Ch 29 The Cure & The Manifestation of Fear

I found myself surrounded by... myself. There were seven? No, eight of me standing around in a group. We all looked at each other. I pointed at one.

"You, are me?"

"You, are me?"

He pointed at me and said the same thing. Strangely I felt like I was the one that said it through him, too. Like, I am in control of all of these bodies.

The area I was in was mostly white. White walls, stairs, ramps. I couldn't see the entirety of the area due to limited shadows to fill in the images.

I heard a voice that was not my own.

"Let's play a game. How about a game of tag. You already have your players. Let... me... see... What should I use for my players? AH! I know. How about, spiders. If they catch you, you loose. Try not to let all of your players get caught. HAHAHAHAAHAAA!"

Spiders? My clones or, whatever they were, began to say things I was thinking.

"Spiders? We can crush them."

"Let them come. They aren't scary."

"Immortality, bitch."

I heard something behind me. I turned to find a spider the size of a large pickup truck. A black widow? It stomped the clone closest to it with one of its legs.

I watched.

I waited for the regeneration to start after the spider lifted its leg. The others stared along with me.

The regeneration is not starting.

The spider stomped yet another clone next to me.

"Shit. RUN!"

All at once my six clones and I began to run. As I was running, I spotted many places to potentially hide. Every spot I saw, a clone ran to it and filled the vacant spot.

All of the clones were hiding.

I began descending the stairs. The spider started digging at the clone in the first hiding spot, with its legs. It saw him go in there. I was not looking when it happened but, I felt when the life of that clone diminished.

Five clones and myself left.

I began to re-evaluate the spots I saw before. Two may have been okay, the other three were shit. As if we were some sort of hive mind, those three clones left the shity spots and ran.

"Let's make this more interesting. I'll get the lights."

The voice said.

It got dark. It was mostly pitch blackout. I could see lit torches. I recognized the locations of torches and the patterns they made in the area. Was this a recreation of Lak'Tambu?

I knew two good hiding spots after I recognized where we were. Clones filled those spots fast. It was like they had teleported. I had no way of getting there that fast and I was closer than them.

"Oh, by the way, I added more spiders. HEEHEEHEEHEE!"

This guy is a dick.

I went by a torch, running toward a good hiding spot. I purposefully 'identified' a shitty hiding spot as a distraction for the last roaming clone.

As I got past the lit torch I turned to see what I could.

There was a huge wolf spider behind me. It nearly scared the shit out of me, coming out of the dark like that.

I ran hard. It got me. Its fangs reached into my stomach.

I braced with my arms covering my face. I opened my eyes to see what was happening. I was now in the body of the clone that took one of the first decent hiding spots. I could see my previous body in the light of the nearby torch, being devoured by the wolf spider on a different pyramid.

If I lose the body I have, I get sent to another one?

That leaves, five lives?

Four. The one I sent as a distraction got eaten.

I thought about the spots again. The good spot I thought of was better than one of the two newer spots. A clone that was hiding in a bad spot got out and was instantly eaten.

Three lives.

"Make it a race."

The two others that were hiding got out at the same time and began running at the good spot. One got eaten.

Two lives.

The other one made it.

I have two decent hiding spots. Two lives.

I just have to hope at least one is good enough but, how long do I have to wait?

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Atouk and Sophie were nearly back to Lak'Tambu. They were near the outer edges of the city. It was dark. Atouk heard some screams.

"What is going on?"

Sophie could hear Atouk's heart beat faster. She lifted up her head.

"Something is wrong. I have to get you back to Lake as soon as possible. If Berthri is okay, he can make the cure. I must get back to my wife and make sure she is okay too."

"Okay."

Sophie nodded. Atouk went into high gear.

When they got to a more residential area, Atouk saw the problem.

Shadowy apparitions were chasseing his people down and killing them.

They were writhing, wormlike shadow structures shaped like giant spiders of various breeds.

"I have never seen anything like this. We have to be cautious. Let's go."

He ran full speed.

Sophie was holding on for dear life. She still had her determination to hang on and get back to Lake, no matter what.

Atouk stopped near the edge of an alley. A spider stomped by. It had not seen them. He crossed the path and knew his way through the smaller backstreets from there. He found Berthri's house.

Several Setangyan people were huddled in his house.

"Atouk. Thank goodness you are back. Did you get it?"

Sophie dismounted Atouk and pulled out the thick cloth. She carefully unwrapped it.

"Perfect. Let me get started on this. Once the cure is done, It should take him a few hours to wake. Hopefully, these things will be gone by then."

"What are they? Where did they come from?"

"I don't know. They showed up just after dark and have been chasing people down one after the other. They seem to have the strength to break buildings but, they won't do it. As long as you can get inside a building, it seems you are safe. At least, so far. Go. Find Pinyola."

Atouk left. He found his house with little trouble. His wife and kittens were all safe.

Berthri began to mill the flower with a few other ingredients. He got a fine powder and poured it into a cup of water. He brought it over to Lake. He held Lake's nose shut and slowly poured the mixture down his throat.

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The spiders have been searching for me for a few hours now. I really want this to stop. I don't know what happens if I 'lose' this 'game.'

"Damn. It looks like the fun will be over sooner than later. I'm going to put the spiders into overdrive. Have fun."

"Overdrive?"

I repeated.

As soon as I said it, a massive spider face, fangs and all began clawing at me in my hiding spot. It scared me half to death with how sudden and loud it was.

This spider seems too fat to reach me. I was hiding in a narrow alley. The narrowness was my salvation. The large abdomens would not be able to fit in here.

I forgot one thing about spiders.

A different spider showed up. It shot a web at me. The sticky web hit my leg. It began to pull me out of my spot. I ditched my pants and ran further down the thin ally. The spider tried another shot of webbing. The webbing hit the side of the wall before it could reach me. I thought I was coming to a dead end. Another spider began clawing at the opposite end.

It still couldn't reach me. So far, the only spider that's been shooting webs at me, is at the further end.

"Fuck. I'm scared out of my mind. This is such a shit game."

I began to cough. I hadn't swallowed anything. No spit down the wrong tube. I was choking now. What is happening?

The world around me began to fade. I was in darkness. I saw the lights while I was still choking. There was another light. Four in total now. What did that mean?

I sat up. I was out of the darkness.

I remembered. I don't need air.

I calmed myself and concentrated on breathing rather than allowing my body to choke on nothing.

"Lake!"

I composed myself.

"Sophie? What is going on?"

"Big shadows are attacking Lak'Tambu. They look like spiders."

I felt annoyed. Was this some trick in my head to get these spiders to come out here? Similar to sorrow calling Mery's name at the most inopportune times or, the boy telling me to let go?

I stood up. I walked out of the house.

"Lake! Be careful."

"I'll be right back."

I wandered out into the streets. I somehow knew exactly what to do.

I found one of the giants. It was facing away from me. I heard crunching.

"Hey. Look at me."

It turned to me in a slow-motion of rotating legs. It had a body in its mouth.

Once it realized I was there, it dropped the body and charged at me. One of its claws slashed at my arm and left it hanging by shreds of flesh.

I walked up to it. I showed no fear. I placed my other hand on its head.

It dissipated.

Just like the shark in the water, after the giant sent me flying. The shadows disappeared and left behind a tiny spider. The power of my fear manifested aggressive, larger-than-life shadows based on what the fear is.

In my dreams, I was afraid of the giant spiders. Therefore, they became a real manifestation out here.

When I was in the water I had feared the arrival of sharks. One manifested on a nearby shark and gained power with my fear of drowning. It began to pull me down. Once I realized I could not drown, I was no longer afraid of the shark either.

It lost its power.

It was the same with this spider. It was nothing to be afraid of so, it lost its power.

I looked around. My fear had subsided. The other spiders disappeared. I've allowed more innocents to be hurt. These powers are getting harder to control.

I returned to the dwelling with Sophie inside.

"Are they gone?"

Berthri asked.

"Yeah. They're gone."

"How did you do it?"

I looked around the room. The others in here were mostly relieved when I said the spiders were gone but, some merely collapsed into tears.

They may have lost family or friends in this... massacre. I was afraid of telling the truth this time.

Fear is what caused this mayhem. I had to face it head-on.

"Those... things. They came from me."

One of the less distraught panthers approached me.

"It is you."

He was surprised and angry.

"You were the one. You lied to us. You have the power of the potion of Rage and you let us believe otherwise. Our people accepted you into our arms. We were happy for our Princess, to find someone to love. And you repaid her with death. My people, with fear and carnage. I despise you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for..."

"And yet my people are dead, our Princess is dead. Why are you here? You should be..."

Berthri stopped him.

"The immediate danger has passed. Go. Find your loved ones. You no longer need to be here."

He directed his people out. I wasn't sure if I should even be considered one of the Setangyan people anymore.

Berthri managed to remove the temporary inhabitants and returned to me.

Sophie tugged on my shirt.

"How did those things come from you? How is it your fault?"

"You remember, I told you the potion of Rage had more than one power? That anger was not my only power."

"Sorrow?"

She said, with a hint of sadness on her face.

"Yes. And now, fear. I was having a nightmare about being chased by giant spiders in the dark. It seems likely that, those shadows were formed from my fears in my nightmare."

Berthri hung his head low and let out a sigh.

"This isn't right."

"I know. I'm a danger to everyone here. I'll leave as soon as I can. I just have to face King J'Hosh before I go."

He looked up at me.

"That's not what I meant. This power of yours. It's horrible. How can you not just... break down, from everything that's happened? How can you carry yourself so soon after so much death? After... Mery? When I lost my wife..."

He put his hand to his brow. He was having trouble with, whatever it is he is remembering.

"I couldn't function for many, many days after it happened. I was paralyzed. I could not use... well, I refused to use my troll form because it reminded me of her. I just can't believe how... composed, you are. Do you feel nothing for the Princess? For our people? Your brothers and sisters?"

"You don't have to believe me but, I am not unfeeling."

I pulled Sophie to my side with my right arm and placed my left hand on his shoulder.

"It is because I care for the people around me that, I can not allow myself to feel. The anger I can let loose, it would destroy you. The happiness, that people take for granted every day? Mine could harm or kill in various ways that, honestly, I don't even know. As you have seen, my fears could hunt you down. My sorrow... it could destroy us all. Down to the last atom, even. I may even have other powers, yet to be unlocked. I can't allow others to witness my true feelings without causing harm. This is who I am, now."

He took in what I said and looked as though he was processing.

"I need some time to think. You can stay here until you are ready to leave Lak'Tambu."

He went upstairs to his bedroom.

"What will you do now?"

Sophie asked.

"I think I will say goodbye to Atouk and Pinyola before I head over to the King."

She looked hopeful.

"Can I go with you? To see Atouk?"

"Sure. I don't mind. I had no idea that you two were acquainted."

"I went with him to find the flower that cured your sickness. He told me what to look for and I found it myself."

She looked so excited to tell me that last part.

"A flower?"

She nodded her head.

"It was a flower that had the opposite colors of the one that stung you. Atouk said they counteract each other."

"So, something as simple as a flower is the only thing that's been able to really put me out of commission for a while? Go figure. How far did you have to go to find the other flower?"

"We went into the Faelands."

"Really? How long have I been asleep?"

"It's been nine days since you last talked to me in the cave by the beach."

"That long? Wow. I thought I had only been asleep for a day or two at most. Thank you, Sophie."

She had a big smile on when she hugged me.

We made our way to Atouk's place.

I had Sophie wear a hood.

'Thank you, Berthri. For the donation.'

I thought to myself.

We took mostly backstreets where there were less frequent passers-by.

There was a more gruesome leftover from not long ago, on a corner. I shielded Sophie's eyes and walked her past the bloody mess.

I felt horrible, knowing this was my fault. I refused to let my feelings overwhelm me.

We found our destination without any more unwanted discoveries.

"Atouk? Are you okay?"

I could hear children's voices in a back room. Pinyola poked her head around a corner.

"Lake! Atouk is fine, he is in here with the kittens. Is this Sophie?"

"Yes. Hello, ma'am."

Sophie responded.

"I'm glad you are okay."

Sophie was shifting her legs while holding onto me.

"Uh, do you have to go pee, Sophie?"

She shook her head. She looked up at me with doe eyes.

"Can I see the kittens?"

I guess, until recently, I haven't really spent that much time with Sophie. She is older than me but, she is so childlike sometimes.

It's cute, in a way.

It makes me want to protect her even more.

"You would have to ask Pinyola."

She turned her visually assaulting 'doe eyes' to Pinyola.

"Can I? Please?" Pinyola let out a light chuckle.

"Yes, you may."

Sophie ran off around the corner. Pinyola and I casually followed.

We found Sophie carefully holding and petting one of five kittens while Atouk oversaw. They were not old enough to talk but their eyes were open and they were exploring.

"Five, huh? A good number."

Setangyan couples will always give birth to a litter. When a single Setangyan is involved, the result is based on the non-panther parent. I discussed this with Mery at one point. Our result would have been a more, human number. One, maybe two children at most. It would have been a 50/50 chance if the kid was more human or full Setangyan.

"We actually lost one."

Atouk whispered to me.

My heart sank. Last night?

"It wasn't..."

He shook his head. He must have read my face.

"It was lost in childbirth. It was difficult for a while but, we will love the ones we still have."

"I'm sorry, Atouk."

He patted my back.

"I should go see the King before I set out from here."

"Sophie can stay here, she will be safe."

"Thanks."

I left. After some time walking, a Shadow found me. He approached me cautiously.

"Are you..."

"Yeah, I'm Lake. I wish to speak with the king."

"What are your intentions with the king?"

"I only want to talk. If he is willing."

"Wait here."

He quickly ran away. Less than a minute later, a large group of warriors and guards found me. I was escorted toward the King's palace. One of the guards walking next to me kept looking at me.

"Are you really... Was it really your power?"

I didn't look at him.

"Yes."

"Then why? Why would you do this to our people? Are you that heartless?"

"Did you lose someone?"

"My mother was lost last night."

"Does it hurt?"

"OF COURSE IT DOES!"

The group stopped. All eyes around were on the two of us.

"The pain you feel. The anger you just displayed. If I did that, more people would die. Could you hold back the pain and anger, if you were in my situation?"

I showed him a fake smile. He recoiled as if I had questioned his religion with a valid argument.

"What is going on?"

The one leading the group, came back to see what the fuss was.

"Nothing. I am sorry for the interruption."

The guard replied.

He never got rid of the lost face he showed to me.

The group continued and the guard was left behind in a stupor.