Zenocide ~ Teaser

Chapter 5 - Old Family Ties

He stood bathed in moonlight, knee-deep in a mirrored pool of water large enough to be called a lake and yet somehow perfectly secluded and almost swallowed up by the forest canopy. Only a sliver of moonlight illuminated the bank and half the body of water the rest lie in total darkness just waiting for him to sink deeper. 

The small pile of things Phay had given him now lay off to one side, displayed on the bent trunk of a fallen tree as though he was prepared to wash yet he didn't move any further into the water, he wasn't ready. Images assaulted him, flickering across the corners of his peripheral vision yet he ignored them, he had to. He couldn't keep living like this. Constantly afraid of the past, all the things he had lost and could lose again. Orion knew he needed something to help him face his fears and yet also knew no matter what it was he craved, he had to eventually do this alone. Slowly he crept closer, sliding his feet one after the other deeper into the water, until he was waist deep and could go no further without drowning under the pressure, already his chest felt tight and he couldn't breathe, slowly he edged backwards towards the overhanging tree branches, eager to be near something other than his own demons. He reached for a bar of soap in his small pile of things, his senses fully alert in case of ambush, before returning to the depths. 

This time Orion sucked in a deep breath, swallowing his fears as he ran, diving headlong into the darkness. The black water immediately embraced him and he swam the length and breadth of the lake, as fast as he could, before slowly returning to his starting position. Waist deep again and feeling slightly less anxious about being surrounded by water, he began washing himself. It had been a long time since he'd been able to do something so luxurious for himself, and he relaxed a little more, his guard slipping a little further as the tension slowly faded from his aching body.

Suddenly a rustle in the bushes caught his attention and Orion sank beneath the water, watching from underneath a glass-like ceiling as the ripples above him calmed and the water once again became still. It was only one of Phay's curious pets though, sniffing about as though it had a right to know exactly who and what he was, annoyed mostly by his lack of focus Orion returned to cleaning the layers of filth off himself. Phay's pet his only companion now that the moon had disappeared behind some clouds, by the time he finished it was a few hours until sunrise and Orion was cold and tired, though thoroughly clean for a change and it felt good to be somewhat back to normal after prison life had stripped him of so much. In his cramped cell, he couldn't wash or shave himself. He was virtually left to rot, out of sight and out of mind of those, who had no knowledge of what to do with him. He didn't mind. At least he hadn't for a long time, it allowed him to wallow in his own guilty mind, blaming himself for the things he could have changed and would have done differently if he'd had his time again. None of it mattered now though, he was free to do as he pleased. Though it constantly haunted him and he could never forget it, right now he could do anything he liked. And right now he needed Eva.

He needed some sort of civilised conversation, where he didn't need to hide who or what he was, and where he could more or less be himself without fear or pretence. Contacting Eva wouldn't be easy though, she lived in the middle of nowhere, and he didn't have a phone, let alone the fact Phay herself lived in the middle of a forest without any sign of civilisation apart from her ramshackle home. Not that he minded in the slightest. Besides, he wasn't really in the mood for conversations anyway. He just needed to know where the son of a bitch was, the horrid creature who'd taken away everything and Eva would know where it was. She knew everything. He finished washing and dressed without incident, the burning desire to kill the thing that had hurt him, was still driving him forwards. It numbed all else. Hefting the pile of dirty laundry, towel and all over his shoulder, Orion picked his way along the thin animal track back to Phay's Shack. He was a little surprised to see her still waiting for him inside, it must have been late though as she reluctantly yawned, hiding it behind a hand before beaming in her usual friendly way.