The New World

Chapter 22

Jim woke up again in some kind of shelter made of tarps and scrapyard things. He was in a hammock with the cat sleeping on top of him. There was also a damp cloth over his forehead and his machetes were gone, though his sweater vest still remained. Someone then entered the shelter and took the cloth off of Jim's forehead and said "Oh, you're awake now." 
Jim looked at the person speaking to see that they were another turg, though they didn't have any floating dots. They had big white curly hair, were very tall, and had tanned skin. They were wearing a pink-ish grey tank top and loose fit denim. 
"Your cat led me to you while I was out hunting, my brother thought I had hunted a human but rather I was saving one. You're not just any human though, you're Jim Pickens, right? I mean, I've seen many others who look like you but I am pretty sure I am right." The turg started explaining to Jim. 
"Yes, I am Jim Pickens, but who are you?" Jim asked the turg. They then answered "Oh right, silly me. I am Bella Ace, or just Bella for short, and my brother is Bailey Ace, you'll see him eventually. I am not entirely sure if you're aware of my kind but I am a turg, well, sorta. We are hybrids as our father was a turg and our mother was a human. We aren't like other turgs, we can't do magic." 
"I am aware of your kind, in fact, I am searching for one right now. His name is Turg, he's tall and has long grey hair and beard, might still be wearing makeup, and was wearing a dark brown coat the last time I saw him." Jim responded as Bella perked up and said "Oh! I know him! I think anyways, everything but his name matches that description. I think his name was Xavier, though he didn't really respond to that name. He's with our neighbour who lives across the junkyard from us, his name is Dylan." 
Jim sat up and accidentally woke up his cat and asked desperately "In which direction?"
Bella smiled at him as they dipped the cloth in a bucket full of water and ringed it out. They then put it back on Jim's forehead and slightly pushed him back down while saying "You aren't going anywhere until you've recovered, mister. You had some kind of heat stroke or something on top of just being in horrible shape. I guess I can't blame you, it's the apocalypse and the heat lately has just been unbearable." 
"I'm fine, uh, lady? If you don't mind me calling you that." Jim tried to protest. Bella responded "You're correct, I am a lady despite my voice being a lot deeper than most." 
The cat then fell back asleep as Bella then asked "Why do you need to see him so badly?" 
"I need him so we can get out of this place as soon as possible, I am not leaving him behind." Jim responded with an angry tone when he didn't mean to. 
"Fair enough, we leave from time-to-time but there isn't much else out there anymore besides a town in the mountains. Nice of you to not leave your friend behind, I can try to get him for you but no promises." Bella told Jim before then asking "Does he only go by 'Turg'? Because that's the name of our species." 
"That's the only name he gave me." Jim quickly responded as the cat stood up, stretched, and then repositioned themselves to go back to sleep. Bella then asked "Does your cat have a name?"
Jim shook his head and replied "Not yet, it just started following me."
"Alright, so I'll try to find your friend. In the meantime, take one of these and if you need anything else my brother is somewhere nearby." Bella told Jim as she threw something from her pocket at him and left the shelter. It landed on him and almost hit the cat, but the cat did not flinch, they were unbothered. It was some kind of protein bar, still wrapped of course. Jim didn't really care what it was, he ate it anyways. 
An hour passed and Bella returned with only news. As she entered the shelter she announced "Well I was unable to find him, but I now know that Dylan is the one with him. He says that if you want him you have to meet him tonight to negotiate or whatever." 
"Negotiate what?" Jim asked, feeling annoyed about the current situation. Bella shrugged and responded "Who gets to keep Xavi-I mean Turg I guess? Stupid, I know. He's not some pet, he's one of us." 
"Did he give a specific time or just when the sun goes down?" Jim then asked as he stretched his arms and somehow didn't wake the cat. 
"He did not, so I guess just when the sun goes down. I would recommend bringing those machetes you had on you and hope you can still use that arm." Bella answered Jim's question as she added "I had Bailey sharpen them for you and I put them on this makeshift nightstand or whatever next to you." 
Before Jim could say anything else Bella continued "Also, sorry if I am very chatty, it's kind of who I am as a person or whatever. My brother on the other hand doesn't talk a whole lot, he gets fed up with me sometimes because of how much I talk. I can start a conversation with anyone or anything." 
"As long as you tell me what I need to know, I don't really care." Jim responded as Bella then said "Well, good because I have another detail about Dylan that you should know." 
"Dylan is a bit of a dangerous man, he has a lot of weapons and he is very protective. He's fine with us because he doesn't see us as a threat but he will for sure see you as one. So be very careful around him. I don't think he will give up Turg so easily." Bella explained to Jim before then asking "Also, how did you find Turg? Better not have been through some kind of exchange."
"Of course not, I encountered him as a ghost and brought him back. I gave him the option to go on his own but he chose to be with me. I lost him when we were captured by Vivian." Jim immediately responded as he lifted himself up a bit. 
"Oh, her. She's really terrible." Bella said quietly before continuing "Well, from what I understand you two really do care about each other, willing to come this far just to rescue the other."
"So, tonight?" Jim asked again.
"Yes, Dylan wanted to meet you alone." Bella answered. It was almost sunset, meaning there wasn't much time to prepare, not that Jim was going to prepare anyways.