𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃

chapter seven - drown, demon, drown

"Whatdowedowhatdowedowhatdowedo?" Jalen exclaimed in one breath.

"Save your breath and keep running!" Lucas snapped.

"But we can't keep running forever, can we? There's no escaping this thing! We need to get rid of it for good," Jalen reasoned.

"How? You saw how many times I tried to stab it!" Jaron said.

"Weren't you guys part of the military? Isn't your whole thing trying to protect Wanumon from Jorviks?"

"You say that and you don't even know what Jorviks look like!" Lucas yelled.

"Exactly! That's what I'm leaving it up to you guys!"

Lucas racked his brain for an idea. He, Sarnia, Adam, Mera, and Luigi were never sent on missions to fight Jorviks, but the attacks were so common and brutal that everyone residing in the Capital had been caught up in at least one. He had heard of Reid participating in the defeat of a shadow-like Jorvik scaring off worshippers in a Kandai district temple, of Chamberland single-handedly taking down a fire Jorvik, and even witnessed one attacking a home in the Achox district. Jorviks were born from human fears and vices, so each time a Jorvik attached the people, it was countered with something that contrasted that fear or vice. Reid handled the shadow Jorvik by having her men surround it with candles, Chamberland used water against the fire Jorvik, and...

That was it.

Water.

Lucas made a sharp U-turn, reached his hand up, and pushed it through the sandstorm Jorvik.

"Lucas?!" Jalen called out.

"Go on without me!" Lucas yelled back.

Aggravated, the Jorvik chased after Lucas. Lucas didn't dare to look back. Not when the sand brushed against the nape of his neck, not when Jalen repeatedly yelled for him to come back, and not even when fear tightened around his heart. If he didn't do this, who would?

Lucas finally reached the river and slim his body around to face the Jorvik. "Come at me! I dare you, you useless gust of wind!"

The sandstorm charged at Lucas in rage. The young man shut his eyes and opened his mouth. The Jorvik re-entered Lucas' body with much more force than last time. He could feel the sand grate against his mouth, esophagus, maybe even his stomach, but he didn't dare fight back no matter how much it hurts. He let the sand into his body until there was nothing left to let in. Then and only then did he shut his mouth. He opened his eyes and saw Jalen and Jaron's figures in the trees running after him. He smiled softly before diving into the water.

Lucas turned his body over in the river to face the murky floor. He could feel the Jorvik squirming around in his innards now that it had realized the trap. The agitation inside him forced Lucas to hurl out the storm within him. It didn't matter. That was part of the plan. After Lucas expelled the demon of sand, water was the next thing to invade his body. It didn't matter. That was part of the plan.

Lucas was ready. Actually, he'd been ready about three or four days ago. But finally. This was really it: the end. Every now and then, Lucas would wonder what it would look like. Perhaps he'd be fast asleep, completely unaware of the desperate cries of his neighbours trying to alert him of the flames engulfing his home. Or maybe he'd die with honour while trying to save a fellow soldier on the battlefield. Or maybe he'd die in a way that could arguably be the best death: surrounded by the friends and family he made for himself over the years. He never once thought that it would be probable that he would die submerged in a river with a Jorvik made of sand and wind while on a mission for Vaessen.