CHAPTER 6: UNFAMILIAR FAMILIARITY

"ENEMIES"

Elizabeth lay awake and motionless in her quiet room, her fingers loosely clutching the hastily scribbled note Bonnie had left behind. However, the only thing that seemed to bother her during that moment was the disastrous display of handwriting that adorned the note. It bewildered her conscience, appearing as though it belonged to a realm that defied logic, and to a designer that needed to be locked within a cell and questioned for such transgressions!

. . .

Entering through the gateway road were the three little oddlings, their faces covered with bandanas that neatly fit just below their eyes—Rodri and Anna's being torn material reinforced into such. Bonnie had his hood up, and Rodri and Anna stood on his shoulders, hiding beneath his hair. They cautiously ventured down Autumn Avenue, where most of the convenience and clothing stores dwelled, and as they got deeper, the ravaged streets revealed themselves, and the effects of the plague grew harder to go unnoticed.

"Anna, you're pullin my hair," Bonnie murmured, eyes wary of anything that would beckon the disease.

Anna began, "Say, mister… 'leader of the three,' when we capture our adversaries and hold 'em hostage—will ya intimidate 'em by choppin their fingers off, or by threatenin to hurt their loved ones?"

"Anna, we're not gonna have any enemies. Quit thinkin like that."

Rodri chimed in, "Oh no, Anna, you've got it all wrong. Mister 'charmin' and 'compassionate' over here prefers a more stylistic approach. He'd rather open their hearts… with cannonballs!"

"With what?" Bonnie questioned with genuine confusion as Rodri laughed proudly.

"Urgh, this equipment, I can't breathe!" Anna said, lowering her bandana. "I feel like a thief, hidin in the shadows, like a coward! Why must I hide? I will make my enemies cower in fear, make 'em wish they'd perished sooner! I don't need ta hide!"

"Anna, put it back on. We need to avoid the plague before assumin I could just heal you if you caught it. Understand?"

Rodri, bandana completely off, added, "Ah, the fresh scent of civilization before me... I hate it!"

"Hey, why can I hear yer stinkin voice so audibly?" Anna protested. "If you can remove yer facial veil, then so can I!" Anna then removed her bandana completely.

"My, you're so full of individuality, aren't ya?" Rodri teased. "Do you feel liberated? Now that the world can see the fool behind the mask?"

"Ya know what, I hope you're the first of us to get caught by the plague. 'Plague? Come on out now. We've got the perfect host for ya right here!'"

"Be quiet! You're attractin unwanted attention," Bonnie ordered while keeping his voice low.

Bonnie's eyes darted around at the dire scenery of the plague-ridden capital. The sidewalks were skewered with residents lying ill on the polluted floor, their eyes bloodshot red, and their clothes as dirty as their surroundings. Each household was tightly shut, and the convenience stores displayed a great lack of hygiene. Sick mothers nursed their sicker children on the filthy floors—amidst scouring rodents and fat mosquitoes.

"Why are they doin that? That's not healthy!" Bonnie discerned quietly with an air of frustration. "This plague is…a real nuisance!" he murmured angrily under his breath.

He was both worried and frustrated, a growing discomfort arising within him as he critically pondered: What on earth is going on here? Why have the people been left to tend to their ailments? And why aren't there any professionals attending to their care? Disrupting his thought process, a particular man with a burly build and brunette hair bumped into him without an apology, his head down and in a sorry state. 

"Hey!" Bonnie screeched, sharply turning around to face the strange man, but his hostility quickly switched to nostalgia as he murmured, "I've seen that guy before... Who—"

Suddenly, the sighting of a particular crumbling hospital building made Bonnie recoil in fright. He twitched and shivered, a strange melancholy enveloping him. Its familiarity confused and scared him. Rodri and Anna called out to him, but their voices seemed to echo from a distance. He remained oblivious to their calls. Out of nowhere, a sudden agony enveloped him, and he pressed his head in pain before quickly shifting his focus on the ailing residents slumped roadside with scarves over their faces.

He muttered, "Their pain... I can feel it. They're dyin..."

Anna, her wings fluttering, asked Bonnie flatly, "Who's dyin, Bonnie? Are ya alright in the head?"

Bonnie's eyes suddenly blazed with purpose. "That's right... I can fix them!" he declared with an intense, almost predatory gaze before dashing off, the gust knocking Rodri and Anna's tiny forms askew.

Halting by a haggard family of four huddled in a corner, his bright smile under the raincoat hood only unsettled them further. He heard them commenting in French, and he proceeded to cheerfully greet them.

"Hello folks, ça te dérange si je te sauve de tes ennuis?"

Their growing unease escaped Bonnie's notice as he crept closer, resting his hands on the mother's exposed legs with a bright smile.

"Juste une seconde, c'est tout ce que cela prendra, voyez-vous. À la fin, vous finirez par vous sentir comme un aigle planant dans le ciel. Ou mieux encore, un dragon!"

A few seconds passed by, and he noticed his touch had no effect. "Wh-Why aren't you healin?" he asked with a quivering voice.

The woman recoiled in terror, "Oh ciel! Le démon!" kicking Bonnie squarely away as she cried, "It is the Hexclaw Menace! It is the Hexclaw Menace!"

She clutched her two fully grown boys close while her husband glared fiercely at the troublemaker. Bonnie rose to his feet and wiped his mouth, abruptly becoming aware of a crowd of unhappy Nadirians. Their faces bore a mix of fear and anger, as they tightly clutched an array of items in their hands, their hostile gazes fixed squarely on him. Bewildered, Bonnie could only watch them charge before turning tail in a chaotic chase down the street. Rodri and Anna's minuscule forms were jostled by the oblivious parade, and they urgently called for Bonnie, who was already in the distance, racing for his life. Suddenly, two hands snatched them back into a hidden alleyway.

They questioned the shrouded figure's identity before a familiar whisper responded from beneath the layers of a scarf, "It's me, Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"What are you doing here?!" Anna snapped.

Rodri added, "You were supposed to be asleep before we returned! You're up too soon, dammit!"

"I could barely read that trashy note you left behind! You do realize a letter has to be readable in order for someone to read it, right? Anyway, I-I thought maybe I could… help…"

"You're gonna need help when I'm through with you, lady!" Anna warned, her finger wavering in an aimless direction as Elizabeth shrunk back awkwardly.

Meanwhile, on the streets, Bonnie pressed on with his escape, executing a swift maneuver as he veered down a road and seamlessly transitioned into an alleyway. 

Catching his breath, he overheard their distant cries, "We can't let the Hexclaw Menace escape! That monster's too dangerous for our children—AND our pets!" And the crowd cheered in agreement.

"Monster?" Bonnie muttered. "But ain't I a little too adorable to be a monster?"

Suddenly, a scrap of paper drifted unexpectedly before him. As he reached out to grasp it, he eagerly examined the details of that particular wanted monster. But then, an eerie and unsettling presence materialized beside him. As he slowly lifted his gaze, awkwardly confined within the limited space, he felt an intense, unrelenting stare pierce through his very soul. It was only in that chilling moment that he finally uncovered the identity of the menacing monstrosity he had inadvertently stumbled upon—the infamous Hexclaw Menace!

"Hello, sir," Bonnie kindly greeted the beast with an awkward smile…

CHAPTER 6 of 'Bonnie's Touch' ends