Misery Saves the Night

by Brittany Allen

  From the incident at the bakery, Ian and Recarie continued north to meet this person Caleth had sent them to. Their path led along the mountain side with a detour on the coast of Farous. Recarie continued to use items of value from the cottage in the woods that they broke into at the beginning of their journey, much to Ian’s dismay.

  “We cannot do this forever.” Ian walked along the beach and Recarie played in the salty water at midnight, the time she always felt most energized.

  “Hm?” Recarie was breaking loose and blowing off stress doing a mix of ballet and martial arts above the water. She looked like a figure skater as her back bent back and her long legs skimmed across the water’s surface. Taking off running, she dodged orbs of water she sent towards herself. “Go ahead and stay on the sand if you wish. There are only so many miles before we reach the north and our world is turning to hell.”

  Ian had been stuck holding her bag with their supplies and loot. He thought about the many ways he could dispose of the stolen goods, but none of them allowed him to send them back to their rightful owners. Lost in his day dreaming, Ian almost did not hear the slight shuffling of the sand half a mile behind them.

  Eyes wide and body tensed, he put the bag straps on and rushed at the water. He used his powers to push her under water where he joined her. Recarie’s eyes glowed a color he had not seen for nearly a year.

  “There’s someone out there.” He used his mind to talk to her and once the water stopped boiling, he had known Recarie heard him.

  Recarie closed her eyes and felt the vibrations of the person approaching. From what she could tell, this person weighed close to two tons and from the heat they were giving off, she had a pretty good idea of who it was.

  “Hunter.” Ian heard Recarie whisper in her mind for him to hear. But Ian was too shocked by her new found psychic ability that he failed to recognize what she had said before their assailant put one foot in the water.

  He was the first one to jump out of the ocean, leaving Recarie by herself, still under the water. Ian was relieved to see the golem who was just barely visible through the steam he created.

  “Trey!” The older man could have hugged his friend at his first glance. “A familiar face after these last half dozen weeks is such a relief!” He was all smiles until he noticed that Trey did not speak to him and had his facial expressions in ‘serious’ mode. “What’s wrong? Come on dude…” It was a little late but Ian remembered that Trey was NSSH. His first thoughts were of Recarie and how he had to keep her safe.

  Slowly, Trey began approaching the small man. With each step Ian prepared his body and mind for battle.

  “Shuush!” Bounding out of the water, Recarie landed knees first in front of Ian with water spraying into the air behind her. Her hair clung to her body as did her soaked clothing.

  After a moment of silence Trey activated his Hunters flame only prompting Recarie to charge up her own powers. They stared into each other’s eyes with only the waves crashing on the shore cutting out the silence.

  “Ha, ha, ha, ha, dude come on.” Trey broke his stone cold stare into smiles and giggling. “I thought it was you who had fought for her.” His bawling laughter continued.

  “Damn.” Ian let out a sigh. “I forgot the NSSH was out for you too.” Recarie stepped aside and watched the pair interact.

  “And what the hell have you been up to?” He slapped Ian on the back, but he was able to hold his ground. “Having that little girl fight your battles now?! Ha, ha, ha.”

  Remembering Recarie’s existence, Ian watched as she calmed down. She was like a child who stood to a parent’s side as they talked to an old friend.

  “So, what are you doing here?” Ian, playing the part of an adult, brought him over towards Recarie.

  “Need you ask? I have been searching all up the country side looking for you.” The Hunter looked Recarie over from the corner of his eye.

  “Oh, we’re headed north to find someone who might be able to help us get back into Disten. We just barely passed the guards at this town’s entrance. Now that the NSSH has gotten it foothold here…” Trey cut him off.

  “Why the hell do you want to go back to Disten when there are several other continents of neutral territory out there?!” Sand beneath his feet turned to glass as his temper flared.

  “Farous was considered neutral and now look at it.” Ian’s voice stayed ever calm. “The NSSH killed all those men and women who came to help us on that last mission. Being out here in the open and away from that pressing government, I can see things clearly. The NSSH must be stopped and the only way to do that is by getting to the heart of their operations headquarters.”

  Trey took a step back. “Sounds like you have this all figured out. Well, almost figured out.”

  Recarie had enough of the conversation and began on her journey again. She cut Ian off in mid-sentence who was forced to follow her.

  “Got you on a leash already does she?” Trey was not one for subtlety.

  Ian blushed. Just what had the nature of their relationship become? Was he still her servant and puppet? He had come to notice that as the weeks passed on, Recarie’s hold on him became weaker as if her power was dwindling.

  “Grrrr…” From the front of the line, they could hear her growl at the comment.

  “Oh, so will you be joining us on this little venture?” Ian dropped his pace to match that of Trey’s. “You never did say what you were doing here.”

  “I already told you. I have been looking for you. As I am also being targeted by the NSSH, I figured we could find a way out of Farous and get a permanent and safe location to reside.” They continued to follow Recarie and soon his feet cooled from walking in the icy cold winter’s water. “But you and Shorty here have other plans. Oh well. Guess I have to get in on this and keep your simple butt out of trouble.”

  “There’s no telling you no, right?” The chilly midnight air blew past his bare shoulder. He thought about asking Recarie if she needed a jacket, but he never spoke out of turn.

  “Jacket!” Recarie screamed at Ian as though he should have known what she meant.

  Immediately, Ian reached to his back ready to shuffle through their bag, but it was not there. “Um, it would seem as though, um…” He knew what telling her he lost the bag would mean.

  “Ugh!” She had enough of that night. First being thrown into the water, then the unwanted stranger joining her duo, and now their clothes and funds were lost.

  “Better get ready to run.” Ian told to Trey and he stopped and stretched his legs.

  Whoosh! Recarie took off running than jumped into the air taking flight for the first time in a month. Behind her on the ground, Ian ran with her. No longer did he stumble when she pulled him. Now he stayed at right with her, never straying far. Recarie had noticed this from the sky and she flew among the clouds. Her cheeks blushed and a wry smile floated over her face.

  Not far from the newly formed trio stood a boy marked you with blue tattoos. Thanks to his cloak, he was almost invisible to any kind of detector. Unknown to Recarie and Ian, it was he who helped them get into that town. Tory, forbidden to directly interact with Recarie was able to help out unnoticed in the shadows. He was able to, at times, mask their presence from Hunters and nearby Psychics.

  This boy still was uncertain of why he was doing this. The pain he went through when the other members of his order had infused his skin with their secrets, felt like nothing more than being pinched. But why had he done it?

  “I need a break from this all. A break from him and his lackey.” Recarie flew above Ian, but not out of his hearing range.

  “And I can hear you!” Ian shouted smiling up at her. He had gotten used to running after her and lost five pounds in the process.

  “Good! I want you to!” She increased her speed.

  Trey took in the scene, listening to their voice tones and facial expressions. They seemed to be friendly with each other and not so much kidnappers and hostage.

 
“And so what is your relationship with her?” Trey asked the same question he had asked back over the waters between Disten and Farous.

  “Dude, seriously?” He turned his attention to the sky. “She can hear us.”

  “Who can hear us?” Trey stopped running as he broke the glass that had formed on his feet. Ian tried to stop, but was tugged along with his master. “He, he, he.” The Hunter chuckled, pleased with his handy work. “They have probably never said each other’s name to each other. Kids these days.”

  From the night came the morning and the trio found a small cave along the edge of the ocean. Trey volunteered to stay up and watch out for trouble. He knew that Tory was out there and felt the presence of someone else. This person had a stronger energy than Tory, matching or maybe very well exceeding his own.

  It was noon when Trey had stepped out of the cave. The tide was low and the water was warm. Fish swam in the shallow stretch of water making easy prey for Trey.

  “Lunch.” He said smiling and rubbing his hands together.

  “Bait.” A voice whispered into his ear.

  Trey did not flinch as he drop kicked the woman standing behind him. Before Trey could move, the woman was already several yards behind him. Skipping the first step of witty banter before a battle, the Hunter charged the woman and forced her into the woods that surrounded the cliff on the beach. He never let up as he went on a series of punches to her gut and kicks to her legs. He was eventually freed from the fight to catch his breath, and was only after she had laid several well placed hits to his right elbow, chest, left heel, and below his right ear.

  “Bitch!” This woman had Trey in the fetal position on the ground. She had hit the exact places on his body where his nerves were most exposed, paralyzing him.

  “Oh now, now.” She waggled her long index finger at him. “Tsk, tsk. You don’t talk to a woman that way.”

  “And I didn’t.” He spoke out through shocks of pain. “Ow!” The heel of the woman’s four inch pump dug its way into his spine.

  “Was that a yelp of pain? Why I must have the wrong Hunter because he could not be this soft.” Her heel went deeper, if at the point it could even do that. “Where’s the girl? No use beating around this bush.”

  “You know my role here. I am not allowed to interfere with her decisions. None of us are.” Trey cringed. The weight of the woman sunk into his back. She was several times heavier than she looked.

  “Oh, oh. If I dig any deeper… Well you should not have let me get this close, but then again you were always bad at keeping away from me.” She bent down next to him. Running her hands over the Hunters weakened body, she found what was most exposed.

  “Aw! Stay away from that.” She had broken away layers of his rock skin which did not heal or grow back.

  “I know your body all too well.” Her nimble fingers sunk into his flesh. They wiggled and squirmed their way through muscles and fat. “Here we are.” Between her index and middle finger on both hands, she pulled out two stones. “Now, one for all stored D.N.A. and the other… He, he, he.” Her heel withdrew from his spine.

  “Ugh!” Trey struggled to stand, but he already knew what had happened. The Hunter was paralyzed and now unable to track anyone ever again.

  “Why not just be a good little Hunter and sit, er, um lay there.” The woman turned her back on him. She took her inch long index finger and sliced the palm of her opposite hand open. First she placed the smaller of the two gems, the one that held the source to Trey’s ability to track, in the wound. For the second stone, she made a cut on the back of her neck and gently slid the stone inside.

  “Yeah, you think you got me!” Trey rolled on the ground gritting his teeth while speaking. “Ha!” He forced himself to move.

  On cold damp sand Recarie twisted and turned trying to get to sleep. What was once a little pain in her head was now a full-fledged headache. “It’s no use.” She sat up and stared at the cave around her. On the opposite wall, very far from where she had been laying, Ian was sound asleep using his shirts as a pillow. It was the first time Recarie had seen him without his shirt on and could not help but looking him up and down.

  “He’s not extremely defined, but he is very well toned.” She tilted her head sideways to try and get a better look at his body.

  BOOM! Something had hit the outside of the cave. Ian jumped awake and Recarie turned her head immediately before he caught her staring. Without saying anything, Ian crossed to the caves entrance just in time to see a six foot tall woman remove two stones from Trey’s back. Recarie did not know what was happening, but Ian sure did.

  Using his telekinesis, Ian pushed Recarie to the back of the cave and pressed his palms firmly upon the moist ground. In one quick movement, Ian brought his hands in and pushed the air with his palms up. This move brought the stone beneath the sand up to cover the caves entrance. Air grabbing Recarie’s arm, he used his ability to break the stone at the back of the cave creating new path for them to escape through. With a mere wave of his hand, the solid stone of the cave broke apart and turned to dust around them.

  Outside the cave, the woman had caught a whiff of Recarie and a blue trail of flames streamed from her finger tip to lead the way to her target. Tory wasted no time and covering up Recarie’s trail, but this woman was persistent. He rushed along the outside of the cave using his own powers to hide Recarie’s presence. Even while outside of the cave, Tory knew she was still inside and moving throughout it.

  “Ah!” The woman struck the cave with a whip of fire. Inside small loose rocks fell on the duo and they hurried along faster. “Um!” She sent a series of waving blue flames at the cave.

  Tory watched as the hillside caught on fire, but as much as he cared for animals and vast amount of land, he had to make sure Recarie was safe. His cloak waved in the wind as his bare feet barely touched the land. This woman had Recarie’s sent and not even the power of his masters masked her.

  “Uh!” Rocks fell upon the pair as Ian continued to create them a path. But as they further along, Ian was rushing with his attempts to break the stone. Now he broke it into tiny rocks as his energy was waning. Dust stung their eyes and the tears made it hard to see. Even in the pitch black tunnel of the cave, Recarie’s invisible wings glowed a dim light enabling them a sense of where they were going.

  Ian could not stop to check on Recarie as all of his attention had to be focused on making them a path to escape through.

  “Umph! Crud.” He took a tumble after getting his foot caught on an exposed tree root.

  Without a word Recarie burned with energy and took Ian’s place in front of him. She ran her hand over the stone, seeing every molecule that made it up.

  “Ugh!” With her power concentrated in her fist, Recarie parted them and turned the entire length of the cave in to an open tunnel. She could see a faint light at the very end of the tunnel. “Come on. Suck it up!” Recarie used her powers to weave a splint of energy for Ian’s hurt foot and they continued on their way.

  Back to the outside of the cave both Tory and the woman had followed the cave out into an open field. There were no trees and no buildings, only blades of soft grass. The sky above them had gone from clear blue to smoky gray with swirling red clouds. He was closing in on her even though she was still running faster than the lightning that struck around them.

  “Ah!” Jumping head first off the top of the hill and rolling through the air down to the ledge the woman in the black leather boots, Tory grabbed her and pulled her off the ground. They went spinning into the air and off of the mountain side.

  She made a reach for his shoulder and then kicked him in the stomach. Tory grabbed her foot and pulled her down with him. The woman was prevented from grabbing onto any protruding tree limb to save her from crashing into the jagged rocks below her. Her hands swiped at Tory’s scrawny fingers at they dug into her boots.

  Neither of them was able to speak. The wind rippled their skin as they continued to fall backwards and no amount of str
uggling with each other would stop that. They were approaching the water fast and Tory smiled as now he knew that he had the woman, but by that point she did not look afraid.

  Recarie and Ian stopped running. They both knew if that woman was still after them she would had already have been there. Ian was leaning on a crutch Recarie had fashioned for him from her energy. She was in front of Ian, mumbling something he could not hear, but he could tell she was pissed.

  A breeze from outside the tunnel rushed past them. By now the sun was beginning to set and stars were coming out. Another day come and gone.

  “I’m hungry damnit!” Recarie kicked the wall. Ian did not say anything and she had to look behind her just to make sure he was still there.

  “What?” Ian was wondering why she was looking at him with one raised eyebrow. “Oh. Were you talking to me?” His soft voice echoed around them.

  “Of course I was talking to you! Who else is in here besides us?!” Her small hands flew in the hair and she stomped her feet.

  “Oh, well you did not say my name so how was I supposed to know.” Ian watched as Recarie slowly turned her head back at him with her eyes squinted and teeth gritted. He knew that look.

  “Really?! Really?! We are not doing this now.” She stormed off in front of him.

  “And why not?” Ian dropped his crutch and limped after her. “You run too much, do you know that?”

  “Why?” Recarie gave in. He was right; they had needed to talk about this some point in their travels together. “Sigh.”

  “Alright.” He stalled the conversation. “Just going to say this straight and no matter how embarrassed either of us get, we need to get this out.”

  “Crud!” She buried her head in her hand.

  “Now, I have lost my whole life. My job, my country, and my… My… Justine.” Ian got lost in his words. It seemed like forever and ago since he had thought of her last.

  “I did not force you to chase me half way across the world and then have your own government turn on you.” Recarie pointed out in her defense.