Unwelcome

The trip back to the village of Twin Rocks was much more interesting and thusly it went by much quicker. The creature stayed nestled into the arms of Mollie. Malik could still see the outline of its sharp pointed teeth in the thin mask of its lips. 

Focused solely on the creature, he was surprised to find himself back at Vee’s tavern. No one was lined outside the establishment. No one had stopped them on their way in. No one gave an interest to them at all. 

“Your town keeps to themselves well,” Malik noted. 

Khris looked around as if he had never noticed the fact before. “I doubt everyone does not know we have traveled to the Grazer’s Paradise. They are just formulating what they will say to me when you both leave. They probably have not noticed the creature here. Either that or they are ashamed of all the names they called me, thinking I was lying about its existence and they don’t want to come apologize to me for being wrong.” 

“Should we start with the tavern then?” Mollie asked. 

Khris looked up at the sign. He did not look as excited as he had when the prospect of showing the village had been granted. Now he looked nervous. Malik wondered if he would throw up before they even entered. He held his food, though. He pushed open the door to Vee’s tavern and ushered Malik and Mollie in after him. 

The bar was the same as when they had left it hours ago. Men and women sat intimately in the booths, while others drank at the ends of the bar. Vee was back behind the counter, in her spot, counting through her books again. 

She glanced up, hearing the door shut behind them. At first, she did not notice the sleeping monster in Mollie’s arms, but she did a double take and noticed it the second time. 

“What in the Saint’s Hell is that thing?” she asked, sounding curious and appalled all at once. She placed her pencil on the books and took a few steps back, away from them. 

Mollie stepped forward, trying to show her that the creature was friendly. Vee did not look pleased they had brought the creature into her place of work. Malik could not blame her. He wanted nothing to do with the beast. Cute as it was while it slept, at some point it would wake up and that would not bode well for anyone nearby. 

“It won’t hurt you,” Mollie explained. 

Malik had no idea why she believed that so fully. What evidence did she base her assumption off?

“It is the monsters from my book. The ones I have told everyone about. The monsters everyone has called me crazy for. Here it is in the flesh, not a figment of an overactive imagination at all.” Khris let the emotion spill from him. 

Others poked their heads from the booths to see what the commotion was about. Malik wondered how many bar fights they got around these parts. He guessed the number was relatively low on account Vee did have one guard posted in her doors. 

“I don’t know what that abomination is, nor do I want to find out. I just want you to take it back out the doors. Wherever it came from, you take it back now. If no one else is the wiser then that is for the better,” Vee said. 

Malik felt Vee’s eyes looked much too afraid of the small creature. Did she know what the monster was? 

“It won’t hurt you though,” Mollie said again. 

If this was how everyone reacted, then Mollie’s plan would not garner much of an army for them. Vee looked like she needed help not to run the opposite way. She did not look like a person who would rally troops to stand with them. Malik should have guessed as much. He was in the same boat. He could not blame others for feeling the exact same way he did. It was Mollie who was the odd person out. 

“I can’t imagine that you believe this creature is safe to be around humans. However, if you do believe it, you clearly do not have any idea what you are doing. That creature needs to be taken back, or better yet killed.” Vee had the look of an animal backed into a corner. 

Malik knew then Vee had more information than she let on. How many people had actually believed Khris’ story? Malik stepped forward beside Mollie. 

“What do you know about the monster?” Malik asked. Mollie’s face dropped at the word monster. “I mean creature,” Malik amended to keep Mollie appeased. 

Vee shook her head. Whatever she knew about the beast, she would not talk aloud about it. 

“If you can tell us anything it would help us,” Malik urged. 

“I don’t know anything about that thing,” Vee said, trying to keep the tremor from her voice. 

Others now had come over from their booths. All their eyes were wide with alarm. Malik looked to each in turn and knew this entire village knew more about the creatures than they had previously let on. 

“Khris are all these people scared based only on your stories?” Malik asked. 

Khris had been silent for some time. Malik looked to see him, head down, staring at the wooden planks. Malik reached out a hand and gently pressed against his shoulder. “You awake over there?” 

Khris’ body lightly shook and when he spoke his voice quivered. “The stories say little about the monsters. Just that they are trackers.” 

Malik looked again to those surrounding them. None of them stared at anything but the creature hooked to Mollie’s arm. Malik did not feel like those glares would lead to a friendly conversation about helping them against the Tempre. Each of the villager’s eyes filled with hostility and fear. 

“I think we should go, Mollie,” Malik said stepping away from Khris and back to Mollie. 

Mollie still looked to Vee, hoping beyond hope she would fold and tell them about the creature. Vee would not do that, and Malik knew it. 

“Mollie.” Malik shook her arm. “We need to go right now,” he said, putting a generic smile on his face. 

Mollie turned her chin toward him. “We need more people. Let them see that it will not hurt them. It is the key, Malik.” 

Malik wished she were right. He wanted others to help, but that would not be the case. 

“We can try again somewhere else,” Malik urged. 

Mollie did not reply before a long-bearded man stepped from the growing crowd. “You two should leave. Matter of fact, I think all three of you should leave.” 

Khris’ shoulders slumped so hard Malik thought he would drive himself through the flooring. 

“Why?” Malik asked, knowing full well the answer hung from Mollie’s shoulder. 

“We don’t want any trouble,” the man said, looking like he was ready for trouble. 

“Let’s just go, Mollie,” Malik tried again. 

Mollie turned toward the man, then back toward the bar and Vee. 

“Why are you not willing to hear us out? The creature will hurt no one,” she pleaded. 

There was no one willing to listen to her pleas. All the crowd circled them now, making them the center of a hostile bunch. 

Malik grabbed Mollie’s arm and tugged her toward the door. He would carry her kicking and screaming if he had to. This would not end well for them if they did not get out of this tavern. 

The man stepped in front of Malik before he made it three steps with Mollie in tow. 

“Leave the creature.” 

Malik knew then this would not end without confrontation. What Mollie had hoped would be a source of rally, would end up being the source of their demise. 

“Just let us through and we will be far from the village before you can count to ten,” Malik tried. 

The man was not willing to negotiate with him. “Leave the creature and you are free to leave.” 

At some point, Khris had stepped forward from the spot he had rooted himself to. 

“Why are you so afraid? A day ago, you did not believe me and now you act as though you always knew.” 

The man shot a glance of hatred toward Khris. “You are the reason for all of this, boy. Ever since the night you were born, there has been nothing but trouble from you. You would think it would be enough that you shamed your mother and forced her into her flower shop, but here you are now carrying this thing into our midst. It was not an accident that this creature found you, and it will not be an accident that it ends you if you don’t leave now,” the man was almost growling the words. 

“Just leave the beast,” Malik said to Mollie. He knew what her answer would be before he had spoken, but it was worth a shot. 

“I cannot do that,” she answered, just as Malik had expected. 

Malik still felt the bubble of hope popping. 

“There is no way you can reconsider this?” he asked, turning back toward the man. 

The man laughed. “This has been a long time coming,” he said. “We let the boy stay out of respect for his mother, but I always knew it was the wrong choice to make. Now, we will right that wrong.” 

Malik looked to Khris who looked dejected and then to Mollie whose eyes were burning with rage. Then he turned back to the bar patron and punched him square in the jaw. Malik did not know where he had gotten the bravery to do it, but it happened so fast that the man stumbled back, tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground. Malik grabbed Mollie’s wrist and pulled her through the gap. They got a lot of practice running from people over the last week. Khris would follow or he would stay, Malik cared neither way. 

Malik shoved the door open and ran toward the stables at the entrance where they had kept the mules. He heard an extra set of steps behind him, but he did not dare glance over his shoulder. It could have been Khris or one of the many drunks from the tavern. 

The slope was a pain to walk down, but it was even worse to run up. Halfway up Malik could feel his lungs and legs burning in unison. They made a joint effort to collapse him. His brain told his body he would die if he stopped, it was the only thing keeping him going. The entire way he pulled Mollie behind him. He could feel her slowing with each step. At the gates, he knew it would be over for them. The guards would want to question two running strangers and then they would have to stop long enough for the guards to see the creature on Mollie’s arm. 

Malik still ran, hoping maybe the guards were on a bathroom break or had fallen asleep from boredom. Neither was the case. At the top of the hill, something had incapacitated both guards, which should have thrilled Malik. However, the large claw marks dug into their chest, made the joy a little harder to grasp. Malik stopped, looking around. The third set of footsteps ran into them after the sudden halt. Malik was glad it was Khris and not one of the men following to finish them off. 

“I think the mother is here for her child,” Malik said, looking down at the fallen guards. 

He could still hear the man’s goofy voice describing the village and its history. It had not been but a few scant hours ago that Mollie had flirted her way into the village. A few short hours ago, Malik had believed he would have a few beers, a rest, and then be off to find Abrie. Every passing exploit made him realize Abrie had always been right. Go toward the opposite way of trouble and you will live much longer for it. Malik wished Abrie were here now. He would know how to take care of this situation. He had always talked the innkeepers, tavern owners, and merchants down from their anger. All Malik knew how to do was cause trouble and run. So, run he did. 

He pulled Mollie off again, not waiting for anyone to reply to his earlier statement. He did not need them to confirm what his eyes had already seen. He heard Khris running behind them. Then he heard the roar of the monster somewhere down the sloping hill of the village. He did not turn to see how close it was. Instead, he ran toward the mules, hoping that they would make it to them before the monster made them its meal. 

Sally and Callie brayed in greeting, as if nothing strange happened a few hundred yards away. Malik untethered their ties and started off back down the path. There was no telling where this path would take them, but it would not be here and that was a start. 

The creature on Mollie’s arm woke up from its nap and hopped down from her grip. Malik felt the shiver of panic run up his spine. The creature stretched its overly long arms and let out an almost purr like noise. It was not as fear striking as its mother, but Malik did not want those claws or teeth sinking into his skin. Mollie bent beside the creature, as if the mother were not roaming toward them somewhere down below. 

“We have to go,” she said to it. 

Malik wondered if she believed it could truly understand her words. The creature looked back, hearing the roar of its real mother. Malik figured this would be the time that the creature swiped at Mollie’s face, leaving it in ribbons, and then ran off to be with its mother. That did not happen. Oddly enough, the creature went to a tree nearby, rubbed its back against the bark, and then ran back to Mollie, jumping into her arms. 

“It is leaving a scent for the mother to be distracted by,” Mollie said. 

“How in the Saint’s Hell do you get that from what just happened?” Malik asked. 

Mollie scooped the creature back to her chest. “It is an animal instinct.”

She really had full trust in this creature. For some reason, she thought him sentient enough to make plans. Malik did not have time to argue with her. He moved in the opposite direction of the tree. 

“The wind will carry the scent in the opposite direction of us if we go this way,” Khris said, pointing off toward the Grazer’s Paradise. 

Malik shook his head. “I don’t think going back toward the nest is the best idea.” 

“It is the best option of many bad ones,” Mollie argued. 

She reached back, pulling him this time, and urged him onward. Malik did not have the strength or the will to fight back. He moved after her, trying to keep his body from collapsing and his mind from exploding. 

He could not remember how far they walked. Could not remember walking alongside the ravine until a ramp provided them entry. He remembered walking down the slope and walking into Grazer’s Paradise. Remembered Khris telling them of shelter used by the sheep herders just a few miles from the entrance. Khris guided them there in silence. No one had the will or the energy to do any talking. What they needed was time to sit down, gather their thoughts, and then to come up with a plan to get out of this mess. 

Khris pointed to a small cabin in the middle of the ravine. Built on legs higher than the nearest trees. “We have to build them high enough to stay above water during the raining season,” Khris said, explaining why he ushered them up a twenty-foot ladder. “Sometimes it still is not enough, and we have to come do repairs when the stream recedes,” he said, still trying to make Malik interested in the village’s history. Malik was not interested in the village. He did not care about its long history or what it did for daily living. 

“I only want to know one thing about your village,” said Malik when they finally sat down on the cabin floor. 

Khris started a small fire in the home’s chimney, but he glanced back over his shoulder to await the question. 

“I just want to know why the villagers seem to resent you so much?” 

Khris’ shoulders instantly slumped again. He reminded Malik of a captured rat. He almost thought Khris would run and jump out the window, fall be damned. He did not run though. He was not quick to answer, but Malik could see the wheels inside his head turning. 

“Do not lie to us either,” Malik said. 

Khris finished stoking the logs and came to sit to the side of Malik and Mollie. Mollie was busy caressing the beast in her arms back to sleep. 

“My father was not genuinely liked in our village. Traveling men never are in a place that depends on everyone to keep going. At least that is what mother always told me growing up. When my father died, the village was quick to throw my mother from her home. They blamed it on my father’s lack of funds and said that I was following in his footsteps, not having a contributing job. Mother started trying my hand at every task inside the village, but everyone treated me so poorly. They did not want me as a milk boy, or a gatherer, they kicked me from the mill, and no one else wanted to bother with me. Mother just kept pushing for me to impress them. I did not have any skills other than my knowledge of stories. No one was impressed with that knowledge. As you can see, from the tavern, it did far more trouble than it did good.” Khris took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from breaking down. “Mother tried to keep me focused and from telling stories. Soon, she took my books away. Especially after I read the last book father had brought me. I had spoken of the creatures, the dragon, and the myths. That was when the villagers started to really shun me. Only Vee would even allow me into her business. Even then, I do not think she was very fond of me. I think she just felt sorry for me in her own way. Vee is a good lady,” Khris said. 

“So, the villagers hate you because you were born?” Mollie asked. 

Khris shrugged. “I guess who I was born to.” 

Mollie looked from Khris down to the creature sleeping in her arms. “I think you should be able to relate to this creature then.” 

Khris shook his head. “I guess I should be able to.” 

“How do we proceed?” Malik asked. 

He was more interested in how to get out of this than what Khris and the baby monster had in common. 

“I think we have to find the old man your book talked about,” said Mollie. 

Malik tired of chasing fantasies. “How do you even figure that this man exists?” he asked, trying to keep the anger from his voice but failing. 

“I think we can assume that it is true since the creature in my arms is very much alive. We at least have to try,” Mollie said, with just as much conviction as Malik. 

“Even if he was real, which I am not saying he is, how do you suppose we go about finding him? Didn’t the book also say he was hard to find?” 

Mollie did not have an answer. Malik could see it on her face. She would come up with something, but it would just be a guess and that was what they had to go on. 

“The creature should be a compass,” Khris said. “The book says the creatures are drawn to the dragon. Or maybe it does not quiet say that. It says they are associated with the dragon somehow.” 

“So, we just set it down on the ground and give it a little nudge?” Malik asked with sarcasm. 

Khris shrugged. “We can just let it pick the direction we go, I guess.” 

Malik was not thrilled about letting a monster pick where they went next. It screamed of an awful idea. “Let it lead us right into the den of another monster. Probably a bigger one this time.” 

Mollie gave a loud sigh. “First off, he is not a monster. He needs a name,” she said, pausing for a moment and looking him over. “I think we will call him Egg. It fits since I helped pull him out of his egg.” Mollie looked incredibly pleased with herself. 

“How do you even know he is a boy?” Malik asked. He could not tell if the creature even had a sex.

“Good point,” Mollie said, looking at the creature in her arms. “I still think Egg fits. It does not matter if it is a boy or a girl. Egg is its name,” she said with finality to it. 

“Well Egg or whatever you feel like calling it, will clearly cause us a lot of trouble. I don’t think any villager or even city dweller has plans to rally around a monster…” Mollie shot a glance at Malik that felt like razor sharp ice. “Fine, rally around Egg. They will continue to try and kill us, kill it, or run us from their homes. I do not blame them. I would run the opposite way if I knew that creature was coming.” 

Egg stirred in Mollie’s arms, but did not wake. Looking at the creature now, it was hard to imagine the killer it would one day become. While the claws were long, they were almost comical in their oversized fashion. The fangs were sharp, but they were small and did not seem as frightening as they should have. Still, the image of its mother somewhere out there was enough to chill Malik’s blood. 

“Khris, how do we use it?” Mollie asked, ignoring Malik’s complaints. 

Khris did not look like he was ripe with answers. He looked like a confused boy who had just ran from his home. Malik thought about how he did not even get to say goodbye to his mother. Malik wondered if the mother would care, or if it would secretly be a relief to her. 

“It does not say,” Khris finally answered. 

“You know what it will guide us to?” Malik asked. 

No one was quick to answer, sensing he would hit them with a sarcastic answer. 

“Egg’s mother is still hunting us. We do not know how long his trick will work. We do not know what she will do to get to us. However, we know what she will do when she gets here, and that includes flaying us alive.” 

“Then we must keep moving,” Mollie answered, determined this creature would be their saving grace. Malik wished he shared the conviction. 

“We can try to let Egg lead for a few days. We have nothing else. If it fails then we can come up with another plan,” Mollie said. 

Khris agreed this would be the best plan of action. Malik disagreed wholeheartedly but kept the complaints to himself. There was no point in voicing them when he was clearly outnumbered again. 

“Fine,” Malik said. 

He moved off into the corner of the room. He would shut his eyes and try to sleep. 

“Keep that creature away from my face,” Malik said. 

Mollie clutched Egg tighter. 

“We will start again at first light,” Malik said. 

The others agreed, and Malik closed his eyes.