Winnie & Dennis: You're my Friend and My Zing

Dennis

Carefully, he wrapped the key into a small thick cloth left in the kitchen before they departed. Although it had a painful cold to it, he couldn't take the feeling against his leg any longer. It felt as though it was getting stronger and would soon begin hurting him, so the precaution of making sure it doesn't hurt in the future was to cover it. Winnie was waiting for him. Her eyes were watching him closely, he could sense it as he met her outside. "Ready to go?" he asked Winnie. She wore that same shirt as she always did, bright as ever and always clean. I wonder if she always has the one type of shirt in her cupboard. "Ready as I can be my Zing," the soft wind blew her fur delicately. The smell of her reached his nose and all he could think of was cherry at that moment. Very interesting choice of shampoo. But nice and subtle.

"Then let's not waste any time and set forth to our next adventure!" he said with a smile on his lips. Walking in the forest was somewhat pleasant when things were calm. No wind, no rain, no collapsing mud hills. Things were perfect he noticed as they walked together, often the bushes would rustle in the soft gentle wind. Leaves would crash against the wind sounding like the sea, it was calm. "This place is beautiful when it is like this," she said. "One of the reasons I had made my treehouse out here, that and to get a break from my brothers." He had noticed in the past that her brothers were somewhat troublesome, perhaps that was an understatement. "They are a handful. But don't forget. They are family," his eyes were focussing on the poison butterfly plants as they walked by. "I know. I don't know how my parents cope," she said with a sad tone.

"They cope because they Zinged," she looked at him as he said that. "A Zing is stronger than any power in the world." Winnie gave a curt nod and smiled gently, he noticed that seemed to please her. "You know, we might Zing one day." Winnie burst into laughter as he said that but she sighed with what seemed to be relief in her tone. "I know we will, Dennis." The wind gently floated through his hair, danced around Winnie's fur and out behind them to the distance. "You are my friend, Dennis. And my Zing." 

He stopped for a moment and hugged her tightly, she was surprised by this but quickly turned to face him and returned the hug with a bigger hug, squeezing him tightly. "As are you, Winnie." A tree not so far away creaked and moaned with the wind, the thick roots sprawling out of the dirt danced with the gentle breeze. Acid bugs fluttered softly, their bright colourful wings whirled with the wind. The colours were so beautiful. Green, red and orange with a hint of yellow. "We better get moving again," he said. Laughing they both let go, he felt his cheeks burn from blushing at that moment. Relief filled him as Winnie didn't pay any attention to it, she must have felt the same.

Having walked for at least two hours, in the distance was a small village. It was in ruin and abandoned. "What is this place?" she asked. "This was a place where people once. It's been long since abandoned now because of an unknown entity stalking them," he said. It was if he had heard the story yesterday as he overheard his mom and uncle Drac talk about it. Their decision was to abandon it and move the people to live closer to the hotel. "Another village was built near the hotel though, a little bigger than their original one." It was true, seeing this old village now, it was certainly an improvement compared to where they live now." Winnie rubbed her paw digits nervously and then perked her ears up to listen for any movement other than their own, but there was none. "It seems clear, whatever was stalking them isn't here. For now. Let's check this place quickly for a clue or hidden piece of treasure," she said. It was clever thinking, who knows what could have been put here to test their adventuring skills and something could be of use to help them travel to their final destination. "Deeper we must go soon and it gets very wet and dangerous the further we go into the forest. Grab anything that can be of use."

Pots, pans, cauldrons, cutlery where all left behind he noted. "Odd for this to be left behind," he saw a small drawing on the mossy wooden floor. He picked it up and looked at it carefully, gesturing for Winnie to take a look as well. "Looks like an eyeless bull with no jaw. And a human body," she noted. "Freaky looking thing," she added. He dropped the painting and grabbed Winnie by the paw and made way for the door. "It's no human and it is not friendly. It's a Juggernaut," he said rushing towards the door. "A lost soul that devours monsters and human's alike. I read about them with uncle Drac and they have been hunting on his land for decades. Nobody has been able to stop them." Water began to slide down his forehead as a droplet fell from the lingering tree leaves from above. He stopped and listened. Winnie did the same and whispered, "I don't hear anything . . . we must move quickly."

Juggernauts were monsters that were lost, souls that have been long forgotten and even in the great library of the hotel, not a single book has an origin for them. They just sort of appeared and they were not the best things to be dealing with when you're not expecting them. It was said that they devour on the power of love and lies. One particular book made note of a great war that happened way before uncle Drac was born that involved all monsters and humans to form an alliance to fight the Juggernauts as they were extremely problematic and dangerous. They won, of course. But some still wander and stalk in this world to this day.  To think that humans were once allies back in time before uncle Drac was born. Incredible. Forgotten histories changed that as the years went on, only until now monsters and humans are united once more. "We must keep moving and remain quiet," Winnie said, her ears were folded down he noticed and that usually is never a good sign. He nodded at her and they carefully made their way back to the path they were following.

As they cleared the village and covered a few miles of walking, Winnie heard the rustling and rapid footsteps from behind them and then to the side and back behind them again. She nudged him and pointed towards a tree. "We're being watched," he turned his head and stared at the tree and then dead milky eyes appeared at the side of the tree, a face you could never forget as it slowly emerged from behind. Its jaw was missing, loose skin dangled off its face. They both halted and he looked for an alternative route and then looked back at the tree. The creature was gone.

"Let's keep moving. Quickly!"