Chereads / Paths to Wisdom / Chapter 10 - Scream

Chapter 10 - Scream

They walked through the street, passing by several other vendors and stores. People tended to clear the way for them.

As they walked, Kevin asked, "How do I make money?"

"What do you need money for?"

"I want to have some personal money I can use whenever I'm free."

Clay thought for a second and said, "Well, what skills do you have?"

"I was a medical student and got a degree in biology."

Clay chuckled, "That's great if you're a noble or congressman's son and have the money to start a medical practice less useful if you're some random bum off the street."

Kevin frowned. "I can do other things, I can....."

He paused and thought to himself,

What else can I do? I know how to fix things, but I need a modern toolkit for that. I can also code no no come on think skateboarding?

Kevin's face contorted in horror as he came to disturbing realization.

I'm useless!

Kevin was in despair. He had an education in medicine and biological sciences and possessed knowledge in many other fields due to time spent in school and on the internet, but beyond superficial things, he quite literally had no applicable skills. Unless he came across serious money or some sort of patron, he was stuck and had limited options.

Seeing Kevin's shift in mood, Clay said, "You can't think of one skill? Well, normally manual labor should be an option, but you don't speak the local language, heck you don't even have that good of a grasp on Yankish yet."

Stop rubbing salt in!

"But I can learn."

"That's true, but Cubano isn't really useful anywhere outside of Myami and Cuba and even then the dialect they speak here is so different it might as well be its own language."

Clay took a glance at Kevin as if evaluating him.

"So you have no easily applicable talents and no skills, umm I guess you could check a bounty board or ask the university for some type of allowance."

"What's a bounty board?"

Clay pursed his lips and responded, "A bounty board is like a place where people post odd jobs they want you to do for them in return for some type of payment. Some are simple tasks like carrying a package or delivering something for the employer, while others are more complex and can involve certain risks, like transporting sensitive or illegal items. It's called the bounty board because the government likes to post bounties on it for criminals they can't be bothered to catch themselves, or criminals that they are struggling to eliminate. Of course I doubt you'll ever be able to take that type of job, but they do offer rewards for useful tips, though only dangerous criminals have bounties I consider worth the risk."

Kevin took a moment to internalize the information, asking the university for an allowance seemed like a good option, and he was planning on trying, but there was no guarantee that Dyson or whoever his superiors were would agree to it and even if they did, it would just mean that his reliance on the University of Myami would become more entrenched and he'd owe even more in debt to them even if only in theory. Kevin not only wanted to have his own money, but he also desired the means to make his own. With this in mind, he came to the conclusion that he'd have to pursue taking jobs on the bounty board, at least until he acquired fluency in Yankish.

"Can you take me to a bounty board?"

"I'll take you to one tomorrow. I promised a friend I'd help her study for an exam."

Kevin frowned but nodded, and said, "Should we head back?"

Clay replied, "Yeah, that would be for the best."

Clay looked for another carriage to take them back to the university. As they waited for one to appear, they conversed about various topics.

Once they arrived back at the campus gates, Kevin yawned. The angle of the sun signaled to him that it was around seven. After Clay knocked on the gate a few times, it opened and the pair walked in.

Kevin said, "Thank you for the trip. I'm going to go to bed. What time do you think you could take me to a bounty board tomorrow?"

Clay shrugged. "Just find me whenever you're free. I don't have any plans for tomorrow."

After a brief pause, he continued

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I'm okay for now. I'll see you later."

The two made their goodbyes, with Clay reaching out to shake Kevin's hand, while Kevin tried to give him a fist bump, creating an awkward and prolonged moment of stillness before Kevin conceded to the awkwardness and shook Clay's hand.

The two then parted ways. Clay headed to the student dorms while Kevin went to the library to practice his Yankish. Once the sunset, he left the library admiring the purple and orange twilight sky as he walked to his dorm room.

As he entered the dorm building, Kevin saw the same dorm maid with a straw hat on her head sweeping the floor again. She wore the same black dress and apron she did last time.

"Good morning!"

And like last time, she made the same mistake.

This time, Kevin stopped in front of her and decided to start a conversation. Practicing his Yankish he said, "Hello what is your name?"

The woman smiled and said, "My name is Carmita."

Carefully choreographing his response, Kevin smiled back and said, "It's nice to meet you. I just want to tell you that morning is night."

Carmita laughed "Are you ok? Morning is dark? Night is light. How are they the same?"

Kevin tried to gather his thoughts before responding

What are you an idiot?

"No, I mean.….. morning is light and night is dark."

Carmita stared blankly at Kevin, unsure if this was a bad joke or serious.

"See outside. It's dark, so it is morning."

You poor soul who was your Yankish teacher... wait, what if I'm the wrong one?

To avoid potential embarrassment, Kevin hastily dropped it and ended the conversation, heading up to his room to sleep for the night.

Once inside his room, he collapsed onto the bed, exhausted from a long day of studying and walking.

For a time Carmita could be heard working, but this eventually faded from his hearing as he drifted off to sleep.

He dreamt of a bright light in the distance. It burned through the landscape and was moving away from his direction. He tried to run towards it. The dream was vivid and filled his every sense. He desperately tried to reach the light, but it kept moving further away from him, leaving him with a growing feeling of hopelessness and dread.

As he dreamt, the dead of night was silent. Only the sound of insects could be heard from the courtyard below. It was in this quiet that a blood-curdling scream sounded.

Kevin shot up, awoken by the scream. His heart raced. He glanced around his room. It was empty; the window was closed, and the lamp on the dresser was off.

He slowly walked to the window and opened it, looking down into the courtyard below.

The courtyard was bathed in moonlight. All seemed normal.

As he scanned the grounds, Kevin saw something that made his blood run cold.

A woman lay on the ground, her body was contorted and covered in blood. She was wearing a grey blouse and a grey skirt.

Kevin grabbed the lamp from his dresser and ignited it with a match he kept in the drawer. As the light filled the room, he raced down the stairs.

Once he reached the ground floor, he saw Carmita sleeping on a chair in the front lobby.

He reached the front door and placed his hand on the doorknob. For a minute he stood there, his breathing shallow. He couldn't help but wonder if he was just dreaming or if something had truly happened, wonder if it was safe to even leave, wonder if he was in danger.

Finally he grit his teeth and pushed open the door and stepped out into the courtyard. The lamp's light shone its yellow light down on the grass and palm trees.

Kevin kept the door open in order to secure an escape route if needed.

He walked to the area he saw the woman from his balcony. As he approached, he found a bloody outline on the pavement. However, the woman he originally saw there was nowhere to be seen.

Kevin felt a shiver run down his spine. He couldn't grasp why he'd come out to investigate or why he'd hadn't asked for Carmita's help.

Before he had time to run back, he heard another scream. It was more powerful and close than the first. Kevin turned to his left and raised the lamp, illuminating what had screamed.

It was a standing woman wearing a grey skirt and blouse. Her face had many deep lacerations and was bleeding profusely. She was pale and trembled as she tried to speak in a language that resembled the one Myamians spoke. Blood and flesh were present on her fingertips, implying that she had been the one to damage her face in such a way.

As soon as Kevin looked into her eyes, the woman vanished. The only evidence of her presence left behind was a small pool of blood on the ground.

Another more distant scream followed.

Kevin ran.