The Humming Bird's Choice
Page 6
My body locks into place and I can’t seem to turn my head away. The wolf has seemed to morph into some sort of werewolf, it stands on two feet, at least eight feet tall. The werewolf howls towards the moon and stretches out its grey arms, opening up its large claws. The sound startles me, and I flick my hand into one of the spikes. I yell as the pain explodes throughout my hand.
The werewolf snaps its head towards the ground, it’s white ears waiting for another sound to appear.
I desperately hold my breath and stand motionless until the wolf continues with it’s ritual.
After a few moments of tense waiting the werewolf falls onto all fours and runs into the darkness, the limp seems to be a thing of the past. This allows a second wolf to pass through the pillars. This time it’s the wolf I met back by the bush, the thick black coat reminds me of the fur blanket my mum wore when it was winter. Our whole family was jealous of the smooth, silky blanket she used to wrap up in by the fire on chilly evenings.
The wolf I once met was timid and gentle, but as it passes through the pillars, its entire figure changes into a ferocious beast, who howls at the sight of the moon. Just like the previous werewolf, it stands on two feet with thick black hair covering its entire body, its ears just about manage to poke out from the top. It’s pointed mouth hangs open, drool dripping onto the ground below.
I peer around the tree further. In hope to get a better view of the portal the wolves seem to willingly walk through. A cold breeze passes my cheek, and I hear a snap from behind me.
I swiftly turn to see the first werewolf standing face to face with me, it’s bright blood tinted eyes stand out from its pale grey skin. I smell its warm breath hit me in the face, a low pitch growl comes from within the stomach of the beast, I can feel the vibrations coming from the ground upwards.
Its mouth slowly opens, exposing its white teeth, as sharp as daggers. I stand frozen to the spot unable to run. For a moment, I feel a connection with the wolf, my arms tremble in terror but I decide to reach out in hope it will follow like the last.
But then the beast lunges towards me.
9
‘He has forgotten his real purpose for this town, to protect us, not eliminate us.’
Sparky shakes me as I start to wake up, he releases my shoulders as I begin to open my eyes. I lay on the ground where we last spoke, before I fell unconscious. However, now two guards stand behind Sparky, both holding large sticks with fire roaring from the top end, I can feel the heat warming my skin.
“Felix!” Sparky cheers my name as he slouches back onto the floor. “I thought I lost you bro! One moment you were laughing, the next you’ve collapsed into me and went off for a quick nap!” He looks relieved to see me awake, I’m relieved to be awake.
I slowly sit up and one of the guards walks over offering a hand.
“I’m fine thanks,” I hold my hand up to the guard. He nods and walks back to his original spot. I feel rude for refusing his help but I need some space to wrap my head round what just happened.
The image of the black wolf still sticks in my mind. Its narrow yellow eyes staring directly at me, I felt a strong connection with it, like it knew who I was.
“Careful kid,” the second guard says. “You passed out, don’t want to be moving around a lot, might have hurt yourself back there. Your brother told me you were chased by a pack of Minotaur’s? You saw a group of Minotaur’s in this area, in Barndale?” he says pointing to both of us.
I nod in reply; my brain feels like someone took it out and vigorously shook it and then returned it back. I don’t feel like speaking right now. My heart is still racing the same speed as it was in the dream. I look down at my hand which I pricked on the tree, but no mark remains. It still seems too real for it not to be true.
“At least five of them,” Sparky replies. “I don’t know what for, but we managed to run away in time. They kept talking about how we’re going to fear them soon, because of what we did to them.”
Both guards look at each other in confusion, the guard who offered to help me speaks,
“I wouldn’t worry about it boys, they say a lot of things but never mean it.”
Both guards wear leather armor, and they both have long grey platted hair. I see Sparky begin to open his mouth to ask another question when the second guard continues,
“Don’t worry about a thing, we’ll stay nearby and escort you boys back home. You both did a magnificent job tonight you should be proud of each other, wouldn’t do us any harm having you both in our ranks one day,” he turns to the first guard and leans towards his ear. “We should inform King Helfer about this. It’s the fifth time this month Minotaur’s have been spotted, and the third time they’ve attacked a Centaur.”
The guard tries to whisper, but his voice is too deep for me and Sparky not to hear.
“The fifth time this month?” I interrupt. “So, you’re telling me, a group of Minotaur’s have strolled into our village uninterrupted five times? What are they doing here? Did they threaten the other Centaurs too?”
The first guard stares at me awkwardly, looking down at the floor and then back up to me.
“They didn’t threaten to kill them,” the guard says. “They did kill them.”
I stand in shock, I feel as my heart is going to burst through my chest any minute. Me and Sparky survived, they weren’t bluffing about killing us, we could have died back there. Everything happened so fast I didn’t stop to think of the consequences.
“They were being serious,” I gently whisper to myself.
“You two are lucky to escape with your lives...how did you manage to get away?” he asks, but then quickly continues. “Actually, don’t worry,” the guard leans in towards me. “Just listen to me boys. Get yourselves home and try not to speak to anyone about this, ok?” He retreats to his fellow guard and begins to lead the way back to the village.
+++
The guards leave us by the fountain in the town square. At this time of night, I’m not surprised no one is about. The eerie silence reminds me of when we walked along the creepy bridge just before the confrontation. Lampshades light up the majority of the street, but still leave small patches of darkness in the corners. Trees pop up all over town, mostly shades of green and brown, which seems to make Barndale a more appealing place to live. Roots bury themselves deep underground making slight bumps appear under the pathways. The whole town is painted with coffee wood and dark green vegetation, the air is always fresh and you can almost always smell fresh bakery on every street corner.
As we walk through town, I can see the front of the Kings Dome in the distance. The vast transparent glass dome covers a huge section of Barndale, towering over the entire town where everything revolves around it. King Helfers Mansion sits inside the dome, linking into the Golden Hall, which is the room where the Humming Birds anniversary takes place. Flowers and miniature forests surround King Helfers mansion with stone pathways interlinking between them, representing Barndale as the Earth city. Bright colorful flowers blossom on almost every bush, and a dense moist atmosphere inhabits the dome, almost like a giant greenhouse.
The only time I’ve ever been inside the dome was when my mum was chosen by the former Hunter. I still remember the fresh foliage smell seeping up my nostrils as my family walked into the Golden Hall that day. The only contact we had with the Hunter was from a note, it read;
Dear Solokite Family,
It is my deepest regret to announce my decision to choose Zira as one of the initiatives. I am not proud of what I did today, but I had to make my decision based on the rules the King has installed upon us. These games need to be stopped, the King is too indulged in the power of the Kunzite stone he has forgotten his real purpose for this town, to protect us, not eliminate us. I cannot express my deepest apologies and pray that Zira returns home safely. Your family will always be in my thoughts.
Hunter.
The letter remains fresh within my mind, and although this Centaur decided my mums fat
e, I do not hold a grudge against him. That resentment lies with King Helfer.
We walk far enough that the Kings Dome can no longer be seen from behind the buildings. I walk with my head tilted up at the sky. Clusters of bright white stars spread throughout the ever-expanding universe, and we stand on one tiny planet out of hundreds and millions of others. The thought of us living on this planet when there could be others just like us out there excites me, but scares me at the same time. It puts a perspective on how small our lives are, and how quick they can be taken away from us. My mum always told me to do as much as you can in the little time we have in this world, and to never regret whatever it is you decide to do.
Sparky walks with a nervous pace, I can sense he wants to return to the safety of his own home. It’s like watching a lost puppy look for its owner. His arms and hands look grazed and bloody, from the stinging lashes of the Mushwood vines.
“You feeling ok?” I ask.
“Me?”
“No, the other Centaur that’s been with us the whole evening,” I reply more sarcastically than I should. Joking around right now doesn’t seem to be on the top of Sparkys list. But I can’t help but want him to feel better. “Sorry, yes you...you idiot.” I flick the back of his ear with one of my fingers.
“Yeah sorry,” he edges his head away to stop me from flicking him. “Everything tonight has just caught up on me, the Minotaur’s, nearly falling to my death. I could have died Felix and left you on your own back there, the thought of that still scares me.”
The thought of Sparky not being here scares me too, after my mum never returned I didn’t think I’d be able to manage losing anyone close to me, and I still don’t think I’ll be able to handle it. I glance at Sparky as he continues.
“I don’t mean to scare you Felix, but I don’t want you to be alone, especially after mum, you know.”
I stop in my tracks and rest my hand on Sparkys shoulder. I may be taller but he’s a lot more muscular.
“Well I’m still here Sparky,” I say. “We’re both here thankfully. I’ll watch your back and you watch mine?”
I raise my eyebrows, the thought of us both helping each other through our life reminds me of when we were young. We always had each other’s back. Every day for the first month of school Jessy used to stick gum in my hair in front of the whole class. That was until Sparky found out and glued his head to a toilet seat, leaving him there overnight until the janitor found him the next day. Last year a drunk Centaur started a fight with Sparky outside one of the inns, so I decided to hit the drunken Centaur around the head with a plank of wood. Although it did force him off my brother, it got me in a lot of trouble with the guards. But we both still laugh about it to this day.
“Just like old times!” I continue as we walk through the dimly lit streets.
“Yeah,” Sparky replies. “Are you nervous?”
“Nervous?” I ask. “About what?”
“The Humming Birds anniversary, next week?”
“Oh yeah, a little,” I reply. I’ve tried so hard to repress the thoughts of next week, but they seem to keep popping back up. I feel like my heart is going to explode at every thought of participating in these games, or even the chance that one of us could be venturing for the Kunzite stone.
I suddenly remember the dream I had last night, the colorful veins of the stone illuminating into my eye sight, blinding me from all of the surrounding. Just like staring directly into the sun, blinded by its beauty. It all seems vague and distant now, but the images stick in my mind.
“For us to be chosen out of the entire town I’m sure there is a slim chance it will be us,” Sparky says. His voice seems to burst with life and energy now. “Anyway, I’d throw that Hunter back to King Helfer before he can take my life!”
I fear Sparky underestimates how skillfully trained these Hunters are. The King wouldn’t hire any old Centaur to fight on his behalf.
“Don’t jinx it!” I yell at Sparky.
He starts to laugh at me as we approach the stone bridge which is built above a running river.
“You believe in all that superstitious nonsense?” Sparky asks as he gasps for air through his laughter. He then continues to point at a black and white cat that sits perched up on a wall and yell in the air, “Oh look Felix, a black and white cat! Which means we’ll have all the good luck we deserve before our journey is over!”
The urge to punch my brother in the arm haunts me, directly into his bicep where it will hurt most. But I force myself to continue walking.
Someone shouts from one of the windows in the shadows of a nearby house, “Me not coming down there to slap ya round the face is the only good luck you’ll be getting tonight, quiet now you young fool!”
Sparky sheepishly stops shouting and lowers his head in embarrassment.
“See, you don’t see any good luck coming to us, do you?” Sparky says, his voice a much lower tone than before.
“You’re such a donut you know that?” I say, and then I spot our house in the distance, a candle light flickers in the window, obviously Monni is still awake reading another novel. Monni is always last to go to bed at night, so absorbed by his book he tends to lose track of time.
I slap Sparkys arm and quickly scream, “Last one home is in charge of putting Peach to bed!”
Putting a pet monkey to bed is as hard as trying to find a four-leaf clover. I abruptly hurl myself forward pushing Sparky backwards and start to gallop back to the house. I can feel Sparky charging behind me, the cold evening wind blows against my face causing my eyes to water. I reach the door and charge into the house, Sparky shortly follows.
“That wasn’t fair, you pushed me!” Sparky shouts.
But before I can I reply, I notice the house has been overturned from the inside out. Books lay scattered on the floor, food thrown against the walls, the chairs lay destroyed. But the candles stay alight. A fiery burn runs down my spine like a thousand ants crawling up inside me, as I spot something in the corner of the room.
Monni lays on the floor, blood pouring from his head.
10
‘Our only hope is the Kunzite stone.’
I stand frozen. I try to force myself to run to Monni but I can’t, my body won’t allow it. My palms start to sweat and a wave of nausea boils inside me. All I do is stare at different sections of the room which have been damaged or humiliated. There is no wall that separates our living area to the kitchen, the flooring doesn’t even change so it looks like one open room with a sink and stove inside.
Sparky runs over to Monni screaming his name, he kneels next to him and slightly lifts his head of the floor. Monni’s hair sticks to the wooden planks from being soaked in blood. I notice his chest rise slowly and then fall. He’s still alive.
Sparky releases a loud sigh of relief, “He’s breathing Felix!” he shouts to me.
The thought of Monni still breathing releases me from this trance. I stumble over one of the broken chairs and kneel on the other side.
“Monni,” I whisper in a snappy tone. “What happened, can you hear me?” I pinch the back of his hand which lays along his chest. I’ve never seen so much blood in my life before, the nausea feeling remains but I work with it. “Talk to me Monni, I need to know you’re ok!”
Finally, Monni lets out a crackled groan, and begins to move his body. His breathing sounds wheezy and tired but he doesn’t sound in too much pain which brings relief to my ears.
“Wait!” I leap up as I suddenly remember dad and Pell were also at home when we left. “Dad! Pell!” I shout, and then wait in silence in hope for a response. “Sparky stay with Monni I need to find out where dad and Pell are.”
Sparky nods and continues to aid Monni in regaining consciousness.
I sprint through the house, shoving open every door I run past and lean in to call out for my dad and Pell. I slam open the door to my dad’s bedroom and run inside. The door smashes into a closet but it doesn’t faze me. I throw the blankets in the air and swing ope
n the closet doors, checking every available place.
“They’re not here!” I shout down to Sparky. “They must have been taken or ran away, but where?”
Sweat streams down my legs once I finish searching inside the house. I can feel my fur soaking up the excess water as I gallop into the back garden. I shout so loud my throat starts to burn, like a fire igniting in my mouth.
I stand there in silence and collapse to the floor, exhausted and worried about my family. The thought of someone entering the only place I feel safe and destroying its purity petrifies me. Their hands, their presence has entered our house and destroyed it, for a reason I do not know. I stare into the night sky, into the abyss of space and beyond, the stars shine bright, twinkling in the distance. I feel a cold breeze brush over my neck, and the eerie silence of the night reminds me that half my family are nowhere to be seen.
This is the only home I’ve grown up in, I feel like I know the in’s and out of this house. Every inch of the wooden planks which hold the house up, to the dents and scratches it collected over the years, mainly from me and Sparky. My mum always shouted from upstairs when she hears a plate smash or a vase fall over. For her, there was always a bad side to having two young sons with so much energy to get rid of.
Unexpectedly without hesitation, a square patch of grass, slightly bigger than my upper body size, flips over a few meters away from me. It lands face down on the ground, from where I stand I can see the other side is made of wood and a long chain is bolted into the center.
My dad appears from the ground and scans the back garden, he carries an expression of cautiousness on his face as he steps out from the hole. His expression instantly changes as he spots me and reveals a smile, pushing his ears upwards. Pell shortly follows with Peach resting on her shoulders, the monkey scratches her ear with her foot as she suddenly leaps onto the floor and runs towards the climbing tree. I don’t know how long they’ve been down there for but Peach seemed eager to stretch her legs.