Chapter 18: A King

I pooled all my remaining strength into clearing the dark sphere that surrounded the city. The remains of the black sphere were evaporated by the pure heat being released from the extended spear.

“Retract” with a single word the orange flame spear, came back and reverted to its normal state. I stabbed it into the grounded so my hand wouldn't be burned from the released heat.

Even my natural resistance has withered to nothing.

The spear released steam, like when cold water is poured onto hot coals. A cloud nearly formed and surrounded the area.

It will take more time to get back to full strength than originally planned then.

Thud

I turned and there, not ten paces away, was the remains of the 8th king. However, they were far more active than a corpse should have been. The lower half rolled toward the top half. Once there, the two pieces reconnected.

Fear gripped my heart. It took all I had for the one slash and extension. The fight was over, for me, if he got up.

Given my current state and his power, It was over. Damn his miasma. Rigor mortis was stiffening my body, the one movement had taken more power than imaginable. The miasma may not have affected him directly, but side effect worked their way up.

My fear soon fizzled out as it was too exhausting to keep up. On the foot, a red goo shot up his leg. In a matter of seconds, muscles and nerves had formed over the skeleton and soon skin and other facial feature came back to life on the black skeleton.

The sight would have made me vomit, if not for the fact that all my energy was being consumed by my consciousness. I picked up my spear. I struggled to take the first step forward. Before I could, the cloak I had tossed away flew at my feet. I picked it up, with no idea what it was doing with it.

The few steps I took, felt like I crossed miles. Progress was slow and draining. My vision was blurred so bad I couldn’t tell where I was any longer. Like a travel lost in a great dessert I reached forward in hopes, I was going the right way. My mouth dry and my body cold.

My foot made contact with him far before I saw him. When I looked down his face had been reconstructed. I threw the cloak over his naked body

Maybe it was pity or may something else. I lift the spear up once more to the heavens. My choice was simple and easy.

Kill this man in the name of Rick and everyone he had killed.

Of course, that would've held true if I was still the same person as before.

The event of Rick’s death played in front of my eyes a million times before I refocused, his words echoed through my body. My choice…No his choice

Rick's words…

My life... No his life

All of it felt so far away. He had suffered greatly to get here. He had fought his weak self and stood near the edge, but the pressure was too much for him but in the end...

Crash!

We are one in the same.

Nightmares are things of people's imaginations. They strike when the psych is weak. They plague people for years and soon nightmares take on a different form.

Trauma.

These nightmares plagued Samuel for what felt like a lifetime. Even in death, their grip on him didn’t waver. His mother face flashed before him, then the people he had hoped to lead, and….. a place long forgotten.

Was this is a test to determine what part of hell he deserved? He knew heaven’s gates would not open for him. No, not for one such has he. A king who abandon his people and allowed the one person to ever love him lose hope.

His nightmares grew and soon his past started. One that scared him and made his love turn to hate and disbelief.

A starry night sky filled his mind. One of death and despair, and yet through the ashes of the despair a single being came for him.

A ghoul.

It power seemingly endless. Wonder captivated Samuel’s heart. Like seeing an idol in person. A mixture of joy and disbelief, as it walked unaffected through the burning town.

He stuck his hand out. The ghoul took notice and reached back. It’s cold hand gripped and pulled him from the hiding hole. His mother next. They were free and the threat had passed.

The ghoul, with an army of blue light, began to march off toward the horizon.

Samuel’s voice was weak, but his fascinating overwrote in all.

“Wait…. Let’s make a contract…”

Such simple words and admiration would turn his life of peace into a place foreign and cold.

With his contract founded, he began to move forward and try to become more than a human, surpass his limits and break through his shy shell.

However, many saw ghouls as ravens of the battlefield. Messengers of death that stole corpses and feed on them.

Samuel, however, saw them as shepherds. Leading people on to the next life. Like the reaper himself.

His fascination proved ineffective in making other kids change their mind even the adult looks of disgust got worse as time progressed.

Simple words turned to threats and soon loneliness and regret grew heavy in his heart. A single light kept him alive.

Mother.

Her form golden in his eyes. A being worth more than money... More than anything. Her smile and acceptance were all he needed.

Friends, people, and anyone else could go away as long as his mother had his back.

He felt her arms around him and she embraced the young him. Her eyes sad, but her warmth erased the pain that ate at him daily. She was all he needed, and yet…

The feeling was not the same. His mother moved on and forget about his dead father. She brought home a different man every day.

She soon dawned the same look as the others. Her warmth was snuffed out by the comments of other mothers hiding their children from him. The boy who would steal their souls if they got too close.

He had tried, but such a thing was more than a child could do. He wanted to protect the light. The one that warmed me. So practice turned to an urge to get stronger. And soon he surpassed the limits of the contract and became something more.

A king.

Ghouls respected his fascination and entrusted him with their abilities. He was overjoyed, but his mother was not.

“Why couldn’t you have picked a better race? Maybe it is time to rid myself of you." Her words cut like knives. His young mind couldn’t handle the words. His mind blanked for a while, but he did remember well the events to follow.

His town on fire, but not from an enemy. No, he had caused it. They people blamed him for droughts and lack of food. They blamed it all on him and soon they wanted to lynch him. His mother only left him to the fate. Her cold eyes seemed to final go back to normal. But at the cost of his death.

And so…

He fought.

The urge just slipped and soon the town burned as did the people. But no blue flames trailed in his wake. Only despair and decay. Admiration now was replaced with a cold hate. His oath was hell. All the years of practicing for what?

He could still feel her skin melt under his hate filled touch.

Why did I yearn for strength? It was useless. Strength wouldn’t keep her alive nor give me peace.

His life was not easy after. His mother ghost would haunt him for years. Even other he knew in the past clung to him. Painting him blacker and blacker as the spoke. Soon someone offered him an escape. A place he could elude the voices. A place where all were accepted, despite race or past.

“Just kill the first king and take what is his” The suggestion was insane, but not impossible. As long as he didn’t go in for a direct fight his win was a small possibility.

So he agreed. All he had to do was swoop in and finish him off after his benefactor laid the groundwork. And then it was over. He was king of something, he had proved them all wrong.

Yet….

He thought once he took a kingdom where all were accepted his world would be free of hate and loneliness, but..

They rebelled.

The world he ruled hated him and choose to neglect him and push him away.

So he pushed back. He feared them. The seeds of doubt had been sown. He needed to keep the insubordinate people in line. He tried his best to keep them happy, but soon good intention took a dark turn and he killed more than necessary. He took people who were stricken with disease and famine. He tried to have the healthy ones spared, but they would not see it as he did. Some cases the families paid him to get rid of the sick one. The house was always burned after he was done. He couldn’t stand another torn apart by the very thing that killed him and sent him on this path.

His darkness never ceased, nor did his regret. After a time, good and bad blurred. He was hollow and nothing did it for me anymore, money gave him something. It at least eased the darkness if only a little. The ecstasy it gave him was shallow and cold, but it was more than enough for him.

It was all that kept the voices away.

Even as he indulged the blackness inside of him, he still recorded his actions, he wrote down every name.

Books were filled, soon they became hollow to him as well. He was lost and the kingdom was dying, so….

He let go.

He sold the kingdom and all it was worth was now someone’s else. He felt a small weight off his heart and with the same mindset he would move on to better things and rule better.

Or so I had planned. His figure was burned into his retinas.

The blackness was filled the orange light. One that he had tried to snuff out. So even in death, Fit haunts me.

Why couldn’t you have just stayed dead? I could have moved on easier.

That man…..

The one man he had failed kill. Why had I hesitated that day?

The scene in his mind was of fire and death. Among the wreckage, he found his target barely alive. A large gash across his back. And yet….. he couldn't do it.

Maybe his young mind had succumbed to admiration when he watched him for surveillance?

But in the end, it didn’t matter. He blasted the wreckage to smithereens and left without a glance back.

How foolish of me. Getting all sentimental when my frame was in front of me.

What drives him? What did he lack?

“Do you want to know?” the question hung in the black abyss.

Yes. An immediate reply. He was dying. He needed to know what that caused his failure.

At first, there was no reply, he waited long and the words came.

However...

“Do you know what all races can't live without?”

The reply was complete nonsense. Samuel found no point to it and disregarded it.

Tell me the answer!

“The answer is quite simple. It’s not food or water. No its is something far more simple."

Yet the voice still spoke on. Its tone was normal and just kept playing on like a play set with no breaks.

Then what is it?

“The answer is a symbol. Something that all need but never realizes till it’s too late." The voice responded to his question but still no answer.

...

“Still lost? The answer is simple. It is something that gives warmth but at the same time death. It can be worshiped or feared. Sometimes it can even be a myth that doesn’t actually exists."

What the hell is it? Samuel was out of patience. The banter was boring and, even in death, he hated waiting.

“The sun”

How is it the sun? The thing that had left him for dead. Abandon him at a young age, something ghouls regard as dangerous.

“The sun gives warmth to humans and those who live on land. For those who live underwater, It is something that can't be seen and often written off as myth. Plant races see the sun as their god and something to be worshiped. While-”

DON’T waste my time!! What do you know? The sun has done nothing for me! the voice was lecturing him and he couldn't stand it. He was king and he didn’t need this.

Why is this important? How does this tell me what I lacked? he yelled at the void. When no answer came he thought the voice had deserted him.

“ -those who live underground learn to fear the sun as an unbeatable enemy, but even with all those things, the sun is just the sun. A ball of heat that everyone depends on."

Again the voice ignored him. Just knock it off, and tell me!

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“It's time you see the light once more and face it all”

A bright light enveloped the darkness.

It took time for Samuel to register the heat on his face, His eyes like balls of lead slowly found the source. He could only catch a glimpse for staring too long would have easily stolen his sight.

“How does it feel to see the sun after so long?” the question hung in the air before he realized it was addressed to him. He blinked then he realized something far more important.

He was alive... Well most of him. He had used his left arm to block the blinding light, but instead of flesh, he found only black bone. He slowly became more aware of holes in his body. Portions of skin on his ribs and legs still had not regenerated.

“After effects of using you slayer mode." The voice one again spoke. Still, his calm crisp tone broke through his thoughts. Samuel found it best just to stay still as he was weakened after changing back.

“Why am I alive?” The one thing he had to know. Why had the first spared him his life?

“You could call it a whim” Samuel’s head turned at that. It hurt like hell, but he still did it.

What he saw could only be a cause for an alarm to any sane person. Sure he was damaged, but his wounds were minor compared to what the saw.

There in the open dirt field, The first king stood, but his form was anything, but impressive. Samuel had seen a monster, now he only saw the true effects of his power.

Blood was more visible than skin. A puddle covered the ground where he stood. He squinted. Several holes were visible thanks to the sun that hung high in the sky. Wounds and even blood loss that should have killed anyone.

He was a like a scarecrow in the middle of the field.

The sun’s warm embrace could not distract him for the visage of the First. Even as his skin screamed he couldn't look away.

How is he alive?

“Why did you let me live?” His mind was hazy but could tell. Something was different. The anger and rage he felt before were gone and the mood…. was peaceful.

It was like a different person stood before him. Surely the boy from before couldn't be the one in the same as the first.

Dynames raise his head to the sky."It would be a shame to kill you. I want to fight you when we both are at a best”

The spear, which he was leaning on, flared up at his response."You’re letting me go just so you can fight me again?!”

“Yes. In the fight, had I not gotten my spear, you would have killed me. That is not the kind of fight I want. The real battle should be us both with our weapons of choice and are slayer modes ready." the most terrifying thing was not his words, but that he delivered them all with a gleeful smile.

It may have been his appearance or maybe it was just the words, but the air around him screamed it. A message was being burned in his mind.

This man was a king.

But even so…

“Why would you do that!? I killed hundreds of your people in the name of greed. I ruled with an iron fist and let them all die” His outburst silenced Dynames for a while. But his eyes never looked away for Samuel’s.

“You seem to be misunderstanding something."

“What?!”

“Those you killed were not my people. My rule ended when I lost to you. They became your citizens to rule over. Though I can't say you ever had much of a rule, to begin with”

“Didn’t you come here to get revenge on me for killing your people?! Why else would you have come?”

“Revenge huh? Sure that may have been the feeling I had, but ..." He looked to the sky. Its azure blue was deserving of attention."Reclaiming my form changed my goals. Now that I see things through the eyes of a king once more. I see now what it is I came here for."

What was this man going on about? If he didn’t want revenge what could he possibly want?

“I wanted to stop you from going down the wrong path." Disbelief held Samuel, but the First’s eyes never wavered with his words."We kings are great beings endowed with a strong desire that draws people to us. We are rare in this world and far too few. The idea that one of these great beings becomes a tyrant leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

“So what? Are you going to reform me? Make me change my ways? Make me follow you and be ruled by you” Dynames shook his head.

“I can't rule you. As I said, kings are beings who leads others. It is impossible for one king to be below or lead another. I will only enlighten you one what a king is. What it means to be one."

“......"

Samuel decided to hear him out. His strength was gone and the outburst had taken a toll on him.

“Firstly, You never took the “throne” from me." His eyes glow at these words “The realm that surrounds Haven is still deeply connected to me. Which means you never once tried to talk to the people you ruled over. You stood on high and thought that people would just follow you. A man who knows next to nothing about the place he rules could only fail."

Those things were….. True

The blackness he had gone through had made most of his mistakes clear. He may not have seen it when he was doing it but was he any better than those that had treated him like shit?

“A king is being who makes people feel. A king lives for his own desires and that draws people towards him. My desires for battle draws in people." The First extended a hand and fist formed.

“We are mysterious existences. We inspire people to follow the path we live. We make them want to test their limits and live lives they can be proud of." His form was a horror show, but for some reason, that was far away. It was like he shone brighter than before.

“A true king rules not through fear, but admiration!” as he spoke his eyes seem to see a place unknown to Samuel. The ember of admiration burned in his heart, but he couldn't let them win."Think about all the people that suffered. Thin of the people who lived in constant fear. Think of them men who followed your orders. Brogg, Aroma, and the twins followed you out of fear."

Aroma…. Brogg….. even the twins... why does he know them? As far as Samuel knew the four combatants had left on some solitary journey weeks ago and had taken Ashley with them. He had all but forgotten about it. He hadn't even found it strange that Ashley had come back alone, or more accurately with the First king in toe.

“I see... it is as I feared then….. You don’t know about the attack on Kurgas academy do you?”

Attack? Samuel had been too busy setting up the deal to bother with his troops. When had they attacked? Was that the reason Dynames now stood before him again?

But if they didn't follow my order then who gave them? Someone else must be pulling the strings here.

“Though young you seem to have a good grasp on the corruption." The first king signed, but more blood came out then air."It seems some of my vengeance was misplaced. Well, no matter. Problems for future me to solve.”

He couldn't give into such petty words. And yet the dug deeper as he resisted.

The words were from experience. Samuel’s naivete in leading other and his shyness had made communication difficult.

I never once tried to talk to them. I didn't even know what they wanted for a future. Hell, the crowd in which he surrounded himself with was far from friendly His words were not condescending. For a rebuke, the words felt…. to mentoring.

But I wish he would go into more detail about this supposed attack that went down under his name.

“Do you have anything to say?” Talking was too hard. Words were beyond him.

“Hmm, I see” With a flick of his fingers, An orange ball of light shimmered and touched Samuel’s face.

Heat.

It spread through his body. Pain rippled through him. He couldn’t do anything to stop the pain much less protest. What felt like minutes ended and rage took over.

“What the hell are you doing?” Samuel yelled at him.

“Allowing you to talk." His frankness pissed Samuel off.

Then Samuel realized it. He was off his back. He was seated upright. He locked gazes with the First.

“I figured this would be more fun if you could talk more." A grin lined his face.

Unable to trust his words, Samuel simply shook his head.

“Good now to your second mistake." the smile vanished."You stole the people hope and you slowly gave up on them."

So I was the sun then. nO not me... Kings are the sun. The questions before must have been about this.

Hope. a king is an embodiment of hope. With none for himself, he sought to take it from others. He left them all in despair. While he hoped alone for his future.

“It seems you understand why that is wrong already, so I will go to my last point.”

“I failed to rule and took their hope. What else could I possibly have done wrong?”

“You never once understood the weight of ruling others.” The hard stare only made the impact worse.

“What? I stood asking for six years, of course, I took it from you” What weight! He had no trouble taking on the position! It was just the aspects he had failed at.

“When I reconnected to the realm, I saw the way you ruled and the decisions you made. There was one common thread among all of them, they were made with your best interest in mind. You never once felt the weight of the kingdom."

“What do you mean weight?”

“I'm showing you the weight of it right now”

Samuel was already looking, but all he was doing was leaning on a spear.

“!?” He placed his hand on his face. Wait! It can’t be! Samuel recalled the whole fight. He saw even encounter a hundred times. Even reviewing the broken pieces of his slayer mode.

Did his back ever touch the ground?

“Not once." Samuel looked to him. He wasn't lying. Not once had he fell. Not once had his back touched the ground. He never bent a knee(to Samuel at least. )

The First looked to the sky once more."A king must never fall. Even with these wounds that cause me to bleed out, ” he gestured to every hole and wound."I can't sit. I can't falter in the face of an enemy. Even if my body is broken, and my soul begs to die. I must never stop walking forward." it was then that all the sunlight seemed to go toward him. The glow intensified and Samuel could barely look at him anymore.

“The second a king step forward they become a symbol. We take all the weight of the people and stand tall." His knees shook a little, but still, the First stood firm.

“If I were to fall, the dreams and beliefs of all those people in that kingdom would shatter and become nothing."

It was awe inspiring. His wounds would have made any man, beast, or even god fall. The stern look in his eyes and the confidence he wore. Samuel may not have said it, but he felt the desire…

To follow him.

This was the weight of a kingdom. A pressure of a real king. The weight of the people. This man carried it all? The idea should have baffled him, but with the guidance article before him, it was hard to see otherwise.

In all ways, he had lost before it had even begun.

But even after all this what am I supposed to do? I have no goal and I have no qualities that made me admirable.

“So what now? Will you let me go and never let me return or something worse?”

“Far from that. I simply wish for you to try again at begin a king. Make a fine kingdom and…”

“There is no one out there who will follow a ghoul!” The voices knew it. The people knew it. Samuel himself knew it. He could never lead people. Now with the sins he carried.

“I killed my own citizens and then sold them because I was scared! Who would follow someone like me?!” Rage tore its way through. He needed to yell. His anger had to be known. He was lost in the dark without allies.

“It seems you don't get it." He shook his head. He looked like a doting father trying to instill some life message into his delinquent son.

“We kings are just people. We can and will make mistakes." He spread his hands in a defeated gesture.” Hell half the time I wing it on a plan and hope for the best……” The first stopped for a second. His body seem to stiffen. Samuel coked his head, but oddly he felt a chill run down his spine for some reason.

Was the First king scared? “... but that is what makes us more inspiring. You are still young and new to ruling over others." His speech had lost some steam, but he seemed to push down whatever monster had held him for a few seconds.

“But!” that won't change anything."My sins are too grave” it was all self-pity, but there was still truth to it. His sins were..

“How many people did you kill?”

what was he asking?

“How many?” he asked again, but Samuel was afraid to respond. A dark... no, a heavy atmosphere fell over them again.

No... I have to face this. This was the whole point of keeping all those notebooks. I need to bring them all to light.

He worked up the courage. He needed to face the number he had been suppressing “1, 735. I killed that many in my years as king." Samuel’s eyes were downcast.

“Is that all?”

“!!” Samuel’s head shot up, but the gaze he saw was different this time. The eyes that looked at him now were filled with….

Envy

A shaky hand moved from Dyanmes side to his face. The effort it took was unimaginable. His gaze on it was like he looked at something terrifying.

“Your sins are….. light compared to mine. That many is….. small compared to my own."

Small! The mystery surrounding his sudden mentor was suddenly more apparent.

“Then... What should I do if no one accepts me as their king?” The question was more to get away from their current topic. If 1, 700 was small, I dared not ask was big was. He also wanted to know.

Would he be killed for his next choices?

The shaky hand fell to Dynames’s side once more and his eyes went back to Samuel.

“No one accepts you?” He repeated Samuel’s question. His face contorted in disgust and he seemed to think long and hard.

Suddenly the spear changed to a large three tailed fox. The First fell over its back which caused Samuel to chuckle a little. A sharp glance from it shut him up though. It trotted forward like a horse.

Soon the fox moved to where the kingdom was before it. While it moved one of the tail lurched across the field and grabbed Erica.

Oh yes.. the rude girl was still here.

While Samuel had been distracted, Dynames’s gaze once more fell on Samuel, but he was now mounted on fox."If no country accepts you." A smile lit his face. Not a fake one, but a real genuine one. A weak hand pointed to the heavens."Then make one grander than my own! Stand tall and forge a kingdom that makes the world bend to your will!”

Samuel could only stare in awe of the man before him. He just told him to subjugate a place for myself. To trample the world below my feet until the ground was firm enough to stand on. To build a place surpassing any he had seen before.

His warm smile never faded. “Should you find yourself lost again, feel free to come back. My kingdom will welcome you."

“But I killed so many, why would you let me come back?”

The smile held firm."The place at which I rule accepts all those who wish to come!” He shouted it. And then for a moment, he saw it. “Feelings may last, but time mends all wounds."

Memories of a place he had seen... it was during the time he scouted out the kingdom before he attacked.

Humans, elves, angels, and beasts alike all shared the city. Laughing and living lives of peace and prosperity. A place completely opposite for his current kingdom.

The streets were never barren. Always full of cheers and merry people. To Samuel, it had looked like a giant riot, but it seems to have a destination in mind. His young eyes followed the stream of species. All eyes filled with admiration. At the front of it all.

The First king stood proudly. His back in full view. His movement forward never stopped.

Ahh. That’s right. I had forgotten the kind of place I took over. A land of indifference where any race could live.

Samuel found the strength to stand. Without much clothes, he donned the old cloak that covered him.

“Oh yeah before you go on your way” A carefree voice reached his ear.

Thump!

He didn’t even see it. He looked at his right. From elbow down, his arm was gone. The remains burning on the ground at his feet. Shock overrode his pain

Samuel’s eyes turned to the man about to ride off. Fear gripped him complete. Pain couldn't even register. “Payback for my subordinate. And remember." a cold fear shock Samuel to the core. ‘If you do this again Your people will be the least of your problems because I will kill far before they can." How a dead man could release that much bloodlust was unreal! His legs shook like a fawn taking its first step.

“Now begin anew on your path, Young king”

Dynames turned his gaze and rode off toward his city.

So this is the First king? A being far above others. A man who strength and bloodlust seemed unrivaled, but also strangely warm and interesting.

Samuel turned his back to Havan, not a changed man. No, he hadn't been changed. He’d only been shown the way to get there. A way with a light at the end of the tunnel.

But he had a new desire now.

To create a place where he belonged.

Blue light began to circle around him. Over the years these flame had appeared, but never to his will. He’d cast them off like flies. The didn't hold awe for him anymore.

One perched itself on his shoulder. For some reason, he felt compelled to say something. But his mind was working as well.

A thought followed closely behind. How much of this was planned? The First king suddenly arriving after he had decided make the deal...far too convenient.

Something was amiss. Two kings had been used like pieces on a chessboard. The first had won, so the game was ongoing, but who was the opponent? The mastermind behind all this?

There is only one person who would be able to maneuver people in my army and make such an attack.

His old benefactor rose in his mind. That thing had been far more merciless than Samuel. His benefactor was a ripped from a far dark cloth than him. If these were his deeds then...

“His game is not over. I may have just been a piece on the board for a bit but things can’t be this simple” Not many things added up. It was a perfectly executed plan. One where the pieces fulfilled their roles without being told their actual role.. terrifying.

“Good luck Dynames” He whispered as he went off toward an unknown destination. Though he doubted he was free from whatever was working in the shadows.

Hunted in the day and night huh?

I wonder if he will ever know what the blue light means? Over the course of their battle, the blue lights had appeared around Samuel, though he hadn’t seemed to notice. Dynames slowly gripped his hand.

So he doesn't know.

My attacks had gotten more than just Samuel. It felt like he had to break throw several obstacles just to reach his target.

Almost like several hands blocked my offense. With one side glance, I saw it more vividly now.

Many blue flames surrounded Samuel. Yet I could feel something. It wasn't some physical sense, something was just off about them. It was like I could tell how they felt.

Something nudged in the back of my mind, and for some reason, I knew the meaning of the blue light.

The blue light were the souls a ghoul gathered, but more than that the more blue light the deeper the bond they have for the ghoul.

All the light were pure as the azure sky above them

It was till hard to believe it was the middle of the day when we here fighting.

I even saw a few faces of my own citizens, but instead of resentment, they seem to be happy as well. They looked like a giant mismatch family. Expect the one receiving all the emotions was unaware.

So others were worried for him? There is hope he will become something great.

Then one of them took shape, but Samuel didn’t seem to notice. A women appeared next to Samuel. Her hand firmly on his shoulder. Her lips moved and formed a voiceless “Thank you”.

“Damn now I feel strange." I rode on and the smile on my face grew even bigger