Chapter 17 – Quarrel
Ford felt like the wind was kicked out of him as he stared across the table at Mr. Lenoir. The history teacher leaned forward. Normally, Ford would be giddy; he would be so excited that Mr. Lenoir was only paying attention to him. But now, he was scared. The handsome history teacher, with one day’s stubble and his hair looked great today. Ford got a whiff of his cologne, but the feeling of lust he used to have was now replaced with disgust.
“This is very serious Ford.” Mr. Lenoir whispered, his voice stern.
Ford gulped and tried to remain calm, in a way it hurt more, “If you’re worried.”
“Heh,” Mr. Lenoir shook his head, “if I am worried? I can lose my job. I don’t expect you to understand all these emotions going on here.”
“Oh I understand,” Ford felt a lump start to form in his throat. Each of Mr. Lenoir’s words felt like a knife, he had never seen him so angry, so vicious. Ford didn’t even realize it but he felt a teardrop roll down his cheek.
“Sorry, I didn’t.” Mr. Lenoir shook his head, “Stop.” He whispered as Nina walked to the back and spotted the two. She backed up and walked away, feeling the situation too awkward. “Ford, you’re making a scene.”
Ford wiped away his tears and reached into his backpack pulling out a tissue and blowing his nose.
“I didn’t mean to accost you, but – just please Ford, be discreet about this.” Mr. Lenoir’s voice tried to remain calm. He looked and Ford then reached a hand out as if to pat him on the back. Ford edged away. Mr. Lenoir caught this motion and quickly retracted his hand. Standing up, Mr. Lenoir eyed Ford for a second, then without a goodbye walked away.
A moment later Nina came to the back and sat down across from Ford, quickly pulling out a tissue. She handed the tissue to Ford and leaned to the side peering through the rows of books watching Mr. Lenoir leave the library. “What was that about?”
Ford bit his lip and shook his head. He stood up and grabbed his backpack. He swung it around his shoulder and walked out. Ford wanted to put as much distance between Mr. Lenoir and him. Walking out as the first bell rang, Ford walked directly for the woods. Wind whipped around as Ford’s feet started hitting the soft dirt.
He walked further and further into the woods and sat down dropping his backpack. He fell to the dirt crying and it felt like a good hour before he could sit himself up and brush off the dirt from his shirt. The wind finally died down and he reached into his bag pulling out a brown paper bag. He opened it and pulled out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In the bag was a small note, ‘love you – mom.’
Ford wanted to laugh, his whole life seemed to have fallen apart and finally his mom wanted to care. Just then he felt something wrap around his food. Looking down, he saw the green vine. It pulled him quick dragging him on the forest floor and slamming him onto a tree. Leaves came from nowhere, spinning around him and cutting into his skin. Ford was wrapped to the tree as the leaves slowly sliced away. The Forest Sage had found him, and was going in for the kill.
Another vine wrapped around Ford’s neck and started choking him. He wanted to just let go, for a moment, and then he heard a voice. Consciousness was starting to drift from him.
“Ford, don’t give up!” The voice shouted.
“Audrey?” Ford whispered, the last breath in him.
“No! Ford wake up!” The voice shouted and Ford opened his eyes to see Nina gripping the vine around his neck. The leaves caused little cuts on her neck.
“Nina!” Ford gasped as she pulled the vine just enough. He clenched his fists and a huge gust of wind broke the vines. He quickly grabbed Nina and jumped up. Brown wings suddenly appeared and he flew up through the branches, vines chasing after him and Nina as they ascended closer and closer to the sky. They broke through the tops of the trees and looked down.
“Thanks for coming to get me.” Ford smiled.
“Course, so what’s down there, in the forest?” Nina looked down, everything looked calm now, no one would guess a battle was raging on.
“Another Sage,” Ford whispered, a vine quickly whipped up gripping Nina’s foot. It ripped her from Ford’s hand and flung her towards the earth. Ford dived down chasing after her but another vine caught him and slammed him into a tree. He quickly threw out his hand and caused a gust of wind to break her fall.
“Stop, it’s me you want!” Ford shouted he created a small tornado around him breaking the winds then landed on a branch looking around the trees. He couldn’t find the sage. His eyes darted around the forest but he still couldn’t see him. He took a deep breath and tried to focus. Ford felt the wind around him and felt it move through him. He spun around catching the Forests Sage fist in his hand. Spinning the Sage around Ford sent a large gust of wind at the Sage throwing him back through branches and onto the forest floor.
Ford jumped from the branch his winds flapping as he landed gently on the dirt.
“I don’t want to kill you,” Ford shouted.
The Forest Sage stood up and a vine emerged from the earth but Ford created another tornado of wind around him causing the vine to miss him. “What’s your name? I’m not going to fight you!” Ford pleaded but more and more vines kept shooting at him and he couldn’t hold them off forever.
“Bastian Muller,” He shouted back, he had a German accent and took off his hood - his blond hair and blue eyes shown in the sun. “Just die!” He held out both his hands and 10 vines burst from the ground shooting towards Ford.
Ford jumped into the air but wasn’t fast enough. They quickly wrapped around his body and started to constrict his throat. He focused and a large tornado emanated from his body. Dirt and rocks flew into the air and the vines broke snapping and sending a large burst of wind.
The dust settled and Ford gasped for air, his wings faded away. He looked up at a branch on the tree where Bastian had gotten impaled. The tree struck through him and blood oozed out of his mid section and mouth.
Ford ran up to the boy, only a few years older than him. “Bastian, please…don’t…let me call the doctor.”
The Forest Sage shook his head, “my time. It’s here, father! Take me!” He shouted then coughed and some blood spots flew onto Ford’s shirt.
“Please, I’m no killer. I am so sorry.” Ford sobbed.
“We all are, don’t apologize, we all are born for this. I’d rather die now than see what is coming.” Bastian coughed again then winced in pain and looked down at his stomach.
“Do you know, what’s coming?” Ford whispered and looked down at the wound, it was fatal and Bastian was fading fast.
He said something in German and then looked at Ford, with more clarity than before, “good luck.” His eyes didn’t close but his mouth went limp. He was dead. Ford’s eyes widened, he shook his head.
“Wake up, please, wake up!” Ford shouted. Nina stepped into the clearing and looked at Ford.
“Ford, he’s gone,” Nina whispered.
“Please, Bastian, please…I didn’t kill you. I didn’t,” Ford sobbed.
“Come on,” Nina wrapped her hand in Fords and started to pull him away. “Don’t do this Ford, let’s go.”
“But I….” Ford looked at the lifeless body and he gulped. Ford felt empty, he couldn’t believe what he just did. Looking at his hands he closed them and dropped down to the Bastian’s blood on his shirt.
***
Sitting outside the empty motel room Ford and Nina sat in silence with Ford’s white pick-up truck parked in front. Erin came from around the corner, carrying a plastic bag of groceries. Noticing the two, she dropped them and ran towards the two Landon close behind her.
“You two are hurt what happened? Come inside” Erin opened the motel room door and hurried inside.
“We’re all right,” Nina answered. “I’m guessing you’re Erin, and he’s Landon – Nina.”
“You two look like you were in quite the scuffle.” Landon’s southern , bringing in the groceries and dropping them on the bed. “So, Forest Sage jump you?”
“Yeah,” Ford nodded and looked at Erin. Their eyes connected and Erin instantly knew what happened. She saw something she remembered from after her first kill. That look, that feeling, it hurt.
“It gets easier,” Erin whispered walking over and embracing Ford.
“I don’t want it to get easier,” Ford whimpered. “I don’t want this. I don’t want this responsibility, this power, this weight on my chest anymore.” He broke the embrace with Erin.
Erin looked to Landon; he shrugged his shoulder without an answer. “Well, that’s one more down,” Landon stated.
“Stop,” Ford shouted his eyes teary, “I killed a person.”
“A Sage died.” Landon corrected.
“One of us! His name was Bastian….he’s from Germany and,” Ford stopped his eyes still wide. “He needs a burial, I just left him there and he…”
“The wolves will get him,” Nina whispered looking down at the floor. All the emotion was a little too much for her.
“No, you’re right Ford,” Erin nodded and looked from him to Landon. “We can go cremate him, where was it?”
“The forest behind the high school,” Nina responded.
“Okay, Landon and I will go. You, you two have been through enough.” Erin explained.
“But Erin…I…” Ford started but Erin cut him off.
“Ford, I am so sorry for bringing this to your doorstep,” Erin hugs Ford once more then put her hands on his head and pulled him in for a kiss on the forehead. “Landon and I are leaving town but we will be back.”
“Please don’t go.” Ford whispered so only Erin could hear.
“You’ve done your part.” Erin whispered back then to the room. “We are going to go look for the other Sages, you just stay put – live your life.”
***
Nina and Ford were parked in the school parking lot. Nina looked at her watch. It was almost lunchtime and they had missed four classes. Nina had just got off the phone saying Ford was sick and Ford came up with another excuse for Nina so the school wouldn’t call their parents.
Ford’s head was against the cold glass of the car looking at the building. It seemed so silly now, the conversation he had with Mr. Lenoir. But he still couldn’t get all of the tragedy of the day out of his head.
“Ford, if you want to talk later…” Nina started but was cut off.
“Thanks,” Ford interrupted, “and sorry you got involved in all this.”
Nina shook her head, it wasn’t a problem, she grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car. Ford looked at the building and got out. He walked towards the football field. He needed to be alone. Walking past Carter, Angela, and some other jocks Ford avoided eye contact with Levi. He wished he went the long way around the school.
Ford stepped out onto the football field and looked it over. The sky was gray and it would probably start snowing very soon. The snow seemed to push itself out late this season. Sitting down on the bleachers Ford started to sob.
“You okay?” a familiar voice whispered behind him.
Ford turned around to see Levi standing there. He wore a long sleeve shirt with the school’s mascot on it and pale blue jeans. His light, almost blondish brown hair was shaggier, it hadn’t been trimmed in a while.
“No,” Ford said looked away and drying his tears. “What do you want?”
“I’m sorry about the other night.” Levi started and took a step forward. “Can we talk?”
“This day keeps getting better,” Ford scoffed and scooted over patting the seat next to him. There wasn’t anything Levi could say to make him feel worse.
Levi sat down then noticed the blood on Ford’s shirt and some cuts that had already began to heal. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“No, just…what do you want to talk about?” Ford wanted Levi to get to the point. If this was going to be a shitty day Ford wanted to get everything out in the open.
“I’m going to end it with Mr. Lenoir after school today.” Levi looked down at his hands. His voice cracked and he started sobbing. Ford was shocked by this sudden display of emotion. “I just, I really fucked up.” Levi nodded. “I was hurt and he was there, and it just went too far. But I didn’t stop it cause…” Levi continued to cry and Ford watched the tears roll down his cheeks and drop into his lap.
“Levi, you don’t have to explain anything to me.” Ford reached over and hugged him. It felt nice, the warmth, his body, his smell was earthy with a hint of pine. Levi gulped and sat back.
“Ford, everything between you and me has just been crazy town and I have no one to talk with,” Levi sniffled.
“You have Carter,” Ford began then remembered what a dumbass Carter was, “I mean…never mind.” The two laughed and Ford was taken by surprise.
“I just think it got messy between us and – you can definitely say no – but,” Levi hesitated. Ford could tell he had been planning what he was going to say for a while and a lot of weight came with Levi’s next statement, “can we just have a restart?”
Ford looked at the jock and sighed. He was still hurt by the fact that Levi had been messing around with his former crush. Yes, the situation was far from ideal, but Ford also knew he hadn’t been a saint either. The feelings were still there and he couldn’t just reset them. He couldn’t go back to being normal, to hanging with Audrey, to before he killed someone. There were so many things he had no control over – but now Levi gave him something he didn’t have to. The option to go back, and it felt really good.
Ford nodded and the two embraced. The hug was strong, then, slowly their mouths found each other and the two began to kiss. It was soft, sincere, warm, and somehow better than Ford had remembered. The two pulled a part both of them red faced and not sure where to go from there.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and Levi stood up. “You sure you okay?” Levi reached and gently touched a cut on Ford’s cheek.
Ford nodded.
“Let’s talk later.” Levi started down the bleachers and headed back to the school.
***
Ford stood up and walked to the forest. He needed to do one more thing before he ran to class. Walking through the trees he followed the smell of smoke to the clearing. Bastian’s body had been removed but the ashes were still warm. Erin and Landon had already left. Ford walked up to the ash and looked down at it.
“Whatever you said is coming. I’m going to find a way to stop this cycle…so no more Sages have to die. I’m going to beat it.” Ford whispered atop Basitan’s grave. Suddenly he felt something brush against his nose. Looking up, small white flurries started drifting down from the sky: the first snow.