Nyx (Complete✅)

Chapter 53

   In the cool early morning light, Ruth walked through the village. Not many people were awake at that hour.

    She was determined. A woman on a mission. The prospect of being helpful gave her a beautiful feeling. She also felt it would give her a chance to somewhat redeem all the wrong she'd been a part of. She and her husband had never had ill intentions in their previous work, but there had been something dark about Aaron. Something evil lurking in his heart. Polluting who he was. Aaron did have good intentions in the beginning, but his soul had grown dark. She and Jacob would never join him again.

   Ruth made her way to the Captain's quarters/office. After thoroughly thinking it through, she thought it was best to go straight to him. The Captain knew what she and her husband had been a part of and had officers periodically checking up on all of them. The checkups got less intense as time passed, but they were all still sort of on house arrest.

   The bottom line was, Ruth didn't fully feel trusted and she wanted to prove that she was trustworthy. And hopefully, after a conversation with the Captain, she'd be able to get a job on the Medical team.

   As usual, the Captain was up early. He was surprised when Ruth entered his office. He sat with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand, not quite awake yet. There were a few seconds of awkward silence then he promptly rose and cleared his throat.

   "Yes?" He asked, looking at Ruth questioningly.

   All the words she'd planned to say slipped from her mind as soon as she entered the room. "Uh. Yeah, Um..." The words stumbled out of her mouth.

   "Yes, Mrs. Bridger?" The Captain asked again, patiently.

   "Sorry. It's early. Let me begin again." Ruth said, and begin her rehearsed speech, thanking the stars that she'd just remembered.

   She was careful with her choice of words and the Captain quietly listened to what she had to say.

   When she finished, he said, "So you would like a job?"

   "Yes, I would like that very much." She replied.

   He thought for a moment. Being a pretty good judge of character, he could tell she was truthful. She was ready for a fresh start and was sorry for what she'd done.

   Ruth waited with fingers crossed behind her back to see what the Captain would say. It was only a few seconds that passed, but it'd felt like a thousand. Then he finally spoke.

   "I see no reason why not."

   A triumphant smile broke out across Ruth's face. "Thank you so much, Captain."

   "I will continue to have officers occasionally check up on you though." He said. "Until further notice, that is."

   Ruth felt slightly hurt that she wasn't fully trusted, but was still overjoyed that he was allowing her to have a job.

   "Here are the forms you'll need for job application and approval." He said, sliding some paperwork across the desk after quickly signing them.

   Ruth took them and said some final words of gratitude before leaving.

   The Captain sat back in his chair. He thought about The Defenders of Earth. He knew the Bridgers wouldn't be a problem, and Miss Cane seemed pretty harmless, but he couldn't shake the sense that something was off about Mr. Smith.

   _____

   Aaron lay in a dark hut at the edge of the village. He felt betrayed and upset. The Bridgers had been his only friends and now they wanted nothing to do with him.

   Since his conversation with Jacob, he'd been brooding in his hut. The only human interaction being the occasional guard checkup. He'd barely slept and hadn't eaten. He was a mess.

   He felt as if he were trapped in a dark pit. No home. No friends. No family. No one who cared. With all the time he'd spent alone with his thoughts he'd convinced himself of one thing. The human race was doomed and would die out in a couple of centuries. He was delirious. All his thoughts were negative ones.

   He tried to get up and immediately blacked out from lack of food and water. When he came to, his head was pounding. He was extremely dehydrated. If he didn't get water soon, he would die of thirst.

   With the basic human instinct of survival driving him, he managed to stumble his way outside. The light burned his eyes. His head felt like it was being split in half.

   His hut was located on the forest's edge and was a short walk from the lake. He turned and staggered forward in what he thought to be the direction of the water. He tripped and fell several times. The pain of having his eyes open was too much for him to bear, so he groped along like a blind man.

   When he guessed he was nearing the edge of the lake, he squinted open his eyes. He was ten feet away. He'd always had good direction skills, so he wasn't very surprised.

   He made his way into the shallows. The water felt good. He went a little further, then sat down. The water was up to his shoulders. He leaned his head down and began to drink. He knew the water was sweet, but it was more delicious than he'd imagined. Smooth and cool. As the water went down his throat he began to feel more alive. He could feel his strength partially returning.

   The cool water soothed his headache and he opened his eyes. He immediately choked and tried to get up. A large dark mass was coming toward him under the water. He was still weak and failed in his attempt to stand. He fell into the water and tried to scream for help, but only a gurgled choke came out.

   When he finally stopped thrashing and managed to stand up he felt something touch the back of his legs. Before he could yelp, whatever it was swallowed him up.