One of a Kind

Chapter 14

I found myself wandering through the forest and decided to take a nap now that way I could continue in the night when it would be easier to find my way. Even through the trees I could see the stars at night and I hoped that with everything I had been through I could still read the stars correctly.

I slipped down the side of a tree and but my bag under my head. That's right. I always had it on me. I lay with my face looking at the trees. They were so pretty in the fall. I just couldn't help but admire the colors. They glowed in the sun and I guess I must have fallen asleep admiring them because I woke that night with a feeling that things were about to get tricky.

I looked around me and found eyes staring at me. Eyes like I had never seen. They were beautiful. They sparkled like the stars and seemed to have their own personalities. I realized what they were. These were the eyes of the children from past Neko's. That just meant that there was one somewhere. A new Neko.

"Hello my friends. Would you lead me toward the Neko? You see, I'm far from home and was hoping for a friend who may understand," I say. One of them walks out towards me and I extend my hand. It lightly bites me and I see a path through the trees. I smile and give it some food from my pack. It takes it and scampers off. It's possible to get one but hard to get many.

I turn in the direction of the path and start on my way. Even as I walked I knew that those creatures must have appeared to me for a reason. They had their reasons and I might just have been caught up in one of their diabolical plans. I hoped I hadn't. And if I had I wanted to get out of it as soon as possible.

I walked through the forest, my feet barely making a sound on the leafy path that stretched out before me. I would push branch's out of my way and pick leaves from my hair. It might not be the most comfortable path but it would do just fine for getting me where I wanted to go. I just hoped it wouldn't take long.

I walked till the light of day and then even longer. It felt like the night was never ending and the road ahead never fading. I knew not to close my eyes for longer than a few minutes or my path would disappear.

Eventually I came across a border marker. I sighed and then stepped over the border. A new land. I smiled. This was my goal. I began down my path once again. The Neko had to be close, otherwise I was probably going to pass out.

I traveled for a few more miles. I ran across cobblestone and realized I must have hit a street. I lifted my head and saw a market town right in front of me. I slipped down an alleyway as soon as I got close enough to the buildings. It allowed me to eat something and get my energy back without being noticed. Sadly, the unnoticed part was so off. Someone ran into me. I guess they must have been a common thief because they just looked terrified of the path they had just run down. Either that or someone was trying to beat them up.

I pulled myself out of the gutter and leaned against the wall. I nodded for them to keep running. They gave me a grateful look and I gestured for them to run. I hadn't seen them. They didn't exist.

Not a moment after he left did a guard run down the alley. I stuck my foot out and tripped him. The guard glared at me and I pretended to help him up and brush him off and make a big fuss over him. The guard eventually went to punch me and I stepped out of the way allowing him through. I grabbed my bag and continued in the opposite direction. I heard a scream of anger and frustration coming from the other end and began to sprint. I didn't want to be his next target.

I ran from that town like it had set me on fire. When I slowed the path once again became visible. I smiled and headed back into the wilderness. I walked for weeks, and pretty soon those weeks became months. How long was I going to travel for?

Every night the stars greeted me with their smiling faces and the moon glared at me with its bright light. I wouldn't stop moving, not for fear of being found. Or maybe to just spend enough time away so that the world forgot my existence. To forget the name Gija Yeruki. To forget who I had been for the longest time.

One night, I looked around me to find that none of the trees had any leaves. Winter was fast approaching and I was nowhere near where I wanted to be. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and starving from lack of food. This was getting annoying. I didn't want to travel this road anymore if it was going to take me this long to get to where I wanted to go. Well, sorta.

I ran into a tree and fell to the ground. I decided to stay like that for a while. If the world was going to work so slowly then I might as well work with it. I would move as slowly as the rest of the world from now on. Although, I didn't really think the world was slow, I was likely just really fast.

I closed my eyes. Just a couple hours of shut eye. Maybe then I could go faster. Maybe then I could find my way around that much easier. Maybe then I could get some much needed rest. I had accomplished my goal so I don't know why I kept going. Maybe to keep what I had said to the creature true. I don't know but at least now I could get some sleep.

I carefully closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the wind as it blew through the trees. I thought I heard footsteps nearby but I was too tired to care, too beat up to move again. Walking for weeks in the wilderness and running from all the most dangerous animals really took the strength out of a person's limbs and scratched them up pretty bad.

"Whoa! What the... go get the sled! Now!" I heard a voice shout. I let out a whimper and carefully turned my head. It hurt to turn my neck after so long of looking forward. A hand touched my head. It was warm compared to the rest of my body. I hadn't realized how cold out it was till now. Till that warmth hit my skin. I let out a slight moan. So this was the warmth of another person. The warmth of another being... I hadn't felt it for a long time. It felt nice.

I could feel my body shaking. That wasn't good. My head was also pounding and I could feel every scratch on my face. I tried to say something but my vocal chords wouldn't work. All that came out was a croak.

"We have to get him inside before it snows. Not to mention he seems frost bitten already," a voice said as I heard the sound of a sled being dragged across the ground. I felt my body move on it's own. It shot up into the tree to my discomfort. I carefully opened my eyes. Damn! That hurt!

I looked at the ground, seeing these men standing there, staring at me. I felt a tug. And then I saw the ropes. I let out a slight sigh. This sucked. I let my eyes flutter closed and concentrated on my arms and legs. I got them to move a bit but that was all. Nothing beyond moving my toes and fingers around. Plus, I didn't have anything to get myself down. I carefully opened my eyes again and looked at the men down below. I carefully extended a hand toward them. Well, fingers. One got what I was getting at and handed me a knife. I curled my fingers around it.

I jerked my elbow and sliced one of the prominent cords right there. The net broke and I fell. Twisting my body, I landed on my feet and skidded to a halt. Then, unceremoniously fell face first into the ground. Well, that took care of the not being able to move on my own thing. I turned onto my back and looked straight up. The guy whose knife I borrowed stood above me. I tried to speak but found my voice still not working and my eyes feeling very heavy. I uncurled my fingers before my eyes slid shut.