13 BeneV(i)olence ( 6 )

Once Kalani had reached the forest pathway to the clearing, the prickling sensation in his temples had subsided.

'It probably was a headache,' Kalani muttered to himself. 'But more importantly, thank goodness for shade!' Resting while piggybacking Arlo in the coolness of the shadows, Kalani glanced back at his parents, who were not too far from him.

"Cousin," Kalani heard Arlo speak, "can't we go faster?" To an outsider, his lisp-like voice was adorable, but in Kalani's ears right now, it was akin to the devil. However, at the same time, Kalani didn't have the heart to refuse.

After receiving permission to go ahead, Kalani strode through the enchanting forest, avoiding the prickly bushes sporadically here and there and the twisting roots with ease.

A wave of relief washed over Kalani once he spotted the edge of the clearing. His duty was almost done.

"Cousin, is that where the bird is?" Arlo's ashy eyes twinkled with excitement as he pointed to the lone tree. While treading quickly over the meadow, Kalani nodded.

"That's where the bad bird lives," Kalani replied matter of factly.

Arlo stared at his cousin, "Not so; I think it is clever." Kalani almost rolled his eyes, but remembering his parents' warnings to not teach improper manners, he refrained from doing so. He didn't want to be smacked by his parents...yet.

His mouth curled a little into a wicked smirk as he cooked up ways to prank Arlo before they noticed, not knowing the reason the bird was so mischievous was due to him. Like master, like student...

After reaching the lone tree's shade, Kalani lowered the kid down, who was practically fidgeting restlessly on his back.

"Thanks, cousin!..." Arlo spoke cheerfully with a wide smile. Kalani glanced at his smile before pinching those adorable, plump cheeks.

"Cousin, nooo...stop touching!" Arlo cried out as he tried to pull his cousin's hands off, but Kalani's strength was worlds apart from his. Eventually satisfied, Kalani stopped his misbehaving hands, leaving the boy pouting as he tried to massage his slightly reddening cheeks.

With a finger, Kalani then pointed towards the tree's foliage, "The bird is up there." His words successfully distracted the young boy from complaining.

"Whistle!" Kalani cupped his hands as he called, "Come down!" They heard a rustle before a black bird popped its head out of the leaves. Noticing Kalani, Whistle leapt from the branches onto his shoulder before gazing at Arlo curiously.

"Whistle, this is my cousin Arlo, and Arlo, this is my bird," Kalani introduced them.

With star-filled eyes, Arlo stretched out his palm, which the bird hopped on after some hesitation. Until now, the boy had stayed quiet, but you could easily see his excitement from his fervent gaze alone. And in spite of Kalani's initial thoughts that they might not get along, he was shocked to be proved wrong.

Within five minutes, the bird and the young boy were running all over the meadow playfully, as if in a game of tag. The bird was especially gentle with the boy, making sure to be caught every once in a while to keep the boy happy; Kalani would be lying if he said he wasn't envious.

After letting his thoughts drift for a while, Kalani took a glimpse at the hidden pathway, 'What's taking them so long?' Yet strangely, the forest seemed eerily silent other than the wind. Panic began to seep into his heart despite his inherent calmness, as if there was danger.

With furrowed brows, Kalani tried to shake the feeling before shouting at the bird, who was the tagger at the moment, "Whistle, take care of Arlo!"

The bird halted in its tracks and turned back. Kalani had the weird thought that the bird understood him exactly; he didn't know why, but it just seemed so.

'Wait, why did I tell Whistle that; the bird wouldn't know,' Kalani mused before sighing, 'Gosh, I need human friends, or else I might as well as call myself an animal translator.'

"Arlo, don't stray from the clearing until I come back, alright?" Kalani yelled before walking off briskly toward the direction of the road outside the woods.

...

As Kalani wandered further on the pathway, the restless feeling got stronger. Then he spotted something on the ground in the distance and jogged over.

To his horror, that something was his parents' and relatives' baskets haphazardly strewn on the ground. The food had fallen out and lay scattered along with the utensils— as if the baskets were thrown in a hurry.

Subconsciously clenching his hands, Kalani tried to calm the alarm rising within and scanned his surroundings cautiously before taking a small paring knife laying on the ground. Then he bolted off toward the clearing, nearly stumbling on the twisted roots from the hurry.

"I have to get them out of here!..." he murmured fearfully. 'I should grab the horses and notify the town's police... please be safe...please..." he thought of his parents and relatives as tears began to well up in his eyes. The brambly leaves on the bushes scratched his legs, but Kalani was too distracted by his thoughts to care.

An abrupt noise ahead made him skid to a stop, and Kalani hastily hid behind a thick trunk. He tried to control his breathing and loudly beating heart while he strained to listen to whatever made that sound.

His ears were able to pick up a few, muffled words, "They... we... memories... gone..." Until, unable to contain his curiosity anymore, Kalani peered out from his hiding spot.

At a distance, two black-cloaked people leaned against the towering trees. They appeared to be so engaged in their conversation that they didn't notice him. Thankfully though, his parents and relatives weren't there with them, which comforted Kalani slightly.

'Should I ask them?' Kalani pondered before deciding against it, 'No, they are too suspicious...' He sighed inwardly, 'Guess I just have to go around them then.'

After using the bushes and trees for cover, he was able to sneak his way around the two people. Although, just before he was about to go his way, another set of footsteps up ahead made him halt once more. Kalani gritted his teeth in frustration but hid against the tree.

Hearing the person pass his spot, Kalani heaved a sigh before it got lodged in his throat. His emerald eyes widened.

Slung over the cloaked person's shoulder was Arlo— unconscious.

An overload of frightening scenarios rushed in Kalani's brain as his mind reeled from the shock, yet Kalani steeled himself to move forward. Following the man discreetly, he hid just out of sight in the bushes as the man walked toward the other two people. Since he was closer now, he could hear them more distinctly.

The cloaked man carrying Arlo spoke up, "I caught this boy in a clearing nearby; although it's not who we are looking for, we should be able to get some more information from him I think." The man laid Arlo against the tree.

"Good job," the gruff voice of another person remarked as he checked the boy's pulse. "If you had killed him, it would have been harder." That remark petrified Kalani as veins popped out of his hand gripping the knife.

'Think, Kalani! You can't leave Arlo here!' Kalani fought back the urge to run from the situation. He then noticed the gruff man crouch before Arlo and pour some clear liquid resembling water into the boy's mouth.

Coughing ensued as Arlo seemed to awaken. The person, who carried Arlo here, proceeded to slap him roughly. "Wake up!" he snarled.

Stunned and trembling, Arlo touched his painful cheek before wailing pitifully. The silent, third person then clamped the boy's mouth with one hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Now, be a good boy and tell us if you have seen a black haired boy with green eyes around here," the cloaked woman calmly stated. "If you can tell us where he is, we will let you go."

Not daring to sob, Arlo bit his lips while nodding his head fearfully. After that, the woman took her hand off to allow the boy to speak.

"I've never seen a green-eyed boy here..." the boy finally replied nervously. The trio snorted disdainfully at his reply before one grabbed the boy by the neck.

"Do you think we are fools?..." the woman uttered as she began to choke Arlo, chuckling at the boy's weak struggling. "Any person here is related with our target, so you must be pretty close to him to feign."

Trying to peel the lady's fingers off of his throat with his hands, Arlo shook his head vehemently while keeping his lips sealed about his cousin. Large tears rolled down his cheeks as his face began to turn red from asphyxiation.

'Cousin...' Arlo cried inwardly.

At that moment, Arlo heard a rustle and the gleam of a small knife whooshed past into the woman's throat, slicing it open widely.

Alerted, the two beside her dodged the next slash of the knife, yet as the man who carried Arlo tried to run, a jolt of acute pain forced him to look down at his ankles. He only saw the bloody gash before a fatal thrust of the knife pierced through his chest.

"STOP!" the gruff shout rang out through the eerily silent forest. Kalani paused, letting the blood drip down his arm. Turning around slightly, he noticed the last man was holding Arlo hostage.

"Cousin..." Arlo mumbled amid tears. However, when the man heard that word, he only grew more furious. He lost both of his comrades to kids... freaking kids! Even if he got out of here alive, he would never be able to forget this humiliation.

Gripping Arlo, the man yelled, "Step away from the knife and the bodies or else your cousin will die." He slid the dagger closer to the boy's neck; however, in spite of his warning, Kalani hesitated.

Seeing this, the man lost his patience, "Do it now!" As the final warning, he pressed the sharp blade into Arlo's neck, making it bleed.

Once he saw blood, Kalani promptly let go of the embedded knife and finally followed the man's instructions while holding up his arms in surrender.

"Step farther away, face away from me, and kneel!" the man ordered further. This time, Kalani complied and didn't show any other outward resistance.

It took a while before the shaken man composed himself enough to proceed forward. As he inched closer, he took the chance to examine the wounds on his partners' dead bodies.

'These cuts are perfectly placed! What kind of a monster is he?' the man almost shuddered at the precision before a cruel glint passed through his eyes, 'I'll make this brat pay!'

Though despite his apparent victory, the man still chose to keep a slow pace while being highly alert for any sudden movements. However, he wasn't able to detect the observation made by something else.

At the same time, with his hands high in the air, Kalani brainstormed through possible scenarios to take the last person down, but the man's cautious nature made winning a slim chance.

Then he thought of something, 'Hold on; weren't they describing me before? Right!... If they didn't intend to kill me, I can use myself as a bargaining chip. Maybe I can buy us more time...'

Yet before he could carry out his crazy plan, a male's agonizing screech reverberated from behind. When he whipped his head around, all Kalani could see was pitch-black.

It was strange because the darkness felt so familiar, and the answer was on the tip of his tongue until the pure darkness began to melt, turning brighter and brighter till the piercing white light blinded his pupils.

...