Chương 97: Timi Oswald

"Timi Oswald—" the man said, "nice to meet you."

Emma continued to stare daggers into the back of the man's head. Who was he? Why was he here? How did he get here?

And most importantly, was he dangerous?

"Okay Timi—" Emma began, "what are you doing on this island?"

Timi fiddled with the fire, using a stick to maneuver the burning logs, "You know I'm not really sure myself, just sort of ended up here one day."

Emma scoffed, distrusting of Timi's words.

"Yeah—sure. Then why are you still here?" Emma poked.

"You know it's an island, right? I can swim but—" Timi grabbed a skewer from the fire and bit into the rabbit leg attached to it, "probably not well enough to get anywhere."

"There are trees—" Emma countered, "you built this place, why not build a boat?"

"I'm sure I could build a boat, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't know what direction to sail in."

Emma's eyes widened. From the moment she hopped out of the crater she thought of building a boat; there were more than enough palm trees to spare and an abundance of uncut grass, perfect for crafting rope.

But Timi was right, she doesn't know what direction to go. For as far as her eyes could see they were surrounded by nothing but ocean and sailing into the unknown was definitely the worst decision she could make.

Emma's grip around her spear loosened and in a defeated voice she responded:

"So we're really stranded…"

"Yup!" Timi chirped up, "Want some rabbit?" He held a skewer out towards Emma.

The pit of helplessness that surfaced within Emma overpowered her rational distrust of Timi and so she dismissed her spear, grabbed the skewer, and plopped down onto the makeshift couch a few feet away from the fire.

She bit down into the rabbit and, with an empty gaze, watched the flow of the flames before her. For a few quiet minutes, Timi and Emma chewed their rabbit side by side, each entranced by the rhythm of the fire.

"And you are…?" Timi slowly coached.

"Emma." She replied.

"Emma—" Timi repeated, "nice to meet you, Emma."

"How long have you been here?" Emma abruptly asked.

"Um—" Timi paused and thought about the question, "three, maybe four months now."

"Jesus Christ…" Emma heaved, "so we're really f*****."

"No, I'm sure we'll find a way out of here eventually."

"Eventually is too long." Emma responded.

"Well, can't argue with that."

Timi and Emma talked for the remainder of the day. Emma was curious about Timi's story, everything about him seemed a little odd.

For one, if he really has been stuck here for months he certainly doesn't act like it. Timi exudes serenity, like being stranded in the middle of nowhere doesn't bother him in the slightest.

Moreso, he didn't treat Emma as a threat at any point. Even when she aimed her spear at him, he didn't bat an eye.

Emma could have any Gift, she could have the perfect ability to defeat Timi and Timi has no idea, yet he still didn't react to her. Why?

According to him, he was searching the ocean floor before he came here; looking for ancient relics or ships he could use as models to sail the greater sea.

But that story made even less sense to Emma, how could he search the ocean floor? Can he breathe underwater? And if he can, how does he manage the pressure of the ocean itself?

But Emma refrained from asking, she knew asking people about their Gift was considered a taboo so instead she asked about his life before arriving on the island.

"I built a big balloon once. Tried to fly it through the sky, but just ended up crashing into the side of a mountain."

"I'm sorry, maybe I wasn't clear enough—" Emma interrupted, "what was your job? Like occupation?"

"Well I didn't really have one. I left Fallen Sky before it became Fallen Sky and then sort of roamed around. I think most people call me an adventurer, but there's not much adventuring to be done anymore."

The more Timi tried to explain his past the more confused Emma became. It felt like the man was making up fairy tales to entertain children, but he wasn't? At least Emma had no reason to not believe him, they were both stranded here, trapped with one another.

If he was lying to her, then he was lying out of boredom. Once Timi finished the recap of his life leading up to the island, Emma detailed her own life: starting from joining the Fallen Sky training camp to now.

Luckily, Timi wasn't very interested in Emma's affairs and didn't ask her anything about the time leading up to joining Fallen Sky. Once the introductions were over, Emma brought up the corrupted rabbit she slayed the previous night.

"Ahh yes—it is quite an odd phenomenon. For some strange reason when you kill something at night they revive as a much stronger, almost possessed beast. I haven't looked into it too much though." Timi replied with.

"Well I'd like to hunt a few of them tonight—" Emma expressed, "it might have something to do with our arrival here."

"That's an interesting thought—" Timi remarked, "I had never connected the two. Once I discovered the corruption I had simply slept through the night. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"I think I'll be fine on my own, but maybe another time." Emma dismissed Timi's offer, he seems nice, but she wasn't ready to fully trust him yet.

And from there awkward silence flooded the cabin. Now Emma was just waiting for nightfall, waiting for her opportunity to slaughter the inhabitants of this island.

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