Crazy is the Name of My Game

( 37 ) An Unlikely Hero

( 37 ) – An Unlikely Hero

Jason Greene

“Aren’t we there yet?” I asked for the millionth time. Arc had long learned to ignore me, and I was near the brink of throwing tantrums. I mean, does this guy never get hungry? Or tired? Or slightly thirsty? Is he even human? Is he some sort of android? “Geez, you should have teleported us somewhere near Len in the first place. Why do we have to walk? This isn’t even considered walking. We’re hiking. With no supplies! Dude, a flashlight could have helped!”

 My stomach was already trying to eat itself. Any minute now, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from picking the mushrooms growing near the invisible footpath that Arc was following. Edible or not. I was starving that much.

 With every step I took, my anger towards Len was getting bigger. Who could blame me. I couldn’t believe that he that much of an idiot! He let his dark side control him, for what? Because he wanted to be with a girl? Seriously? He could have any girl he wanted with a snap of a finger, but to actually go through this and endanger the lives of billions of people. I thought I was the stupid one. I thought I was the cursed romantic whose love life was doomed the moment I realized my girlfriend was in love with my best friend. That I was the one bound to grow old with cats in the attic because I admit, I’m scarred with Jensenn Tolentino dying like that.

Dear spirits, I wasn’t able to properly grieve for her yet. Drink alcohol till the club kicks me out. Hangout with pretty sluts who could never compare to my dead ex-girlfriend. Lock myself in my room and turn the speakers to max till my ears bleed. Break every piece of furniture I lay my hands on like I’m some sort of tornado. But no, fate had other plans. His oh so retarded Royal Highness had to go first in my what-to-do list. And to top it off, I wasn’t even convinced that Len’s decision was really that catastrophic. What can go wrong? If he’s happy with that ancient princess or the little freak or whoever she is, then all the better. Maybe, the world wouldn’t be as fucked up as today. Maybe he’s doing the future a favor.

And why was I even thinking about it? I’m just a normal person who happened to be pulled in this nasty mess. Geez, what a serious pain in the ass.

There was a sudden gust of wind to my right, and Arc abruptly stopped in front of me. Uh-oh. That meant danger. With tense muscles, I looked around, but there was nothing but trees, trees and more trees around us. Not to mention the too much stars shining down on us. The last time we last saw a soul was when we saw some farmers tending their farms. That was more than three hours ago. There was no moon, and that made this travel so much harder. Plus, I was freezing. My stomach grumbled in hunger again.

Arc remained unmoving. Perhaps, he’s cold as well. Still, exaggerated much?

"Saw something special?" I croaked, sounding very froggy with my parched throat. The shadows around us seemed to dance with the unusually strong gale. "Like a chipmunk with beer for example?"

"Hans," was all he said, his face losing more color. He could rival the paleness of the moon.

There was another gust of wind; only this time it was twice as strong. His eyes widened to the size of pancakes before he abruptly pulled me away from the mushroom footpath that we had been traveling on for the last three hours.

"Ugh." I landed sideways, and it wasn't something I'd try again. There was a slope and a rocky bottom, and though the decline wasn't especially steep, the landing I made was terrible. I wasn't able to break the fall with my hands, and my shoulder protested at the sharp pain. "You should have warned me, not yanked me!"

Arc was crouching beside me, unscathed, his attention elsewhere. He explained in low murmurs. "Hans is here. We were too close. He would have felt our presence if we didn't move away at the nick of time."