Chapter 8

Shiva looked at the scene in front of him, his two friends knocked out on the grass with cuts and bruises on them.

Why had they fought? What gave them the strength to fight? How didn't they buckle under pressure? They were fighting for their lives after all.

Shiva sat there wondering what to do. What could he do?

***

There they laid near a pond in the forest. How did they get there?

Shiva was also there staring at the boys he had to drag to somewhere safe.

"What is that?"

Shiva looked at his friends lying next to the pond like something that shouldn't be happening, was happening.

Water was flowing across the soil towards Proteus. How could water be flowing towards him on a flat surface? It was moving with purpose. Slowly it arrived at Proteus' unconscious body and touched his skin. Very little at a time his bruises were slowly going away and his small cuts were closing.

Then something was happening with Stasius as well. The soil beneath him looked like it was rising towards him as if trying to protect him. But it didn't go high enough; instead it touched his arm and stayed there.

Shiva looked at this?

"There it is again.. Why do these strange things happen to them? Why not me? Am I not special? But they are?"

Shiva turned away and layed on the dirt as well. He was mad. But for what?

***

Opening their eyes the next morning they saw sunlight coming through the purple leaves. Rays of light over the forest. Stasius opened his eyes and tried to move his body. He was in pain, how could he not be?

He looked around and saw Proteus near him but he couldn't see Shiva anywhere. Thinking about it, how had he gotten here? Shiva must've taken them here so where was he?

He looked around some more and started to call out his name.

"Shiva! Shiva, where are you!"

Thoughts started racing through his head. 

'Did the samurai take him? Did another golem get him?'

Stasius sat up, pain still lingering all over his body. His legs and arms were sore but he couldn't just sit around while his best friend was nowhere to be seen in an unknown forest.

Stasius got up and started to look around again, his heart racing. He didn't have time to wake up Proteus and explain, he just had to run. He looked at the ground and saw footprints but it was only one pair. 

'Was it that stranger?'

He looked to where the footstep lead.

'If it really is the stranger should I follow? But if it's Shiva I have to find him. No, I don't have time to think!'

He followed the footsteps without a thought in his mind. As he ran his body burned but he continued. He followed and followed picking up the pace along the way as ran, tripping over the twisted roots protruding out the ground every once in a while.

Then he stopped. He saw something, someone with a bag on their back walking more and more into the forest.

"Shiva!"

When he called out the figure turned around and looked at him.

"Stasius.."

"What are you doing? Where are you going? Is there someone else here."

"No."

"Then what-"

Shiva cut him off.

"Stop. I'm tired of it. What's wrong with you? What's going through your brain?"

Stasius looked at him confused and taken aback. What prompted him to say that? What did he do? Is Shiva mad? Mad at him?

Shiva then continued. "Over and over you prove to be more crazy than before. What made you like this? I used to think it was normal. There wasn't anything to be worried about. Then the world changed, Most people had strange dreams. And in that dream I was told to do what I wanted. The world changed and you just seemed to be normal about it. My family is gone for all of a sudden then we just go into a random forest and then we're attacked. You fought as if it were supposed to happen, as if it was predetermined, Why?"

Stasius closed and opened his mouth trying to formulate words but he couldn't. Was this how Shiva felt this whole time? They've known each other for years and it's only now he knows of this?

"I don't-"

He was cut off again.

"I don't want to hear it. You're crazy and Pro is crazy for following." He paused for a second and added "Then in this new world we've suddenly got powers? And why do you have them and not me? Is it our desires, is it because I'm not truly following my desire?"

Stasius looked at him. 

"You.. you never told me your desire, come on we can all chase our dreams."

"You want to know? Really?"

Stasius nodded.

"It's to purify this world."

"What?"

"People like you! I'm sick of it, bad people and crazy people. They can't be healthy for this world. I'll get rid of them… But then there's you! What am I supposed to do? You're crazy but I've known you my whole life. I can't just get rid of you, and I can't follow you because we're different, our desires don't align."

"No… it's fine… People's true desires can always change…"

"No. It's what I want, it's what I'll do."

And with that he turned around and started walking away. He didn't look back nor did he look down. Just forward towards his goal.