Chapter 20: Arc 2.09

“So, anything to say.”

“You talk too much.”

“Talking is the greatest form of communication, so thank you.”

After a moment of silence, I ask Orb, “Why are you trying to help Cole.”

“So, you’re finally using his name.”

“Just answer me.”

“I simply think leaving him to die is just too sad, so I won’t let it happen, simple as that.”

“You’re a strange one.”

“Thanks for the compliment. You are just layering on the praise.”

“I am not praising you, moron. It seems you need to learn what a compliment is.”

“Now you’re trying to insult me to keep up that bad attitude. I am like a virus; even if you don’t want me in your system, I find a way to get in.”

After a moment of silence, Orb says, “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, simply because of what happened to your parents.”

“How the hell do you know about that!”

“I have been spending lots of time with all the villagers, so of course the epidemic would come up.”

“You have spent your time in our village well, you have done quite a substantial study of the village. Is that how you have sneaked into my people’s hearts, using the information you have gained to manipulate them.”

Orb then looks at me as if he can’t believe my words, “You can’t stop with the compliments today. Should I take this as an apology”

“Do I look like I am joking!”

“No, you look like an idiot with a bunch of broken bones. Do you really think I have planned out all my actions since I met Maple? You find the idea that I am an evil genius whose sole reason for being here is to do something, for some reason is somehow easier for you to believe than what I told you, and if I were that smart, no way an idiot like you would ever come close to finding out what my plan was.”

Begin taken aback by his words, all I could think to say was, “You’re the stupid one.”

“Idiot.”

“Dunce.”

“Dullard.”

“Nincompoop.”

We continue to insult each other back and forth, until we hear a thundering roar. Looking in the direction it came from, we see three atlas eaters. This isn’t good.

Instantaneously, Orb with me on his back and runs at full speed away from the eaters, using the trees as cover. Orb has a panicked look on his face as he runs.

My thoughts run wild, trying to figure out a way from this situation: I can’t fight in my current condition, and any vigorous movements I make might cause lasting damage to my body, and Orb can’t fight them without a spear. It would have been hard in a two-on-one, but their three of them, so all we can do was run.

If I remember, there is a marker somewhere here. We could use that to return to the village, but I can’t do that in my current state, and I can’t show Orb the secret to entering. So, with the eaters gaining on us, the only choice is to die here with Orb. That is much better than letting him find out.

If I can aim my body correctly, I should be able to jump from Orb’s back into the mouth of an eater, with that I can go out in one fell swoop, rather than be mauled to death. As one approach, I try to line my body up with its open mouth so I could jump in.

But as I try to jump off Orb’s back, I remember everything I have ever experienced, and then I stop. My body won’t move, it won’t jump. This isn’t happening due to my current physical state; I am just hesitant about dying.

What’s wrong with me? I was ready to kill for my village but not die. I need to stop being a fool and move. I need to strengthen my resolve. So, I think back to what everyone meant to me repeatedly in my head, jump, jump, jump. Until I feel my grip lose, but as I am about to leap off his back, Orb’s grip strengthens.

Then Orb says, “I know the situation is scary, but hold on tight. I will get you through this alive.”

“There is no way you will outrun them.”

“Of course not, but if I can’t outrun them, I just have to get them to slow down.”

Orb then turns around and runs at the tree Atlas eaters, “This might hurt a bit,” he tells me as he approaches. As he runs toward the eater in front of the other two, it lunges at us, but Orb slides under it. The sudden movement causes my broken bones to hurt even more.

Now in the centre of all three eaters, they stand up on their feet and start swinging their arms at us. Has Orb gone mad? Are we going to get crushed? But flawlessly, he dodges all eighteen arms with me on his back.

How is this possible? He struggled to dodge one. Now he is avoiding three with me on his back, and his movement are still normal. He hasn’t reached the same point as the rest of the adult warriors and me, damnit.

Eventually, the two eaters in front of us get tired and return to being sextupled.

Orb then says, “Get ready and brace yourself,” as he runs forward, the eater behind us tries to smash us with its paw, while the two in front of us lunge ahead, trying to bite us. Orb dodges all three attacks, causing the two which lunged at us to crash into the one behind us.

“It worked, Orb said to me.”

“They’re going to catch up in no time,” I say, but as I look back, I see the three eaters fighting. “What is happening.”

“Atlas eaters tend to work together, but any little thing can set them off to fight each other to the death. This is why you should research everything about your targets, because you can’t overwhelm them with your strength every time.”

So, Orb runs at full speed, as far away as possible, his face clearly shows his exhaustion, still he runs without stopping, but eventually, Orb stops and throws me off.

“What are you doing.”

“Their fight is over. It should be approaching us now.”

“How would you know that.”

“Ever since I woke up, I have been feeling sharper, and I can hear big footsteps coming our way.”

“We could continue to run, it will probably give up on us eventually.”

“Atlas eaters never let their prey go when it spots them, and with it just killing the other two, I bet it’s hungry, so there is no point in running away.”

“So, you plan to use me as bait as you run away.”

With a disappointed look on his face, “I would’ve done that earlier if that was my plan. I am going to distract it. You should go find some way back to the village.”

As Orb beings to walk off, I say, “Why would you do this for me.”

“You have no intention of leading me anywhere close to the village even at the expense of your own life, so at least this way one of us survive, and there is still a good chance I can get this eater to fall off a cliff or something.”

“But that still doesn’t make sense. Using me as bait, you could try and find a rescue party. I tried to kill you. Wouldn’t that only be fair.”

“You haven’t listened to a word I have said. My goal in life is to die feeling completely fulfilled, so no regrets. If I don’t like doing something, I won’t do it.

And unlike me you have people who will mourn your death, so goodbye AND NAME YOUR FIRST-BORN ORB!”

So, Orb runs off away from my site.

Φ My muscles throb, my bones ache, I am out of breath, and I feel like I am about to topple over any second, but if I am going to be a decoy, I am going to be the best ever. So, as I hear the stomps get louder and louder, I head towards that direction, and I see the eater lunges towards me; as always, I dodge under, but after that, the eater starts attacking randomly. There is no pattern to it.

The injuries it sustained from its battle have made it incredibly angry, so I can no longer read its movement. I barely dodge as the attacks come, but my body’s constant pain is slowing me down. I have no time to formulate a plan because if I don’t use my fully concentration, I will be squished.

So, I continued to dodge, but one of my legs froze in a single instance, and I was sent flying by one of its paws. I let out an ear-piercing scream as I grab my arm in pain. The bones in it were shattered as I tried to get up; I saw the eater lunging toward me. I feel certain death coming towards me, but I am not afraid. This feeling isn’t foreign to me. It’s almost familiar like I’ve died before, so my body completely relaxes as if preparing to be eaten.

“BRACE YOURSELF,” is what I hear as I am tackled out of the eater’s way. As I look to see who attacked me, I see Buloke.

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“What are you doing here? I left you so at least one of us would live.”

“I will need you to shut up while I focus.”

Buloke holding onto me with one arm, lunges forward with his good leg.

“You idiot, you’re going to damage your body with vigorous movement like that, and you don’t even want me alive, so at least let me die with purpose.”

As he lunges forward with his leg, he tells me, “You’re a threat no matter how I look at you; that’s all I see. You can bring destruction to everything I love, and that’s a fact, but you are also a kind person that has only helped everyone in the village that’s also a fact.

You could be an evil genius who masterminded everything here, but you could also be a good-natured person. I can’t just see the parts I want to about your presence; I need to see you as a whole; I have eyes, but I haven’t been looking.”

He lunges forward more and more while having a pained expression. “So right here, right now, I have decided to trust you,” he says this as he stops.

“Orb, I will show you how to get into the village, so I need you to pick me up and follow my instructions.”

So as the atlas eater approaches, I pick him up with one arm onto my back.

“Orb, go up to that tree, that is a marker.”

The tree Buloke pointed out had no snow surrounding it and was the only green tree I had seen. Having no energy to get excited, I went up to it and followed his instructions.

“Using the tree as your starting point, hop eight times on your left foot, then four times on your right, then take ten stomps in a semi-circle and lastly, run and take eight steps and jump up on the last one.”

So as the atlas eater runs towards us, I follow his instructions, but as I get to the last part, the atlas eater gets extraordinarily close, but I jump and land.

After completing the last step and turning around, I see the village from the same cliff Maple showed me the first time. “What happened? Where is the eater? How are we here.”

“I don’t understand the full reason behind it, but the space around our village is a bit messed up, so if you try to walk straight towards it you will end on the other side, so from certain markers which show us where space starts to be messed up if you follow a certain path you will be transported to the village.”

After Buloke told me that, we headed down to the village, and everyone was happy to see we were ok. They had recovered Willow and were out looking for us. Hearing that willow was OK was the final thing I was worried about, so I passed out unconscious.

-Break-

As I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard was.

“Orb, your awake”, willow says.

“Oh, how are you doing.”

“Well, I have had three days to recover, so I have been doing fine.”

“Wait, THREE DAYS!”

“You’ve been out for a while.”

While panicking, I ask him, “What happen to Buloke.”

Willow then tells me that he came forward about what happened, how he tried to kill me, and showed me the entrance to the village. For all this, he was thrown in prison, with his punishment to be decided later.

“So how does falling off a cliff feel like.”

“Not fun, like how I found out I just lost three days of my life.”

“That sounds fun, you got to sleep for three days straight. That sounds like a dream.”

“Well, it’s not. My arms and legs are killing me.”

“Speaking of that, what happens to all your scars.”

“What do you mean.”

“When the Oren was patching you up. All the training scares on the right side of your body were gone, and I am pretty sure scars don’t heal.”

I take a second to examine the right side of my body and see that all my scars are gone. They’re all still on the left side though, maybe it has something to do with me waking up on the right side after falling down the cliff.”

“Hey Orb, why do you look sad.”

“Those scars made me look like a warrior, and now they are all gone. This is unfair.”

“I’ve never heard someone who survives falling down a cliff say life is unfair. But I have an idea of something that could cheer you up.”

-Break-

Φ So, this is how it feels to be in a prison cell without knowing if you will be alive tomorrow. I guess this I what I deserve for what I did. At the very least, Oren bothered to care for a criminal like me.

I should accept my fate. I hear footsteps. This must be my food being delivered. As I look to see who it would be, I see both Orb and Willow.

“Oh, I feel better already.”

“What do you want.”

“I have humbly come to deliver you food.”

“Whatever, give it here.”

“That’s not how you ask for things. Show me some manners, and put some real spirit behind it.”

I begrudgingly say, “May I, a criminal, get my food served to me, please.”

“Perfect,” then Orb open my cell, and he and willow come in.

“What are you doing.”

“Willow here is going to feed you. I doubt you can eat by yourself with all your injuries.”

“I will manage, so get out.”

“What’s with all the hostility? Haven’t you accepted I am not suspicious.”

“No, I haven’t. You are still suspicious, so I can’t fully trust that you won’t cause trouble for us if you leave here, so all I have to do is make you stay here forever.”

“Sorry, but there is a zero per cent chance that will happen.”

“We will see about that.”

Name: Buloke Ring

Age: 21

Birthday: Taurus 1^st

Hair: brownish orange

Eyes: red

Height: 192cm

Likes: village hunting flowers

Dislikes: outsiders

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