by Nathan Jay
Suddenly Mateo froze. There was a distinct sound among all of the pain and misery, a few feet to his right. He could hear the sound of a young woman crying. Mateo crawled on his stomach until he located the woman hiding behind a bush. It was the pregnant woman Vanessa. The woman he'd rescued from the trailer. Mateo extended his arm, trying to reach her.
"Please…help me," he begged as he gasped for air. Vanessa recoiled in fear.
"Please…let me go," she begged.
Just as Mateo was about to lose consciousness, there was another flash of red light. Oxygen poured into his lungs, and Mateo rolled onto his back. He breathed deeply, trying to get as much oxygen as possible into his chest. In time, Mateo felt his strength returning. Slowly, he lifted himself to his knees and then stood. The red light had disappeared. He could feel life stirring in the forest again. The birds began moving. Within seconds they fluttered away into the sky as if nothing had happened. Mateo could hear the resounding thump of Chi-Chi's heartbeat. In his mind, Mateo could see the great white wolf lift himself from the ground; all of the baby cubs were crawling all around him and jumping up to kiss his face.
Suddenly there was a red flash. Zagan was standing in front of Mateo with the pregnant woman with a knife to her throat.
"Mateo, you have so much to learn," said Zagan. He gently ran the edge of the knife on Vanessa’s throat, causing her to bleed.
"The good hunters have evil deep in their bones."
Mateo could see the terror in Vanessa's eyes. He tried to calm her by speaking to her inside her mind.
"Be calm, Vanessa. I will get you out of this. Don't worry."
Zagan smiled.
"I know what you're doing, Mateo. You're a slick son of a bitch. But talking to this gal won't help much. You see, you have a significant decision to make."
Zagan waved his hand in the air, and Mateo's family appeared as they did in the cave, floating in the fluid within the stone. Suddenly, Mateo was truly afraid. Zagan knew where his family was!
"How long did you think you and that little bitch could keep this secret from us?"
"What do you want?"
"What do I want? Me? No, no, no. You've got it all wrong, boy. It's not what I want. It's what you want."
Zagan dropped the knife on the ground and let Vanessa relax. He lifted a hand, and Vanessa froze.
"The thing that we hate the most about God is the hypocritical rules that we have to abide. He's allowed to give and take as he sees fit. Innocent people die, and we're not allowed to question the reason. Thousands of people perish at the hands of truly evil men, and God expects us to act like obedient robots and not question why? Meanwhile, when we try to live as he lives, we get penalized for it. Labeled selfish and banished for being too close to what he does."
Zagan walked over to Mateo and stood in front of him.
"Remember when I told you about the gift of true evil? Welcome."
Zagan walked over to Vanessa and placed his hand in front of her pregnant belly. Suddenly her stomach began moving as if the child were in distress. Zagan ripped the shirt she was wearing so that her naked belly was visible. Vanessa's stomach rolled and stretched as if made of rubber. Noticeable shapes were appearing and disappearing within the skin of her abdomen; Mateo saw the baby's hand push outward and then disappear; the baby's face seemed to press against the flesh, an expression of crying on its face before it went.
"Please! You're hurting my baby!" cried Vanessa.
Zagan turned to Vanessa and yelled.
"No! He's hurting your baby!" he said as he pointed to Mateo.
"You see, Mateo, I'm a fair man mostly, so I'm going to give you a choice today."
Mateo began to cry. He knew what Zagan was about to do.
"You can save your family's lives by running to them and leaving poor Vanessa here with me to do as I wish, or you can save Vanessa and her unborn child."
Mateo's voice began to tremble.
"I can't make that choice. You know that."
"Do you want me to choose for you? My selection will be much worse than yours. Is that something you want?"
"No…please. I'm sorry if I've angered you. I shouldn't have interfered. Please forgive me."
Zagan started laughing hysterically.
"You can't take the stink off shit, son. Save your lame ass apologies. I don't want them."
Vanessa started crying hysterically.
"Please! Don't let him kill my baby! Please!"
Zagan waved his hand, and Vanessa fainted – her body still standing in place.
"What's it going to be, son? Your loving family or the unborn child?"
"Please, Zagan. Is there a way we can…"
"Choose! Now!" Zagan yelled in anger.
Mateo looked at the image of his family and sighed. Suddenly, he ran to Vanessa. He grabbed her and disappeared.
"Don't run. You chicken shit!" Zagan screamed out. After a few moments, he began to chuckle.
"I tell you what, that damned Mateo keeps surprising me," he said. "He's made his choice. Now it's time for me to make mine."
Suddenly, Zagan disappeared. Once again, the forest was silent.
Chapter 39: Mateo & Nixi
The Revenge
When Mateo reached the edge of the field where his family previously was, his heart sank. All of the vegetation surrounding the pit was now a burning field of embers. Slowly, Mateo walked through the expiring fire towards the hole. He could feel the warmth of the area on his ankles, and he screamed inside.
"I killed them," he whispered. As he reached the edge of the hole, he looked down. There were little black specks all over the hole. Mateo didn't need to guess what had happened. He knew it. Zagan had arrived and entered the chasm.
Mateo leaned over the hole and looked inside. There was a worse odor than what he'd previously smelled coming from inside. Reluctantly, Mateo stepped off the edge and dropped inside. The first thing he saw was Nixi's decapitated body slumped against the far wall. A purple fluid was oozing from the place where her head had been. A putrid odor that reminded Mateo of rotting meat filled the cave.
Turning away from Nixi's body, Mateo walked over to the wall that held his family. A large crack ran through the center of the wall, and red smoke was pouring out. Expecting to see the worst, Mateo closed his eyes and laid his hand on the smooth wall. There was a loud sound like a circuit breaker popping, and then the light came on. Terrified, Mateo raised his eyes and looked inside. His family was gone!
Mateo backed away from the wall and began searching the cavern for clues. There was no human blood anywhere in the cave. He turned back to the rock and started searching. He couldn’t find anything. Mateo lifted his hand, and the whole cave lit up. That's when he saw it. On the front of the rock. A message:
I have what you want—your life for theirs.
Rage welled up in Mateo so strong that the ground began to shake. The walls of the cavern cracked, and vast chunks of rock began falling from above. Aware that his anger had triggered the cavern's destruction, Mateo was about to leave when he heard a voice.
"I am Yara. Mother to Nixi. Zagan murdered my only child."
As the walls fell around him, Mateo spoke to the woman.
"You captured my family. Because of you, Zagan has my family in captivity."
"You cannot defeat Zagan alone. His power is too great."
"What do you want?"
"I offer an alliance. Join forces with me to help me take revenge on Zagan. In exchange for your help, I will unlock all the secrets of Imawashii to destroy Zagan’s power."
"How can I trust you?"
"It is a chance we both have to take."
"How do I find you?"
"Follow the road north until you reach the town of Friendship. Once there, you will find a place called Spring Lake. There, hidden beneath the water, you will find me."
There was a final shuddering of the ground beneath Mateo, and he jumped out of the hole before it collapsed. Within seconds, the
cavern that had once held his family was gone entirely. Mateo stood on top of the mountain of dirt and rock in silence. If he took Yara up on her word, there was a chance she would try to trick him into enslavement again. Still, Mateo had no other options. He didn't know where Zagan was. Mateo would need help if he wanted to find his family. After brushing the dirt from his hat, he placed it on his head and walked down the dusty road. It would be night in a few hours. Then he would need to follow the North Star to find Yara. Mateo walked off into the sunset, and his mind focused on the murder of Zagan.
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