𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ᵈⁱˢᶜᵒⁿᵗⁱⁿᵘᵉᵈ

Chapter 10

"Suddenly, I saw it."

You huffed, slipping your arms through the sleeves of the flannel shirt that had once been tied around your waist before crossing your arms over your stomach and looking off to the side, an urge to stand up and stomp off into the forest beginning to overcome you the longer you sat next to Jin, who only remained awkwardly silent in your presence whilst also making sure to pay attention to the story the old man was currently telling you both.

"A yeti. A real yeti. Cold eyes staring...It tried to kill me!" Mr. Burnish glanced back to Jin from over his shoulder for a split second, before looking away again with wide eyes and lifting his pickaxe up off of the ground threateningly.

"I needed to protect myself. I swung my axe...!" The old man stopped, a daze sweeping over his eyes as he stared up at the sky. "Then it was gone," he finally said after a moment. "No footprints. Nothing..."

Jin was practically hanging off of the edge of his seat in anticipation, gripping the cup of tea in his hands tightly as his wide eyes urged Mr. Burnish to go on.

You huffed again and rested your chin atop the palm of your hand, rolling your eyes as the old man continued.

"I rushed back to tell the world what had happened, but without proof..." his eyes went downcast, "they laughed at me." Mr. Burnish growled, a fire igniting in his eyes as he began to pace. "They laughed at me," he said again rather aggressively, the grip he had on his small pickaxe tightening.

Jin paused, hesitating for a moment, before asking, "You spent all these years...trying to get your proof?" He sounded surprised. Shocked, even.

Mr. Burnish grew silent before he answered, his eyes downcast once again with something unreadable shining in them, which remained as he solemnly nodded. "Mm-hm."

As if finally taking notice of your silence, Mr. Burnish turned around and found his eyes taking in the sight of your slumped form, making it clear to him that you were upset about something. Now, he didn't exactly know just what you were so upset about, but the old man knew that maybe — just maybe — it wouldn't hurt to cheer you up, even if by just a small bit.

"You know," he began, lifting his gaze up to the starry sky of the night above with a sigh. "I'm so used to looking down on the world, it's amazing how small one feels just by looking up."

You blinked slowly at his words, eventually returning to reality and turning to stare at the back of the old man's head with wide eyes.

Maybe, a voice in the back of your mind started, this old man really isn't as bad as you thought he was, after all.

"Mr. Burnish—" Dr. Zara's voice pulled you right back out of your thoughts and set you down firmly into the world of reality, "—we need to get an early start. Thanks to Jin, we've learned the yeti's whereabouts."

Jin visibly tensed from beside you, already seeing the way that your eyes had glared, your brows had furrowed, and how your shoulders stiffened in frustration at his name and — most importantly — his most recent actions.

"Oh. Yes, yes." Mr. Burnish turned around, gesturing for you and Jin to head inside of the RV with the end of his pickaxe. You nod silently, a blank expression having quickly overtaken your features as you walked into the vehicle, bumping your shoulder against Jin's on purpose and nearly causing the teenager to fall off of the steps and into the mud right then and there.

Jin released a small yelp, but quickly caught himself before anything could happen. The boy huffed, using his hands to fix the dark locks of his hair with narrowed eyes. However, the moment those narrowed eyes landed right back onto your form, which was now laying defeatedly on a bed, he sighed, and his shoulders slumped as he dejectedly walked into the vehicle and sat on his own bed as well.