SOAKING WIND WITH THE RAIN - Chapter 8
"We're headed to a quaint little village southbound," declared the Nullifier, catching the boys' attention. "An old ally of your father resides there.. An old ally of mine. It'll be a nostalgic reunion." & As simple as that, they embarked on their journey. Meanwhile, with Olen now outside of the barrier, Government Officials had initiated a chase. Their mounted greyhounds, honed for detecting Vigor, were on his trail. The Nullifier sensed the impending danger coming their way but he simply kept his silence.
That night their dreams held them captive, while a much sinister reality was unfolding in their camp. Olen was suddenly taken hostage. His abductors planned to whisk him away to a clandestine lab, scheming to regain control of him through invasive tests. Nonetheless, destiny had a wicked game at play. Olen awoke, his captor's cold gaze unlocking a dam of buried memories. It broke him. He immediately began killing. The aftermath was a horrifying scene of his captors' lifeless bodies strewn around the murder site.
Upon the break of dawn, Olen was back at camp and they all together loosened up, ate, and prepared to recommenced their voyage. However not long after the left the macabre sight they stumbled upon left them horrified. Dim-Dar, using his medical knowledge, drew a vivid image of the ordeal Olen's victims went through. Each word dropped like a bomb, visibly shaking them all. But Olen showed no flicker of guilt. He kept his mask of innocence intact, playing oblivious to the massacre. What he hadn't realized was there was a witness to his action that night. The eye of a lone woman who had observed everything unfold from her sanctuary in the shadows. She had been escaping her own nightmares that same night when she encountered Olen's gruesome prowess.
Curious and with no where else to go, she decided to tail the group from the veiled safety of the shadows. Upon receiving the news of Olen's survival and the demise of their men, the government headquarters swung into action, & anxiety filled the air. It was decided unanimously to dispatch skilled reinforcements. Joseph suggested to the group a detour to a nearby Tavern that also held multiple hot springs, an idea that was instantly met with an uplifted mood amongst the worn-out team. His proposition replaced their exhaustion with eager anticipation. It was just the respite they all desired after the relentless challenges they had encountered & so they went.
The silence of the hot springs was broken only by the gushing water. The adults claimed the spring close by the Tavern and the boys the other, laughter echoing as their bodies sank into the warm water. Concurrently, the mystery woman's disgust intensified, feeling increasingly alienated. Abruptly, the serenity shattered as government officials on greyhounds stormed the clearing. Evident tension replaced the previous joy. Using just simple hand to hand combat, the boys defended themselves fiercely and overpowered the attackers. After a very short lived fight, Joseph and Dim-Dar strenuously interrogated the captured officials in privacy, away from the boys.
After gaining the knowledge they felt they needed they allowed their attackers to go, however Olen seen this and grew livid. That night he waited until everyone was asleep and off he went, disappearing into the darkness. Swiftly he found the enemy hideout and eliminated each man with ruthless precision. His return to camp was quiet, drawing the attention of just the watchful woman. By dawn, she observed them even more intently, an unsolicited attraction to their non-ordinary existence silently took hold in her own extraordinary heart.
THAT MORNING
In the dawn's soft haze, Zurel felt a keen sense of the land and its creatures. A subtle, unspoken guidance drew him from his brothers' camaraderie and into the depths of the forest, the lifeline of birds and deer providing his compass. As Zurel wove through the woods, the curious woman trailed behind in quiet intrigue, her gaze fixated on his unusual communion with nature. Produced by a gusty sigh of the wind and the forest's convenient arrangement, a grisly spectacle was unveiled. Strewn in the clearing lay the bodies of their previous foes, alive when Zurel had last seen them. The sight wreaked havoc on his psyche, dragging forth traumatic visions that lay dormant.
"NO...NO!" he shrieked, his mind spiraling into the labyrinth of his tormented past. Waves of panic and disdain washed over him, each recollection stinging like a fresh wound, an endless echo of the torment he once endured. "Stop!" he screamed, his body curling up in pain as his past tortured his present, his vulnerability bursting forth in a heartrending spectacle. As Zurel's world collapsed around him, the woman finally revealed herself, but her approach, albeit well-intended, triggered an impulsive reaction.
In his heightened state of fear, he propelled her with his powers, her figure tracing an arced path in the air before crashing into a congregation of trees, leaving her unconscious. The commotion reached his brothers, drawing them towards the clearing, where they found Zurel amidst an emotional storm, a fallen stranger, and dead adversaries. This eerie paradox gave birth to new baffling questions as silence fell upon the forest greenery.
The air was palpable with curiosity as the crew anxiously observed the mysterious woman. The peculiar circumstances and her survival against Zurel's lethal velocity unsettled them. "Im pretty sure he sent her flying at the speed of light" said Dim-Dar. As theories floated, their intellect stricken with intrigue, the Nullifier questioned if her identity hid within a powerful clan. "She definitely isn't human. She has to come from one of the royal bloodlines." A hopeful conjecture that explained her resilience against certain death.
All eyes shifted to Zurel, expecting forthcoming revelation. Zurel's agitated demeanor, his equivocal rambling of seeing deceased people, left the crew grappling for clarity. His apparent trauma hinted at unresolved past experiences, a buried sea of misery resurfacing painfully.
Tensions running high, Seth was prompted to pry inside the woman's mind, his ability granting unprecedented access. But Seth valued consent above utility, a testament to his strong principles. His biggest weakness was women. Especially the beautiful ones. His refusal woefully confirmed their deficient knowledge about the woman's identity, her origins remaining enigmatic. Amid the chaos and confusion, Olen and Rocket stood back & observed. Olen, particularly anxious about potential revelation of his undisclosed actions, tried maintaining an unaffected facade, masking his gnawing guilt.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, a spectral orange hue seeping into the twilight sky, they dismantled their camp swiftly. Shared nods and unspoken understanding bound them as they moved amidst the blanket of uncertainty. Their decisions, shared and individual, seemingly insignificant in the grandeur of the universe, sang an aria of collective resistance, their spirits undeterred. The mystery woman was carefully cradled onto an accommodating cot, her unconscious form fragile yet resilient. Giving her the gift of rest amongst the shifting scenery, they hoped she would eventually awaken, shedding light on her esoteric existence. Every beat of her heart spoke of a latent strength, a silent promise that she was more than just a survivor.
As they carried her limp form, the previously serene sky started to ripple ominously. What had been a calm afternoon turned fraught with a brewing storm. Thunder roared, commanding attention as fat, heavy droplets started cascading down, drenching them in seconds. A panicked murmur erupted from the group, questioning where this sudden deluge had come from. Just as they struggled to comprehend the escalating weather turmoil, the woman awoke with a jolt. Her eyes flickered open, ice-blue and indomitable. With a swift movement, she tore away and moved into her stance.
She lunged at him, her fist aimed for his heart. But the nullifier, with a swift sidestep and with a calmness that belied the intensity of the situation, easily avoided the blow. Her fist met only air, whispering tales of his unrivaled expertise. Every muscle in her body was tensed, her eyes focused, fueled by a desperation to overpower him. But her swift, practiced punches were effortlessly blocked, her fierce kicks deflected with a serenity that spoke volumes of his superior, honed skills. His motions were fluid, like a stream gurgling around a rock, every attack she launched was simply absorbed and redirected, leaving her feeling like a storm trying to uproot a mountain.
The intensity of her eyes never dimmed as she spinned and aimed a kick at his head, carrying an impressive force that would have incapacitated a normal man. His hand snaked up, seemingly relaxed, catching her foot effortlessly. The shock in her eyes was palpable, a testament to the nullifier's superiority. Boulder began charging into the fight, easily knocking Joseph out of the way in an effort to help his uncle. But the nullifier, in the midst of effortlessly parrying her attacks, locked eyes with him. A single, short, sharp gesture from him, and boulder stopped in his tracks. The silent exchange was clear as the crisp air that circulated around them - "Stay back. Watch. Learn."
A ripple of emotion washed over the faces of the five boys. They looked at each other, not daring to refute their mentor's orders. So they took steps back, their eyes wide and alert, soaking in the dynamics between the two combatants. their mentor, the nullifier, a seasoned warrior who, even in the face of adversity, always had something to teach his pupils. She reeled back, winded, the realization sinking in that she was outclassed. Yet, the almost commendable fire in her eyes doused nothing. In that spark was a strength that rattled even the nullifier. She was a tempest, her spirit raging, raw, and untamed like a wild storm.
Ultimately, however, the victor was clear. The nullifier moved with an unhurried pace towards her, almost sorrowful. His decades of carefully polished skills were prominent in his unhurried, assured strides, his movements a dance of precision and control, hers a frantic attempt to match his tempo, but it proved inadequate against his combat mastery. Then finally, he gripped her around her wrists and it solidified. Using his abilities he was able to complete cancel out her powers. The rain ceased abruptly, as if the heavens had been ordered to halt. Even the clouds seemed to recede, like spectators intimidated by the unexpected reveal of powers. Calmness blanketed everything, a stark contrast from the turbulent weather before.
Seth took a step forward, lowering his gaze to meet hers. In his eyes was a silent apology of a thousand unspoken words, a respectful nod to the autonomy she held over her mind. He was about to trespass a sanctuary, was about to unveil moments and secrets she held dear and painful. "I'm sorry," he subtly whispered, lips barely moving. His hands rested over her damp hair, his tension evident. His grimace told her of the gravity of the forthcoming moment. It was a silent invocation, seeking permission to traverse her mind, knowing too well it was grisly.
And then, images slowly began to wash over him. The woman screamed loudly & pulled away in surprise, her eyes widening in an alarming realization of what had just transpired. She hadn't anticipated the intrusion and she recoiled, Her memories were a cascade Seth was now part of, and her fear was a sharp stab he had just been pierced with. Seth tried to make sense of the tumultuous influx of images in his mind, sorting through them as quickly as he could. Yet, in spite of the sudden intrusion, his intention wasn't to exploit her exposed vulnerabilities, but to gain a better understanding of just who she was and what possibly could she have wanted.