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Chapter 8 Oliver

         Chapter Eight Oliver

Oliver and Hazel made the way down the path. Memories flooding back into his mind, unwanted memories.

Oliver looked up to his raven, still clear. "Hazel do you know where we are going" Oliver asked, the quiet was unbearable with his incident back there.

"Either away or closer to an elf city." Hazel replied, the cheerful tone back into her voice.

"Let's hope closer," Oliver said out loud but inside he said father away from an elf city.

A few more minutes of walking down the path, Hazel stopped abruptly, and tilted her head as if curious.

Oliver looked at what she was looking at, "Oh a cabin." Dread filled him up head to toe. Don't go in. Don't go in. The wind picked up the steady rhythm of his thoughts. Don't go in, please Don't go in. Hazel looked at the cabin. Took a step toward, everything slowed down. Oliver pretended not to care that they were going to one of the last places he remembered seeing his family, but it felt like Hazel was invading his private thoughts.

Oliver grabbed the door handle with a surprisingly steady hand, and turned the handle. Oliver forced himself to take a deep breath, and pulled into the cabin, Hazel on his trail.

Oliver looked at this familiar yet so distant home. Oliver took in all the dust. All the old furniture. The potted plants hadn't seemed to grow or died, Oliver walked to the book shelf that had once been covered in children's books was now not. The books were much too large to be one. Oliver saw one that had the only word he still knew how to read Olive. That must be The Trails of The Olive Garden. A smile slipped past Oliver's face, that was one of dad's favorites, he thought.

"Hey Oliver, are you okay?" Hazel asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I lived here with my family before we were chased out, me and my sister would go and collect wild raspberries." Oliver spoke without thinking, the memories flooding back quicker. "She would read books that had too big words for me. She would change them so I could understand." Oliver says, turning towards her.

"What happened to her?" Hazel asked, sad for him.

Only if you knew what it did, Oliver thought. "The car father down the path. That's what happened." Oliver choked down the rising emotions in his throat.

Hazel walked up to him and pulled him close, her arms around him, "I'm sorry, for everything that ever happened to you." She whispered.

Oliver and Hazel spun around and they heard a loud CRACK. Oliver was first to see a triffled looking human stare back at him for just a moment, then like a startled deer, bolted into the trees, and before Oliver could help himself he started to chase.

"Oliver!" Hazel yelled at him, "That's a human, they're dangerous!" Oliver kept running and the human clothes looked even more torn than his, he looked more well fed though. "He looked like a frightened deer. He needs our help." Oliver stopped only a moment to tell her this, then he jumped to a tree.

He found the human hunched over behind a tree panting hard. Oliver slowly, and swiftly climbs right next to him. The boy didn't seem to notice Oliver. Oliver jumped to the other tree. His feet hit the branch hard, the boy jumped up, and looked around, but not up. The same thing with everyone, Oliver thought.

"Hey you forgot to look up" Oliver called, amused to the boy.

He jumped back, turned around, and ran. Oliver let out a snort. He followed the boy as he ran deeper into the woods, farther and farther. Oliver jumped down right in front of the boy.

"Ack!" The boy said. He tried to stop too fast and slipped in the mud. "What are you!" the blond human said.

"What are you?" Oliver replied to Nathen.

"Wh-" Nathen was interrupted by Hazel.

"He's an elf of course." She appeared next to Oliver behind him as if scared of a human.

The boy blinked confused, "But-" Nathen started to say, "Where do you live?" Oliver asked Nathen stared blankly, "If you don't have a place to sleep comfortably, then you can stay in my cave." Oliver replied.

"I thought you were going to try to kill me." Nathen responds, slowly getting up ready to bolt at the slightest hint of violence.

"I could have done that if I wanted to." Oliver said.

"Who do you think we are? Monsters?" Hazel asked with a funny look on her face.

"You have no idea what the elves are doing to humans do you?" Nathen asked. On his feet now.

Hazel blinked confused eyebrows creased together, "What?"

"What about you?" Oliver did nothing and, he didn't make eye contact with him.

"Me and Hazel are looking for her friends, do you know where some elves close to her age are?" He dodged the question, but gave the boy his answer.

The boy was about to answer, no. Oliver could tell, but Hazel spotted something on his wrist, "What's that," she said pointing at his wrist.

"Um..." Nathen said, nervous, as if they had him in the corner.

Oliver couldn't make out the word, all he saw was two es and a r, luckily Hazel saved him, "Does it say taser?" she said, alarmed.

"Uh, no it doesn't" He said too quickly and he turned to run but Hazel was quicker, she grabbed his wrist, but then she froze. It looked like she couldn't breathe. A few moments passed and she fell to the ground twitching.

Nathen was as still as stone, "Oh so that's how it works," he whispered.

Oliver was as stunted as Nathen, "What did you do?" Oliver said, staring at the now passed out Hazel.

"That's a good question." the boy paused thinking, "I have no idea what I did." He confirmed.

A voice boomed around the boy, Oliver and peacefully sleeping Hazel, "Nathen, you're in big trouble!" The voice tugged at the back of Oliver's head. Oliver pulled out his knife and one foot one either side of Hazel, he let out the growl he practiced so many times. People in all black made a circle around Oliver.

"We don't have to fight" One black male says.

"Sounds like you're scared" Oliver growled back at him, his knife ready.