Chapter 20 - Kakkos

Mill looked at Mishka and decided to ask her. She was from this island, she should know the nearest place to hide. She also seemed honorable and kind, at the least she was not one of those who took their title bars.

He stood and slowly walked towards her.

Her eyes were closed, and she still had her sword at her side.

When he was two meters away from her, he heard her murmuring something. “—ould be ten bar creatures or stronger,” she sighed. “Good thing it was Kakkos or I’ll be dead. Should I bar up?”

Her eyes were still closed so Mill knew she was not talking to him. He also noticed that it was not her body itself that was glowing. He also did not know why he thought that it was her ability to glow.

On both of her two legs, two arms and in her head, there were glowing bands wrapped in it, giving a soft light all over her surroundings. Some of them had tears in it, with wounds gaping from from the space, but they were still glowing.

He was curious about the technology behind it but he couldn't afford to be curious right now.

He cleared his throat to get her attention and said, “Thank you.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him with surprise and confusion.

“Um—Thank you,” Mill repeated.

Mishka only raised her brows at him, her eyes still confused. Then Mill remembered he could understand her but it didn't mean she could. He was still speaking in Shinelian.

Mill was conflicted about what to do now. Mishka, though, fumbled to the belt she wore and the rectangular compartments in it.

“Motah,” She sighed. “They took most of my bars.”

She opened the rectangular pouches in it and most were empty. She opened another pouch and took a rectangular object in it. It was a bar, the magic bar that they used, and it had black symbols and words floating inside it. It was the language bar.

“Should I use this?” Mishka said looking at the language translation bar.

“Yes, you should.” Mill nodded at her vehemently.

But Mishka ignored him and did not even look away from the bar in her hands. “I probably should not, it’s a waste of satna. There’s also no point talking to the altas.” She looked up and looked at Mill while shaking her head. “Sorry, but I’m not wasting satna on you.”

Mill closed his eyes and opened it again. She looked sincerely at Mishka. “I know I’m nothing important but can you please use that.” He pointed to the bar and clasped his hands in a pleading position.

Even if she could not understand, Mill hoped that she understood what he meant.

“You want this? But you can’t use this,” she said instead.

Mill was about to reply but Mishka held her hand to him, signaling him to stop talking. The bar in her hands glowed a blue light and Mill saw how some black symbols and words inside it flowed and went inside Mishka’s hand that held it.

“No matter what you do,” Mishka said with urgency, and looked at Clarese and the others. “If you want to live. Don’t make loud noises and don’t move.”

In Mill’s ears, she was now speaking Shinelian.

Everyone quieted without question.

Deveno murmured something to Tin and Tin nodded, he then grabbed a handkerchief on one of the pouches on his duty belt and gently put it on Tin’s mouth. Tin just let him.

Mishka looked at the two with mild interest. She stood up and a water film coated her arms but this time it was thinner than she used with the mantis. She grabbed the two mantis then pulled them towards the trail. While she was dragging the mantises’ dead body, Mill and the others immediately went behind the hut, anticipating some danger from Mishka's words.

She went back in front of the hut, not in the back, and stayed there. The light bands around her dimmed, now lighting up a soft glow a few feet from her.

They heard some chittering and two mantis rounded the back of the huge rock and walked to the trail in front of the clearing.

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Mill dared not to breathe or move as he watched between the slats in the hut. Though some of them yelped from the sight of the mantis, Mill did not know who, they went quiet after.

The two mantises stopped upon seeing the dead mantis. They swiftly separated and went to each of the dead mantis and without a pause, started slashing up its whole body.

After a few seconds of hacking, the dead mantises were now in several pieces. The two mantises picked up the pieces and started putting it in their back using what looked like a pincher in the end of their limbs.

They did it fast and after they finished, they continued walking the trail.

They passed the corner and then they were out of sight.

Mill released the breath he was holding.

Luckily, the mantis didn’t even look at them, especially towards Mishka despite how she was in their sight and was glowing.

“What was that?” Klein asked.

Surprisingly, Mishka replied in front of the hut, “Those were kakkoses.”

“Night blind harvester,” Mill unconsciously whispered the translation out loud. He then followed everyone to the front.

“Why did it not attack you?” Clarese asked when she reached a few meters away from Mishka.

“They are plant harvesters, and normally they would not attack anyone as long as you don’t disturb them and take you as someone who's trying to steal their food. Remember this. When you see one, don’t distract them and don’t ever get in their food’s way.” She stared hard at Tin. “Anyway, this is an advice for the help you gave me. You better run now, they usually use this valley.”

“No,” Achren declined. “We should stay here. As long as we keep quiet then they’ll leave us right? We only have to survive the night.”

Mishka released an impatient sigh. “You don’t understand your situation. There is no tomorrow! There is no safe place on this island for you altas! I’m a Dabomen and I am hardly surviving. Those creatures, they are not normal even for me, and they are not the only danger on this island tonight. Those are scourgers, and there are lots of types of them, more dangerous and deadly, roaming freely on this island tonight. Those kakkoses are the weakest, they’re usually similar to insects, easy to squash and only a few feet taller at most. But those Kakkos are taller than humans, by folds. They are high bar creatures! Probably higher than ten bars. Note this, even a one bar scourger can kill you. But those kakkoses are higher than ten bar scourgers. Imagine the danger you’ll meet if it is one of the normal scourgers.”

She paused and picked something on her belt. “Why am I doing this?” she said to herself but in Dabomen’s language.

After picking something and sticking it in her wounds, she gave them a serious look. “And what those Dabomens promise you, is a lie. They have no intention of keeping you alive. There is a scarcity of food in this island and you should thank the God of Bars that we’re not cannibalistic mainlanders like some islands in the south or the only use you will have will be food in one’s stomach. Zomeng was just doing this because he did not want to be painted as cruel by our people. But I know, even if you survive tonight, they will kill you nonetheless, what more, you’re on this island, they can kill you anywhere and I fear my people would not even care.”

“That— that couldn’t be true,” Achren muttered helplessly.

“This is the truth,” Mishka said with finality.

“Please…” Achren pleaded. “If what you’re saying is true, can you help us?”

“No, I’m running out of satna and in a few fights, I’ll be just like you, a barless human. If the worst comes, I’ll just turn myself to the other Dabomen,” she pointed to the mountain where their cave was located, “but you can’t do that.”

“Can you give us magic stuff or a weapon instead,” Klein asked, his voice pleading.

“They took most of my combat bars and even if I gave you those bars, you couldn’t use them. I wanted to help you, but the only thing I could think of helping you was to tell you the truth. I’m sorry, but I have to leave.” Mishka then turned around to leave.

“Wait,” Mill shouted.

But Clarese chased Mishka first and held her arm. “Please. Is there another way? Please help us, we’ll do anything.” She then kneeled in front of her.

Mishka grabbed her immediately and easily stood her up, “I wanted to, but I don’t have any way.”

Mill was about to say something when he felt something was going on with his danger senses. He could still feel the danger coming to him but one huddle of them, in the northeast direction, were approaching him rapidly compared to the others. It was so fast that they already outrun the other huddles by half.

“Miska!” Mill said anxiously. “What’s in that way?” He pointed around two clicks from the mountain, and moved his finger as he traced the movement of those fast approaching danger.

Mishka’s eyes lit up, “Yes, that could work! I don’t know if it is safe but this should give you a chance. Scourgers can’t step on the sea. There is a river ahead of this trail. You will hear it when you reach it, it leads to the sea. Swim on it and go with the current. It was around a mile from here so you have to be careful when you reach it. It is also rocky and strong but if you’re lucky you might survive moving with its flow to the sea. If somehow you survive it, I’ll visit you in the morning and will bring you a boat.”

The others looked at her with hope and appreciation but Mill could not even mutter a gratitude as those dangers were gaining distance on him. Though he noticed that they were shrinking in size for some reason, they were still heading to him.

“Mishka!” Mill said desperately, “What’s in there?” He pointed again but this time a notch further than where he pointed before.

“That’s the Central Dabo River—”

“Shit. We have to go!” Mill said urgently.

“ —it’s another river leading to the sea but don’t use it, the current is stronger in that river and it’s… dangerous, deadly even. But how do you know about it?”

Mill turned to the others and pushed everyone to the trail to let them start moving. As he did, he looked at Mishka and said hastily, “Thank you. But we have to go, something is coming.”

“What— what’s wrong Mill?” Clarese asked.

Mishka’s face was confused. “Why are you in a hurry?”

He ran to the trail and waved for them to follow him. Then he felt it.

It was near.

Then out of nowhere, squealing noise blared from the hillside on the other side of the river bed. Something rolled from it, and hit the ground with a huge crash.