Chapter 18: Some Peace and Quiet
John finds himself walking through the streets of a small town he never thought he'd be in again.
"Chilly night, isn't it?" A voice to his right asks. He looks over to see his sister Sarah, rubbing her arms to warm herself up despite being in a sweater.
"You kill me sometimes, you know that?" John replies as he takes off his jacket, draping it over her.
"Hey look up there," Another voice responds. On the other side of Sarah, is their older brother Angel. He's pointing up at the sky, "A full moon, maybe we'll see a werewolf or something, right?" He looks over at John mockingly.
"Come on, that was years, ago" John replies, his siblings chuckling at the memories.
As the three siblings laugh about the good ol days, John realizes that the parking garage lights are out, making it pretty hard to see inside. Their phone lights shine through the now empty floor. Each footstep echos in the empty staircase all the way up to the third floor.
"I'm parked over on this side, so I'll see you two back home," John states. Out of sight, he takes a deep breath of relief. They asked so many questions, it was hard to keep a consistent story that sounded believable. He wanted to tell them the truth, but, the words just couldn't leave his mouth.
He's so lost in thought he almost jumps in surprise when his foot touches the moonlight shining down in front of him. Frozen, the pale silver glow begins to grab him, slowly pulling him into it. Looking out, he finds the moon staring at him, beckoning him. His heart beats against his chest as the air is pulled from his lungs, forcing him to take in faster, shallow, breaths.
"Do you think he'll go back?"
"Who knows, it's impossible to tell if he liked it or hated it,"
"Yeah, but at least he made the most of it, never thought I'd ever see him tan,"
"Me too,"
They chuckle softly as they make their way to their car, unaware of John's sudden rush to his own. Fists press against the top of his car as he takes in deep, slow, breaths to calm himself down. Fully recovered, he gets into his car, and goes home.
…
John wakes up to a bright light in his face. Eyes adjusting he finds himself in a hospital bed, inside a large well-lit cave. No one is around, curtains covering the entrance. It's very quiet, all that can be heard is the beeping of a monitor. His chest is filled with a stinging soreness, but it looks perfectly fine. Sitting up, he drapes his legs over the side, taking it slow.
Wonder what his family is up to. Do they even know what happened? He never saw them when he got transferred, but considering what the people at the "prison" did to him, it's not hard to doubt they denied any access. Hopefully everything with this Cahal guy is fixed so he can just…go, somewhere…
The curtains move to the side, Ludmilla walking through.
"You're finally awake," She states with a small smile, "You recovered much faster than we thought you would,"
"How long have I been out for?"
"Little over a week,"
"Over a week?!"
"Well, you had a giant hole in your chest, it's a miracle you were able to recover at all, let alone this fast," She replies, "Let me go grab you something to eat,"
After some time she comes back with a plate of food.
"So, what happened while I was out?" He asks as she hands him the plate.
"Cahal's finally back thanks to you. He's weak, but he's able to get around on his own now," A warmth fills her face as glee shines from it, "Thank you,"
"Don't mention it," He replies, already digging into the food.
The curtain movies once more, Rodko appearing from behind it. John merely glances over at him before going back to eating.
"I don't know what Yfen saw in you, but I'm glad he did," Rodko states as he walks over to them, "I appreciate what you've done my caren,"
"But?" John asks between bites.
"What?"
"But, you have something else you need me to do?"
"No, I was just here check in on you," He responds, slightly irritated now.
"That was kinda rude of you," Ludmilla tells John as Rodko leaves.
"Getting appreciation isn't exactly, normal, for me," He responds, setting the tray aside, "Do you have any spare clothes I can wear?"
"...Yeah, let me go grab some," She answers a bit hesitantly.
After a few minutes Ludmilla comes back with fresh clothes. Jeans, a plain white shirt, and a orange vest.
"I remember you said orange was your favorite color," She comments as she hands him the clothes.
"Thanks," He responds. She leaves the room to give him some privacy as he changes. Stepping out, he's in the long, winding, cave hallway, Ludmilla waiting for him.
"We haven't had an attack from Endron this whole time, so everything's been rather peaceful lately," Ludmilla states, "So feel free to walk around the caern. I'll be in my room with Cahal if you want to come say hi,"
"I'll keep that in mind,"
With that Ludmilla walks up the hallway, leaving John alone.
John turns right, and begins to head for the center of the Caren, when a strange looking creature suddenly appears before him. It looks like it's made of branches, twisted around each other to form a shape vaguely resembling a small body with thin arms, and a U-shaped head.
"Welcome back," Yfen's voice emanates from the strange floating creature.
"Hi Yfen. What's with the new look?"
"This is but a spirit that I'm using to watch over you,"
"That's nice, but you don't need to do that. My job here is done, so I'm going home now," He brushes the spirit to the side as he walks past it.
"You have completed one mission, but I need your assistance still,"
"You have Cahal, just ask him,"
"Cahal is still recovering, and you are a better fit for the tasks I require assistance in,"
John comes to a halt, clenching his fists before turning around to the spirit.
"What is it?"
"My people fight tirelessly to ensure the protection of this cearn and the Wyld. This moment of rest is but a rare occurrence, I wish to ensure that it lasts, if only a bit, longer,"
"I'm not exactly good at keeping things, peaceful,"
"I have sensed a strange presence by Endron's facilities. I would like for you to go and investigate in secret,"
"...Where's the facility?"
"Follow me,"
With that the spirit floats past him, heading down towards the center of the caern.
"Am I playing a video game now or something?" John mutters before he starts following the spirit. As they reach a split in the path, rather than making a left to go down towards the tree, they take the right path up a slope towards a different exit. Heading through the short tunnel, he finds himself on a cliff overlooking a rocky section of forest. Far off in the distance, is the Endron factory.
Making his way down the cliff, he begins his journey to the factory.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone