Gardens For Guardians

Chapter 9: Parasite

            The sun slumps lower in the sky, dragging along with it all known associations of life and power. As the legends of Moonfall tell it, the burdensome weight of sin and wrongdoing encumbers the very spirit of the sun. The bulk of corruption is too much, so the body changes form into the smaller moon, able to hold out for just a bit longer. Every night the battle is fierce; the forces squeeze the moon tighter and tighter, but it doesn't give in. The process is just about to begin up in the sky. Streaks of pink and orange paint the world overhead as the light of the day dims.

          A group of Others huddles around outside, chatter between one another about the scene taking place inside Barstool Barrage. The friend of Bruno who had corralled them inside earlier has fled the scene and left them to their own devices. "Did you see that?? The door just opened itself!" a woman shouts out with her long, sticky finger pointing at the entrance of the bar. Calm, with the white sheet back over her head, coolly passes through the open doors. Once she takes a few steps out, she puts down an arm and the doors swing to a close behind her. "Thank you!" a man says to her, coming up close to her and dropping to his knees, "The two of them have been causing trouble around Crater for weeks now." She nods back to the man then the group as a whole, her eyes shining through the dark make-shift hood around her head. Using her normal voice, she tells the man, "Rise to your feet. I am nothing to bow for. You and I simply shared a common enemy. Get him a hospital, he isn't dead." He lifts himself back up immediately, then she walks away. Before disappearing into the distance, she tosses up one arm back toward them as a farewell.

          "Hoooooly shit! I just did that. And to Bruno! God, what a scumbag," she mutters under her breath as soon as she passes the worn-down sign welcoming travelers to Crater. Her hair relaxes and flows down as she strips away the sheet, instead wrapping it around the fist she used to deliver the punch to Bruno's stomach. The knuckles feel tender, but nothing compared to the elation from standing up to him. Still, she is a mess. Sweat, dust, tears, snot, and now alcohol have dirtied her body throughout the day. She smells herself, "Shahh, you need a serious bath, Calm. But, I'm so far from home..." her thought stops and her eyes glaze over. "So far... Need bath..." she whispers then collapses on the dirt road to Crater, falling into overgrown greenery that help cushion the fall.

"When are you going to learn, young girl?"

          "Huh?" she looks up at the sky and sees the glowing stars. The chilled sea breeze kisses her cheek. When did it get so dark? "I can't keep helping you. It is time for you to learn," a familiar voice says to her close nearby. She leans up and regains her senses, looking around to determine where she is this time. Under her she feels rough wood, cold and damp, with her palms. The moon greets her right away. "Ohhh, New Day Port. Oh, Symon!" she turns her shoulders and sees him behind her. In his hands are the little satchel he had previously given her. "You need to remember to eat these. If you don't, you will die," he scolds her while placing the small pouch back into her grasp. Her hands shake, jostling around the colorful nuts in the bag. Not knowing why but knowing she must, she reaches in and pinches two with her fingers. "Okay, here goes," she says to herself then places the two into her mouth then crunches down. The taste is putrid, and she sticks out her tongue with her face scrunched. As a lover of sweets, these nuts are a complete opposite to what she craves. The bitter flavor punches at her tastebuds and makes her throat feel dry and insulted. Despite that, they do help a lot. All of her senses return to normal and getting up to her feet without stumbling becomes effortless.

"Look at your arm. A parasite entered your body, see?" Symon points at her left arm.

She looks down and twists her arm about, looking for whatever it is. She speaks to him, "I don't see – Woah! What the hell?" she spots the little "x" on her forearm.