Chapter 10: How it all started
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“-Tell me, Raiv, how long have you been with the Shinning Siblings? Asks me Ronaldo.

This had been his fifteen try of starting a conversation with us since we left Termorius, two days ago.

Our group was to travel East and meet the Cyclops as fast as possible. This meant we would have to keep travelling together for at least ten more days.

Just our luck.

“More or less a year”. We answer.

“I see! I bet you saw some amazing shit happening around”.

“I guess”.

He grinned. “You know, since I was a little boy I dreamed that one day I would be the strongest hunter. Respected by everyone. Even feared”.

“-And who is stronger than the Shinning Siblings?” he continued after I offered no answer”. No one! But their group had never changed. So just imagine how surprised I got after I returned from a hunting excursion and they had recruited one more member”

“I’m sorry”. We said, because we didn’t know what to say.

“Sorry?” He looked at me surprised. “You misunderstood me.  That was fucking great. It just meant that if someone is good enough, the Shinning Siblings will have him. You, Raiv, gave me hope.”

“I don’t think we are looking for more members”

“Of course not! Groups like yours never are. But they are always looking for talent.” He says and blinks, as if that had a secret meaning.

“-May I ask how you met?” He asks after some minutes.

It wouldn’t end. Those are the prices of participating in big excursions. Usually, the Shinning Siblings didn’t pressure me, making it easier to blend.

Having longer conversations meant having to know which answers are the right answers.

If we say something too weird, something inhuman, it could all be over. It isn’t enough having to coordinate all our movements while we walk and move our face; we also have to think about the best thing to say.

A nightmare.

Like this, for example. What should we answer now? Telling him what really happened would be telling too much.

The truth was, they’d found us.

As people say, the Shinning Siblings always went wherever they were need.

At the time we met, they had been sent to investigate a dead city. A place where murmurs said horrible things had happened. A place where other people were afraid to go.

It had been our home for months.

Not because it was special or because of some deep meaning. We just didn’t know what to do after the mage’s death. We didn’t know where to go.

We’d been there, alone, for some time.

Then the Shinning Siblings came.

We saw their approach. They walked without fear, but cautiously. Like they knew it was a dangerous place, but they felt comfortable inside it.

We flied closer and landed on some of them, but Rosa seemed to have gotten tenser when we did it, as if she knew something was watching, so we decided to take our distance. We watched them talking with themselves while investigating the area.

We also watched them fight.

Some lizard creatures followed them. They were four feet high and walked on two feet, carried weapons and had snake like heads.

Two dozen of them attacked their group and were all massacred in an instant.

It was incredible.

Even now, we can remember it vividly.

No movement had been a waste. It was like they knew exactly what they had to do in order to win the fight. It was like the killing was a dance they had mastered. Everything was precise. Perfectly coordinated.

Just like us.

We observed them for two days. They explored the woods, the fields, the cabins. Looked for clues, for survivors. They find none.

They would never have found us, if we didn’t want it.

But for some reason, we wanted it. It seemed worth the risks.

We waited for their arrival in front of a broken cabin.

 

More or less a year ago

 

They are walking slowly, not surprised by our presence since Rosa gave the alert the moment she sensed us.

Still, we had expected more of a reaction. We know we look like a human. But we are sure we look like an imperfect one. We are ugly. We have fails in our structure that we have to hide with bruises and scars.

Even despite all this, none of them seem to care about those imperfections.  They look wary, but amicable.

“-Good evening, friend. I’m Diego and those are Anna, Rosa, Lucas and Daniel. We’re the Shinning Siblings and we came here because of what we heard happened here. What’s your name?”

We don’t know what to answer. To be honest, we aren’t really sure of what we were expecting would happen. What should we say? Should we try to earn their trust? How could we do it?

Nonetheless, we need to say something. Anything.

“-My name’s Raiv” It had been a long time since we had produced a sound with our bodies. It definitely didn’t sound like a normal human voice.

But surprisingly, most of them don’t look suspicious.

They are looking like they are feeling sorry for us.

“-Nice to meet you, Raiv. Are you from here?” Says the one they named Anna.

Yes or no?

“-Yes.” We decide.

“-What happened here? Asks Lucas.

“-We were attacked by an overwhelming power.”

Half-truths, half lies.

“In the end, everyone died. I managed to survive, with the sacrifice of others. But I got cursed in the process. I can never fully heal. I’m forever locked into this state.” We thought about it, and we decided it would be a good lie. Some excuse for any imperfection.

They seemed to accept it.

“-You had been living here all alone, all this time?” Asks Anna.

“-Yes” We say.

“-Why don’t you leave? Go somewhere else?” She kept asking.

That’s a good point. Why haven’t we left? What are we still doing here?

“-I wouldn’t know where to go”

“-Don’t you miss people?” Says Lucas.

“-Hey. That’s not a cool thing to ask.” Berates Daniel.

“-It’s just that…I would have missed. If I was alone here.” Says Lucas.

“I…” Do we miss people? Don’t we want to be alone?

If that is true, what am I doing right now, talking with them?

Do I miss having conversations?

No. That is not it.

I miss having something happening. All this time here, every day was the same. We are so many, but still, nothing happens is our lives. We want something to happen.

Otherwise, what is the point of living?

Why are we here?

“Yes. I miss having people around me.”

“You can come with us for now, if you want. We are heading north from here, to a small fortification to send a report. From there, we can help you find some direction.”

They want us to go to a place to meet more people? That would be extremely dangerous. We weren’t even sure yet we could fool them for long. They may end up finding out about us.

Well, if things go wrong we could just leave.

But there’s a strong possibility they wouldn’t just let us leave, though. They would hunt us.

Then we would have to kill then. And possibly everyone who managed to find out who we are.

At the end, not much harm would be done.

“- Yes. I would like that” We say.

 

Hey, guys! This one was a little late, but I wanted to be sure about somethings before posting it. Still, I'll keep delivering at the best pace I can. Hope you are enjoing it.

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