Pernicious- True Evil

Chapter 13

Astra's lungs expanded, stretching out the unbearable weight which lingered on her chest. She hardly slept that night and now that it was the early morning, she dreaded what the day would bring.

This is why Vojin told her not to trust anyone. She shouldn't have trusted them. Why couldn't she just disappear? She hated her reality, but what she hated even more was Alek's threats echoing off the corners of her mind.

"Let's start training now before we begin traveling again. You need to know at least the basics of how to defend yourself," Alek said from behind Elde. "Are you ready?"

No, she wasn't ready for it, nor was she ready to be around him. She was in the presence of a ticking time bomb who at any moment might decide to explode. What if he changed his mind? What if he decided to kill her regardless of her possible capture? She was nothing more than a liability not only to their lives but also to the lives of billions of people.

"I'm already on it. I'll do training today," Sagan said with a nod as he pushed a knife into his pocket.

Elde stood up and shook the dirt off his fur, before stepping to the side. She touched her knife in her pocket. Her chest pinched as she walked around Alek who refused to move out of her way. Instead, he stood there, with a sly smirk crawling across his face as his muscles bulged out of his crossed arms.

Her eyes sank into his. There was something so evil about him. Far more than anything she had come across so far on this planet. He was the kind of wicked that was disguised in the flesh of man. He was dressed as a sheep that bit like a wolf and though he was the only other human on this planet, she wished he wasn't. She would have rather been alone for the rest of her life, than to be around someone like him.

"I'll be waiting for you both when you get back. Don't leave anything out of the training," Alek nodded.

She hurried alongside Sagan who seemed all too eager to start this. As they walked through the emerald grass, she wondered where they were going. Her eyes trailed across the rock cluttered land, from the bushes covered in tiny golden flowers to the splashing blue river.

Would he be easy on her today or expect too much? Did he realize how novice she was? She thought back to all the times she tripped over her feet. She could hardly read a book without getting a paper cut and in school, when they taught dance, she always knocked into everyone around her. Would she be a disappointment? Was she even trainable? She needed to learn how to fight, now not only to keep her safe from the demons, but also to keep her safe from the very person she had to face every day.

After walking a short distance from the camp, she watched Sagan bend down and gently touch the ground with his fingertips. He closed his eyes and smiled which sparked a curiosity in her. Why was he touching the ground? She leaned over and pushed her fingers into dirt. She felt the earth pulsate under her fingers like a massive heart beat.

"Why are we touching the ground and what does this have to do with training?" she asked curiously.

"You need to know as much as you can about this planet if you want to survive here. This world is alive. It's like a giant body and everything on it plays a different part."

"Wait... What? What do you mean, it's alive?"

"This world is a living being. Everything alive is connected to it. Do you feel how the ground is pulsing underneath us? It means if we were to dig a hole, there would be roots in the ground. These roots are dry and easy to break which is good because if we are ever in need of fresh water, this is what we need to feel for. The roots in the ground have the same function on this world that our veins have to our body. I learned this the hard way."