Chapter 5 - Vanessa and Lloyd: Vanessa's Story
#5 of Country of the Forgotten
Chapter 5 - Vanessa and Lloyd: Vanessa's Story
"Come on, Vanessa. It's about to begin!" shouted a little boy, the age of 12, eagerly.
"We can just slow down time you know," said a little girl, also the age of 12.
"I know but it's more fun if we don't and race against the clock," shouted the boy as he swerved in and out of the mass of bodies making their way to the town square for an important announcement.
"Wait up!" shouted the girl as she tried to keep up with the energetic boy.
It's strange how that day is when we were chosen for our new destinies. At first, we shared the same ideals and such because we were the closest friends in the entire world or so I thought. That day is probably the day where everything changed for both of us.
"It's about to begin!" shouted the eager boy drawing close to the entrance of the town square.
I didn't get to the town square in time because the ceremony started before I even got close to the entrance. The ceremony is more like a celebration about the white fire that occurs every year. The white flame actually passed by this year as a bright light blinded everyone. Just as it came, it left and no one knew whether if the a new time guardian was chosen or not. It wasn't until a few days later did anyone find out that it was both Lloyd and I.
"Well would you look at that. There are two new time guardians this time," said an old man looking at the boy and girl with a wide smile.
Our ideals were the same and no matter where any of us went, the other would be right behind because it is a bad omen should one of us not be with the other for more than a day. Year after year we grew up side by side and shared everything from beds to life styles. We finally got fed up with everything and sneaked out of town and went to live in a new area, away from each other for a few months to become different from one another. I went to a town that took me three days to walk to and spent about five months there living with a gracious family that didn't even know I was a time guardian. That gave me a lot of time to think and be by myself without Lloyd constantly around me.
After five months had passed, I hadn't changed one bit as I walked all they way back home. Lloyd on the other hand changed drastically. So much that I barely recognized him when we met at the designated spot, an elder tree just outside of town, which was planned when we left. To know which tree it was, there is a long cut on the bark. I, a still a simple 10 year old girl where a dress with a soft nature, faced Lloyd, a 10 year old boy that was no longer cheerful or happy. Inside, he was hurt all over and his physical aspect showed the worst of it since there are cuts and bruises that didn't completely heal yet. I didn't know what happened to him in the past 5 months but by the looks of it, he didn't find a place to stay for those months and he seemed to have lived off the streets as a petty thief, scarcely being able to survive. We didn't talk about it until 5 whole years later. On the bright side, we weren't around each other 24/7 anymore. The down side was that I couldn't go anywhere with supervision.
After 5 years since our return, I finally brought up the day of our return. I, now a 15 year old teenage girl still wearing dresses and a soft nature, confronted a much more changed person. Lloyd, also a 15 year old teenager, dramatically changed. He gave off an aura of anger and frustration as well as hostility. He didn't accept any form of love or a single gesture of kindness. The only words I can describe him now is harsh, cold, and seeking revenge. Still, I sucked up the courage to talk to him about it at the very same tree.
"Lloyd, 5 years ago, when I saw you here on our return, what happened to you?" asked the young Vanessa.
"What do you think happened? What you saw is what happened," snapped young Lloyd.
I never felt so much hostility and anger in my whole entire life. His new goal was to get revenge on those who, literally, took his life away and gave him a new one. I don't know how that was possible but it was.
"That doesn't explain anything. All you had were cuts and bruises. Not to mention some scars. How am I supposed to know what happened if you won't tell me?" asked young Vanessa.
"You don't need to know what happened to me because it's none of your business," snapped young Lloyd.
"We used to be on good terms but now you're nothing but a locked up heart. Don't you know it hurts me not to know what happened to you? Every time I look at you I feel sorrow and think really stupid things just so that I would feel better. Every time I see you I want to ask what happened but I could never bring up the courage to do so. Maybe you're like everyone else in the town who stopped caring about your welfare," said young Vanessa with tears forming in her eyes.
"Well then, be like everyone else. It would make my life a whole lot easier than being around someone so emotional like yourself," snapped young Lloyd yet again.
"Stop being so ignorant and just tell me what's wrong?!" shouted young Vanessa fighting back her tears.
"You want to know what's wrong? You really want to know what's wrong?" started young Lloyd.
I nodded at his question that is wrought with anger.
"Then I'll tell you what's wrong! You! You're what's wrong. You're just way to sensitive to everything just like when we were kids. Every bump, every scratch, even after I touched something dangerous you would ask "Are you okay?" or "Do you need a band aid?" It is so goddamn annoying! Sometimes, I just wished you would care less, like the way the towns people did when we were stuck together," said young Lloyd on the verge of shouting with anger.
"Oh, so now I'm at fault?! Well, I'm sorry I'm so sensitive but you're the only person I could call a brother," said young Vanessa.
"Well then don't call me your brother because I never was and I never will be, not to someone who is as sensitive as you are. You'd probably cry to death if I just died right here right now!" shouted young Lloyd.
"Don't you dare say that. You are not going to die!" shouted young Vanessa replacing sadness with anger.
"Why don't I just go hire a whore to fuck you then or maybe an assassin to kill you so that I wouldn't have to see your fucking face ever again!" shouted young Lloyd temporarily shutting young Vanessa up before she found a second wind.
"Why don't you then?! Maybe then you would miss me and regret not telling me what happened to you during those 5 months 5 years ago!" shouted young Vanessa.
"I'd rather just take you to whore city and kill you myself so it is done properly and that you'd die by my hands," snapped young Lloyd.
Never in my life have I been motivated to hurt someone. Not even out of anger. That day changed everything for both of our lives and he knew that but just couldn't see it very well. Out of pure anger I just lashed out at him, scratching and punching where ever I could on his body. That was the beginning of a distant relationship that began to unravel faster than anyone could have ever thought. In the end of my fury, my rage and ever growing anger, we were left with many bruises. I don't know what compelled me to do that but it did open my eyes that I would have to change myself if I wanted him to open up and that's exactly what I did. Sure the conversation is a small one, but it opened both of our lives to a whole new future.
The last thing that we did together was a lesson about passing through space and time. At point, all time guardians are supposed to know this and we were instructed by a visual and mental image of the previous time guardian whose name I no longer remember. During that lesson, I saw him smile and his eyes lit up. I knew of his intentions but couldn't bring myself to understand what he was thinking. What ever it was though, it would ensure his survival for a very long time.
I still kept a visual on him though. He never left my vision and we still had conversations but about other things like the weather and what was going on in our lives. He opened those up to me without second thoughts but when ever I strayed towards that one event he refuses to tell me about, he immediately snaps and shuts up until I ask him a completely irrelevant question.
Slowly, I saw his nature change from a good little boy to a dark and evil man plotting his revenge on not only this world but many others as well. I slowly saw the evil leek out of him as his evil deeds grew stronger and so did his abilities which fed off the evil in his heart. He didn't turn completely evil until he killed me with his own two hands, using my weakness against me but that can be saved for the end. The evil deeds though, started with tripping, followed by lying, stealing, murder, and then my own death as well as massacres on different worlds.
Our duties as time guardian's didn't come around until we both turned the age of 18 years old which meant that it would be a lot harder for me to keep a close eye on him. I told that to our instructor in a secluded spot and he told me of a move that will allow me to keep an eye on him as long as I don't throw complete focus onto him. I used what he taught me and soon, kept a close eye on him once again as I traversed the different dimensions and sometimes coming into contact with him. Because we move to different dimensions, our age slowly changes so we had to keep track of days ourselves so that we do not call ourselves 20 when our skin shows 50. Each dimension had different times but Lloyd didn't mind that as he started to experiment with his vast powers under his own possession. Of course he didn't know of my observations but what he did devastated me for he used his powers to kill instead of help. He eventually developed it far enough to obliterate whole dimensions as if it never existed. Though, when ever I'm around, he refrains from doing so until he comes upon that dimension again without me being present.
The many screams, the innocent killed for no reason, and whole dimensions with great potential, lost forever and can never be rebuilt. I consulted with our master about this new issue and he didn't know what to do except to confront Lloyd about his deeds and try to get him to turn from wrong back to right. I knew that it was impossible for me to do that because he has sunken in too far into his heart to be retrieved and placed back into protection. Yet, I didn't let that get my courage down and I tried to do it anyways. It was about 100 dimensions later did I see him again and about 100 dimensions lost with its brethren. I didn't want to confront it immediately but I observed his appearance first.
"You really changed," said young Vanessa looking at young Lloyd from head to toe.
At this time, we are both 26 years of age but he looked as if he is years older than I was, mainly because of his graying hair. His face looked 26 but his personality showed him to be an old crab. A very evil old crab if I might add.
"Of course I did. Saving the different dimensions placed a lot of stress on me," said young Lloyd in a calm tone.
"I can see that," said young Vanessa quietly. "How were the dimensions?"
"Some need very little help while others needed a lot of help. So much that I had to prevent a war from either ensuing or beginning. All that work has tired me out quite a lot," said young Lloyd in another calm voice.
"That is interesting. You don't seem like you did when we left 8 years ago. Did something change? I remember you used to be savage and very hostile to anyone that talked to you," said young Vanessa.
"I remember those days until I came upon a quite peaceful dimension and learned to accept others concerns about my welfare rather than try to shut them up. I am terribly sorry about my snapping. You, on the other hand hasn't changed one bit it seems," responded young Lloyd.
"I've changed, it's just hard to see," said young Vanessa.
"If you say so. So, what has your experiences been like?" asked young Lloyd.
"Not many difficulties so it's been smooth sailing for me. Many of the dimensions I went to settled their disputes on their own so there was no need for me to intervene too much," responded young Vanessa.
"I see, I would gladly trade places with you so that I can stop getting gray hairs," said young Lloyd trying to add amusement to the conversation.
"Not to be blunt or offend you in any way, but have you been doing other things aside from restoring order to the dimensions?" asked young Vanessa.
I shouldn't have asked that question but I had to confront him about the disappearances of dimensions. I was infuriated at what he was doing so I couldn't stop myself from cutting such a pleasant conversation short and entering into a dark zone that is highly dangerous to not only myself but everyone that was around us.
"What makes you bring up such a question?" asked young Lloyd raising and eye brow.
"I know you've been destroying dimensions and I don't approve of it. You're killing innocent lives using the powers given to you. You've basically became a killing machine and I want you to stop doing that," said young Vanessa.
"I see, so you've been aware of my actions. I knew someone was watching but I never believed it was you," said young Lloyd chuckling slightly.
"You knew?" asked young Vanessa in shock.
"Of course I did. I forced that old fool to tell me when he refused to. That's how I learned you have been watching me but since you know, I will just have to kill you here and now so that my future is preserved for the better of humanity," said young Lloyd.
"For the better of humanity? You ruthlessly killed people without a second thought?! This isn't connected to those months, is it?!" shouted young Vanessa.
"Of course it is," replied young Lloyd.
That statement threw me off because I thought he would just deny such a thing but he didn't. He used my momentarily shocked state to wrap me using some sort of dark magic and constricted not only my body but also my heart. I was at his finger tips and all he had to do was destroy my heart and I would no longer live.
"I'll tell you briefly of what happened," said young Lloyd pacing around the constrained young Vanessa.
All time around us stopped which means his abilities grew faster than I thought because I never even knew how to tamper with time at all. What he performed though requires a lot of energy which he apparently had because throughout his whole explanation, he never showed any sign of fatigue.
"During those months, I've lived off the land getting what I need to get to survive. Water I could get any where but food was a different story. I didn't have money and no one would employ a 10 year old boy for anything so I had to resort to stealing. I was caught many times and severely punished which resulted to all those cuts and bruises that you saw. Those punishments were meant to break my habits but they didn't understand. No one understood what I was going through and my habit of stealing never changed. I learned that the world is a cruel place and that everything shouldn't exist except for only one universal world which is what I am going to achieve. That universal world will be my kingdom and there's nothing you can do about it," said young Lloyd.
I couldn't say anything. Not even a single word for any form of sympathy. All I could do was cry at his painful experience but what he retold to me seemed like I lived through it first hand even though I didn't. I could feel the bruises and cuts and the urge to survive no matter how bad of shape I was in. I could sense the harsh life he lived through and his understanding of a bad world. It was because of those 5 months did bad things happen. It was all because we left that village for 5 months and that I wasn't there to share the pain with him. The villagers were right when they said that it is a bad omen for both of us not to be together for more than 24 hours.
I just couldn't bare to be silent so I tried to break the bonds that constricted me but my struggles only added to my impending doom. Lloyd finally decided that he told me all that I should know so he just looked at me before lifting his open right and closing it into a fist. That is where my death occurs and everything after that is unknown to me but Lloyd knows what happened. What I can assume though is that he destroyed that dimension along with my body and moved to another dimension to destroy.
My term is classified as the time guardian but Lloyd's portion of my existence was renamed as the evil sin and no one knows what happened to him afterwards ever since he figured out how to repeat time but allow it to continue on its steady course. Another time guardian wasn't chosen until 20 repeats later when he finally succeed in progressing time but the events would continue orderly. It is quite complex for me to explain because I don't understand it very well and neither do the other time guardians. Ever since both of you appeared though, there may be a chance that you know what has happened to him but any time guardian that has gotten close to him decided that their purpose was pointless and returned to their dimensions. The companions would continue onto face Lloyd but they would either die or the purpose would move onto a new set of people.
It is our hope that you can make it to Lloyd and defeat him no matter how long it will take. It is our hope that the Cyclo would end and cease to exist. Maybe if you stop the Cyclo, Lloyd would see what he is doing is wrong.