The Star, The Demon, and The God - 38. My Little Tiger

Tobias

What is happening?

I’m..floating?

It is not on water. I would know that feeling anywhere. What is this stuff?

When I move my hand in front of my face, I can’t even see it. It is so dark in here, I surprise myself when I end up touching my face.

No not water. I can breathe it in.

A sound also fills in the background of the darkness. It sounds like someone is exhaling. It is soft and quiet; almost calming.

There must be some kind of light source somewhere! Nothing can be completely dark.

No matter where I look, or at least I think I am turning my head, all I find is more and more darkness.

Am...am I dead? Is this what happens to us after we die? After our second life?

This...this is nice I guess. I always wanted to be alone right? It is what I had tried to do. I never wanted to be around anyone. They all annoyed me and now I can finally get some perfect piece and quiet.

A better background would have been nice but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.

Well...there is something else I would like with me. Or someone.

I want that but at the same time, this is not at all the place that he deserves to be in. Luno should be someone bright and beautiful, not dark and gloomy.

I wouldn’t wish him death at all honestly. Hopefully he never meets an ill fate but burdened to live forever seems to be an even worse fate.

Narrowing my eyes, a curious smell begins to fill the air.

This does not seem normal...right?

The smell of freshly baked bread and cooked eggs are being made in my afterlife.

I suppose it smells good for now, but I know I will get tired of that real quick.

Faint laughter can be heard now. It sounds like it is far, far away and over an invisible horizon.

Something is happening. There is a speck of grey ahead of me.

Squinting my eyes, I try and figure out what it is.

The grey grows bigger and bigger.

The darkness swirls around like a whirlpool. It clears away until a world of grey comes to life.

Like a frozen painting, the world sits and waits, as if it is charging itself up to life.

Colors then begin to seep into the painted world.

~~~

Twelve years before Tobias’ death

Laughter reaches my ears followed by the sound of Hera mooing for attention.

The sounds try and pull me from my sleep,but I refuse!

I am dreaming something interesting right now...or I was. The images are already fading away to the point that I am remember seeing completely and utter darkness.

It was quite calming honestly.

Stretching and groaning in bed, I sit up blink away the haze of sleep from my eyes.

Sunlight filters in through the cracks of the curtain covering the window. The smell of straw fills my nose. I also smell something sweet on the other side of my room’s door.

Mom is probably making breakfast and Dad must be out feeding Hera.

More fits of giggles can be heard outside. They run past my window.

Based on the sounds, I want to guess that is Dion? I will probably see in a moment when I make the rounds of delivering milk for his family.

“Tobias!” My mom calls. “It is past your time for the delivery! You have better be ready when I get in there!”

Tossing the blanket off of me, I scramble out of bed and run over to my dresser to throw on some clothes.

I do not want another beating because I chose to stay up late watching the invisible ones!

“Coming!” I call while shoving my fur vest over my long-sleeved shirt.

Barreling past the door, I am greeted to my dad holding a giant glass of fresh milk.

“Gods child, you had better hurry and get our trade.” Mom pulls the jug of milk from dad’s hands, wraps it with a cloth and then hands it to me to hang from my shoulder.

“Go,” She nods. “You can eat when you come back.”

Mentally I roll my eyes before turning to leave.

“Wait!” She calls and grabs my shoulder.

She kisses my cheek and then pushes me gently. “Okay now you may go. Be safe!”

Well, she seems in a better mood today!

Two weeks ago my Uncle had passed away when the Bancroft army had raided their village. It has left my mom in a bit of a sour mood since that was her brother. Sadly I never got the chance to meet him much.

It was this news that made our own village quite worried.

Now everyone keeps tossing the question on when we might get raided by the Bancrofts.

Obviously it is not the Bancrofts, but their officers are quite unrelenting.

We hear about other places stealing children from their homes by these soldiers. No one knows what they are doing with them, but nobody ever hears from the children again.

That makes it slightly worrying when I have to take Hera’s milk to the Steisings!

Speaking of the Steisings, Dion is running right for me.

“Careful!” I glare and move the jug out of the way. “You’re going to make it break!”

He pulls out a toothy grin and sticks his tongue at me. “So? What are you so grumpy for? The day just started!”

“Exactly,” I pout and keep walking.

Dion follows.

“My mama said that your mama will be getting extra today because of her brother,” He says. “What happened to him?”

“Nothing,” I say. “None of your business.”

He scoffs and nudges his elbow against mine.

“Wanna play tag when you give my mama the milk?” He beams and pulls on my arm.

I roll my eyes. “Fine, only if you stop touching me now! Your hands are all dirty!”

I am pretty sure that is mud...I hope it is.

Maybe I would have been safe if there were other people my age. Dion is nine which is four years younger than me.

The other one in our village is three so I can’t exactly lie and use them to sneak away from Dion.

I guess the other moms around here don’t know how to have babies.

Dion’s house is not very far. It is on the other side of our village.

All we have between us is a forge, a small shop, and three other homes.

Once I deliver the milk, Mrs Steising hands me two cheese wrapped in cloth.

She also tells me to wish my mom well in this dark time.

It is pretty weird constantly hearing stuff like that. I know my mom is very sick of it.

“You’re done! Let’s play!” Dion practically screams that into my ear with his annoying high pitched voice.

I hold the cheese up for him to see. “I have to bring these home first.”

He groans dramatically and stomps his foot. “You take forever!”

At least I can use the breakfast excuse to get out of this situation when I get home.

My stomach growls at the thought of food.

Dion starts laughing his butt off and points at my stomach.

“Oh my gods it’s like you swallowed a frog!”

My stomach croaks again and I hug myself.

“Shut up!” I shout. “I’m just hungry!”

The sound of a horn suddenly goes off in the distance.

Dion and I go silent as the ground begins to tremble and shake. Shouting can be heard behind us where Dion’s home is.

“Tobi?” Dion says hesitantly.

My heart beats fast and I turn to run for my house.

“Tobi!” Dion shouts behind me.

I ignore him and run straight for my parents

The shaking in the ground only gets louder and shakier when I get closer to my house.

Looking over my shoulder, I scream when I see soldiers on horses galloping behind me.

One of the soldiers grabs Dion.

Turning back around, I drop the cheeses and sprint as fast as I can for my house.

Mom and Dad come rushing out the house, eyes wide in fear and confusion.

When they realize what is going on, they start screaming and running after me as well.

This is happening. This is actually happening!

Reaching out for my mom, I am about to grab her hand when I am all of a sudden grabbed from the back of my shirt and thrown over someone’s lap. I constantly bounce up and down as the horse carries me away.

“Mom!” I shout. “Mom help me!”

My mom wails can be heard but they grow quieter and quieter as the village becomes smaller and smaller.

~~~

“Line ‘em up!” A man shouts.

The soldier who had stolen me grabs me by the bindings on my wrists and pushes me forward until I’m standing next to Dion.

Dion’s body shakes like a leaf, his eyes are wide open and he is whimpering and crying.

I reach over to try and hold his hand with my pinky.

My eyes feel watery as well, but I do not want to show these soldiers any weakness!

We are not the only ones here.

We stand with a row of around seven other kids. They must be from other villages nearby. I think I recognize a boy with blonde hair who has delivered wagons of straw for us.

There is one girl here, but she looks very strange.

She wears a wrap holding her dark brown hair down. Her hair is so thick that I can see it coming out. It looks very curly.

Her skin is the darkest I have ever seen on a person! It looks like the color of my mom’s pottery!

I can’t stop looking at her, but I end up getting a punch to the face.

“Eyes forward!” A man shouts. “You all belong to us now!”

Angry tears fall against my will. I glare through them at the man with a blue flower sigil over his chest.

He smirks at me before walking on.

“You will become our newest recruits,” He says in a strong, authoritative voice. “If you think you have a choice in the matter, we happily convince you to the best of our ability.”

This is why they have been stealing children? To train them?

“Forget it,” someone spits out. “I ain’t gonna fight for no Bancrofts!”

Everyone’s eyes move to look at who spoke.

To my surprise, I find that it is the blonde haired boy. He is definitely the oldest one here.

The Flower Soldier walks up to the boy with a calm smile on his face.

“How very brave of you,” He nods. “However, if you don’t change that mind of yours, we will ride our way back to your village and this time we will kill every last one of them.”

A few cries of concern come a few other kids.

He scoffs. “Liar. Who says you haven't done it already?”

I flinch when the Flower Soldier’s metal fist punches the boy hard in the stomach.

Looking away doesn’t keep out the sounds of each strike.

The boy collapses on the ground and the Flower Soldier steps back to look at all of us with a twisted smile.

“Listen well, all of you,” He says. “All of your families are at risk of death if you choose not to listen to us. You had better keep us happy if you want to keep them alive and well.”

Everyone is quiet now.

No. That’s a lie.

Most everyone is crying. Myself included.

This isn’t fair! What did we do to deserve this?

~~~

Three Weeks Later

Dion and I clash our poles together and growl at each other, desperate to not lose.

I have lost four times so far and the punishments were enough to push me to fight as hard as I can not.

This time is different however.

This is the first time that they have put me up against Dion.

Soldiers howl and bark with laughter as they watch us fight.

I push Dion away from me and swipe low for his feet, causing him to fall onto his back.

His eyes are beginning to panic and water now.

Glancing at the soldier’s around us, I see them laughing like maniacs with food in their mouths.

Mentally taking a deep breath and swallowing the bubble in my throat, I gesture to my feet with my eyes.

Dion gets the massage quickly and kicks out my feet from underneath me.

He gets on top of me and presses the end of his pole to my neck.

“Finish it!” The Flower Soldier shouts. I can tell his voice from anyone now.

I close my eyes and grit my teeth as Dion punches me hard in the face. I swear it felt like he knocked my eyes out of their sockets.

Groaning in pain, I rest on the ground in defeat.

Someone pulls Dion off of me and then I am being dragged away.

“That’s a shame,” Someone says. “This one was proving to be quite the fighter. Now he loses to a nine year old? That’s some sad bullshit.”

My vision feels quite blurry right now.

A cold breeze hits my face and I find myself looking up at the sunset.

Oh good. That means they won’t keep me in for long.

The sky disappears and then I am thrown against a standing metal table.

Grunting from the pain that spreads down my neck and spine, I glare at the blurry figures of the two soldiers.

“Well, boy,” One of them sighs as if they are tired of this. Of course these sick fucks aren’t tired of this.

“Didn’t think I would be seeing you so soon,” He chuckles. “Let’s get this over with shall we? We’ve only got an hour to get it into your thick skull that you should never fail.”

He turns me around in the table and ties my wrists and ankles to the four corners of the table.

A shiver runs up my spine when I hear one of them grabbing the whip. The shiver also ends up making my eyes well up from the pain in my back.

Did something break or chip back there?

Oh gods...what if they find out and deem me useless?

My shirt is ripped up from the back, baring my back.

“Ready, boy?” The one who was talking before asks. “You know how many you are supposed to get.”

I twist my hands around the ropes holding my wrists and grip onto them, readying myself for the pain.

“Oh wait,” The other laughs. “We almost forgot the rubberbite!”

A moment later, a small block of some nasty tasting rubber is shoved between my teeth.

Based on the little dents in it, I can guess that this is the only one used between all of us.

I scream and bite down as a burning sting flares up on my upper back.

“Oops!” They chuckle. “Forgot to ask if you were ready!”

I clench my jaw and glare at a spot on the table as each strike falls onto my back.

Tears fall and little whimpers and grunts escape my lets, even when I try my hardest to keep quiet.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

It feels as if it is never going to stop but I know the number they give each time. They do the same amount for everyone. Even the youngest who is nine years old.

Fifty lashes each time you lose in the fights they host between us.

Lucky for me, we are supposed to be put to curfew at sundown. They only have time to do twenty five.

~~~

They keep all of us in a small stone jail in the middle of the camp. There is only one door out and it is made of a thick wood. The only one with the key to open it is the Flower Soldier.

He unlocks the door and my torturers toss me in as if I am a sack of flour.

I land hard on the damp stone floor and groan at the cold air biting at the bleeding welts on my back.

The door is slammed behind me and I am with everyone once again.

It smells like sweat, straw, and a hint of pee in here.

The pee would be from the first days here when the younger ones were too scared to speak up and ended up pissing themselves.

Some people help me up and cover me with my spare jacket.

A single lantern lights up the small space.

Everyone sleeps grouped together to try and fight off the cold. I have taken it upon myself to keep watch by the door.

They all always wonder how I manage to stay awake every night to keep them safe.

The truth is that when they all go to sleep, I let myself sleep for a few hours as well.

I lean against the stone next to the door and keep my head next to the keyhole so I can look out into the world.

Dion sits next to me.

“Thanks Tobi,” He whispers. “I...I don’t think I would have lived through another round.”

Honestly, I wouldn’t doubt it.

His eye is completely swollen over and his back looks hundreds of tiny insects had crawled out from underneath his skin.

He is skinnier than when he got here and I swear he has developed breathing troubles.

I can tell that simply knocking him onto his back earlier today has left a toll on him.

“It’s alright,” My voice croaks. “You’ve got to start thinking more when you’re fighting. Next time, I won’t be the one you’re up against.”

He nods and rests his head on my shoulder.

I sigh and lean my head back on the wall, occasionally looking out the keyhole.

All I see are the stairs that go up to the wall of the camp. I lie and say that I see more than that, mostly to keep my spot by the door, but also to calm everyone down a little bit at night.

Like clockwork, the Serendian begins to start praying in her language.

She is awfully strange. I am not sure who she is praying to, but I am surprised she still goes at it when we have been here for so long. Does she truly have that much faith in the gods?

I don’t believe in gods. I know there are mysterious things out there though. I can see them.

For instance, there is one staring at us right now. It is in the corner of the room right now.

The invisible one is a weird floating ball of smoke that sits there.

I have always seen these things. They constantly fly around in the world.

When I first told mom and dad about them, they thought I was talking about imaginary friends.

I told Dion about them and he got scared and said I shouldn’t play games like that with him.

Now I know not to tell anyone about them.

This one always materializes when the Serendian starts praying. Is it her friend?

Sometimes I think they are spirits of old family members. Is this someone she knows? A family protector or something?

Whatever the case, I block her praying out.

I lean my head on Dion’s and close my eyes.

I think I deserve a small bit of rest before ‘keeping watch’.

~~~

Jerking awake, I find everyone else wide awake. Some are crying in distress.

Dion is still resting against me. His skin being extra pale gets me worried.

“Dion?” I ask, nudging him slightly.

He doesn’t move.

The sound of a blade being sharpened comes from the other side of the door.

It is very dark outside, but there are lanterns littered around that help me somewhat see what is going on.

I jump when a body falls down the stairs. Their head is completely missing!

The missing head then bounces right down with the body.

A black figure is standing on the wall. They wear a messed up black poncho with a hood, hiding their features. They also wear black pants, shoes, and armguards.

“What?” A Soldier runs up to the dead body at the bottom of the stairs.

Just when he is about to shout for help, the black figures jumps and descends on the unsuspecting soldier.

Something that is definitely not normal happens.

The mysterious person morphs into a cloud of darkness and completely surrounds the soldier.

In mere seconds the figure rematerializes and stands, walking towards us.

The soldier they attacked has completely turned into a steaming skeleton.

The figure marks a hooking motion with his finger and brings it to the keyhole.

A sharp claw pierces it and melts the metal handle.

Quickly, I grab Dion and back away, far too scared and unsure on how to fight this demon!

The door is pulled open and everyone goes silent as the stranger steps into the room.

Now that they are closer I can somewhat see their features better. The hood also has a mask that covers most of their face. All we see is their eyes and those are definitely not a human’s eyes.

They hold a hand out as if they are reaching for us.

“Come,” They say, their voice somehow sounding like there are multiple speaking underneath it. “Come and be free.”

No need to tell anyone here twice!

Everyone quickly gets up hurries out of the room.

I do not. Dion is still here and he still hasn’t moved.

The stranger walks over and kneels next to me. When he tries to touch Dion, I pull him back to me.

“Fuck off,” I glare. “Don’t touch him!”

This person just killed two guards outside! How could I trust him with caring for Dion?

“My, aren’t you a feisty little thing,” He laughs, his creepy eyes smiling. “I will not harm any of you. Your friend called for my aid and now I am here.”

My friend? Dion?

No. The Serendian girl. Her...her prayers were answered? This is a god? Which one?

The god chuckles softly.

“I will hold him,” He says. “We must leave now before anyone notices.”

The god lifts up Dion and rests him on his hip.

“Let’s go,” He says before hurrying out the door.

I follow.

Everyone was waiting for the god. We need help getting out of here.

“This way,” The god says before walking in to our left.

While he holds Dion with one arm, the god also holds onto one of the hands of the younger kids, helping them catch up.

I end up getting help as well since I am limping with each step. Each one brings a sharp pain up my spine.

The god leads us through a small trail of bodies.

Some look completely unrecognizable, like slabs of meat that were dropped from a butcher’s hook.

It makes some of us a little uneasy.

We come to a dead end, a corner of the camp wall.

The god lets go of the kid’s hand and reaches out to press his hand to the stone.

His hand is wrapped in black bandagings.

They do not hide the claws though.

His hand sinks into the stone and all of a sudden the stone fades away like a mist. It creates a perfect square opening.

My heart starts beating even faster at the realization that this is really our freedom right here!

Everyone sprints out the escapeway and follows the god as he leads us out into the forest.

“Keep close,” He says. “We will reach the road and then you may return to your families!”

We all try our hardest to keep in step with the god. Thankfully, if anyone happens to fall behind, he slows down or turns back to retrieve us.

I keep thinking that something is going to happen. Someone is going to find us. We might be being led into a trap. The worst would be that I would all of a sudden wake up back in that cell.

We clear out of the forest and reach a crossroad.

There is a post that holds the names of different villages.

Was this always here before?

“Alright,” The god says. “Run home! Do not look back!”

Everyone starts running in different directions.

All but me and Dion.

The god brings his hand to Dion’s back.

Strange glowing symbols can be seen through his white shirt. Whatever those are doing, it is bringing the color back into his skin.

The god sets Dion down on the ground and rests his clawed hand against Dion’s cheek.

“You’re hurt as well,” he says without looking at me. “I’ll deal with you as well.”

A shiver runs up my spine at the thought of magic touching me. That ends up making me wince.

“I-I’m fine,” I say. “I don’t need your demon magic anywhere near me.”

He smirks and looks up at me. “You’re an interesting one, aren’t you?”

I shrug.

Another wince.

“You see my messengers,” He says, turning back to Dion. “Not many can do that. You’re quite gifted.”

Messengers? The invisible ones?

“Yes exactly,” he chuckles. “The invisible ones.”

Dion’s eyes flutter slightly but remain closed.

“Which one are you?” I ask, wanting to give a name to this stranger.

The god raises an eyebrow at me and smirks. “Gifted and smart? Quite a combo. I like that.”

I frown. “You’re creepy.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Well, perhaps in another lifetime, I shall share my name with you.”

Another lifetime? No! I’m curious and I want to know more about it now!

He smirks and stands in front of me. My head reaches his shoulder.

His eyes burn a bright orange in a sea of darkness. It is like a light that guides your way through.

“I’ll tell you what,” He says and reaches out to touch my shoulder. “I will gift you something. Let’s just say that you won’t be so easy to control over in the next life.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “That doesn’t make sense!”

His eyes smile again. “You may never understand it, but trust me. You will never suffer from the commands of another ever again.”

That...that does sound nice.

“Tobi?” Dion’s voice rasps beneath us.

The god’s grip on my tightens as his eyes burn even brighter.

A warmth spreads across my back. It soothes any pains that I have been feeling. Even my neck feels better!

When I look over my shoulder, I almost pass out when I see that my back is literally on fire.

“See?” The god chuckles. “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

All too soon, the warmth disappears and the cold of night is back.

My body feels as if there was never any pain to begin with!

“Come little Tiger,” The god says while picking up Dion once again. “Let us get you both home.”

~~~

The following night

Everyone celebrated the return of Dion and I. It feels very strange seeing them all again after so long.

Nobody understands how we had escaped. They all call it pure luck.

Of course nobody would believe when I say a god had saved us. They would say I was seeing things from this traumatic experience.

Too bad they can’t explain how the camp had completely exploded. Everyone who was inside that camp had died that same night that we escaped.

I know exactly who did it. Who else would be able to do such a thing? Nobody else knew where we were.

I really want to see him again!

That god had revealed so much but also so little! He spoke of life after death so casually, it almost gets me excited!

Sighing, I sit up from my bed. I can’t sleep with all these thoughts about death.

Moving to the window I pull the curtain to the side and rest my head on my arms and stare up at the sky.

Which god was he? I don’t know any of them. I don’t have a book I can look up. I don’t have anything! How am I supposed to figure out who he is when I can’t even look him up?

Moving my gaze to the forest behind my house, my heart beats a little faster when I see someone standing near the edges of the shadows.

Two glowing orange dots can be seen.

It’s him! He’s watching me!

Laughter fills my mind. His laughter. I know it is.

The eyes then disappear.

“My new Champion.”

Champion? What does that mean?