Lost in the Crossroads

Three - Santelmo (Alexandra)

Gazing down at the fishes in the river, Alex wondered how hard it was to catch one bare-handed.

Abel does make it look like easy.

It took a whole day for them to find the river. Someone had suggested they have fish for supper and here they are, trying to catch fish bare-handed and barefooted on the shallow stream.

So far, no strange creatures have made their presence known which relaxes her but put Abel in a silent and broody mood. Her friend had been high-strung all throughout the trek, like she was waiting for anyone or anything to pop out of anywhere and attack them. Marking their way from the Trooper by stabbing a tree and twisting the blade was not enough to ease her friend’s worries.

At the very least her distraction tactic had work. Distracting Abel with arguments was enough to ease some of her tension. It might have been a little risky distracting Abel in their situation but she cannot let her friend go homicidal on them anytime a threat made itself known. It will rain blood.

She let her eyes gaze sidelong, catching Abel staring into the water intensely. She was bowing low, hands poised in front of her. There was only a light tension on her shoulders. Light but it was still there. Silver eyes steady on the water but Alex knows her friend was aware of everyone’s position in the river. Traits that Alex could not ease nor distract. It got something to do from staying in the front-lines too damn long.

“Argh!” Kara stomped her foot childishly on the water, splashing water on her knee-high folded pants. “Why can’t I do it?!” She complained, having trouble from catching some slippery fish.

Everyone does. Tabitha and Hailey had long given up. They tried but end up starting a vicious splash war. On the lower stream stood Hailey, Tabitha, Kara, Dein and Drishti at the command. The opposing army was the Captain Abel, Medic Alex, Blake, Fenella and a reluctant Geneva on the upper stream. The Captain of the Echo squad had little idea about the logistics of a war on the basis of water as she was used to kicking ass with guns and knives, Alex had to take charge.

It was fierce and brutal. Abel who had finally understood the logistics, used their upper stream advantage with vicious kicks on the water creating a huge wave which they followed as an example.

But the lower stream Team was stubborn, trying to their best to awaken and use their water-bending abilities while cackling madly. It was an amusing sight.

They all made an amusing sight.

Hailey and Tabitha had long drink a liter of river water from laughing loudly, it was unhygienic Alex had to admit but she could care less at the moment.

At one point, Fenella weak from laughing hysterically grabbed the reluctant Geneva and accidentally pulled her down, which forces Geneva to go k******e and threw herself into no man’s land like a whirlwind of whipping long black hair. Ultimately, she tripped over a rock under the water and she toppled right onto the small redhead Commander.

Abel, not wanting a friend’s sacrifice to be in vain, chucked a fish on Kara’s face like the world’s least nuclear bomb, whom they know would take in charge. Kara caught the fish dumb-founded as it slid down from her face, wondering like everyone else where that came from.

With the mischievous red-head down from Geneva’s sacrifice, the successor with the fish and her team immobile the upper stream Team was victorious and led them back to their first activity.

Tabitha, still laughing, volunteered to start their camp fire. Hailey panting from laughing too much followed her.

They shouldn’t spend too much together. Alex thought. Their megawatt smiles were as bright as the sun when together.

Geneva stood in a dignified manner from the pile she made with Drishti on the shallow water and snatch the fish from Kara’s hand walking towards their new camp beneath another large tree, not quite enormous as their first and Trooper base.

Drishti was wheezing with a dopey smile on her face, wet from head to toe like everyone else. Blake pulled her up and suggested they should change.

Kara had then challenged Abel for a fishing contest. The one who caught many fishes win.

Dein stayed in the water to watch Kara struggled after her boasting. Alex stayed for curious reasons. It does look easy.

Suddenly, Alex was jolted from her thought when Abel hand’s shoots forward into the liquid at unbelievable speed and yanks a large fish out by the tail.

Abel grinned widely, straightening her back, “Gotcha!”

Kara groaned in the back ground followed by Dein’s snickers.

Alex scowled at her friend. Was she even human?

The woman nonchalantly threw the fish at Hailey’s direction who catches it with difficulty because the fish was stubbornly struggling.

“Abel: Three! Kara: Zero!” Tabitha taunted.

“Just you see!” Kara shouted, miffed by their friend’s taunting. Her eyes are shifting from one fish to another in the water, looking for a big one to catch. Always the competitive one.

Alex doesn’t even understand why is she being so competitive. Not that Abel agree with her challenged. The saying, silence means yes, doesn’t really mean anything to them when it comes to Kara’s sudden announcement of challenges or bets.

Sometimes they indulge her, most were ignored or dismiss. Kara doesn’t really pay attention that well to notice.

“What’s up?” Abel asked, noticing her gaze. She had strip her hoodie off before she came to the water, leaving her soaked with water in her charcoal top and knee-folded fatigue pants.

“How do you do it?” She had folded her jeans too. And felt the annoyance of not being able to wear her pink shirt flared in life again. She understands the need for inconspicuousness’ but Alex have the feeling Abel just didn’t want the color. Her gut feeling was telling her so and she silently bowed for revenge.

A brow arched up before her face schooled down to a neutral expression. “Focus on the water. Not on me. Then, grab it.” her friend said.

That sounded simple. Alex moved her feet apart to try it. She focused on the colorful fishes in the water, their scales reflecting the setting sun’s beautiful ray of lights from the clear water stream.

“Don’t move too much. Try to be as inconspicuous as possible.” Abel’s voice drifted off inside her concentration. Okay, so even in catching fishes, inconspicuousness was needed. Who suggested they have fish for dinner, again?

Alex doesn’t move much. Doesn’t even twitch. She was even tempted not to breath just not to spook the fishes or exasperated Abel for the hell of it but she loved breathing for God’s sake.

A fish, not as large as Abel catch but it will do, swam between her feet. Again, she was tempted to stopped breathing but choose not to do it.

What’s next? Abel didn’t say anything, leaving her on her own.

Oh right, grab it.

She did just that but the fish was too quick, swimming away before she can even touch the water and spooking the other fishes.

“You’re too slow.” Abel commented, emphasizing her words with her hand shooting back on the water with incredible speed and catching yet another fish, not as large as the others but still a fish.

Alex felt some conspiracy in this. Does the fishes like her friend more? Or was she really that slow? She had this urge to threw a knife at her friend but it was a futile effort not to mention energy-wasting.

Okay, now she’s feeling Kara’s annoyance. That isn’t right.

She mentally shook her head and tried to understand what Abel was trying to say. She refused to accept it as insult. Her friend just wanted her to grab it faster before it swam away. Why couldn’t she have said so in the first place? She thought grumpily.

Alex tried it again, waiting for a moment to any fish that have the courage to approach her. She noticed they were quite a few and tried not think much about the conspiracy between Abel and fishes.

As soon as she found the fish she wanted to catch, both of her hands shoot forward. Her fingers grazed the smooth scaly skin of the fish before her hands viciously closed on its tail and she pulled it put with a whoop. Alex yelp when the fish escaped her hands, catching it in mid-air after receiving two fish-tail slapped on her chin.

She hugged it close on her chest, still struggling. The feeling of a fish struggling on her chest was quite unpleasant but Alex doesn’t really care.

She felt the smug satisfaction of catching a fish on her second try.

“I caught one!” Abel grinned proudly at her, conspiracies forgotten at the moment.

“Okay, that’s it! You’re eating lead, you shitty fishes!” Kara growled in the background, pulling out a gun from the back of her jeans.

The forest reek of age at night. The camp-fire was their only solace at the sudden darkness inside the ancient and lush forest. There were no ball or curtain of lights like their first night. Just the simple darkness of the night after the sun sets and the silence it accompanied with the whole forest succumbing to rest.

The sound of the streaming water was distant from their base camp. It was the sprawled tree Abel had chosen. Not far nor too close to the river. There was something about the sprawled tree that remind Alex of a watchful guardian, curved like it was meant for protection to those who seek shelter in it. The thought probably passed her friend too. Like a silent sentinel of the groves.

Their wet clothes were draped all over it’s trunk for drying purposes somehow ruin that title. They were wearing their army shirts that night, an unspoken agreement passing between them.

The night was silent and comfortable only bothered by occasional whispers and conversation. They were circled around the fire, the sleeping bags laid around them acting as cushion on the dirt. They don’t really plan to stay in hotels when the planned their road trip and Abel’s Trooper could only fit a number of persons sleeping horizontally.

Fenella was occasionally slapping a bug over her sleeping bag.

“What are you doing?” Drishti asked to Kara who was busy scribbling something on a small sketchpad.

Alex narrowed her eyes, wondering why was she doing that when it was so dark.

“Drawing a map.” Kara said simply. Pen smoothly tracing over the paper. “We're somewhere in the East, right?”

“Northeast.” Abel answered, stoking the fire with a stick. Her hoodie was back.

Well, Alex was wearing her own jacket too. A pink one. Not a neon color but still a pink and she caught Abel giving it a stink eye. Her best-friend’s intention for the harsh treatment towards her neon pink shirt was confirmed.

The others were wearing their jacket too. The temperature dropping low inside the forest, cold air fresh and clean.

“How did you know?” Blake wondered. Hailey was dozing off from her side, energy spent from all the laughing.

Abel pulled something out from the pocket of her hoodie. Her smartphone. Alex was surprised it was still alive. Well, her Iphone was still alive but she just couldn’t find it useful without internet connection. She fiddled on it for a moment before showing them a compass application.

Of course, she had that.

“Is that even legit?” Kara asked, clearly not trusting it without internet.

Abel gave her an unimpressed look and pulled out another thing from her hoodie, a legitimate compass. Old, slightly battered but still working compass attached to her dog tag.

Of course, she had that too.

“Right. Northeast.” Kara chuckled, going back to her work.

Abel didn’t bother a reply, slipping back the silver chains and compass back into her pocket.

There was a comfortable that had Alex slowly dozing off like Hailey. It has been a while since she has fun and relaxation after without thinking about anything. It sounded selfish but a part of her wanted this and felt like she deserved a break from their duties and responsibilities. All of them.

She was about to fell asleep when Abel’s back shot ramrod straight at the same time Tabitha’s head followed something in the dark and the wind blowing ominously. Again.

Something is traveling down her body; some strange feeling Alex can’t place. It seems so familiar and yet it also seems very foreign.

“I don’t like this feeling.” Geneva muttered, feeling the same thing as her. Everyone stopped what they are doing and waited. Hailey was also jolted awake.

In their circle, Abel was the only one not protected by curve of their shelter. Her back facing the open space. While Tabitha was facing her, fire in between them, her back leaning on their watchful guardian. Confusion was visible on her face.

“Did you see that?” Tabitha asked, turning to Drishti by her side.

“See what?” Drishti answered, brows furrowing as she tried to see something in the darkness of the forest.

“Fire.”

“A torch?” Abel asked, already crouching and facing the open space.

“I think.”

“Prepare you flashlights.” She glanced back at them before returning her gaze to darkness around them. “What the—DUCK!”

None of them question the order, they ducked and a large ball of fire whizzed pass above their heads. Their own camp fire crackling in response to it.

“What the f**k was that?!” Kara shouted, paper and pen dropping from her hands.

No one dared to peered out over their guardian sheltered and confirmed that yes, a ball of fire just tried to kill them. Where did that even came from? How was it flying? Was it suspended?

“Shut up and don’t raise your heads!” Abel warned, she was now on all fours. Silver eyes wild, reflecting the fiery brilliance of their camp-fire as she looked for their attacker.

“Someone must be playing some prank on us!” Hailey screamed when the ball of fire whizzed pass again from another direction. She curled herself into a ball, an impressive feat with her high stature.

For a moment Alex thought they were going to be cook from the heat that encompasses them when for the third time it passed on their shelter.

“I’m going to kill that someone!” Geneva hissed darkly, hands covering her head.

“I know this one.” Alex heard Abel muttered to herself, her eyes held something akin to recognition.

“What?” she asked, heart beating loudly in her chest as the fire passed them again. It felt like an attack but at the same time not. What exactly was it doing?

“I think I know this one.” Abel answered, frowning hard. “It’s a Santelmo.”

She doesn’t the time to further ask questions when the next time it passed from unpredicted direction, a shirt that was draped over their shelter’s trunk caught on fire and fell in between Kara and Fenella making them both shriek and run away from the shelter of their sentinel tree.

“Fen! Kara! Dammit! Get back here!” Abel was already chasing after them. “Flashlight!” she shouted back at them.

And the ones who have remained moved in a frenzy searching for the flashlight. The two run away didn’t managed to get that far when Alex got a hold her flashlight lighting where she heard the scream as the large ball of fire catching sight of them charged in their direction at a velocity of immeasurable caliber.

“Watch out!”

“Kara!”

“Fenella, run faster!”

“Oh my God!”

Abel was there, tackling the both of them for cover in the bushes. Effectively cutting off their screams. They will be sporting bruises and cuts after this but that was okay so long they weren’t burned to ashes.

The creature landed on the ground with an echoing boom, scorching the ground and rose in the air again. Alex pulled out the gun Abel gave her and aim.

“I’m sorry!” She restrained herself from pulling the trigger, hearing Abel’s voice.

“I’m sorry, okay? We were just lost.”

Holy s**t, what is she doing? Alex couldn’t but think that her friend had finally lost it, standing before a large ball of fire with her hands raise showing that she doesn’t mean harm and apologizing. Twigs and leaves stuck on her hair.

“We didn’t mean to trespass on your territory. It was purely accidental. So please forgive us. We won’t do any harm to your—err, to those whom you protect. I swear. We will try to get off it as soon as possible but that I can’t promise. As I said, we were lost.”

Her friend was trying to talk some sense into a ball of fire. With baited breath, they waited for it to do something drastic. They really can’t expect a ball of fire to understand her friend.

Why is she talking to it in the first place?

Without saying anything, Alex would faint if it suddenly talks, the large ball of fire soared away from her friends.

Abel sighed out loud in relief, twigs and leaves still stuck on her hair.

Kara and Fenella crawled out of the bushes behind her.

“Why didn’t you shoot it?!” Kara demanded angrily.

“Common sense. It’s a ball of fire, you i***t. Bullets probably wouldn’t hurt it. It most likely would pissed it off.” Abel answered simply.

“So, you apologized?” Dein asked exclaimed.

“It worked, did it not?”

It did, shockingly.