Chapitre 59: Phantoms
As we wash the blood from our hands, she glances over to me with a look filled with worry. I give her a small smile and say "I'm fine. The man mentioned a Phantom and it brought back some unpleasant memories." Fern looks slightly shocked before saying "You called them Ghouls, right?"
I nod and dry my hands off as I say "Ghouls, Phantoms... it's all the same. They're evil beasts that I wish I knew how to destroy." Fern dries her hands off as an old man with tufts of white fur sticking out everywhere comes waddling into the yard.
"Phantoms are dangerous, child." The old man says waddling all the way into the house and sitting at the table. I slightly smirk and quickly fix old man Finn a large bowl of soup. He's like a grandfather to Hunter and Fern and in a way, to me as well.
Fern nods and says "Exactly! I'm going to go back to work, call me if you need anything." I nod and place the bowl in front of the old man as he says "Thank you, child. Why do you hate the Phantoms so much, dear?"
I give him a pained smile as I say "It ate someone who was very special to me." The old man slightly nods his head and takes a bite of food as CheeChee comes flying into the house. CheeChee lands on my shoulder and hands me a small fruit.
I smile and say "Thank you, CheeChee. Good boy." He gives me a happy smile as he leans over and pats the fruit. As I start to peel it, the old man says "There are stories from our elders, passed down to me about the Phantoms. It's said that there was once a man eaten by a Phantom but was seen years later! The whole town saw him get eaten so it was a shock to all!"
My hands instantly freeze as I slowly look back up to the old man. My hands slightly start to shake as I step closer and say "He was eaten by a Phantom but he came back?" The old man takes another bite of food and nods his head and says "My mother said it gave her such a fright, she almost passed out!"
I stop next to the table and ask just above a whisper "How did he come back?" The old man shakes his head and says "That I don't know. I wasn't but a wee child at that time and my mother never asked. The man was never seen again after that. They said he was different or something but I don't remember the details."
Suddenly, Fern walks back into the kitchen and says "Are you telling stories again, old man? You should save those for story night!" The old man says something else but I'm no longer listening. My head is suddenly spinning and twirling with 'What ifs'.
Suddenly, a large hand grabs my head and ruffles my hair making me turn. Bright green eyes greet me as Hunter asks "Are you okay? I heard about some of the others coming back hurt?" When I fail to answer him, he removes his large hand from my head and leans down to look me in the eyes.
"What's wrong, Valerie?" I blink and quickly shake my head but Fern speaks up and says "Old man was telling her stories about the Phantoms." Hunter tries to make eye contact again but I quickly look away and ask "Have either one of you ever seen a Phantom?"
Fern shakes her head no as Hunter says "Yes, from a distance. Why?" Before I can say anything, Fern speaks up and says "Valerie, don't mind what the old man says. He's always telling stories to scare all the children."
The old man scoffs and says "They aren't just 'stories'! They're true! I know for a fact they're true!" Fern rolls her eyes and says "Okay okay, I have to run this over for a delivery, I'll be back before sunset." Hunter and I tell her to be careful as she leaves but as soon as she's gone, Hunter nudges my shoulder and asks "What's bothering you?"
Because I haven't really told them much about me or what happened before I came here, they have no idea. I look up to him and softly say "Someone very dear to me was eaten by a Phantom. What if I.." before I can even finish my sentence, Hunter's entire face changes.
His eyes darken as he quickly says "No. They're old stories, that's it! Stay away from the Phantoms, Valerie! They're extremely dangerous!" I quickly bite my tongue but my heart races with hope. Something I haven't felt in a very, very long time.
Hunter clenches his teeth, almost as if he can read my thoughts but it's probably shown in my eyes. His teeth are sharp just like Fern's but he's much stronger and faster than Fern. A true Hunter but right now, he just looks scared. Scared for me...
I give him a sad smile as I say "I have to, Hunter. Even if there's the smallest chance it's true... I have to try it." The old man speaks up again and says "It's true, I tell ya! Why's no one listening to me, huh? Is it because I'm old? I'm old but not senile!"
I lightly chuckle and raise my eyebrows as if to say "See?" Hunter watches me in silence for several seconds before sighing and asking "Do you really have to do this?" I silently nod my head and watch as he visibly saddens.
He runs a hand through his hair before saying "You have to tell her, I'm not gonna do it." I chuckle again and say "Of course, chicken." He nudges me and says "If you're set on going, we should prepare a few things." I give him a grateful smile and nod my head in agreement.
I pained look crosses his face before he laughs sadly and says "That's the first time you've truly smiled since coming here." CheeChee smiles at Hunter but Hunter just continues watching me with a pained expression. I do my best to sound confident as I say "I will come back. I promise."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone