Previously,
Abelon stopped by a pond near the Derry’s fields. The bank was muddy, but Abelon sank down to his knees anyway. The ground soaked his pants and brought goosebumps to his arms. Placing his hands on his upper thighs, Abelon leaned over to stare into the depths. He willed something to be there, but he was alone and his mother was dead, and he just needed there to be more, more of something. Abelon’s reflection contorted and stretched, pulled back and forth by the wind over the water.
Abelon felt his heart sink, and he was beginning to realize how stupid he looked. The reflection twisted, and Abelon felt a hot cramping in his gut like he might throw up, and then it was there, looking back at him.
Rise of the Guild: The Monster
Abelon gasped, his heart pounding in his ears. The alien face with its wild angles demanded to be touched, and so he leaned out over the water and reached his hand out, brushing his fingers over the surface. The image of the man in the lake swirled and stretched and something like fear tightened his features.
Abelon sat back. The reflection’s features smoothed and relaxed as the water slowed its undulation. Abelon studied the face, but it hurt to look at it too closely. His wavy black hair disappeared into the darkness like the image was bleeding out into the open water. The eyes were almost blue but a pale unnerving shade not found in any living man. The man’s lips parted and Abelon instinctively leaned closer. He mouthed something, but Abelon couldn’t hear anything.
Abelon furrowed his brow. He opened his mouth to say something to the man in the lake, but his mind was filled with a command. “Call me.”
The man in the lake put his hands up, palms out. Abelon’s thigh muscles strained to keep his balance as he rested his hands gently on the surface of the water to match. At first, he only felt the icy sting of the cold water. Then, his skin began to tingle, first his palms and then his arms. It felt nice, and Abelon let out a small sigh.
The tingling became sharper, more insistent, spreading through his shoulders and back. His chest tightened and a jolt of adrenaline shot through him. He sucked in air to prove to himself he still could, but the air burned in his lungs. He tried to pull back from the water, but something wrapped around his hands and pulled him down. His palms smashed into the mud, the water nipping at his forearms. He screamed at the same time the man stretched open his mouth, and in his terror, he wondered if the man was screaming too.
Abelon’s scream cut short. His eyes widened, and he struggled to take a breath, but his chest only got tighter and hungrier. His vision blurred at the edges as the need for oxygen racked his body. Everything went black.
I gasped. I sucked in the air, cold and tinged with the taste of rotting leaves. I smiled. It felt so good. I squished my fingers against the mud and suppressed a giggle even though there was no one to see me. I looked at my reflection in the water. A skinny blonde boy with an unassuming face stared back at me. I traced my finger down my new face, learning its curves. It would do.
I rinsed my hands, running my fingers over the skin in awe. I grabbed the bag laying next to me and headed up the bank away from the water’s edge. I opened the bag. It wasn’t much, but my host had already given so much, and I was grateful.
I walked along the edge of the bank and up the hill into the cover of the trees. I let the wood close around me, sheltering me from the strengthening breeze. Moonlight glimmered on the dark, slick surfaces of the wood. It had rained recently. The moisture was all around me, hovering like a lacework of droplets over the forest floor. I sat with my back against a tree, not minding the cool water soaking into the back of my pants. Memories tore at my fragile peace. Another world. A different end. I pulled at the fragments, trying to assemble them into a coherent narrative, but it was all tinged with the horror of the apocalyptic, and it was hard to make sense of it all.
When I was in it, it all seemed so clear, the path I was taking. It all had meaning, the conquests, the victories, and then things had gotten out of control. I had gotten out of control, and now that world was lost to me, a desolate rock marked with blood stains.
I put my head back against the tree, taking in slow, deep breaths. That world was over. That existence was over, and now I had another existence. I had another chance.
My stomach grumbled, and I looked through the bag. There was a crust of bread. It was dry and gritty, but I ate it anyway. It wasn’t enough. I needed more.
It wouldn’t take long for my brothers and sisters to know I was here. They would bring the fight to me. I stood and wiped at the damp brush clinging to the back of my pants. I straightened my thin frame. There was nothing else for it. I had to prepare.
I put the pack on my back, and retraced my steps to the edge of the wood, following the line of the forest for hours. My legs ached, but my stomach felt worse, so I kept walking. Every so often my sweat caught the chill of the wind, and I would feel the ache of it in my bones.
My heart started pounding when I saw a large creek running freely to my right. The sun would be up soon. I could see the pink hues beginning to sweep over the horizon. I veered to the right to follow the creek. Water meant life. I would follow it until I found sustenance.
It wasn’t long after dawn that I came upon the small house, alone and isolated. It was perfect. The yard held the remnants of a garden emptied of its harvest. I walked around the marked up earth. The small house looked more like a large room up close, but I couldn’t see much through the few small windows.
A man stepped out onto the front step. He was taller than me and much bulkier. His face was marked with a deep scar running from cheek to chin. He grimaced as he sized me up. I doubted he was very intimidated.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
I felt a stir of hunger that my stomach couldn’t satisfy. The glowing pulse in his chest looked so much more delicious, and it had been so long since I had really fed. My face brightened with anticipation. “Yes, sir. I’m looking for work.”
The man’s lip curled into a sneer. “You’re late. Work’s done, idiot.”
“Yes, of course.” I took a few steps closer. I felt unsure in my new form, but I knew what I needed. I needed to connect. “But there must be something I could do around here. I don’t eat much. I just need a bed and bread. I’ll forage for everything else,” I lied.
“You sure don’t look like you eat much,” the man scoffed. “Get the hell off my land. I don’t need you, and I certainly don’t want you.”
I was only a few feet. If I ran at him, he probably wouldn’t think to go back inside the house. Sometimes simplest is best. I ran. My new legs did not let me down. I charged him, closing the distance between us.
The man gawked at me, surprised. His hands came up to defend himself, but they couldn’t protect him. My hand went to his throat, making contact with his skin. He clawed at my face once it began. The blood ran into my eyes, blinding me. I squeezed my eyes shut, but kept my grip tight, as I sucked him dry. At the end he started making this strange mewling sound. I was glad when it ended.
I let go of him, and he dropped to the ground. Simplest is best. Especially when there are no neighbors. This kind of thing got you burned at the stake when there are neighbors. I have already learned that lesson.
I sighed, the pleasure of feeding filling me from head to toe. Putting a hand against the doorframe, I leaned into the sensation. I felt more like myself, stronger, clearer. It wouldn’t last long. I wanted to enjoy every moment of it.
I went inside and started rummaging for food in the stranger’s house in a stranger’s body. I got myself cured meat and cheese and went back out to sit on a hill away from the dead man. The sun pulled up above the horizon as I ate my breakfast, and for a moment, it all felt so right.
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