They Are Not Human

Chapter 7

The next morning I awoke to the birds chirping happily in the trees; it was like they could sense the happiness in the air.  There was an undeniable change that had happened inside me, and gave me a whole new perspective on life.  For once I was eager to see what the future had in store for me.  Rescuing my dad was still my priority, but now I had another goal.  Now I was willing to poor my heart and soul into the boy with a dark past.

Glancing up at Jakove  I noticed he was still fast asleep.  His lips were slightly parted, and his arms wrapped around me like vines clinging to a tree.  Lying here with him by my side was pure happiness, and I wanted to soak up every moment of it. Eventually he startles awake looking disoriented, but after a moment seems to remember where he's at.  "Hi" he says sleepily, stroking my cheek with his hand.

"Good morning," I say my voice soft.  Idly I begin to trace my fingers along his forearm, allowing them to glide over the harsh indents the tattoos had left on his skin. 

Jakove immediately stops my hand, and brings my fingers up to his lips to give them a soft kiss.  "What?"  I ask sensing that I was crossing some unknown boundary by touching them.

At first, he doesn't say anything; I think he was debating on how honest he wanted to be with me.  "I think I owe it to you to be honest." He says, his icy blue eyes intent. 

If we were being honest with each other we had been through way too much together to be keeping secrets now.  What are you hiding now Jakove? "I think you do too" I say a little bit smugger than I intended.  

"It's that feisty attitude that I adore." He chuckles at my bluntness.  "So where to begin?" he asks as he mindlessly plays with a strand of my hair.

"From the beginning" I say impatient.

Sighing loudly he agrees "Yeah, that's probably a good place. Well" he says continuing on searching for the right words.  "The truth of matter is, is I didn't get these tattoos because I thought they looked cool, or whatever it was I told you.  The real reason is actually more...complex.... sinister."

Sinster? How much more sinister could his story get than admitting he killed people?  There was obviously more to Jakove than met the eye, but I guess I already knew that.  "Sinster?" I ask confused.

Jakove nods his head sadly.  "I mentioned last night that people in my past had made me kill, but there's more to it than that.  You see, I was born with a power unlike anything humanity has ever witnessed.   Legend states that the Mangata gave me this ability."

"The Mangata?" I ask urging for more information.  I had never heard of anything like that.

"Yes, he's a sacred God who was said to give power to those that he favored.  Many people, including my parents, didn't understand why I was chosen.  I guess at the end of the day it didn't matter.  All that mattered was I had this power, and they wanted to use it for themselves."

Once again my heart hurt for Jakove.  All his life he had been taken advantage of.  I knew he was too good of a person to kill callously on his own.  "What is this power?" I ask.

"It's hard to explain" Jakove says rubbing his brow.  "The best way to explain it is like I have two identities.  The first identity has morals, and a sense of what is right or wrong. It's the identity that I am projecting to you right now. The second identity however is the Mangata side of me.  This side of me is emotionless, but also very calculated in the art of killing.  When I give myself over to the Mangata, his power takes over my body, and I am automatically quicker, stronger, and all my other abilities are enhanced.  I am the ultimate killing machine".

A chill runs up my spine, and I feel my body kick into panic mode, but I didn't shy away from him.  All his life people had turned their backs on him and used him for everything that he was worth.  I reach up and gently place my hand on his cheek stroking it with my thumb, letting him know I was there for him.