'll stay quiet, I'll let you have some fun before I have to do the deed. Just so you know what you missed when… well, you know."
Well, crap. What to do, stall for time? I'm still too far… "Are you… Mystia? Tokiko mentioned that you look like one of the creatures around here." Of course, I know the answer, but just maybe…"
"I'm a Mystia, I suppose." The monster crept even closer to me, the motion of her body belied by the grin on her face. "I'm not the original, if that's what you're asking. But I'm so much better… Perhaps you'd like to taste?" Licking her lips as she noticed me start moving quicker, she said, "Or perhaps you'd like to hear me sing? "I'll be glad to oblige~"
The monster began to sing. But the moment the music left her Glasgow grin, darkness covered my eyes. Even in the pale moonlight, I couldn't see a thing. The monster in front of me, the door behind me, even the hand in front of my face. As the fell lyrics being sung became more and more mocking, I had to make my move. If I'm blind, I can't see where to shoot. But if she keeps singing, maybe it'll be enough in these tight halls.
I dove back into my room, scrounging around for my shotgun. Knocking over the various items on the bedside table, including the alarm clock that began to ring, I flayed about. One hand finally finding the barrel for it, I pulled it over my shoulder while turning as best as I could to the singing voice.
Realizing what I was attempting to do, the voice tried to sing louder, as it grew louder. "Now, don't be getting any funny ideas, now~ I'd hate to have to hurt you too much. I'd like to have some fun too~"
However, she either wasn't fast enough, or didn't consider the weapon enough of a threat. I wasn't sure myself if it was strong enough to do a threat to one that large. The little sparrows were bad enough. Still, I had no choice. I aimed the weapon as best I could, and pulled the trigger.
The roar of the gun reverberated in the room, echo bouncing off the walls and drowning out every other noise. Before the rapport of the gun ended, a howl of pain and indignation erupted before me. "Ok, no play time then. I'll just skip to the best part." My vision watered slightly, pinpricks of light appearing once again. Pumping the gun as quickly as possible, I fired again.
The second how was louder than the first. Had I managed to hit something sensitive, or had I instead impacted the same location. The monster had been reduced to snarling at this point, spitting in incoherent rage. Still, I had not heard it fall, so I cycled the pump once more.
The third shot had the sound of the gun matched by the light blasting forth from the muscle. This time, I was able to sea the pain on the monster's face as it howled in agony. Blood now dripped from its chest, where I had blasted a hole through the fabric. Still, it had already begun to heal, the holes closing slowly, but surely.
Damned things healed even faster than their little sisters, it seems. Only one thing to do in that case. Best rule of thumb. If they don't have a head, they can't regenerate, can they? So, as my vision swam, instead of firing, I cycled the gun and thrust it forward.
The bayonet on the gun found purchase in first the fabric of the monster's dress, and then in the skin underneath. Glaring at me and growling, it clawed at the shotgun, trying to find purchase and pull it out of its gut. Idly, as I fought against it, attempting to force the blade down through the belly of my foe, I heard footsteps hitting the floor further down the hall. Either they had finally woken up, or there were more intruders. Still, I had to finish with my opponent first.
Pulling the trigger once more, I heard instead of saw the splatter of blood that met the wall behind her. Inarticulate, it let go of shotgun and pushed me away, so that it could attempt to grab at its belly. As it looked away, I quickly swung around the butt of my shotgun, connecting with the bottom of its jaw. Staggering back, I adjusted the grip on the shotgun and swung it about once more, wooden butt of its stock meeting the bone of the monsters jaw. It cracked, and the monster was sent sprawling towards the floor.
Before it could react any further, I strode forward. Placing a boot on its chest, where the bloody wounds from before had almost healed over, I stabbed once more with the shotgun. Cold steel met soft flesh of the neck. Before it could even attempt to draw breath through its now ruined throat, I pumped the shotgun once more and pulled the trigger.
The shotgun blasted once more. The monster's hands leapt towards me in one last attempt at life, before being cut like the strings of a doll. And the life faded from the monsters eyes.
That had to be the longest fifteen seconds of my life.
Looking up to the door, I met my sister's eyes as she dispassionately took in the scene. Nodding shortly as she recognized that I was alright, she motioned back down the hallway. A half a second later, father showed up, rifle in hand and mother by his side. "Boy! What's going on in here?"
I motioned towards the still warm corpse on the floor. "Sparrows. Big somehow. Tough, took all five shots to put down. Don't let them sing, drove me blind that way." Just the basics. There would be more on the way. There's always more.
"Damnit, why would they try and do this? They know it's a deathtrap to even try… We might go culling even if they do survive."
It doesn't make sense, until you take the monster's words into account. A new master. One that was controlling her with a ball? Like the one I had used on Tokiko. "It was being controlled. She referred to a master, probably using one of those balls." If that was the case, things had gone from bad to worse. People willingly using the monsters to attack a house? But for what reason? As everyone took in what I said, sister's eyes narrowed, and she cut back down the hallway.
Father had recognized the same thing. Cursing underneath this breath, he turned to mother. "If there're people here, we're in a world of trouble. Probably got us covered with rifles, watching every window. Nothing to do but to hunker down."
Hunker down in here, which covers the four of us. But what about her? She should know what's happened by now… She'll have heard the shots. Should we just wait it out, knowing that she's by herself out there, with hostile sparrows and humans just lurking about? Or should we make our way towards her.
Unconsciously, I realized that I had placed my hand in my pocket. A pocket that was now containing an iron and brass ball, which had grown warm. Before I could even exclaim what had just happened, I heard a window breaking back from down the hall, where mother and father's bedroom was.
Father immediately raised his rifle and sighted it down the hall. Shaking out of my stupor, I ran back in and fed shells in as quickly as I could. Once four were loaded, I cycled the pump once and fed a last one in. As we lay in wait, I idly took the hem of the monster's skirt and wiped down the bayonet and barrel of the gun. Best to keep it clean, just in case.
Besides, I could still see the blood on it, even after I had wiped it off.
As we waited longer and longer, father fidgeted and lowered the rifle slightly. "Hrmph. Maybe they decided to trick us by heading in another way? Or what are they waiting for?"
From the downstairs landing, footsteps began to pound. Immediately shifting our aim to cover the stairwell, we watched as a more familiar sight emerged. "Human! are you alright?" Her eyes shifted down towards the dead monster at her feet, and she took a step back. "My…Mystia?"
I shook my head, trying to answer her question calmly. "No, not Mystia. Just one of the copies. One of the monsters." I offered my hand. "Just come here, it'll be alright."
Hesitating for a moment, she stepped forward, eyes still on the corpse. "Are you… Sure? Because I can hear others in the house. There are others waiting."
Eyes widening, I spun back around, as father did the same. It was too late, however. A hand shot out of the wall, grabbing the hem of mother's gown. Dragging her down the hall lengthwise, she grabbed at the hand and attempted to fight at it with the only weapon she had at the time: her tooth and nails.
Unfortunately, it did not work, as she was yanked through the first door that the hand came across, and disappeared. Father couldn't get a good angle on kidnapper, as mother was in the way the entire time. Cursing to himself, he started to head forwards, until three more of the monsters burst out of the room and looked down the hallway. Spotting us, they grinned and began to advance forward.
Before we could turn and run, however, sister shouted, "Don't. Tokiko, I have to get past them! Take them out!" Before we could ask her what she was doing, she turned towards me and snapped. "Give her the order. You two go down and out the front, see if you can find where they're taking her."
Seeing no other choice, I turned my head towards Tokiko. I wonder… If this works, does this make me as bad as the ones that sent in the first monster? "Tokiko… take them down. Please?" I had to add that last part, as pathetic as it sounds.
Still, the winged girl nods, her entire demeanor shifting. Instead of crouching halfway to protect herself and her book, she stands tall, book falling to her side. Raising her hand, she summons one of the balls of light. Exactly like the one she had earlier. Still, more and more spawned first eight, then twenty, and then too many to count at once. As the balls appeared, casting the entire hallway into a sinister red light, two purple streams appeared about her. Swirling about her body like to snakes writing about a pole, she closed her eyes, exhaled, and closed her hand.
The monsters' eyes widened the moment she began. They began to attempt to create some balls of light of their own. Rather, they attempted to create some arrow like light. However, many of their creations failed, and flickered out. And by the time that they combined manage even a fraction of Tokiko's number, the balls of the latter had already surged forward.
Paint chips flew off the wall and the wood underneath splintered as the balls grazed the edge of the corridor. The monster in front immediately took the brunt of the impact, and immediately fell over, pummeled beyond all recognition. The latter two were more protected by the walls, but they too also took a large amount of blasts. Before they could recover and launch their own, though, the two streamers flew forth like laser shots, immediately sinking into their chest. Dropping on the floor, they twitched as they floundered onto the first of their number.
Father grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the stairs. "Tokiko! Protect Joy! And find me once she's done!" As I stumbled backwards, the last I saw was my sister pulling out a knife and advancing towards the twitching pile of bodies.
Once we had gotten out of sight, father slapped me around and brought me back to earth. "Boy! There might be some crazy shit going on, but keep it together! We still have to find your mother!" We immediately turned down the hall, and headed towards the front door. Father immediately grabbed the handle on it and flung it open, rifle ready to meet any sparrow that might be waiting.
Having none to meet us, he quickly walked out onto the porch. Scanning in the moonlight, he saw a figure ahead, with an unsettling still load perched on its shoulder. "There she is! Let's get her back from these bitches!"
It was then that I should have remembered that there were more than sparrows out tonight.
Before father could raise his weapon towards the creature, the night exploded into light. Not the light of a burning fire, nor the light of electricity arcing across the sky. Not even the light of the sun, peaking over the horizon. No, instead, this was light, bright and blue. Artificial, and obviously so. Like the lights that might be on a truck or car.
Like the lights that haven't worked for fifteen years.
Immediately cringing, father brought up his hand to protect his eyes from the light. But the moment he could see once more, the sharp crack of a rifle sounded, and a hole appeared in his leg. Crying out in pain, he fell to his knees as another round met his other leg. "Dammit… Get out of here! Just get out of here! I'll hold them off!" He began firing from his position, wildly hoping to hit something in the nighttime turned daytime. "Ain't gonna take me that easy!"
By that point, I had two decisions. Stay and probably get cut down, or run. And as much as I wished I could stay, father was right. I had to go. One of us had to survive. As I treaded the familiar path to the back door, I tried not to listen for the gunshots of father's rifle. And I tried not to hear the silence that eventually followed.
Still, run I did. Out the back door, and into the fields beyond. The moonlight was strong enough that I could see, and the artificial light helped illuminate them even more. But still, I ran, attempting to get as far as I could. I could always find a place out in woods, perhaps. A hidey-hole where I could wait until sunlight. And until when I could perhaps go back and hope… I don't want to think about it.
Running through the fields, I eventually slowed down once I had gotten out of sight of the house. Good, at least I should be safe from any of them. Although, if there were any more of the sparrows out tonight, and they found me, I was screwed thrice. Immediately changing directions, I began to quickly head towards the treelike. At least it'd be harder for them to spot me from the air.
That plan was interrupted by sudden viselike grip on my arm. Realizing the futility of it, I still spun about, prepared to go out fighting. However, I did not meet a sparrow. Instead I met the one-winged face of Tokiko.
Her face was covered in a few bruises, healing slowly, but surely. Her lip was swollen and bleeding, and one eye was black and swollen nearly shut. And I'm sure her nose was crooked, as if she had been punched in the face more than a few times. Not to mention the various rips in the dress she wore and the cuts on the skin I could see.
I had never seen such a beautiful face.
Before I ended up doing something incredibly stupid, my sister stepped around from behind her. At her side was a sack, drawstring tight. And inside were the bulges of a very familiar item. "Brother. You should be taking these."
The rest of the balls? That was what she had gone back for? "Sister, what are you doing? Why'd you go back for them?" I couldn't think of anything else that I could say. What else could I?
"They are after them." Short and to the point as always. "They are able to control the monsters for some reason with these. Whether it was a mistake in how they were made, or a deliberate change, I do not know. But it is not limited to the one you have used."
"Are you sure? We've lost mother and father… mom and dad already. Was it really worth it?"
A pained look came across sister's face, as a tear rolled down. "Unfortunately… yes. They would have been taken, and we would have died anyways. Tokiko barely managed to get me away from the sparrows… More and more kept coming. We only were barely able to slip out."
Dawning horror crossed my face. "So that means they know we're out here? We have to run. Now."
She shook her head. "No. We cannot. There are too many. However, father only told someone to get away. They don't know how many of us there are. You will run. And I… I will stay."
No, she couldn't do that. If there was anything in the world that was unacceptable, she couldn't do that. She couldn't sacrifice herself for me. "Sister, you can't do that. We can still make it. We can-"
"Gray." She leaned forward, and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Stop. It's alright. You'll be fine. And it's an acceptable sacrifice. This way, I ensure that at least one of our family survives. And one day… you can continue it." Another tear rolled down her cheek. Reaching a shaking hand up, I realized something. Mine were covered too.
"Don't cry, Gray. Don't cry." She raised up her hand, wiping the tears off my face with her thumb. "It's my time. Just run, take her. And live. If not for yourself, then for me, and mom, and dad."
"…Ok." I reached forward, and gave her a brief, if extremely tight hug. "I still hope to see you soon." She leaned forward and hugged me back, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead.
"I don't."
Letting me go, she places a hand on the bruised cheek of Tokiko. "Take care of him for me, will you? I don't want to see him for at least sixty years." Stepping away, she took a few steps away before looking back. "Goodbye Gray."
I raised my hand weakly, giving her the slightest of waves. "Goodbye Joy." With that, she nodded once and smiled. Then, she turned her head and floated forward as if she was a ghost, disappearing in the stalks with her knife in hand.
Grabbing Tokiko by the hand, I slowly began to back away. "L… Let's get out of here." Still, even if I was the one saying it, she was the one pulling me. Following her through the rows, I fought to keep the tears down. Instead, I concentrated on the wood and steel in one hand, and the firm grip on the other.
It may have been minutes, or it may have been half an hour, but we finally reached a spot deep in the woods. Leaning against one of the larger trees, I leaned against it, exhausted from the constant running. I felt, not saw the hands circle around my midsection. I felt my feet leave the ground, but I didn't care. I didn't notice. The last thing I remember are the tree limbs around me as we perched in the top, her wings slowly enveloping me within their folds. Red feathers were my only protection against the world beyond as I tried to sleep through the dry sobs.
But sleep was a long time coming.
A/N Well, how about this doozy for everyone to take? Sheesh, I can't believe I just wrote 8k words in less than five hours… Shows what one can do when they really put their nose to the grindstone, eh? Still, I hope you all find this one enjoyable, as this is a good place to stop the story for now.
Although, what more can I say? Other than yes, the main character will be Gray. It's cliché, but it works. Yes, they're gone. No, I wasn't lying when I said I wasn't pulling any punches. Yes, this is going to be crazy. And the world will never be the same. Anything else, well… I guess post a review, and I'll answer any questions that I can. And if you've no account… Just ask any questions that you want anyways, and I'll answer them whenever I publish the next oneshot.
Since this one has gotten long enough as it is, I'll, as you have noticed by now, move it into its own story. I've completed some of the next chapter of the story, so expect to see that one... somewhat soon. As in, by tomorrow night.
Until next time, watch out for sparrows. They're watching~