In Which Bad Things Happen

4th chapter of my book, Faery. This one's in third person, and is mainly centered around Hazel.

“I can’t do this.” Freya said after a long while of persuading and shaking and sweating and arguing. “I’m not killing the rabbit.”

“Freya, kill the rabbit.” Levi said. Hazel just sat in a tree, swinging her arm limply and thinking to herself.

“Levi, I’m not killing the bunny. Look at it, all cute and innocent, just sat there, nibbling at the grass. How could you kill a thing like that?” Freya’s heart melted as she spoke.

The rabbit scampered off. “I would if it put food on my plate, but it’s gone now anyway,” pointed out Levi, agitated.

“Why do we have to hunt anyway? I mean, that first day we came here we had a huge breakfast,” she pulled her arms out wide to show her point, “and the next day we were eating homemade gruel with homemade bread and homemade honey!” she exclaimed.

                Levi slapped his forehead. “One, because we don’t work officially, therefore no money, therefore even buying all the resources for the welcome breakfast was a bit of a long shot. Two, we only had a big breakfast to welcome the new recruits. Three, we don’t make honey. The bees do. And four, because faeries use arrows, the Medieval/Middle ages people used arrows to hunt, and what better way to find something than do the same things that they do?” he counted on his fingers as he went.

                Nathan scoffed. “So we’re discovering faeries. That means we devote our entire lives to it, and we’re cut off from school and the rest of the world? No college, no happy families, and we don’t even get to work?”

                Levi shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Nathan glared ahead. “What an exciting life.” He muttered, almost to himself.

“It’s gonna get better.” Levi grinned. “Wait till you get your first abroad mission. We use collected magic from forests to turn ourselves invisible, (‘cause, you know, our magic isn’t powerful enough for anything,) then we sneak into forbidden mountains in Canada. Once, there was this huge bear, and-” he trailed off, glancing at Hazel. She seemed distant, unaware. Not wistful dreaming like she usually was, but shocked and disgruntled as if re-experiencing some horrible nightmare.

                Levi shrugged it off as if it happened regularly, saying, “We slaughtered the bear in a matter of minutes. Quite good, bear meat.” He added as a side point, after slicing a finger across his neck and lolling his head to one side with a dead expression. Freya shook her head.

“Barbaric...” she muttered under her breath.

“It gets better!” Levi agreed.

“But, if we don’t work, how does the Guild get money for resources? And if you have technology advanced enough to clone people, how come we resort to hunting rabbits with bows and arrows?” Nathan asked.

                Levi narrowed his eyes. “We may have technology advanced enough to clone, but walking into a forest carrying laser guns and science equipment isn’t going to make the faeries our friends, is it? We clone for a reason. It’s illegal, but one human back in Edgar Aubrey’s time proved not to be trustworthy and would have blabbed out the entire thing if Edgar hadn’t stopped him. We find faeries civilly and secretly, but if the Government found out we were doing it, the whole thing would come to an end and we would never find faeries.” He explained harshly.

                                Freya gulped. Nathan was glaring ahead at some unknown force. “So, is this it?” Nathan asked, swerving the conversation. Levi pulled a chocolate bar out of his bag and started chewing on it happily.

“What do you mean?” he said through mouthfuls.

“Is this all that missions are? We bring back some kill and spend the rest of the day looking for faeries?”

Levi chuckled. “’Course not. Missions are awesome and life-risking. This is just a beginner’s mission.”

                Nathan opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when Hazel whispered ‘Shh!’ and pressed a finger to her lips. Everyone went quiet, and sure enough, there was the sound of grass ruffling and the small, quiet squeaking of a woodland critter. Levi peered down at the floor, and quick as a flash, he drew an arrow and the next thing they knew a dead rabbit was laying dead on the floor. Levi grinned. “We’ve got our kill. Now we can go Faery hunting,” he said. His voice was gleeful.

                Freya and Nathan took that as a signal and fished the equipment out of their bags. The only thing they were allowed to use at first was electric sunglasses; they allowed you to see faery DNA trails. “So, have you ever actually seen a faery?” Nathan asked.

“Nope.”

“Nothing at all? Not even a wing or something?” Freya piped in, shoving the glasses on her face and trying to sort out her frizzy hair.

“Faeries don’t have wings. Faeries are things like goblins and brownies and banshees. Fairies are the ones with wings, but they’re not as... sophisticated.”

“Sophisticated is a big word Levi. Are you sure you can handle it?” Freya teased, receiving a snort from Nathan.

                “I seriously can’t tell the difference. You just said faeries and fairies, which are the same thing.” Nathan pointed out.

                “No, faeries and fairies are the same thing. You need to put emphasis on the word fairy, (meaning the pretty ones with wings) so people know which type you mean.”

“Okay, so which type are we looking for?”

“Both.” Levi stuffed the chocolate wrapper into his bag.

“So-”

“Why don’t we just get on with it so we can get back quicker?” Levi interrupted.

“Good point.” Nathan agreed, and switched the glasses on. “So... do these glasses have a name?”

Levi thought on this for a moment. “No... but they really need one don’t they? I mean, we can’t just call them ‘the high-tech faery-finding sunglasses’ can we?”

“We should call them H.T.F.F.S then.” Freya suggested. Nathan and Levi looked at her, and exchanged glances beneath the sunglasses. “What? It stands for ‘high-tech faery-finding sunglasses.’ Duh.”

“Why don’t we think of something a bit simpler, Freya?” Nathan asked, containing his amusement rather well. Freya just scowled.

“I’m picking up something,” Hazel said. Everyone’s head flicked in her direction. She was perched on the tree branch and was staring intently out towards the thick clump of trees they were stood in.

                Excitement buzzed inside Freya. It had all seemed unreal and distant until now �" she was actually going to see a faery. She could barely contain herself, and had to clamp a hand over her mouth to stop herself from giggling. Then Hazel leapt off the tree branch as easily and expertly as if she were a monkey and sprinted off into the undergrowth. Levi and Nathan simultaneously switched their sunglasses on and ran off after her. Freya had no choice but to follow cue.

                It was tough racing through the wild, unkempt forests of Britain that were definitely not the kind of places families went for a nice walk and a picnic in. Freya had never even imagined places like this still existed �" places completely untouched by man, places shaped and moulded entirely by nature that had been ignored and abandoned by human influence and left to their own resources.

                It was exhilarating. Freya had never been much of an athletic person, but she was okay from lifting heavy objects for Pam at home. The thought of her mother and her home in London stung, as it was the first time they had crossed her mind since she arrived here. She hadn’t had time before, and had been all too awed by the wonders of the English countryside.

                Freya would miss a lot. She would miss Pam’s lasagne, and her guitar. The lounge back at HQ had a TV, but they wouldn’t have time for twenty-first century leisure such as that.

A lot of things confused her as well. Like, why they would do missions in abroad countries when faeries were the ‘tales and stories’ of British-folk? That and the fact they held reverence to the Dark Ages, and Canada definitely did not have medieval history.

Plus, where did they get money from? Yes, they mainly farmed their own food at the Guild of Descendants, and they cleansed and purified their own water from streams nearby, but there were still necessities like electricity and toilet paper that you needed money for.

They could generate their own electricity, but how would you get the money to buy the things necessary to generate your own electricity?

                “Levi?” Freya called curiously up ahead, her voice loud to fight the whistling wind that roared in their ears and the beating of her already tired heart. “Where do you get money from?”

“That’s incredibly random,” he yelled back, “but sometimes we clone agents specifically for getting jobs and then we get the money from them.”

“Why do we have to go abroad when faeries are the stories of Ireland, Scotland and Wales?” she shouted another question.

“Well, there were reports and sightings of Faeries in other countries, and why they’re no longer just in Britain is what we’re trying to find out, I guess.”

“’Kay, thanks!” Freya called.

                “I’ve picked it up too,” Nathan said all of a sudden, stopping abruptly and staring at a tree through the glasses. Then he grimaced, disgusted at something. “Eww! It’s all green!” he exclaimed, as Hazel disappeared out of sight into the undergrowth. Freya peered at the tree, but she couldn’t see what Nathan was seeing. “You need your glasses on, stupid.” Nathan said, moving closer to the tree in interest.

                Freya pushed down her ‘high-tech faery-finding sunglasses’, and sure enough, something green and glowing was splattered onto the tree bark. It wasn’t a massive splat �" it was just thin enough to be a ‘faery’ wiping their hands along a tree, or a fairy running away from something...

                “We got a live one...”  Levi said, and he turned on his heel and raced after Hazel. Nathan groaned and exchanged a glance with Freya, before following Levi. Freya guessed she had to follow too. From then on, Freya started noticing more of the glowing green wipes on the trees, and the forest grew wilder and more untamed.  Everywhere Freya ran she had to duck tree branches and leap over fallen logs, dodging ponds and bogs and attempting to bat away the twigs and leaves that could pose as a threat. The sounds of the forest whispered in her ears, blinded and blocked out by the blood throbbing in Freya’s head.

                Her heart pounded against her ribcage, begging to get out. Breath escaped her lips in short, heavy, laboured panting. The muscles in her legs burned like fire, and her bones felt as though they could turn to jelly at any possible moment.  She couldn’t think straight; they had been running for ages... she needed to stop...

                Then, Nathan grinded to a halt. Freya almost had a heart attack from the sudden pause, though she was ever so relieved to have a rest. It appeared that Nathan had stopped because Levi had stopped because Hazel had stopped. After she had retrieved at least some of her breath, she asked, “Why have we stopped? Have we found a faery?” hopefully.

                None of them said anything. Freya was too curious now to contain it, so she stumbled over to the front of the group, eager to see what they were seeing. Was it a faery? Had they finally found what they had been looking for for hundreds of years? Unfortunately, Freya was disappointed. When she expected a brownie, or a hobgoblin, or one of the Fair Folk maybe, she instead saw a human. Well, at least it looked like a human.

                Her short, shoulder-length mousey brown hair was messy and matted. A few random braids among the loose tresses were knotted and coming undone. Freckles were splattered across her cheeks, as if someone had flicked her with a brown paintbrush. She could be thought of pretty, but in a wild sort of way. Freya knew she wasn’t what would be classified as an ‘elf’ though, because of her modern-day clothing.

                 The girl before them could be no older than thirteen, yet her clothes looked like she had just jumped out of a dumpster. She had mud-splattered, lace-up boots and cheap, ripped jeans covered in grass stains. The bobble hat rested on her head was fraying and holey, matching her fingerless gloves perfectly. For anything, she could have been homeless.

                The thing most significant about her though was the fact that she was, (or had been, before she had been interrupted) staring at a tree with what Freya could clearly see as faery DNA, the green splats glowing brightly. But now she was crouched, staring awkwardly back at Hazel, Levi, Nathan and Freya.

                Hazel and Levi looked at each other worriedly. Freya could tell this had never happened before; there was the risk that the girl knew about the existence of faeries. Freya could tell that Levi and Hazel were starting to panic, and so could Nathan. So he quickly said, “Uh, hi! What’s your name?” and held out his hand. Levi had a face like, whut?Whatthehelldoyouthinkyou’redoing?

                But, as if snapped back to reality from Nathan’s question, the girl stood up so fast it made Freya’s blood run cold and scampered off into the distance. Her quick running sounded as light as raindrops pattering against the ground.

                A whimper escaped Levi’s lips. “Aww, great. Hector’s gonna have us for lunch.” He said. Then he darted after the girl, Hazel in quick pursuit. Nathan groaned. Freya groaned inwardly.

“What? Not more running!” she sprinted after Nathan, Levi, Hazel and the girl. Now her leg muscles felt as though they would collapse at any second. The girl ahead put up a good fight. She had far more breath than Freya, Nathan, Levi and Hazel, so she could race for further distance and far faster. But what worried Freya was the fact that the forest thickened, they could no longer see the faery DNA trail, and that they were beginning to enter uncharted forest area.

                Branches that needed to be ducked were almost at every turn, and it was even more tiring now that there were so many obstacles to dodge and avoid. Yet the girl just carried on running. Freya wondered how she could have such an unlimited burst of energy. It never seemed to stop.

                However, it did stop when there was a sickening crunch.

Freya’s head darted upwards as she skidded to stop her from falling flat on her face from the momentum. She looked around rapidly as her eyes searched for the source of the noise.

A log had fallen from a tree, temporarily dazing the girl in pursuit. “Quickly!” Hazel urged, her soft voice hoarse. They all gathered around the fallen girl, whose hat was covering her face. She didn’t know it in her state of unconsciousness, but she had four sets of eyes peering at her closely.

                After a very long, very awkward silence, Levi pressed a finger to his lips and carefully lifted the bobble hat off of the girl’s pretty face. Her eyes were closed, and there was a sharp slice on her cheek with startlingly red blood oozing from it slowly. They suspected it was from the tree branches impact on the fall.

                There was a moment of tense quiet. Complete silence. No-one spoke. They almost died when the girl suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes flicking open revealing a dark, mud-coloured brown. She looked round murkily, as if she didn’t remember her surroundings or how she got there in the first place. When she did recall what happened, however, and she noticed the people staring intently at her, she trembled and sank back further into the tree. Her brown eyes were distant as if she was contemplating whether she should run or not. Her arms twitched vigorously as if a thousand volts of electricity were being shot through her body.

                “It’s okay,” Levi murmured, reaching out his fingers gently. “We’re not going to hurt you.”

She shuddered, and slunk back into the rough bark of the tree. “Just come with us, and everything will be okay.” Levi coaxed softly, his fingers now wiping the blood off her cheeks. She flinched away from his touch. “What’s your name?”

The girl did not reply.

“Don’t you want to tell us?” he asked. No response was received. “Do you understand English?” he tried.

After a moment of silence, she nodded sadly. Levi was just about to ask another question when Nathan interrupted. “Uh, Levi,” he started. “I don’t think she can speak at all.”

                Levi turned his head in the direction of the girl to see what her reaction was. Her emotionless eyes were fixed on Nathan, blank and hollow. Nathan stared back just as coldly. Then, to their surprise, a single tear sprung in her eye. It rolled slowly down her cheek, leaving a wet tear-line behind it, before it slipped off her chin and landed on the overgrown forest floor soundlessly.

“She can’t speak,” whispered Hazel. “I guess you won’t be able to tell us your name then, huh?”

“Maybe we could give her a name,” suggested Nathan.

They looked at the girl to see what her reaction was. Noticing all eyes on her, she just shrugged. “What about Fiona?” Levi said. When he saw Nathan trying not to laugh, he protested, “What? I like Fiona.”

“No, no!” Nathan said, smiling. “I just... don’t think it would suit her, that’s all.”

Levi huffed. “What about Tabitha?” Hazel said. Nathan snorted.

“Like that’s much better.”

“Well, we could make it work,” said Levi. “Like, we could call her something like Tabby for short. Tabby suits her, right?”

                They pondered on this for a moment. “I guess.” Nathan said. “Shall we see if she likes her new name?”

Agreeing, they all turned to the girl. “Would you like us to call you Tabby?” Levi asked. The girl just shrugged again. “Right then. That’s settled. Welcome to the family Tabitha!”

Nathan couldn’t tell, but he swore he thought the corners of her mouth twitch upwards slightly. “Okay, that’s settled now.” Hazel said seriously. “But did you know what you were looking at when we found you?”

Tabby nodded.

“Did you even see what you were looking at? Even with naked eyes?”

Tabby just nodded again.

“So if we said to you the word ‘faery’, what would you think?”

                This time, Tabby flinched when Hazel said ‘faery’. Noticing this, Hazel continued.

“Would you think we were crazy if we told you that faeries exist?”

There was a very long moment when nothing happened. Then, Tabby shook her head. A gasp escaped Hazel’s lips.

“She knows about the existence of faeries.” Levi squeaked. His voice notched up a couple of octaves.

“More than that, she can see their DNA without any special equipment.” Nathan added.

“I don’t think we need to do anymore today.” Levi said. “I’ll mark where we are on the map, because we got a good lead today,” he took out some paper from his backpack and scrawled something on it.

“You can actually tell where we are?” Nathan asked, bewildered.

“You get used to it.” Levi just said in response, before continuing. “And then we’ll take ‘Tabby’ back to HQ. We’ll get her some new clothes, and then she’ll be able to write down stuff that we need to know, like her real name.”

Tabby stopped in her tracks, shaking her head rapidly. “Why, d’you like your name?” Levi asked.

Tabby paused, before nodding, a hint of a smile creeping onto her face. “Okay, well then you can keep it,” he smiled. Tabby grinned, but she didn’t open her mouth.

“Faery or no faery, I think this’ll do for today.” Levi said, shoving the map back into his backpack and setting off through the forest, three people in tow. They were just about to leave, when a sudden outburst escaped from Hazel. “Wait a second!” she cried.

“What is it?” Nathan asked.

“Has anyone seen Freya?” Hazel said. When they all looked around to find no-one, the colour drained from Nathan’s face. After five minutes of heavy searching and name calling to no success, he spat some words that shall not be recorded here.

                But he was suddenly filled with hope when Hazel called, “I’ve found something!”

He raced as fast as his tired legs could carry him, following the sound of Hazel’s sweet voice. When he reached it, however he wasn’t all too happy with what he saw. He spluttered, and beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He wanted to scream and shout and run and hide and cry, but all he could do was stare and freeze.

                Lying on the forest floor, camouflaged against the dark leaves and twigs, was a pair of high-tech faery-finding sunglasses. “They’re Freya’s...” he mumbled, collapsing down at where the glasses lay.

“Well, at least there’s no blood!” Hazel tried to console him.

“Great. Like that helps.” Nathan said, his eyes fixed on the glasses. Levi and Tabby came running up seconds later, out of breath. Although Tabby didn’t pant; she didn’t open her mouth.

“Have you found anything?” Levi gasped for air. His face fell when he saw the sunglasses. “Oh, god...” he said.

“Where did Tabby just go?” Hazel exclaimed, jumping up. Indeed, when they looked, Tabby was no longer to be seen. Nathan groaned and sank to floor, burying his face in his hands.

“Okay, we should try not to panic. We should investigate.” Hazel said, before standing up and beginning to explore. Then her frame disappeared from view as she crept behind a tree.

                Levi and Nathan sat waiting expectantly. When no sound came, Levi began to get itchy. “I’ll go have a look,” he said uneasily.

“Hazel?” Nathan called. No answer came. “Hazel!” he cupped his hands round his mouth now, his heart rate was starting to speed up...

                Levi disappeared behind a tree, his anxious voice calling for Hazel.

Then, his frantic calling stopped. At the sudden eerie silence, Nathan could feel his head begin to get dizzy. He stopped calling for Hazel, and instead shouted, “Levi?” wearily. There was a moment of silence as he waited for an answer.

None came.

                His stomach lurched. Determined to get to the bottom of it, Nathan stood up and walked over to the tree. No-one was there.

Then, like a cold slap on the cheek, darkness engulfed him as his head was introduced to the floor and sleep slowly caressed his brain.

Author's Note

Please review! :)

Reviews

[Author Rucha Joshi]

This is so vivid. Beautifully described while maintaining the pace.
Great job. Waiting to read even further...

[Wakeofahero]

Pretty good this needs to be reviewed a bit, but I ultimately thought it was well written. I will have to check the entire story out another time since I actually do not have the time now. Although I did find small typo's here and there, nothing that can be fixed though. Relatively this piece was simple to read, understand, and comprehend. Which in my opinion is the main points to focus on as a writer to a reader, points of which this chapter does cover, so you are relatively good!