They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

The yellow light faded. I watch as Seven flutter her eyes open and stare at me. I blink at her.

It feels weird. That when she opens her eyes she looked at my direction...as if she knew I'll be here. Waiting for her to wake up with Magnus.

Sam stirred in her shoulders. He detach his head from her and rub his eyes. Their faces a few inches apart.. Seven's cropped up hair and Sam's shaggy bird's nest hair makes a good pairing.

Sam took one second to stare at her face before screaming his throat out and crawled backwards till his back hit the tree trunk.

"Wha - wha - What's going on?!" He crossed his elbows to his chest. Like a maiden.

Seven in our heads chuckle. "I see you're still scared of me huh. How adorable." She tease.

Magnus, who's busy sifting his clothes beside me, worrying if he'll ever get back to his original size turn his head. Mouth formed an o when he saw Seven's awake.

"Seven!" He cried. Throwing aside his big pants belt, corsage leather and other belongings, he ran towards her. Wearing nothing but an oversize t-shirt.

"Thank God you're alright!" He wrap his hands in her neck and squeeze her into a hug.

Seven look at me. Casting an inquiring eyes to little Magnus. Asking what happened. I held my index finger up and mouthed, "One happened."

She nods.

"And who is this? Your kid Lance?" Sam asks. I shake my head.

"That's Magnus." I simply said. Sam blink.

"No way."

"Yes -"

"But that's a child!"

"Stuff happened."

"Magnus is an oversize monkey! Not a little rat!"

Magnus shove himself away from Seven and whip around to face Sam.

"You better watch out for that mouth young man! I maybe small but I could tear that foul thing off, feed it to the rats and make it their perfect Christmas treat!"

"Rats celebrate Christmas?" I ask.

"I'm staring at a 3 year old kid calling a boy twice his size 'young man'." Sam said. His expression shows he's shock, his tone is not indicating he's kidding.

But I find the words he said funny. Plus his expression. I couldn't stifle a smile. Next thing I know I'm laughing.

Sam is laughing with me. Seven is smiling. Magnus puffed out his chubby soft kids cheeks but after a few seconds he laugh with us as well.

Forgetting everything. My mind is taken off from worrying where Jesper has gone. My thoughts floating off from the man with crooked glasses staring at my zombies with a proud glint of his eyes.

I couldn't be bothered. I just can't believe Seven and Sam has healed. That much alone has set me at ease.

The trees has slowly crawled back to where they we're first positioned. The leaves float in a hazy wave they encase around Seven's head. Before withdrawing back to the trees.

She gaze at me with kind ancient eyes. She's saying thank you to the trees. And they're dancing in celebration for her successful recovery.

Sam and Magnus stops laughing and stared as the forest recede back to what it was before I came.

Quiet, desolate, so eerie. Unlike seconds ago when everywhere is pumping with life and energy.

The spectacle with nature reminds me of my blessing. Of death. I wonder if I could do the same thing with the dead.

I don't want to kill anyone. But maybe I can raise those three hundred bones back to life. Maybe I can raise my own undead warriors and face the Faeries.

I wonder what happened now in Madel's inn. What has come to it, to the people living around the town. Are they terrified because of the burning trees? Are they suspicious who could have done it in the middle of the night?

Did someone see all of us? Coming together entering the inn that night? Maybe there was some CCTV attach on the road. Maybe they witness how we ran around in the forest, playing hide and seek with the fire hogs and see who gets who first.

I scuttled beside Seven. Sam sat beside me. Magnus beside him. The four of us lean against the tree. Taking shed from the heat of the sun. The wind is cool and goose bumps traverse the length of my arms. I never try to rub it away. I let it surround me like blanket.

It wasn't cold. It was warm on my skin. I could taste the summer in my lips. The first to start talking was Magnus.

He recounted the days when he was still a Ranker. How the Rank Elders trained him around ingenious caves with oversize insects as big as poles and buildings.

Sam and I both laugh, saying it's impossible. "I'm serious, " he squeak.

I'm used to listening as he drone on about things such as his experiences when he was a Ranker, his rough manly voice drill on my ears. But listening with his cute baby voice now makes my ears tingle.

It's a little kid sharing things about his past experiences in another world. I'm sure there's nothing more stranger sight other than him.

"I almost have my leg chewed off by this gigantic worm with nasty mouth and hundreds legs!"

"Centipede?" I offered. Magnus shrug.

"I don't know. He has horrible flesh."

"Wait what?" Sam whip around, surprised.

"I ate it's flesh after I kill it. But damn, it was horrible. I suffered stomach ache straight for two weeks. I couldn't take the foul traces in my tongue."

He push out his tongue. Wiggle it in my direction. I shove his face away.

"But seriously though, I miss my time loitering in my world." He said.

"Before the meteor carrying the deity stone came, me and my comrades will fool around in gambling stores and bars playing poker. No one can defeat me. I was the best. The legend."

"Show off." I murmur. He pretend to never hear me.

"I was the best in my Rank too."

A slight pause.

"Well duh, I can hear the sound of common street even when I'm in the palace. Its as good as fifty kilometers you know, can you believe that?"

"No." Sam and I said at the same time. I take a peek at Seven. Her forearm brushing the side of my arm. Her eyes were closed. Is she sleeping?

I pressed my finger on her cheek. Her head immediately drops to my shoulder. Yep, she's asleep alright.

"I can be as fast as an arrow. My Rank Leader once told me I'm a walking weapon. I can transform this sturdy muscles into steel. I'll never break!" Now he's flexing his bice - I mean forearm. He's a kid.

Kids don't have biceps.

""Man, I miss my bestfriends. Roland and Thomas the two idiots. We're always together, robbing pirates off their riches. Stealing from thieves, waiting for bandits to show up and take away their rations."

"Plus you and that makes up 'The Three Idiots'". He deliberately ignored the insults I hurled at him. Plastering a soft smile at his face.

"We also function as hunters you know, sometimes. Around every end of the year, one team are sent out to the borders of Beasts to hunt for the 'Rare ones.' "

Beasts....just the mention of them makes my heart aches. My thoughts travel to Alpha Beast. I wonder if he made it alive.

I wonder if he somehow escapes from the self destruct he casted on himself. I wonder if what does his words mean about Seven...about us Eklektos... About the Gifted People.

Heavy feelings weigh down to my chest. Making it hard to breath for a second. My fingers twitch in Seven's hand and I brush hers.

I take her hand and studied it. I can see the remnants of faint yellow lights at her nails. I touch one and it crawled in my nerves.

I panic. Back in Opra she said our blessings will clash. Or was it Alpha Beast who said it... I can't remember much now.

I was nervous. Maybe it will have bad effects on me. Maybe I'll burst out because of death reeking at my skin. Maybe her life's blessing will clash against me.

Maybe...

I waited in anticipation. My breath bottled up, rising and suffocated in my breath. I counted twenty until I figure out that maybe I will be fine after all.

She just let her blessings flow into me when I collapsed on her bed a few hours ago. It was stupid to forget. Stupid to not remember that it never hurt me as much as I expected it to be.

I was always fine. Because Seven protected me. Magnus protected me. But I think it's time to outgrew that independence stirring on me.

I can't rely on them forever.

"And then this blue fiery stone stands tall in the High Altar. It was so intimidating my palms keep on sweating -"

"Magnus." I called.

"Yeah?" I think he just bit off his tongue when I interrupted him.

"Your fighting technique... Can you teach me how to do that?"