Revenant Girl

Chapter V—Boom Town

July 3rd, 489

So apparently Soren's into painting now. He said that he wanted to try out 'other aspects of art'. Not that I have anything against it.

He's trying to make Jesse appreciate art too, so he lets her play with clay and draw with crayons. I have to admit that's pretty cute. When she drew black shapes with purple dots, Soren started freaking out, thinking that Jesse finally started to appreciate endermen. Oh please.

He actually 'hired' me to be his art critic. The first artwork I had to critic was (get ready for it)... an enderman. I wish I could say that I was surprised. Then again, it was okay-ish for his first try painting on canvas, so I gave it a pass.

Oct 15, 490

Today is Jesse's birthday, and the number of gifts were so overwhelming, up to the point where she could be swimming in it. The pretty generic gifts included dolls, dresses and jewellery. I mean, come on, be original. I've seen the same gifts that were given during Jesse's first birthday, during Christmas, during New Year…

Even goofball wasn't original. I bet he was all like, 'oh crap, its Jesse birthday today and I totally forgot. Whatever, I'll just get a random item from my stockpile and wrap it up in pretty wrapping paper'. Or maybe he doesn't give two shits about Jesse to get her a decent gift.

His gift was (get ready, I'm serious)... TNT. What. I can't even…

At least I appreciate the gifts from the others. Gabriel gave her a fancy sword (probably for decó), Ivor's enchantment book and Soren's mini amulet replica.

What did I get for Jesse? Well, I gave her one of our treasures from our adventures as Order Of The Stone—a ghast tear. Actually, the one I gave her was an extra I got when the rest didn't inform me that they've already obtained the ghast tear a few moments ago. It's the perfect gift.

Dec 14, 490

Soren has been constantly inviting me over to check out his paintings and sculptures. He even tried inviting goofball over too, but he rejected him out flat. For some reason, Soren didn't seem bothered by his rejection. In fact, he seemed...relieved?

Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm thinking too much into it. Or maybe his sculpture's eyes seem to bore into my soul, or the endermen in his paintings seem to have eyes that follow me no matter which angle I look. Yeah, that must be it. It's either his creepy artwork has started to erode at my common sense, or he's plain clingy.

He's been very clingy. Actually, he's clingy from the start.

…

The bitter bone-chilling night air embraced Jesse and Reuben's bodies as they brisk walked down the deserted streets of the town. They had managed to create a good distance between themselves and the capitol, but not enough to ensure her safety. It hasn't even been half an hour in her journey, and Jesse was starting to feel scared. The reality of her situation was starting to kick in, and there were numerous possible scenarios that might happen during her long trek to Redstonia that ran through her head. Mobs, bandits, griefers, running out of food, injuries, harsh weather, death…

Jesse shivered at the last scenario. The whole purpose of her escapade was to avoid death, and to die during her journey would be ironically humorous.

Jesse had never seen the streets so bare of life. It reminded her of a horror story setting, and she herself was the foolish protagonist.

Reuben, who was trailing behind, oinked in worry.

"There's nothing to be a-afraid about. There's nothing t-to be afraid, heh." Jesse said, stuttering in her speech. The shrike huffed.

"You claim to be fearless, but deep down in your heart you're terrified. You can't even put up a brave front to your pet pig."

"Thanks for the encouragement, it certainly helped a lot."

"Oh, I'm not being a jerk, I'm just speaking the truth."

For a while, Jesse doubted her confidence that she placed on the bird. It seemed that all she did was to criticise and mock her.

"The truth hurts, does it not?" The shrike said, causing Jesse's eyes to widen.

(Crap. I forgot that she could read minds.)

Jesse remained silent, not wanting to give the bird any more reason to condemn her.

They continued their walk in heavy silence. They passed through dark houses, empty stores and creepy alleyways. It seemed that the scenery would remain the same, until they reached a certain part of town where the buildings were in bad shape. There were holes on the walls and on the sandy ground. Banners of all different kinds were etched on the lampposts. Somewhere in the distance, there was an unruly shout and the blast of TNT.

Axel had told Jesse about this particular town. He was born and raised here (not that Axel was bad), and he said that the people who called themselves griefers were all aggressive with their TNT. Technically, sociopathic was the best term to describe the erratic behaviour of the townspeople. It was the poorest part of the kingdom, and the population consisted of disgruntled people who were basically failures in life. Ex-convicts, social rejects, drop outs all gather here to vent their pent-up anger over their miserable lives. This town had little to no restrictions, and you could basically commit murder and easily get away with it. It was not surprising to know that crime rates were high around here.

After all...

"Your loot is mine, sucker!"

This place was…

"Ha! You have to catch me first, anvil foot!"

The duo disappeared round the bend, and after a second an explosion occurred. If Jesse payed closer attention, she could have heard a splatting sound.

Reuben squealed in surprise and cowered behind Jesse's legs.

"It's okay Reuben. Just… stay close, alright?"

Even though it was in the middle of the night, there were still a handful of griefers making a ruckus. One griefer on a roof lit up a piece of TNT and flung it towards a nearby house for no apparent reason. It created a large hole and residue fire burned in its wake. Then, another piece of TNT was thrown upwards from someone inside the house. The throw was spot-on, and the griefer was launched off the roof and into the air before coming into impact with the ground with a sickening splat. The other griefers who witnessed the scene didn't even flinch; they just stared for a fleeting moment before resuming their activities.

Seeing how nonchalant the people were about violence and death shook Jesse to the core. She certainly didn't want to be caught up in a similar situation.

All she needed to do was to cross Boom Town and she would be free. It was much shorter than the main road that took a big detour to the north, since the griefers posed a dangerous threat to merchants and travellers travelling to and fro the kingdom. For an unarmed person to purposely try to cross through Boom Town, one would be either in a great rush or plain ignorant.

However, Jesse took the risk anyway. The main road would eat up way too much time. She needed to get away as far as possible. If Axel's plan failed, her father would definitely send search teams to hunt her down.

Sucking up a harsh breath, Jesse picked up her guts and headed straight into the chaotic town. She quickened her steps and looked down at the ground, shielding her face with her unclipped fringe. She clutched the cloak tightly, praying that it would help her blend into the shadows and not draw unwanted attention to herself.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the griefers had eyes of a hawk. A griefer leaped down from a roof and stood in front of her. She couldn't see his expression behind his coloured mask, but she guessed that it couldn't be anything good.

"Hey, haven't seen you around before. You passing by or something?" The griefer spoke in a harsh, deep voice that made Jesse shiver.

"N-none of your business." Jesse replied, trying to make herself sound tough, but the griefer didn't buy it.

"Uh-huh." He then crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side, his lips curving into a sarcastic small smile. "Whatcha got there? A bird and a pig? Are they like, your pets or something?"

"I told you, this ain't your business!" Jesse snapped, shoving the griefer out of the way, but he grabbed her by her arm and jerked her to his side.

"Dawh, come on. I just want to know you better. After all, what's a cute little girl doing around Boom Town with a bird and a pig in tow? C'mon, I'll take you somewhere safe…"

Fear coursed through Jesse's veins. With a shriek, she lifted her knee and hit him right in the groin. He shouted in pain and released his grip. Jesse took the opportunity and dashed towards an alley, with an enraged griefer hot on her tail. By then, the other griefers decided to join in the chase just because they could, and soon at least eight bloodthirsty griefers chased poor Jesse.

Panting wildly, Jesse continued running blindly through alley after alley in a futile attempt to shake off her pursuers. Cradling Reuben in her arms while carrying a bag was slowing her down significantly. She didn't even know if the shrike followed. Actually, she didn't even care if the bird died. What help had she been anyway?

After what seemed like an eternity, Jesse was still unable to outrun the griefers that were occasionally hurling explosives at her. She managed to dodge most of them due to her nimble speed, but her energy and willpower was draining rapidly. She knew she couldn't continue like this for long.

"Reuben!" Jesse yelled just as another piece of TNT grazed her right shoulder. "I need you to jump! There!"

Reuben looked up at Jesse with a confused expression.

"That's seriously cute!" A griefer mocked.

"I'm counting on you Reuben! Now GO!"

Without any hesitation, Jesse flung Reuben like an arrow from a bow and he landed on top of a ledge of a building. He quickly checked his surroundings and laid his eyes on a stray flint and steel which he passed to Jesse using all the piggy strength he had.

Jesse caught the flint and steel and felt a surge of hope lighting up inside her heart. With this, she could use it on...

"Bah! Whatcha going to do with that? Burn us into a crisp?" Another griefer sneered.

"Something worse!" Jesse yelled back as she exited the alleyway, rushed inside a dilapidated house and dashed up a flight of stairs. When she reached the open rooftop, she did not hesitate to light up a piece of TNT from a small stack that was just chilling there (apparently someone was stupid enough to leave their explosives unattended. Whoever it was, Jesse was grateful for that).

"The taste of your own medicine!" Jesse triumphantly shouted as she threw it at the stunned group of griefers. They had little time to react which resulted in them being thrown off their feet, and some unfortunately fell off the roof. When some of them got up, she lit up another piece of TNT and threw it at them. Soon all of the griefers scattered, leaving a relieved and exhausted Jesse to inwardly celebrate her victory against her enemies.

Or so she thought.

A distressed oink echoed in the distance, and to Jesse's horror, she could spot two griefers cornering a very petrified Reuben.

Jesse rushed towards the scene of the crime as fast as her legs could carry her. One griefer grabbed Reuben by the neck and glared at him with distaste.

"Well well well, if it isn't the little girl's pig. If it wasn't for you, I would have easily blown her up into chunks of flesh and blood. There goes our chance to annihilate another foolish passer-by."

The other griefer snickered. "But hey, since we couldn't play with the girl, why not play with the piginstead? Just for… compensation."

"About that, I'm getting hungry, and I'm craving for some porkchop."

(No! Anybody but Reuben!)

"Stop that!" Jesse screamed as she stepped out of the shadows. "It's me you want, leave my pig alone."

The two griefers stared at Jesse. The one that was handling Reuben hurled him towards a wall like a rag doll, causing him to let out a squeal of pain.

"You know, I always wondered how stupid the 'tourists' are here. They know that this place is a literal death town yet they still step foot in here. And you, my friend, are one of them."

Jesse growled in an attempt to look brave. "Just cut to the chase! What do you want from me? You want my money? Here!" She tossed a few gold nuggets at their direction. To her surprise, they didn't even move a muscle.

"It's not money we want." One of them spoke.

His partner fished out a piece of damned TNT.

"We just want to see your blood spill."

Jesse's eyes widened, immediately regretting her words. She started to regret even stepping foot into this crazed town. What was she even thinking? She should have just took the main road, and all this mess would have never happened.

By now, Jesse was quivering violently as she took a few baby steps away, but it was not enough to escape her demise.

The executioner took a flint and steel and prepared to light up the explosive that would tear apart her entire body.

When…

…!

"Cut it out, you two."

Immediately, the executioner halted his actions and turned to face the person responsible for interrupting the execution.

"The heck? What's your problem?"

"I told you to cut it out. Do I need to repeat that?"

"Uugghh, fine. Just because we need those blaze rods."

The voice belonged to a young woman. She had a blue bandana wrapped around her head, and her fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her hazel eyes seemed to act like lasers piercing into the griefers' souls, and she seemingly had an aura around her that warned others that she meant business.

"In exchange for the girl, here's your blaze rods." The woman retrieved a handful of blaze rods from her haversack. "Now scram, thank you very much."

The duo grabbed their possessions and obediently walked away, with one of them muttering 'lucky bit¢h'.

The redhead turned to look at Jesse, who was looking at her saviour with pure admiration and gratitude. She tried to say something, like a small 'thank you' or whatnot, but she just pointed at Reuben who was still slumped on the ground in pain.

"C'mon, get your pig and let's get outta here."

…

With extreme gentleness, Jesse wrapped up Reuben's wound with some bandages the woman provided. Despite that, the piglet was still whimpering.

"It's okay, everything's alright now. The baddies are gone." Jesse said, and this provided a little comfort for Reuben as he closed his eyelids and drifted off into deep sleep.

Jesse cradled Reuben in her arms protectively. She had lost her bag in the middle of the chaotic events in Boom Town, but decided not to go back and retrieve it because of obvious reasons.

The woman, who was watching Jesse silently suddenly spoke. "Okay, first things first. What the heck were you doing in a place like that?"

"Ahahaha… uhm… well, I was taking a shortcut. I thought that I would sneak through the town, but apparently not."

"Just like every single person that steps foot there. But, where are you going exactly? And why aren't your parents with you?"

"... Uhm… ehhh… I erm… I'm traveling alone. My parents are… not here anymore, so I live with my… grandmother. She sort of… kicked the bucket recently, so a relative from Redstonia decided to take me in. That's where I'm heading to now. Yeah."

The woman frowned, as if not believing Jesse's fabulous lie that she crafted at the last minute.

"Okay… I'm sorry about what happened to your grandmother. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Fifteen."

"You don't look like one."

(Ouch.)

"I'm just saying." The woman said as she polished her iron pickaxe with a worn-out cloth.

"Ooh."

Jesse then proceeded to watch in silence as the woman continued to polish her tools. After a while she decided to ask a question that she had stuck in her head for some time. "Uhm, ma'am, what were you doing back there?"

"Oh, I was delivering the stuff the griefers need. They're sorta like my customers. Initially I was supposed to get two emeralds for those blaze rods, but after seeing you about to get torn apart by my clients, I had to do something."

"I see. So you help griefers regularly?"

The woman had finished polishing her tools and stuffed them back into her haversack. "For the right price, I'll help anyone."

Just then, the shrike that had conveniently vanished during Jesse's dire moments came flying towards the trio. She perched on Jesse's right shoulder. "Hey."

Jesse sneered at the bird. "Oh, look who showed up."

The woman looked at the shrike. "Is that bird your pet or something?"

Tilting her head adorably, the shrike let out a series of pleasant sounding tweets. The redhead looked at her amusingly while Jesse just shook her head firmly in protest.

"Nope nopety nope nope nope. This bird sure as hell ain't my friend. The only real animal friend I have is Reuben." Jesse pointed at the sleeping piglet on her lap.

"Tch. Just wait till you walk out into the night. You'll be surprised as to how useful it is to have me around." The shrike said smugly.

"Hardy har har. Yeah, right."

"Prissy little princess."

"Stupid feather ball."

"Spoiled brat."

"Backstabbing bird."

"Heh, gotta work on your name calling, missy."

"Shut up, you annoying little animal."

Jesse glared at her rival challengingly, her brows furrowed in annoyance. She opened her mouth to shout out another comeback, when she noticed how the woman was looking at her with a weird expression. It took Jesse a while to realise that she had been talking to an animal as if it were human, right in front of a stranger. She looked away, blushing furiously.

An awkward silence hung over them, until the woman stood up. "It's best to be going now. Since you can't take care of yourself, and your stuff are all gone, it's best if I accompany you. I haven't been to Redstonia in quite a while; might as well go pay the city a visit and find more customers."

Jesse nodded and stood up. She dusted her skirt and carried Reuben. The woman turned and started walking with the little girl trailing behind her closely.

"Oh, by the way, may I know your name? I don't wanna keep on addressing you as ma'am all the time."

"Call me Petra. Spare the formalities."

I usually post media on the Wattpad version of this story. If you want to check out the concept art/illust, look up the Wattpad version. It's totally okay if you don't have an account for WP; you can always review here.