A Chapter 17 Separation(2)

  16th Blue, 2043. 7:03PM

  Eastern Coast of Kisol, along the sand beach

  Luthor Dugavu(POV)

  I gazed at the flames far off in the distance as if they held all the answers to my problems, to my guilt. The wood had been gathered just a few hours ago, and a flame spiritual frequency lighter, one of Maxwell's inventions, had been used to start the fire. The sound of the waves lapping the shore, and the occasional bestial roar from the dense jungle were the only natural sounds in the air, apart from those made by boots trudging on sand, and the occasional shift of someone. The breeze had started to fill chilly upon my skin, a sign that the warmth of the day was leaving us.

  The orange flames had started to seem inviting, calling me over to bask in their warmth. They hadn't been that remarkable during the day, but now that dusk was receding to give way to the night, they had become conspicuous.

  My knees were up to my chest, with my chin resting atop them while my back leaned against the stacked crates. David and his father, the Chief were taking watch with their add on, Mussi. He was a dark skinned thin man with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He wasn't much of a talker, but I loved his efficiency, and the fact that he wasn't as troublesome as his other two Statesmen.

  We couldn't risk sitting around that campfire even though a chill was in the ocean breeze. Instead, it was being treated as an experiment to see whether there would be beasts drawn towards it, whether from the forest, or the water. It was a good thing the sun had dried all of us during it's most angry stage, or else I would have been shivering intensely at this point. Though, I still had to huddle into myself to keep warm.

  "You are beating yourself over it." spoke Snow, her voice barely a whisper, yet, the way everyone stirred made it known to me that they had heard her. I turned towards her since she was seated to my left, spotting the same posture as myself. When my gaze fell in her white pupils, she hurriedly looked down, a shy response I wasn't deluded enough to think it was because she liked me. Because of the extensive time spent together, I had finally managed to figure out the fact that she was an introverted woman.

  "Yes, because that death should have atleast been mitigated if I had planned thoroughly." I agreed. This wasn't my first rodeo with losing people. I had been through the wars! Comrades had died close to me, but the reason this particular death was eating away at me was simply because I had been too excited to plan this exploration well!

  "That's great to do, but you are still wearing that guilt like a giant tattoo on the face. Tomorrow, we will be setting off into that. You should get your mind on track. You wouldn't want to add to that guilt by getting someone else killed tomorrow because your head wasn't on straight, right?" she asked, pointing towards the edge of the forest.

  "Snow!" chastised Raiden in a whisper, getting her to fall silent, leaving me with those words to ruminate upon.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  I took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill my lungs, then exhaled heavily. She was right, I had to get myself straight. These people weren't exactly relying on me since I wasn't their leader, but, I couldn't afford to hold them back. It wasn't Snow's words that had had their effect in me. No! I had already figured out the correct answer, but simply wanted to keep myself brooding, yet it seemed, I had been bothering everyone.

  "I don't blame you. Accidents happen. It's just frustrating that the accident took the life of my friend." spoke Dan, his back somewhere on the stacked crates. His tone contained a desolate sorrow, intermixed with forceful determination. I clenched my hands, inwardly vowing to myself that I will make sure to have him return to his child!

  We had all made the decision to have the stack of crates as the focal point, leaning our backs against them while gazing outwards. The three from the Lutalo state were circling us five meters away, vigilantly watching the surroundings. So far, it seemed that nothing lived within the sand, not even a tiny crab, but vigilance was important in this unfamiliar part of the world.

  "I am sorry. Accidents happen. But I should have been more serious. I should have anticipated the chance that we might find ourselves in the ocean." I said.

  "Its okay..." Dan appeared to have wanted to continue that trail of words, yet for some reason stopped, plunging us back into silence.

  Ril Milena(POV)

  I had deluded myself into believing that the exploration would be a fantastical adventure, a trip that would allow me to see the world, to see how Kisol had developed without human intervention for centuries... Yet here I was, fighting to hold back the shiver of terror that was threatening to relapse. It should have been a vacation... A violent one no doubt, but it had turned into something far more deadly!

  The man and I had fallen into the water just mere meters apart. I had seen everything, from his initial flailing, to the first bite that had torn off his left arm. Crimson had stained the water, not just from his stump, but from below, even as blood spurted out of his mouth. I only managed to register the fact that his lower half had been devoured, when his upper half was tossed upwards. His screams were going to live with me forever, just like the terror that had etched itself upon his face like a grotesque painting. Even now, every time I closed my eyes, his face came up. I was wrung out, tired, and sleepy, yet the image impeded rest.

  But what ate away at me the most was the fact that I could have, maybe, saved him. I could have fired my gun at the monsters attacking him, deterring them, even if I failed to kill. But the fear and terror had gripped both my body and mind in that moment.

  I had prided myself as someone who had atleast participated in battles against the beasts, yet now, I was finally understanding the difference between someone who shot them from afar, from the comfort of distance, to someone who went up close and personal, bleeding, losing their limbs, and even their life!

  This was how veterans came to be. They had thrown themselves against the beasts, and came back different. If not physically, then mentally! I clenched my right hand when it started shivering, with mother placing her hand over it. As always, she understood what I was going through. Though, right now, my thoughts were on those times when she had become weird after a battle. She had been muted, as if holding back a storm inside of her. I had been young then, before 15. Now, I was certain that her weird mood then, was a mirror of mine now.

  She had triumphed against this irrational fear, this terror! How had she done that? In this moment, I found myself curious about my always smiling and warm mother.

  "How did you handle it?" I asked softly, my eyes tracing the part where the sandy beach gave way to massive trees that stretched into the sky. They most definitely hid more secrets than the sand, secrets that were no less terrifying than the ocean itself.

  "By thinking of you. You were my world. If I had sunk deep into myself, how would I have gotten to enjoy the joyful laughter of my daughter? I wanted you to grow up normally. I had had a depressed mother. She had lost my dad when I had been fairly young, and that, had left her a ghost of her former self. She had sucked the joy out of everything. I didn't want that for you, my darling." Mother said. The darkness was encroaching upon the land, but through its flickering embers of dusk, her warm expression moved me.

  My eyes became blurry as moisture pooled within them. So, I had been her anchor. Maybe, I could make her mine. She would be the person I should think of when it gets as tough as today. The smile and warmth should never die with her in my mind, right?

  "We will leave this place together! I won't lose you!" I made a vow even as I dove into her arms. It was funny how circumstances made you painfully aware that you were still young. I had been too arrogant, thinking that a dip of the head was enough to thank the veterans for how much they had sacrificed. Only now, did I get the full picture of what they had went through. They didn't just scar their bodies... Even their souls bore traces of scars.