"THE ROOKIE"
8 WEEKS LATER…
The farmlands basked beneath clear summer skies, the green fields swaying gently. The farms of the deceased farmers were now devoid of activity, and the fields marked by dead patches of crops served as a testament to a time that once was…
Elizabeth's home had undergone the final stages of reparation after a lone worker finished minor repairs. Pinning a sealed envelope adorned with the Nadirian Hunter's emblem onto the door, the worker finally left the farmstead.
Upstairs, amidst neatly arranged furniture, Elizabeth readied herself for an occasion within her newly refined bedroom, while certain clothing gear lay flat on her bed.
Meanwhile, Anna and Rodri spoke as they sat atop a couch in the living room.
Anna said fervently, "Despite their preference to slit each other's throats, they set aside their differences and shook hands! Professionalism at its finest! What a sight it was to see!"
Rodri scoffed, "Oh, shut yer trap! You didn't see nothin! You're just blindly exaggerating whatever it was Elizabeth told ya, you old sheep!"
As the two quarreled, in the background was Bonnie, sitting on a chair near a window and examining his hand with curiosity, head in the clouds.
Anna fired back at Rodri, "You, should hold yer tongue, boy! While WE were out fightin for our lives, YOU were snoozin away comfortably like a bum! And ya went on with it for months! MONTHS, ya grizzly! I hope ya had sweet dreams, 'cause ain't nobody gonna be babysittin you in the future."
Rodri scoffed in disbelief. "Oh, I just can't get enough of your little lies, can't I? YOU were fightin? YOU? Heavens spare me. So? What'd ya do? Huh? Ya threaten the Hexclaw with yer wrath? You show the world how fierce yer face is? Shut yer trap! You didn't do nothin! If anythin, you were just probably in the way."
"Yeah? Well, at least I wasn't the one gettin knocked out by Hexclaw's measly attacks! Ha ha ha ha ha! You probably didn't even get hit, did ya? All that happened was you got scared out of ya pants and fainted outta sheer fear! 'Oh no, please save me! My name is Rodri, and I can't handle all this pressure!' Ha ha ha! Some rook YOU are! Gettin treated by a measly woman who don't even like ya!"
"Oh, you—you shut yer mouth! I WAS attacked—real bad! You wouldn't have survived a second if you went through that. You're just a snowflake who ain't ever had to face any real challenges in her life! That's why you're so darn spoiled!"
"Well, ya better get used to it, 'cause I ain't ever gonna change for no one!"
By the window, an elbow knocked from outside to draw Bonnie's attention, who then turned to an embarrassed Aurora peering through.
Opening the window, Bonnie grinned cheekily. "Oh hello. You travel from afar? I'm sure yer legs must be aching. Is somethin wrong? What brings you to the borin countryside?"
Ignoring his tone, she whispered, "Back then, how did you do all of that?"
"All of what?" he asked patronizingly. "Was it somethin important? It must've been—considerin it caught your ever-so-valued attention."
"In the capital," she clarified. "You woke earlier than you were supposed to. And... you touched the Hexclaw's hand without transforming."
"Oh…"
"You made the tree glow golden. And the leaves cured the plague's effects just by touch. How? How did you do that?"
Bonnie paused thoughtfully before scanning around and hopping out of the window. "Come with me," he instructed, walking past her, to which she then followed…
The two strolled side by side each other amidst the plain fields of greenery, and Bonnie began to speak in a low voice.
"So... it's real strange, but... do you think...it's possible to see inside another person's mind?"
Aurora's eyes lit up, but she quickly composed herself and focused ahead.
"How do you mean?" she calmly asked.
"You know, like… being able to see what they're thinkin about durin the moment, as if readin em like a book. Elizabeth's got a brother, you see. His name's Noah, and, well, he went missin, and Elizabeth was mighty keen on findin him. But…"
Aurora's eyes lit up a second time, but this time, she seemed to forget about quickly reverting to 'playing it cool,' for her abilities were already in effect, but Bonnie continued on.
"This may sound outlandish, but I think I saw…his memories as soon as I felt the Hexclaw's hand."
Silence hung in the air as the winds swayed the grass they walked on. For a moment, silence was the only thing, and Bonnie opened up again.
"Does that sound...strange?" he asked, keeping his head down.
Aurora remained silent, trudging onwards while looking ahead.
Bonnie continued, "He had short hair, and was a bit tall—maybe five-eleven. He looked like her too. His eyes were blue, and he had that… stubborn sort of demeanor that she always portrayed."
"You see anything peculiar?" Aurora asked softly.
"I heard him sayin somethin 'bout… meetin some guys to sell a house? No, they were sellin it to him, he said."
"Did you…see those guys in question?"
"Nah. But, I DID see Elizabeth. She was readin a colorin book while sittin on a couch. And she was also, uhh… actin her usual self toward him. They seemed to have a bond, you see, like real siblings. They really cared about each other. And, he was...a good guy…"
Bonnie's voice suddenly cracked, and he ceased his steps. Aurora noticed his wide eyes staring into space.
"The Hexclaw was real funny," Bonnie said with a nervous chuckle. "He had only one eye, six arms, and...a really big head. Nobody would look at him, then back at Mr. Noah, and discern that the two were... But Elizabeth did... Why did that happen?" Observing his hand, he continued with nervous eyes, "I popped his hand off like a balloon. His body lost its grip as well. It's like...he wasn't supposed to be saved. A sister doesn't have her brother anymore, and the world whirls round. I took his—"
"You were imagining things," Aurora sharply interjected with a blank expression. "You were imagining things. You never saw anything with your own eyes. It was all in your head. The Hexclaw was a monster, not a person."
Clearing his throat, Bonnie continued as they walked on, "I wouldn't say so. He felt warm, like a person… I just couldn't do anything. In actuality, you're the one who did all the savin. I'm…really grateful for you, Aurora."
They walked on, and looking back at Bonnie, Aurora's eyes seemed to lighten.
. . .
In the farmhouse, Elizabeth finished dressing in her neat and brand-new Nadirian Hunter's cargo uniform. Descending the stairs, Bonnie sat on the couch with Rodri and Anna, and he called her out warmly.
"Elizabeth, yer trousers are… inside-out."
Flustering from embarrassment, she hurried back up awkwardly…
Coming back downstairs, her pants were fixed, but her collar was awkwardly placed and the buttons on her top were mismatched. Bonnie called out for her again.
"Slight issue," he said kindly. "Quick fix and you'll be fine."
As he began straightening her collar, Elizabeth's embarrassment only heightened, trying to mask it off with a curl of the upper lip.
"Did you get taller?" he asked.
"I don't know," Elizabeth quickly answered.
As he moved on to straightening her buttons, her expression softened, and she softly asked, "Do you think I'm paranoid?"
"No. Why?"
"I don't know. I just... I made a lot of misjudgments, and I was always confident in my beliefs. But now, I don't even know if I'm makin the right call."
"Of course you are. Who wouldn't wanna escape from their quiet life and join a band of misfits? I know I would."
"I took down all the wanted posters."
Bonnie looked into Elizabeth's eyes.
"You did?" he asked.
"I thought… I'd… I'd already buried him after I took his body from the capital. But… I had nights where I'd think that maybe… that thing wasn't actually him, and he's still out there somewhere. Now, I'm joinin the hunters to catch more patchworks who might lead me closer to findin out why he turned out like that—into the Hexclaw. I don't know what I'm doin anymore. I'm just… a simpleton."
Raising her head, Elizabeth found Bonnie standing frozen still and staring blankly into space.
"Bonnie?" she called, and he looked back at her, smiling away the awkward silence.
He cleared his throat and said, "Uhh...yeah, it's all mindbogglin and weird. But, you just need to… stay strong. We're all desperate and confused, but we're not gonna go through this alone, you see. I'm gonna be with you, and you'll never have to be afraid any more—because you're strong. I'll always fight with you, 'til the end. I swear it." He finally finished her buttons, and stepping back, he smiled, "It's always good to show up early, ya know. Puts ya ahead of the others."
Elizabeth's eyes lit up from realization, and heading to the door, she waved goodbye.
Beyond the farmstead, Boss stood alongside sixteen hunters, impatiently awaiting the girl's arrival.
"This new guy is takin up a chunk of our time, Boss" said one of the hunters with frustration.
"It's not a guy," Boss clarified. "This will be the lone female of our group."
From the background, one of the Hunters, black hair and a young demeanor, raised her hand. "I'm a girl," she interjected.
"But are you in our group?" another hunter pressed disapprovingly. "You may have been the only girl, but you were always slackin off, Rosalia."
"No I wasn't," Rosalia playfully denied, hands behind her back and a sly grin on her face.
Finally, the hunters saw Elizabeth sprinting from afar, determination pouring off her.
"She's here. The rookie," Boss said.
"You mean, 'she's almost here,'" Rosalia interjected.
Finally arriving, Elizabeth panted heavily, hands on her knees. "Present!" she declared, raising her hand, while some hunters giggled and whispered jokes about her.
"Alright," Boss said. "Let's get started then, shall we."
Gathering behind him, he held up a wanted poster, revealing their next target. With a bounty of 800 Autumns, being sought for invasion of property, harassment, and attempted murder, was none other than the pale-skinned, stitched-up, and pitch-black-haired Damien, given bounty title—The Zombie-Man.
The band of Nadirian hunters then commenced their next uncanny hunt.
TO BE CONTINUED...