53 – Jack
I could hear the sound of water flowing steadily from a distance. Along with it was the sound of birds chirping, and the leaves rustling. Slowly, I tried to open my eyes as I felt the cold and slightly humid air brushing my skin.
The first thing I saw was a ceiling… that was made of wood and hay…? I frowned, sensing the entire thing surrounding me was unfamiliar. I tried to move but felt an extreme throb shooting right through the side of my stomach. I gritted my teeth and struggled to get up. Then I stopped, suddenly feeling my heartbeat halting as I realized.
Mom… Where is mom?
I looked around, trying to find her from the bed. I didn’t care about my surroundings anymore. I forced myself to get up, chasing my breath while trying to sit up and further look around for any shadow of her.
My heartbeat quickened as the events that happened slowly came back to me. I left mom to hide near a tree and I waited for any vehicle on that road… But Crista’s men arrived. And there were also those strange-looking youngsters who appeared out of nowhere. That time… I was shot. I knew I was and I lost consciousness. But mom… Where is she?Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.
“You’re awake,” a man exclaimed as he opened the door.
“Who are you ?! Where’s my mom?!” I asked immediately while still trying to stand up.
Two more men appeared behind him. They all bore the same appearances for some odd reason. I was alarmed and immediately looked for a possible weapon. Although it was difficult to move, I forced myself to keep my balance and pointed it to them.
“Calm down. We’re not bad people, uh, don’t worry… I will call your companion,” one of them said as he spoke to the other two guys behind him. I was nervous about how they behaved, they didn’t seem to want to let me go or leave this place.
“Where’s my mom?! What did you do to her?!” I angrily asked them. Just thinking about what they could have possibly done to her was already making me lose all reasoning and composure. My heart couldn’t calm down and I couldn’t think straight anymore.
I want to see her. She can’t be out of my sight. I need to see her.
“What did you do to her?! Where is she?!” I shouted at the men who were still planning to touch me. They were trying to say something but I couldn’t understand any of it. The pain in my stomach was terrible and my mind felt like losing the remaining sense it has while trying to keep my stance.
I don’t know them and I have no intention of making friends with any of them no matter if they are young teenagers or even kids. It might be because of the dizziness I felt shooting through within my head but I found everyone as an enemy right now. The only person I could trust was mom. Yet, she wasn’t here… Where is she? … What if these people did something?!
At the thought, I felt my chest burn and my vision turned red. I would never forgive them. I won’t forgive anyone who dared to touch her!
“Aki!”
My heartbeat quickened when I heard the familiar voice. I immediately turned to the door and saw her. “Mom!”
My knees almost went numb the instant I saw her standing there. I didn’t pay attention to my side stomach and quickly walked toward her, hurriedly hugging her as she also ran up to me. I could barely think clearly as I only pulled her to me and let out a deep sigh of relief. There’s no way I could continue living if this woman happens to leave me or my sight. And I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something bad happens to her.
“Aki… Aki,” mom called to me with tears in her eyes as she caressed my face.
I couldn’t contain the emotion and kissed her on the lips while holding her hand. Mom kissed me back but she gently pushed me away quickly, her head turning to the people who were still at the door.
Suddenly feeling awkward, she cleared her throat and whispered to me, “Aki, they helped us. Y-You were shot and fell unconscious the entire day. But thanks to them, you survived, Aki. Their tribe’s healers treated your wound.”
I pulled mom closer to me and looked at the men she was referring to. Gradually I lost my temper and gave them words of gratitude. According to mom, only a few of them understood our language and only one of the young men looking at us at the moment could speak it.
“Aki, they are not bad people…” mom told me again as if to make me understand that I have nothing to worry about. She was probably worried that I might cause trouble again, especially with the way I was looking too wary of them. It was something I couldn’t help. Even that bastard Ryan was good at pretending and fooled us all. He even tricked mom… Shit. Just thinking about it was already making my blood boil.
I gave in to mom and just nodded to not make her worry further but inside, I knew there was no way I would calm down and lower my guard down until we got home. As much as possible, I wanted to take Mom home and see our baby too.
After a while, my stomach began to painfully throb once more so mom assisted me to get back to bed in order to rest. According to the tribal doctor, I needed a few more days of rest before I could fully recover and be able to walk long distances. Because I also didn’t want to worry about mom, I just followed what she said.
“So you need to get well. Don’t move too much first, hmm?” mom softly said to me.