Totem 18: A Kick In The Pants (Patreon)

So, I don't know if it was because I was absorbing a monster core from a real-life powerful monster, or if it was because I was doing it through my hands instead of swallowing the thing... but hot damn it was a kick in the pants.

Normally when I swallowed them, it was a race against time to pull the energy around my gosling core before the energy dissipated into nothing. This core was different.

First, I had to slowly guide the pure energy to sink down into my palm while allowing the corrupted shit to drift away. From there the mostly pure energy slowly swirled up my arm, to my shoulder and down to my chest.

The second I lost focus, the entire line up and down my arm fell apart with a snap like touching an electric wire.

Super irritating.

Finally, I managed to move it all the way to my heart. From there, it shot straight down to my core.

My sleeping gosling gave a shudder, though it didn't open its eyes. But I no longer had to direct the energy. Nope. The greedy little shit started sucking the stuff down. My job from there was to act like a physical straw or conduit and keep the energy on the right path.

I tried to keep half an eye on Annika to see how she was getting along, but honestly this was taking all of my concentration.

The energy was too much for even the deprived gosling to handle and despite my best efforts, some leaked out to my limbs.

It was like downing a whole pot of coffee, snorting some caffeine pills, and topping it off with cans of energy sludge.

I wanted to run, to sprint, to do damned back flips.

Somehow, through a force of willpower, I kept my butt on the ground.

The core in my hand slowly seemed to melt away in my palm, losing its integrity and becoming almost jelly like before finally--finally-- the last of it melted into a gas that sank down into my palm.

My core was shiny bright with power and there was so much extra energy spinning around that it almost looked like the spiral of a galaxy to my inner eye.

What a rush.

I couldn't take it anymore.

Opening my eyes, I blinked, finding that not only had night fallen, but there was also a cold campfire off to the side. Seemed like I had missed dinner time.

The remains of the destroyed village should have been creepy as hell. Light from the full moon lit up every broken building in a silver outline. But at that moment I felt damn near invisible.

I had to run.

Standing up, I spied one of the cart paths that led out of the village. Then I took off.

My first steps felt... weird. Almost like my limbs weren't connected the way they should have been. Stumbling, I caught myself and then found my stride.

Only... my arms didn't want to pump at my sides like normal. It felt more natural to keep them slightly outstretched as I ran. I knew it probably looked dorky as hell, but I wanted -- needed -- to feel the wind.

Fuck, I wanted to fly.

I couldn't. Land bound with not a feather of my own, I still sprinted flat out for the joy of it. The cold air felt glorious against my skin. Only respect for the dead kept me from laughing out loud.

This cart road curved around the remains of the village, and another cut back toward the river. It made for a good running track, and I had done three rings before the edge of the energy had been blunted.

Oh yeah, and I wasn't alone.

I'd been so absorbed in the feeling of power that I hadn't registered Annika running, too. In fact, the girl was a bit faster than me which was weird considering she was shorter and the concealing veils and all.

I slowed as she caught up.

"Should you be doing that?" I asked. "You don't want to pop a stitch--"

"The core healed me!" Her voice was filled with laughter, and she tugged on my arm as she ran past. "Come on!"

No way I was going to let her win in a footrace. I ran after her.

Thankfully, I bit my tongue before asking if she was healed, why the hell was she wearing the concealing veils?

The flashes of her arms poking out from under them told me why: Her wounds might have closed, but she was left with scars.

I shouldn't have been surprised, but the way she laughed I thought... well, it didn't matter. There might be magic in this world, but there weren’t miracles.

"How are you running so fast?" I yelled at her. No matter how hard I tried, it was like I stayed five paces behind.

"How are you so slow?" she called back, joy still in her voice. And why not? She was probably pain free for the first time since the incident.

We slowed as we came around the bend and back to the village. It was an ugly sight in the moonlight.

A thought occurred to me, and I touched her shoulder. "Hey, have you been visited by your Totem? Is that why you can run like that?"

"I've always been fast," she sniffed, "you were always too shy to properly challenge me to a footrace."

That hadn't been the reason. I just didn't like playing with kids, being a full-grown adult in my head and all. I shrugged and changed the subject. "How's your core?"

"Bright. Full. I feel like... it will be soon. As if there is someone on the other side of it waiting for me to knock on the door," she said. "I'm just not sure how yet."

That was surprisingly poetic. Especially since I always considered her to be... well, kind of an annoying kid.

I nodded and blurted out what else had been on my mind. "I think you should send Russell back home."

She stopped and turned to me. I wished I could read the expression on her face, but the lines of her body radiated shock. "Why?"

"Because we almost got our asses handed to us by a giant turtle and Ash wants us to go after two other beasts," I said like it was obvious... because it was. "You might be about to knock on the door to your Totem, but he's years away from that. He's just a kid. He shouldn't be wrapped up in this."

"But--"

"And I know he wants to play chaperone," I continued, overriding her. "I'm sorry but that's bullshit. No one is going to... to..." I couldn't finish and felt myself digging a hole by the second. "You'll be safe. He's the one in the most danger by sticking around us. Not you."

"I can't send him back," she blurted in a rush. "Our father is gone."

I stopped. "Gone?"

I somehow got the impression she was blushing. "I'm sure you must have heard the rumors."

"No?"

She stilled and I got the impression of frank disbelief. "You're not just saying that? To be kind?"

I was getting a bad feeling about this. "You know I spend all my time at my dad’s farm. I don't usually hear the town's gossip."

"But your mother must have told-- no," she corrected herself, "No I suppose she has too much honor to relay tales." Then she straightened, looking me in the eye though I couldn't see hers. "My father either gambles or drinks away every coin that crosses his palm. Recently, he's been on a losing streak and... well, mother and I worried he'd sell Russell to the next laborer that came by."

"That doesn't happen," I said, shocked. "Not in our town. Not--" I almost said, 'Not on this planet'. Because on Earth? Yeah, child labor and underground slavery was absolutely a thing. So was the chance of losing your organs if you went to the wrong side of town at the right time of the night.

But to have that sort of thing happen in our little village? It was unthinkable.

"Seth..." she paused, looking at me, and then gently laid a scarred hand with a missing finger on my forearm. "Didn't you ever wonder what happened to Lyle?"

"Lyle?" I almost said, 'Who?' but then I had a flash of memory of a scrawny boy, about eight years old or so. I remembered now. He used to follow me around like a real pest. Until one day he didn't. I figured he got bored or found someone else to hang around with.

Annika continued, speaking softly as if breaking news to an innocent. "His parents were indebted to the mayor and had to sell his labor to the mines."

And I hadn't noticed. Hadn't even cared that one annoying boy in the town had gone missing.

Christ. What kind of a goose--er-- person was I?

No, fuck it. A proper gander would have noticed someone missing from his flock. I should have asked. Should have raised hell and squawked to my mother and father. They had power in the village and wouldn't have stood for that. Hell, my mom would have grinned her alligator grin before ripping the head off anyone who'd sell their own kid and shit down their throat. That was the sort of lady she was.

I didn't like the little flock of annoying kids that followed me around... but I should have at least paid attention to them.

Deep in my core, my gosling's eyes flashed brilliantly with fire.

And deep inside, I heard a honk of approval.

****

Annika and I didn't speak again as we made it back to the campsite at the river's edge. By the looks of things, the sun would be rising soon, but the monster core had revived me. I didn't feel the need for sleep.

Russell was curled up in a lump under what looked like all the blankets we'd brought, plus an extra saddle pad for the ostriches. Huh. I hadn't noticed it was that cold.

Ash was nowhere to be found.

In his place was a crudely hand drawn map on papyrus paper (Big surprise: Regular bleached paper wasn't a thing on this planet.).

It led to the location of the second town, and our second corrupted beast.

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