The Unicorn: Chapter 4 Part 2

What defines a bad person? Is it simply the thoughts he has, or does one only cross the line when he acts on those thoughts? It didn’t really matter. Either way Cole would be considered by most a “Bad” person. To be honest it wasn’t a far off estimate. Over the years he’d gotten progressively worse, slipping on the muddy slopes of sin. He’d stolen, he’d lied and, oh yes, he’d killed. Somehow everything he did always seemed to come around to the last one. At the beginning it was difficult, to take somebody’s life. He’d questioned why they had to die, what they had done to deserve death. In the end, there was only one answer; they were on the losing team. All life is a stage. The humans had proven they weren’t completely incompetent when one of their old writers had squeezed that one out. In fact, it was fairly accurate. Life could be a stage, or life could be a game depending on how you lived. There were only two sides in life no matter what way you looked at it. Either you were on the winning side, or the losing side. As he watched the small group below frantically try to get moving, it was more obvious then ever which side he was on.

It had been easy to follow the group through the woods without being noticed. If it hadn’t been for those other two coming up behind him chances were the group would be dead by now. Chances came and went. Despite their frantic efforts to get moving dawn had come before they were finally on the move. The ground glistened with the dew, the air was cold with an early morning chill. The group broke for the beach, and odd choice at best. The thick canopy of trees would have limited his movements against them and offered a certain amount of protection. Out here on the wide open beach it would only be a matter of getting their backs against the water. The possibilities of how he could kill them were nearly endless out here in the open. Still... there were far more important things that needed to be done. The quickest way may not be the most enjoyable, but sacrifices had to be made. The air below began to heat with the mornings activity, carrying the warm air upwards into the atmosphere. Sure, there were faster ways to the ground lying fifty feet below, techniques he could use. Riding the sudden down gust of cold air was far more dramatic however and, after all, life was a stage. No reason not to put on a good show.


~~~~~~~~~~

They’d packed up their things, traded in the comfort of their nice, warm fire for the cold wet night and for what? Nobody had attacked them so far. No arrows from the shadows, no daggers from the bush. The only thing they seemed to have accomplished was causing the humans to relapse. Well intentioned or not, they all knew Eric’s impulsive decision to move in the middle of the night had been foolish. Perhaps there was a time and a place for paranoid caution, but it wasn’t now. The simple medicines he carried in his sack wouldn’t be sufficient to bring the humans around now, and if they were to survive a warm shelter would be needed. Couple that with the fact that Eric now seemed to be in as bad a mood as Casside was and you had a long day. Head tilted back, Edward tried desperately to coax a few drops of wine out of the bottle. Normally he would have carried at least two or three more bottles then he had with him, but speed and medicines had been essential. Now he was faced with the possibility of going through this ordeal sober, and the thought was chilling to the bone. No wine? There was no end to the horrors.

“Eric...” His voice came out so soft and meek that the noise of the waves breaking on the rocks was almost enough to drown it out. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Eric’s bad moods....well yes, it was probably that. “Eric, I feel that it is my responsibility to advise you that...”

If it was possible, the air began to crackle with anger. The look that Eric gave was enough to make him rethink saying what he was about to say.“ I feel that it’s my responsibility to remind, and advise, you that moving the children was a very bad idea.”Eric paused, bringing the group to a stop. The quiet was unnerving. If Casside had an opinion she didn’t seem inclined to voice it. The children were too out of it to know what was going on, leaving Edward alone to bear the brunt of Eric’s rage. Even the birds seemed to stop cawing, as if the slightest noise might turn Eric’s attentious rage towards them. They stood there, staring at each other. In that moment, Edward would have given just about anything to not be the center of attention. “Furthermore,” He forged on in a voice that had become so quiet he was almost sure he couldn’t be heard over the sea. “Moving out onto the beach was a mistake. The humans don’t seem to be reacting as well to the medicine as I would have hoped for and-and the sun isn’t....isn’t helping.”

Morning was beginning to turn into a warm noon, but Edward didn’t feel heat. The sun shone bright and warm, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but chills still ran up and down his spine. Not all of it was from Eric, he was sure. Eric could get pretty angry, but he would never be violent, had never inspired this feeling of dread in Edward before. It wasn’t exactly the first time he had drawn Eric’s anger either, but it had never been like this. The air was full of malicious intent, too close for comfort, and the chilling, icy voice Eric addressed him in didn’t help much. “Then what is your expert advice, doctor?”

With all the hostile activity they had encountered so far, it was very likely that this island was, or had been largely deserted for a while now. Only the foolishly brave or foolishly stupid would have stayed. They didn’t need people though, all they needed was shelter. “ There’s a small fishing village not far from here. We need shelter, whatever way you look at it. There’s sure to be some sort of Inn. I fear the mistakes you have made may-“

“Look, I don’t need your lectures right now Edward. So whatever criticism you may have of my decisions, you can just shove it right back up yo-“

“Get down ”

Edward wasn’t sure who had said it, but it didn’t matter. In this day in age if somebody told you to duck, you ducked. A great gust of wind, something blew past just above their heads, crashing violently into the ground a few feet away. Tidal waves of sand fell from the air, covering all of the. The only thing that could be said was, “What the hell ?”


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“Run ”
Nobody was sure what was happening, or why they should be running, but they did. The sand that had fallen on them had all but buried the humans, and they had to dig them out before they could try to run. They were moving too slow. Casside didn’t try to pretend like she was the most observant, or had the quickest eye, but in all honesty she was the fastest here. Whatever, or whoever had crashed into the beach had come up on them faster then anything she had ever seen. They would not be able to get away, not alive. Simply trying to run would not work. They would have to fight. And if they had to fight, they would die.

“Casside, Edward get to the trees.”

Eric had stopped while they ran, and now stood facing the cloud of smoke and dust that covered the crash site. They didn’t need an explanation. For some unknown reason Eric seemed fine stepping into the leadership role. Casside didn’t care. There was no doubt in her mind that he had made mistakes, and that if she had been in control the mistakes would have been avoided. She had no problem following him though, all that mattered was that she would get what she wanted. If she got that it didn’t matter who was in charge.

It took only seconds to haul themselves and the humans into the woods. They paused only once to decide where to go. With the beach now inaccessible the trip to the fishing village would take almost double the time. It was not a real choice. If they really wanted to escape they’d have to find shelter. Without knowledge of the island, the only shelter they knew of would be the fishing village. The beach disappeared completely after a while, replaced by the thick trees and bushes of the forest.


~~~~~~~~~~


“You know you can’t win Eric.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Then why do you continue with this ridiculous facade? You should have fled with the others while you had the chance.”

“Running was never an option. Somebody had to slow you down, it might as well be me.”

“You seem so sure of yourself, so sure in your willingness to sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice is a fact of life. If I don’t sacrifice now, it will only be someone else down the line.”

“Come now Eric, do you really believe that? Haven’t you suffered enough?”

“Suffering is a part of life. We all suffer equally in life. Suffering is how we get stronger.”

“It’s funny to hear you say that, after all you’ve gone through. A dead wife and three lost children? Can you honestly say that you haven’t lost more then the average person?”

“Loss is a part of life. We all lose to gain.”

“And what have you gained? What has life given you for your losses?”

“That is not for you to know.”

“Good guy’s finish last Eric.”

“Maybe not, if they stay in the race.”

“They’re going to die Eric. None of you can stop me.”

“Just because nobody has cut you Cole, doesn’t mean you can’t bleed.”

“Please, compared to anybody on this Island I’m basically a god.”

“Even god’s have to die sometimes.”

“Why, Eric! We aren’t speaking blasphemy now, are we?”

“Everything dies. Nothing is out of the reach of death. The way you look now, I’d expect you to realize that.”

“Mmhhm... Yes this body has shriveled, hasn’t it? Time is kind on nobody but you, it seems. But even now our power isn’t comparable. If you refuse to stand aside and let me do my job I can’t help but kill you.”

“We’re all going to die someday.”

“It just so happens your day is now.”