Chereads / Bonnie's Touch / Chapter 15 - CHAPTER 15: BREAKTHROUGH

Chapter 15 - CHAPTER 15: BREAKTHROUGH

"SEE YA IN A BIT"

The Hexclaw Menace stood ominously over the unconscious Elizabeth, whose head had begun bleeding excessively. It poised its claw and began its march to finish her off completely. However, an unsettling feeling interrupted its advance. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a heavenly glow over the not-so-pretty surroundings. The entire area trembled as the colossal tree and its giant roots emitted a radiant golden light. Slowly turning around, the Hexclaw Menace faced a contrasting presence—the seemingly divine and otherworldly Bonnie, alive and vibrant, and appearing to have just awakened from a deep slumber. Clutching an aerial root, Bonnie's hand emitted a brilliant golden light that extended through each one of the tree's roots, which then slithered towards every injured soul—the hunters, the civilians, Aurora, Anna, and Elizabeth—regenerating their wounds upon contact. The Hexclaw Menace, perplexed, observed his gentle care for the root, as if cradling a baby in his hand.

"Forget about fear," Bonnie said in a low tone. "When I awoke, I had an epiphany. All the stars, let alone this land, can be so very overwhelming. If we do not latch onto something, we will get lost and scared. But I now know, just why. It was decided before I came into existence, and it was embedded deep inside of me so that I could discover it truly. I do not know why it had to be like this, but I know now that it is so, for each and every one of us." He laughed. "That's so strange. And funny. I just feel like… swimmin inside a pond! Pond?" Lifting his head, he faced the perplexed Hexclaw, and he smiled and said, "I'm sorry. I'm just… really awake right now!"

The Hexclaw Menace hesitated, its single devilish eyeball fixated on the incomprehensible scene unfolding before it. Meanwhile, the thick roots containing Damien also began to glow golden, loosening during the process, then freeing him to fall to the ground. The Hexclaw Menace, displeased with the noise, redirected its rage at Bonnie. It readied itself, stretching out its six arms, claws poised like fangs. Charging at him, it forced him to tighten his grip on the aerial root, which suddenly reduced in length, pulling him high upwards to land on a thin branch out of the Hexclaw's reach. From this vantage point, Bonnie gazed at the entire kingdom, awe and thrill enveloping him. He noticed Elizabeth, now well and healed, observing him with uncertainty. He then zeroed back in on the Hexclaw, which eyed him like prey. The Hexclaw Menace, poised to strike again, charged up the tree on all six arms, sprinting wildly like a devil released from hell, aiming to vanquish its imprisoner. Bonnie, anticipating the attack, felt a moment of uncertainty before—

A hazy image of a dimly lit room with humble furniture suddenly flashed in his mind. A young blonde lady sat on a wooden chair, a warm smile on her face as she gently rocked a baby in her arms. The baby had blonde hair. Near a window, where the sunlight streamed, a blurry silhouette figure sat rocking gently on a rocking chair, its back turned to the first-person view of Bonnie. Its form was humanoid, and atop its head was a hat that curved down the middle like the letter 'U.'

With a deep, masculine, and authoritative tone, it uttered calmly, "I expect you to heal all of them, even if it means your death. You WILL heal all of them. Do you understand, boy?"

It was all but a few seconds and in his imagination, but Bonnie felt a strong sense of familiarity upon glimpsing it. 

Returning to reality, Bonnie glanced back at the Hexclaw Menace, which continued to charge wildly in his direction. He took a step back, inhaling deeply. With a wild heart, he leaped off the giant tree's branch, diving toward the approaching beast. As the distance between them closed, both outstretched a hand—the towering, a claw of animosity, and the falling, a hand offering solace. In a moment of intense confrontation, the two contrasting hands with abilities worlds apart finally made contact, and in a flash, they burst apart from each other. The Hexclaw had its claw completely demolished to nothing, while Bonnie's hand remained intact. It lost control of its body, and as it began to descend to the ground, the colossal tree descended along with it. The tree shrunk downwards, and its leaves of golden light separated themselves. The leaves were soft and light, gliding gently toward the capital streets, and as they reached the surface, they landed softly on the skins of Nadirians who had caught the plague, seemingly in their last moments. Miraculously, the Nadirians were relieved of their ailments, for the golden leaves were not just decorative particles adorning the devastated capital, but they were fragments that carried Bonnie's essence, and they gracefully lit up and revived the once-fallen capital.

As the calm arose and the dust began to settle, another scene played in the mind of a soul…

Transitioning into a simple farmhouse, two souls lay within the warmth—a young man, and a younger girl.

"I'm gonna be out for a while, Liz," said the young man with dark brown hair, wearing a sweater and an ivy cap. "Check the farm for me while I'm gone?"

"Okay," said none other than the young Elizabeth, lying lazily on the couch while reading a comic.

"You not gonna ask where?" the young man asked as he closed the remaining open cupboards in the kitchen.

"Don't feel like it."

"(chuckles) You don't feel like askin yer brother where he's goin so late in the afternoon?"

"Wrong. I don't feel like doin the darn farm. That's YOUR territory."

"Ah, and your territory's here—sittin on the couch while… lookin at pictures."

"I'm readin!"

"Oh, sure you are. Listen, I met some guys…"

"Are they simpletons?"

"Bad word. Just some guys. Three of 'em actually. Apparently, they're the ones who met ME—a long time ago. They say I forgot to meet up about a house they agreed to sell me a month ago—somewhere near Rainfall Road. Couple thousand Autumn is all it cost. They even packed their things and left already."

"Noah, I don't know much about business, but that's clearly a lie."

"Urgh, no one in the whole of Nadiria EVER tells a lie! You gotta stop readin them books, they're makin you paranoid." Rushing to sit beside her, he continued with wild eyes, "Liz, this is the capital we're talkin about. We can finally be relieved from the clutches of this soul-numbing confinement devoid of any imagination they call the countryside, and released into Nirvana."

"I didn't understand a word you just said. Wait—you're goin all the way to the capital?" Elizabeth finally looked him in the eyes.

Getting back up, Noah replied, "No, no, no. I'm just round the corner. Near one of Jerry's farms. Those three guys and I, we're just gonna talk a little; lay down the terms and conditions. When it's time to leave, you and I are gonna leave together."

He headed toward the door, putting on a coat he lifted off the floor.

"Whatever," Elizabeth retorted, turning back to her comic book. "You've always been dumb. I hope you find out it was a scam and come back disappointed."

"Subjects of profound complexity and nuance can only be diluted in potential within the eyes of the lesser learned. They aim to demean the contents of that which they cannot comprehend in order to validate or justify their lack of knowledge. A defense mechanism, and an unconscious one at that. Yet it reflects the mind's desire to defend the pride of its host. A protective gesture, really. Hehe, how beautiful…" Noah zoned out, for a couple of seconds, seeming to be in awe of his own words. He snapped back into reality, and leaving through the door, he paused, "Hey, Liz?"

"Huh?"

"Check on the farm for me, okay?"

"Whatever."

"I'm serious. Watch the farm. Especially the corn patch. I don't wanna come back and find...birds eatin on 'em or somethin. Those things always come when you least expect, so pay attention."

"Okay."

"Alright. See ya in a bit."

The Hexclaw Menace lay defeated on the ground, his back pressed against the solidity of rock, and his consciousness still barely holding onto the remainders of his vessel. His body was irreparable, growing thin and grey with each passing second. Like a child, his eyeball darted around in disarray, heart still wild and at the ready. His treen-like structure cracked and crumbled apart, and in one of his remaining claws, he clutched a stone. His touch did not affect the object. He eyed the gently rising sun, and as his body shrunk and lost its color, the light from within his eyeball slowly faded, and his last moments were spent taking in the chaos of a world he was yet to fully grasp within the depths of his frenzied mind.

CHAPTER 15 of 'Bonnie's Touch' ends