Chapter 4: Bubbles
Morning came, and for breakfast, I had some of the berries I saved. I shared some with Kohaku and Senku, right after he made sure they weren't poisonous. Afterwards, the three of us began walking through the forest. Kohaku was leading, with me and Senku following.
As we walked, Senku explained what had been happening: After that green light hit, and everyone was turned to stone, we were stuck like that for over three thousand years! All technology, and everything we knew, had faded away to nothing but a memory! I had a little panic attack at that knowledge, but I was able to recover.
What I also learned was that Senku had counted the entire time while he was turned to stone! Every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, he had counted it all in his head!
He then explained his mission: he was starting the 'Kingdom of Science', and attempting to bring back the modern age of technology. He had already been 'un-stoned' for about a year, along with his best friend, and his best friend's girlfriend. Senku also explained the identity of Tsukasa, the man in the lion pelt: he was an MMA fighter who wanted to create a world where only the strong survived. He also had killed Senku, who was brought back to life with some kind of fluid that could 'un-stone' people, and also heal them.
"Wow, now that's an impressive story." I said, my tone amazed.
"Yeah, I guess." Senku replied, his tone indifferent. "Now, what's your story?"
As we began climbing up a rocky hill, I told my story: how I was over in Japan when the green light came, how I was trapped in that stone, how I got out, how I spent my first couple of days having trouble, how I encountered Tsukasa, I told everything.
"I'm willing to work hard and help." I said, as we reached the top of the hill. "I'm strong, but I'm also smart; not as smart as you, Senku, but I can be pretty knowledgeable. And, my special skill is I'm a writer; I can write and tell stories, and I remember a lot of stuff too. All I want to do is find three simple things: a Bible, a Torah, and my family."
Now you're probably wondering, why I'm needing to find a Torah as well, all of a sudden? Well, the Torah is God's laws to his people, and you need that in order to understand the Bible. Basically, if you have one without the other, it's gets pretty confusing. So, I need those two, if I'm going to bring the knowledge of God into this foreign world.
"Find a Bible and a Torah, huh?" Senku asked. "I take it your religious."
"Not exactly, as religion is of men, and I choose to live according to God's word." I replied. "It may seem cliche to you, but that's way I am."
"No, it's not cliche to me. I have no want to fight against the power that is; all I want to do is restore the world with science. And if your beliefs are able to help me in my quest for knowledge, I'll get down on my knees and start praying. Sadly, I think it's ten billon percent unlikely you'll find a Bible, or a Torah, in this time and place."
"What I'm hoping is that some guy left a time capsule or something here, before the world's people were turned to stone. It's a long shot, yes, but I'm hoping that it'll come true."
"If you two are done talking, we can head to my village." said Kohaku, coming over and carrying a large pot of water.
"Hot springs water?" Senku asked.
"Yeah, it has healing capabilities." Kohaku replied. "I'm bringing it back to the village for a bath."
"A bath?" I asked. "But, as far as I can see, you look pretty healthy."
"Actually, it's for my sister." Kohaku replied, her tone quiet. "She's been sick for a long time, and the healing bath makes her feel better. Honestly, I feel kind of guilty for being so healthy; I wish I could switch bodies with her."
Kohaku began walking away with the large pot of water, as Senku and I followed her down a hill.
"Looks to me like that jar holds less than fifty liters." said Senku. "That's not enough to fill a bath. I wonder how often you have to lug that thing back and forth. Every single day, right?"
Kohaku chuckled and replied, "I made it a part of my daily training; thanks to it, I'm a lot stronger. I know I was complaining earlier, but honestly, I'm thankful for-"
Suddenly, Kohaku's leg gave way, and she fell! Instantly, Senku and I rushed to her aid; I caught and held her, while Senku held the jar up, keeping it from spilling.
"In case you've forgotten, a tree fell on you yesterday." Senku spoke. "I can't have you overexerting yourself and then dying on me, so hand it over."
A solemn look came over Kohaku's face, and she replied in a kind tone, "Thanks, Senku…"
Having been crushed by the pot of water, Senku made me carried it, as we walked through the forest. It actually wasn't that heavy, which made me wonder if Senku was physically weak.
"Am I the only one in this stone world who's not practically a gorilla?" Senku groaned, as we walked along.
"A gorilla?!" Kohaku asked, her tone angered. "I actually prefer being called a lioness to that!"
"Yeah, you are as pretty and strong as one." I added, as I carried the pot of water.
Kohaku's expression turned to surprise, and then she began blushing; she probably hadn't been complimented like that before. Gosh, I couldn't get over how pretty she was…
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"We're heading back to my village." Kohaku replied.
"Oh. Hey, do you have a tailor in your village? I need something other than this leaf and vine loincloth to wear."
"Yes, we do have a tailor, and I can get you some clothes from her."
"Nice. Think she can make me a hoodie?"
"A what?" Kohaku asked, her tone confused.
"A hoodie. You know, a jacket with a hood?"
"Hey, David." said Senku, his tone quiet. "I don't think she's one of us, figuratively speaking."
"What do you mean?" I asked, quieting my tone as well.
"If you notice, Kohaku doesn't have stone markings." Senku replied. "There must've been people who were freed before us, and she's one of their descendants."
"Oh, so that explains why she didn't know what I was talking about."
"Senku, David, look!" Kohaku called out, running out of the forest.
We followed her out of the forest, to the edge of a cliff, and saw the village! The village was made out of several huts, including one large one, and it had several villagers who were going about their day. To our amazement, they were actual living, breathing people, bearing no black marks (or stone markings, as Senku called them) like ours.
"We're here; welcome to my village." Kohaku spoke.
"Wow!" I said, my tone amazed. "How many people are in this village?"
"About forty." Kohaku replied. "Not counting the children or retirees."
"Kohaku and the others apparently don't know anything about modern technology." Senku said to himself. "So they must be descendants of people that were revived a long time ago, maybe a hundred years of so. Maybe someone back then discovered an earlier version of the revival fluid, but I don't see any of it, or any scientific knowledge passed down. So, where did all these people come from?"
I heard Senku talk to himself, and I wondered it myself as well. Maybe there were people who didn't get turned to stone, and they had descendants? I honestly didn't know, and frankly, I probably should leave all the science-y stuff to Senku; he knows a lot more than me in that field.
The three of us made it to the village bridge, and we were just about to walk over it. When suddenly-
AUGH!
Out of nowhere, two guys came rushing at Senku and I with their spears! We probably would've been skewered, if Kohaku didn't jump in and knock their spears away! The two guards then quickly moved back, and Kohaku stood against them!
"There's no need for all of that, Kinro and Ginro." Kohaku replied, her tone authoritative. "These two are my friends; one saved my life, the other helped carry the water."
The two guys must've been guards, which would explain the spears. One was tall, with dark brown hair, hard looking eyes, fair skin, and a scar on his cheek. His clothing was a sleeveless dark blue tunic, dark blue pants with a tan rope belt, and sandals that were made out of stone.
The other was small and weaselly, with long blonde hair, nervous looking eyes, and fair skin. His clothing was similar to the other guard, except he had short sleeves on his tunic.
"Great news." The blonde spoke, his voice soft sounding. "But you should know that we can't break the rules; under no circumstances are outsiders allowed into the village; the chief's going to be angry with you."
"It's a simple fact." The brown-haired guard added. "Rules are the rules."
As I placed the pot of water down on the ground, I noticed that both their eyes were green. And considering the way they acted, I could guess that they were brothers: The blonde was the younger, while the brown-haired was the older.
"There are no outsiders allowed in the village." The younger brother continued. "Because all outsiders are criminals who were banished by the chief."
"Therefore, you can't come in." The older brother added. "Even if they helped you, we can't make exceptions. Especially for half-naked strangers wearing nothing but leaves and vines."
I knew he was talking about me, and I became self-conscious about my current state. Sadly, there was no where for me to hide, and I turned somewhat red from embarrassment.
"Then you leave me no choice." Kohaku spoke, her voice sounding both sinister and playful. "We'll have to battle it out, right here and now. But there's only two of you, and one of me; that should put me at a major disadvantage."
A scared look came over the younger brother's face, and the older brother looked as if he was just threatened! My embarrassment left, and I smiled a little at their reactions, cause they had this coming.
Senku chuckled and then walked over to the pot of water, pulling something out his pocket. It was a squared-shape block, and it was colored grey and yellow.
"We really did walked into the lion's den." Senku spoke, his tone humorous, as he put his hand in the pot of water. "You're all growling and snarling at each other."
With his soaked hand, Senku began rubbing the block, and foam started forming! It was a block of soap; Senku had made soap!
"Sorcery!" Kohaku spoke, her tone amazed.
"Nah, it ain't sorcery." I replied, the smile still on my face, as I stood beside Kohaku. "Just some good, clean soap for you. Ah, it brings back memories."
Senku then made a ring with his fingers, and blew some air. Instantly, bubbles started coming out and floating into the air! The two brother guards looked shocked, as they probably had never seen bubbles before! The older brother tried stabbing a bubble, but it popped, much to his surprise!
"What's happening?!" The younger brother asked. "What's with these floating orbs in the sky?!"
I looked over at Senku; he was itching his ear, and he had a rather annoyed look on his face.
"Wow…" Senku spoke, his tone mocking. "So that's your level, eh?"
I laughed at his reaction, and then caught a bubble in the palm of my hand. It stayed there, and I showed it to Kohaku, who looked at with an amazed expression. Just like the guard brothers, she also had probably never seen bubbles before either.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt you." I said, my tone kind. "It's called a bubble."
Kohaku leaned a little closer, and the bubble popped! A confused look came over her face when that happened, and I couldn't help but grin. The two of us then looked over at Senku, who had a rather creepy looking smile on his face!
"Well, I guess this is going to be no problem at all!" said Senku, his tone sound villainous. "I'm going to get all these villagers on my side with science! Nothing like having brains and a small army at your side! It's time to get excited!"
"You're sounding pretty creepy right now." Kohaku replied, her tone concerned. "Maybe don't get ahead of yourself?"
"Yeah, you're acting a little out of it, dude." I added, my tone concerned as well.
"HEY CHROME! IT'S SORCERY!" The younger brother yelled out, running from the bubbles.
"Yeah, yeah…" An unamused, male voice replied from out of nowhere. "Will you quit freaking out, Ginro?"
Okay, so the blonde is Ginro, and the brown-haired is Kinro; now I know who's who, so to speak.
Senku, Kohaku, and I turned to see the owner of the voice: it was a teenaged boy, about Senku's age, with brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. His clothing consisted of a rope around his head, a dark blue tunic, a tan rope belt, dark blue pants, stone sandals, a cape that was dark blue in color, and two brown satchels.
"I'm the one called Chrome!" said the boy, his voice confident. "Bad and insanely smart! I'm the genius sorcerer of the village!"
I walked over to Senku, leaned over, and said quietly, "So, I guess whatever science they don't understand, they label it as sorcery?"
"Apparently." Senku replied, his tone quiet as well. "None of the sorcery we're dealing with has to do with magic; it's just pure and simple science."
"Which none of these people know of."
"Exactly…"
"But, why do I get the feeling that this guy is a lower-grade version of you?"
"Because he probably is."
Kohaku chuckled and said, "Well, looks like we won't have to track him down. Senku, David, that's Chrome."
"So he's a sorcerer, eh?" Senku asked, scratching his ear. "My name's Senku, and I'm a scientist. And this is David, the muscle."
The muscle? Wow, talk about a promotion! I was really moving up in this Kingdom of Science! And, I was sure that this little confrontation between Chrome and Senku was going to be quite the show. It was going to be 'Sorcery' versus Science!