Minstrel

Chapter #26 ~ Riptide

Riptide was attacked in his world of black and white. Searing pain ripped through him, sending him to his knees. Beside him, Creak's friend was covered in large welts and she wasn't fairing any better. The wasps that flew around them were huge and burning with a fiery rage.

Rip spasmed in pain; his hold on the vision began to slipped out of his grasp. 'No!' His mind screamed. He was so close to finding her. He couldn't lose himself now.

Clenching his jaw, Rip pushed the pain back and stood. As he stubbled across the sand his vision changed. The wasps were gone taking the pain of their bites with them. Creak was dragging her friend across the sand; her eyes were swollen shut and she looked about ready to pass out.

"Oh no, no, no!" Rip mumbled to himself. She was hurt and he couldn't do a thing about it.

"Please." He tried to pick her up when she fell, but his hands went right through her. "Please don't die on me!" He screamed to the sky in frustration. His visions were helpful, but somehow completely useless at the same time. He could see things from the past, but couldn't change a thing.

Rip watched with impending doom as Creak reached the base of the mountains. She screamed for help, but there was no one in sight. She screamed until her voice was raw and scratchy. Rip cringed at the sound of it and sat down beside her. He tried to put a hand on her back to comfort her, but his world slipped through her's with no effect.
"It'll be okay." He whispered to her, though he knew she would never hear him. "Someone will find you. You'll be safe again."

Riptide screamed as his head filled with fire and the color exploded across his vision. He curled into a fetal position with his head in his hands until the lava in his head cooled, leaving him with a heavy feeling.

Dots flashed across his eyes as he looked up at the mountains, their points reaching for the sky as if they were trying to touch the stars.

"Creak?" He groaned as he rose to his feet. A shadowed figure stood in the darkness of the mountains. "Creak, is that you?"

The moon peeked out from behind a cloud, shining light upon the strange creature in front of him. Slim face, pointed ears, cat-like eyes glowing an eerie brown. Rip must have spent too much time in a world of dreams because the creature in front of him wasn't real.

"What have I done?" Rip whispered under his breath. As the she-elf, who was pretty in a strange unreal way, crept towards him Rip stumbled backwards.

"I must be dead." He said with horror. "Is death just a never ending dream of insane fantasies?"

A laugh that could only be described as some weird bird call came from the she-elf. 'She-elf?' Rip thought. 'Shelf?' He cocked his head in confusion. 'Is elf gender fluid?'

"You're a strange one aren't you?" The 'shelf' looked at him with amusement. "But don't worry, you're certainly not dead. Ginger doesn't talk to the dead."

"Ginger?" Rip looked at her horrified. "Did you just refer to yourself in the third-person?"

First Creak and now this girl! Rip wasn't sure how many crazy women he could meet before completely losing it too.

"Ginger most certainly did." Ginger said with a warm smile. "She can't help it! Was knocked in the head as a child, she was! Can't see the world the same way anymore, no she most certainly can't."

Riptide wasn't sure what was happening, but he didn't like it. The Ginger 'shelf', or she-elf, was getting closer to him and Rip felt the need to run for his life. She didn't look harmful, but she didn't seem sane either.

Gringer cocked her head to side as she reached out a hand to poke his cheek. "Ginger's never seen a human male before. She's seen a female one, that she most certainly has. One just left with the prince about an hour ago. Ginger liked her. She was like Ginger. She looked crazy and full of fun. She had a pinch of evil too, she most certainly did!"

Rip's eyebrows shot up. What were the chances that female human was Creak? Rip had tracked her this far and not many humans went through the jungle.

A sudden urgency overcame him and Rip grabbed Ginger. She didn't even appear to register the sudden movement as he shook her. "The female!" He practically yelled. "Was her name Creak? Where was she going? And who's this prince she's traveling with?" He tried to keep the jealous out of his voice when he said the last part, but it was no use.
Ginger's eyes widen in excitement. "It touched her! The human male touched Ginger!" She looked to the side of Rip. "It's so strong, but still gentle."

Rip rolled his eyes and shook her again. "Ginger listen to me! Where did the girl go?"

She danced out his hands as she began to sing happily. "Creak! Creak! Like a mouse goes squeak, squeak! The female was small! Small like a mouse, she most certainly was!"

Rip put his head in his hands. Trying to talk to Ginger would get him nowhere, but trying to follow the black and white would take too long. Creak had just left an hour ago. If he could get moving he might stand a chance in catching up to her.

"Please Ginger." He would get down on his knees and beg if he had to. "Please. Do you know where they went?"

Ginger turned to him and grabbed his shoulders. She shook him just like he had done to her a minute ago. "Ginger was curious, she most certainly was. She didn't want to be sneaky, but she wanted to listen. She listen to them talk. She knows where they're going, she most certainly does!"

"Where?" Rip pleaded as Ginger shook him.

"The rebel kingdom they most certainly said. They are going to the rebel kingdom. Ginger has heard about it. In the Arkenine Mountains it most certainly is! That way!" She pointed back through the desert. "It most certainly is!"

Rip pulled out of her gripped and nodded. "Thank you. I must be going now. I don't have much time."

Ginger smiled with unfocused eyes. "Time?" She focused on him. "You are the master of time. Ginger can see it. She can see that you have just begun to see."

"What do you mean when you say I'm the master of time?" Rip asked. He could see the black and white world of the past, but that didn't mean he could control it. He couldn't change anything. He could only re-live it.

Ginger giggled like a warbler. "Ginger knows you'll find what you're looking for. Just follow the past. Learn to live in the black and white." She smiled. "Someday you'll see the future right in front of your eyes. Someday you'll learn to live a few seconds ahead of the world."

She twirled through the rocky ground. Ginger was a girl living in her own little world; a world full of possibilities. Spinning towards the mountains she began to sing a foreign song. A song about a great warrior who lived one step ahead. A man like Riptide; a man who saw the future. A master of time.