Chapter Three: In Shadows of Scarring Memories (I1B0C3)
Chapter Three: In Shadows of Scarring Memories
“We
need to head north,” Hatasuko muttered in his sleep.
The sound of his own voice startled him from slumber. His
eyes slowly fell open to the world of endless starlight, revealing a wide river
which glistened in the pulsing light. Hatasuko took a moment to remember his
location, but he quickly realized that he was sitting in the front seat of a
sail-rana. Vaida was half-asleep in the seat behind him. She covered her face
with her dark hair, hiding her eyes from the pulsing starlight.
The
boat drifted quickly with the current as the river flowed east, though they
kept their sails folded; the wind flowed northwest as usual. Hatasuko glanced
ahead and saw that Lazaro led by a short distance, though Lazaro could still
hear him over the splash of the river.
Lazaro said from a short distance, “We already are,
remember? Lumipyla is north of the river. Pretty sure we’ll have to steer to
shore in a couple minutes, so it’s good you’re up.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. We have to go to the Catena
Islands. An Interfectus is going to attack there,” Hatasuko explained.
As soon as she heard the word Interfectus, Vaida perked
her head up from the backseat. Her eyes looked bloodshot and tired, but she
fought against her exhaustion and straightened her back. She threw her hands
behind her head, unleashed a powerful stretch, and let out a quiet,
high-pitched groan.
Lazaro asked, “And how the hell would you know something
like that? Chasing the Interfecti is damn near impossible. It’s an ugly game of
statistics; I almost always miss an attack. I go to the wrong place, or it
attacks when I don’t expect. I’m not gonna listen to some crazy kid’s hunch.”
After he finished speaking, Lazaro pulled out an oar and
dipped it into the river on the right side. He flexed his powerful arms, pushed
the oar backward, and spun his boat so that it drifted toward the left bank.
Hatasuko did the same thing with his own oar, which had been sitting on the
floor beneath a small pile of colorful fruit. In less than a minute, both
sail-ranae reached the northern shore of the river. Lazaro, Vaida, and Hatasuko
then piled out onto the wet dirt of the green meadow.
“I was hoping I’d have more time to explain. You see, I
always know when and where the Interfectus will attack. I can hear the screams
of their victims in my head. I know this sounds ridiculous, but you have to
trust me on this,” Hatasuko explained.
“You kids have the wildest imaginations. Let’s just get
moving. We can talk about it on the way,” Lazaro grumbled as he pushed his boat
up the riverbank’s slope.
“I’m not really a kid, Lazaro.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not really a man, either.”
Hatasuko sighed and tried to do the same thing with his
sail-rana, but he struggled to roll the boat up the slope. The wheels on its
underside slightly sank into the wet dirt. Despite her fatigue, Vaida ran up to
his side and helped him push the boat until they reached the flat meadow.
“As I’m sure you know, the winds in Agrideī almost always
blow northwest. Because the wind’s usually very strong, I made a vehicle to
take advantage of it,” Lazaro explained.
Though the sail-rana stayed motionless on the hard
ground, Lazaro climbed back into his seat and let out a quiet sigh. He reached
over to the mast at the forefront of his ship, and then he unfolded it so that
the sails caught the wind. Immediately afterward, the sail-rana started moving
due north, though Lazaro kept his hands on the wheel so that it would not veer
west. Before long, he tilted the mast so as to not roll too far from Hatasuko
and Vaida.
“That’s brilliant! What a cool invention,” Hatasuko raved
as he reached for the mast.
“It does what it needs to. You can use the sail-rana any
time you want, but just make sure you’re sitting in front. I don’t want to run
the risk of looking back and seeing her,” Lazaro yelled from up ahead.
Hatasuko shook his head, though he chose to comply. He
prepared to settle in the front seat, but Vaida placed her soft hand on his big
shoulder.
“I, um, I should be in front on land. When the wind hits
the sail, it’s trying to tip it forward. You’re heavier, so if you sit in the
back, we’ll be a lot more stable,” she said sleepily.
“I never thought about it like that. That’s pretty
clever!”
Vaida climbed into the front seat and retrieved an
albapomus from the wooden floor. She took a bite, and then she held it in
between her teeth in front of her face. Hatasuko climbed into the backseat and
watched carefully as she used both hands to deploy the sails. When the sail
unfurled and caught the wind, the sail-rana jolted northward across the meadow.
Vaida kept one hand on the wheel and another on the white fruit. Hatasuko was
impressed by how quickly their vehicle gained speed; Lazaro had to redeploy his
sail so that they could travel together. It was not long before both sail-ranae
rolled northward at the same speed. After a couple minutes of travel, Vaida
tossed the core of her albapomus out onto the meadow.
“Oh, look! I think it’s an agilus. No, wait, I think it’s
a family of them,” Hatasuko exclaimed, pointing out over the left side of the
sail-rana.
Vaida quickly turned her head and stared at the family of
beasts with her good left eye. Since the goat-like creatures were far away and
illuminated only by starlight, she had to narrow her eye to look closely. Her
face lit up as soon as she saw them.
“Aww, the agili are so cute! Look at them! The little
babies look like they’re trying to climb their mama’s legs,” Vaida raved with a
heartwarming smile.
When he saw her smile, Hatasuko forgot about the agili in
the distance. Vaida gazed at the animals with wonder, but he only looked at
her. Her left eye squinted from the surge of happiness.
“I think they see you,” Hatasuko whispered as their boat
raced through the meadow.
Vaida gave a shy little wave to the agilus family, though
they seemed to be curious more than anything. As the sail-rana rolled on, Vaida
turned her head so that she could watch the animals until they disappeared in
the distance. When this happened, she faced forward again, but Hatasuko could
still sense her smile. She was still happy, and he smiled now that he had seen
her joy.
Lazaro announced from up ahead, “Hatasuko, I need you to
tell me why you think you’re qualified to say when and where the next
Interfectus will strike. I have a contact in every major city who spends all
day listening to reports and doing the math, just trying to predict the
next attack. In fact, when we get to Lumipyla, that’s the first person I
intend to see. Lumipyla is my hometown, and it’s the only place with people I
even somewhat care about. But before anything else, I need to find out
his prediction. Why do you think you would know something like that?
That isn’t something to say lightly, boy.”
“I know it sounds crazy, and that’s how it should be,
since this situation is crazy… but I
didn’t just say that for no reason. It’s like… I carry the weight of those the
Interfecti killed. They became a part of me when I touched an Interfectus for
the first time; it awakened inside me like a permanent curse! When I close my
eyes, all I see is anguish. When the world falls silent, all I hear is
screaming. The screaming tempest is somewhat quiet in times of peace, but they
roar when an Interfectus is near. Their voices whisper to me the location of
every attack! I don’t know when it will happen, but it’s usually a matter of
days. You have to trust me on this,” Hatasuko explained.
Lazaro answered with a displeased voice, “We will venture
to the Catena Islands, but I am only doing this to prove that you’re an idiot.
I cannot have my apprentice listening to voices in his goddamn head. I won’t
criticize you for your schizophrenia or whatever the hell you’ve got going on,
since we’re all a little insane—otherwise we wouldn’t be doing this. Vaida does
it because she clearly hates herself, and you do it because you’re
evidently crazy.”
“Why do you always say awful things about her?” Hatasuko
asked.
But Vaida stepped in and answered, “It’s okay, Hatasuko.
He doesn’t lie. He insults me because I deserve it.”
As the sail-ranae rolled through the starlit flatland,
Hatasuko reached his hand around to scratch the back of his head. He continued
to scratch as he contemplated the pain of the poor girl before him.
Hatasuko whispered inaudibly to himself, “I am such a hypocrite. I swore to
annihilate pain and make a world without misery, but there’s misery right in
front of me. I see the source of her anguish, but I can’t even bring myself to
call him out. I can’t even tell if I’m allowing it because he can help me fight
the Interfecti, or if it’s just because I’m afraid of him.”
“I should be thankful for his criticism,” Vaida added as
she faced him. As she said this, Vaida forced a smile and kept her eyes closed.
Her lips moved to form the smile, but her eyes did not. Hatasuko glanced away
and stared at the bag of rocks in the sail-rana.
“Look all around. Do you see that the ground is getting
firmer? There is a lot less grass than before. We are getting into the desert
land, so it won’t be much longer to the canyon nation of Lumipyla. My old
home’s along the west edge of the canyon, so the two of you will not have to
enter. I can handle everything there on my own, so you can relax or train or
talk to your head voices; I don’t give a shit. I’ll be gone a while once
we arrive, so Hatasuko, don’t go far. I won’t have time to look for you,”
Lazaro said as he steered the sail-rana around a boulder.
“Yes, sir. I will practice. If I can find a target, I
will try to work on my rock aim.”
“Hatasuko, I know, um, I know it’s none of my business…
but do you really hear the voices of the dead?” Vaida quietly asked.
Because a dusty wind howled across the plain, the gusts
shrouded her voice from Lazaro’s ears. Nevertheless, Lazaro sailed far in front
of them since he was lighter than their combined weight.
Hatasuko nodded slowly and answered, “Yes. Their screams
have tormented me for years. I know it sounds like a lie, but it’s real. The
Interfectus cursed me when we first touched. And now, whenever I fight the
Interfectus, I can hear their miserable souls screaming in my head. They’re
louder than anything else, but also silent. I know it sounds crazy.”
“It does sound crazy, but I believe you! I guess, I mean,
I can’t really explain it, but I think something about you feels really
special. Normally I wouldn’t say anything… since I never really say anything.
But I think your voices are real,” she said with a half-smile.
“Thank you, Vaida. I really appreciate it! Honestly, I
never told anyone about this. I never even tried to make a friend until I met
the two of you.”
“I, um, I know how that goes. Except for someone I
haven’t seen in a very long time, I haven’t ever had a friend. I don’t know if
it’s because I get so nervous, or if it’s just because I know no one would want
to be my friend anyway,” Vaida confessed as she stared at the steering wheel in
her hands.
“I can see why you don’t call him your friend. How long have you and Lazaro been fighting
together?” Hatasuko asked.
“A little under two years. He found me the same way he
found you, except he never invited me to learn from him. He never let
me be his apprentice. But when I tried to fight the monster, um, he saved my
life. So I just clung onto him and followed him everywhere since he’s so
strong. Saving me was probably the worst mistake of his life,” she answered
with a forced, nervous, quiet laugh.
Though he wanted to convince her otherwise, Hatasuko got
distracted by a white glow up ahead. The glow looked like it came from
underground, but then he saw a cluster of tiny floating lights in the air.
These lights were far beneath the pulsing stars, though their glow speckled the
horizon; these floating lights manifested the horizon. Hatasuko looked over at
Lazaro as he charged toward the captivating glow.
“It’s the fireflies of Lumipyla! They’re like little
stars that fell from the sky,” Hatasuko raved with a look of amazement.
“Aren’t they the most wonderful thing?” Vaida asked.
“I first came to this place at a time when I thought the
world was ending. I suppose that in a lot of ways, it truly is ending,
but the fireflies gave me hope. They’re little messengers of light,” Hatasuko
whispered.
When
the sail-rana rolled farther north, Hatasuko looked over the right side of the
vehicle. He realized that the glow emanated from a canyon. The canyon walls and
floor reflected the light of the stars in the sky. Due to these reflections,
the canyon looked like it was alive in the form of white flashes. Up ahead,
Vaida slightly turned the steering wheel, and the sail-rana veered closer to
the west edge of the canyon. They both stared over the ledge at the countless
homes on the canyon floor. Hatasuko saw a labyrinth of shining walls and
glistening valleys; there were many other cliffs and ravines for as far as he
could see. Lumipyla was a series of chasms filled with towns and villages.
“I’ve been to the islands and I’ve seen the Fons Vitae,
but this will always be the most beautiful place in the world to me. It was
here that I decided to never give up,” Hatasuko said as fireflies flew
curiously around them.
“I don’t think Lumipyla is as wonderful as it looks. This
is the city that somehow made Lazaro the way he is. It’s not that I’m criticizing
him, um, I try not to judge, but there must be something else we aren’t seeing.
There’s more to this canyon than starlight and fireflies,” whispered Vaida as
their vehicle rolled on.
Hatasuko glanced over the left side of the sail-rana and
saw a small tree on the desert floor. It looked too small to help with target
practice, withered from a lifetime in the hard wasteland soil. Vaida quickly
turned the steering wheel to the left, veering their vehicle away from a large
hole, though the ground was still very bumpy. Vaida’s two swords clanged as
they bounced upon each other. When the sail-rana finally rolled a safe distance
from the canyon ledge, the desert became flat and smooth. The wind steadily
accelerated, so the sail caught the wind and stole its speed. They traveled
faster than before, but this also meant that Lazaro accelerated; he moved
farther away by the second. As they rolled beside the luminous canyon of
starlight and fireflies, Hatasuko saw Lazaro as just a silhouette in the
distance.
“Vaida, can you tell what that is?” Hatasuko asked,
pointing up ahead.
The light of the stars and the flashes from the canyon
illuminated a steady stream of water. The thin stream diverged around a large
shape in the distance. The starlight reflected on the water and revealed the
silhouette of a massive tree.
As
Hatasuko stared at the tree, Lazaro grabbed the sail and the foldable mast with
both hands. He folded the sale and pulled down his mast so that his ship would
lose speed. The sail-rana struck the stream of water before it slowed down, but
the splashes slowed him enough that he could step out into the ankle-deep
water. The river then flowed quickly down a slope into the luminous valley, but
the water was too shallow to carry his vehicle. Lazaro pulled his sail-rana
onto dry land and stood at the other end of the starlit stream. When Vaida saw
this, she folded down her own mast to avoid driving into the water. As she
secured the boat, Lazaro sifted through his belongings until he had everything
he wanted. He left his weapons behind.
“Hatasuko, I’m trusting you to look after my valuables.
I’ll be gone for several hours, so just try to keep yourself entertained up
here. I think I left a hanging log in the tree; see if you can send Vaida up
there,” Lazaro yelled out from the other riverbank.
“Alright! We’ll stay right here,” Hatasuko replied as
they rolled to a stop.
Lazaro let out a heavy sigh and then trudged toward
Lumipyla. He stepped carefully on the downward slope beside the starlit stream,
though Hatasuko turned his attention back to Vaida. Now that their boat became
motionless, she stepped out of the vehicle and buckled her whip onto the back
of her shirt. She pulled off her light jacket and tossed it inside the
sail-rana. Hatasuko grabbed his sword and his whip from the floor, holstered
them, and then climbed onto solid ground.
Vaida stepped through the shallow stream as the wind shuffled
her dark hair. She wore a faint smile as she approached the massive tree which
was entangled with vines. As soon as she came close, she dashed through the
flowing water with impressive speed. She jumped, grabbed onto two vines, and hoisted
herself higher along the trunk. Hatasuko watched with amazement as she quickly
climbed toward the lowest branch. Her biceps and triceps flexed with each pull;
her body demonstrated her impressive strength.
When
Vaida reached the large wooden branch, she quickly scrambled along it until she
reached a black log. It was hooked onto a rope which enwrapped the thick
branch. She threw the log down so that it spun around the branch, and when it
swung back to her, she caught it and threw it again. This process repeated
several times until the log swung low enough that they could strike it from the
ground.
“Do
you think we’ll be able to hit it from there?” Vaida asked, though the shallow
river nearly drowned out her quiet voice.
Hatasuko
stepped into the cool water and unsheathed his sword from the holster on his
back. His whip was still folded and pinned to the back of his shirt. When he
walked up to the hanging log, he lunged forward, suddenly crouched, and
unleashed a swift slash with his sword. His blade struck the black log, broke
off a small scrap of bark, and sent it swinging around at a high speed. When it
swung back at him, he blocked it with his left forearm.
“Yep,
it looks like this will work well! This is such a cool idea!” Hatasuko raved.
“You
really think so? Thank you,” she said with a wide smile.
Vaida
closed her eyes as she smiled. Since the wind blew her hair behind her head,
Hatasuko could see that her burn scars went all the way up to her hairline.
Though the scars left her with an asymmetric face, he found her captivating in
a way that danced between mysterious and gorgeous. But as he gazed upon her scars,
he failed to notice when her eyes opened. Her sea-green eye saw nothing, but
her blue eye caught him staring, so she quickly turned her head and hid her
scars.
“I’m sorry! I wasn’t staring, I was just deep in thought.
I really need to work on that,” Hatasuko said.
“Don’t
apologize. I, um, I noticed that it’s natural for people to stare at my scars.
I hate it, but I don’t think people even realize they’re doing it. I just wish
I wasn’t so hideous, or that my scars were only skin deep," Vaida mumbled
with a timid voice that barely pierced the gentle splash.
“I
really wish you weren’t so down on yourself. I know this probably doesn’t mean
anything to you, but I think you look really pretty,” Hatasuko replied.
Vaida
glanced away and answered, “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I
don’t believe you. I’ve seen my own reflection and accepted the reality. I
don’t hate my scars just because I’m ugly; I hate them because they’re my
curse. They are a constant reminder of everything I lost. But it doesn’t matter.
They won’t stop me from fighting the Interfecti. They might even help.”
Hatasuko
was caught off guard by this statement. He wanted to give her a sense of
self-assurance that could crush her despair, but she had probably tried and
failed to do this same thing a thousand times. Furthermore, Hatasuko knew that
he had no talent for erasing the emptiness inside anyone; he could not even
erase the emptiness inside himself.
Vaida
suddenly pushed off the tree branch and landed in the silty stream of flowing
water, but she landed with a heavy splash. She fell and smacked onto the ground
on her side. The cool water flowed over her hair and skin, but she climbed out
of the water and bolted upright. There was already a bruise forming on her
right arm, though it partially camouflaged with her scars.
“I didn’t realize the ground was so far away. Sometimes
it’s hard to judge distances with just one eye. I always make myself look like
an idiot,” she mumbled as she stared down at the starlit stream.
“You’re
no idiot. I remember what you said about the sail-rana tipping over, and you
also made the hanging log! You’re really quiet, but I know you’re brilliant,”
Hatasuko said as he slashed the hanging log again.
But when Hatasuko glanced back at Vaida, he saw through
the starlight that her face looked slightly red. Her eyes were wide and her
mouth opened with a smile, but she hid her face behind her hands when she saw
him. By the time she pulled her hands away from her face, she had suppressed her
smile, but a rosy shade remained on her cheeks.
“Thank
you… thank you. I, um, I don’t mean to sound petty, but I’m actually the one
who invented the sail-rana! I designed and built the first one, but Lazaro made
a second one and took all the credit. He sold the idea to an inventor and used
the money to finance our travels. That’s what he says, anyway,” Vaida explained
as she unhooked her whip from the holster on the back of her shirt.
With
radiant astonishment, Hatasuko raved, “Really? Vaida, that’s so cool! It’s an
impressive vehicle, probably better than anything else in Agrideī, and you must
have made it when you were really young! Do you know how amazing that is?”
Vaida
opened her mouth, and her face turned red once again. Hatasuko saw a flash of happiness
in both her blue eye and her dead sea-green eye, but then she turned her face
so that she stared at the Lumipyla canyon. He smiled at her reaction, but his
joy started to fade when he realized the reason for her silence—that she had
probably not received an actual compliment in a very long time. As he watched
his timid friend, she turned her head again and started running toward the
hanging log.
Vaida
had to run carefully because she could not see the ground beneath the flowing
stream. She veered at the last moment, but then she swung her strong right arm
and unleashed a high-speed whip-crack. The tip shot forward and struck the
hanging long with a huge burst of black bark. The impact sent the log flying
toward Hatasuko; he barely blocked it with a swing of his sword. The impact of his
sword then knocked the hanging log back toward Vaida, but then she jumped into
the air and unleashed a flying kick. The log swung again very swiftly, so
Hatasuko threw himself aside and then slashed it from behind. It bounced into
air and then flew back down at him, so he struck it again to knock it aside. He
then spun around to make sure that he could block it before it swung back
around, but he could not see it anywhere.
“Whoa,
where did it go?” Hatasuko asked with wide eyes.
When
Hatasuko looked up, he realized that he could hear the log flying at him from
behind. Vaida swung her whip with incredible speed and cracked it in the air;
Hatasuko immediately grabbed on. She yanked backward with both arms and jerked
him out of the way, right before the log would have struck him on the back of his
head. However, the force of the pull brought Hatasuko to his knees, so he
crashed and rolled through the shallow starlit stream. Vaida tossed her whip
onto dry land and ran toward Hatasuko. He laughed as he stumbled onto his feet.
Shimmering drops of water fell from his golden hair.
“Are
you okay? I shouldn’t have pulled so hard; I’m sorry,” she said with a shaky
voice.
“No,
Vaida, you’ve got great instincts! You’ve got a talent for saving people.”
“Maybe,
but I’m only good at this because Lazaro taught me. He’s great at pulling
people away from the edge of death! It makes me feel bad because sometimes I
think I’m doing this for all the wrong reasons. I really want to get revenge on
the Interfecti! I, um… you and I are a lot alike in that way. But I also think
that’s why we’re condemned to be in his shadow forever—because he doesn’t waste
time on frivolous things like revenge.”
“We both have reasons he’d call frivolous. It may
seem impossible, but I know it’s my destiny to end the Interfecti. I
have to do it. If they are still alive at the end of my life, then it means I
failed,” Hatasuko replied as he stepped to the edge of the shimmering stream.
Hatasuko sat down beside his friend and watched the
shallow water flow. The sparkling stream poured down the slope and into the
luminous canyon. The hanging log swayed back and forth from the heavy wind,
though the wind failed to reverse the water’s flow.
“I
know this is none of my business, but, um, no one ends up like us if they had a
normal happy life. Can I hear your story? I promise I won’t tell anyone! Not
that I have anyone to tell it to anyway,” Vaida requested. As she spoke, she
twirled her hair with her scarred right hand.
After
a moment of contemplation, Hatasuko said, “Yeah. I suppose I can tell the
story, though it isn’t something I’ve ever really said out loud before. I’m not
a great storyteller, but I’ll do the best I can.
“I grew up in the Collobos Mountains. I heard that most
people think that region is unpopulated or desolate, but that’s a big lie.
Almost every mountain is settled, and we’ve got more than a few big towns! My
mother and I lived in one of the more populous towns, so I was exposed to many
ideas when I was young. I remember learning that most people fell away from God
because of the Interfecti. A lot of people think that God has forsaken us
because He lets the demons roam our world, hunting our souls. Others even think
that God is the one who unleashed the Interfecti, like as punishment for
our sins. I guess I was too young to understand the sense of fear and hatred,
though I learned fear very quickly. I learned hatred very quickly.
“The thing is, I
firmly believe that my mother is the greatest person who ever lived. My father
died shortly before I was born, so she had to work twice as hard to provide for
me. When I was really young, I spent a large part of my time with my
grandparents, while mother was out hunting or working, but… she never once
complained. One time, my grandfather asked if she needed help, but she hugged
him and told him that he’d already done more than anyone could ask! She never
missed the opportunity to let people know how much she appreciated them. She
never missed the chance to tell me how much she loved me, and how miraculous it
was that she had me in her life. She said I was a blessing to her life and a
blessing for the world.
“And
whenever she felt overwhelmed, or maybe the pressure was too much, she told me
that there’s nothing wrong with falling down. We all fall down. She said that
the important part is standing back up. The world can knock us down, but it
cannot hold us down. I repeat those words to myself every time I chase
an Interfectus. She gave me the strength to discover this destiny.
“When
I was still young, mother found a grove of ruberpomus trees in the mountains.
It was a long walk from our home, but it was the most delicious thing I ever
tasted! I had eaten piscileo, I tasted agili, and I tried every fruit I could
find, but the ruberpomus was my favorite taste in the world! We were so happy
there. We would go to the grove every week and carry back as many red fruits as
our little hands could carry.
“As
time went on, mother got exhausted from all her hard work. The walk to the
ruberpomus trees became too much for her, so instead I made that trip on my
own. I was getting older, so I decided I’d help make her life easier. It took
me a hundred tries, but I finally learned how to hunt with a bow! I’ll never
forget how proud she was, that night when I made her dinner for the first time.
There were tears of joy in her eyes! I knew I overcooked the meat, but
we ate every morsel in celebration. She bragged about me to her friends and
neighbors! I remember one night, I woke up in the middle of the night and heard
her praying. I heard her thank God for giving me to her. With tears in my eyes,
I silently thanked Him for letting me have a mother as wonderful as her. He had
given me the single greatest gift in the world.
“But
light is temporary, and all things return to darkness in the end. One day, I
was walking back from the ruberpomus field. I had all the fruit cradled in my
arms, but everything changed when I saw the thin layer of darkness crawl across
the sky. I could still see the stars pulsing through the dark curtain, at least
until a shadow fell over the city. A massive silhouette appeared in the
background. Its giant black feet hovered over the mountainside. This was my
very first time seeing the demon of flashing blades and shifting shadows—it was
the nightmare named the Interfectus.
“I
knew that mother was still in the town, and that knowledge alone flipped a
switch inside me. I dropped the fruit; I just ran because I knew she was
vulnerable. She had been tired for weeks. I had only heard stories of the
Interfectus, like a secondhand shadow of pure horror, but I never understood
the reality of the darkness until that moment. I never realized the strength of
evil until I ran toward it. I never realized how weak I was until I ran out of
strength to keep running, even before I reached the edge of the town. But
exhaustion couldn’t stop me; I ignored my pain and ran on in spite of it.
“When
a bright light shines and you close your eyes, you can still see the shape of
the glow through your eyelids. When the scattershot struck the city and lit the
sky with blue fire, I closed my eyes and kept running. But even with my eyes
closed, I saw the flames destroy the town where I was born and raised. I heard
their screams over the crackle of fire because I was so close.
“Once
I reached the edge of town, I saw a crowd of people fleeing from their homes.
The Interfectus stood as a silhouette behind the raging flames. I watched
people try to fight back; I watched them throw sticks and rocks at the monster,
but everything just bounced off. There was no sign of pain in its
golden-glowing demon eyes. They pulsed like the stars in the sky! But they were
not hungry or angry. Its whole face glowed in the flashing flames, but it was
emotionless. This was the demon that slaughtered cities in the blink of an eye.
I knew in that moment that my childhood had ended in a burst of blood and fire.
“As
I ran through the smoky streets, I watched the Interfectus extend out its
blade-arm of slashing shadows. It was so fast, it was so powerful, and it
pierced through an entire block! The Interfectus slashed its arm, as it
so often does, cutting a row of homes to shambles. It shattered the windows of
all the nearby houses. My heart sank when I realized that attack had hit very
near my home.
“I
ran back home at full speed, but I wasn’t even trying to get a weapon. I felt
so hopeless that I just… gave up on even trying to escape; I just accepted that
my life was over. So like a scared, crying, helpless little boy, I ran home to
mother. When I was young, her embrace was so powerful that it erased my terror.
If I could hold her in my dying moment, then that would be enough for me.
That’s all I wanted—to hold close the most wonderful person in my world. Like a
scared, defeated, hopeless little boy.
“The
Interfectus shot out another scattershot. The black energy balls hit that whole
section of the city. I watched with my hands over my head as a shadow sphere
struck a house across the street from my home; the explosion blew out every
wall and window. An old man was launched by the blast! I watched with my hands
over my ears as he hit someone else’s roof and died. And when I ran onto the
same street, I saw a shadow sphere hit the back of my house. It was the
loudest, brightest explosion I’d ever seen, but it was like the whole world
stopped.
“The
shockwave blew my home to pieces; I watched mother fly out of the second story
window with a burst of fire and glass. My heart stopped when she crashed into
the street, and she landed on her hands and knees. I broke apart on the inside
when I heard her bones snap. I knew that I would definitely die if the
Interfectus saw me, but I guess I couldn’t stop myself. I just ran across the
street because I knew she was alive.
“That was when I saw the first weapon of the Interfectus
up close for my very first time. Its shadow arm turned into a hand of black
daggers, and then it reached across the sky. I was more scared than I had ever
been in my life. The shadow-hand just barreled toward her, and I only had one
thing I could do to maybe stop it. I tried to knock it out of the way with the
strongest punch I could possibly throw. My fist struck the blade-arm, but it
did nothing. I was too weak! I was hopeless. I watched the claw of slashing
shadows pierce straight through her; giant black daggers poked through her like
a hand. The Interfectus opened its claw and tore her to pieces, all because I
was too weak to save her. I’ll never forget that final look of anguish in her
crying eyes. I can’t even try to explain how broken I felt, standing
there in the wreckage with corpses all around me. Her body was so mangled that
I couldn’t even hold her.
“I collapsed in the street, and I felt like I was the
only person left alive. Even as the Interfectus loomed over me in the smoky
sky, I just glared at the bloody dirt beneath me. I don’t know if it decided to
spare me or if it simply thought I was dead, but it faded away in the
starlight. Left as fast as it appeared. I watched that layer of darkness
disappear, and that was the first time I heard the screams in the hollows of my
mind.
“I
knew that the screams came from the lost souls, but this knowledge didn’t make
the tempest any less powerful. Their screams tormented me from the inside. They
stole away every shard of warmth that was left in my heart. I knew I could
never clear the voices from my head; I accepted that the Interfectus had punished
me for having the audacity to strike it with my own skin. It was my
punishment for trying and failing. But mother told me that the world can knock
us down, though it cannot hold us down. So I took her advice and made the
decision to stand back up.
“At first, I thought I was chasing the Interfecti for
revenge. I quickly learned it was more than that. I was not cursed with a
tempest of endless pain just so I could give them retribution. I think I
received this curse for a reason! I don’t think anything that’s happened to me
is a coincidence. I was given this endless pain so I could have the drive to
end the Interfecti. I was flooded with agony so I could banish it from this
world! This curse is the catalyst that will let me forge a world without misery.
It’s something I have to do. I never want anyone anywhere to feel pain
again. It’s my destiny to make that happen.”
As Hatasuko told this last part of his story, his golden
eyes reflected the pulsing light of the stars in the sky. The shimmering,
starlit stream splashed in front of his feet. Vaida watched his eyes and
listened closely to every word. Even after he finished, she said nothing. In
his mind, he fought to suppress the storm of shouting voices. In her mind, she
accepted the possibility that this tempest was real. The world around them
stayed silent except for the gusting wind and the starlit stream, both flowing
in opposite directions.
“Sorry, um, if I don’t know what to say. It’s a problem I
always kinda had, not knowing… well, when someone tells me something really
sad. Because instead of facing it, I just mostly get sad too. And then I don’t
know anything except how you feel because I feel it too. But I think that’s why
I know you’re telling the truth about the screaming souls. Lazaro would slam me
on the ground if he heard me say this, but I think he’s wrong. I believe you,
Hatasuko! I can see it in your eyes. I can tell that the voices are real. But I
don’t know about this destiny. Do you really think you can do all that?” she
asked quietly.
Hatasuko took his sword and sheathed it back into his
holster. He stood up again at the edge of the sparkling water, but he glanced
down at his scarred friend as the starlight shone on his golden hair.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that. I’ve been a
stranger to hope for as long as I can remember. I’ve had my head held low for
so long, but I want to get stronger. I want to feel the way you feel! I guess
it all begins with your mother’s words. There’s nothing wrong with falling
down. We all fall down… but the important part is standing back up.”
Vaida looked away from the water and finally stood up.
Though her eyes shyly gazed away, she wrapped her arms around him and pressed
her face against his chest. He could feel her smooth hair touch his chin. When
she finally let go and took a small step backward, she said, “Thank you,” in
her shaky, quiet voice.
“I should be thanking you.”
“Why is that?” she asked as her good eye looked up at
him.
“Because the screaming storm’s been silent for all this
time I’ve spent with you.”
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