— Léon —
"Is this edible?" Léon asked. He smelled it again, grimaced, and offered the fruit to Modraniht. "It's a no, right?"
He sniffed it and pinched his nose. "Yeah. It's a no, kid. Smells like sulfur, just like the bananas." Modraniht sipped from his flask and shook it. "There's so little left."
"What's the worst that could happen if we ate the fruits?"
"Death, I suppose."
"Death?"
"Think about it, kid. If not even the flies want to eat them, there's a good reason for that."
Léon clicked his tongue. He tossed the fruit aside and looked around. They were in what looked like a very fertile stretch of land. There were peaches, mangos, and flowers bigger than his head with heart-shaped, weird-looking fruits hanging from the center of large petals. They were all untouched.
"At least now I know why there are so many synthetic things to eat in NC," Léon said with a frown. "Nature is tainted."
Modraniht hummed. "Meaning you didn't know already?" He motioned Léon to follow him, then started pushing long branches and palm leaves out of the way.
"More like I never stopped to think about it." Léon shrugged, jumping over a massive root.
"That's a dangerous thing to do, kid. If possible, avoid not thinking with all your might."
Léon's cheeks warmed up. He remembered saying the same thing to Roberto when he first started working at Invidia almost five years ago. After a moment of hesitance, Léon decided to ignore Modraniht's remark. "It's just... there's no shortage of synthetic food or nutritional pastes in New Continent. Do you know when was the last time I had to worry about food?"
"Never? You look born and raised in NC, even with that scar on your face."
"I was born in Old Continent, Modraniht. I know what it's like to starve." Léon crossed his arms. "How old do you think I am?"
"I don't know, peanut. Eleven? You kids look all the same to an old man like me." His voice was ironic and drenched with laughter.
"I'm twenty-six. Like most Old Continentians, I knew what it's like to depend on a deputy to have food on the table. I just forgot what it's like."
Modraniht peered over his shoulder to look at Léon. There was something in his eyes that Léon couldn't identify. Still, it made a shiver climb his spine.
"What made you forget?"
Léon paused. He blinked a few times while his body followed Modraniht by instinct. He didn't know the answer to that. Léon was so absorbed in his thoughts that he almost gasped when Modraniht stopped. He was older, sure, but he moved like a panther when he jumped aside, pulling Léon against him.
"Hush," he whispered, pressing an index finger against Léon's lips. "There's someone coming."
When Léon turned to his left, his heart raced.
"Are you sure this is the way to the smoke column you saw yesterday? Smoke," he drawled. He stumbled a few steps and grimaced. "Do you even know what an airNAV looks like?"
Léon didn't need to see the second person to identify the anger in her voice. "Sir, we speak the same language, and I'm not ignorant."
"Well, you wouldn't know if you were, would you?"
Classic Phillip making new friends.
Against his will, Léon opened a smile and twisted his arm to free himself from Modraniht's grip. "Phil!" Léo said in a breathless voice.
"Leo?" Phillip mumbled, eyes widening. He looked tired and scared, with shadows under his eyes and a disheveled mess that looked nothing like his always-styled blond hair.
Léon stopped; his eyebrows curved and twitched, not really sure if they should be lowered or raised. "What... are you wearing?"
Phillip walked to him. He swayed back and forth as if deciding what to do. After a heartbeat, he rested his big hands on Léon's shoulders and curved to look him in the eyes. There was a gentle gleam in those ocean-green eyes and a glossy cover that made Léon think he was about to cry. Instead, Phillip furrowed his thick sand-colored eyebrows and said,
"You guaranteed I wouldn't have shit to deal with, Dickens. The hell is this shit?" He twirled a finger to point at their surroundings. "Huh?"
"Sorry," Léon said. He let out a laugh and covered his mouth with a hand to stop it. "But seriously, what the hell are you wearing?"
"Survival gear. But sexy." Phillip shrugged. "Also, my socks are waterproof."
Léon couldn't hold his laugh back anymore. He barked a guffaw, tilting his head back. He'd fall back if Phillip hadn't strengthened his grip.
"Whoa. Calm down, partner," Phillip said in a low voice. "Are you really okay?"
Weird. Why were Léon's eyes watering?
"Of course." He sniffed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. "What are you doing here?"
Phillip's face contorted with confusion. "What do you mean? I'm your emergency contact."
Léon chuckled. "That only means they'd call you if something happened."
"They did."
"But you didn't need to come."
The crease between Phillip's eyebrows deepened. "No?"
After the sound of branches being pushed out of the way, Modraniht's voice came. "Is this the person you were talking about, Léon?"
He looked at Modraniht's smiling face and frowned, trying to recall their conversation. His eyebrows shot upward. Of course. Léon had told Modraniht about Rob, his ex-boyfriend. And while Phillip was also his boyfriend—once, a long time ago—things were too complicated to explain in the short span of time that an answer offered.
"Oh. No." Léon took a step back, and Phillip's hands slid off his shoulders. "This is Phillip. A friend."
"I'm his emergency contact." Phillip looked from Modraniht to Léon and raised an eyebrow. "And you are?"
"The pilot." He stretched a hand. "Modraniht." There was a weird smile on his lips. Something like joy and mischievousness mixed together.
Phillip accepted his handshake. "And this is our guide, Wilma." He took a step back and looked between them. As he did, a new glimmer appeared in his eyes. "Did I just save you?"
"It's Vanessa, sir," the woman corrected, rolling her eyes. She zeroed in on Phillip, and, considering her cranky attitude and the shadows between her eyes, she had been putting up with him for quite some time already. Léon knew how difficult that could be. But... there was something else too. There was something wrong with Vanessa, and Léon couldn't put the finger on what. "So," she said, resting her hands on her waist, "can I assume you found what you wanted, sir?"
"Sure, Wanda. Whatever you want." He smirked. He wouldn't be Phillip if he didn't try to piss off every new person he met. "You are being paid, though, so if there's anything I can do to make your job easier and more agreeable—"
She growled, cutting in. Yes, Léon was sure; there was something wrong in her. Something that made the hairs on his arms stand on end.
"What I want," Vanessa said, "is for you three to enter my damned jeep so we can go back to Cidade Santa. This is the Count's territory, and each second we spend here is an invitation to disaster. Quick, let's go."
Modraniht tensed beside Léon, but Phillip didn't seem to notice.
"Your customer service is crap, Valéria." Phillip sighed and opened his arms to show his surroundings. "Take a good look. There's nothing to worry about; this is just a forest."
"This forest can hide unimaginable dangers, Phillip." Modraniht rested a big hand on his shoulder. "Let's listen to our guide, be polite, and be quick."
Vanessa nodded. "I can tell you later about the Gold Mother and the Caipora, but for now, we must go."
Before Phillip could say anything else, Léon gripped his arm to shut him. "Lead the way, please," Léon told the guide. "We'll be right behind you."
They walked for a couple of hours in the dense forest. When the trees became sparse and the sun started to set, Léon saw the old jeep parked in a clearing covered by dry grass.
***
"... So I just explained what had happened to you and that I wanted to find you. I think the authorities thought this would be a fitting punishment cause they didn't even blink before stamping my travel permit and my passport." Phillip shrugged. "I still have my GPS chip implant somewhere in my body, so it's not as if I can simply disappear, right? Though I doubt they would care if I was killed here in OC. NC must be happy to be freed of one more charming, well-behaved citizen." He shrugged.
"You being a convicted criminal makes so much sense," Vanessa said in a low voice.
Phillip scoffed. "You'd think so, right, Welma? I wonder if people will care about it when I post my review online."
"It's Vanessa," she growled.
"And you're being an ass, Phil." Léon glanced at Vanessa and Modraniht. "Sorry about that. He's just grumpy."
Vanessa scoffed and donned a weak smile. "I can see why he was so worried about you. You're too kind for this place."
Léon didn't have time to answer. Vanessa stopped beside the jeep and unlocked it. It was an old, military-green NAV that looked older than the trees around them. "I have water bottles, peanuts, and a little nutritional paste if you're hungry. There's also a first aid kit at the back if anyone needs it." She hopped in.
Phillip entered the NAV followed by Léon, while Modraniht climbed the front seat beside Vanessa. Modraniht took a water bottle for himself, then gave out the rest to the others. As Léon and Modraniht ate their pack of nutritional paste—it tasted like dirty socks and wet armpits—Vanessa took a map from the glove box and opened it against the steering wheel.
She circled a part of the map with a red marker pen, then ran her index finger across the sinuous lines around it. "Okay." She massaged her chin and looked at the sky. "If we hit the highway back to Cidade Santa before nightfall, we'll be home for dinner." She folded the map and tapped the steering wheel. "I'll make sure of that."
"Good. Well done, Vanessa," Phillip said. He took a sip of his water and rested his head on the window. "Now drive carefully cause I'm going to sleep." He whispered, closing his eyes, "This night was a nightmare."
***
The moon was high in the sky while Phillip and Modraniht snored—the first softly, while the latter sounded like a noise machine. Vanessa rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times.
"Water?" Léon offered her the bottle.
"Uh. Er... No, thanks. Not thirsty." She gave him a smile. "I just need to get home and catch a few Zs. Your boyfriend made me drive through this shithole the whole night to find you." She closed the bottle and handed it to Léon. "He really cares about you."
"He's a friend," Léon corrected.
"Oh." She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and then smiled. "A good friend, then... and an insufferable asshole." She winked at him through the rear-view mirror. "But please don't tell him I said that."
Léon chuckled. "I won't. I hope he's paying you good money."
"Oh, he is." She raised her eyebrows and glanced at him through the rear-view mirror. "As far as I'm concerned, you can get lost in the woods as many times as you want."
Léon chuckled. "Nah, I think one plane crash is enough. I don't think this guy could handle another."
Vanessa chuckled. "I'll have to agree with that."
Léon sighed and propped his chin on the palm of his hand. His eyes wandered outside when a movement caught his attention. Phillip shifted around and held his sleeve, pulling it.
"I agree too," Phillip said, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
***
There was something in the water; he was sure of it.
Léon woke up to a familiar growl close to him while his head was hammered by an impetuous headache and his throat was blanketed by something bitter and unnatural. Something had put him to sleep.
He groaned. There was a warm weight pressing his thighs and soft, cold fur brushing against his face. He opened his eyes and smiled at Bonee's white-and-lavender fur—but his smile lasted less than a heartbeat.
"What's wrong, girl?" Léon asked in a whisper. He had barely completed his sentence when Bonee let out an even more menacing growl, her jowls curling back to flash long, blood-smeared fangs. There was blood on her fur, around her mouth, and splattered on her chest. Léon's body tensed, and he furrowed his eyebrows, calling on whatever powers he had left in case he needed to fight.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a deep voice in the front seat.
There was a stranger where Vanessa should be. He was rummaging the contents in the glove box, but the empty wallets, bags, and backpacks at his side proved he had been sitting there for quite some time. Outside, a faint shade of orange whispered the coming of a new day.
Léon looked around. He was still in the NAV, and Bonee stood on his lap, keeping a few men from pulling him outside. There were at least fifteen bandits around them, carrying guns, bows, and staves. Three of them tried to get closer to Bonee, but her big paws sliced through the air, keeping them at bay.
To fight wasn't a good idea. Léon's powers weren't that impressive anymore, and, to make things worse, he didn't know where Phillip, Modraniht, and Vanessa were. He couldn't risk their lives.
"What do you want from us?"
A vicious grin sliced the stranger's face. "You're practical. No time to ask that who are you and where are my friends bullshit, right? I like that." His eyebrows twitched. "I also like the scar on your eye." He leaned closer. "Who gave it to you?"
"If I answer your question, will you answer mine?"
The man's eyebrows shot upwards, and he laughed. "You have spirit, eh? Good." He cleared his throat. "My name is Cae. Count Cae." With an exaggerated flourish of his hand, he mocked a bow. "And you, you spirited thing, trusted the wrong person. You entered a place you shouldn't." His expression soured. "Now you're gonna pay for that."
***
Welp. THAT can't be good. But... I mean, at least Phillip's here, right? *grimaces* Eeeeeeeh... A__A'''
What do you think is going to happen next? 8D
Thank you so much for reading! Please don't forget to vote if you're enjoying the read... and if you think this story deserves more attention, please consider sharing it with a friend! ;D
See you all next week. Kissus!
Ligia