-You stay here and poor you if you start to annoy- the hare took out a flask with whiskey and began to drink it, then closed the door to leave
Arthur hugged Etoile to calm her while Bethel vibrated with fear in the scarf.
They appeared in a dirty hallway lined with boxes of dirty clothes, bags with piled-up garbage, broken walls full of children's writing and drawings. It looked like the place was going to fall apart and the musty smell penetrated their noses.
They moved forward and noticed the presence of small children of an unknown species with exotic appearance who looked at them curiously but who ran away when they saw the hare behind them.
-You are not ashamed to do this in front of children. It is a terrible example, instead of taking care of them- Etoile was angry to see the children dirty and malnourished
-That arrogance will pass you soon, walk! - The hare pushed them into a room
She took their cell phones from them, as well as electronic items that they carried with them and locked them inside. The room only had an old mattress on the floor and a broken chair whose legs were replaced by bricks. It had no windows and the only lighting was a spotlight hanging from the ceiling.
They had been locked up for more than half an hour until the door was opened. A crocodile boy came in to leave them a basin of water and a glass. The boy was shaking and just wanted to leave soon but he ended up stumbling in front of the door.
Etoile approached and the boy fearfully took out a dagger to drive her away.
-Quiet, I'm going to heal you. That scrape can become infected- Etoile touched the child's head and the temperature began to drop until it returned to normal.
The look that the little boy had was between confusion and amazement. He patted his legs and smiled contently.
-Wow, it doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you Miss Saint, but I don't have a tribute to give you-
-I'm not a saint, I'm just a person like you and I don't need tributes-
-Heh?! No, if a holy priest heal you, has to light candles or donate to the temple. My mom told me-
-Well, then I am a saint and I am going to ask you as a tribute to tell us what this place is and why they brought us here-
-I can't, they'll scold me-
-No one will scold you and in return I will give you what you want- Etoile passed her hand to help him up and she noticed that the boy's tail became long and black
-Sorry, Miss Saint, don't be angry, I still can't handle mimicry.- the boy got scared when they saw his tail
-Don't worry, if you show me your real form I won't get angry- showing the brightest smile he tried to convince the little one
The boy was surrounded by a gray mist and changed his appearance to that of a furry black animal with slanted yellow eyes, a feline face, a long tail, hare's ears and a pair of transparent growing butterfly wings. His wary demeanor was more like that of a small ape and Etoile couldn't help but kneel to hug him.
The boy was shocked to feel affection from someone other than his mother and froze. Arthur took out a cell phone that he was hiding in his scarf and began to record the child to send it to his brother-in-law.
-Quiet, nobody is going to hurt you. Heart, what is your name? -
-Runi- fear mixed with shame made him nervous in front of Etoile
The boy told them that they were on the border of Botswana in an ecological reserve of the Monighan counts but that it was actually the prison where they enslaved his people. No one could escape without permission as they were wearing explosive tracking collars. Adults changed shape to go to work while children, the elderly and the sick were held hostage to motivate them to follow orders.
Every so often, the Monighan counts would bring someone new and hunt them in the reserve or end up torturing them to death to collect parts of them. The last one was a blue dragon that was mutilated and when they got tired of it, they threw it in the village to bleed to death.
As they were fascinated by new and unique things, they sent infiltrators to important places to look for news but if they did not get what they wanted, sometimes they killed a slave or dragged children away to execute them for fun in front of their people, therefore, they chose to hide them in basements to avert their gaze.
Arthur felt angry when he heard Runi speak with fear about the place in which they lived. When he was about to tell them where they came from, footsteps rang out and someone entered. It was a young sheep that seeing Runi in his normal form pouted.
-Danny! Danny! Sky brought a saint who heals! Nothing hurts anymore- Runi was excited
-Go back to dad, he's looking for you.- the young man closed the door when Runi left and took his royal form
-So you can heal? -He brought his bandaged arm closer to corroborate
Etoile performed the same procedure and Danny peered at her with no emotion on his face.
-I know it will sound strange, but if you help us escape we will notify the authorities to arrest that pair of homicidal psychopaths- Arthur wanted allies
-No one can leave here without permission. Whenever we helped they betrayed us. How can I trust some strangers from abroad who pretend to be good Samaritans! -
-We do not seek to harm anyone, on the contrary we only want to help so that they help us-
-Help? ... what an empty word. If you want it heal my people and reaches out to us first, then I will reconsider-
-Okay, I'll heal your people if you take us to them-
Danny opened the door and led them to another room where there were injured and sick people.
-The light of God knocked on our door recently, but the devil took care of making life impossible for us since then so that we would not enjoy the gift- Danny pointed to the beds
-That is why and because we want to return home is that you will only be the bait-
Danny was hurt and furious about everything he had to go through so far. Etoile walked between them and stood in the middle of the room in a prayer position. People felt a ghostly cold followed by warm, soft air that put them to sleep. Between staggering, she was supported by Danny who helped her sit up on a bed.
-Where is your home? And why are they so different from the people I know? - Arthur had doubts
Danny told them that they came from Diomenes Island and that they were tricked into coming to Africa, but that they were actually from another world. Almost 14 years ago his entire people ended up being transported from the vast forests and plains to a lifeless frozen island overnight. They were a race known as the Phooka, natives of a floating empire, which was ruled by warriors.
They lived from agriculture and were dedicated to performing substitutions or heavy work when they changed shape. One day the attack of a monster was announced on the border and they went to hide underground, but when they came to the surface it had become an icy desert. They did not give up trying to find a way back and created a village within the mountains to survive.
But to their bad luck, the Monighans ran aground on the coast and they helped them. With promises of being able to return to their world, they blindly followed them to end up as their slaves and mercenaries. The list of dead grew so much that they lost faith, until recently they found out about someone who might have the solution.
The Stars Riders announced to the world about the creatures they knew and from which they fled to end up stranded here; the charix.
They had a very skilled fortune teller, whose prophecy announced that they must search for a white rabbit and an unborn black dragon to find their way home. Thus they set out to forge how to implant in the head of the Monighan the becoming of them to facilitate the work of attracting them.
The reason they were brought to their village first was for the chief to ask for their support, but right now he was scolding his sister for being rude to them.
Etoile and Arthur stared at the ruined place wondering if it was okay for the police to catch the Phookas. In that, Danny showed them the memory of his homeland and Arthur seeing the gold coin could not help but respond.
-Oh hell, they come from Shuto ...-
- How do you know that ?! - Danny got up scared
Phooka, pooka, pucá, phouka is a Celtic ghostly fairy considered the bearer of good and bad fortune, it could help or harm the peasants. Their fur is dark or white and they change shape adopting the appearance of horses, goats, cats, dogs, goblins and hares, even human form but with animal characteristics, such as ears or tail.