Primal Saga Volume 1: The Queen of Silence

Chapter 11: Whispers of the Jungle

My head was spinning so much I felt sick. Voices reverberated in my ears but I could not make out any words. I opened my eyes, but all I could see was darkness. When I lifted my head I saw in the low light three figures stood over me gesturing to each other making noises that sounded like voices underwater. Soon my vision was swaying in and out, and I could make sense of the words.

"Hey guys he's coming to," said one guy in with a mohawk. "Oliver, go get Godwin, he still needs to place his bet." Oliver, who didn't even look in my direction, faded from my vision. A horrible realization crept into my mind. I looked around, my eyes started to adjust to the darkness. I was sitting in a clearing filled with knee-high grass and thick rolling mist. Beyond the mist and grass, there were huge trees with thick undergrowth all around their vine-covered bases. A lump formed in my throat. I looked up to see two faint moons in the cloudy sky. I wasn't in the greenhouse. An unearthly cry echoed through the trees from somewhere far away. I wasn't on campus either. I was outside Laurensia. I was IN the Termina jungles.

"Hahaha. Look at this poor kid. He doesn't even know up from down," said the man with the mohawk. "I'm changing my bet. I'll bet two-thirds of my share that there's nothin' left of him by morning. Be a damn shame though. I could use another for my collection," He said gesturing to a cluster of shrunken heads hanging from his belt.

"You really are sick, you know that Mondo?" Said a tall, dark-skinned Asian man with a booming voice. He crossed his tattooed arms and looked down at me deep in thought. The man was dressed in dark blue robes which reminded me of the keikogi my aunt's students wear in the dojo.

"You know that really hurts my feelings, Keita," Mondo said, putting his hand on his bare chest that popped out of his open leather vest. "If you'd prefer. We can just kill him right now." He drew a knife from a sheath on his arm. "Godwin never plays our games anyway."

"I'll match you wagger," said Keita. "I bet his limbs are gone in the morning."

"Really man? Well, may the best man win," Mondo said, shaking Keita's hand. "You see that you little prick. Even though you made this job much harder than it needed to be we still found a way to have some fun as we waste your sorry ass."

"Who are you, people?" I choked out. My throat felt like it was on fire.

"Who us? I think we should be asking you that question," said Mondo. "We were sent in to collect this Miyabi person. However, Godwin's pets targeted you for some reason. So Godwin was all like 'Screw it. Let's take both.' So we took you to our contact and they were all like 'I don't need that person. Now he's a witness. Kill him.' And I was like 'Alright. Let's make it fun.' Now here you are. Tied to a post. Waiting patiently to become some monster's free meal."

"So you guys are what? Bounty hunters?"

"Ooooh. I like that," Mondo said. "Yo, Ketia. We are like bounty hunters, man."

"We do contract jobs for our clients," said Keita to me calmly. "When our bosses prefer not to get their hands dirty they send us to make the mess and then clean it up. Some jobs require us to collect a person dead or alive. So yes, we are like bounty hunters. We are usually good when it comes to avoiding collateral damage. Our Arborasuchus were supposed to target and subdue the purple-haired girl, but they went after you instead. I'm sorry."

"If you're so sorry," Donnie said. "Why are you betting with my life?"

"I may be a killer, but I can at least let you die with some dignity by treating you kindly," said Keito with a chuckle. "That being said. I can still make some money off of this deal so I'd gladly bet against this jerk over here."

"Hey man, shut up, he's coming," Mondo said, stepping aside.

From within the mist, I could hear the high-pitched sound of electric motors. They moved in alteration, a sound I knew all too well as a robot walking. A shadow appeared in the mist between the two men as the sound came closer and closer. Out of the fog stepped a man, or robot, in a long black coat, wearing an expressionless white mask with green markings down the cheeks, and a wide-brimmed hat. This phantom, who the men referred to as Godwin, strolled right up to me until he was looking down at me. It was then I realized that just his legs starting just above his knees and down were robotic. Oliver arrived shortly after the phantom, not once making eye contact with me.