by Dreagen
“My mother always said pain is how we measure ourselves in life. That it’s not how much pain we can take and not die, but what we do with it once we have it—and believe me, she’s as far from an optimist as you can get, so it must be true, right?” she laughed.
Rex found himself chuckling despite his desire to stay stoically bitter. Looking at her, he said, “Thank you, AnaSaya.”
With a smile she simply replied, “You’re welcome, Rex,” before leaning back in and adding, “You’re not alone; please remember that.” She kissed him on the cheek and stood up, walking over to the bow of the ship where ShinGaru was sitting. There, she stood facing the west with her long sandy blond fur swaying gently in the early-morning breeze.
Rex glanced over and saw LyCora staring at him with deep blue eyes that locked him in an unwavering stare before rolling over with her back to him. Slowly, he rose to his feet, stretched, and walked over to EeNox, who was sitting at the back of the ship where he was communed with it, all the while staring silently at its wake.
“What’s on your mind?” Rex asked, sitting down next to him.
“Just wondering if we made the right choice, after all,” EeNox replied without looking at him.
“A bit late to be having doubts.”
“Should we have stayed in KaNar and waited for my father and VayRonx to come up with a plan? I mean we really didn’t give them a chance, did we?”
Rex sighed. “You heard the DraGon: Come, just the five of us, or she’s dead. What choice did we really have?”
“I know, I know,” EeNox said, leaning back and looking at Rex for the first time. “But then again…they were just so against it. I guess it just makes me wonder if they had figured something out that we didn’t. We’re still young and inexperienced, after all.”
“Maybe they did, or maybe they would have spent the entire time trying to figure a better plan only to come to the same conclusion we did. The point is, whether it was the right call or not, they would have never let us go alone, and you know it.”
EeNox looked at his friend for a moment, into his haunting red eyes that seemed never short of fury. Still, he looked up to Rex, for he was what EeNox always dreamed he could be: angry. A strange thing to think, perhaps, but not without reason. All his life he had felt that his voice was the weakest amongst those around him. Longing for purpose and drive never brought him the passion to get furiously angry about something he had always wanted. He envied people like Rex because as angry as they were, and Rex sure is angry, they know what it means to cherish something so much that they can tap into a power that strips them of any aversion to action to do what is necessary when the situation calls for it. In truth, it was Rex that gave him the idea to steal the boat, because he half-expected him to think of it, or something equally daring. For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of determination to prove himself to someone else, to show that he could be someone others looked to, seeing dependability and strength. Then again, Rex would probably just roll his eyes, punch me in the arm, and tell me to quit whining if I told him any of this, he thought with a smile. “Hey, Rex?” he said, breaking the silence. “Do you think DiNiya will be all right?”
Rex thought about the question for a moment. He knew what EeNox wanted to hear, that they would get her back alive, safe, and in one piece, and that everything would turn out all right in the end. He had not been lying when he told AnaSaya that he basically had an allergy to optimism, but in this case, the idea of losing the first person he had ever felt close to since his father was more than he could bear. That and the idea of the monsters that murdered his father and slaughtered many of the people he had come to know and even love here, infuriated him to such a degree that he threw the intelligent answer aside in favor of the one that made his blood boil with determination. “Oh, we’re going to get her back. Even if I have to rip all their fucking hearts out with my teeth and pry her from their cold dead claws, we will get her back!”
“Damn straight,” EeNox exclaimed, leaping to his feet. “Let’s kill every last one of them and burn their bodies to smoldering ash!”
“Would you two please shut up?” LyCora said. “I’m trying to sleep.”
“Sleep when you’re dead,” said Rex, walking past her on the floor where she was wrapped in her cloak to stand at the bow of the ship alongside AnaSaya and ShinGaru. “We’ve got a fight ahead of us, and losing is not an option.”
“Since when did you go all alpha?” she asked sarcastically, rising to her feet and rubbing the back of her neck.
“Since I woke up and realized I was tired of feeling sorry for myself, when good people have died and others still might.” AnaSaya smiled approvingly. Now Rex turned and faced everyone. “Listen, I’m not going to stand here and pretend that I’m not afraid. Truth is I’ve never been more scared in my life, but one has nothing to do with the other. I’ve decided that courage isn’t what you do in the absence of fear but what you do in spite of it. So I’m going to press on and get back my friend!”
“Well, you know I’m with you,” EeNox said, smiling and crossing his arms. “Now as for some of—”
“Oh, you two get over yourselves already,” LyCora scolded. “Obviously we’re in this together or we wouldn’t all be here!”
“She’s right,” added ShinGaru. “We all made the choice to come, no matter the danger.”
Rex narrowed his gaze as his crimson eyes gleamed in the dawn light. “Then from here on out there’s no turning back, no talk of giving up. We see this through to the end or die trying.”
They floated down the river for another hour before steering towards one of the sandbanks on the left. There they grabbed their bags, dismounted, and proceeded on foot through the forest. Rex instantly noticed the surrounding environment was different than what he had become accustomed to in the mountains. The trees were smaller and the air felt heavier and slightly humid.
“Where are we exactly?” he asked.
“About a hundred or so kilometers west of KaNar,” EeNox answered.
“Wow, have we really come that far already?” AnaSaya asked, sounding surprised.
“The river has a strong current,” EeNox explained. “That’s the main reason why I wanted to make the first leg of the trip on it. Combine that with the communion with the boat, and it was the fastest way to put some distance between us and those who are no doubt already looking for us.”
“They will be searching by air, you know,” LyCora said, pulling back her hood.
EeNox nodded. “Which is why we’ll stick to forests as much as possible. CyTorians have a hard time spotting anything under a dense canopy.”
“Effective as that might be,” said ShinGaru. “We’ll still have to go into some towns for supplies, putting us at risk of being caught.”
“He’s right,” said LyCora. “I’m willing to bet they’ve already dispatched several search parties to cover all the settlements between KaNar and the tower.”
“We’ll just have to be careful, then,” EeNox replied, shrugging.
“Be careful?” LyCora asked with an exaggerated expression. “That’s your plan to get us through this? ‘Be careful’?”
“Hey, I don’t hear you coming up with anything better!”
“Why should I? With words like those to inspire, there’s really no need for any of us to, fearless leader!”
“I never said I was your leader!”
“No, you just took it upon yourself to hatch this stupid plan that you couldn’t have given more than three minutes of thought to before dragging us on what’s probably going to turn out to be a suicide run!”
“That’s enough,” Rex exclaimed in a quick but intense burst of red. Both EeNox and LyCora stopped arguing and stared at him like children being scolded by a parent. “LyCora! No longer than fifteen minutes ago you were ready for this, so stop complaining!” LyCora turned her head with a look of utter annoyance. Rex then refocused his attention on EeNox, who looked noticeably nervous. “EeNox,
I know this isn’t the easiest situation for anyone, but you’re going to have to think on your feet and not just leave things to chance when there’s a wrinkle in your plan.”
EeNox sighed and nodded. “You’re right.”
“Now you two need to cut the bullshit and start working together. DiNiya’s life is at stake, and I’m not going to let whatever it is you two have against each other get in the way of getting her back.” Giving the whole group a look over, he took the lead with the other four filing in behind. He hated the role of leader, but hated leaving the tough calls to others. He had never trusted people enough to give them all his faith, something he knew in time he would have to change—but not today, not now. Not when something so important was at stake.
Super-charging their bodies with their flames, they tore through the forest at great speed for over two hours, stopping only for fifteen minutes once to take a drink of water and gather their strength. It was not much, but it would have to do, for Rex was not allowing for anything more.
From the outside, it would almost have appeared that he had taken on a somewhat tyrannical role within the group dynamic; however, the others saw it differently. For they had come to see a caring, protective side hidden under the brutish, cynical exterior that he wore as armor. They knew that he was there for them, and so they remained there for him. Plus, it was nice to have what they saw as a focus to the group, a conduit to channel their drive, fear, and determination through, for Rex was able to take it all remarkably in stride. Without any of them realizing it, Rex had become both their compass and shield.
They continued through the lowland forest, staying clear of any areas with an open canopy. Rex and EeNox led the way, with ShinGaru and AnaSaya monitoring the sides. LyCora brought up the rear, covering what was, more often than not, their most vulnerable side. EeNox had been going over the different flora and fauna native to this region of the Northern Continent upon Rex’s request, when suddenly they all smelled something that made them stop dead in their tracks. It was a thick and pungent odor, lingering heavily in the air. Yet, it was also, in some strange way, sweet and enticing: a feeling that struck them as both odd and unnerving for they knew immediately what it was.
“Blood,” said Rex, raising his nose to the air and drinking in the smell. “Lots of it.”
“Yeah, but from where?” EeNox said, glancing all around the surrounding forest for someone injured, or carrion.
“Don’t know, but it has to be close given how strong it is.”
They continued on for another thirty minutes with still no sign of its source. A strange thing to be sure, for the smell had only grown stronger with each passing minute.
“Okay, obviously we’re getting closer to whoever all this blood is coming from,” said EeNox.
“Maybe it’s more than one,” AnaSaya said. “Like a herd.”
“Maybe, but why did we start smelling it so strongly so far back? It was like we were right on top of whatever it was, but we’ve been running for half an hour and still nothing.”
“So what’s the big deal?” asked Rex.
“The big deal is that our noses aren’t that strong. I mean, it’s not like we’re…” EeNox suddenly stopped when the realty hit him like a mountain collapsing down on him. The memory of that night instantly passed through all of them, the feeling of their flames burning hotter than they ever had, and the call to awaken in their heads.
“You were saying?” Rex said, baring his toothy maul.
“So…what does this make us, exactly?” asked AnaSaya. “Are we SaVarians or DyVorians?”
“Well,” ShinGaru said thoughtfully. “Technically, both. Or least you four are. I’m still not sure what I would be classified as.”
“Hmm. I wonder if anyone has ever been two things at once.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around how any of this is even possible,” said LyCora. “As best as I can remember, we didn’t actually transform. It was more like…waking up. Or at least that’s how it felt to me.”
“She’s right,” said EeNox. “I didn’t feel my body change or grow in some strange way. It was like coming out of a dream that you could have sworn was real, but once you wake from it, you can clearly see how…unreal it actually was. It sounds strange, I know, but that’s the only way I can describe it.”
The others nodded silently in agreement, all of them seemingly lost in their own memories for a moment, before the sound of Rex cracking his neck brought them back. He of course knew exactly how they felt, but unlike them had a clearer insight to what had happened. While the specifics still very much eluded him, he had a much more intimate connection with his own “other self.” Still, he had not heard from the two mystery figures inside his head for some time, not since the attack. He wondered if now that he had regained his memory, they had left him. Yeah,right. As soon as I think I get my mind all back to myself again, she’ll show up speaking cryptically right before the other one looms in and scares the shit out of me.
“While I do believe this is something that should be addressed,” ShinGaru said, “perhaps we should do it when we stop for the night?”
Rex nodded. “Agreed. Come on, let’s keep moving.” With that, he turned and walked ten feet before tripping over something that sent him sprawling to the ground, where he received a face full of dirt.
“Rex, are you okay?” EeNox said, running up and helping him to his feet.
“What the hell did I trip on?” Rex asked, spitting out dirt. His eyes immediately fell on what appeared to be a dark reddish-brown shape partially concealed in fallen shrubbery. His eyes followed it up and saw that it grew into a larger mass that was concealed beneath five large broken trees.
“Someone’s under there!” AnaSaya exclaimed. No sooner had she said it than she instantly made out the broad side of a large ridged back. The thing Rex had tripped on was a tail.
“Whoa,” exclaimed EeNox, taking a step towards the motionless form. “It’s a Ridgeback!”
“A what?” Rex asked.
“Well, actually an AcaroVora, but most just call them Ridgebacks.”
“How can you tell that’s what it is?” LyCora asked
EeNox pointed to the thick ridge that ran down the length of its back and part of the tail. “See that? It’s their distinguishing characteristic, the ridge. AcaroVora are the biggest predators in this region, so we’ll definitely be seeing them while we’re here.”
“This one looks like it’s been through one hell of a fight,” said Rex, taking in the demolished foliage.
“No kidding,” said EeNox, leaning in close to it on its other side. “Take a look at these wounds!”
The other four joined him in front of the DyVorian’s chest, where they saw two large holes.
“Stab wounds,” ShinGaru said.
“Yeah, and bad ones, too,” EeNox added. “Look how deep they go.”
AnaSaya walked up towards the front of the body and removed some branches that were covering the head, revealing the ridgeback’s face. His eyes were tightly shut and his mouth partially opened, revealing deadly meat-shearing teeth. Slowly, she knelt down and reached out with her right hand to touch his face. The others were now leaning down for a closer look at the deadly wounds, and saw a faint green glow coming from deep within them.
“What is that?” Rex asked, peering past the others.
“It looks like…a flame,” EeNox said.
“But can he still have a flame if he’s…dead?”
The very tips of AnaSaya’s claws touched the closed eyelid of the fallen DyVorian, and it suddenly shot open, revealing a burning green eye. Startled, she screamed and fell back. Rex and the others did the same as green flame shot out from the open wounds before subsiding to a faint glow once more.
“He’s alive!” EeNox exclaimed.
“No shit!” Rex replied, getting to his feet.
They all stood for a moment and stared at the large form of the predator as it lay before them, breathing raggedly, seem
ingly oblivious to their presence. At last AnaSaya broke their stunned silence. “He’s been keeping himself alive by sealing his arteries with his flame so he doesn’t bleed out.”
“How do you know that?” LyCora asked.
“Look,” AnaSaya said, venturing another few steps towards him and pointing at the low green glow coming from within the gaping wounds on his chest. “That’s why you can see his flame. He’s concentrating all of it on these two spots. Problem is, he’s losing a lot of energy, and his flame is growing weaker because of it.” She closed her eyes and placed both hands on him. “At this rate, he’ll be dead by this time tomorrow.”
“That’s assuming someone doesn’t come along and eat him,” LyCora said, glancing around uneasily.
“She right,” ShinGaru said. “It’s unfortunate, but right now he’s a magnet for every carnivore in this forest.”
“I hope you’re not suggesting we just leave him to die?” AnaSaya asked with what sounded for the first time like an edge to her demeanor.
“No, I mean…well. Time is not exactly on our side. That, and he is of the wild.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“What it means is that this is part of their way of life,” he explained.
“What, waiting for someone to come and have them for lunch, while they lay face down in the dirt, bleeding to death?”
“Yes, exactly,” LyCora said. “I know it seems cruel, but the wild tribes made the choice long ago to live apart from the settlements and unified tribes in accordance with the old ways, which means inheriting all the risks and dangers that come with that life. I want him to live just as much as you, but we have to choose for ourselves what is the best use of our time. Staying here trying to figure out what we can do for him, or going after DiNiya. I think you know the right choice here.”
“What I know is that you came on this journey with all of us because you’re more scared than any of us about what has happened to us all. For the first time you don’t have all the answers, and you don’t know how to deal with it! That’s why you came; you don’t want to be alone!” LyCora looked stunned, like her deepest, most shameful secret had been ripped out of her and put on display for all to see.
