This is strange, I had a horrible nightmare, my mother died, and this guy, was he like that bat guy I saw in those stories from the Librariums underground, heh those were cool. Where am I even? I can't see shit, what’s on my head? I take off the sheet over me and reveal the harsh rays of the sun piercing through the gaps in the forest leaves, my eyes are burning holy shit. I was sleeping huh, in the middle of the forest from my dreams… fu-fuck. My body starts shaking uncontrollably, my head’s spinning, my vision feels blurry, my teeth are clenched, my breathing cannot be controlled,no it can't be, no it just can't, no, i don't, no i can't look, I JUST CAN’T!
Tears roll down my face as I look around, bodies, mo-mommy? The corpse laying over there had the same hair, the face, oh god. What's that expression? “AAAHHHHHHH!” My bawl of pain and horror cannot be contained. I didn't even realize I woke the man I was lying on, I ran off of him and vomited in a nearby bush, my eyes sting from the tears, so does my throat and from the acidic taste, my nose is in worse shape from the smell, my hands, I can't control them I have to hide my face. i cover my eyes and stare directly down, this can't be happening, why? Fuck fuck FUCK! I want to DIE! I can't take this, I don't want to take it, why mommy? I can't breathe, I can't even think, my head hurts, my chest is aching, god just end it. I feel a hand on my back holding me, I fall back into my vomit without much care, jumping at the contact from something, my main concern is what was that and the fear of what it can do to me.
“H-hey, uhm are you okay? Fuck, that was a stupid question, uh well listen i saved you from those guys so don’t be scared of me okay, I don’t want you running off and dying after I went though all that trouble” his voice was a bit shaky, as calm as could be otherwise, the monotone and deepness of it forced my attention, each word was emphasized not losing my grasp. This guy was the one to save me, I remember it vividly, but does that mean I can trust him? I can’t actually, what if he’s just happy he has a new young sex toy now, those men were, disgusting, turns my stomach thinking about it, hmph, fucking beasts out here all of them, mommy used to tell me about it all the time.
“You. Don't talk to me, I don't trust you, go die in a ditch you false savior, or maybe you just want to sell my young skin or use it for yourself, you sicko!” I think I went a bit far there but I don't care. I just don't want anyone around me, I hope I scare him off, stay away from me, just leave me alone.”,
“Fine, i’ll leave you be, i’ll be over there fixing up the supplies, and here,” with a sigh, he threw me a canister of a liquid I am assuming is water, and he just leaves, did he read my mind? Also how did he know I was thirsty? feeling the wet and, ugh, squishy liquid below me, yeah that’s probably how. I drink the water and gargle it a bit to wash out the vomit taste in my throat. Man i hate this, i’m too scared to go over there to him, he didn't seem too bad at least, but well mommy did say be cautious always, ugh it hurts thinking of her too. I eventually find the courage and head over and sit by him, I stay far enough away so he can’t grab me, and I can run if he does anything suspicious, just calm down a speak,
“Hey old guy, what’s the bath situation around here i feel sticky” he raises his head and an eyebrow when i call him old, he speaking in a tone with a bit more emotion that normal,
“There is no bath situation?” i look at him with eyes of concern, “i’m just kidding, we’ll look for a lake or something in this forest there must be one close by, also I’m not old I am like 25 or something,” the emotion was a lil bit of agitation for the old comment and back to normal for the rest, he’s pretty calm, well i guess I won’t die being covered in vomit but it sure sucks. We wonder a bit till we find one, we eventually did, it isn't too far from camp,in this heat this is a god send, he checks the water and we step in, our backs turned to each other, we wash our clothes and ourselves down, and dry off near the lake, it’s clear you can see the bottom and the fish around in it, it’s really pretty, i see my reflection, did i always look this depressed? Well this sucks imma have an old lady face at this rate. Also noting the giant rock at the end of the water.
I brush my hair, looking at myself in the water, it’s exactly like mom’s, I have pitch black irises for some reason, with white pupils, mommy didn't have these, nobody else does really. I glance over at the old guy and see him putting on his jacket over new clothes, I just put on whatever he just gave me, he seemed to make it himself. The hell, is this guy some kind of fashion designer? I put my hair in a high ponytail, the hair is long and blonde so i don't really wanna leave it waving around, i find a cute lil flower to help brighten my mood a bit and put it at the side of my head my bangs still flow over my forehead, kinda want them to hide more of my face now, this is some designer shit, those books I read on fashion were no joke did he study them? Bandages to keep my hands from being bruised, the shirt is short sleeved but they still reached my elbows so i folded it a bit, it’s pretty ripped down below but covers everything it needs it just hangs off from the hips go down in torn strands, the pants were shorts, he gave me a sheet i used to cover up the legs from the waist to a bit below the knees, a cloth used to keep it in place, I just have on slippers on my feet with bandages covering the foot to the knees.
Overall good character design really, I look over at him he looks the exact fucking same as I met him, does he just have multiple of that outfit? I sigh but as i do i hear a loud noise, it’s coming from the clear water, the big rock just moved itself? Oh shit, in front of me is a giant whale creature coming out the water looking down upon me and him, its eyes were in sets of three sunken into both sides of its face, with a white almost ethereal glare, its damn arms were ripped, logs of muscle and scaly flesh. Good lord did swimming build all that? And its mouth hung open, its torso going into the hole that was covered by the giant rock. I looked at the guy, and he looked at the interior of the mouth producing a visible mist, jagged rows of teeth with no pattern just jotting out the gums. Something about me wants to smell it, that’s a weird thought. The man sighs and smirks looking up at it,
“Well it looks like it’s up to me” his voice was calm collected, sounding like a true badass, he sighed as he got in front of me, he looked the beast dead in the eye and, he turns around and grabs me picking me up along with our things and high tailing it the fuck out, the hell i thought he was gonna fight it, what a let down!
“Hey you boring old shit i thought you were gonna fight that thing!” yelling in his ear as he carries me running.
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“Kid listen, a true warrior knows when to not fight whatever the hell that was!” He sounded a bit out of breath, this felt like a reference to something, think i read it in some comic about a guy called Joseph, he ran very fast the beast was not following us though he still ran all the way to the camp, out of breath he held his knees and looked down. God is he pathetic, I take back comparing you to the bat, he’d kick your ass you coward!
We ended up sitting down a bit and relaxing off the run. Well his run, i was just princessing in his big strong arms, i feel gross now, ugh.
“Well that must’ve looked like cowardice but what did you want me to do fight a damn whale?” It wasn't me who made it look like you would you stupid old man, don't sound like the victim here i’ll slap you.
“Ah my brave knight protecting me from The forgotten whale of the land, how brave!” I am being sarcastic obviously but it’s fun to annoy him.
“Yeah yeah i get it, you are naturally a bitch now let’s deal with this stuff” bitch? Did he just, oh this old man will be in for it when i decide to kill him in his sleep one day, you were gonna get poison, but now I might just slit your throat, keep talking it’ll get more graphic, also what stuff. I am reminded of the corpses around our camp and… mommy. I look away and can’t control my breathing again, my legs won't stop shivering, he looks at me with a bit of concern and says in a reassuring tone “listen i don't expect you to clean her up, but don't you think she deserves a burial at least” he sounded almost bored but the hint of concern calmed me, what good is burying her, there really isn't a point, why not just leave her out here to rot, despite having those thoughts, they made me disgusted with myself. What’s the point of anything? I forgot for a minute but yeah, is there a point to living in this shitty world anymore? Without her I'll just die, I should just speed things up and be with her, eternal darkness seems better than living right now.
“Just do whatever you want leave me alone” I look away and at a tree, i don't want to deal with this shit, looking at her makes me freak out anyway, he just looks at me and walks off, I can hear him picking up the corpses and her, I can't bare to turn around. It’s about night time more people will be out, it’s nice and cool, windy as well it isn't freezing like most nights. I’m a bit scared, but my mind is swirling, my eyes are blankly staring, is this how it feels to not want to exist? The man approached me and held my hand he was basically dragging me at this point and I don't even want to fight him, if he’s gonna kill me i’m fine with it, if not I’m killing myself anyway, i see a hole, ah is that where he buries all the bodies, how barbaric, shouldn't have expected anything from a stranger out here. I look inside and see, “mommy?” she was there her neck was sewn on obviously but he covered it up with a pure white veil, her dress was beautiful like a gray wedding dress, her face looks so peaceful now, her hair is loose and tidy, her closed eyes make her look so elegant, i feel like jumping in and hugging her.
“I tried my best, it was a custom they did back when humans were more civilized, i read it in some books, I still think it’s a crude job but i-”
“It’s perfect, she looks so beautiful in there” I cut him off tears were just flowing freely as i watched her, I clutched my own shirt on my knees. I wish I could beg her to just crawl back out. I feel strangely at ease looking at her. He patted my head and looked down at her with me, he says a few words in a calm tone,
“She looks just like you, when i washed off her face i couldn't really see it till i was done, that woman, I didn't know her but a woman protecting her daughter alone out here, that takes a different kind of strength, she did her job as a parent and she did it damn well, so be proud of the life she lived, and the one she gave you” did he read my mind again? His words felt hand picked for me, I wanted to end it all, but how can I, after hearing that shit man, I put a hand over my mouth and let the tears just do their thing. “We all need some kind of closure, I didn't like that look you had on you, I hope this helps, if only a little” I take a look at his hands, they were pretty bloodied and bruised, all that work for me? What did I do to deserve this? My heart feels less heavy, my brain a bit less spiny, I stand up and take a deep breath looking down on her. I can't muster a smile. It is too hard. Patting my shoulder he speaks calmly, “say a few words, I can't guarantee they’ll reach her, but it’s better than not saying anything at all” a bit of a push forward by him I stand there and swallow some spit and i speak to her
“Mommy can you hear me? I uhm hope your well, in heaven and all, i uh” finding the words is difficult my chest is beating too fast, I breathe in and out and continue looking more determined “I’ll be okay, so don't worry bout me up there, it’ll be a while until we’re together again, but i know you’ll be watching me, so I’ll try my best to make you proud” my eyes close, and I can't help but give her a smile to send her off ,thinking of her watching me right now I can almost feel her arms wrapping around me, I hold my shoulders as if holding those arms. We bury her together my heart was still a bit heavy doing it but i felt a lot more willing to live after this, when we are done i tug his shirt “hey uhm, thanks for that, I probably was going to do something stupid without this so, thank old man” I say to him nervously and a bit anxious.
“I’m not old, I have a name you know” looks like I made him mad, I chuckle a bit I can't help but smile, also name, oh wait I didn't even know his name, and he did all of this for me maybe he is a bit more badass than i gave him credit for, okay maybe he is a bit like the bat.
“So uh what is it mr old man not like I’ll call you it anytime soon, got too used to old man, would be nice to know though” had to get a lil jab in there.
“It’s David” quick and to the point I see.
“Old man David huh” he looks really ticked off now
“I’ll kill you i swear” his frown turned a bit to a smile and we laugh, “so gonna tell me yours or should I call you brat instead”
“It’s Sarah” copying his quick and precise answer I tell him mine, “it’s a name i chose along with mother in an underground lirbraium, we read through a few books, I wanted to be called Mary because of her story in the bible but that was mommy’s name, so she decided on Sarah I don't know why really or what it means, but it sounded nice” I look a bit somber remembering the past, yet Ii still can't help but smile felt like a name she made up on the spot, even then I love it, the precious name mommy gave me.
“Sarah it is then, also you called your mother mommy?” he laughs at me mockingly, i feel embarrassed, is this payback for calling him old man? my face going red I punched his shoulder and looked at him angrily.
“Prick.” he looks stunned, then i smile, then he smiles, we both begin laughing to end off the night we spend it by mommy’s grave, keeping her company for one last night.