CHAPTER 9: AURORA

"ALL OF 'EM"

A strong hand ushered the four fugitives down a narrow alleyway, leading them to an entrance concealed by a wooden door. The hand belonged to a burly man with a bald head, clad in tattered garments and visibly unkempt. Once inside, they found themselves in a small hidden chamber with another wooden door by the corner of the wall. He released them and then shuffled away through the other door, wearing the hollow grin of a braindead zombie.

The room was cold, and Rodri, Anna, and Elizabeth stood shivering. In front of them was yet another peculiar-looking individual with stitched-up features. The individual in question was a short, young lady draped in an oversized cardigan atop a dirty white dress, her feet bare and dirty. She sat alone on a wooden chair by a wooden table positioned in the corner where sunlight streamed through a window that provided a view of the late King Cortea's grand statue. Behind the table she sat, lay a small, thin, and dusty brown blanket on the dirty floor. Her green eyes framed an emotionless countenance, casting an almost judgmental gaze upon them. Bonnie stepped forward.

"Hello, miss. We're travelers from afar that have come to pay this lovely capital a visit. But it obviously hasn't been going so well for us. We're really grateful for y'all helpin us out like that—you're very kind."

Eyeing the nearby staircase, she finally spoke up softly, "The door down that staircase leads to a passage that'll guide you to the gateway road. You can flee the city quietly from there."

A moment of stillness followed, and Rodri, who stood on Bonnie's right shoulder, whispered into his ear, "Bonnie, you just met the girl and she already wants ya to leave the city. Tsk tsk tsk."

Observing her stitches, Bonnie acknowledged that they shared physical similarities.

He inquired, "Say, do you too struggle with foggy memories? Like, you maybe can't seem to recall where you come from, or what yer name is? Yer stitches tell me that you and I, we're both the same."

In the end, all he received was a cold stare in response, with no words exchanged, leaving him in the void, his blank stare and awkward smile accentuating his embarrassment.

Following that uncomfortable pause, Anna leaned in to whisper in Bonnie's left ear, "You see, I don't think she's very attracted to ya, Bonnie. Maybe you should find someone else…"

Elizabeth muttered softly to herself under her custom scarf while shivering in the background, "Does that mean she's also got a magic touch?" And only then did the girl utter a response.

"No, I don't have any 'magic touch.'" Getting up from her chair she continued, "I'm sure you've already witnessed what the Hexclaw can do with its magic touch. How it destroys everything in its path? Getting in its way only makes things worse for everyone within its reach, you'll be wise to stay away from it."

She walked past them and used her foot to swing the door forward, sealing the entrance they had come through.

"Go on," she implored. "You need to leave while you still can. The hunters are already looking to find you, and their egos will only get boosted if they do."

"Hold on, now wait a second," Bonnie suddenly interjected, eyes shut in contemplation and denial. 

"What's the matter Bonnie?" Anna asked, quickly expressing genuine concern.

"I just noticed somethin…"

"Spill it out, dear!"

"Why on earth haven't we contracted the disease?!"

"Say what now?!"

"We haven't been wearin our bandanas for a while. Now that I think about it, our bandanas were never safe in the first place! They were all too thin and poorly designed! We never should have made em, but we definitely should've gotten sick the second we stepped into the capital."

"I think ya might be onto somethin, Bonnie!"

The girl's response was devoid of emotion as she locked eyes with Bonnie, "The plague will ensnare anybody within its grasp, there is no avoiding that. But we are not anybodies; we're not human. Our only likeness to the people around us is our exterior design, other than that, our makeup is completely different. That fact is the only reason you and your small mind have survived this long within the capital." 

"I don't know, lady… Don't you feel there's still a bucket to fill? There's still time for us to find what we can to reconnect us to our lost identities, you see. We could all work together."

As she walked back to her seat, the girl replied, "Why are you so intent on reconnecting with your lost identity? You've already gotten this far. Don't you find solace in what you have now? The people you've attracted and the memories you've made? Are they not enough to become a part of you? What if what you were before doesn't align with what you have now? Who will you be then? Maybe this was a gift; a chance at redemption. Has it not occurred to you that maybe you're playing a curious cat? You can ponder that back at your own space, so leave my room."

"We'll leave when we're finished with you, madam!" Anna retorted.

"Anna, be kind," Bonnie strictly commanded.

"Okay." Anna hid herself beneath his hair.

Bonnie retook his friendly countenance and humbly questioned further, "One more thing, do you… perhaps know of the origins of this plague? Everybody's just sufferin outside. I can't even heal 'em with my touch. It usually works, but for some reason it… They're all in pain, you see. And there's none to help 'em. Do you perhaps know why the hospital isn't operating anymore?"

The girl turned her back to the four and sat back down to face the window, and with calm she replied, "The plague… is a natural consequence of Nadiria's sins. It can't be avoided. Anyone who contracts it is simply paying their dues. All of them are getting what they deserve."

"All of 'em?" Bonnie asked, unconvinced.

"All of 'em," came the cold reply. "It's only a matter of time before it wipes out all of Nadiria. Unless you find an unsightly death amusing, you'll take your friend and flee with her to a distant land. That's all I'm saying to you from now on. Leave my room."

Bonnie gave no words, just a blank stare devoid of expression. With no half feelings, he turned and left the chamber.

"Yeah! We don't need her!" Anna mocked. "Continue to sleep in the cold, while we're gonna be restin warm and easy at our fireplace, you heathen!"

As they left, Elizabeth remained and approached the girl.

"You seem to be from round here," she said, retrieving a crumpled missing poster of her brother from her pocket. "Have you seen this man show up anywhere?" She stretched out the poster. "He's my older brother, and he disappeared from our farm a few months ago. No one there has seen him since, so I thought maybe he might have been in the city. Do you recognize him?"

After examining the sketch, the girl shook her head, apologizing for her lack of knowledge before heading back to her seat.

Elizabeth then responded, "Oh… I see. Well, thank you, and uhh… Say, what's yer name, miss?"

Suddenly, loud and aggressive knocking emanated from one of the nearby doors, a shadow emerging from behind. The voice, carrying a tone devoid of intelligence, akin to summoning a pet, called out the name, "Aurora."

The girl's lifeless expression quickly shifted to one of embarrassment.

"G-Go already! Why are you still here?? she urgently implored. "Hurry!"

After a day marked by chaos, failed plans, and near-death experiences, the quartet commenced their voyage back to the farm.

CHAPTER 9 of 'Bonnie's Touch' ends