Short Change Hero

[Arage Bao]

The Netherworld; Chaos

Footsteps heralded his fleeing of the scene, somewhere behind him an explosion went off and washed away the background into an eerie blue fire. Flames licked the incorporeal flesh of the stragglers, turning them into dust and molten skin, finally they crumbled to the ground and stayed there. Soft whispers followed the running man, but he did not take note of them, he was operating on pure instinct right now. The most basic of actions and those led him to run harder and harder, his breath was rushed, ragged as adrenaline coursed through his veins and did to him what it always had done.

Made him feel alive, exhilarated and also fairly blind to the downslope that was coming up before him. One moment he was running, the other he was crashing, rolling through the dirt and sand. Skin nicked by little cuts of stone, glass and sharp grinds. But he did not feel none of it, his mind was elsewhere; to a point in life where things had been more simple and enjoyable. When she had been around to knock him back on his feet and made him understand what was and wasn’t important in life.

‘Rariu-ai-Tina.’

‘Rirtsa-iw-Rumakata?’

‘Oh my, your pronunciation has come far.’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘The better question would be to ask what you are doing here.’

‘I cannot leave.’

‘You cannot stay either.’

‘I killed her, murdered. This is justice for her life.’

‘You weren’t yourself.’

‘Semantics and a simple way to deflect blame.’

‘But the truth regardless.’

‘It was my knife, my hand and her blood.’

‘You have to forgive yourself.’

Her voice trailed away, dissipated into wisps of dreams and emotions. A flood of memories filled him, the days spend rushing through the woods; hunting for prey, the moments at the lakes, climbing trees and vaulting over the branches. It had been tough at times, nerve-wrecking and even now he could remember his muscles burning of the strain and pain. Only now did Khaleel come to understand how much better he had had it then, how simple things had been. But that was how it always went, you only come to appreciate something once you lose it, once it’s gone into the void and buried.

Just the way of things.

Khaleel’s body finished it’s rolling motion and landed in a surreal clearing, a single tree stood at the center of it all. On one of the tree’s branches sat a lizard, a big one, with its eyes closed.

As the rolling man screeched to a halt and coughed, the lizard opened one eye, snuck a peak and then quickly closed it again.

 

[Arage Bao]

The lizard was not actually a lizard, though it looked like a lizard, slithered its tongue like a lizard, maybe even thought like a lizard, but for all intents and purposes it was not a lizard. This point could not be overstated, it had to be ran home and be understood, because otherwise the events that followed wouldn’t make any sense and it would seem as if Khaleel was simply tired, had hit his head during the roll or dehydration had finally claimed him.

None of that was the current case though.

Your next question might be what the lizard was, if it wasn’t an actual lizard, and that was a perfectly reasonable question. But it wasn’t a question that would be answered right away, suffice to say that it was a very special creature that currently perched on the branch and was pretending to meditate right about now.

Khaleel groaned, the guttural sound that escaped his throat was more reminiscent of a wounded animal cornered and wondering what it had done to deserve such a disservice to his health and stature. Every fibre in his being hurt, his muscles were strained, little cuts were littered across his aching limbs - point being, he was in a world of pain. After a few more moments of self-pity, he rolled from his back to his side and finally crept over towards the tree.

The lizard perching on the branch was entirely missed by the groaning man, but that wouldn’t stay for long seeing as when Khal managed to slump against the wood, the tree rocketed and the ‘lizard’ once again opened one of his eyes.

Annoyance was almost palpable, it radiated from his magnificent scales and finally a voice echoed. The source was the lizard, yet the ‘lizard’ had not even opened his mouth.

‘Can you please go and do that somewhere else?’

Khal’s eyes burst open, face wildly moving from side to side to disconcern where that voice had come from. He was still not entirely aware that the lizard was sitting on the branch above his head.

A cough was soon uttered, in an attempt to get Khaleel’s attention.

Which it did. The poor bartender raised his head and immediately scrambled away from the tree, branch and not-Lizard, diving through the sand, mud and other assorted materials he was only earning himself more scars. But at this point in time he did not really care, in Khal’s mind the thing was about to eat him, or worse.

And he didn’t want to get eaten, regardless of the brave words spoken to the apparition that had come to him those few moments ago. Eventually, when Khal had put enough distance between himself and whatever it was that had spoken to him, the bartender looked back and saw the lizard - both eyes open now - looking at him, strangely amused.

‘W-what the feth are you supposed to be?!’

It might be clear now that Khaleel wasn’t exactly in the diplomatic state of mind right now. He had been through a lot, had been here for a few months, but most of the things the bartender had interacted with had been trying to kill, eat, enslave or make a shutta outta him.

He wasn’t exactly quick to put trust into this thing, even if it wasn’t attacking him right now.

‘I am your father, Luke.’

‘...what?’

‘Nevermind.’

The tone was set.