Archaic

by Lexy Timms

  “No, it wasn’t like that at first,” I reply looking up at the canopy. “We clicked, you know? Like it happens with some people.

  On our off time we would go exploring, play with the monkeys, discover the different bugs and plants around us. We were awestruck by the beauty and size of the forest. They had a primate in captivity at the facility, something happened to it when it was a baby. It knew sign language and since my Aunt is deaf, so did I. The monkey and I got along right away. We taught Kyle some sign language too.”

  “He loved you then,” Penny says winking at me. “No man would sit around learning sign language from a monkey if he didn’t love the girl.”

  “He did love me then.” I smile. “I turned him down though. It took a long time and a lot of events in my life to finally realize that I loved him. When I did, though, I was head over heels, crazy for the man. He was sweet.”

  “And brave,” Theo chimes in.

  “He was brave.” I smile again. “He put his life on the line for me, and he was merely a human.”

  “I don’t know if I would call him ‘merely’ a human,” she says. “I have come to learn in my time that humans can do some extraordinary things.”

  “They can, can’t they?” I reply with a wink.

  “My mate, Gus, he was an Opossum too,” she says fondly. “Or is one still I hope. He always looked up to the big cats and dogs.

  He wanted to be a hero, not a scrounger like we tend to be. We were gonna have kids, but then he was offered the spot on the Elite, something he never imagined he would be considered for.

  Naturally, he jumped right on the opportunity, you know? He said

  our children would one day look at him the way he used to look at the big cats.”

  She chuckles, shaking her head and sighing.

  “I guess it was much more exciting there than with me,” she says.

  “He never came back, never said a word, just disappeared. It’s been five years.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I reply, frowning and scrunching my face. “That must be so hard on you.”

  “It was,” she says with a deep breath, slapping her legs. “But now I have you guys, and y’all are like a big dysfunctional family all on your own. It’s like living at one of our Opossum family reunions.”

  “Yeah,” I scoff looking at the guys who are off in their own minds.

  “I especially enjoy that big Sebastian,” she says, elbowing me again. “He is quite the beefcake. I bet he is packing something solid in those tight pants if you know what I mean.”

  I laugh, looking over at Sebastian, basking in the sunlight, the sweat on his shirtless upper body glistening in the light, his muscles flexing and relaxing, with his chiseled bearded face and tussled hair strewn all about. I can’t help but feel jealous thinking about Sebastian and Penny together. I want him to be happy, sure, but there is a connection between us from when he saved my life. I can’t have him. I can’t betray my husband’s memory like that, but I also can’t help how I feel, and thinking about him with someone else pierces me deep down inside.

  “But he’s a dog, and he is playing hard to get big time,” Penny says sighing as she looks over at his perfect physique.

  “He is definitely a good guy,” I reply, standing up. “Hey, I have a question. So as an Opossum, do you have other traits of one, like in your human form?”

  “I’m a pretty badass climber,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. “You want to race up that tree?”

  I look over at a large and very old tree sprouting up in the center of the arena. I follow the roots from the base all the way up to the top, watching its branches sway in the breeze. I smirk, knowing the guys will hate it but it seems like a fun idea.

  “Alright,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

  “Woohoo,” she says, standing up and smoothing down her shirt.

  “Alright boys, gather round, we are about to have a race.”

  The guys look up to figure out what is going on as Penny and I perch at the edge of the arena, ready to take off running. She counts down from five and then throws her arm up in the air, taking off through the broken stone and dirt. I take off at the same time, admiring how damn fast she is. I lunge toward the tree and grab on tightly, making my way up as fast as I can. She is like a speed demon, racing up through the branches, laughing as she goes, her dark hair fluttering behind her. When I get about halfway up, I stop, standing on a medium-sized branch, looking up at the canopy.

  “I win,” she says laughing, looking down from the top. “That was a good try though for a mutant human.”

  I start to laugh, carefully moving my feet and stabilizing myself. As I reach for another branch to start heading down, I hear a small snap. I pause for a moment, bouncing lightly up and down to make sure I am steady. Nothing else makes a sound so I shrug and keep moving. Before I can reach the trunk of the tree, though, a loud crack echoes through the arena and my branch, the one holding me up in the air breaks like a twig. My arms fly up in the air as I topple downward, seeing the branches of the tree fly by me as I fall. I look down at the ground and close my eyes tightly, waiting for impact, but it never comes, not on the ground anyway.

  Theo catches me in his arms, grunting as I land, opening my eyes and looking over at him. He looks mad, but I’m not, that was a major thrill. I smile and laugh, looking up at Penny as she races down, worry covering her face. She jumps from high up and lands on her feet, coming over to check on me.

  “Well, there you are.” She laughs. “I mean if you wanted a way out you didn’t have to make me race you up a tree. Good thing big bear is here, otherwise, we’d be scraping you off the arena floor.”

  “I don’t think you would heal from that,” Theo says, setting me down on my feet.

  “What were you thinking?” Sebastian roars as he trots toward Penny. “She isn’t a Primal. She can’t sprout claws or wings.

  “Oh, come on,” Penny says turning and bouncing back up the tree.

  “It’s not that scary and dangerous. She got a bad branch, that’s all.”

  Just then, a harpy soars from the canopy, its wings wide in expanse, its face that of a woman. It circles around and clips Penny in the shoulder, sending her falling toward the ground. She reaches out and grabs onto a branch, hissing at the harpy and swiping her claws across its face. The harpy wails loudly from the pain, turning and flying off beyond the building.

  “Uh, a little help here,” Penny says, hanging from the branch.

  “Hold on.” Sebastian sighs, rolling his eyes. “I told you it isn’t safe.”

  “I do this all the time,” she calls out.

  “Not in the Amazon, and not with mythical creatures swooping out of the sky for an afternoon snack.” Sebastian groans, climbing up and helping her back to the ground. “Keep your feet in the dirt, it’s safer.”

  “Maybe for the wolf breed, but for us Opossums, we like to see the world from a different vantage point,” she says proudly.

  “Dead is definitely a different vantage point.” Sebastian laughs.

  We all laugh, taking a break to have a real moment. I turn my head to find Toshi, to make sure he is included, but I don’t see him in the arena. Slowly my smile fades, and I turn, looking in the corners and up in the branches.

  “Where is Toshi?” I ask carefully.

  Everyone freezes, coming to full alert, looking around the arena, our backs facing each other. I carefully pull the knife from my waistband and crouch, waiting for whatever comes next. As the sound of footsteps come rushing up the hallway we all hold our breath, facing the door. As Toshi runs out, his head cocked to the side when he sees us, we all let the air stuck in our lungs escape. Sebastian throws his hands in the air and walks off while I sheath my knife and shake my head.

  “Guys,” Toshi says, his voice frantic. “I can’t find Hiro, anywhere. I can smell him faintly, or at least his scent, but I can’t physically find him.”

  “Where was he last?” Theo says with concern.


  “We were checking out an old room with some books in it,” he says. “Down the hall. One minute he was there and the next, gone.

  It’s dark so it’s hard to see in there, even for me as a cat.”

  “Alright team,” I reply. “Gather up, we have a kitty to find.”

  “Wait, wait,” Sebastian calls out, pointing up into a tree. “You mean that disappearing cat?”

  We all turn and look up at the tree to the left. In its branches Hiro is there, laid back against the trunk, his eyes closed, a snore coming and going from his throat. I laugh, looking back at Toshi. He is red in the face, but relief quickly spreads over him. It looks like we are going to be safe.

  Chapter 9

  ~ Sebastian

  Ilook up at the old man, leaning against the tree, his arms crossed over his chest, shaking my head. Just like a cat to be sleeping on the job. I sigh and look over at Clarissa who seems amused by it. Suddenly, though, the smile moves from her face, and she turns her head, toward the entrance.

  “ What is it ?” I ask in my mind.

  “ There’s a sound, out in the leaves,” she says. “ Like footsteps, very faint.”

  I slowly creep toward the door, squinting my eyes and listening closely. As I reach the opening I pause, an unfamiliar scent whisking through my nose. I look back at the others, noticing Hiro in the tree open his eyes wide and shift his gaze over to me. Before I can turn back, he springs down to the ground, and I am pushed down hard. I slide across the broken concrete, stopping at Clarissa’s feet. She looks down at me and then back up, screaming loudly as she lunges forward, wrestling a man in black, his eyes glowing green.

  I shake my head back and forth, heightening my senses and kick upward, knocking the enemy off balance. I shoot to my feet, standing in front of Clarissa, baring my teeth and snarling. The cat smirks like Toshi always does and moves back into ranks with the other six ninjas.

  “ Stay back ,” I growl to Clarissa. “ I need you to stay in one piece. We are in the middle of the Amazon. ”

  “ What are they doing ?” she asks, pulling my attention upward.

  In the center of the arena, Hiro stands, holding a pose. One leg is bent, his foot pressing against the inside of his other knee.

  His hands are pressed together at the palms, and he is breathing softly with his eyes closed. I tilt my head and look over at Toshi who shrugs. The ninjas circle around Hiro, moving slowly, holding their weapons at the ready. I take a step forward, but as I do, Hiro’s eyes open, and he begins to move.

  I have seen cats fight, and I have even seen ninjas in action, but I have never seen anything like this. He moves with the agility of someone a third of his age, the stamina of a warrior, and the skill of a ninja. His movements are slow, methodical, and almost seem effortless. One at a time the ninjas attack him, throwing blows, trying to knock him over. However, one by one Hiro takes them down until there are only two standing.

  The old man closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath through his nose and blowing it out through his mouth. He opens his eyes and

  waits for the two ninjas to attack. They both lunge forward, yelling out in their native language. The one behind Hiro raises his sword and lets it fly, straight down toward Hiro’s head. Hiro snaps his arms in the air and catches the sword between his palms, pausing for a moment before twisting his arms, flinging the sword from his hands. He kicks forward into one ninja’s stomach, then back into the other who is approaching quickly. As he steps back, he grabs both by the back of their shirts and knocks them into each other, head first.

  Both ninjas fall to the ground, rubbing their heads as Hiro backs up to the sword on the ground. He stomps on the handle, sending the sword flying high in the air. One of the ninja’s jumps up and yells out, running head first at Hiro. As he gets within three feet, the sword falls, and Hiro grabs it in the air, twisting his body, slicing through the ninja’s stomach. Hiro lunges forward, grabbing the other warrior by his hair, and pulling his head back to expose his neck. He holds the sword to the warrior’s throat and calls out a battle cry, pulling his arm back to strike.

  “Wait,” Toshi calls out, stepping forward. “I need to talk to him first.”

  Hiro looks at Toshi and then back at the warrior, nodding his head and handing the enemy over. Toshi drags the boy off kicking and screaming to the other side of the arena to interrogate him.

  I look up at Hiro who drops the sword on the ground and clasps his hands together, bending forward and bowing in respect. I have never witnessed such a feat and from an old cat, that on the outside looked to be too old to carry on.

  “Wow,” I say in shock as Hiro walks over to Clarissa and me.

  “That was more than I expected. I apologize for misjudging you.”

  “There is a Japanese proverb that says, ‘The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour,”

  Hiro says. “Or ten minutes in this instance.”

  “Yeah.” I laugh. “I guess so.”

  I turn and look at Clarissa who is smiling at me, surprised by the way I reacted. I shrug my shoulders with a scowl on my face, not liking to ruin my reputation as an asshole. It is what it is.

  Cat or not, he is badass. But still, it doesn’t yield us many answers, just a slaughter. I turn and walk toward Toshi who has the boy by the collar, his hand poised to strike.

  “Mottooshiete!” Toshi yells in Japanese. “Watashi wa anata no jinsei o meiyo nashide koko de owara semasu. Anata wa jigoku no fukami ni okura re, anata no ken wa anata no soba de koware, kazoku wa areta mama ni narimasu.”

  Penny walks up beside me and listens in, watching the situation get worse. “He told him if he doesn’t talk he will send him to hell, a broken sword at his side. Dishonor for his family.”

  “You speak Japanese?” I reply looking over at her like she is crazy.

  “I studied it when I went to college,” she says with a smile.

  “Watashi wa nani mo shirimasen. Watashi wa iwa reta koto subete o anata ni hanashimashita. Watashitachi wa aru basho kara tsugi no basho ni okura remasu. Watashitachiha shujin ni shika doreide wa arimasen.”

  “The boy says that he knows nothing else, that he is only told where to go, and that he is a slave to one master,” she says.

  “Toshi, ask him about Gus, find out if he knows where Gus is.”

  Toshi looks up in irritation and nods, turning back to the boy.

  “Gausu wa dokodesu ka? Kare wa anata to issho ni iru, kare wa amarini mo senshidesu.”

  “Gausu?” the boy asks. “Īe, watashi wa Gausu o shiranai.”

  “Damn,” Penny sighs as Toshi looks up and shakes his head.

  “Alright,” I sigh. “Let him go.”

  “What?” Toshi says looking back at me. “Are you crazy? He will tell the others.”

  “They will know when their men don’t come back,” I say. “This kid is a pawn. Let him go, there has been enough death.”

  Toshi hisses, pulling back his claws and threatening the boy.

  Finally, he drops him to the ground and kicks at him. The boy looks up at us, fear in his yellow eyes, his strength and valor pulled out of him by Toshi. I shake my head and turn back toward Clarissa, shaking my head.

  “Damn it,” she yells out, kicking the rocks and turning away.

  “Anata no meiyo wa tada no bijondesu. Anata ga sunde iru yuiitsu no riyū wa, kono Ni~Tsu, inu ga anata no jinsei o sukuttakaradesu,” Toshi yells at the boy, kicking at him.

  The boy jumps up, bows quickly to everyone and runs off out of the arena. I chuckle to myself turning to Toshi, who glares at me through his slitty cat eyes. I smile and nod at him, impressed with his ferocity.

  “That was good work.” I chuckle.

  “It would have been better if you let me end him,” he grumbles.

  “That right there is a huge dishonor to him, isn’t it?” I ask.

  “To be set free when all your fellow warriors have died.”

  “Yes,” he says.

&
nbsp; “Then you gave him a fate worse than death.” I smile. “What did you say to him anyway?”

  “Basically that his honor was lost because a dog set him free,”

  Toshi says patting me on the chest and walking away with a smirk.

  I roll my eyes, figuring that it was too much to think we had a similar moment. Cats will forever be little fuzzy pouf balls of hell. Across the arena I see Clarissa, bent down next to Hiro, shaking her head as he talks. I walk over, curious as to what he has to say since they were there because of him in the first place.

  “They weren’t all gone?” Clarissa asks him.

  “These warriors are a distraction,” he says. “They were not trained by me nor did they show the discipline to be part of the Elite. They were sent here by someone. Someone who knew we would come here. Someone who knew we would be looking for them.”

  “All the kid said was that there was a new headquarters in Barbados, but he didn’t know anymore,” Toshi says. “It makes sense they aren’t part of the legion. They didn’t know anything, and he only knew Barbados because he overheard it from one of the Elite. These were not the men that killed your husband, Clarissa, but there may be more clues in Barbados.”

  “Well, I guess we better get going then,” Clarissa says standing up.

  “What if it’s another dead end?” I ask. “What if it’s a trap? We don’t know if they’ve set us up for failure here. We don’t know if they were told to say that if captured. It’s reckless to run into this situation again.”

  “It’s reckless to let more people die,” Clarissa says placing her hands on her hips. “It’s reckless to allow these monsters to keep going, to keep pushing me past the point of no return. It’s reckless to take no action.”

  “Kyōfu wa kokoro ga yurusu kagiri fukai,” Hiro mumbles.

  “What did the old man say?” I ask in exasperation.

  “Have a little respect,” Toshi hisses. “That old man saved your life.”

  “He said that Fear is only as deep as the mind allows,” Penny says quietly. “It’s a proverb.”

  “Great, more proverbs,” I scoff.

  “Here is the deal,” Clarissa says, getting up on a stone block.