The Black Heritage

Chapter 9: Doubts

"Head Village! Head Village! Bad news! Bad News!" Arthur shouted as he approached Uncle Simon's house. The same goes to the two companions of Arthur from fishing, they were shouting around the same information about the approaching disaster. 

"What news is that for you to scream so loud in total fret?" Uncle Simon asked through peeking the window. 

"Head Village, Ethan said, we need to be prepared because he felt that something bad is about to happen in our village." Arthur gasped his breath. 

"What kind of bad thing is it?" Uncle Simon frowned. "Is that really serious?" 

"Head Village, Ethan didn't say it directly if what exactly it is but he only said he had a troubled feeling just like last night."

"Father, Ethan's words always came true. What if it is true? Then, what are we going to do?" Nora, Nelly's mother, shook his father's arms. "Father, why not ask everyone to flee before it's late."

"If we flee, where do you think we are going? In the city? How long are we going to run before reaching the city? If we reach the city, where are we going to take shelter?" Uncle Simon said. 

"But we can't stay here. Father, I can't bear to see something going to happen to my daughter again. Father, let's go. Let's leave here." Nora glanced at her daughter who had just fallen asleep after a day of comforting. 

"Wait here and I'll go down. We need to take a further discussion of this matter." Uncle Simon said and then went outside. 

"Bro Arthur, we already informed everyone. What are we going to do next?" Christopher said. 

Little by little, everyone gathered at the front yard of Uncle Simon. They were a little panicked and worried. They couldn't help but mumble random words. 

"I don't know either." Arthur tapped Christopher's shoulder. "Let's see how Head Village decides for this matter."

-"What to do? Are we going to die here tonight?" 

Uncle Simon went in the center of the crowd. He clapped his hands, "Everyone, calm down. Don't think too much first. Instead of letting our minds run wild in advance, why not think of a better solution if how to survive from this oncoming bad event."

-"Head Village, do you have a good solution in your mind?" 

Uncle Simon looked around. It was already dusk. If the thing that may harm them again was a monster just last night, then he couldn't think of any solutions. He wasn't familiar with monsters but if they ran away, how far could they escape? 

Each family was hugging each other with men carrying their offspring. Few of them, especially kids, had cried already. They were in total fear. 

"I only thought of two solutions. First, we flee right now. Second, we fight. This matter concerns the lives of everyone here, so I can't decide by myself. Thus, I want to ask all of you. Are we going to flee or fight?" Uncle Simon said. 

-"We better flee since we have no assurance that we can survive by staying here." A late forties man said.

-"If we flee, do you think we can survive also in the street with hunger, cold and no shelter?"

-"In either way, we are at disadvantage. Why not fight 'till the end?" 

-"This is Penthelope's fault."

"Father." Penthelope cried more in the arms of her father as everyone looked at her with a blame in their eyes. 

Mang Castor rubbed the back of his daughter and kissed her forehead. "Dear villagers, look at my daughter. Isn't she pitiful enough? Why are you still blaming her?" 

-"If not because of her bringing her boyfriend here, last night's incident and this another oncoming bad luck shouldn't be going to happen."

Uncle Simon's hands raised on air. "Enough! There's no use blaming here. What we need to do is to decide whether we stay or flee. Those who want to leave, you can leave now. While those who want to stay, then stay and be prepared."

-"Wasn't this all Mister Ethan's prediction? Why is he not here to give us pointers on what to do? He seems to know a lot. Arthur, where is he? He didn't flee to save only himself right while leaving us behind." 

"He--is still--" 

Before Arthur could answer, there was a sound of fluttering clothes due to the strong wind that passed at them.

At first he suddenly jumped to their side from nowhere and floated again in the air. Then he jumped to the roof of a house again before he reached the inside of the tree house. 

"Look, grandpa. Brother didn't leave us. He is here." Jotun jumped, pointing to the tree house with joy. He waved at Ethan, "Brother Ethan, I know you can't bear to leave us."

Ethan stood calm with hand held behind his back while looking down at them. "Jotun, leaving in times of disaster is noty style."

"Can you beat them all Brother Ethan?" 

Ethan didn't answer. Even he, himself wasn't sure of it. He wasn't prepared enough to defeat them but there was no more time to think and to prepare what to do. In his mind, he could only face and fight for their survival. 

Ethan bent down. He picked his archer bow and pack of arrows and hung it in his back as well as his daggers. He also grabbed Brayden's whip. 

As all weapons he had in their house were already in his body, Ethan picked his phone and made a call to his brothers as he jumped down next to Uncle Simon and Jotun. But, none from his two brothers picked up the phone. 

"Why didn't they pick up the phone? Is something bad happening to them? No way. They are fine. They are surely fine. They must be stuck with their works. Hmmmm, right. They just didn't notice their phone." Ethan mumbled. 

"Ethan, what are you thinking?" Uncle Simon laid his hand at Ethan's shoulder. "Are you thinking of a solution?" 

Ethan flinched. "Uncle Simon, to be honest, I don't have any good solutions either. All I just know, I won't flee. I will fight to death - - because - - - even if I want to, it's too late."

"What do you mean?" Everyone fretted. 

Ethan looked up as he closed his eyes. He exhaled, "They are already coming."

"What?" Everybody screamed in fear. 

-"What to do Mister Ethan?"

"Prepare yourself for a bloody battle." Ethan seriously replied. "Get any sharp and pointed weapons you can easily use to kill. Be united, take good care of each other, fight side by side and one more thing, don't lose faith to God. Be brave. That is all we have now."

"Ethan, how did you know they are coming?" Uncle Simon asked. 

Jotun squeezed inside his grandpa's arms and sobbed. "Grandpa, I am afraid."

Ethan crumpled the kid's hair, "Don't be scared Jotun. I am here, I won't let anything happen to you. I will protect you."

"Really Brother Ethan? That is great." Jotun jumped at Ethan and hugged his thigh. "Thank you Brother Ethan. You are really the best."

"Ethan, you haven't answered me yet. Your knowledge and your martial skills always make us wonder of you." Uncle Simon said. "Hope you can tell us. How did you know they are coming? Who are they?" 

Ethan whizzed. "Uncle Simon, I don't need to hide where I got this information from. I got this information from the ground and the air."

-"What? Mister Ethan, are you kidding us? Did the air and the ground have a mouth and talk to you? This is ridiculous. You must be saying nonsense and trying to scare us."

Ethan faced the man who spoke behind him. His left brow curved up in askance. "Trying to scare you?" Ethan smirked. "Why would I do that? Do you think this is funny? If you don't believe me, why don't you smell the air and listen to the ground? You will discover what I am saying." 

Arthur, Christopher and few others did what Ethan said and all of them discovered none. 

"Bro Ethan, sorry but I didn't discover any unusual thing from the air and the wind." Arthur said while dusting his palms and knees. 

"Me too." Christopher seconded. 

"Me too. There is nothing." The few others said in unison. 

"I know you can't tell but I can. So I am saying you guys are unable to understand me." Ethan said. 

"Bro Ethan, it's not that I doubted the authenticity of your predictions but I was really curious. Can you tell us what you discovered from the air and the ground?" Arthur asked. 

"Stamping feets and a smell of fresh blood. That is what I discovered."

-"Nonsense! Nonsense! Let's go home."

"You better go home and hide well. Because they are really here."

-"You---" 

The ground suddenly shook strongly which added the phobias to the villagers' hearts. 

"What is going on?" Arthur said, while shouting. They were trying to search for a place to hide. "Head Village, is there an earthquake?" 

"Yes but it was not a natural cause." Ethan interrupted. "These earthquakes are the effect of the feets created by the monster.. Stamping around and jumping around." 

"Monster! Monster!" Shouted by a family who tried to sneak out from the village from not afar."

"Monster?" Roared by everybody. 

"Little Brother, run!" Ethan suddenly heard his second brother Brayden calling him from afar.