Retainers

Chapter One: Running Without A Purpose

"No, that means you can't stay anywhere." Criselda stood up and walked into the kitchen. "I'm not asking you to do this for me." Her tone was softer now. "We're talking about your future. Nero, what are you so afraid of that you're willing to kill yourself instead of facing it?"

"I'm not afraid." Nero faced her, pointing the plate at her, then turned back to the sink, realizing he might have sounded like he was deflecting. "Anyway, I'm not the only one. Tons of people are fed up with the Peace Corps. This is the only thing we can do to stop them and actually help people."

Criseldas' eyes widened. "We? Who is this we? You don't even have any friends. Is the Peace Corps the reason why?" Her words too honest, she knew before they left her lips, echoed in his expression. He gave a weak shrug, as she put up her hands, a gesture of apology for her hysterics. She had gone too far in her desperation. "Nero, you only met them one time. Those people don't represent the entire Corps. I was once a member of the Peace Corps, remember?"

"Yeah, and you were the exception. They tried to arrest me... a child! While my friends were dying!" Mustering all of his self-control, Nero placed his plate in the sink with restraint. "I read the news. They've done worse, and it's not in the papers you read, where they control the reporters. If the entire body, all but one finger, is stricken with sickness, is the person sick or well?" He stormed past her toward the door, stopping with his hand on the door knob. "I'm doing this." He whispered slamming the door behind him.

Criselda burst out a moment later. The sun reflected off her blonde hair pulled up into a bun as she yelled out of the front door of their small, out-of-the-way cottage. "Nero! Where do you think you're going?! We're not done talking. Get back here and clean up this mess!"

The cottage resided on a small patch of grass next to a stream in the woods. The trees around it had been uprooted to make a plot for the home, and that same wood was utilized to build the cottage itself.

Nero strolled out on the path in front of the cottage. His small, stiff, flat-top afro bobbing from side to side with each step.

This argument was one of two since they escaped to the Shuri forest. This conversation, like the last was a turning point. Similar to her teachable moments but marked by their impasse-like natures. There had been very few times in his life where she was not yelling at him, and it had come to the point that the quieter she got, the more he heard. Finding himself listening more intently. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, so of course, he didn't hear shit.

As he traveled out of reach of Criseldas' ear-bleeding voice, he made it to his destination. He had spent most of his life in the wilder wilderness, where around every corner, there was something deep to fall into. Dark and sticky at the bottom, full of the bones and decaying carcasses of large beasts.

Ten paces in every direction, a new dangerous beast never recorded in history, due to the discoverer never getting more than the opportunity to discover the inside of the beast's mouth or to sample a large dose of its exceptionally potent venom or poisonous miasma. So, aware of these dangers, Nero had charted and re-charted the furthest edge to the center of the Shuri forest to avoid these threats. The path he charted today led him to a large mountain jetted up to the side, creating a cliff that overlooked one of the many giant lakes.

He approached the base, brushed his hands on his pants, and climbed the humongous rough, rocky crag. His eyes glazing over as if he was getting ready to brush his teeth after rolling out of bed, and all the disinterest was clear on his face. His eyelids drooped almost closed from boredom. He made it to the top of the cliff, climbing without using his legs to give himself some sort of challenge, which stopped being challenging halfway up, as usual. He walked over to the opposite edge of the mountain that looked out over the lake, so large, in fact, that the curve of the planet prevented him from seeing the other side. He sighed before jumping off the cliff with his expression still unchanged and ambivalent as to whether this was dangerous anymore. His accomplishments stripped away the fear that led to the thrill. He was now comfortable and aware of his limits. His mind wandered as he plummeted, reminiscing when Criselda had to force him to jump. He smiled as he remembered the first time, she pushed him off the edge, then for a week, teased him for how he screamed as he fell.

Splash. He surfaced and glided through the water. Each stroke from his arms and kick of his legs sliced his body through the choppy waves until there was almost no resistance. He didn't know how to swim then, and she knew that but it was his idea for her to train him, so.

He dove under the surface and kicked upwards, bursting out and landing onto the shore's edge. With a roll, he popped up to his feet and ran deep into the forest. Swapping out the bicycling for rock climbing, he had created his own triathlon. Eventually, he dried himself off and continued until he began to break a sweat. He came across a stream where there stood make-shift workout equipment made up of boulders tied to ropes hanging from the low and high branches of trees. After meditating, he worked out by hopping from one workout station to the next. The process was ingrained in his system and was second nature now.

When he finished his routine, he had a good sweat going again, so he calmed down and did some light stretches. As he stretched, the animals in the forest began to gather. They watched him from a safe distance but slowly closed in on him, collectively noticing a presence in the forest. Staying low to the ground and remaining stealthy, still slowly getting closer, some small and poisonous, some larger and ferocious.

Nero felt the atmosphere change. He glanced up towards the surrounding trees from one tree to the next. He looked back down and continued stretching, then noticed a familiar foul odor.

A squirrel flew between the trees and ran smack into Nero's face.

"Oh hey, you could have said something." His voice muffled by its fur as he yanked it off. "Oh yeah, you don't talk." More of the animals emerged from the forest. Each nestling next to him and affectionately mouthing and licking him. Although they were once a part of the effort to make him another victim of the extra cruel nature of the forest, now fully indoctrinated into his club, his only friends.

"I was just going to go for another run. Wanna come?" Nero asked. They looked blankly at him and waited for him to do something because that's the only thing they could understand, his actions.

He broke off into a full sprint, leaving them behind as the trees passed as brown, shapeless blurs. A moment later, the animals caught up to his speed in full chase. Some animals swung through trees, while some kicked up dust clouds from the dry dirt of the forest. As the leaders of the chase caught up, they launched themselves towards Nero, and at the very last moment, he narrowly but effortlessly dodged. One of the feline creatures with the muscle definition of a tiger and floppy ears like a dog ran past him, hooked and cut him off, now heading straight for him. He jumped over and onto the beast's back, propelled himself upward, and grabbed onto a branch, tactfully missing some of the apes that launched themselves at him. He swung forward, let go, then spun and grabbed back onto the branch. Swinging himself back in the opposite direction, the animals tumbled over one another, trying to catch him.

He catapulted towards a tree trunk, landed on it, kicked off, and leaped through the air. His moves were too slow as he was tagged on his foot by an animal while reaching for the next branch and spun out of control, tumbling through the air and rolling in the dirt.

The animals rushed over and climbed on top of him.

While underneath the rabble of forest animals, he pondered, "What am I really doing here? Does Criselda think I will live in this forest forever?" He sighed and looked up at the underside of the canopy of trees as the sun showered the forest floor with slivers of gold and white rays. "It's so exhausting living a purposeless life."

"Okay, you got me. Now get your shitty asses off of me... the only friends I have, so dirty. They say the company you keep says a lot about you. Well, at least that's what I read. It isn't loose. You guys are quotable."

A roar vibrated through the forest, shaking the leaves and getting the animals' attention. They all turned their attention to the sound but didn't get off of Nero.

He sat up, sending them sprawling in different directions.

"That didn't sound good," he said.