CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 20: LEMUR

Oliver stayed perfectly still. He didn’t move or even blink. The gun barrel was pointed directly at his face.

When the masked man realized Oliver wouldn’t back down, he lowered the gun, turned around, and gave him his back.

"You will bear all the consequences of your decision alone."

He said it with a voice completely free of anger, then walked out of the passage, leaving Oliver and the small gray creature by themselves.

Oliver exhaled in relief the moment the masked man left. Then he turned toward the little gray one.

The moment he reached out his hand, the creature jumped back fast.

Then it puffed up its body and waved its small claws at Oliver while growling sharply.

Oliver stepped back and raised his hands, trying to calm it down.

The small gray creature was breathing hard, its back arched, its eyes filled with fear and aggression.

"Stay away from me, monster!" it yelled while swinging its claws. "I will call my mother if you come any closer!"

Oliver froze for a moment. He understood every word it said, even though it spoke in a sound more like an animal’s growl.

"I’m not a monster, and I don’t want to hurt you."

The creature stopped moving and stared at him in confusion.

"You can understand me?"

"So it seems."

A faint relief showed on the creature’s face.

It stopped waving its claws, but stayed distant, ready to fight at any moment.

Oliver took out a piece of dried fruit and held it out.

"Are you hungry?"

The creature hesitated, then stretched its hand, grabbed the fruit quickly, and devoured it.

It raised its head after finishing the piece.

"Do you have more?"

Oliver gave a small smile, stood up, and walked to the second passage where the rest of the dried fruits were stored.

He found the sage sleeping on his side. He snatched some fruit and a piece of meat, then returned.

He placed the food in front of the creature, and it immediately started eating fiercely, tearing through everything, ripping the meat with its teeth.

Oliver sat on a nearby rock and watched it, careful not to make any movement that could unsettle it.

When the creature finished eating, it wiped its mouth with its arm and looked at him.

"You’re human, right?"

"Technically, yes." Oliver replied as he scratched the back of his head.

"Then how can you understand me?"

"I don’t know. And how can you understand our language?"

"My mother told me most creatures of the forest understand the language of the humans who live here. We understand you because you are part of this land. That’s what she taught me, along with many warnings."

"Warnings? Like what did she say about humans?"

"She described your appearance and told me to stay away if I’m alone."

Oliver looked around at the torn bodies scattered everywhere.

"What happened here? Why are you alone?"

The creature didn’t answer. It only stared at the corpses. Oliver covered his mouth with his hand.

"Sorry. I have a problem with curiosity."

"It’s fine. They died with honor. That doesn’t make me sad as much as it makes me ashamed. The Head Smashers attacked us. They killed everyone. I was supposed to fight with them, but I hid with the young ones."

"But you’re small."

"I’m not a child. I’m a warrior. Or I was supposed to be."

Both of them fell silent for a moment before the creature continued sharply.

"What about you? What is a human doing inside the forest? Humans usually don’t leave their villages."

"There are more villages?"

The creature sighed irritably.

"Will you stop asking questions and answer mine, human?"

Oliver gave a small smile, then sat in front of him and told his full story. From the beginning to the moment they ended up together in that dark passage.

The creature listened with intense curiosity. Everything about the village, the festival, the Great Autumn Journey, the spirits, and their transformation into beasts.

"It seems you have suffered as well, human."

Oliver leaned back against the stone wall.

"I guess we’re alike in some way."

"You’re heading out of the forest, right?"

"Yes. That’s the plan. What do you think? Want to come with us?"

"With you humans?"

"Yes. You have nothing left here, right? So why not leave with us?"

"But my mother always warned me about humans. She said they would try to kill me the moment they saw me."

"I didn’t, did I?"

"But your companion almost did. You may welcome me, but what about the rest? And I heard what he said about the outside world. No one will welcome me."

"That means you heard me too when I said I’d take you with me? Even I’m not fully human. I’m a hybrid. We can both discover the outside world together."

Oliver extended his hand.

"I’m Oliver."

The creature hesitated. It stretched its hand then pulled it back, then quickly stretched it again and shook Oliver’s hand firmly.

"I’m Lemur."

"Nice to meet you, Lemur. Do you want to come with me to explore the outside world?"

"Yes... yes, human. Let’s do that."

Lemur stood up. He was about half Oliver’s height.

Far away, standing on a slanted rock, the masked man watched the scene in silence.

Most of his face was hidden by what he wore.

But his frown was obvious from the way his shoulders tensed.

He returned the gun to the belt around his waist, then turned and left.

...

Several hours later.

The masked man woke everyone up. They were exhausted, some rubbing their eyes, others standing while leaning on tree trunks.

"We’ll move soon. There are a few things I need to clarify before we continue."

He stepped forward.

"The forest is full of different creatures. Some look like humans, but don’t get close to them. Don’t think you can befriend them. They are not pets for you to tame, nor children for you to pity. Don’t sympathize with them and don’t approach them."

While speaking, he looked straight at Oliver, then at Lemur sitting beside him.

Lemur leaned toward Oliver and whispered,

"Can you make this human stop looking at us like that?"

The masked man continued.

"Another point. We don’t have much time. We must leave the forest as fast as possible. I’ll say this now. There will be few breaks. I don’t want to hear any complaints."

While preparing to move, Oliver explained to everyone what happened with Lemur.

Despite the masked man’s warnings, the others sympathized with him.

He was small, gray, big eyed, long clawed, but he looked more like a sad child than a monster.

And the fact that he had lost his entire family and tribe reminded them of what happened in the village.

They helped him bury the bodies of his kin. The one eyed man carried several bodies at once while the others dug and covered the ground.

When they finished, Lemur turned toward the cave one last time. Then he turned around and followed them.