A Bump in the Road. Chapter Twenty.
A Bump in the Road
Chapter Twenty
By Roofles
Not even before we had gone out the door Tezca took the wheel and "drove" us after the wild dog. Lewis had grabbed some things, mainly a gnarled wooden staff with a canines skull on the end of it (once more it looked far too similar to his own breed of canine, morbid shamans) and then just took off into the swamp with us having to tail after him. No follow me, no answers, no words, nothing but more questions. Who were we seeing? Where were we going? Why was I putting up with all of this?
Wooden platforms lifted up just as Lewis was about to step bare foot into the water, leaving a small pathway in his wake. We quickly followed as every few feet away he got the wooden platforms would sink back into the green murky depths of the swamp. Unable to be seen again. They were covered in algae and grime, muck and other nasty things from the bottom of the swamp. Like stuff you'd find in a fish tank that hadn't been cleaned in years. I'm just glad Tezca had claws otherwise we'd be slipping off. That and as he took control I was able to ignore the feel between our toes.
More insects were out than they had been before and swarms of the little bastards floated around in tiny buzzying clouds. I swear Lewis was purposely guiding us through these swarms and I could hear him smacking his lips as he went, swallowing loudly each time. I just got a face full of bugs. I hate anything nature and swamps were going first on my list. Right above camping.
It had to be five minutes in, and like riding in the passenger seat, I found myself sitting there as we lumbered along. Powerful steps carried us forward and with it I was able to look out the window of Tezca's eyes and ponder my own thoughts on this, all that had happened and where I was now. What I was now. Able to relax for a change, in a way, physically anyways and just try not to think about being inside the jaguar. I still can't think about it without shuddering.
My mind strayed though not from where we were but to what we would be doing.
I'm not one to take a case and finish it half ass. Just give up and go on my way? Hell no. Plus the pay was too damn good to ignore. I may not be, in the traditional sense, human anymore but I wasn't about to just pack my bags and abandon the life I worked so hard to make for myself. And for Marco when he moved in. Call it pride or stupidity I was going to have a normal(ish) life as possible after this case was solved. Go back to the easy stuff. Lying, cheating, scandals, gang bangers and drug rings; THAT'S the stuff I'm used to dealing with. Scum wasn't just in the sewers but in every government office in the known world. And I'd still prefer talking to the crack sniffing, secretary banging mayors than deal with this crap.
What bugged me were the Three murders. Butchered as they were. Why though? It was over the top but at the same time professionally done. Only time you would do something like that is if your a sick mofo or were trying to send a message to someone. Torturing is easy enough but to do THAT? There had to be a reason. Gangs had a habit of doing similar things. Fear was the best way to control people, well other than magical enchantments and shit. Putting a horse head in a bed, threatening their loved ones and family, butchering someone in a semi-secluded area that would end up all over the news and take the whole city by storm? It works far better than you'd think. Watch the Godfather sometime, and trust me on this, that's just the edge of the iceberg. Main thing about gangs, mafia even? It's about the money. The dough, the green. It has nothing to do with family as most would say. That, in it's own form, is a way to control others. A sick twisted one.
I've seen abused woman take a bullet for her drug pumped boyfriend, people kill their own families and turn in their best friends just because "the family" wanted it. Once you were in a gang there was no going back. And in the end, with the whole damn "pack" and all... I was afraid Marco would get into that. Or already has...
But I'm getting side track, my thoughts usually do that.
So fear. A message. Sending it to who though?
Or maybe I was just thinking of this too literally. Maybe it was just as Tezca had said that someone... had just lost control. Like Marco. And with that thought my mind went blank and I felt numb. My own mind didn't want to admit it, to acknowledge that and it shut itself down every time it drifted through it.
Tezca was right. I had been avoiding it. Once I saw what Marco was...that was the first thought that went through my mind. Had he lost it during the full moon? That cliché seemed to be a logical in this messed up world of theirs. Look through deaths, thefts, arson and other criminal accounts. Look at mentally disturbed residence in white padded rooms. Something about the full moon just sets some people off. The crime rates go up, the crazies come out and sheesh there have been way too many cultish activities on the subject. Hollywood of course jumped on the idea and twisted it around. Reality is always far harder to believe than fiction.
Marco, being what he was, could've done the same. He was a werewolf after all. A curse as Tezca put it, ironic as he never really refereed to himself as one. Sneaky cat.
"I heard that." Tezca growled but I heard a hint of amusement to it.
"Go lick yourself." I muttered but metaphorically rubbing my chin as I thought over the whole curse aspect.
"Ok," and Tezca began just that before I grabbed the wheel and quickly turned us back into the right lane. He laughed, a coughing deep chuckle and went on driving.
Marco was a prime suspect. No doubts about it... But there was enough reasonable doubt not to just haul his ass in and cuff him. Though I still had a few choice words to give the sorry son of a bitch. Besides the work was too...clean to be his doing. If someone lost control it would've been a whole lot worse. The gang from before might've had a hand in it. They have some kind of connection to The Pit and from the looks of it Yue Ling runs the joint. And thus possibly the gang.
Tezca growled at the name and I told him to get over it. Big baby. I was the one stabbed and he's all "omg she is like so wude 4 lk doin tht!" And then he rolled his eyes at that though I doubt he fully understood just how sad that would've been.
So Yue Ling,
"Get over it already!" I snarled as he pouted over it again.
She might be the mastermind behind those dumbasses. Street gangs weren't known for their professionalism or canard when it came to their work. Goons like them have a reputation for a reason. Sloppy work that's usually done through brute force, numbers or because they have a gun. Give a man a gun and you'd think he was packing something bigger if you know what I mean. And they love showing off and not just their guns. Any kind of gang likes to display their mark. And these murders were very skillfully done. Over the top, mutilated corpses and yet not a single drop of blood misplaced. No marks left behind, other than the wolf print at the Third murder. The door had been wiped down and not even a foot print was left behind. Nothing a bunch of hired goons would do.
Then there were the hunters. How were they tied into this? Hell, how did they find out about us? Where we lived and why they openly attacked us? Then there was Varric. Why was he letting them use his gate and what did he get out of it all? The cat had disappeared, much like Marco, before I could even get two words in. Though my gut told me he had little to do with this all in the end. He was up to something and I didn't have a clue as to what though.
And the last thing. The thing that worried me the most. Was The Triad. Even the name is ominous. Three. But Three what? And how they did they play a part in all of this? Some underground organization in the already mysterious world of the nasty things that go bump in the night. And from the reaction alone from the name, they had rightfully gained their respected fear. I could only imagine what they had done.
"Isaac." Tezca said and I looked up.
And the were-jaguar was behind me. Like physically behind me and I was standing on some kind of mossy terrain. And we had been separated by a foot of swampy water. We found ourselves just staring at one another unsure what the hell was going on.
"How did you." I muttered slowly before looking around.
We were in some sort of swampy glade. One of the largest willow trees I had ever seen rose above us, draping its green hair down all around us. Strange purple flowers seemed to be growing amongst the vines and each one had an ugly dark yellowish bulb in the middle. And they stank. Orange smoke seeping from the pours of each sunken bulb of each purple flower. They sort of looked like lotus flowers. Purple petals, blueish tips.
Underneath my bare feet was a mossy overgrowth that had lifted up out of the swamp like a small hill. It was loose and as I stood there I could feel myself sinking in slightly like a sponge, water soaking my feet. It was moist...between my toes. This is why I hate nature. It's just nasty.
Underneath the large tree was a small multi storied house of some kind of Eastern design, made from white stone. Himeji was a castle in Japan...or China maybe? And this place could've been it's, much smaller, replica. Lewis wasn't anywhere in sight and I just assumed he had gone in the mini-castle.
Before I could gather my wits or see anything else the ground lurched underneath me and I fell on all fours. That was when I noticed Tezca wasn't looking at me but at the giant turtle head sticking out of the water just a few feet away from my side. Well a turtle that one day decided to be a dragon. It's features were far sharper and jagged scales flowed down it's body like waves of the sea. It's body was a deep rich blue like the deepest ocean depths. It's lips were curved into a sharp, deadly beak. And as it moved over to look at the startled cat I could see large golden amber eyes.
A massive leg lifted out of the water and I clung onto the moss tighter as the large clawed leg smashed against the ground where Tezca stood. The jaguar reactions were as fast as ever and he was already several feet away before the clawed foot could hit the ground. A smile tidal wave rose up and splashed against the nearby trees.
The platforms were gone and Tezca ended up standing knee deep in the swamp. Green algae already clung to his tawny yellow fur legs.
The dragon turtle didn't stop there and with a powerful thrust pushed itself up and out of the water. Large waterfalls began to slip off it's bark brown shell just below the mossy hilltop I was currently clinging too. But as it reared back onto it's hind legs my grip slipped off the slick moss and I found myself tumbling all the way back to the building. Smacking the back of my head hard on the door with a loud thunk.
Stars danced in front of my eyes as the dragon turtle came crashing down. I saw Tezca flying through the air like some sort of cartoon that had just been putted. He gave me a wave before landing on a nearby tree that was soon bulldozed over as the turtle charged. Once Tezca had been pushed a few more feet back the turtle stopped, turned and marched back towards the spot it had risen from.
With a loud flop, the sound someone makes when they belly flop into the pool but from a much larger source, the dragon turtle was soon resting peacefully back in the swamp, it's back turned towards the cat.
Tezca moved back, if only a bit closer and reach out a hand.
Where the willow tree draped over, just outside the moss hill, there was a green barrier that appeared. Tezca fingers spread out over the surface, touching it like a solid wall. It would put mimes in a box to shame.
"Strange." He muttered rubbing over it. "Last time I tried to get through it forced you out."
"And you were stuck on the other side?" I asked a bit louder than I meant too, instantly regretting it as a sharp pain stabbed at the back of my skull. I touched to feel a warm dampness and saw blood. "Lovely, head trauma. Just what I need!" I groaned, stood up and walked over slowly making sure the ground didn't start moving again.
I stopped half way and touched at my chest. The wound there was gone and the three pin pricks on my side as well. I could breath freely and move as if I were a half dozen years younger. Even with a bad bump on my head I felt... better than I had in a long time.
"Will you be alright in there without me?" Tezca eyes were far softer and had grown wider if only a little bit. The teal fire had dimmed down to smoldering embers and I... I wasn't really sure what to say as he looked at me pleadingly.
So I placed a hand on my hip, waving him off with my other and laughed. "Nah, man. It's cool. I got this. Don't worry about it." Tezca just looked at me for several moments.
And then he stripped off the ceremonial green garb he had been wearing. The metal bits clanked together as he folded it in half and offered it to me. For a second I wasn't sure what he intended for me to do with it but being naked as I was, I was glad to take the cloths quickly seeing that was what he had meant by the gesture.
It was far too large to just cover my man bits (as it had Tezca) so I draped it over my shoulder and wore it like a green, Aztec toga. "Thanks." I said and reached out. My hand could touch his but still his pressed against that slightly green translucent force. The pink paw pads felt warm, smooth like leather on my skin and I returned the smile he gave me. His touch sent shivers up my arm and I quickly withdrew it.
I tried not to look as I back away but I ended up anyways. Like you would do in a locker room, or that's what I told myself. A quick, less than Three second look.
Tezca was muscular, fit with a healthy build. Not an ounce of fat on his powerful lean thighs or arms. His legs were a bit stockier than I expected but his upper body made up for that. Broad shoulders with thick arms and a larger than human sized head. His muzzle alone could easily fit my own head inside it. His chest fur was whitish yellow that turned to a more milky white as it ran down it to his groin. Under his arms and between his legs was a softer white as well.
I wasn't sure if he was bigger or not than me but his feline sheath filled his full groin, rose up a bit to almost to touch his lower stomach and spread out to brush against his inner thighs. It was a tawny yellow, plump and the opening had a smooth creamy white to it with a darker red fleshiness inside. His sack hung loosely and free, far larger than I'd expected but not comically so. And I was staring shamefully with envy despite myself. Dude must get all the lady jaguars.
So I quickly looked away, trying to ignore my blush and the warm, musky feel of the cloths Tezca had been wearing. A little too aware he had been wearing this naked without any undergarments.
"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it." And I headed over across the mossy hill trying not to catch the curious look the jaguar gave me. Standing shamelessly before me like that. The bastard was just showing off again.
The ground lurched once more and with a yelp I fell face first against it. At least it was a soft landing. I looked back to see Tezca quickly legging it away as the dragon turtle rose up once more to scare the would be predator off. And with another loud flop, sunk back beneath the swamp that became stagnate soon after.
A frog croaked and hopped into the water now that things had settled down. And with it the sounds of crickets began. The swamp returning to its natural state as if a giant dragon turtle hadn't just tried to kill a were-jaguar.
"Well that was unexpected. To say the least." I gave Tezca a wave to make sure he knew I was fine before heading back over towards the door.
The box roof castle was far...smaller in person. More like a hut. It barely had something one could call a second floor. Windows popped out of the smooth granite surface. Wooden frames outlining them. And directly in front of me was a wooden door. That I quickly knocked on before the turtle decided it didn't like Tezca being so close. The cat kept sneaking back over though I couldn't fathom why.
The door creaked open as if it didn't even have a latch to keep it closed. I looked in and with a timid voice said "Hello?"
The inside was far warmer than the swamp outside. The floor was smooth like the walls with an ugly red, golden laced rug spread out in the center of the room. A cabinet rested to the side with a book shelf on the adjacent wall and an old writers desk next to it. All were made out of the same tree as the one taking up the whole back wall.
This castle house seemed to have been built around the tree, that or the tree had grown up through the back wall. In front of it was a large purple cushion with a metal gold base. And on it was a rather large elephant. A fat, shirtless elephant with breezing yellow silk pants that clung to his expanded hips and wrapped around his chubby ankles. There was a tattoo of a foreign design (like the old tribal tattoo's) that ran from his forehead, between his eyes and to the end of his trunk. Around that thick gray skinned neck was an over sized white Hawaiian lace (or looked similar anyways as I was sure he didn't go to Hawaii to get one) with similar flowers outside weaved throughout it. Golden ornate wrist bands with different kinds of gems were around each wrists, matching necklaces hung around his neck like a choker and then draped down over his hairy fat belly. He had his legs crossed and was looking down at things laid out before him.
Behind him were twin elephants holding up matching golden globes of the world with their trunks. They formed behind him like the back of a chairs with a large wooden slab between them, it was cushioned with a similar blue as the one under him. In front of him was various things. A bowl with a lotus flower growing out of it, incense burning and a very small table used to keep a tea pot on it. A glass was already being poured before I managed to shut the door.
I look around for Lewis but saw no one. There was a solid gold statue of an elephant that looked very familiar to the one sitting down but it had far too many arms and faces on the side of its head to match this guy.
"Hi, there. Mr. Guardian dude." I tried to sound relax. It didn't sound relax.
"Tea?" He offered lightly setting the tea pot down and turning it so that the handle was facing as it had been before.
"Tea gives me the trotts." I said. Suave, people person. That was me.
He gave a single nod and lifted the tiny cup up (I'm not even sure how he held it in his oversized hand. Very carefully I guess?) and took a drink. With a very content sigh he put it back down next to the tea pot on a similar looking table just big enough for the tea cup to rest on.
Tapping a long candle snuffer on the side of the chair he sat on, he skillfully turned it over and put it in the corner of his mouth. It apparently was a pipe as smoke began to rise from the end of it.
"Did you see Lewis?" I asked still looking around.
There wasn't any hiding spots. Just an open, high ceiling room. Some kind of fan tipped spear, circular metal rings and some kind of mace was resting in the corner. A suit of armor was hung up next to it on a wooden manikin in the shape of an elephant. There wasn't a fridge, a restroom or even a bed in the place. It looked more like a storage room than anything else.
"Is that why you have come?" He asked vaguely puffing on the candle snuffer shaped cigar.
"Well no. Not technically." I answered a bit slowly eying him. I already saw where this was going.
"Then why technically have you come?" There was almost a hint of amusement in his voice but he never looked up.
I didn't answer figuring he already knew why I was here. Great sages always seemed to know why the hero comes to them and simply let the naïve dumbasses figure it out for themselves.
He didn't say anything so I went on.
"I'm here to get back to my world." And of course that only seemed to amuse him further.
"Is that why you have come? Can you not just walk? You seem to have two perfectly fine legs to me."
"Sorry I don't got a giant dragon turtle to carry me around." And as I spoke the house lurched to the side and I found myself on all fours holding onto the smooth ground as I slowly slid down the surface.
There was another shaking stomp and I figured our good friend was trying to kill Tezca again.
The whole room slid to one side, the elephant barely moving, before the turtle rested back down once more and with it everything seemed to slowly set back to where they had been. It was like those birds out in the middle of the ocean. They rise and fall with the waves no matter how small or large before settling back down, never moving and just going with the motion. The whole room shook yet nothing was out of place afterwards.
I took a seat across from him and waited for the next movement of the turtle.
"Hubert doesn't leave this place. Nor do I," he said and then he looked up. His eyes were small but I could make out the hazelnut hew to them. "Tell me. What does the man outside have to do with this?"
I didn't ask how he knew about Tezca fishing it up to the whole schtick of being an all knowing wise sage. "He's just my co-worker." Not like that was a lie. "Helping me figure out the case I'm on."
The elephant just took another drink of tea. "Much like your brother." I arched an eyebrow but held my tongue. "Vague answers. Half-truths, white lies. Untrusting of others and jaded when it comes to those your bound too."
"It must run in the family." My voice was dry and sarcastic.
He took another slow drink with another content sigh, putting the glass back on its pedestal and turning it so it was as it had been before. A few minutes droned on and the building rose and sunk again, I tried my best not to let it show how much it affected me.
"So how do I get out of here? And not by walking. Is there a way to use the gate to get back or what? I don't got all day to deal with this."
"You ask once more, though I have already given you the answer." I rolled my eyes. "Yet, you do not ask about your brother? How odd." And as if I did ask he explained. "Your brother came to me through the one you know as Lewis. Well Lewis's previous body that is." I didn't even ask. "He, your brother, came in hopes of learning how to control the inner beast so that it wouldn't ravage his own body and soul."
Those eyes opened once more and looked at me. "I assumed that is also why Lewis brought you here. And yet you ask to leave without learning."
"Yup." I said flatly and he just poured another glass for himself. "That's me. I've always hated school."
"Then tell me. You have been in here for Five of your minutes and you have not even asked for your co-worker to join us for tea. Or thought about it, I dare the risk to say." I didn't respond and frowned at him.
Big cats actually enjoy the water, they need it in their habitat to survive. This was just a chance for Tezca to be alone, in the wild once more and have the peace without me. Or so my brain wanted to say. That's what I would've wanted. What I had now, in a way. Freedom from him and a chance to be alone again.
I couldn't feel the connection to him and without the constant presence of him hearing my thoughts, being there constantly and just the fact I could actually just have some...alone time right now. Was good. Heh, I didn't even notice. I was in a strange place, on top of a giant turtle being offered tea...and I haven't felt so at peace since this all started.
The ground shook again and we both waited for it to calm down.
"Your co-worker seems rather adamant to join us." The elephant said. Tezca should've been able to just claw his way in but either chose not too or was unable too. "Restrained." The word seemed to be spoken towards Tezca than at myself. "Unlike your brothers...coworker.
"The beast had clawed, gnawed and bloodied itself trying to get inside after him. To the point we had to hold our sessions outside." He seemed to know my thoughts or was just answering a question he had been asked before. "This place is isolated from space. But not time. We return to our natural selves here, away from the changes of the outside world. Which can not reach us." He took another drink. "If a man lost his arm he could come here and have it returned. Until he left."
"And if he didn't?" I asked already knowing the answer. The elephant seemed to be expecting the answer as he only smiled softly, sadly so and looked back at the glass of tea. "Is that why your here?" I found myself asking him. My eyes drifted back towards the armor and weapons. I heard countless stories of PTSD and other mental disorders, let alone physical ones that comes with war. He was probably just trying to escape it all as I could.
That also must be why I felt so...relaxed here. The tranquility of this place set even my own restless mind at ease. It was serene and the soft trickling of water off the turtle shell, the wind blowing through the tree and the smell of incense and tea was beginning to make me drowsy. Content. Happy...
A gripping fear clenched around my heart like a jaguars fangs clamping down. My eyes snapped open and I stood up, backing away glaring at him and found my breath coming short.
"Only those with traumatic occurrences in their past can feel the peace of this place. The worst they are the further one slips away into the dreamless sleep." Smoke rose off the pipe, an orangish smoke matching the smoke the lotus in the bowl was emitting. It matched the ones outside as well. It wasn't magical or anything it was just this strange plant that caused it. Even the plants of this world was deadly.
It reminded me too much of the fox-woman. This state of unexplainable bliss I felt. And with it I knew the danger behind it.
"If you cannot come to an epiphany, then you cannot leave." It sounded almost like a threat. "Your brother found one. And he returned to your world." And found me. His great epiphany was to reconnect with his own brother? How lame.
"Oh? And what do I need to learn from all of this before you can let me leave, Mr. Guardian dude?"
"I am not the one holding you here." I glared at him some more. "Just as your friend is kept outside, you are kept here. Your own mind is to blame." And he poured himself a fresh cup of tea. "We all create walls inside our mind. To protect us from what we do not wish to remember, to recall or to concede to doing. This is also known as Truth."
"And the truth is I want to just stay in this place?" I nearly laughed at him, wanting to spit on the ground afterward and tell the son of a bitch off. I wanted to get out of here. I wanted to find Marco, to return home, finish this case and...and go back to the very life I had before.
Was I afraid that I wouldn't be able to achieve that? My own apartment, MY apartment was destroyed because of this world. I didn't really have a home to go back too. I wasn't sure if Marco would even come. My own brother may leave me as I had left him before, it seemed fitting... And then, even if he did, we'd be having to room and board with Tezca as well.
Tezca.
I would be stuck with him. Bound forever and never knowing freedom of being alone again. Tied down. I was too young to get married. I nearly laughed at the thought as my mind was already pieces the things together. I was afraid of Tezca? Seriously. Afraid that with him I couldn't return to the way things were? Was I still trying to cling to the past, even now? After all that has happened?
"Screw you." I ended up spitting at him, getting up and quickly leaving in a hissy fit. My anger was already surfacing and I knew why. Anger was a natural reaction to conflict. Be it internal or external. It was the same anger that caused our father to come home to beat his wife. And here I was, not to the same extent, but still just trying to run away from it all and covering it up with anger. Maybe it really did run in the family...
I marched over the mossy hill towards the cat still fuming. Anger always allowed me to clear my head though, even if it made me do stupid shit the other half of the time.
Tezca was waiting, just as he had been before. It looked like he was driven away countless times. The whole lower part of his legs were muddy with green algae on them. His arms was in a similar state, even the tip of his tail was muddy. The water had splashed over his front and the thick tawny-yellow, black rosette fur was now matted and dripping with the murky water. He looked like a mess. And those teal fire eyes were just watching, waiting for my return. And here I was thinking of just abandoning him.
Great. I was in a codependent relationship with an old Aztec god. Maybe I'll end up on the Oprah show...wait, didn't they cancel that?
"You look like a mess." I said a bit crassly, lashing out at him. Tezca ear twitched but he showed no other sign of hearing my tone.
"I could say the same." He replied. "What took you so long?"
I frowned. I was in there for Five, possibly Ten minutes. The end of his muzzle was dirty as if he had dunked it into the water. The mud was fresh in some places but old in others, cracked and dry. And on the other side of the green translucent wall I could see that it was raining.
"How long was I in there?" I asked wearily looking back. Time always seemed to have a messed up concept in these places. Last time we came to this swamp a week had passed.
"Nearly a day." Tezca said though he wasn't looking at my face but over me. The wound on my chest was gone as well as the puke green paste. And I wasn't puking my guts out either. And I could move my left arm fully again. I never realized just how much I missed that.
"This place reverts you to how you were." I said as he watched me lift my arm up and down. "It's best if you don't come in. I rather not have a feral, man eating jaguar coming after me."
"You'd get used to it." Tezca shrugged but at my words pulled his hand away, the one he had been pressing up against the wall. Quickly retracting it, recoiling as if it had suddenly grown painfully hot. "Find a way for us to leave, yet?"
I didn't answer him at first and just looked back at the building. "Give me a second." And I walked back over. It seemed to be a far longer walk than I remember. My hand pushed against the door and the inside of the building was nothing like it had been before.
The walls were cracked, gray and moss was growing up and over it. The cushion was torn at the side and stuffy had spilled out. A thick film of dust and dirt covered the ground. The cabinet had been turned over and broken and the desk was missing its front two legs. Both of their contents had been spilled onto the floor and lost in the sand of times. The weapons, statue of the elephant and armor were still there. They were rusting at their edges and looked like they needed a damn good polishing. That wasn't what drew my eye. But the bones gathered in the middle of the floor. A large mammal had died ages ago, his body rotting away until only his skeleton was left.
"I'm sorry." I found myself saying as I looked at the statue. There was a single flower in front of it, wilting at the edges and not releasing its toxic pollen anymore. "I can't join you here. I have places to be, others waiting for me. I won't...I can't give up."
I found the tea pot, cracked as it was, the small table and set it up in front of the statue before turning and leaving. My hand stopped as I touched the door handle. And the gears in my head continued turning.
It would've been easy, you know? All too easy to just give in and accept the offer. To remain here in peace and tranquility. To forget my problems, to be free of Tezca, to not have to worry about my brother. And to be me again. My left arm working and all. I could just sit here, breathing in that scent and forget all my worries and concerns until my body gave way and I too died in bliss.
The door slowly shut behind me and I found myself still looking at it. If I opened it now I was sure I would see that elephant again. I could join him and just sit there, waiting for it all to end.
"I think so." I gave a nod to Tezca as I headed back over, turned around and cupped a hand around my mouth. "Lewis!" I said loudly as if calling for a pig.
Around the back of the building came a dog, on all fours, running towards us. It was a normal sized African wild dog, carrying a gnarled wooden stick. The skull on the end of it was gone.
This place really did revert you to the way you once was. Without your scars, without your worries or pain that comes with life. I suppose to most that wouldn't seem like that big of a thing. But if you ever got a scar, that could never heal, I'm sure you would've hesitated as I have. Wanting to take that offer.
I bent down and scratched at the back of the wild dog's neck as it came up to rub against me, sniffing at me before trying to sniff other places. I quickly caught its head and forced it back. "Yup. Defiantly Lewis."
Tezca eyed him and I saw him from the corner of my eye take a step back. The cat's greatest fear was returning how he was before. It wasn't my mind that was blocking him out but his own. This place gave you what you desired, a peace of mind. Like a fungus, like moss it probably "ate" your body in return. Frightening.
Picking the wild dog up, he was far lighter than he look, cradling him in my arms I walked out. The wall held for a slight second and I felt it on my skin like tiny cold snow flakes before it gave way letting me past. The rain began to fall and with it I felt the aching pain in my chest and side returned.
The wild dog fell out of my hands and I succumb to the pain, resting against Tezca who caught me before I'd fallen face first into the water. It was a sharp stabbing pain in my chest and my side was beginning to bleed again. My eyes clenched shut and I took a slow shaking breath trying to ease myself into feeling once more.
I could defiantly see the allure of this place. Able to heal old scars, to return how you were. But it was just a false remedy for it all. A band aide over a much greater wound. People were always looking for some kind of quick remedy, the magic pill and it looks like I found it.
"Did you find a way? Did the guardian help you?" Tezca asked. I was thankful the wooden slabs had returned as Lewis himself did.
"In a way." And I turned back around. "Hey!" I shouted loudly. "Guardian. Mind if we have a chat?"
And with that the whole hill shook and rose up high and slowly the dragon turtle turned back to face me.
"Hello, Mr. Guardian." I smiled as the turtle looked down at me. "Could I ask you a question?"