Goodbye

WILLIAM

I watched Vivian running away. It sucked. It really sucked, and it was all because of this crappy little kid who couldn't stay where he belonged. Why did he have to stick himself into our time alone together? And if he's already getting in the way, at least he could keep his stupid opinions to himself. Now he scared her off, and I'll never get to see her again. I really wanted to wrap my hands around his dirty little neck and throttle him, or at least give him a good, long, hard spanking. Maybe with a stick, or a belt, or something else that would leave an impression for the rest of his miserable life.

"Oof!" The brat elbowed me in the liver, but I held on. I had to buy time for Vivian. Her chances of getting away were already not good. The people here knew how to hunt down two-legged prey. I struggled to hold him and keep his mouth shut for a while. It wasn't too difficult since he was much smaller than me, but the brat could squirm, and he hit pretty hard.

"Hey! What are you doing to my kid!?"

The boy's father yelled at me. It looked like they finished inside, and now he was looking to gather his family and go home.

"Just playing" I said out loud, but to the kid I whispered "Keep your mouth shut about what you saw, or I'll seriously kick your ass later".

It didn't help. As soon as I let go he ran to his dad, crying.

"There was a demon here! It had scary eyes, just like the priest said!"

"Where is this demon now, son?" The father asked seriously.

"It ran away that way". The boy pointed, thankfully in the wrong direction.

"What did that demon look like? Do you know who it is?"

"It was the new girl. I think her name was Vivian?" Damn, the boy recognized her. That would save them time in figuring out who they were after. Maybe I should have taken him out back and buried him.

"Go tell your mother", the man said.

"Why? Where are you going?" The boy asked.

"I'm going to get some friends together and we'll take care of that demon. We'll make sure it will never scare you or anyone else again", the father said.

His words were so twisted I almost vomited in his face. Did he have any idea how terrified Vivian was of THEM? She didn't do anything to anyone. She was kind and gentle and giving, but they were going to murder her just for EXISTING. I couldn't stop the father, he was too young and strong. Besides, if I did, that would get my whole family into deeper trouble than we were in already. If only I was alone I'd have beaten the shit out of both of them, but I wasn't.

I also couldn't go join Vivian. That would be like paving a straight road all the way to where she was, when the little piece of shit already sent them the wrong way. All I could do was wait for new while pacing like a madman and kicking anything that caught my eye. If it broke, all the better.

I could hear some screaming going on in the house. The brat's mother was accusing my mom of harboring a demon from the underworld and endangering her son. My mom was having non of it, shouting her down by telling her just how stupid and vile she and the whole village were and they were a pack of murderous monkeys, until the bitch finally had enough and left in a huff. I guess our families won't have any more get-togethers. Well, goodbye and good riddance.

My mom came out then to look for me, but I wanted to be alone. I turned away to leave, but she already spotted me and came running over.

"William, I'm so sorry!" she said, and forcefully pulled me into a bear hug.

I clenched my jaw. I didn't want to cry, at least not in front of her, but it hurt so much. At least before when a girl left me, I knew it was because there was nothing there anymore except for memories of the past. There was plenty there with Vivian, a whole future to look forward to, but we were robbed of it just because of some assholes getting in the way.

I couldn't hold it in. I broke down and cried like a baby in mom's arms until I was all dry inside, then I pushed her off. I couldn't just stay here like nothing happened. By then the hunters should have already been on their way, so there was no harm in going into the village to learn the news.

People, mostly women, were standing around on the street talking their heads off like idiots. I stopped to listen to what they were saying, but it was all rubbish, until I heard them mention how the scum that were hunting Vivian found her "lair" and were chasing after her. If that was true, there was no longer any harm in going there, so I went.

The place that used to be a little heaven just for her and me was torn up. The ground was a mess of mud, stirred up by the feet of a dozen men and dogs. The blanket that served as the door was torn off and lying in the dirt, along with her torn up bed and its stuffing and a dress that had multiple pieces missing. They probably used those to teach the dogs her scent.

Most of the other things she kept inside were also scattered around, half buried in the mud. The ice box that she worked so hard for was lying open on the ground and the meat she collected for winter was scattered everywhere. At least the scavengers weren't here yet. They were still weary of the humans that were tearing up the place a moment ago.

Everything that Vivian worked so hard for was destroyed in an instant. My fists shook with rage, but it was already too late. Since they left all of Vivian's stuff here while they were in a rush to murder her, at least I wouldn't let them loot her things when they came back. I gathered her dresses and as many of her other belongings as would fit, and stuffed them into the ice-box, then ran home to hide it in my room.

"William, I heard-" My sister said as I passed her by in the living room, but I didn't pay her any attention as I ran passed her up the stairs to my room.

I ran back out and grabbed a large sack on the way, then went back for the pots, pans, silverware, and any and all of her other belongings I could find. By the time I was done, the only thing left was the treehouse itself.

I cleaned all her stuff myself, then stored it away under my bed, except for the one dress that still had her scent. I knew she'd never come back, but if somehow she did, it would be waiting for her. I hugged that dress, breathing in her scent deeply and muffling my sobs.