Arthur watched as the Eagle slowly melted onto his arm, the sensation much more alien than his first guess. Where he thought it would be like sticking his hand into some sort of liquid, it actually felt more electric and hot and cold. It was as if his arm couldn’t quite understand the inputs it was receiving.
The eagle crawled, it slithered, ozzed, Arthur had a hard time placing the action as it moved up his arm, around his neck, and settled on his head. Soon the creature solidified into a golden gray fedora with a white band around the crown. A giant eagle tail feather slowly grew until it shot out well beyond the top of the hat.
The fedora sat comfortably, almost unnoticed to Arthur as the sensations slowly died. In an effort to solidify the reality of the situation, he moved his hand along the brim and tapped the front. That final nudge taken care of, he turned to face everyone.
His gaze swept over the group and he noticed Eldridge was laying down, his back on the ground. Apparently the effort of gathering the eagle was too much for the man to bear. Arthur's eyes narrowed as he noticed no one really seemed to care, everyone ignoring their passed out friend. A sigh left him as he also let it go. Clearly Eldridge was stronger than he gave him credit.
“The bonding is done, I shall now rest.” The horse said as he turned to face Cee once more. “You’ve done well growing in strength so far, faced the challenges with great honor, but we still have far to go. Do not overestimate your own skill, there are greater challenges yet to come. Take care, for the necros still grows.”
With those words the horse began to melt once more into the overcoat. A gentle breeze fluttered past, yet the air felt still, weighed down by the horse's words. Arthur wasn’t sure what he got himself into, but as he touched the fedora once more he knew he was committed.
“The helicopter should be here in a few minutes.” A new man said and Arthur nearly jumped. He turned to find a familiar man, the one that dove into the rats during the last battle to be exact, standing ramrod a few paces from Cee.
“Good, it seems we will be able to make it home tonight after all.” Cee answered as he looked up at the sun, though it was setting, it still had hours before it would in fact be set. Arthur looked at the forest and settled the pack once more on his back before he turned to the group.
“Well, it seems this will be where we part ways.” Arthur replied as he took in his new, acquaintances, friends.
“I still have a group to find, hopefully before the day is out. And with Guinvere here, I think it will be a little easier.” He continued as he once again ran his hand along the brim of the fedora.
“Right, you did say that.” Cee answered as he focused once more.
“Well,” He held the word as he looked towards Eldrdige on the ground. The man was starting to stir, and a light grown escaped his mouth.
“I can drop Eldridge and Mr Kim off” Cee continued as he worked through his thoughts.
“Then return and help you search with the copter. We can cover more ground that way.” He finished as Eldridge shakely moved his left hand to his head.
From the blood stains it was clear this man was in worse shape then he let on earlier. Though from what Arthur’s witnessed he couldn’t be sure.
“Are you, sure?” Arthur questioned as he turned his focus back towards Cee, uncertain if he can rely on this man for such a huge request.
“Of course,” Cee answered, almost insulted. “If there are hikers out there, well we should help if we can.”
The next part was clearly a whisper, though oddly Arthur heard it as clear as day. “And my gut tells me something is off about the entire disappearance.”
“I’m concerned as well,” Arthur replied as he looked towards the fallen rats. “If this is what happens to something as benign as a rat, I would hate to see a bear or something.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Mr Kim stated from a nearby rock. “The detective here likes to wrestle bears from the rumors I’ve heard.”
“Yeah, teddy bears,” Cee quipped and Arthur felt himself laugh.
Though, a part of him did question if these guys could in fact wrestle bears for fun. The battle had been hair raising and though he was focused mostly on survival he was certain these three did far more to help then he realized.
“One time,” Eldridge mumbled as he slowly stood. “Try to help your friends one time and this is the thanks you get.”
The man sighed and turned from the group to glance towards the hills. “And will someone stop that racket? My head is killing me.”
Arthur followed Eldridge’s gaze on instinct and soon realized he could hear the sounds of a motor as it grew closer.
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“Clear the area,” The fourth man yelled as he pointed to the growing dot near the horizon. “We’ll want to make it as simple for them as we can. Doubt they will land, but you never know.”
Arthur paused for a moment before he realized they were referring to the rescue copter. With haste, he retreated to the tree line and waited. Though he had been trained in remote rescue, it had been years since he had actually participated in it. It would be interesting to see if anything had in fact changed.
The motor grew louder as the copter neared, the coloring not what Arthur would’ve expected. He figured the vehicle would be a rescue copter from one of the PDs, possibly his own Ian City Mountain Rescue. Yet, it had no major markings on it whatsoever.
“Could this actually be a private…” He muttered.
The vehicle slowly descended onto the highway a few hundred feet from the landslide, the loose dirt swept into the air and Arthur was forced to turn and wait out the descent of the heavy craft. Moments passed as the rotors slowly slowed to an idle and the winds died down enough for him to turn around.
Just as he set his gaze on the vehicle, the back doors opened and two uniformed people jumped out. One man, one woman, both hurrying over to Cee and the fourth man, one Arthur really needed to figure out the name of. A briefish conversation took place before the uniformed individuals walked towards Eldridge and Mr Kim.
Cee and his friend, on the hand, walked towards Arthur. “...the plan...back..” He heard over the heavy noise of the craft's engines.
“I can’t hear you!” Arthur screamed, his hope that they would wait till they were closer to continue their conversation.
“Sorry,” Cee finally said from a few feet away. “I was saying the plan is to send Eldridge back, do to his ‘medical needs’ and Mr. Kim, given his need to finish his work. Hinklebottom here will have to see them home. Meanwhile they will switch the configuration on the helicopter towards forest Rescue head back out towards us. Unfortunately the two of us will be stuck here for the next hour as they make the changes. Will be faster in the long run if they fly without our weight, still I understand if it feels unproductive.”
Arthur flicked his hand as he replied “Is what it is.”
Sure he could greve over the loss of time, but the Helicopter would help much more in the long run. Honestly given the time left in the day he wasn’t sure how much he could have covered on foot and still made it back at a reasonable time.
“Understood, let me finalize everything” Cee said as he turned and waved Hinklebottom to follow. Arthur watched as the two men walked to the helicopter before he turned back to the devastation around them. The landslide and bridge would make things tough to travel from Ian City to Port Coulee.
“Lucille!” Arthur shouted to himself as he thought about the fact his motorcycle was at the ranger station on the other side of this destruction. Perhaps one of these men would let him house it at their house till he can take the long way around the mountains.
***
Eldridge stared out the window as the forest passed below, his mind unaware of the change in terrain as Lake Ian filled his view. A grimace crossed his face as he took in a deeper breath and shifted in his seat. His arms twitched in pain as he tried constantly to find a comfortable position on the canvas bench.
As he leaned back, Cyprus’s words flowed back through his mind.
“Another of the twelve,” He mumbled to himself as he processed the day.
The fact that the twelve lost a war, that earth was a place of exile, that there are many universes out there.
“Did that mean we’re the Australia of the multiverse?” He continued to mumble and let his mind wander. “But why exile instead of kill? Wouldn’t it be best to take care of any risk?”
“Not sure we could be considered Australia,” Byung answered Eldridge’s stray thought. “That would mean Earth is a colony of sorts.”
Eldridge turned towards the man as his mind caught up to the words.
“If anything, I think exile would be considered a harsh punishment. From what I understood, losing Xenoid was similar to slowly becoming a paralizee.”
“Makes some sense I guess,” Elrdige answered as he thought about Byung’s words.
“I can think of a few nations in the past that disabled their prisoners instead of execution. Things like blinding which was common in Byzantium or cutting off a hand for theft in the middle east.” Byung continued. “If we look at it from that angle, perhaps exile is considered worse than death.”
“Still would they not fear someone escaping?” Eldridge asked as he thought over it some more. “Then again, what do I know of extraplanar traveling?”
“About as much as the rest of us, I’d guess.” Byung answered as he too laid back into his canvas chair and let silence fall.
The silence continued for a while, well conversational silence that is. The noise of the engine continued to be an ever present thing, even felt through the chairs into the bones.
“So what do you plan to do?” Eldridge finally asked, partly afraid of the box such a question would open.
Still he needed to know, to understand if he could trust the man in the future.
“In regards to the twelve that is? C and myself are committed, though part of that is due to our bond. You’re left without such a tie.”
Silence once more fell after the question and Eldrige was forced to turn his head and see if Byung heard him.
The man’s gaze was locked towards the ceiling, though his eyes slowly darted back and forth. It was clear his mind was processing something, though if it was his question Eldridge didn’t know.
“I don’t know,” Byung finally answered. “It is a tough request to ask.”
Eldridge felt the weight of the silence much more palatable now, his heart having to work through his own feelings. He found Byung reliable and genuine, but that didn’t mean this life would be for him. It was something Eldridge knew when he became a cop, that it was a path for some, not most. Even for many who wanted to be a cop, they would soon find that life unsuitable.
“I came up here for a vacation, an escape of sorts.” Byung finally continued. “More than that, this is risky, more than dangerous. Then again I might not have much choice unless I want to move elsewhere.”
“Fair enough,” Eldridge answered as he laid back into the seat, once more looking for that elusive comfortableness. As the silence fell, Eldridge closed his eyes, his mind exhausted. And soon, though he didn’t realize it had happened, his mind fell once more into rest.