“So, anything to say.”
“You talk too much.”
“Talking is the greatest form of unication, so thank you.”
After a moment of silence, I ask Orb, “Why are y to help Cole.”
“So, you’re finally using his name.”
“Just answer me.”
“I simply think leaving him to die is just too sad, so I won’t let it happen, simple as that.”
“You’re a strange one.”
“Thanks for the pliment. You are just yering on the praise.”
“I am not praising you, moron. It seems you o learn what a pliment is.”
“Now you’re trying to insult me to keep up that bad attitude. I am like a virus; even if you don’t want me in your system, I find a way to get in.”
After a moment of silence, Orb says, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, simply because of what happeo your parents.”
“How the hell do you know about that!”
“I have been spending lots of time with all the vilgers, so of course the epidemic would e up.”
“You have spent your time in our vilge well, you have done quite a substantial study of the vilge. Is that how you have sneaked into my people’s hearts, using the information you have gaio manipute them.”
Orb then looks at me as if he ’t believe my words, “You ’t stop with the pliments today. Should I take this as an apology”
“Do I look like I am joking!”
“No, you look like an idiot with a bunch of broken bones. Do you really think I have pnned out all my as since I met Maple? You find the idea that I am an evil genius whose sole reason for being here is to do something, for some reason is somehow easier for you to believe than what I told you, and if I were that smart, no way an idiot like you would ever e close to finding out what my pn was.”
Begin taken aback by his words, all I could think to say was, “You’re the stupid one.”
“Idiot.”
“Dunce.”
“Dulrd.”
“Ninpoop.”
We tio insult each other bad forth, until we hear a thundering roar. Looking in the dire it came from, we see three ats eaters. This isn’t good.
Instantaneously, Orb with me on his bad runs at full speed away from the eaters, using the trees as cover. Orb has a panicked look on his face as he runs.
My thoughts run wild, trying to figure out a way from this situation: I ’t fight in my current dition, and any vigorous movements I make might cause sting damage to my body, and Orb ’t fight them without a spear. It would have been hard in a two-on-one, but their three of them, so all we do was run.
If I remember, there is a marker somewhere here. We could use that to return to the vilge, but I ’t do that in my current state, and I ’t show Orb the secret to entering. So, with the eaters gaining on us, the only choice is to die here with Orb. That is much better thaing him find out.
If I aim my body correctly, I should be able to jump from Orb’s bato the mouth of aer, with that I go out in one fell swoop, rather than be mauled to death. As one approach, I try to line my body up with its open mouth so I could jump in.
But as I try to jump off Orb’s back, I remember everything I have ever experienced, and then I stop. My body won’t move, it won’t jump. This isn’t happening due to my current physical state; I am just hesitant about dying.
What’s wrong with me? I was ready to kill for my vilge but not die. I o stop being a fool and move. I then my resolve. So, I think back to what everyo to me repeatedly in my head, jump, jump, jump. Until I feel my grip lose, but as I am about to leap off his back, Orb’s grip strengthens.
Then Orb says, “I know the situation is scary, but hold on tight. I will get you through this alive.”
“There is no way you will outrun them.”
“Of course not, but if I ’t outrun them, I just have to get them to slow down.”
Orb then turns around and runs at the tree Ats eaters, “This might hurt a bit,” he tells me as he approaches. As he runs toward the eater in front of the other two, it lu us, but Orb slides u. The sudden movement causes my broken boo hurt even more.
Now in the tre of all three eaters, they stand up on their feet and start swinging their arms at us. Has one mad? Are we going to get crushed? But fwlessly, he dodges all eighteen arms with me on his back.
How is this possible? He struggled to dodge one. Now he is avoiding three with me on his back, and his movement are still normal. He hasn’t reached the same point as the rest of the adult warriors and me, damnit.
Eventually, the two eaters in front of us get tired aurn to beiupled.
Orb then says, “Get ready and brace yourself,” as he runs forward, the eater behind us tries to smash us with its paw, while the two in front of us lunge ahead, trying to bite us. Orb dodges all three attacks, causing the two which lu us to crash into the one behind us.
“It worked, Orb said to me.”
“They’re going to catch up in no time,” I say, but as I look back, I see the three eaters fighting. “What is happening.”
“Ats eaters tend to work together, but any little thing set them off to fight each other to the death. This is why you should research everything about your targets, because you ’t overwhelm them with your strength every time.”
So, Orb runs at full speed, as far aossible, his face clearly shows his exhaustion, still he runs without stopping, but eventually, Orb stops and throws me off.
“What are you doing.”
“Their fight is over. It should be approag us now.”
“How would you know that.”
“Ever since I woke up, I have been feeling sharper, and I hear big footsteps ing our way.”
“We could tio run, it will probably give up on us eventually.”
“Ats eaters never let their prey go when it spots them, and with it just killing the other two, I bet it’s hungry, so there is no point in running away.”
“So, you pn to use me as bait as you run away.”
With a disappointed look on his face, “I would’ve dohat earlier if that was my pn. I am going to distract it. You should go find some way back to the vilge.”
As Orb beings to walk off, I say, “Why would you do this for me.”
“You have no iion of leading me anywhere close to the vilge even at the expense of your own life, so at least this way one of us survive, and there is still a good ce I get this eater to fall off a cliff or something.”
“But that still doesn’t make sense. Using me as bait, you could try and find a rescue party. I tried to kill you. Wouldn’t that only be fair.”
“You haven’t listeo a word I have said. My goal in life is to die feeling pletely fulfilled, so s. If I don’t like doing something, I won’t do it.
And unlike me you have people who will mourn your death, so goodbye AND NAME YOUR FIRST-BORN ORB!”
So, Orb runs off away from my site.
Φ My muscles throb, my bones ache, I am out of breath, and I feel like I am about to topple over any sed, but if I am going to be a decoy, I am going to be the best ever. So, as I hear the stomps get louder and louder, I head towards that dire, and I see the eater luowards me; as always, I dodge under, but after that, the eater starts attag randomly. There is no pattern to it.
The injuries it sustained from its battle have made it incredibly angry, so I o longer read its movement. I barely dodge as the attacks e, but my body’s stant pain is slowing me down. I have no time to formute a pn because if I don’t use my fully tration, I will be squished.
So, I tio dodge, but one of my legs froze in a single instance, and I was sent flying by one of its paws. I let out an ear-pierg scream as I grab my arm in pain. The bones in it were shattered as I tried to get up; I saw the eater lunging toward me. I feel certaih ing towards me, but I am not afraid. This feeling isn’t fn to me. It’s almost familiar like I’ve died before, so my body pletely rexes as if preparing to be eaten.
“BRACE YOURSELF,” is what I hear as I am tackled out of the eater’s way. As I look to see who attacked me, I see Buloke.
“What are you doing here? I left you so at least one of us would live.”
“I will need you to shut up while I focus.”
Buloke holding onto me with one arm, lunges forward with his good leg.
“You idiot, yoing to damage your body with vigorous movement like that, and you don’t even want me alive, so at least let me die with purpose.”
As he lunges forward with his leg, he tells me, “You’re a threat no matter how I look at you; that’s all I see. You briru to everything I love, and that’s a fact, but you are also a kind person that has only helped everyone in the vilge that’s also a fact.
You could be an evil genius who masterminded everything here, but you could also be a good-natured person. I ’t just see the parts I want to about your presence; I o see you as a whole; I have eyes, but I haven’t been looking.”
He lunges forward more and more while having a pained expression. “Sht here, right now, I have decided to trust you,” he says this as he stops.
“Orb, I will show you how to get into the vilge, so I need you to pick me up and follow my instrus.”
So as the ats eater approaches, I pick him up with one arm onto my back.
“o up to that tree, that is a marker.”
The tree Buloke pointed out had no snow surrounding it and was the only green tree I had seen. Having no energy to get excited, I went up to it and followed his instrus.
“Using the tree as your starting point, hop eight times on your left foot, then four times on yht, then take ten stomps in a semi-circle and stly, run and take eight steps and jump up o one.”
So as the ats eater runs towards us, I follow his instrus, but as I get to the st part, the ats eater gets extraordinarily close, but I jump and nd.
After pleting the st step and turning around, I see the vilge from the same cliff Maple showed me the first time. “What happened? Where is the eater? How are we here.”
“I don’t uand the full reason behind it, but the space around our vilge is a bit messed up, so if you try to walk straight towards it you will end oher side, so from certain markers which show us where space starts to be messed up if you follow a certain path you will be transported to the vilge.”
After Buloke told me that, we headed down to the vilge, and everyone was happy to see we were ok. They had recovered Willow and were out looking for us. Hearing that willow was OK was the final thing I was worried about, so I passed out unscious.
-Break-
As I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard was.
“Orb, your awake”, willow says.
“Oh, how are you doing.”
“Well, I have had three days to recover, so I have been doing fine.”
“Wait, THREE DAYS!”
“You’ve been out for a while.”
While panig, I ask him, “What happen to Buloke.”
Willow then tells me that he came forward about what happened, how he tried to kill me, and showed me the entrao the vilge. For all this, he was thrown in prison, with his punishment to be decided ter.
“So how does falling off a cliff feel like.”
“Not fun, like how I found out I just lost three days of my life.”
“That sounds fun, you got to sleep for three days straight. That sounds like a dream.”
“Well, it’s not. My arms and legs are killing me.”
“Speaking of that, what happens to all your scars.”
“What do you mean.”
“When the Oren atg you up. All the training scares on the right side of your body were gone, and I am pretty sure scars don’t heal.”
I take a sed to examihe right side of my body ahat all my scars are gohey’re all still on the left side though, maybe it has something to do with me waking up on the right side after falling down the cliff.”
“Hey Orb, why do you look sad.”
“Those scars made me look like a warrior, and now they are all gohis is unfair.”
“I’ve never heard someone who survives falling down a cliff say life is unfair. But I have an idea of something that could cheer you up.”
-Break-
Φ So, this is how it feels to be in a prison cell without knowing if you will be alive tomorrow. I guess this I what I deserve for what I did. At the very least, Oren bothered to care for a criminal like me.
I should accept my fate. I hear footsteps. This must be my food being delivered. As I look to see who it would be, I see both Orb and Willow.
“Oh, I feel better already.”
“What do you want.”
“I have humbly e to deliver you food.”
“Whatever, give it here.”
“That’s not how you ask for things. Show me some manners, and put some real spirit behind it.”
I begrudgingly say, “May I, a criminal, get my food served to me, please.”
“Perfect,” then Orb open my cell, and he and willow e in.
“What are you doing.”
“Willow here is going to feed you. I doubt you eat by yourself with all your injuries.”
“I will manage, so get out.”
“What’s with all the hostility? Haven’t you accepted I am not suspicious.”
“No, I haven’t. You are still suspicious, so I ’t fully trust that you won’t cause trouble for us if you leave here, so all I have to do is make you stay here forever.”
“Sorry, but there is a zero per t ce that will happen.”
“We will see about that.”
Name: Bul
Age: 21
Birthday: Taurus 1st
Hair: brownish e
Eyes: red
Height: 192cm
Likes: vilge hunting flowers
Dislikes: outsiders
