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An Answer

The Cruel Continent Ch. 4

By Rebecca PattonPublished 2 years ago Updated 3 months ago 7 min read
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An Answer
Photo by James Armes on Unsplash

It was still early in the morning and Haganto hadn’t heard a bird chirp since he entered the woods minutes ago. He walked through the forest, his eyes peeled for any movement but the only signs of life were the trees. Haganto kept his ears alert but the only sounds he heard were the crunching of leaves under his feet.

A couple of days passed since Haganto came across the fleeing herd of cockatrices. He had yet to find Erzu but judging how he hadn’t heard or come across any animals in a while, Haganto knew he was close. Though whether it was to the spider or to the thing that hurt the spider, Haganto honestly couldn’t say.

As he continued his way through the silent forest, he wondered if Cemreoneg marking Sarville as his territory would actually be enough to stop the thing. Haganto had figured that after the Malnora war, it wouldn’t go after a baby dragon again, at least not any time soon hopefully.

Well, if it had escaped. Perhaps the thing was still behind the seal, and it was another creature that was causing all the other creatures to lose their minds. Haganto was not afraid to admit that he hoped that this was the case. But he was also not afraid to admit that this was just a desperate hope.

Then he heard a small crack.

Haganto instantly stopped in his tracks as he tightened his grip on his club, which he had taken out earlier when he first entered the forest. He scanned the trees around him but he couldn’t see anything but plant life. He couldn’t hear any other sounds either. Perhaps the crack came from a small twig finally breaking away from an old branch?

Then he heard a whimper.

Haganto furrowed his brow and carefully walked in the general direction he heard the sound. He carefully scanned his surroundings but Haganto didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Whoever or whatever it was sounded close though so he kept going. Then he another whimper, much closer than the last time. Haganto swiftly turned his head just in time to see dead leaves tumble out of a hole in the bottom of a tree trunk. He carefully walked to the tree and once he reached it, he got on one knee and bent over to peer through the hole.

It was a young weasel, its brown fur very matted and it was so thin that Haganto could make out its ribcage. It wasn’t a newborn, but Haganto could already tell it was smaller than his finger, so the weasel was still a kit that needed its mother. And judging by the weasel’s unhealthy condition, the mother hasn’t been back in quite some time.

Haganto sighed as he looked around the empty forest before giving his attention back to the kit. He couldn’t just leave the baby weasel here.

“C’mon, it’s okay,” he urged the weasel softly as he brought his hand down towards it. The baby weasel squeaked in fear as it backed up a few steps before it collapsed onto its stomach. Whether it was because its footing was off or it was because of exhaustion, Haganto wasn’t sure. He had an idea though, causing him to search in his bag for his dried jerky. As he got it out, Haganto scanned the forest out of the corner of his eye but it remained seemingly empty. He couldn’t hear anything else besides him and the weasel either.

He should still try to make this quick though.

“Here,” Haganto continued in a quiet, soft voice as he tore a very small bit of the jerky off and gently tossed it to the scared baby animal. Still scared, the weasel scooted back and away from the meat but then it perked its head up and sniffed the air. The weasel then crawled slowly to the piece of meat, sniffing the whole time. When it finally reached the jerky, the weasel sniffed it for a second before greedily scarfing it down.

Haganto instantly tore off another piece of jerky and tossed it so that the jerky landed in between the weasel and him. The baby weasel was much quicker to get to the meat this time, though it still made to sniff the food some. Haganto did the same thing again, though this time he just dropped the jerky straight down. After the weasel finished the meat without any hesitation, Haganto tore off another piece but this time, he didn’t let go of it. Instead, he lowered his hand right to the little weasel, the small piece of jerky in his palm.

The baby weasel stared apprehensively at his hand for a moment before he tentatively sniffed the tips of his fingers. A long second passed before the weasel lifted its tiny paw and gripped one of his fingertips with it. Haganto didn’t move, knowing that there was still a high chance he could startle the stranded kit. The weasel then looked up and stared at him. Haganto kept his face as calm as possible when the little weasel tilted its head.

Then the baby weasel climbed into his hand and went for the jerky, apparently appeased with whatever he found in Haganto’s face.

Haganto then curled his fingers around the kit and brought the small animal out of the den. The kit circled around nervously but Haganto quickly yet gently rubbed its stomach with a single finger. The baby weasel instantly playfully nibbled on his finger while grabbing it with its two front paws. Haganto sighed in relief, knowing that if the weasel still had some energy to play a bit, it was going to be alright.

The weasel then yawned and stopped pawing at Haganto’s finger before curling up on his palm and closing its eyes. Smiling at the peaceful and frankly cute sight, Haganto then carefully placed the kit into his pocket, though not after finding out that the weasel was a male.

Then his smile disappeared as he looked around his surroundings, his mind once again focused on the severity of his dangerous task. When it looked like he was still alone, Haganto quietly put his jerky away before he finally started moving again. Minutes passed by like this, with Haganto prepared to fight for his life as he walked even though there wasn’t a predator in sight or in hearing range.

Then he heard another noise, that almost sounded like a growl.

It didn’t come from an animal this time though.

Haganto carefully headed towards the sound and within minutes he was standing on the shore of a bustling creek, just like what he expected. He looked around and again saw no signs of any kind of sentient life. There weren’t even any flies or fish around. Well, he might as well grab a drink and refill his canteen. Especially since he wasn’t traveling alone anymore.

He then bent down and while still keeping his hand on his club, took out his canteen and popped off the lid. Haganto then lowered it but right before the canteen was about to touch the creek, he stopped.

A fish just floated by in front of him. Its eye was wide and unseeing and a trail of blood was slowly seeping out from where its tail used to be.

Then suddenly, he was bombarded with the decaying smell of death. And it wasn't coming from the fish.

Haganto turned to his left before he even heard the scrambling steps and raised his club. He got a good look at three big, dark eyes before a hairy black leg clashed against his club. Haganto grunted as he fought to not give ground. Then with a great push, he swiped the leg away and swung his club at his attacker, only for his weapon to hit the ground instead as the creature jumped backward.

The attacker was Erzu, the green lightning bolt marks on her sides giving away her identity immediately. But as Haganto slowly stood up, he knew that something was wrong. Erzu was panting while saliva fell out of her mouth like a thin, steady stream. Some of her six eyes were also quickly darting to the right and left like the pupils were bouncing balls trapped in a small space. But the most telling sign of her failing health was the bald patches on her body and legs. Even now, as he and Erzu faced each other, Haganto could see some strands of hair falling off her stomach.

Haganto sighed. There was no use denying it now, Agron was back and he had attacked Erzu, giving her a fate arguably worse than death.

Just as he thought this, Erzu raced towards him with a shrieking battle cry.

Previous: Chapter 3: https://vocal.media/fiction/the-herd-2d2dws096n

Next: Chapter 5: https://vocal.media/fiction/decaying

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About the Creator

Rebecca Patton

Ever since I discovered Roald Dahl, I wanted to be an author who would delight and move her readers through her stories and characters. I have also written my debut novel, "Of Demons and Deception."

IG: https://www.instagram.com/rspatton10/

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