Castaway

THE CURSED CHILD

She’s not feeling well for the past three days after what had happened. But it’s not a reason for her to stop from their job to eliminate demons. She had some weird dreams about a fight and fires. She knew the answer, and that made her scared. The day she’s worried about is getting nearer.

“Devy, as I give you a signal, shoot it immediately. These Shadows are a bit tricky to catch, and their movements are too fast. We don’t have time to hesitate, do you hear me?” Amaron instructed her.

They were inside an abandoned hotel where they got a piece of information that they felt something unusual in that place. As they investigated it before, they found a demon residing in that place that scares people. It’s a Shadow. It’s a newly formed dark force born from negative human emotions. It’s the first stage of what they called demons.

When the Shadow collects enough negativity from its targets, it will have its own shape, and that’s when an Abalaki is formed. It’s a big black bird that resembles a crow, but it has a pair of bloody eyes. The last stage, which they rarely encounter, is a Kabal. She never encountered it herself, but they were told that it is a shapeshifter that can change in any form as long as it already consumed its target’s minds. They can possess their target or become their doppelganger.

Their ancestors told them that the previous Chief of their Clan prohibited anyone from entering a forest because what happened with his father traumatized him. A shapeshifter killed his father, which in the end copied his father’s face.

She heard a soft whistle came from Amaron, and it caught her attention. She looked around and saw a shadow on the ceiling. It didn’t notice her yet. She slowly grabbed the pocket knife she took from Calix earlier and walked without making any noise.

She’s sweating a lot. She can feel her body went heavier, and her breathing is unusual. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hit it, and she was right. As she threw the knife, it moved immediately before it hit it. Amaron immediately covered her mistake and had it pressed against the wall.

“The elixir, quick!” Amaron shouted.

“Ooohhh, are you the cursed child?” Its tiny and playfu; voice echoed the whole room as it laughed.

“Don’t listen to it, Devy,” Amaron told her.

She took the bottle of elixir from the pocket of her cargo pants and handed it over to Amaron.

“Are you going to kill me, too? I’m not one of you, though,” it laughed.

She felt her heart beat faster and her anger went up. She saw how Amaron looked for its neck, cut it, and poured some elixir on it.

“Aaahhh hahaha. See you in hell, cursed child,” it told her as it turned into ashes and vanished.

-0-0-0-

“Are you okay?” Amaron asked her when they were fixing their things and ready to have their leave.

“Yeah. I still got a little headache, though,” she told him.

“Did Baron give you any medicine this morning?” he asked as he took her bag and carried it instead.

“He did, but I refused to take it. It’s not that I don’t trust how his medicines work, but I think it’s not working for me, even if how many times I took it. He even adjusted the dosage, but I just felt nauseous,” she said.

“Maybe it really is the curse.”

That had her stopped from walking. He turned around to face her.

“Isn’t it too early for that?” she asked him.

“But nobody told us it varies with ages. Just like what father said, the first cursed child was only 18.” she heard his hesitation saying the “cursed” part but said it anyway.

She loved how frank Amaron can be. Sometimes, he could hurt your feelings without him knowing, but she likes people being honest than trying to hide things for her own good. They’re all going to die anyway. She thought.

“Come on, let’s leave,” she told him and started to walk.

They were walking outside the abandoned hotel when suddenly she couldn’t feel her legs, and she lost her balance. She had the wall support her weight, but her head was spinning, and her eyes are blurry. Amaron was walking ahead, and she couldn’t find her voice. This feeling got her breathless.

“Hope Baron prepared somethi—Devy!”

Amaron ran towards her.

“We shouldn’t have let you handle this case with me…” He talked nonstop until the only thing she could hear was nothing but loud silence before she passed out.

-0-0-0-

“How many times did she collapse these past few days? This isn’t normal anymore,” she heard someone talking.

She’s awake but still had her eyes closed. Her body felt heavy now that she’s lying. Her headaches worsen, and her heart sometimes skipped a beat. If only it were caused by coffee.

“She even refused her medication.” That was Baron.

She felt sorry for him. He can fight, but he’s not that good with creating his techniques and decided to focus on healing instead.

“Is it because of the curse?” she heard Amaron asked them.

“Why do you always say it is because of the curse? She’s still our sister, and she’s not feeling well,” Calix had his voice up.

“Don’t say it like we don’t care about her. We do, and that’s why we’re finding out the cause. My point is, if it is because of the curse, we don’t have any choice but to wait for her to get better because that’s what we’re told. She’s going to suffer for a while waiting for that cursed mark to appear, and that’s bullsh*t,” Amaron raised his voice.

Her eyes were heavy, but she decided to open them. She thought that they shouldn’t fight like this in front of her. It only made her feel bad for them.

“Don’t worry,” she told them as she got up from the couch.

Calix saw her and had her supported.

“If this is unusual, I should find where he is and find out what happened to him. I had a feeling he’s not in any good condition, and it reflected on me as well,” she said.

She was told that she had to endure the pain while waiting for her cursed mark to appear on her wrist because it was also when the Primo had been chosen and received his gifts while she’s here receiving her curse.

She tried to stand up and made them think that she’s already okay.

“I’ll find him,” Calix told her.

“No. I’ll find him,” she said.

“Devy—“

“Please, don’t make it hard for me. Getting the cursed mark is so much pain enough. How could I—“ Her voice cracked, and she couldn’t finish her sentence.

“How could I kill everyone if you’re treating me this well?” she asked them.

Amaron looked away while Calix had his head down. Baron still didn’t make any sound. She picked up her bow and arrow and walked towards the door.

“Don’t look for me. I’ll solve this myself,” she said before she turned around.

“I’m begging you. Treat me like how father is treating me. That would be beneficial for all of us,” she added before she decided to walk away.