I did not look back but kept running until I knew I had got the attention of the beast. Its enormous, scaly, lizard-like head appeared before me. It glared at me, as if it were searching my eyes, my soul. I could not move. I wished that I could have. With all my power and might, I wished I could have moved but I did not, neither did the Quimeeraa. It just continued to glare at me. Then it moved. Slowly. Ever so slowly its head began getting closer and closer and I could smell rotten and decaying flesh on its breath. It was disgusting. I almost gagged but held it in so that I could stay still and it would not see me as a threat. More so, in the hopes that if I were to stay quiet, it would not see me at all.
The creature came closer and its long tongue stretched out of its mouth and touched my face. I could not hold it in anymore. I felt it from my core, to my throat, pushing with all its might — everything from the morning and probably from the night before was spewed onto the great beast, covering its eyes and nostrils. It jolted back and slammed its head into the high ceiling. Rocks began to fall, narrowly missing my leg as I jumped out the way. A boulder-sized rock fell next, but I slid away from it, scarcely getting crushed by its gigantic weight.
I quickly picked myself off the rocky floor only to look up at a creature with eyes that shone like flames. It was then that I knew I was in trouble. The creature began waving its head from side to side as its tongue rolled from side to side; glaring at me with a ferocity I had seen only in the eyes of a great predator. I gripped both Guandao and stood still, waiting for the creature to strike. I began to feel the air near my neck stand on end, another fear response. I took in deep breaths and was able to calm my body down.
Another martial art technique my father had taught me so that my body would not just react. I did not want to lose control of my body and begin teleporting in such tight spaces. I was still unsure of my powers. I knew however that deep breathing may help with my anxiety. I turned for a moment to see that my friends were near the exit to leave the cave and realized it was a big mistake. Not for me, but for my friends. The Quimeeraa seemed to lose interest in me and turned towards the others.
It sped through the water at its target, its tail discharging lightning in its wake. I knew I would not be able to reach it in time. I knew that the young boy would be slain if I did not do anything. There was not much I could do as the Quimeeraa was near my friends now. But it seemed to be seeking out the child and not my friends. I could just tell. I don't know how. I just could. If it were not for Maverick and Shaki blocking the creature's path with their powers, the child would have been a goner by now. This was when I realized the power of a Quimeeraa. Even with everything they were doing, it seemed like the serpent would eventually break through their defenses. And there was not much I could do. Running at full speed was out of the question. The slime was slowing me down. It would take ages before I reached my comrades.
"I can't hold him much longer!" I heard Shaki scream.
"We can't let this child die," Carlos shouted.
"Why did I come with you guys?" Maverick cried.
It almost brought me to tears. Knowing I was powerless and could do nothing. I tried to run again and only slid, falling into the wet, murky and slimy water just a few feet from where I once was. Swimming was out of the question. I looked over and noticed that the Leviathan, this great creature I had seen in biology books had used electricity to stun all three of my friends. Only the boy sat there crying. If only I could control my powers. "Damn it!" I thought.
I grabbed the rocks near me and tried to pull myself up but slid down again. I looked up and noticed the serpent was now close to the boy. Its tongue rolled over his face and down the child's back as it opened its mouth wider. Wide enough that I could see the enormous fangs that were protruding from the insides of its mouth. I looked at my friends and realized that they would be next. I would be next. My family would not be saved. My father would die never knowing that this was where I had been.
He would never find the body. At that moment something happened. I felt an anger in me that I had not felt since I had fought my machine. My body seemed to grow larger, stronger and I began to run; running towards the target who was unaware of my presence. I slide through the slime and wetness like a hot knife through butter. Before I knew it, my fist had connected with the creature which sent it reeling backwards as its head slammed into the other side of the cave and its body followed. I fell on the floor and my body returned to normal. This was my power. The power of my emotions.
"Yeah, so you really need to stop saving us at the last moment, hermano. Tired of the suspense." Maverick said as he slowly sat up.
"I would like it if you just stop saving me," Shaki replied angrily.
"Thanks, hermano," Carlos said with a smile.
Shaki stood up and dusted herself off. She crawled over to the small boy who seemed stunned by everything that had happened, and rightly so. Shaki placed her hands on the boy's head. I observed closely his hair and face, down to his neck which lit up with a soft orange glow. She had healing powers. It was surprising to me that something so powerful, that could rage and destroy could also heal. I turned my attention to the young boy whose head began to stir, as he came out of his dazed disposition. He looked around and then began to cry to my disappointment. I still wanted to figure out what was going on. I needed to know where all the other children were being taken too.
"Where did Fluffy go?" The boy wailed as he rubbed his eyes.
"The cougar?" Shaki asked.
"Yes...the cougar..." The boy cried.
"So, are we going to tell him that that big cat was most likely trying to eat him?" Maverick asked.
"Shut up," Shaki barked. "It's going to be OK." she spoke again to the child.
"No, it won't. He saved me from the bad man. He did not deserve to die like that," The boy screamed.
"And the Leviathan saved you from the cougar, little fella?" Maverick mumbled.
"What did I say, Maverick?" Shaki growled.
"I can see you don't like the truth," Maverick whispered.
Shaki gave Maverick a warning glance then turned back to the young boy. I looked away and turned my attention to the other side of the large body of water within the cave. I could still see the serpent's head laid out on the other side and the crater in the side of the wall where its head had smashed into. I looked down at my fists then back to the creature. There was no way I could have done that.
"Hey Jared. I think we should go over to the other side and check it out before we leave. Let Shaki talk to him. Maverick, you come as well," Carlos whispered.
We all nodded to Shaki, then began walking on the outskirts of the cave towards the serpent's body on the other side. It was a long and treacherous journey as there was so much slime that covered the floor and the sides of the walls. Most times we found ourselves holding onto Maverick who did not seem to struggle as much with the slime. When we finally reached the other side, we noticed how much damage the Pariah creature had made. Its head had caved in and there was blood everywhere. I was the first to reach it; Carlos and Maverick came after. Carlos pulled out a skinning knife and handed it over to me, but I was not really keen on the idea of skinning a Quimeeraa. Not because of the university or the officials, but being that close to just the head and the fangs made me nervous.
"It may not be elk or moose, but if we cut out its brains for study at the university, we may have a large reward to save up for when we are officials. Take the scales as well," Carlos said.
"You do realize we can get into a lot of trouble for this," I replied as I cut the head and scales free.
"Not as officials or officials in training. Since we attend the university, we are still officials in training and can receive the rewards of those officials who would do the same," Carlos answered.
"You do see all the blood, right?" Maverick asked fearfully.
"I know what you are thinking. I am sure there is nothing else here that would eat something that big," I said calmly.
"We should be ok," Carlos said with a smile.
Even as Carlos said his last word, the water churned and a gigantic fish with a large dorsal fin clamped its jaws on the nape of the serpent's neck. Each tooth was the size of my forearm and its eyes were like the moon. Blood splattered everywhere as we tried our hardest to disappear into the rock wall behind us. I watched as its mouth moved from side to side. Its body thrashed in the water as it sawed off a large chunk of meat. Then another came. Even larger than the first and its eyes were a dark red. It stopped and stared at us, its teeth looked like they were made from steel and it used them to saw a chunk of flesh from the serpent's carcass while it continued to stare in our direction. It barely moved its body.
I felt Maverick grab my chest and a cold chill covered my body. I was about to knock his hand away but then understood what he was trying to do. Somehow Maverick had grabbed both of us, covered his arms and legs in ice and glided around the cave back to where Shaki held the boy in her arms with his eyes covered. We all dropped in a large, ragged breathing heap. I would never want to do that again.
I turned my attention towards where the serpent used to be. It was no longer there. Just a deep blood red that seemed to permeate the bluish-green water it was surrounded by. I shuddered. That other creature seemed to know that we were there, and seemed to acknowledge our presence. It was not just a regular creature. It must have been a Quimeeraa as well. Its cold, red eyes seemed to hide something sinister. Something ominous. Something dreadful that was bothering me even now.
"You OK Jared?" Carlos asked.
"Yeah," I replied as I took a deep breath and turned my attention towards my friends. "Did you notice anything about that Quimeeraa with the red eyes? It looked at us like it could really see us. See me."
"Can I go home now?" The boy said softly.
"4536!" I screamed.
"Not so loud," Maverick hushed me.
"Yes, human," my machine replied as he climbed out from inside my bag.
"Can you take these items to the officials for now while we bring this child home? Tell them we killed a Quimeeraa, a Serpent and saw another creature like it, but much larger," I instructed.
"Yes master. Of course, master. How far, master?" 4536 said as it rolled its camera to the upper right.
"I swear I will cut you in half one day. Stupid machine!" I growled.
"With your weak human strength, I doubt you could cut a lemon with a hot sword..."
"Just go, machine!" I screamed.
The machine flew off and we began finding our way out the cave until we felt the cold air from outside. We stepped out into the fresh snow and a clear blue sky. I looked to the right and realized that we were close to another village. I would have preferred to make my way home first and rest, but it was better that we had taken the child straight home first. Shaki continued to hold the young boy's hand as we trudged through the thick layers of white snowflakes. It did not take long until we found ourselves near the young boy's village. The child seemed uninterested in letting us know where he lived and so we ended up knocking on every door of every house. We were beginning to get tired when we knocked on the last door and an elderly couple opened the door. They looked weary, not from age but from worry. And they only looked at us and frowned.
"We already paid our monthlies," The old woman cried.
"It is ok, hunny. If they take from us, we will be provided for," an older man next to her responded.
"We were not trying to take anything from you old humans," Shaki said angrily.
"And cut," Maverick said as he stepped in front of all of us. "No, sir and ma'am. We actually found this young boy and figured he may belong to you."
The boy stepped forward. It took a minute for him to do so but he finally came forward with the helpful shove of Carlos, who stood behind him. The eyes of both the elderly man and woman lit up and they reached out and began hugging the child. Tears began to fall, and I noticed both their bodies began shaking with emotion. It made me almost feel like crying. Almost. I looked around and saw other villagers coming out of their homes to stare at us and I realized something.
It was not that they were not home, it was because they must have been mistreated by the officials. I knew the officials were not supposed to take anything from the villagers. They had not taken from my family for years because my father had forced them to leave. However, these villagers were not endowed with martial arts. They were fishermen and fisher-women who would often head to the ocean to fish and planted crops to eat. They were not fighters.
"Grandson. Where were you? We looked all over for you!" They both cried as rivers flowed from their dark brown eyes.
"I am sorry." The boy replied.
"We are just glad you are safe," the woman said with a soft smile.
"Where is your sister?" The older gentleman asked.
The boy immediately looked at the floor and began to sob. The older woman pulled the young boy close to her and then gestured for us to come inside.
The inside of the house was much nicer than I had expected. I recognized many of the furs that lay over the furniture and upon sitting on them I could feel that they were stuffed with birds' feathers. There was just a different feeling to bird feathers than other material. If I could have, I would have fallen asleep right there. The two older grandparents disappeared deeper into the house and returned with soup with a variety of fish and a diversity of vegetables.
The soup was thick, not a watery soup. I guessed from the color that it was made from lentils. I tasted the soup and smiled. It was quite good and tasted fresh. They must have made it before we came. I looked over at the boy who sat on the other couch across from us as he continued to stare into his lap. I wondered why the grandparents seemed so calm despite the fact that their other granddaughter might still be missing.
"I know this may not be the best time to ask, but I just wanted to know what is going on around here?" Carlos asked as he looked over to the young boy across from us.
"I don't know if I want to tell you four," the older gentleman said cautiously.
"Why? We want to help," Maverick said calmly.
"I do not want anything to happen to the four of you as well. You are only in-training correct?" the old man asked.
"Just let them help!" The boy screamed then covered his mouth in shame.
"Again. What is going on?" Shaki said as she glared at both the grandparents.
"Sorry. We are all a little frustrated right now. Is it that your children are being taken away?" I asked to the nod of all their heads.
"So, who has been committing crimes against your family?" I asked.
"The community," The woman replied.
"The community?" Shaki said angrily.
"Yes! The officials have been taking our children for the pay they had not received," The older gentleman said.
"What!" Shaki Exclaimed. "And why the heck did you not tell us that this was happening earlier instead of wasting our time....!"
"Calm down, senorita!" Maverick exclaimed.
"Never call me that!" Shaki growled as she clenched her fists and caused Maverick to immediately cower.
"You do remember she comes from royalty?" I said calmly. "She deserves respect."
"I understand your frustration, but we cannot do anything. We have no power over this situation. You do not understand." The man replied.
"Everyone has power. If you choose to do something. The system is not as bad as it used to be," Carlos responded.
I only rolled my eyes when I heard this. It was easy for him to say when he had not experienced the full extent of the struggles that normal humans had to face. Yes, Carlos faced some hardships as well being one of the lower class families. Still, he would never have to face these kinds of issues being a Pariah. I looked over at an old picture and saw two other people that I did not recognize. They must have been the boy's parents. If they were no longer in the house, it was most likely that they had already passed away.
Something was bothering me about the whole situation. And I had a feeling of what may have been going on. These officials were taking human children and selling them somewhere. As much as I was upset at the officials, I wanted to know who these children were being sold to. They were humans, so they did not have much usefulness in the world that existed now. Unless they were raised as some sort of slave. I could not picture why they would want human children as slaves unless they were used in some sort of experiment. I gritted my teeth and sat up straight as I glared at Carlos. I tried my best to remain calm; attempting to keep my voice at a menacing growl instead of shouting at him.
"Listen, Carlos. As much as you would like to think that this world is better for everyone, it is not. This is a perfect example right here. You could never do this to Pariah children without officials going on a full out search. I know you three are blind to all that because these issues do not exist in your community, so try to understand, even though it may be hard for you. This is an everyday thing for these people," I said as my body began to shake.
All three of my friends looked at me, then back to the couple and child that sat across from us. I looked over at the two adults who looked back at me and shook their heads.
"You are that Graves boy, are you not? No need for all of you to fight over such a thing." The man said with a smile.
"Yes, I am sir," I replied strongly.
"Yes, we heard your father had put you up to join the officials. A human! Always good to protect your own, I say," He said with a laugh.
"Nothing to be ashamed of, young man. You might be the one to make a difference in this world of ours. Even if we may never see it. We just hope this young boy over here will," The older woman said enthusiastically. "We must do what we can to survive."
"Our plan is to protect all of you." Maverick chimed in.
"Tell us a little bit more about what has happened here," Shaki insisted. "We do not have much to go on."
"Well, if you must know. We have been attacked by the officials for decades until that child's father jumped in. The Grave family. A strong bunch. We have relied on them for a time. However, as he is often in town as of recently; the officials have come back and dabbled in their old ways. Yes bunny, you tell the rest of the story," The older gentleman said politely as he sat down near an old rocking chair.
"Well, after we realized that if one man with no powers could defend us, then all of us with no powers would be more than enough for the officials. We were wrong. They tore us apart and warned us that if we did not pay double what we had already in a week, then they would take what we held most dear. We had no idea that it would be our children," The woman answered with a sob.
"Listen. We can help you. But it is kind of unheard of for officials to behave this way. Are you sure that your children did not just run off or are just playing a game with all of you?" Carlos asked.
"NO!"
It was the young boy. Everyone was startled by his squeaky, unusually brash voice that seemed to bounce off the walls and crash into our ears. It almost made me feel uncomfortable. His voice was not normal in any human sense. He sounded like a wounded creature crying out for help to his friends who had long ago left him. It was the sound of the last-ditch effort of hope when believing nothing good would happen again.
It was the sound of an animal. I was beginning to understand why he may have escaped. I looked at him as fresh tears began to fall from his yellow skinned, rose-colored cheeks. His hands were balled up into tiny fists and he waved them in the air like a toddler that wanted his favorite toy back before a fit of rage. Everyone's attention was on the child and no one took their eyes off him. We listened carefully to what he had to say.
"No! It was the officials...They took...They took me... and all my friends including my sister. I ran away...but they still have them. By the docks. They are bad men. You know what! I hate you. I hate you for wearing the clothing of those men. I do not care if you are not the same. Why would you wear the clothing of those who did this? I do not understand. You...You...You are all bad men. And I wish you never saved me," the young boy screamed as he ran to another room.
We all sat there in silence as the older woman went off to find the young boy and comfort him. I slowly laid back in the soft cushions and stared off into space as the other three gawked down at the floor. The older gentleman stared in the direction of his wife and grandson as we waited. I knew all of us were unsure of what to say next. I only hoped Carlos would not open his mouth and ask any more questions or make any guesses as to what was going on in the situation. I know he meant well, but he was not sympathetic to the situation.
"That went well," Maverick said sarcastically, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Will you shut your mouth!" Shaki screamed.
"Listen you four. I do not ask for much. But I do desire to ask a favor. I need you four to go save the other children. I want to see my granddaughter's sweet smile once again," the old man said.
"Something is off about all this," Carlos said as he scratched his chin. "Did any of you fight for these children?"
"No! We could not. If you look outside, you will see a hill full of stones where those who fought the officials now rest. Even the children who dared to fight back. You see those photos of the two adults who are no longer here. They also passed on in their fight to free these children. The rest of us had no choice but to offer our children as payment," The old man replied. "I just ask that you help us."
"Is there any chance that it could be your fault for not fighting harder?" Carlos asked calmly.
"I would have fought until each and everyone of my people had passed on. They cannot do the same, Carlos. They do not have the power to do so. You are an idiot for thinking otherwise!" Shaki answered. Her voice was noticeably shaking with rage.
"We will do it," I said as the other three glared at me.
"Thank you, sir. Our community appreciates it," the old man replied.
The old man left the room searching for his grandson and wife as we sat there staring off towards the wall. The sun was beginning to set, and it was too far to get home this late in the night. We had been offered to stay in an old barn in the back and we decided that it would be best to rest there for the night. It did not take long before we found ourselves in the barn. A full moon hovered in its glory over us as it shone brighter than the stars that sailed near to it, yet so far.
Carlos, Maverick and I were resting on some hay. We had covered ourselves in thick blankets near the northern wall. Shaki slept far above us. A ladder had been placed near us so that she could return to the floor. It was surprisingly warm compared to the outside. Still cold but warmer. It seemed as if they had not kept animals in the barn for a long period of time as the odor of barn animals was faint, almost non-existent. The barn's walls had been covered in a thick mud that insulated the room.
A small fire surrounded by cement was near the western wall. It kept the place warm. Every few hours, new logs of wood would have to replace the old ones to keep the fire hot, so it would not turn into a smouldering pot of warm ash. I closed my eyes and thought about what might happen tomorrow. We could find the kids and we may not. Even if we did, I wasn't sure there was much we could do against experienced officials, especially when they wanted something. We would have to find a way.