What's At Night?
The two saw a little hut on top of the hill, puzzled they grew suspicious of it's location and the atmosphere grew darker as they continued to head closer towards it. Instead of a door, the entrance had an arched frame, but was covered in quilts that were hung at the top, underneath the quilts were beads that were furiously lifted by the strong winds. The hut itself was quite small, and the two adventurers gathered that the elderly lady that was mentioned by the trucker could be dangerous. "Arm yourself! She may be dangerous." Lisa implied, strongly directed to Mark.
Mark shook his head, amused at Lisa's sentiments. "What, she's going to hit me with her cane?" However as he said this, he remembered the trucker's comments about the bull and it's horns with 'stars encrusted on it'. Mark then was aware of the danger that he and Lisa could be facing with the elderly woman, but kept quiet and allowed Lisa to explain.
"How does an elderly lady train a bull? And why does she live in such seclusion from the village? Even her hut is suspicious; it's better to be prepared so we are safe. Who knows, we don't need any more things to be miserable about." From that moment Lisa stopped to rethink on what she's said. She looked down on the path towards the hut and inspected it. Her face tightened and the air gusted much more to the opposite way of where she was heading. Mark continued on and walked in front of her, not stopping to check on her. Lisa gasped in upset, "Aren't you… Aren't you going to wait for me? You surely aren't going to face the elderly woman alone…"
Mark then stopped at his tracks, his face looking towards the ground too and went on to brush his hair against the wind. "Scared of what's to come? I didn't come along to see someone who tries to act as our leader to be scared. I came here because I'm doing what I have to do. Ever since the little girl and that man came along the adventure, you've changed. You really don't care anymore do you?"
Lisa struggled to find words and looked towards Mark, who's back was turned to her. "I haven't changed" she exclaimed. "And I still do care!"
"Then why does every single thing have to be about you and your sister?" Mark said, his voice raised and his fists clenched. The clouds suddenly moved in and small drops of rain could be detected. "In life, it's risky to be insecure… You can't have regrets or they'll haunt you for a long time…" Mark said, his tone suddenly changing. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep hanging around just worrying about yourself all the time." He then readied his sword and continued walking.
Lisa as usual refused defeat but then looked to the sky and the clouds gathered more and more. Soon the winds grew stronger, the rain started to pour and thunder could be heard in the distance. She then took her gun out of her pocket and readied it with ammunition and headed towards the hut.
"What a mess…" Adrian said, observing the decrepit state of the house that both Victor and Maria Hernandez shared and lived in. "I can't believe you live in a place like this!" Claire cried. "Its just terrible. All in shambles and ruins" She said with utmost concern over the issue. She looked around seeing large cracks on the ceiling, smashed beer bottles scattered on the floors and small, round and hollow holes that went straight through the lounge area to the kitchen. The surrounds were extremely messy and it was hard to navigate around the area.
She then gestured Adrian to come over when observing the hollow holes. "Why are they bullet holes around their house?" Adrian swayed his head. "I don't know. But when we got here, it seemed pretty dangerous." Claire nodded, "The people we passed were carrying big guns. Do you think they have something to do with it?"
"So I see you've seen from all the glorious disorder left in this house you've got a right to criticize and be impolite?" Maria Fernandez said, with her arms crossed. "You'll be sleeping in the lounge room today, I'm sorry if it's not to your taste but sometimes when you do something like cleaning, others are just going to mess it up no matter how hard you try to get rid of it."
"I apologize Ms. Fernandez for my impertinence… I didn't mean to create such disrespect."
"Oh just shut it. Does it look like I was born yesterday?" Maria interrupted, she becoming more irritated. "You can take the couch. And the girl can sleep in Victor's room if the floor seems to be less impressive for her."
"Ms. Fernandez, what's happened here?" Claire asked. Adrian grabbed onto her shoulder and shook his head. "Don't ask that!" he muttered to her. "I have to. If something's wrong we have to help her." Claire demanded. Adrian's face grew weary "Claire, you can't always play hero for every person you meet. Sometimes things may get out of hand." Claire banged her fist on the wall. "How can you say that? That's what this journey is all about. People who have the ability of magic to help those in need, not to watch others suffer in silence." Maria sniggered. "Magic? Is that what soap opera's are revolving around now? You people are ridiculous. Journey? The ability to help? The only people who need help are you lousy tourists butting your heads into everything. By tomorrow, I want you out of this house and frankly out of my life. Victor, you better get your school work done before I get home. I'm tired of you just running off watching the stupid bullfighting. All bullfighters can all die and go to hell for all I care." Maria Fernandez then walked towards the front door and left without locking the door.
"I'm so sorry about my mother… It's just."
"Is she always like this? Why is she like this? And what does she have against bullfighting?" Claire asked instantly with much curiousity and concern.
"Claire stop it now! I don't want to you dwell in their matters anymore." Adrian implored. But Claire neglected the message, avoiding it and pursuing to understand why things were the way they were. "Where is your mother off too?"
"Claire! That's not for you to know. Victor you don't have to answer that." Adrian approached Claire and gave her a hard-hitting slap on the face. Claire's eyes watered and she then cried. "We need to help them, if they are in danger. I can't just let them suffer here. I just can't."
"She's out there, getting drunk. That's why there are so many beer bottles in the house. Some days she may bring home a man. Other days she's come along crying. She's been like this for very long and it's because my father left her. Every day, she complains and cries about how my father left her the day she gave birth to me. I feel sad for her too."
"Is that why your father isn't here?" Claire said, wiping some of her own tears. Victor nodded his head. "She gets angry every time I talk about bullfighting because… She used to tell me that my father, all his life wanted to become a bullfighter. I know, every single time I talk about it, I see her face and gets hurt very easily. But when you dream of becoming something, you can never stop dreaming about it. I know in my heart, that bullfighting is the only thing that's going to fulfil my passion, my desire. I can feel my father's spirit inside me whenever I watch them in the stadium. Sometimes I know my father is watching the fights with me and encouraging me to someday be the one entertaining the crowd."
"So you're father is…"
"Dead. Yes, my mother told me. Her friends have told me about the incident when he was gored by the bull. She doesn't want me to be like my father… But I never knew my father at all." Victor started to cry. "I know my mother hates him and I hate him too for leaving her and not wanting to see me, but I can't help but want to know him… And now I'll never get that chance."
"Oh Victor…" Claire said, gesturing him to come closer and eventually giving him a hug. "I'm so sorry."
Lisa went through the beaded entrance of the hut, concealing her gun inside her pocket, but firmly grasping it in her hands. The hut was dark, with only just a bit of light from the outside getting through a rattling window. Lisa and Mark saw nothing until a blue light was flying around. Lisa raised her gun and Mark revealed his sword readying themselves for a possible attack. The blue light, even hard to see from the shrouding darkness of the room then illuminated the room revealing an old woman holding onto a golden candlestick with stars decorated on it and one of the three candles lit. "May I help you?" The elderly woman said. Lisa observed around the hut, seeing posters of a large bull inside a familiar stadium. She also saw magical circles drawn on the wall and a rug with a dark magical circle patterned on the floor. "We were just inquiring about the bull that you recently offered for the bullfighting competitions."
"Ah, yes you must be talking about my lovely Zeus. But please lower your weapons, I'm only just an old lady living in a small village of Mexico." With much hesitation, both Lisa and Mark lowered their weapons, but still grasping them firmly. "Well, what would you like to know about Zeus?"
"Well, we are the committee and runners of the event and we are just wondering the origins of 'Zeus'. It seems pretty unique of a bull to have stars encrusted and shaped on its horns."
The elderly woman laughed. "Is the committee worried about a bunch of stars that I decorated on the bull?" she asked light-heartedly. "Don't worry, it's not the stars you have to worry about, but the way I've trained it."
"The way you've trained it?" Lisa questioned. "That's right, it's quite large for a bull and has a remarkable charging ability. It's not a force to be reckoned with…" The woman then let out a small sigh. "But because the stadium had been running out of bulls… I suppose they could give Zeus a test run. A shame for the bullfighters on the day though… Wouldn't that be right Miss Lisa Forrester?" the woman's voice then suddenly changed into a more youthful tone.
"That voice! It can't be…"
"Who is it? Who's that woman?" Mark asked in alarm. "It's Mystic, the sorceress that has released the 12 Astral Beasts!" Mark then held onto his sword and charged at the woman attempting to defeat her, but as he tried, a dark red hemisphere blocked his attack. "What?" Mark yelled. "How did she block that attack?"
"Get back now!" Lisa shouted. Mystic laughed hysterically. "Too late!" The red shield that covered her then turned into a large beam and pushed Mark towards the wall, knocking him out. "No!" Lisa screamed out and rushed towards him, attempting to wake him up.
"Lisa, Lisa, Lisa. When are you ever going to learn? You can't change the fate of what happened with your sister. Let it go. I can take it from here."
"Shut up, you bitch! You took Diane's life for no reason. She was a great person who didn't deserve her life cut short and you took her away from me." Lisa angrily entailed. "Lisa. Your sister wasn't the only one that died… Maybe you should look at your friends. And why is it that everyone dies? People deserve to die, because everyone has a hidden agenda to destroy and disrupt the lives around them. It's inevitable and maybe, it's time for you to learn that too." The woman then flew up to the ceiling and waved her arms. "I know the perfect thing that will help you meet your end."
The rug with the magic circle glowed. "Diane Forrester, reveal your spirit to me! I summon you with my call!" the woman chanted. A blue spectre of a woman young girl appeared from the magic circle, Lisa gasped and couldn't believe what she saw. "Diane…?"
Mystic laughed, "Well not anymore!" The spectre then cried out calling to Lisa. "Run away, quickly! Before it's too late." It was Diane's voice.
The spectre then grew larger and transformed into a large, zombie like creature, which was ghastly and covered in decay. "He….lp" the beast said in a fading tone. "What? What did you do with Diane?"
"Her soul has turned into that ugly beast! I'm sure you are going to have fun either killing her, or letting her kill you. Pity Lisa, stuck in the tormenting twists of fate, in any case if you are curious, I'll be at that stadium watching over my lovely Zeus" Mystic then faded, disappearing and her laughs echoing throughout the room.
"Diane… How could she do this to you…? I-I… No… I have to do what I need to do. I'm sorry Diane, but I need to continue by saving the world, making sure this doesn't happen anywhere else." Lisa then readied her gun, and shot innumerable times at the beast that threatened her survival.
"The dinner was great! Thanks for that Ricardo, you are a true gentleman." Ricardo looked towards the other way from the dinner table at a restaurant. "I wish I could say the same for myself."
"What do you mean? I think you are! You treated me with dinner, have the greatest manners and haven't accidentally burped, farted or commented on my cleavage for all of tonight!"
"But that's what I mean. I've only just met you today and possibly tomorrow I'll never see you again. I haven't given you any long term hurt or abandoned you with an important responsibility that might need my assistance." Lucy laughed. "I don't even know what you are talking about now!"
"Well that's right because you are only just a travelling whore." Lucy stopped laughing. "What?" she questioned. "Just a woman who wants to sleep with a man, only for her own pleasure."
"Yes I understand what 'whore' means… But you really think I'm just that kind of person?" Ricardo nodded his head. "You came on pretty strong wanting to go on this date, wearing such skimpy clothes… Overfilled with joy with everything I say."
"So you think I'm only here just to be in bed with you. Nothing else…" Lucy's felt insulted, but kept quiet. She was deeply depressed and unhappy with Ricardo's comments, even though she could see where he was coming from.
"I suppose I've got some explaining to do. I'll take you to my hotel room." Ricardo said. Lucy then nodded her head, trying to grin.
Claire abruptly woke in the middle of the night, hearing Maria and Victor Fernandez having an argument with themselves. Claire couldn't hear exactly what was said, but the words "bullfighting" and "your father" rang the most clearest and loudest. She slept on the floor in Victor's room, while Adrian was sleeping on the couch separate from her. As Victor entered his room, slamming the door, she pretended to go to sleep and Victor soon fell asleep quickly. Victor's snoring indicated that he was asleep, Claire went outside and went into the kitchen, seeing Victor's mother sobbing with a glass bottle in her hand.
"You can't always do this to him. He needs someone to love him you know. Yelling at him all the time… It's not going to help him… Victor needs his mother to be there and to believe in him, not some drunken woman who comes home to this house and doesn't even try."
"I know that…"
"Then love him before it's too late…" Claire ended.
"There are so many things that I've done wrong. I've left a woman the painful responsibility to raise a child on her own, because of my own cowardice." Ricardo began to explain in his hotel bed. Lucy was in the bathroom washing her face. "Ricardo, we've all done things we regret, but the most bravest thing is confronting it head on. Running away only leads to more guilt… If you know where this woman is, you should give her closure… And stop being a coward and be there for her…"
"But how can you say something like that? Aren't you sleeping with me tonight?" Lucy looked to the mirror and saw her reflection and then walked out towards the bed where Ricardo lied. "You can think what you want Ricardo. But I'm not that whore that you think I am and I'm no that shallow girl that wanted to be with you tonight for the heck of it…"
"Goodbye Ricardo thanks for tonight."
Lucy then exited the room, not looking back.