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Round and Round

The travel to the nearest settlement was full of problems, not because of Narati’s inability to protect himself, but because of the harshness of the unpredictable weather and the many raiders and bandits trying to take them on throughout the way. Even without Narati’s dangerously unstable explosives, the two experienced wanderers could defeat many of them without any problems. Yet, the one who found the spoils of their effort were all Narati, in the form of valuable junks and muns.

Yet another problem in their journey, this time contributed to Narati, was found later after they reached a major settlement. Because of a mutual agreement between many of the major settlements in the region, Fa’ars were prohibited to go inside settlements, however young they may be. The most common reason was because of their race. Rats in particular were known to be pests, both in a world before the catastrophic war and the ruins that happens afterwards. The other races, in particular humans, would not want a half human-sized rats to roam freely in the settlements with children in it. Aside from them suspected to carry dangerous diseases (which Narati denied), they had gained a reputation for being untrustworthy (as Jek had already experienced firsthand).

Because of this, Narati was unable to get inside major settlements and was forced to make camp outside the settlements, where the bandits roam about and ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims. Not only that, the bulk of junks the Fa’ar salvaged, mostly useless in the eyes of Raine and Jek, would occasionally slow their travel down. Jek tried so many times to convince Narati to stop carry useless junks that couldn’t be sold into muns, but despite of being scared to Jek, Narati couldn’t stop.

Jek and Raine were even forced to let go of safe and comfortable lodgings when Narati’s ‘minefield’ camp killed too many bandits near a settlement and causing disturbance at night. Though many were surprised on how his crafted explosives could kill so many, they didn’t appreciate a Fa’ar blowing things up so near to their houses. Jek and Raine, knowing very well how the Fa’ar would leave if told, started journeying through settlements and not actually staying inside them.

One night, after a particularly good raid that gave them muns to buy new weapons and bullets, Raine, still the one from the two who liked to talk to Narati, approached the rat when he was tinkering with junks. Didn’t want to cause Narati to lose confidence, he asked, “So those are explosives, huh?”

“Yeah,” replied Narati, with his eyes glowing in excitement. “It’s cool, right? I found some junks that I can use as components. With the world ended, these pre-war things are quite valuable to me.”

“So how can one, uh…hubcap be an important thing? All I can see is a rusted junk.”

“Well, the hubcap is useless to me, because it will disintegrate anyway. I need the component inside this one.”

“Oh, you mean the fuel?”

Narati’s smile widened as he found a perfect audience for his explanation.

“Never thought you’re into pre-war stuff, Raine.”

“Well, I am an enhancer, so of course I know magic. We used magic as fuel in pre-war society.”

“And this hubcap came from a non-contact car,” said Narati while cutting open the cover. He revealed a tiny clear-looking object in the middle of the rims, shining and sparkling like a diamond. Raine could feel magical power coming from it.

After throwing away the hubcap, Narati took the crystal and put it inside his pouch. This prompted Raine to ask, “That magic crystal can fetch a lot of muns in the settlements.”

“For me, muns are not that important.” Narati then made a sad smile. “Well, since I can’t get to spend them anyway.”

“Would that justify using some of the gears as your inventions,” said Jek overhearing the conversation. “Both of us still needs to buy foods, you know. It’s not like we need to hunt all the time and risk our lives fighting unpredictable animals.”

“Um…so you noticed?”

Jek sighed. “You owe me 90 muns, Narati.”

Raine could see that Narati started to become tense, so he just said, “Ah, don’t worry, Nara, he’s not trying to extort you.”

“I’m being serious here, Raine.”

Raine laughed. “Beast races are easier to read than you thought.” He then gestured his eyes, to which Jek grunted and look away. Narati wanted to ask Raine, but seeing Jek’s not agitated eyes provided him with the answer already, as beast races, even if they were the most diverse race, they knew each other.

Though Jek was still very much withdrawn from their conversation, Narati started to feel a sense of respect from the wolfman, and his own admiration of him. Narati even smiled more, which was something totally new to the two wanderers, who always assumed that a Fa’ar would be untrustworthy the moment they looked them in the eyes. Narati was pleasant to look at and he was so innocent-looking, only able to make explosives and other, menial stuffs that he didn’t care about the money and the discrimination his race was being subjected to. Raine thought that he could consider Narati as a good little brother, being only 15 years old, and could be a companion that provide a balance that could make them less monstrous, considering their past.

That was something Raine thought to be, before one incident turned his opinion around, and changed his view on Narati permanently.

Of course, like many other people throughout the ravaged wasteland, they tried to survive in any way possible. However, in a world without rules, it was kill or be killed. It’s as simple as that. It was not as simple as that to some people. People like Jek and Raine struggled to survive in the unpredictable world, while weak people, unable to fight for their own, either succumbed to the wild world, becoming insane with only one way to go, or willingly abandon their prides to be slaves.

The term ‘slave’ was not something that some took as an insult or indignity. People who was unable to fight sold themselves to these slavers for protections, but in turn they must be there for the slaver’s whims. These ‘whims’, however, were not something entirely pleasant, ranging from being beaten to vent out frustration to fulfilling the slaver’s weird fetish, like naked, unfurred, beast races.

It was something common to have a slaver’s market where they sold and bought slaves. While many willingly became one, some were forced to do so. All races, including Fa’ars, were subjected to this, and the slaves did not care about Fa’ars, despite of their discrimination, for they believed that all slaves were equal.

It wasn’t the case for Narati.

For a Fa’ar who had never been to a freetown before, it was something very new for him. A freetown, where no discrimination was present, was quite rare and was shunned upon by ‘upstanding’ societies in the wasteland. But, being a freetown, there were no rules in it, causing most freetown to be no more than shantytown, with shady corners and cutthroats doing business with other cutthroats.

Jek knew that a freetown was a seed of problem in the middle of a big wasteland. Even he hated going into one where people eyed him as if he was ripe for harvest. Slavers, junkies, thieves, liars, rapist, and even cannibals lived in many freetowns he had ever visited. In his mind, a freetown is no different than a bandit camp, albeit with more stores to sell and buy things.

The hate in the town was apparent when the three of them got in there. It was chaotic, a characteristic of so many freetowns. People readily fought in a muddy terrain they suspected to be a mix of shit and other nasty things. Dead carcasses of animals and looted corpses were thrown in the street and attracted flies and maggots, causing unpleasant view and disease. Blood ran down some houses and laughs and screams mixed in a twisted opera. If anyone still believed in heaven and hell, it could be the milder representation of hell itself.

Narati was visibly troubled when some were-hyenas looked at him and bared their fangs. Jek bared his own fangs towards them and Raine glared at them, trying to protect Narati. But, to their surprise, Narati wasn’t making any scared or troubled expression he usually did in the first weeks of their journey together. He just said, “This place is a stink-hole as it is.”

“I agree. The faster we get away from this place the better.”

“Why are we even in this place, anyway?”

“We still need work, you know. Even if this place is a dump, there’s bound to be work somewhere. I wonder if those slavers have…”

Narati’s expression turned to anger and he bared his teeth towards Jek, surprising the wolf. He had never saw a Fa’ar angry before, especially since many Fa’ars who he dealt with always had a cowardly look in their eyes, or menacing, but not angry. His red eyes were apparent when he was angry. This also took Raine’s attention.

“You don’t agree?” asked Jek.

“Jek, did you…do any kind of business with them,” said Jek, his speech pattern slowed.

“We still need the muns to eat, Narati. Get your hand away from me before I bite them off,” said Jek, trying to intimidate Narati. He ended up taunting the Fa’ar. He pulled out a knife and put it on Jek’s neck.

“Swear to me that the last slaver you made a deal of is the last, or I’ll slit that throat of yours,” said Narati. Seeing his gesture and his speech pattern, Jek knew that Narati was serious. It was something that even the wolf couldn’t understand. How can a former thief and salvager, who needed protection and was scared of a gunshot, could be so angry when mentioning slave trade?

Raine pulled them away and said, “Okay, you two. The last thing I need is losing two companions at the same time. I can hand over your body to someone with a price on your head, but this is not the time. Narati, this isn’t like you. What’s wrong?”

“He’s acting out just because I made a suggestion of a work with the slavers.”

But upon seeing Narati again, he returned to his timid personality and said, “I’m sorry! I wasn’t supposed to do that!”

“Hey, did you have a split personality or something?”

“No, I did not actually try to slit your throat! I…I think this town is getting to me. I just…need some time alone….”

Narati walked away, just like that, in front of his two companions. Jek looked at him with confusion, as did Raine.

“Do you think he was a former slave?” asked Raine.

“With that kind of personality? All he could do is following the whim of his slavers, not standing up on me. Something’s wrong with him since he went into this town.”

“Yeah, it’s like he had a split personality or something. I never thought he has that thing inside him.”

“But whatever it is, I think he won’t be causing much harm,” said Jek rubbing his neck. “But…where is he?”

Both were too stunned to realize that Narati was gone in the crowd. Jek slapped his face and Raine, with a panicked expression, went rushing into the growing crowd.

“That fucking worm-tail is giving me nothing but trouble today,” said Jek while going into the crowd.

With his experience throughout his travel, he knew that this much crowd means that something was happening in the town square, if it could be called one. Based on the signs in that freetown, the place was called Gallows Park. It was where criminals were being hanged, but somehow it was for public entertainment nowadays. What Jek could see was that the platform of the Gallows Park was for slave trading, with people trying their hard to find one suitable for their needs.

Even from as far as half a mile, Jek could hear what the slaver was saying. As a lup, he could concentrate his hearing to just one source of sound. What he heard was troubling him.

“The slaves on this platform are people too weak to fight for their own in this town. I know you want to make them your servants, so take a bid! This one is a strong lionman. He hails from somewhere from the North and was supposedly a warrior, but look at how meek he is! No mane, not even fur! Well, he’s nothing but a slut now. He can be…”

“Nope, I’m not hear going through that bullshit again,” thought Jek. “This town is nothing but pile of shits and fuckers trying to gain something in their life. Narati is not someone who needs to know the harsh life of a settlement this free.

Jek suddenly found Raine tripping on a rock. He pulled him up and glared at someone who angrily shoved them away. He relented, but showed signs of trying to kill Jek. He wanted to rip his throat out, seeing how he was just a human, but the unnecessary chaos could cause their search for Narati even harder.

“Thanks for that. Did you find Nara?”

“In a sea of shits? Yeah, it’s easy, alright.”

“Stop being so sarcastic and help me find him. I’m more concerned on his current condition…”

“Wait, I think I heard something. By the podium, it’s…”

The voice he heard was something that he knew only one person could cause.

A strong concentrated explosion blasted under the noise where he could hear the slaver. His scream echoed through his ear drums, overwhelming his sensitive ears for a moment before he recovered. He then heard a familiar voice.

“Feeling strong now?”

“Get your dirty paws off me, rat!”

“Gladly.”

Jek didn’t hear what happened next as he was concentrating on trying to get to the podium. He shoved and threw people away as he saw an uncharacteristic sight.

Narati, with a bloodied knife, was standing over the body of a human slaver and proceeded to scalp him. He held the scalp high for everyone that could see, and they were clearly unable to make things clear in their mind anymore. The sight of a rat person killing someone in a town was enough to make them question their view towards Fa’ars. Even some Fa’ars looked at him as if he was a monster. Narati’s eyes were crazy, like someone who was psychopathic enough to coldly stab a human and scalp his head. Narati didn’t care or didn’t notice. He jumped down and walked towards the lionman, who, like what Jek heard, was clearly out of his mind and was dazed, unable to even gather thoughts and proceeded to lick Narati’s pinkish feet.

Narati looked down at the furless lion with contempt. Even though he knew lions were supposed to be big enough to triple his size, he never would’ve thought that one would be so broken. He was clearly not like the vicious lionmen that embodied their feral kin.

“Look at you, all broken and dying,” said Narati. While he was trying to be calm, he felt his eyes was full of tears. His mind was telling him that this wasn’t him, but his conscience and his bleak view of the world shut it all down. He raised his knife and said, “You don’t need to live on to become something you are not supposed to be. The world we live in is not for your current state. Good bye, mighty lion.”

“Narati, what are you doing?” said Jek, who had finally reached him. But his words were a little too late. Narati had put the knife on the lionman’s throat and with a swift movement, cut the veins on his throat. The lionman gurgled as he looked at Narati, but it wasn’t of terror, but of relief. Some seconds later, his eyes grew blank, and his body stopped twitching. He was dead, joining the unnamed corpses in the town.

The same were-hyenas that were glaring at Narati took their chance to get to the lionman’s body. They were salivating over him, as if imagining the taste of a freshly killed flesh. The tear from the Fa’ar in front of them stopped their violation and slowly moved away from the rat.

Jek could only say, “Narati…” when the rat moved away from the lion’s body and towards the slaver. He then threw something that looked like a container towards a house, where it promptly exploded and spread fire. With most of the building’s foundation being rotted, dry wood, it quickly caught fire that spread through the freetown. Jek and Raine looked at the chaos in disbelief. A Fa’ar who was unable to even protect himself with his lance was casually burning a house. If it was still in a pre-war society, he could be sentenced on account of murder and arson. But, the world they currently lived in had no rules. No one could justify that they were right. Narati’s action was nothing but a small fraction of atrocity that ravaged the land.

Narati silently walked away, with tears running down his furry face. Jek and Raine had never seen him like this before, or they didn’t know that he was supposed to be like that. Ignoring the pleas and shouts of fear and anger towards him, he walked away as the fire burned the surrounding houses, forcing the people in that town to abandon everything and walk away. Jek and Raine looked at each other and nodded, before following the rat.

Somehow, the ruthlessness and violent tendency of the Fa’ar was something that convinced them that Narati wasn’t someone who needs protection.

They were now responsible for helping him control himself. One more incident like this and Narati would never return to his cowardly self. He would become one of so many victims of hate and death.

If there’s one thing Narati could be, it would be a monster.