Perilous Jaunt Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Peter
We had put some distance between Ansil and us by the time we set up camp for the night in some woods that were far away from the City. Dante and I had barely sat down next to each other when Esme volunteered to go hunt for our dinner.
"Why don't you guys rest while I go grab some food?" Esme asked, pointing off into the woods with her thumb.
"Sure," Dante agreed, leaning back and resting his head against the trunk of a tree, closing his eyes as he did so.
"See you later," Esme wished us farewell and disappeared into the dark forest.
Dante didn't reply.
Ever since we left the Iron Pass, Dante had been really pissing me off. He was hardly talking, was always moody and kept denying that anything was wrong. What a bunch of bullshit. I knew something was bothering him, but he was completely trying to avoid talking about it. He acted like he was jut tired, but I knew that was a lie. Why did he keep everything to himself? Didn't he know that bottling things up could be unhealthy?
Fuck it. I want answers. "Dante, what the hell's going on?"
The wolf's blue and brown eyes flickered open slowly and he glanced at me as if I were a fly. "What?"
"This whole mopey shit you've been doing!" I yelled. "What's the matter? If it's something important, you should tell me and Esme about it,"
"It's nothing," Dante mumbled and closed his eyes again.
"The hell it is! Why can't you just talk about it like a normal person?"
Dante's eyes snapped open again and his fur stood up as he bared his teeth at me. "Christ, do you ever shut up?"
"Not when the guy who's supposed to be protecting me isn't telling me what the hell's going on!"
"It's none of your damn business," Dante barked at me.
"Why is it so hard for you to tell me what's wrong?"
"Shut up!"
"Just tell me, Dante!" I begged. "If you tell me, I can help you,"
Dante's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled back to show more of his fangs. "What advice can you give me other than how to suck cock?"
I felt my fur grow warm with anger. "What's wrong with you?"
"What isn't wrong with me?" Dante spat.
"So, low self-esteem?" I guessed.
"Fuck you,"
"Anger issues?"
"Stop it,"
"Depressed?"
"I swear to God," Dante growled, "if you don't shut up, I'll-"
"Daddy issues?"
Dante didn't respond. Instead, his eyes grew wide in surprise at my guess.
"That's it?" I asked, not hiding my surprise. "Dante, I know exactly what that's like,"
"You don't know anything," Dante hissed under his breath.
I scooted closer to him. "Yeah, I do! I swear, my dad's the biggest asshole south of the Fanged Peaks. One time, he even tried to-"
Dante, out of nowhere, leaned toward me and landed a hard punch on my cheek, causing me to stop talking. My head turned under the force of his fist and was now facing my lap. My cheek was throbbing in pain every time my heart beat inside of me and I began to taste blood.
"You have no idea what my father was like," Dante told me. "So shut the fuck up,"
Slowly, I looked up at him. His eyes were full of rage and were red, nearly on the verge of tears. Yet, not a single drop came down from them, leaving his cheeks bone-dry.
Then, almost as if waking from some dream, Dante's eyes softened once he realized what he had done. His ears fell back and he reached out a hand to comfort me. "Peter... I'm sorry. I don't know why I-"
I slapped his hand away. "Don't fucking touch me!"
He drew his hand back and persisted to apologize. "I didn't mean to-"
"I don't know what your dad is like," I told him, my anger burning inside of me. "But he can't be any worse than you,"
Dante's ears fell back and his hands began to tremble on his lap. "I'm sorry,"
"Don't waste your breath," I told him and rubbed my cheek.
He didn't say another word after that and neither did I.
Esme returned a while later with a dead wild fox slung over her shoulder. "All right. Who wants to help me skin this cocksucker?"
Suddenly, a sword emerged from Esme's chest. It's tip, which pointed directly at me, was drenched in Esme's blood and trickled little red drops onto the ground below her. The kangaroo's eyes widened in surprise as she stared down at the sword that had been pushed through her. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out.
The sword pulled itself back through Esme's stomach and allowed her to collapse sideways onto the ground. A jackal stood over Esme, holding his sword that was still tainted with Esme's blood. His eyes flickered proudly at what he had down right before he ran towards us. I barely even noticed the yellow armband he wore, which bore the symbol of a hydra.
"Esme!" Dante shouted as he rose and reached for his gun.
Just as the jackal's sword was raised over Dante, ready to bring my friend down in one fatal swing, Dante's gun fired and the jackal's throat burst open like bubble, allowing pink cords of flesh to dangle down as blood gushed over his collar. The jackal then fell down and did not rise.
Suddenly, a cheetah, who also was wearing a yellow armband, appeared from behind a tree with a crossbow that was aimed straight at us.
Again, Dante fired his gun just in time, causing the cheetah's left cheek to tear while his bottom jaw hung loosely as teeth and blood fell down towards the ground. A second later, the cheetah fell and lay amongst the bloody teeth that still had pieces of his gums attached to them.
Dante and I remained silent. Where there more? Two seemed like a very small group of Talth.
"Here," Dante said, as he turned to me and held out his gun. "Hold onto this. I'm going to check if there are any others,"
"But shouldn't you-"
"Just take it!" Dante ordered and shoved the gun in my face.
Without arguing, I took the cold weapon by its muzzle and gripped the handle tightly with both of my hands.
Dante drew his sword, its steel glistening in the dreary moonlight. He then made his way forward, stepping over the jackal, and slowly edged towards the cheetah's body. While he walked towards the dead cheetah, Dante checked behind every tree in order to make sure that there were no surprises waiting for him. Then, when he stood over the fallen crossbowman, he stuck the tip of his sword into the dead man's arm, which did not move. Dante then glanced back at where I sat and surveyed the entire area. A moment later, he cleaned the blood off his sword on the cheetah's clothing and hurried back to help Esme.
After sheathing his sword, Dante rolled Esme onto her back. When she lay face-up, I was able to see that Esme's twitching right hand covered the front of her chest, where the sword had pierced her. Blood seeped between her fingers and poured out of her like a river. Esme's teary eye winced as Dante moved her hand away from her wound.
Quietly, I stood up and walked over next to Dante, praying for a miracle.
"Esme," Dante said, hoarsely, after looking up from Esme's injury. "Can you walk?"
The kangaroo gulped and, after a small pause, shook her head.
"Then, I'll carry you," Dante announced heroically as he bent forward and wrapped his arms around Esme, not caring that her blood was staining his clothes.
"Stop it, Dante," Esme managed to choke out her words. "You aren't carrying my ass anywhere,"
Dante released Esme from his arms and leaned back up, staring down at her. "Yes, I am. We're going to get you to an apothecary and fix you right up,"
Esme stared back up at him, her eye blinking away tears. "We both know that's not going to happen,"
"I'm not going to just let you die!" Dante cried.
"You don't have a choice," Esme said. "The closest apothecary is back in Ansil, which is five miles away,"
"I have to try!" Dante said.
"No," Esme said. "You and Peter have to get the hell out of here. If there's more Talth...they probably heard those shots,"
"But..." Dante tried to argue. "You're my friend,"
"And you're my friend, Dante," Esme replied. "Actually...sometimes you've been like a son to me,"
"What?" Dante gasped.
"Ever since I taught you how to fight," Esme said, "I've felt responsible for you. Maybe its because I lost my real son when he was only six months old...but that's not something you need to hear about,"
Esme's eye grew serious and fought to stay open, despite the painful tears that crawled out of it. "Dante...don't go after Osric,"
This time, Dante remained silent.
"I know you better than anybody else," Esme grunted in pain and grabbed her still bleeding wound as she winced. "And I know you want to avenge me. But don't! You'll die trying to fight Osric. Peter won't have a chance trying to get home by himself then,"
"But..." Dante choked.
"Promise me, Dante," Esme begged. "Promise me you won't go after him,"
Dante became unusually quiet. At first, I wasn't sure he would respond. But then he did.
"I promise," he said.
Esme smiled, weakly. "Good,"
Dante drew himself closer to Esme, dragging his knees through the dirt to position himself closer to her head. "Are you in pain, Esme?"
"Of course, I am," Esme said, rolling her eye. "I got stabbed with a fucking sword! I guess he was the one in a hundred Talth that could fight, huh?"
"I mean..." Dante continued, struggling to find the words. "Is there anything you want? We can stay here with you until..."
"You can't stay here," Esme said. "It's too dangerous,"
"But is there something you'd like Peter or me to do? We could...say goodbye if you'd like,"
Esme blinked and was quiet for a moment. Then, she spoke in a hushed whisper, as though what she was saying should not be heard by the world. "Shoot me,"
Dante's ears fell back. "What?"
"Please," Esme moaned as a fresh tear rolled down her cheek. "It hurts...even when I breathe. I felt pain when I was alive. I don't want to feel it when I die, too,"
"Are you...? Are you sure this is what you want?" Dante asked.
Slowly, Esme gave a frail nod. "Yes,"
After a moment of silence, Dante turned and held out his hand to me, eyeing the gun that my fingers were tightly wrapped around. "Peter,"
While feeling as though I were in the middle of some dream that I would wake up from at any moment, I slowly held out the gun to Dante.
Once he had gently pulled the weapon away from me, Dante turned back to Esme. Carefully, he lowered the weapon and pressed its muzzle against the trembling kangaroo's temple.
"Esme..." Dante shivered. "I'm sorry,"
Esme, despite her tears that rolled out of her eye and the blood that continued to pour out from underneath her hands, spoke. "Dante...you have nothing to be sorry for,"
"I know, but..." Dante said, as his hand trembled and the gun shook against the side of Esme's head. "I wish you didn't have to leave,"
"We don't get to choose our endings," Esme whispered, "but, thank you...for making mine hurt a little less,"
"Esme," Dante said, taking in a deep breath.
He pulled the trigger and Esme's skull ripped open, spilling bloody pieces of her brain onto the ground on the opposite side of her head. Her eye quickly grew dim and her chest became still. Yet, at least her pain was over in the end, just as she wanted it to be.
Without speaking, Dante rose and trotted away from Esme, screaming as he threw his gun down on the ground. He then swung his knapsack off his back and tossed it against a tree to his right, causing a loud crashing noise that could only have been caused by the jars of my makeup breaking. After screaming again, he leaned forward against the tree he had thrown his bag against and placed his head underneath his right arm, which he had also pressed against the tree bark. His body then began to shake like he was in a storm as he began to sob.
I looked backed down at Esme's body, which still lay in a pool of blood. Then, I walked over to her head, kneeled down and gently closed her eye with two of my fingers. I got back up and stared at her for a moment, taking in every detail of her face one last time. You will be missed.
_ _ Then, I looked back at Dante, who was still crying against his tree.
Gradually, I walked towards him. "Dante?"
The wolf only continued to cry.
I kept walking forward, as I felt more and more pity for the wolf with every step I took. "Dante?"
Again, he seemed to not hear me.
Finally, I stood directly behind him. I reached out a friendly hand and placed it on his back, which still shook every time he sobbed. "Dante, I know you're sad, but we have to go. You heard what Esme said. There might be more Talth nearby,"
At first, I thought he was only going to keep crying. But, in between his heart wrenching cries, he managed to find words. "She's... She's gone,"
I blinked and hung my head down a bit. "Yeah. She is. There's nothing we can do about that, though. The only thing we can do is-"
"Esme could..." Dante choked on his words. "Esme could still be alive...if I had gone hunting instead,"
"Then you would be dead," I said, raising my head again. "We need to leave now. Do you think Esme would want us to die, too?"
A sob later, Dante answered, "No,"
I patted him on the back and took a step back. "Exactly,"
Ever so slowly, Dante lowered his arm from above his head and took a small step away from the tree. His head still hung low and he sniveled pitifully as he wiped his face with the back of his arm. Then, he crouched down over his bag.
"Damn it," he cussed with a labored voice.
_ _ "What is it?"
He sniffed and answered a second later. "I think the jars with your makeup broke,"
From where I stood, I was unable to see his hands, but, based on how his elbows moved, I assumed he was undoing the laces of his knapsack.
A moment later, Dante's elbows stopped moving and he sighed.
"Did they break?" I asked.
"Yeah,"
Carefully, Dante began to dig out his possessions one by one, all of which seemed ruined. His Divine Comedy was drenched, the cover completely soaked with white and the sides of the pages mostly stained with pink. His purse was nothing more than a ball of dripping pink goo and the top half of his map was drenched in white. The rope gag that had been shoved in my mouth so many times was now entirely pink. Dante threw it off into the woods and I was a little happy to see it go. He then pulled out his five pouches of bullets, all of which were painted with a mixture of white and pink.
"Don't need the north part anyways, I guess," Dante mumbled to himself and ripped off the stained part of his map, just before folding the dry half, which he tucked in between his belt and his trousers.
With the same speed as an eighty-year old, Dante stood up with his Divine Comedy, his purse and his bullet pouches. He then walked over to the dead jackal and sat down next to him.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Wiping of this makeup," he told me. "Or at least as much as I can,"
He took his Divine Comedy and rubbed its front over the dead man's lower chest, where there was no blood, covering the jackal's tunic with white. Soon, he cleaned off all the makeup that he could, which still left the cover of the book slightly white. But at least it was dry. However, the sides of the pages did not seem to lose any pink when Dante rubbed them against the Talth's left trouser leg. His purse, much like the cover of the Divine Comedy, lost all of the excess makeup that was on it, but still remained pink. The bullet pouches were the same, all of the extra makeup came off, but their swirls of pink and white stayed.
He then untied his wineskin and poured some water onto his hand, removing the makeup from his hands. Once he was finished, he took three bullets from one of the pouches and kept them in his right hand.
After he corked his wineskin and tied it back to his belt using only the thumb and index finger on his right hand, Dante rose, leaving his knapsack on the ground, and walked over to me with his things. His eyes, I finally realized, were red like blood, yet didn't hold a single trace of a tear. "Could you hold these for a moment?"
The question had taken me by surprise. "Sure,"
Almost lifelessly, Dante handed me his book, purse and bullet pouches before brushing past me, heading for his gun that lay on the ground. He bent over to pick it up. Then, he undid the cylinder, which popped out to the side to show three holes that were filled with bullet shells. He took the shells out and threw them on the ground, just before sliding the new bullets in. Once his gun was reloaded, Dante closed the cylinder and holstered the weapon.
He then walked back to me, not asking for his things back. "Let's go,"
"Where?" I wondered.
"Back to Ansil," he sighed.
"Why?"
"Because," Dante said, "I need a new knapsack. The inside of this one is ruined and I'm sure Rhona has another I can buy. In the meantime, you should carry my things. If any more Talth try to attack us, I need to be ready,"
I was about to tell him that I could help if we were attacked, but I didn't. Dante wasn't in the mood for arguing.
"All right then," Dante said, turning back the way we had came not more than an hour earlier. "Let's go,"
I followed closely behind him, leaving the bloody scene behind us, and we headed back to Ansil.