Journey (Part 3)

A nagging guilt weighed on Shun's heart. He ran off without even expressing his gratitude to the woman. He didn't even know her name. The world is filled with deceptive people, and he had every right to be suspicious of the help she offered, but he felt that leaving just like that was low, even for a thief like him. Well, he wasn't good with words. He never had been.

He turned to look at the lone house on top of the hill. Empty branches of trees covered the view, but he can still clearly see its outline. He sighed and pondered whether he should thank her or not. As he walked along the trackless terrain, he found some mountain ash berries and decided to collect some. Without a basket or any container, he wrapped the berries with his coat and tied it in a bundle. Then he walked back to the house on top of the hill.

While he was still a little farther away, he heard a loud explosion and noticed that the house was blazing.

"Tsk! What did that girl do this time?" He thought as he hurried to reach the house.

"Mizpah!" Raye frantically called her sister amidst the blazing inferno. She needed to get out soon because the heat was getting unbearable and she could barely breathe, but she couldn't go without her sister. Along with the hissing flames, she heard loud thudding steps. Raye gasped in horror as a huge grotesque figure stepped out of the flames, holding Mizpah in one hand.

The creature had an enormous gray body made of stone. Its face was horrendous like a beast. It had bat like ears and two sharp horns stuck out of its head. Its eyes glowed red.

"Run, Raye, run!" Mizpah weakly said.

Raye could barely move in fear.

"It's you. You're the Rei-Qi." The creature said in a loud voice, throwing Mizpah aside.

Raye closed her eyes as the creature reached for her, but before it could grab her, it cried loudly in pain. It's arm had been cut! Shun grabbed Raye's arm and led her out of the burning house. Mizpah followed. Raye didn't know what was happening. Her feet seemed like they were moving on her own, following the man who used to be her patient. The next thing she knew was they were running down the hill with the creature pursuing them.

"Wh-what is that thing?" She asked when she got back to her senses.

"That thing is a gargoyle!" Shun answered.

"Why is it chasing us?"

"I should be asking you that. It was in your house."

"We should head for the river. I've heard gargoyles turn inanimate when soaked. It shouldn't be able to follow us." Mizpah suggested.

The three hurried and when they reached the banks, they immediately dove into the water. The river's current was quite strong that morning and as soon as they dove in, they were immediately swept away. When the gargoyle reached the river bank, it couldn't spot its target anymore.

"Tsk. Master will punish me for this." It mumbled as it turned to another direction.

The river was very quiet, but the current below was strong. Going against it took a lot of strength. Raye kicked with all her might to push herself back to the surface. Gasping, she immediately looked for Mizpah and Shun. She saw them just a little farther away from her. She quickly scanned her surroundings. They were now far from the town of Riba. It had only been a few minutes, but the current had dragged them to a considerable distance. The water was icy. Her limbs were going numb. She knew they had to get to the bank soon or they would freeze to death.

"Oi! Oi!" she heard a voice calling, and as she turned, she saw a small fishing boat approaching.

A man tossed them some ropes. Each quickly grabbed onto it and the men on the boat pulled them up. Once they were onboard, they gave them blankets and a warm drink.

"Thank you so much for helping us." Mizpah expressed gratitude to the kind fisherfolk.

"The gods must be in your favor that we found you. The water is very cold. You could have died. What were you all doing in the river in this season?"

"Uhm, well…" They hesitated to answer, for how does one explain that they were chased by a gargoyle?

"I accidentally fell into the water while we were fishing. I didn't expect these two to jump after me." Mizpah chuckled. She thought that telling a believable lie was better than the unbelievable truth. People are always quick to judge, and she was worried that the men would throw them out once they start talking weirdly.

"You are lucky to have very good friends, then."

"I guess, I am."

"Are you from Riba?"

The three nodded.

"Well, Riba's upstream and the next port is at Koi. I'm afraid we can't turn back to Riba for you."

"It's fine. You can drop us to the next marina, and we'll find our way back to Riba. Thank you so much for your help." Mizpah answered.

"You're welcome. Make yourselves comfortable in our small ship.��� The fisherman said and left.

"So, does the hottie who leapt to our rescue back in the house have a name?" Mizpah turned to Shun.

"Look, I just helped because I owe her. I don't want any part of whatever it was back there."

"Whoa, I'm not asking you to take any part of it. I'm just asking for your name. I'm Mizpah, by the way. I love the red hair. Looks sexy."

Raye raised an eyebrow at her sister. She can't believe she was flirting with a random guy given their situation. Then she turned to Shun.

"I'm Raye. Thank you for helping us. We would have been both dead if you didn't come back."

"Come back? So he was at the house? What were you doing in the house alone with a hot guy?'

"Mizpah, it's not what you think. Didn't I tell you I had a patient before you arrived?"

"Yes, you did, but you didn't tell me your patient was sizzling, and he doesn't look like he's ill."

"He already recovered."

"I'm right here, you know. I can hear you." Shun said with a very red face.