Hellooo~ Sorry for the late post. Here's the next installment and we finally get around to some action! Please let me know what you guys think. Feedback is always welcome! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon ^^
It took another twenty minutes of questions and answers before they reached the lake. It wasn't that big, and Maleya warned them that the edges were muddy. The boys were wearing their rubber boots, so it wasn't that big of a problem, but she didn't want them to get too messy.
The boys were flitting around from place to place, trying to find any amphibians that were lurking close to the water. Jamie said that they could build a raft and get deeper into the lake. Maleya tried not to disappoint them too much, and reminded them again that they had to be home by lunch. She didn't mention that they didn't really have the tools or expertise to build a stable raft- she didn't want to ruin that for them.
Maleya found a newt that she showed the kids. They got all excited at first, but were disappointed to see it didn't have any wings, so they continued. David shrieked when he saw an arachnid swimming on the surface of the lake. Maleya had to run between the boys to check on them and Jack laughed at the sight. Poor girl is gonna tire herself out.
Jack walked around lazily, using his staff to freeze patches here and there. He enjoyed her baffled expressions a lot, and wondered if he wasn't pushing her to the edge of insanity.
They had been at the lake for a good forty-five minutes when Maleya began to feel antsy. She was trying to humour them, but knew they wouldn't find anything. She decided to give them another quarter of an hour before heading back. She had barely finished the thought when she heard her brother's voice yelling.
"JAMIE! MALLIE! COME QUICK, I FOUND ONE!" he yelled and both of them shot towards him, Jack flying overhead. Maleya wondered what the hell he could have seen that resembled a damn flying frog, but was stopped in her tracks when she saw David pointing at something sitting on a rock.
It looked more like a toad than a frog, was Maleya's first thought. Only this one had what looked like fins on its back, reminding the aspiring biologist of flying fish. As the foursome stared, open mouthed at the creature, it suddenly took off, hovering over the water in a glide before diving in.
"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" The two boys exclaimed, while Maleya sat there, stunned. How was she supposed to explain that? Why hadn't she taken a picture of it? What on EARTH was going on?
"How do you explain that, science?" came a voice from above her and she whirled around. Jack's breath hitched. Had she heard him?
She looked around, but couldn't see anything. Sighing, she wondered if her pills were giving her auditory and visual hallucinations. But that couldn't be right. The boys had seen the frog, too. Was she dreaming?
She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt the air grow colder and she realized the boys were very quiet.
Too quiet.
She slowly turned her head to the look at them. They were staring at something, she guessed it was by the treeline, and she immediately felt her heart drop to her stomach at their expressions. They were terrified, faces turning paler and paler by the second.
"David? What is it?" Maleya asked, her voice low and hushed. She wasn't sure why, but it felt appropriate to make as little noise as possible in the situation.
"M-mallie, there's something there," he told her, huddling closer to Jamie. He was shaking.
Maleya looked up ahead, but couldn't see anything. A shadow caught her eye on her right and she slowly made her way towards something on the ground, feeling her mouth go dry.
"Mallie, don't leave, please," David begged and Jamie looked at her pleadingly.
"Shh, it's okay. I'm right here," she tried to reassure them. She took two steps and paused. It was the same pawprint she'd seen before. Canid, but bigger than her own hand.
Slowly, she made her way back to the boys, removing the bear spray from its straps on her backpack. She was a foot away from them when she heard a deep, rumbling laugh.
"I finally found you," said the voice, so deep it seemed to resonate and shake the trees. Maleya's head snapped towards the trees and she gasped when she saw what was standing there.
It was slightly larger than a bear and was standing up, albeit hunched- much like an ursine mammal would- but that's where all similarities stopped. It had glowing golden eyes and a long snout, the mouth parted slightly to expose sharp canine teeth.
It looked like a cross between a human and a dog, a werewolf if you would, only much bigger and much scarier. Every inch was covered in grayish brown fur and each breath it took was released in misty tendrils as it continued to assess them.
"Jack, what is that?" Jamie whispered. The wolf thing took a short step forward, and the trio backed away, Jack following them. Maleya noted it was limping.
"It's been a while since I was in the presence of a Guardian," the thing rumbled, apparently amused. "Let me introduce myself. I'm the Big Bag Wolf," the creature spoke, and Maleya felt light headed. She thought she was going to faint, but she willed herself to stay conscious. She didn't know what was going on, but she had to be there for the kids.
"David, Jamie, listen to me," she began, her voice soft and composed. "You know the way back, right? Just follow the trail we took down. Get help. Call the police," she ordered them, but David started panicking.
"No, we can't leave you," David said. "Jack, we can't leave her!" he repeated to something above them. Maleya flinched as she felt the air grow colder. She thought she saw another shadow whiz beside her, but she kept her eyes locked on the Wolf, making sure he stayed put.
Jack was watching the scene unfold before him with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. Maleya was in his care, but the children… He grit his teeth and decided he'd take care of the kids first, fly them home as quick as he could before rushing back to help Maleya. The Wolf was weakened, anyway. He was sure the girl could handle herself for two minutes.
"David, you take this Jack person and Jamie, and you make your way home to mom and make sure someone calls the police, okay? I'll be right behind you once I know he won't follow you," she told them, sternly.
"You heard her. Let's go!" the voice from before sounded. Maleya had to take deep breaths to stay calm. She couldn't see anyone else, but a cold rush of wind blew past her as Jamie and David began running at an almost inhuman speed. She wanted to freak out, to panic, but she had to deal with this animal first.
"Y-you're not going after them?" she asked tentatively as the Wolf watched the scene with disinterest in his golden eyes.
"Now, why would I do that? I came looking for you," he told her, a sly smirk on his features.
"What do you want?" she asked, taking a step back and lifting the can defensively when the Wolf put a shaky leg forward.
"I've been looking for you, Thesan. It seems the Guardians got to you first, but here you are, all alone, up for grabs." Maleya couldn't help but shiver. His voice was so deep. It seemed to reverberate in the cavity of her chest.
She didn't understand what the Wolf was talking about.
"You were troublesome to find," he told her, his 'r's rolling off his long tongue. He was a few meters away from her. Way too close for comfort.
"Stay right there," she warned him when she saw him try to take another step. She had her finger on the can's nozzle, ready to spray if he didn't listen to her.
"Stop with this false air of confidence, girl," he barked, suddenly annoyed. "I'm the Harvester of Despair, and you, my child, are dripping in it." A sadistic smile was on his lips as he raised one clawed hand (paw?) towards her. She raised an eyebrow in confusion, unsure of what he was planning, and then inhaled sharply when she felt her chest grow cold. It was as if something was sucking the warmth from her insides. She looked down quickly, but nothing was visibly going on, so her eyes snapped back to the creature.
"W-what are you doing?" she asked, feeling light headed and out of breath suddenly.
"You have an awful lot of sadness and hopelessness in you. I'm just giving them room inside to fester," he explained tiredly, as though he were telling her how cars worked.
She felt the energy get pulled out of her and she fell onto her knees, her legs shaking in complaint. She tried to stand up again, but it seemed that even the adrenaline, which had been coursing through her blood only seconds ago, had abandoned her. She had no power any more.
"There's a good girl. Just steep in your desperation for a moment, and I'll come to claim my prize," the monster's voice boomed. She could still hear him, but his voice felt distant, as though she was underwater.
She tried to keep her eyes on him, but she couldn't focus. The only thing she could feel was the cold void that was growing inside of her. She briefly wondered if she was dying, before deciding she didn't care. They boys were gone, they were probably safe. Her mother would be happy to see her die. She wouldn't have to pop endless pill after pill into her mouth to control the depression that had a hold on her. They would have less bills to pay. There would be more money to spend on themselves and her brother.
She was vaguely aware of the chilling winds returning. She was going insane. Maybe giving up now would save her a life time of being locked up in an institution, where she would babble on and on about the fairy tale villain she'd met, or the winter spirit that was apparently following her around.
Jack had seen the boys off to the edge of the forest. Holding on to one of them with each hand, they had scrambled and panicked in shock at first, only to calm down and try to enjoy the short ride home as much as their fears would allow. As soon as they touched down, the boys sprinted towards their houses.
"I'll go back!" Jack notified them loudly, before bending his knees and taking off, retracing his route.
Cursing under his breath, he worried he was too late. Would the other Guardians accept the choice he made, if she was harmed? He put the children first, which would have been a no-brainer if the girl wasn't a Thesan, a tool that could tip the power between good and bad spirits.
Gritting his teeth, he willed the wind to take him faster, and he got to the lake in record time.
His breath hitched at the sight. The Wolf had gotten closer to the girl, who was know on her knees, staring vacuously ahead of her. She was shaking and her breaths were shallow.
"Maleya, snap out of it!" Jack yelled, but she couldn't hear him. He was getting angry. Sometimes, she gave the illusion that she'd heard him, and now, when she needed to listen to him most, he was as invisible as always. "What have you done to her?" Jack growled, staring at the spirit before him.
"I don't have time to answer your questions, Frost. I'm feasting," the Wolf had snarled in response. Jack's head clicked to the red head again, and his eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
"No, Maleya. Get up!" he shouted at her, before sending a flurry of cold wind and snowflakes in her direction with the help of his staff.
Maleya felt the cold like a slap to her face, and the trance was broken. Her eyes locked with the golden orbs of the monster before and she stood up quickly. How had she ended up on the ground again?
The Wolf bared his fangs in evident anger. "You ruined it!" he howled, his voice carrying over the forest and sending birds flying to the sky from the trees. "No matter, I'll take you by force!" he hollered, before breaking out into an uneven run towards the startled girl.
Instinctively, she brought the bear spray up and pressed the nozzle. In seconds, the air in front of her was thick with mace, and the Wolf roared in frustration and pain.
"MY EYES!" he screeched, and Maleya wasted no time in turning tail and running, her backpack thudding against her back while she held on to the can in a white knuckled grip.
Jack followed her into the forest and down the trail. "I'm right here. I got you," he tried to assure her, but his words fell on deaf ears. She was running as fast as she could and tears were streaming down her face. Whether they'd been stung by the mace, the brisk wind, or she was crying from fear, he couldn't tell. A howl sounded behind them, echoing in the forest, and Jack took action. The Wolf was far away, but he wanted to get the girl out of the forest as soon as possible.
"Heads up!" he warned, before using his staff to freeze the trail with thick ice. It only took a couple of steps before the girl fell backwards, and she yelped in surprise as she barreled down the slope, towards the treeline. The two hour walk up was covered in only a few minutes, before Maleya found herself on the moist grass carpet meters away from her house.
She stood up, turning to look behind her. What the hell was that? Why was there ice?! More tears pooled in her eyes as panic and confusion began to set in her head. Making sure a particular canid creature wasn't following her, she turned around and sprinted towards her house.
She arrived at the street in front of her home to find Myriam O' Connor and Joanna Bennet standing around nervously, both holding their sons in a comforting embrace.
"Maleya, thank goodness!" Mrs. Bennett called out when she saw the girl. Maleya stopped before them trying to catch her breath as Jack flew around the group, making sure the boys were okay.
"T-there was a-" she began, but she was too breathless to continue.
"Take a deep breath. You're safe," Jamie's mother assured her, and Maleya nodded, hands on her knees as she tried to regain her composure. She hadn't realized it, but her tears were involuntarily escaping from shock. Her hands were shaking. She needed her medication soon.
When she felt able to speak, she stood up straight again. "There was an animal. Like a bear, but bigger. I have no idea what it was," she tried to explain, hurriedly.
"Yes, the boys told us. We called the police and they're sending a ranger over. But how did you get out of there?" Joanna asked, and Maleya shook the mace in her hand in explanation.
It was then Jack realized that Maleya's mother had not uttered a word. Had she not been worried, too? he wondered, and froze when he caught the expression on the darker woman's face.
She was angry.
"David, go inside," Myriam told her son, who looked up in alarm but then nodded his head at the sight of his mother's enraged features. Mrs. Bennett caught on, too, and worriedly told her son to go home to his napping sister.
When the three women were alone, Maleya's mother's voice shook as she spoke to her.
"I see what you're doing, you irresponsible bitch!" Myriam spat out, her voice quiet but vibrating with anger. "I should never have trusted my son in your miserable care. You only bring trouble wherever you go. If you want to kill yourself, go ahead, but don't drag little children into this!" the last clause was louder and both Jack and Mrs. Bennett stared at the older woman with mouths wide open. Maleya barely flinched. She tried to plead with her mother, instead.
"Mom, I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't think there would be something out there!" she bargained, but her mother took a step forward and raised her hand, like she was about to slap the girl.
"Hey!" Jack yelled, suddenly angry at the realization, but it wasn't his wind that stopped her hand. Mrs. Bennett had caught the older woman's arm and was trying to give her a gentle smile.
"We're all shaken up by the incident. The ranger is coming to my house, so why don't I take Maleya to talk to him while you let what happened sink in," Mrs. Bennett suggested. That earned her a glare and a stiff nod as Maleya's mother followed David's footsteps into the house.
"You didn't have to do that," Maleya spoke softly, but Mrs. Bennett just gave her a pat on the head.
"You just saved my son's life," she explained softly. "Of course, I had to do something. Now, let's get you inside and give you a hot cup of tea."
Jack followed after them into the neighbouring house.