8-Choice

8

Choice.

He just stood there.

It had been at least twenty minutes since Kahn had told Zachariah the full story, the truth behind the Rognaithe.  Zachariah was no chosen savoir, no holy warrior sent down from on high to protect the world.

He was food.  Bad food.

Kahn had seen Zachariah at his worst, but now the man seemed… broken.

Just standing there, Kahn became uneasy.  “Mr. Van Sluyters?  Are you alright?”

Zachariah looked up from his lost stare and suddenly spoke to Kahn?  “Alright?  Well, I’m gonna be going now.”

Kahn shook her head.  “I can’t let you-”

Zachariah cut her off.  “Can’t what?  Let me do that?  Let’s face facts.  You and I both know you can’t do anything to me.”

“Excuse me?” Kahn said frowning.

“Your benefactor is paying you to keep me alive, so how are you going to stop me?  You could keep having Nin-Jerk over there kick me in the head.”  Zachariah pointed at Kyo.  “But I’m pretty sure that’s going to start doing permanent damage.”

Kahn took a deep breath, controlling her rage.  “I don’t think you understand.”

Zachariah put his hand up to stop her.  “No, you don’t understand.  Most people don’t get to have reasons to be miserable bastards, but it turns out it’s my fucking destiny.  So, you know what?  I have a choice to make and I get to make it my way.  Not because of your benefactor or because of the psycho with all the tattoos, but because of me.”

Kahn worked her jaw in anger.  “I could restrain you.”

Zachariah’s eyes narrowed.  “I will bite my fucking tongue off and bleed to death in my own mouth.”

There was a long silence then Zachariah spoke.  “That’s what I thought.  Now, if you don’t mind, fuck off.”

Zachariah then turned and put his hands into his pockets and walked into the distance.

Kyo came up next to Kahn.  “I could kick him again.”

Kahn exhaled then looked at Kyo.  “You really like kicking him, don’t you?

Kyo shrugged.  “He makes it easy to enjoy kicking him.”

Kahn shook her head and spoke to her entire clan who stood behind her in silence.  “All of you, move out and head to the Tunnel of Zersch.  I will track Zachariah alone.  If Zachariah and the druid find their way there first, kill the druid and restrain Zachariah.”

The clan all nodded then vanished in clouds of smoke.

Kahn re-wrapped her face and moved after Zachariah.

****

“Hold up!”  Mel yelled, breathing hard.

Cathleen skidded to a stop and spun around.  “You need to keep up.”

Mel frowned.  “Yeah, can’t image why I can’t keep up with you.  It’s not like I have really short legs or anything.  Fucking bitch”

Cathleen scowled.  “Look Nex, I didn’t ask you to come along.  In fact, if you hadn’t insisted on coming, I could use my robin tattoo and move at twice the speed, so man up.”

“It’s Mel.”  Mel said angrily.

Cathleen looked confused.  “What?”

“My name is Mel.  You keep calling me Nex, which albeit, is my job.  It’s not my name.”  Mel spoke as he leaned on a tree.  “So I can only guess you are calling me by what I do because you don’t know my name, so I’m telling you, it’s Mel.  How about we work on calling me by my name from now on, eh?”

Cathleen was getting increasingly agitated with Mel.  “I have had enough of you.  Keep up or fall behind.”

Cathleen turned to begin running again when Mel said, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

She stopped in her tracks and exhaled with frustration.  “What?”

Mel pushed off the tree, breath slowly returning to him.  “Doesn’t it bother you?  That you are going to murder someone today?”

Cathleen’s demeanor seemed to change.  Her shoulders seemed to drop slightly.  “It must be done.”

Mel shook his head.  “Really?  You think the answer is killing someone, rather than facing the problem head on?  Seems like the something a bitch would do.”

Cathleen spun, her face turning into rage.  “Look, it’s just the way it has to be!”

Mel shook his head.  “Bullshit.”

Cathleen’s nostrils flared.  “It’s the way it has always been!”

Mel shook his head even more violently.  “Don’t feed me that.  You know better!  You all know better!”

Cathleen shook her head.  “I have no idea why I am taking this from some shiftless nex.  I bet you’re not even a Guild member are you?  Just a wanderer with nothing to believe in.”

Mel shrugged.  “When you believe in something, it just means it’s easier to lie to you.”

 “I thought I was loud.”  The sudden voice stopped their seemingly endless argument.

They both turned and standing there in the clearing of trees was Zachariah.  He had his hands in his pockets.

“Well, holy shit!”  Mel said with a smile.

Zachariah considered this.  “Seems about right, actually.”

Cathleen had a look of shock on her face.  “How did you escape the Kaze clan?”

Zachariah just shrugged, “They’re not as scary as you think.”

Cathleen raised her eyebrow.  “That’s it?  They’re not as scary as you think?”

Mel was laughing out loud now, absolutely thrilled with the situation.  Cathleen gave him a look and Mel turned toward her and laughed even harder, rubbing it in.  “You got a lot of surprises there, long legs.”

Zachariah raised an eyebrow.  “I’m stuck with that nick name, aren’t I?”

“Does seem like a keeper.”  Mel answered, grinning.

“Alright, well let’s get on with the quest, eh?”  Zachariah said, suddenly.

The mood changed and Mel frowned.  “Look Zach, you got to know-”

Zachariah raised his hand.  “I have to kill a wyvern, right?”  As he said it, he looked at Cathleen.

She could feel his eyes peering through her and she looked away.  “Of Course, it is your destiny.”

Zachariah made a quick single laugh.  “Ah yes.  My destiny.”

Zachariah walked over to his two companions.  “I should tell you something, Cathleen.  I don’t believe in destiny.”

“So you are-” Cathleen began.

Zachariah cut her off.  “Oh yeah.  I want to see a wyvern.  I just want you to know, destiny is what you make of it.”

Cathleen looked away again and nodded.  “Well then, come.  We have a need for speed if we are going to make it.”

Cathleen said this as she began to walk, realizing after a couple of steps that neither of them was following her, she stopped and turned.  Both Zachariah and Mel were just staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“Top Gun.”  Zachariah said.

“I know, right!”  Mel yelled, looking at him.  “What is that about?!”

“What are you talking about?” Cathleen asked.

“Bullshit!  Like you don’t know you just quoted Top Gun?!”  Mel said, frustrated.

“What’s Top Gun?” Cathleen asked.

“That’s like the fourth movie quote you have dropped.  You have got to be doing this on purpose!” Zachariah scolded.

Cathleen shook her head.  “I have never watched movies.  I have been too busy training to save the world.”

Cathleen was cut off by an abrupt kick to the stomach, sending her rolling backward through the grass.

Kahn had snuck up on them during their argument.  She turned toward Zach.  “I have a job.  If you have no guide, you can’t throw your life away.”

“Kahn, what the hell are you doing?!” Zachariah yelled back at her.

Mel looked up at him.  “You know her name?  What the hell, dude.  Did you make friends with the ninja?!”

“I have to protect you, not follow your orders.”  Kahn responded calmly as Cathleen regained her footing in front of her.  “And I have been wanting to finish this from minute one.”

Kahn drew her small ninja sword, holding it backhanded.  She crouched into a fighting stance.

Cathleen drew her saber and bent her knees to prepare for the fight.

“Damn it, don’t do this.”  Zachariah yelled and began to walk toward the women, when Mel grabbed his wrist to stop him.

“Something tells me we should let this happen.”  Mel said as the two beautiful woman stood ready to do battle.

He was hoping for a nip-slip.

Next week:  Zachariah has a life or death decision to make involving the fate of the world… and no one cares!  The druid and the ninja are going to get it on!  Who will win? Who will gain control of Zachariah’s fate?  Will there be a nip-slip?

Next time, hot chicks collide on…

Stranger Things.

TO BE CONTINUED….