Chapter 9: Fear

"Fear is the main source of superstition and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom."

— Bertrand Russell

"Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears." — Rudyard Kipling

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is a little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." —Frank Herbert, Dune (Dune, #1)

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." —Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

***

News about the newly discovered body of the third victim of the strange killings and brutalities spread throughout the entire island. People began to panic, and fear gradually crept up their minds.

The townspeople and Grenoble had to come up with a safety precaution against the rampant killer. To deal with the problem at hand, Grenoble assigned people that will patrol the whole town and nearby houses to prevent the killings. The aim for this was to also reassure the Balmackians that the island is and will always be their safe haven.

"Dad, I'll be going outside," Xenia told his father, who was fixing some toys for his little girls. "Arlan's parents invited me for dinner. They also said I can bring some food back home."

Xenia's family was not totally isolated from the others. They were forced to build their house far from the town because of their bad reputation. Arlan's, Franzia's, and Ergas' houses were also not located near the town while the triplets lived at the border of the town.

Aware of the news and the brutalities going on on their island, Volcom let Xenia go to Arlan's house.

"Just be sure to be back before eight, 'kay?"

"Will do!"

Sunsets on the island are different when you actually watch them from the tall trees and witness their glory fading behind the calm waves of the sea, completely submerging through it as its bright color disappears temporarily.

Around Xenia's waist was his handmade tool holder with a neat knife sheath to store his little weapon he made himself from obsidian rocks he found. Back in his old life, Xenia loves to go hiking and mountain climbing. He also loves forging tools from scratch that can be found in nature. So, seeing him create a useful knife out of an obsidian rock is not so surprising. And given the danger looming around the island, someone ought to possess any sort of weapon to protect themselves.

Volcom, was in fact, amazed at Xenia's skill to make a doable knife when all he did was play around and complain about how they were so poor. These changes in Xenia's behavior got Volcom thinking. Drastically, his son changed, and it was for the better. However, Volcom sensed that the Xenia he knew was not there anymore like his son became a different person in the body of the son he watched grow up.

It took Xenia about nine minutes to reach Arlan's house. He had to make some shortcuts to save time and not be idle.

Compared to Xenia's house, Arlan's house looked much more sturdy and durable. It was made out of concrete and bricks wherein the concrete was shipped to the island while the bricks were all made in Balmack Island.

"Ours is made of wood, but I still like it compared to such a modern house like that. For me, it does not fit with the surroundings being full of trees and plants."

The hair on Xenia's body all stood up when all of a sudden a person appeared behind him, making him put his guard up.

"Is something the matter, Xenia?" Said the person wearing a hooded jacket with his hands inside his pockets. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Don't creep up behind me like that, Pleno! I almost had a heart attack."

Pleno is Arlan's big brother. He is five years older than Arlan, who is around the age of ten.

Based on Xenia's recollections of memories, Pleno does not come out that much. The only time he would go outside is when he is fetching some firewood or going out to buy some groceries. Pleno is a smart guy with a bright future ahead. Only if he was not born on the island, he must be studying in a private school where he could hone his mind and learn more about things in life.

"But I called your name before I approached you. It looked like you were not paying attention, so I walked up behind you."

Wrapped around his arms was a large brown bag of groceries he bought just about ten minutes in the town and on his way home when he stumbled across Xenia outside his house.

"Did you? Well, maybe I was thinking of something," Xenia answered, making himself look like he was worried about a problem.

Seeing the worried expression on Xenia's face, Pleno, of course, could not help but felt the need to ask.

"What's bothering you? Is it about the killings lately?"

"Yeah," he replied shortly.

They both began to walk towards Pleno's house. Inside, the electricity powered the bulbs, which gave light and life to the gloomy area where tall trees sprang with a wide spread of leaves, and the stream of the river's end could be heard splashing down a small pool of ponds.

"It's not yet completely evening, and Grenoble's men were already patrolling the island. They were equipped with a weapon, a wood of some sort."

"What can a wood do against someone that cuts people so perfectly it easily cuts down to the bone? Nothing. But hey, a weapon is a weapon, right?"

Just like the wood he was belittling, what can a puny knife he made from scratch do against a psychotic maniac that can split people in half so easily? Nothing.

"Having something is better than having nothing."

Xenia paused, "are you afraid of the killer?"

Noticing that Xenia came to a halt to ask the question, Pleno turned his head around and glanced at Xenia's face. He was not the face of someone who was afraid or worried. Although quick and vague, Pleno saw the fleeting smirk on Xenia's face, which eventually turned into a blank emotion. It's like he did not care.

"Well, for one, I did harbor feelings of fear towards this killer. But seeing the townspeople, our chief, do something about the problem somehow ease the dread."

It can't be helped. For three straight days, three people had already been killed by the psychotic maniac, and if this person isn't stopped, Pleno just did not know how the people would act towards the problem.

That's why Grenoble and his men were active tonight to prevent people from dying and to stop the killer from shattering peace and security on the island.

"Doesn't that mean households far from the town have tiny security against the killer? The fact that our houses were built several meters away from the town makes us an easy target for the psychotic killer."

"True, but at the end of the day, those people can't protect everyone but themselves. You only have yourself. If something bad happens to you, that's on you. Be responsible for your own life."

And thus, Pleno knocked on the door before saying he had come back home with Xenia.

For some reason, Arlan's parents seem to like Xenia. He does not recall doing amazing things or showing signs of intelligence. They just seemed to like him. Maybe because he is their closest friend of Arlan, and they were just grateful for being friends with their son.

Arlan's mother and father greeted Xenia with a bright smiles on their faces. Both of them were busy with something, but the two of them stopped what they were doing just to greet him.

"Oh, thank you for having me over for dinner."

Lightly, he bowed his head before his eyes landed on Arlan, who was motioning at him to come upstairs.

"Go on. The two of you can play upstairs while Pleno fixes our supper."

Xenia excused himself and hurried up to Arlan's room.

"Dude, today's victim, I saw it when I was gathering some firewood!"

Arlan just could not wait any longer to tell Xenia what he just saw. He did not tell anyone in his family about this, and he chose to tell Xenia because he knows him as someone who is a tight-lipped guy.

"I heard it's a female this time. That makes it two females and one guy. But what do you mean you saw the victim?"

They both sat down on Arlan's bed, and the latter began with his short story.

"So, I was on my way home carrying some firewood I picked up. At first, my surroundings were so silent that I could only hear my thoughts and the cracking of the fallen branches on my path. I didn't pay attention to it since this island has always been like that. Then, I was about five minutes away when I heard a child's giggle and a pair of footsteps behind me. When I turned around, I did not know if it was a child or a midget, but that person was chasing the woman. The person was empty-handed, so I decided to follow because I was curious," Arlan had to stop for a moment to calm his trembling hands on the side of his bed that was grasping on it. "They were running so fast, and the firewood on my shoulders was heavy I could not catch up to them. But I tried to until I was devastated by how the female was reduced too. Her... Her..."

It was at that point that Arlan had a hard time continuing with his story, although he was so keen on telling Xenia.

"Don't force yourself to remember what you saw, Arlan. It will just make things worse for you. It's fine, really. You don't have to tell me. But if it would make you feel somehow better, then I will gladly listen. What are friends for, right?"

~