Arc 2 - Chapter 10: A Hero In My Book

(Quintiles 29, 59 / 6:32PM)

In the remains of a destroyed bar, 11 people sat on the debris ridden floor.

Looking up at the evening sky, distant screams, explosions, and gunshots reverberated in the background. Enduring the sounds of despair, it was like hearing the rotten fruits of their labor.

“Sniff…”

“Don’t tell me you’re still sad. You were the one who let them get away.”

“But … sniff … I said I was sorry.”

Sitting on the mountain of rubble, Gwen tucked her knees in, while wrapping her arms around her legs. Dripping out mucus, it dropped onto her black pants, while redness sore from the tip of it.

As everyone saw this embarrassing display for a 26 year old, Benn folded his arms, and narrowed his eyes.

“You’re acting childish.”

Gwen lifted her head up from her knees, and averted her eyes away from the shark-human. Pouting, she slightly leaned back, leaving her tailbone to stabilize her weight, amidst her clenching stomach.

“I’m not childish…”

“Yet you always act like this.”

“Just get her ass up. She’s being annoying.”

Luna glared at Gwen, while having her hands on her hips. Continuing to heave heavy breaths, she steadied her feet firm on the old wooden floorboard. Her eyes swelling up with tears again, her pout ceased, along with her hug tightening evermore.

“Stop being mean to me!”

“Then do your job you idiot! How come we always have to clean up your messes!?”

“Luna…”

Luke placed his hand on Luna’s shoulder, his palms smooth alongst the fabric of her leather jacket. His voice as gentle as a Tician black bear, his face softened once he saw the tanness of her cheeks.

“Just let me talk to her…”

Feeling Luke’s fingers, she narrowed her eyes on Luke’s pushed down pale face. Huffing out a batch of air from her lungs, she turned her head the other way, and moved her hands into her pockets.

“W-Whatever… just get her up…”

Letting go of her shoulder, Luke walked across the wooden floor with his hands down. Shards of wood in his way, it scraped the edges of his leather boots. Reaching Gwen, who continued to sniffle and ball herself up like a neet, he knelt down toward her eye level.

“Don’t worry, they don’t mean nothing by it. Sometimes people can get caught up in the moment.”

Her body loosened, while smearing off mucus with one of her palms. Bringing her hand back, she continued to cradle herself.

“But why are they so mean? They treat me like some first class idiot, even though I am a—”

“Hey…”

Luke placed both of his hands onto her shoulders, making her look up with solace. Seeing him within her eyes, she couldn’t sway his image away, even when her breath stalled in her throat.

“You’re not an idiot. You may be slow but you’re not that. They’re just cranky about your big missup, that's all.”

Gwen glanced around the room, noticing that some of her soldiers continued to fold their arms. Although what Luke said was true, they looked down at the ground, their eyes pushed up into their upper eyelids.

And yet, Gwen clung to her knees, having them glued to her like a lifeline.

“But I saved them, Luke… Aren’t I strong?”

Luke stood up steadily, and made his way toward Gwen’s back. Trembling on the mountaintop of rubble, as his feet were imbalanced, Gwen had her eyes motioned on her hands. Scaling through her blisters, along with her calluses, she tried to ignore the razor blade scars latched on her wrists.

“I’m a leader, but I’m slow. I’m slow, yet I command. Strength is the only thing I have but people—”

He wrapped his arms around her, and pressed his muscular yet slim chest onto her back.

“Huh?”

His knees pierced by the rubble, he maintained his position. Even when he shifted his body uncomfortably, he made sure his body reenacted like a warm blanket.

“You are strong.”

Her eyes began to twitch, as she stared straight at the wall in front of her. Her entire body numb to his gentle nature … summoned a right tear from her right eye.

“And you are slow … and a careless fighter, a prankster, and many other names given to you, but …”

Grabbing her hands, she let him take reign, leaving him to rub them gently with a warm smile. Her breath weeping in her throat, she barely contained the water within her eyes.

—“You saved my life. So in my book, I guess that makes you my hero.”—

Gwen pushed out her legs, ceasing her cradling that she holed herself in. With wooden shards pinching her calves, she looked down at the ground, and smeared away another sniffle of mucus.

Luke took a step back, and heard her breathing turn normal.

“I understand…”

Gwen placed her right knee on the rubble, and used her left foot to spring herself up. Straightening her body, and cupping her hands onto her mouth, she tilted her head in an upward direction.

“Attention everyone!”

Her group, along with Stans’, all huddled around her like a flock of sheep. Their eyes focused on her, they all noticed her eyes and nose still burdened with red. Folding their arms, they all leaned on what Gwen had to say.

All the while Luke stood right by her.

“Sorry if I acted childish. I guess I should’ve known you guys aren’t as strong as me. And I guess I have been too careless in fighting, so…”

Gwen patted Luke’s back, her calluses bouncing off from his leather jacket. Patting him twice, she then pushed him forward by using what little strength she had, but her little strength made him almost tumble over.

“This man right here, you know him, you love him, is going to be our little planner. A way to get back those four liches. Any questions?”

A hand raised high from the back of the crowd. The palm gleaming under the evenling light, all of them paved the way for Gwen to focus on the particular person; or man. Having silver hair, and wearing a miner hat, Gwen squinted her eyes at him.

“What is it Freddy?”

“Can I … can I …”

Fred’s left hand trembled, and looked down onto the floor. His knuckles starting to turn his hand, his unrelenting strength caused Gwen to tilt her head right.

“May I plan with Luke too ma’am?”

Bowing at a 90 degree angle, Fred released his left hand, and had his hands flatline along his body. Doing the Clastine bow, everyone’s eyes then turned to Gwen, who placed her hands on her hips. The corners of her mouth pushing upward, it formed a smile, similar to the one that Luke used with her

“Sure. You and Luke could detail the details, but Fred…”

Her boots dragged along the shards of wood in front of her, which paved a way toward Fred. Still having her hands on her hips, she cocked her head even more to the right.

“Can I borrow something for a second?”

________________________________________________________________________

Humidity filled the crevices of the adult lounge. As the ceiling started to sweat, papers, wood, glass, and a couple of chairs scattered the oak wood floors below.

In total, four people were within the room. Jerry withered on the ground, followed by clutching his cheek with both of his hands. His nervous system overloaded, he tried to speak.

‘I can’t move my mouth…’

His fingers scratching the swollen skin, his legs flailed, leaving his heels to slam the ground repeatedly.

‘Hope…’

Placing his left cheek on the ground, the bruise continued to agonize him. Making his fingers peel some of the purple off, he remembered that glowish yellow light, a light from a woman born out of miracles.

‘I need Hope…’

But instead of a woman, a girl walked toward him. Her footsteps slow and quiet, Jerry looked upward at the small figure. Squinting his eyes, he took note of her pigtails and youthful face, all the while she looked down on him.

‘Loraine…’

Her breathing was irregular, as her arms remained motionless alongst her sides. Her body quivering with immense strain, oxygen within her legs was low, once her knees began to buckle.

But she crouched down near Jerry, her chin smeared in leftover saliva from being choked by Pedro. Unable to narrow his eyes, his body laid firm on the floor, as his vision barely took in sweat trickling from her nose.

‘What does she want—Aah!’

Another bolt of pain flinched his nerves, making him grind his teeth. Placing her hand into her pocket, her eyes widened once she felt a mixture of metal and glass. Pulling the object out, she held the small vial up in the air.

“H-Here … pants … is your medicine… pants.”

He barely took in the sight of a glass bottle with a metal cap. Noticing the symbol that lay on the center, Jerry shot his eyes up.

‘No, not that … anything but that!’

Jerry leaned his head away from the bottle, while his right cheek throbbed from the burning sensation. Feeling like someone was stabbing him with a hot knife, he sealed his eyelids shut.

Loraine turned the bottle clockwise, opening the lid as she arched her back; from the smell. Like smelling the corpse of a skunk, its musked odor rippled through the air like mustard gas.

“You need this so the pain will stop.”

“Like hell! Ow!”

Grabbing his hair with just her left hand, she brought his mouth close to the lid. Holding the bottle upon her right palm, and her grip on his hair tightening…

“Clear!”

She jabbed the tip into his mouth. Musking his gums in skunky aroma, she then pulled the bottle away, leaving Jerry to suffer the consequences of…

“No!”

Raising both of his hands onto his mouth, he tried to spit out the leftover remains of the liquid. Puncturing his chin and lips with saliva, it stained hard on his skin, leaving his face to smolder in the pungent smell.

Not working for him, he used his nails to scratch his tongue, as the sensation of the smell sunk into his teeth. Letting his hands drop, there was nothing he could do to cease the smell, as he looked toward Loraine.

“Damn it Loraine!”

“At least you’re better now.”

Quaking his hands, his upper eyelids strangled with veins once he saw her put on a smug face. Pushing the corners of her lips up to her ears, his ears glistened a hot red.

“Whatever…”

Holding himself back, he pushed air in and out from his pinkish lungs, leaving his throat to coarse from her breath. His eyesight returning, it led him to glance at two adults from the other side of the room, who slumped on the ground with darkened eyes.

‘They’re both ok’

Standing up, he pushed his legs forward, and slowly made his way to the nearest person. Analyzing her long hair, and rectangular glasses, her monolid eyes made her unique.

And then he took note of the wooden floor slashed up by chains, along with many objects toppled and scattered. Raising his right eyebrow, he began scratching his cheek with one of his hands.

‘But what happened…?’

Jerry stood in front of Jenny, and crouched down with his arms remaining in place. His face on the same height level as hers, he placed his hands onto her shoulders, while she looked down at the floor.

“Are you ok Jenny? Are you hurt?”

No emotion withered her eyes, as her legs and arms laid motionless. Pushing out a sigh, Jerry tugged her shoulders once, making her head wobble.

“Please Jenny, I need to know. Whatever he is, we’ll get him.”

“You don’t want to know Jerry, nor will you ever get to him.”

David stood behind Jerry, who had his hands flat along his waist. Staring at the back of Jerry’s head, the elf turned to look at the soulless cowboy, as his mouth began to quiver.

“What do you mean I don’t want to know? Even if he overpowered you—”

“You’ll get slaughtered the moment he gets serious. He’s not as weak as he looks…”

By pushing the butt of his heels, Jerry stood up, and curled his fingers into his palms. David remained calm, his hands and breathing remaining stable as his eyes darkened evermore.

“You’re not thinking straight. You’ve never beaten me in hand-to-hand combat or gun accuracy.”

“So?”

“You’ll only get in the way.”

Having his shadow tower over him, the knuckles inside his hands tangled themselves from his own strength. Fuming, his chest heaved up and down repeatedly and his eyes turned bloodshot red.

But that all faded, when he heard her voice.

“Jerry…”

Keeping his body tightened, Jerry slowly turned to look at Jenny, and saw her cheeks pushed up to her eyes. As she tightened the hold she had on her knees, her irises continued to glow no light, which made Jerry uncurl his fingers.

“Please don’t go…”

Hearing those words, he let his hands drop to his waist, and let his jaw hang slightly from his mouth. Feeling his entire body be sunk to gravity, Jerry tilted his head down, pressuring his neck to custom to an unknown weight.

Avoiding both of their eyes, he lifted his head up, and turned his gaze at the broken window.

“Boris got kidnapped.”

Both David and Jenny’s eyes lit up, leaving the back of the necks to exhaust cold sweat. Taking a few steps toward Jerry, David felt his fingers twitch, and his breathing turned abnormal.

“Say what?”

“Pedro was the one who took him.”

David couldn’t glance around the room, as the corners of the walls grew dark. Finally curling his fingers, he sunk them into his palms, but his knuckles didn’t shake. Lowering his voice, he slightly mottored his words.

“So how do we find him?”

A phone rang.

Everyone, including Jenny and Loraine, turned to the sound of a phone ringing amongst the wall. Lifting their heads, unfading their shadowed eyes, the only person to push their feet to that phone, was David.