It takes ten minutes of strolling and quiet padding of the grass to become irritating, so I finally query, “Takehiko, how’d you find me anyway?” The fact that he knew exactly where I was kind of freaks me out.
He cocks his head to the side. “Huh? Oh yeah, that. I was just going to see if I could spot you in the area but it seems I got lucky since you darted out of that house. I would’ve called out to you then but people would see me and we both know how that would turn out. So, when you took off so did I, just behind the trees.”
I let out a mumbled, “Oh.” To divert my attention away from the now increasing silence, I sneak a peek at Dara who is still staring dangerously at the back of Takehiko’s head. This better not cause too much trouble. Dara probably didn’t expect an extra hitchhiker and I certainly didn’t either. Dara didn’t even expect me as it is so this is just adding to the burden he has to carry. At this rate, Takehiko’s independent decisions could put a damper on our plans, but unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do right now.
Takehiko proceeds to walk backward, facing us as he talks. “Gara, why are you all dressed in black? You’ll only get heatstroke like that.”
Dara grits his teeth. “It’s Dara. And it’s because I want to.”
“Ok ok, Mister Pissy. Only trying to offer some advice.” Once again, Takehiko has a valid point. Today’s heat is enough to make even a seasoned marathoner drop to their knees sooner or later. Takehiko returns to looking forward as I stay next to Dara, trying to confine the demon about to lurch from him.
I lean towards him and whisper, “He might be right. We’re far enough from the village, it’d be ok to take it off for a bit. Besides, if you get heatstroke, our chances of finding Mayen will be even slimmer.”
Snapping out of his annoyed gaze, he glances at me. “You’re missing the idea. Our chances will be slashed if I’m seen at all. A little heat is a small price to pay for Cassidy. And remember, I have enough drugs in me to rival a cartel. One of those things probably has some positive effect on heat. I’ll be fine.”
Why is it that they always seem to have an edge to their rebuttals? “Fine, but we’ll find something a bit more...I don’t know...a bit nicer along the way. That thing is hideous and makes you look like a thief or something.”
He nods, but as he does so, a low hanging branch seems to come upon him, snagging the hood right off his head. As the fabric is ripped by its seams, the sound of threads tearing fills the air, the cloak left connected to the branch. Dara closes his eye, finished with the whole situation. “Shit.”
Takehiko flings himself around and is barely able to hold in a laugh; the sight of Dara entangled in the hanging material becomes too much for him. Using his hands to try to loosen it off, Dara only manages to wrench the blackness apart even more, sending Takehiko into a fit of laughter.
“Pfft HAHAHAHAHAHA!” Takehiko grabs his gut and closes his eyes, guffawing. A deep red flush comes to Dara’s cheeks as he attempts to dislodge himself from the cloak. I just watch as the scene goes on, trying to figure out how this little group is going to last another five minutes. As Takehiko drags on with his gleeful fit, Dara manages to throw the garment to the ground, though yanking it to shreds seems to be the only way of doing so. He furiously heads towards Takehiko who, at the moment, isn’t even composed enough to notice. For the second time, Dara has a hold of Takehiko’s shirt, but Takehiko invites himself to poke the tip of Dara’s horn. “Hehe, are your evening accessories too much for your Sunday blouse?”
As Takehiko snickers, Dara slaps Takehiko across his shockingly pale cheek. “Hey!” I scream out to him. This is going too far now. Yet, the smirk is clean off Takehiko’s face and replaced with a serious expression.
The tone Dara uses is so threatening, one might believe he really was a criminal on the run. “Listen, and listen well imbecile. I’ve been through hell these past two days, not to mention my whole life. I don’t know why you’re here and frankly, I don’t care, but this isn’t a game. This is to get my only friend back, and so far, you’ve only turned me into your own personal joke. So, if you’re going to act like a child, then go back home and play hide and seek or something.”
Takehiko’s thin eyes narrow even more. “Hide and seek you say?” He knocks Dara’s arm clean off him but doesn’t do anything else. “Heh. I’ve been playing that game my whole life. That’s all I do. Hide and stay out of life's way. You say you’re trying to save your only friend? Well, all my friends were caught by the seeker in my game of ‘hide and seek’. I don’t even know what a friend is anymore, not to mention a family. My home is full of empty memories that I can’t even recall anymore. Hell, this is the first time I’ve truly laughed in years! You think you’re so piteous…Claiming your life is a living hell. And I’m sure it is. You look like you’ve seen some rough times. But, that doesn’t mean my pain is any less than yours. The reason I laughed is not that I find you to be stupid or laughable in general. It’s because I was finally able to. I’m not here to cause trouble; I’m here to finally sneak up on the seeker and win this game I’ve been playing for too long.”
Brushing the bangs out of his eyes, he relays Dara an almost sympathetic look. The deepness of Takehiko’s words hits me hard. By just looking at Takehiko, it’d be hard to tell so much was inflicted upon him. Not only does he seem carefree, but so far he’s been a complete dork. However, when hearing those words come from his mouth, it begins to bring light to why he acts the way he does. It’s like how I’ve dealt with my grief these past years; I’ve ignored it and have tried to hide it in the recesses of my mind. Yet, there’s still enough left that hurts, like when you scrape your knee and it hurts like hell at first. As time goes on, a scab forms and it can become easier to ignore. But sometimes, that scab becomes irritating and you start to scratch at it, pulling it off and revealing a raw wound again. The pain is almost as strong as it was when the knee was first injured. Even after that scab falls off and becomes a scar, that mark will always stay, becoming a part of you forever and visible to the world. That’s what true grief is. Dara’s just picking at Takehiko’s scab, starting to open the flesh all over again.
Staring at Takehiko, Dara sighs and murmurs, “That’s not how you win hide and seek.” Silence follows and Dara steps away, beckoning me to his side to which I flock. Over my shoulder, Takehiko follows, his face seemingly annoyed and, if I’m not mistaken, disappointed. He spots me peeking at him and puts on his best smirk. Even I can tell it’s forced.
I turn to Dara, trying to change the atmosphere before it gets any more crushing. “So, where should we start?”
“Well, we need to find out if anyone has seen a girl looking like Cassidy with a guard or not. She could be anywhere with that guy at this point. He can’t very well hide her on the way back to wherever they’re going to take her.”
“So, what we need is a reliable source of information…” We’re both lost in thought at what place could possibly supply us with intel. Finding her is just the start. She’ll probably have that guard or more around her if she’s not already back at one of Mayen’s facilities by now. It’s a near-impossible task to get close to someone like her especially considering our circumstances. We have a runaway hybrid, a boy who's been on death row for years, and a girl whose existence means shit to someone as prestigious as Mayen. Not very uplifting when I put it like that.
Takehiko pipes up. “I still don’t know who the hell you guys are talking about but we could try a local tavern. Travelers go through there all the time; they might have something on her. Besides, it’d be a place to sleep and eat.”
I peer at Takehiko, surprised. “It’s not crazy you know? Happen to know a place?”
Takehiko catches up to us, seeming to be a little more engaged. “Arocia should be near here actually. It’s full of tourists.” He bites his lip. “On foot though, it’ll take at least a day to get there.”
Without facing him, Dara replies, “Fine, do you know the way?”
Takehiko pushes himself to the front. “Of course. My parents took me through-” He stops awkwardly. Clearing his throat, he starts over, “Of course. I know these woods like the back of my hand.”
The sky begins to turn a soft salmon as we continue on our way. Not much else ensues throughout our time walking. The boys remain silent, one with his eyes on the path and one with his eye glaring at the other. My thoughts are too jumbled to keep conversation going at this point. I just ran away from home and am now scurrying off with two boys I met less than a day ago. Jeez, I really can get hot-headed. Will that be my downfall? Perhaps. But, I’ll just have to wait and see where this little ‘journey’ takes me. With the way these two are acting though, it could very well last a mere fifteen minutes.
Fortunately, we make it into the depths of the night, easily trudging until the early morning hours. It’s simple to tell when it’s morning here because over the years I’ve observed that the birds usually start their song at precisely 3:15 a.m. Since their constant chirps are now echoing against our ears, we’re signaled that it’s time to sleep or no rest is to be had until tomorrow night. Takehiko finds a safe spot hidden under the trees and we all find our separate corners, relaxing the best we can among the dead twigs and fallen beetles. The stars glimmer, the moon radiates its last brilliant shine, and the two shadows of Dara and Takehiko shift amongst the dirt. Strange, but it’s all extremely relaxing…
Sunshine pours through my now golden eyelids as my already bruised shoulder is pushed back and forth. I slowly wake up, but nearly have a heart attack when those lapis eyes are in front of mine for a second time. Damn Takehiko. My back finds the tree behind me as my arms fly up and send him scraping across the ground. He lays back on his hands, presumably astonished at my reflexes.
“Oi! What was that for?!” His face exhibits utter mortification as if I’ve committed mutiny on the high seas.
Comments (0)
See all