The New World

Chapter 7

Jim knew the town well but was no longer able to recognize it as half of it was just piles of rubble now, though Jim wanted to go to the harbour docks because he had a feeling they would be safest there. It was a bit of a long walk from where they were, which was at the very top of the hill that overlooked the rest of the town and the sea. Jim stopped before the slope down to survey the area with Turg by his side. Jim pointed to the harbour and told Turg "We are going there as we will be safer by the water."
"Safe from what?" Turg asked. Jim answered "Wild animals, weird people, demon children, you name it."
Turg then gave him a concerned look and Jim said "Alright, one of those was a joke, you figure out which one."
Jim then started to follow the road down the hill while Turg followed. Turg stopped briefly to pick up a handful of snow and ran up to Jim with it to show it to him.
"Yes, that's snow, I would recommend putting it back down before your hands get cold." Jim said in response to being shown the snow. Turg then asked "Can Turg eat it?"
Jim then put his hand on the snow in Turg's hands and it quickly melted. Jim then replied "No, you'll just dehydrate yourself."
Turg stared at his hands in despair for a few seconds before saying "But Turg hungry."
Jim sighed and said "We can eat when we get there, I want to be there before the day ends."
"Can we stop now?" Turg then asked as Jim tried to keep walking. Jim stopped and turned to face Turg and told him "Not now, and you can last a few hours without eating, it's not going to kill you."
Turg then decided to remain silent as he continued to follow Jim. Jim decided to follow the same road to the coast and would get to the docks from there. Turg had his arms crossed and was trying to be angry but couldn't, he was too distracted by his surroundings. It was depressing in a way, there was only ruined abandoned homes and bare trees, the overcast weather only added to the vibe. Once they were further down the hill Jim started to sense another presence and couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched by someone other than Turg. Jim grabbed his hunting rifle that he was carrying on his back and stopped to look around. Turg put his hands to his chest and started looking around too. A single raven then flew down from a nearby tree and landed in front of Jim. Jim aimed the rifle at it, assuming it was one of the ravens associated with the cursed children. The raven's eyes then started glowing white before turning into a cloud of black mist that then formed into a cursed child. They looked like First Name with the same black robes and body structure, though they had horns that curved upwards, longer fangs and a tail with a spearhead at the tip.
"Didn't think I would run into you again, father." The cursed child said with a big toothy grin on their face. Jim refused to show fear to the cursed children again and instead glared at the cursed child with the rifle still aimed at them. He then responded "You're no child of mine."
"Yes I am, though you probably don't recognize me in this form. I am Project, the child you had before First Name and Second One." The cursed child told Jim as they crossed their arms and then fixed his gaze onto Turg.
"And you, I have seen your kind before, though they're definitely dead now because I watched them jump into the sea from the docks." Project then said as he pointed to Turg with his claws extended. He then added "I believe the others have seen more, but they for sure killed them all. You must be the last remaining one around here for sure."
Project then looked at Jim again and told him "Also, you've tried that before, guns don't work on us. Besides, isn't that meant for long range?"
"I haven't forgotten, I am just trying to intimidate you but it doesn't seem to be working." Jim said in response as he continued to aim the rifle at him. Project then told Jim "First Name has been looking for you, he has something special planned for you."
Jim then dropped the rifle to prepare a flame spell, despite the cursed children being mostly immune to fire. Project didn't do anything, instead he watched as Jim tried to set him on fire and laughed when Jim could only produce a small flame to throw at him. Instead, Jim picked the rifle back up and whacked Project as hard as he could in the head with it, knocking him to the ground. Turg tried to go heal him but Jim stopped him and said "No Turg, this is an enemy not a friend."
"I guess guns are effective, just bullets are not." Project said as he put one hand over where Jim had struck him with the rifle. Jim then said "Then I guess I found your weakness."
Project then got back up and responded "Not quite, but I know your weaknesses."
He then quickly twirled around in attempt to slice the two of them with his tail but it missed Turg and only hit Jim above his ankle. Project then attempted to cast a spell on Jim but Turg stepped in front and blocked it with his hands. Jim couldn't see exactly what happened, but he heard Project yell out in pain and Turg then fell to the ground.
"You two aren't worth my time, but I'll be back." Project told them very angrily before turning into a raven again and flying off. Jim put the rifle back on his back and shook Turg a little while asking "Are you okay? What happened?"
Turg then lifted himself up a bit and answered "Turg helped."
"Whatever you did worked better than my magic on these demons." Jim told Turg as he was struggling to fully lift himself back up. Jim then helped him back up and let Turg lean on him with one arm over his shoulders. He then told Turg "Just keep leaning on me, once we get to the docks you can rest all you want."
So they continued, Jim was determined to get there before the sun went down. He just hoped nothing else would delay their journey.