Fran gasped with each step.
The weight of his backpack was destroying his shoulders; his back ached like never before.
But this is what he wanted, wasn't it?
Get lost in a Forest.
The forest had a charming peace wherever he looked.
The trees were a bright green, resisting the dark brown from the logs. Birds singing like a choir that has practiced all its life. The fresh breeze messed with his already messy dark hair.
A lake was running the most purified water he had ever seen. Lots of bugs walking, leaves falling and croaking frogs in the distance.
Fran smiled a bit.
This is exactly how it looked in his dreams. Peace, green, and fresh.
He dived deeper inside the art display before his eyes.
The backpack on his shoulders grounded him with each step, despite his well-worked muscles. He packed a little too much, perhaps.
Inside were some cans of meat he hated but would be useful during the first days of his new (and hopefully short) life. An axe he didn't remember packing. Tape in case the roof wants to fell on his face
Two notebooks; one with instructions to do some things like grow food, hunting and a list of materials he would need to build a refuge. The other just had some writings on the first pages, in that notebook he'd write poetry and songs.
And of course, his guitar.
He bought it with his first salary.
The instrument was a classic acoustic guitar. Some scratches on the light brown body, each with an anecdote to laugh or cry about. He had removed the strings for the trip and will put them on when he has somewhere to sleep. The neck was hanging by a thread (almost literally); he had taken tape for something.
He loved it.
Fran remembered the first time he played it. He knew nothing about what to do, but his mother taught him the basics; how to put the guitar, the strings and how to play them with his thumb or a cent, even some notes.
After that, he kept learning. Songs, more chords, improving his technique.
Then he started writing his own songs, not just the lyrics, but the tunes.
His mind was already racing with ideas to write a new poem. Melodies sounding in his head inspired by the natural beauty of the Forest.
And a huge rumbling of stomachs that took him out of his thoughts
He tried to focus on moving forward, with no path and a lot of dangers hiding under the pulchritude.
But he gave up on the second roar.
A few steps from him, there was a small cave with a large rock as a roof. He bent down to get inside; it looked abandoned.
He instantly took one of the meat cans from his backpack, opened it, and ate it.
It was cold but Fran didn't really care much.
While he was eating, he couldn't help but take his notebook too. Inspiration was blossoming all over the place.
Fran felt like he could fill at least 3 books with poetry, lyrics, inside jokes and melodies he would never finish because a new one appeared in his mind while writing it.
But where should he start? By writing of trees, or maybe about the sound of the flow of water, perhaps about the claustrophobic cave that will be his place until a bear says otherwise.
While he looked around thinking, he noticed her.
His mother. She was sitting in front of him; her knees pulled against her chest. She was looking at him; dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks a little wrinkled showing her age, a proud look on her face, her gaze gave him warmth that could almost fill the hole in his chest. A lock of gray hair covered half of her forehead; the rest of her dark hair was tied in a messy bun. She was wearing an oversized green shirt, black pants, and his old sandals. She was beautiful, just like he remembered her.
"I see... someone is inspired today." She said with a contagious calm in her voice. The same voice that made the world look so small when he heard it.
Fran smirked. "Hard not to be. Have you looked around?"
Fran's mom gave a look around with a thoughtful expression. "Hard not to be with a mind like yours."
Fran's smirk growth. "Hard not to have a mind like this with a mother like you."
She smiled, Fran always loved to make her smile. "So, what will it be first, huh?"
"I was hoping for you to have that answer."
She put on a serious face in a mockery tone. "Hmm, what about the water?"
Fran chuckled. "And i was expecting you to give me that answer."
"Am I that predictable?"
"Nah, I just know you that well."
Thye laughed weakly.
Then, Fran's mother's gaze softened a bit. She stood up and sat again next to Fran.
"I miss you." Her voice was barely louder than the rampant sound of flowing water.
She put her hand above his extended leg. He could feel the lack of warmth; it felt more like a fresh breeze caressing his skin.
"I miss you too." His voice trembled. Fran closed his eyes, trying to hold the tears.
"Then why did you leave me?" Her voice became more aggressive than it was before.
Fran's expression changed. The warmth in his chest dissolved; he could now feel the hole in his chest. A knot formed in his throat.
"I- I'm sorry I-"
"WHY FRAN!?" She cut him off. She was shouting at him now, pain in every word. "I NEED YOU!"
Fran couldn't hide the tears anymore, He folded his legs towards his chest, holding her knees with his hands.
His mother's shouts grew louder, more voices came to his head, and it was hard to identify each one.
"I loved you, my child."
"What were you thinking?!"
"I'm sorry, i know you deserved better than me."
"Selfish."
"Traitor."
"Coward."
"Stop... please." His voice was weak as he held his head with his hands, giving bumps to it as if it would shut down the voices. Tears rolling down his cheeks and falling on his notebook.
"STOP!" Fran shouted, but the noise in his head didn't stop. His hands were trembling, eyes wet and red due to all the tears he had cried, a knot in his throat that just a scream could untie.
"PLEASE!" Fran screamed harder, but the voices kept growing.
In front of him was a wolf; dark grey fur and light blue eyes. The wolf walked toward Fran slowly, as if fearing to scare the poor guy.
Fran lifted his head when he heard the steps, he stared at him as the wolf was sitting by his side, the beast patted his thigh; a protective touch, it was heavy just enough to stop Fran's mind spiraling out of control.
The wolf stayed there; his presence was calm, the look in his eyes had an innocence that a wolf shouldn't have. The wolf looked genuinely concerned, a tenderness that reached Fran's heart slowly.
After a few minutes, Fran's ceaseless crying transformed into low sobs as he whispered apologies and wiped away the tears on his cheeks. The wolf rested his head on Fran's lap, the boy was more relaxed, he stroked the wolf's head; his hand was trembling, but it calmed with each stroke. The wolf's fur was soft and somehow clean.
Fran kept sobbing, his body easing with each stroke at the wolf's head
The wolf remained patient; he didn't move an inch while Fran kept trying to hold himself together.
Sometime later, Fran's head cleaned a bit, then he fully realized that he was petting a wolf's head as if it was an inoffensive Husky.
During a long time neither of them made a sound, until Fran managed to fully calm himself.
"Thanks buddy." Fran sighed. The storm with his past as dark clouds, tears as rain drops and voices like thunder had stopped.
The wolf straightened slowly, walking outside the cave and sitting at the exit. He gazed at Fran, asking the boy to come with him with just his eyes.
Fran hesitated, the cave was comforting, he wouldn't find many places with a roof in a forest.
They stared at each other for a beat.
Fran thought about it just a second more. Welp, being friends with a wolf was an attractive idea. And, what else could he lose?
Both left the cave, the sun was still lighting up the place. The wolf walked in a direction, suddenly stopped and looked back at Fran, who just smiled and followed him.
Together, the man and the wolf walked side by side through the forest, it was still early afternoon by sun's position.
"Where are you leading me, buddy?" Fran asked.
The wolf kept walking but turned his eyes up to Fran and growled faintly.
Fran smirked. "Sorry, i don't understand what that means."
The wolf rolled his eyes like saying –then shut up and walk- and kept walking.
"I mean, you growled. I don't know what you expected from me." The mocking evident in Fran words.
Neither of them said anything else for a long time, until Fran spoke again.
"Hey buddy, do you have a name?"
The wolf's ears perked at the question; he stopped and said no with his head.
"Wow, you actually understand me." Fran said half-amused, half-terrified. "Okay then, May I give you a name?"
The wolf nodded hesitantly.
Fran put on a serious face in a mockery tone. "Hmm, what about encumbrancer?"
The wolf tilted his head just a bit and narrowed his eyes with exaggerated disappointment.
Fran snorted. "You're so exaggerated."
But before Fran could throw another name, the wolf ran forward, as if sensing something, then barked at Fran.
Fran followed the wolf until they reached a large amount of trees and plants, the wolf guided him through it, and they got out in the most awesome place Fran had ever seen; the trees were in a perfect circumference around a temple, a temple that looked ancient with mold all over the stone and some rifts on the building. A non-deep lake surrounded the structure.
It was awesome. Fran stared at it with glowing eyes.
"I know where we'll be sleeping tonight." Fran walked toward the temple.
The wolf barked at him, as if asking him to follow him again.
"Sorry dude. I found my place, do what you must do, I'll be waiting here." Fran said without fully taking his eyes off the temple.
The wolf nodded in agreement and left.
Fran listened to howls in the distance. Sure, wolves are a herd animal.
While his new friend was out, he had a lot of ideas in mind.
---------------------------------------
The sun was intense in the Forest.
Not enough to make skin burn, but enough to make July look down so her deep green eyes won't want to be ripped off. The sun's rays caressed her skin gently, embracing her with a warm welcome to nature's life. The air also wanted to say hi, it was fresh, not just out of cold, but because of how clean it was, each inhalation was a gift to her lungs, and the breeze made her long brown hair dance. It was exciting. Of course, not everyone could be kind. Her barefoot suffering with every step, stones embedding her feet, feeling the mud move between her fingers, and treading some disgusting insects she absolutely would eat later.
She knew nothing about basic survival skills.
But she wanted to escape, she couldn't hold on any longer in that house.
And now she is here. Obviously, she didn't come with just her hands, she made a backpack, just not a survival one.
She packed useful things, for sure. But she did it more because of compromise with her life than because she wanted them to fill space in her backpack.
Inside was some clothing so she wouldn't have to be naked in the forest, meat cans she should use as bait instead of eating them herself, lighters for the first nights until she learnt how to make fire (and to turn on her cigarettes, and other things vainer. Like her notebook, the one she had tried so hard to write a song, but she couldn't. Some Pictures of her aunt Rachel and her. And her guitar occupies most of the space.
Of course she had brought her guitar, if she was going to literally escape reality, she would take with her the only thing that could make her happy just by staring at it. July smiled just remembering the first time she played the guitar. She didn't like to throw flowers herself, but damn, she was talented from the first time. It was when she was 10, she asked her parents for one, but it was her aunt Rach, the one who gave it to her.
She remembered how she was in the living room; she performed a Christmas song; her parents were cheering her on while she sang and strummed the strings of her guitar at the same time. One of the few memories that used to keep her tied to her old house...
A sound brought her attention back to her surroundings, the unmistakably sound of leaves rustling. She immediately tried to identify where it came from while grabbing one of her lighters from her hoodie pocket. But she saw nothing.
July kept walking, despite that sound, the forest was quiet. Well, not quiet-quiet, but harmonious noise, just the winds against her face gently moving branches of every single tree, the faint sound of the stream passing through rocks and falling in a nearby waterfall.
A beautiful waterfall, if someone asked her.
It wasn't huge, and didn't have a crystal lake waiting for the cascade, but it has its charm. Instead of just falling, the water made a little circuit, sneaking through stones and some rebellious plants to land in a lagoon that looked like an old sanctuary. It was surrounded with rocks the size of her head, and in the middle was a platform.
She thought it could be fun to play a song there.
The problem? The lagoon was deeper than she thought, she almost lost the balance when she stepped inside the lagoon and her whole leg was necessary to touch the ground, she took off her backpack and lifted it, so her guitar wouldn't get wet.
She barely made it through the little lagoon, but she fulfilled her whim.
She sat cross-legged in the platform (it was just a bigger rock, but it was suspiciously centered), and began to play a little melody with her old guitar, a melody she wrote herself, but had never finished due to lack of inspiration back home, but now, in the middle of a lagoon, a charming waterfall behind her back, and no fear of death, her mind raced with lots of combinations, thinking about how would it sound and how would she play it.
She took off her notebook and opened it into her incomplete melody, erasing some chords, and writing lots of new ones.
While she was writing the chords, she could see herself already playing them, caressing the strings of the guitar with her right hand, while pressing softly the same strings with her left hand, following the rhythm she was unconsciously humming with a low voice, as if scared to lose the slow but beautiful combinations of sounds and silences.
When she wrote the last chord, she took her guitar, pressed the instrument gently above her thigh, took a deep breath, and began to play the guitar, following the notes she had just written. It was euphony, slow but rhythmic, touching every string with the care of a mother touching her newborn baby.
She stood on that platform for hours, changing accords, erasing and rewriting on the same page enough to tear the page a bit. It was almost a personal mark now; there wasn't a single page of her notebook that didn't have a scratch on it. Her left hand ached a bit, fingers turning red due to the string's deep mark, which just increased every time she played the melody again. But she didn't really care, her life wouldn't be the same from now on. So why worry about a tomorrow she would be lucky if she never lived?
July realized that the effort it took her eyes to read her notebook was increasing. Because now the moon was pushing the sun away, white shining rays would be lighting everything sooner than later.
"How the hell It became this late?" She stood up, packed her guitar, notebook and pen, and began to walk with her legs underwater through the lagoon.
The cold water reminded her that she wasn't in a dream, this was her real life now, and the prices of being careless in a Forest weren't exactly cheap. She knew that the moment she decided to come.
She hadnt a plan of how to survive, and her stomach started begging her for something to eat, fortunately she had some cans of meat in her backpack.
At the lagoon side she opened one. She gathered several leaves, and turned it in with her lighter, making a quick bonfire. Then she grabbed some rocks and put them in opposite sides of the bonfire, with a stone she made a hole in the middle of the can, on the top and bottom of it, she pierced it with a stick through both holes and began to roll the can above the bonfire.
She liked hot meals.
When the faint scent of the meal filled her nose, her stomach growled. How much time had she spent playing the guitar? 4-5 hours at least. Just as much as she imagined she would do.
She was lost in thought when a crunchy sound slapped her back to reality.
Of course, there were other noses in the middle of the Forest, with more sensitive, and sharp teeth below it.
A few meters from her at least 3 wolves were approaching slowly, head a bit down but eyes fixed on her.
There were two that looked the same. Light grey mixed with white fur, deep blue eyes, and a serious look at them.
One of them had dark grey fur, it looked like the leader of the pack. She saw their eyes, they were kind of beautiful; light blue around black pupils, a mix of innocent puppy eyes and a sadist killer glance looking at the meat can she was still rolling.
They wanted her food.
"Hello guys. Uuuhm. Do you want to share?" The dark grey one was fastening his pace a bit. July couldn't care less.
She opened the meat can and threw a little bit of meat at each wolf. They smelled it, unsure of the first two sniffs, then they ate it with no hesitation and uncontrollably.
July smiled a bit. "Oow, did you like it? I would give you more, but my guts are so jealous right now they could rip off my body and bark at you". She took her spoon and began to eat from the can.
The three wolves stared at her just a bit longer than July would have liked and walked closer to her.
"Sorry guys, I left the treat at home". But the wolves didn't even make an effort to understand what she said.
When the one that looked like the leader was close enough, it just sat and made the most beautiful puppy eyes July had ever seen.
"Fuhck yhou". She turned her back to the wolf while chewing meat of the now half-filled can. But it started shrilling, a low whisper that was destined to tap into July's heart. She gulped the meat.
"You're a fucking wolf dude, aren't you supposed to eat m-". She looked back at the wolf; it was now lying on the floor face down, still making those impossible eyes.
July sighed, resigned. "What do they teach in wolves' schools these days?" She said sarcastically while dividing the remaining meat. "How to manipulate people to get what you want?" She gave each wolf a slice. "In my days you guys ate people and killed rabbits just for fun." A grin formed on her lips as she saw how the three creatures ate; her eyes softened at the scene.
In seconds the three wolves had their slice of meat now being digested in their stomachs.
"Welp," July stood up, taking her backpack with her. "It was fun to 'share' my food with you, but please don't tell your friends, I'd like to eat more than 3 calories tomorrow." She walked away, looking for a place to sleep. The wolves followed the poor girl.
July tried to ignore them, failing by occasionally sharing glances with one of them when she looked behind to see if they were still there.
She kept walking, trying to find a place that didn't try to kill her during night.
She and the wolves pack passed by some good options; a circular wooden log split in half, it even rocked them like cradling, it was perfect until one wolf sat on the corner, the log lost its balance and made July fall, covering her face with mud.
Another option was a flat stone, big enough to hold the four of them. The problem was that literally a tree fell on it, July covered her face with delusion, and the leader wolf patted her feet with his paw.
The moon was now the only light the world was giving to them, July was bruised, grubby, tired and with at least three new holes in her favorite hoodie. But she kept walking, and the wolves kept following her.
July turned to them, annoyed. "Okay, please stop following me, you're getting in my nerves." The leader wolf just tilted his head, one scratched his ear and the last one yawned as if they couldn't understand what July said.
"One day I'll develop invulnerability to adorable things, then y'all be doomed," The leader wolf got closer to her and sat, as if saying they aren't going anywhere.
"I hate you. In that case, if you are deciding to stick with me like a tick, i should name you." She said, a bit nervous, but keeping her mocking tone. The wolf in front of her barked, but the other two remained silent.
July smiled, relieved. "Okay, then I'll just name you. Trust me, your name will be so awesome that those two will envy you." She kneeled and petted the wolf's head and started thinking about a name.
"Hmm, what about encumbrancer?" The wolf somehow rolled his eyes with a growl.
July snorted when she saw his reaction. "It totally suits you. Okay-okay, you want something cool?" She thought harder, she had never been good at names, but she was really trying.
"What about Sparrow? I always liked Pirates." The wolf just gave her a look that screamed 'no' in several languages.
"Difficult audience. Well, umm." Her voice softened, and in a serious tone she said. "Wh-what about Keon?" The wolf's ears twitched; he gave her a curious look.
July lowered her gaze. "That's how my aunt named a song she wrote for me, I think you could use it." The wolf seemed to hesitate for a moment. July waited for him, expectant.
The wolf slowly opened his snout; July's eyes lit up for a moment. But the wolf let out an exaggerated, unpleasant moan.
July made a face. "Ugh, never talking a wolf about feelings again, noted."
Before she could say anything else, a familiar sound started to slowly reach her ears. A faint hum of a... guitar?
"Wait, what is-" July straightened, and followed the melody.
Behind the leaves, hidden between lots of flat trees and a circular watercourse surrounding it, a temple stood. Stone covered with green mold, a classic pyramid but not that big. With stairs that grown as they went down on its sides, and up from it a room with ceiling but no walls.
July stared at it, then she glanced back at the wolves; they were gone, except for her new friend. That drew a small smile on her lips.
She and the wolf walked in that direction, the water wasn't deep, they walked through it with no effort. The melody grown louder and louder.
The stairs, on the other hand, were bigger than they expected, July grunted harder with each rung up. Half up, she looked for the wolf, and she found him already upstairs.
"What about a little help, huh?" She said between gasps.
When she finally climbed to the top, she breathed a sigh of relief, swiped sweat from her forehead and stood up like her knees weren't trembling.
The place wasnt exactly clean. A campfire attempt was in the center, lots of open meat cans scattered across the floor, no effort trying to clean the mold.
Sitting at the other end of the room, she could see a man. Playing a guitar, with his gaze fixed in the sky, and the wolf sitting next to him.
"Hello?"
The man stopped playing and turned his head. July could see him better that way.
Messy dark hair, deep brown eyes, and some cuts on his face. Light pale skin. He was wearing a brown jacket that looked older than the temple itself, and dark pants somehow cleaner than his jacket, black tennis shoes.
She also saw his guitar; an acoustic guitar, with a classic design; light brown body, dark brown neck and headstone, metallic grey in the bridge and tuners. She could see it was a Guitar with history, with its own scars; Strings readjusted by hand and shorter than they should be, a few stains on its body, tape keeping the neck from falling apart.
He stood up and walked toward her, putting away his guitar. Stopping a few steps before, keeping a distance.
"Hey." He said simply, his voice was clean; neither deep nor high, in the middle. His serious tone made July feel a shock running down her spine.
"Do you live here or something?" She said, it was more aggressive than she attempted to.
"No. I just got here. Do you live here?" His tone was serious and tiring, but gentle.
"No." She simply said, looking behind him, where the wolf was still sitting on the edge of the stairs.
"Do you know him?" She pointed a finger at the wolf.
Fran looked back at the wolf and smiled a bit. "Nah, he led me here earlier, then disappeared, and now he found me again."
"He kind of led me here too, pretty sure he is plotting something." Her voice trembled from nervousness.
Fran grinned. "He took both of us to a temple, he is absolutely going to sacrifice us."
July's shoulders eased; her lips formed a smirk. "He ate my food instead of my arm, he wouldn't be able to stab us even if he tried to."
Fran chuckled. "Yeah, he is such a softie."
The wolf turned to see them, deadpanned.
Fran and July laughed when they saw his expression.
But before they mocked the wolf more, a howl started, and the wolf followed it.
July walked toward him, kneeling next to him and scratching behind his ear. "What's that for? Are you calling your friends for dinner?"
Fast steps replaced the soft atmosphere with tension. Fran immediately tensed, July took her lighter off her hoodie pocket and turned it on.
Fran turned to July with a serious expression. "You know what's going on?"
July peeked down the stairs where she went up. There were at least 20 people, dressed in big dark red ponchos, with bracelets adorned with beautiful deep ocean orbs, barefoot and each holding a big and sharpened spear.
"I think the wolf called a whole tribe to dinner us." July said dryly.
"Of course he did." Fran ran to his backpack looking for his axe, but a corpulent man stopped him by pointing his spear at him.
From one moment to another they were surrounded by people with spears and paint in their faces with weird shapes. A woman with her arms hidden in the poncho and face hidden behind a hoodie took a step front.
"Chi sont vos?" The woman questioned with authority.
"Your mom, you asshole." July said almost automatically with an offended tone.
"Wait, can you understand them?" Fran's eyes widened with curiosity.
July grinned. "Pfft. No, it just sounded like a curse."
Fran's expression changed in an instant, now it was something between deception and amusement. "Great."
The woman looked between them and spoke again. "Who are you?"
Fran's face changed again. "Wait, do you speak engl-" before he could continue the woman pointed a dagger directly at his face.
"Who are you?" The woman's tone grew to something with more rage and exhasperation.
Fran raised his hands as a sign of peace. "Name's Fran. I'm not here to steal anything nor hurt anyone."
The wolf appeared from among the crowd. The woman stared at him as he slowly reached Fran, sitting in front of him.
"Interesting." The woman muttered, then pointed her dagger through July, grazing her cheek with the tip. "Is she your couple?"
July spoke fast, with a mock-offended tone. "I just met him!" July's eyes fixed on Fran. "I swear if I get crucified again just by talking to you, I'm gonna-." The woman closed the distance between her dagger and July's right eye. The wolf got up and walked in July's direction, sitting in front of her just like he did with Fran.
The crowd gasped in amusement; murmurs started in the same language the woman spoke earlier.
The woman putted her dagger down and muttered something to herself. Staring at the wolf, then at July and Fran.
Finally, she spoke again. "Abbiamo trouvé ad scorso prétendants!"
Cheering erupted from the crowd, celebrating between them with amusement and unnecessary violence.
Fran and July exchanged confused looks. Fran looked down at the wolf, who was as staid as always.
"You must be tested!" The woman took off her hoodie, revealing her face; shoulder length gray hair, deep blue eyes and a scar across the left one, she looked young –no older than 30- despite her hair.
"What kind of test?" Fran asked with curiosity.
July rolled her eyes. "One where we end up stabbed by that dagger and betrayed by this-" July gave a small kick to Wolf's leg. "-bitch."
The Wolf didn't react; his eyes were fixed on that woman.
"Prepare yourselves." The woman walked toward one of the pillars of the temple and activated a mechanism, the floor shook as the center of the floor opened and a new pilar ascended slowly.
On top laid a golden stone; the size of a head, shaped like a crushed skull, emitting a faint golden light.
July's eyes lit up when they met the shining stone. "It's beautiful."
Fran's face was a mix of amusement and curiosity. "It's radioactive."
"It's ancient." The woman stepped closer to the stone, stopping a few inches away from it.
"Don't stare too much, or you must get blind." The woman said completely serious.
July and Fran stopped staring, at the same time, astonished by what they had just seen.
"What's the deal with the stone?" July's eyes laid on the stone again, not able to stop them.
"This stone will decide your fate." The woman gave a small nod to one of the men, who started looking for someone between the small crowd.
Fran raised a brow. "How?"
The woman gave them a mischievous smirk. "Let me explain," two mans appeared from the crowd with side drums and started playing it dramatically. "This stone was once touched by two sorcerers; the first was known by healing people and perform miracles."
July elbowed Fran's arm and whispered. "The other killed people with magic burritos."
"The second one was known by cursing things, including burritos."
July winked. "Told ya."
The woman's smirk grew creepier with each word. "When they touched this stone, they said it will allow the gods choose." The woman raised her voice and arms like a kid explaining its favorite movie. "If you're worth of power!" The drums stopped abruptly, the tension shot through the air.
"Or death." The woman looked between Fran and July, nodding excitedly.
July's shoulders tensed at the word, losing her cool for just a second.
Fran noticed and immediately stepped forward. "I'll go first."
"Come here then." The woman called him with her hands and the smirk still on her face, she was staring at him like a hungry hunter watching its prey
Fran stopped in front of the stone. "Soooo, what? Shall I pray? Or dance? or..." Fran said half-teasing, half-hoping the last thing he will do in his life isn't dance.
The woman blinked twice before explaining with a soft tone. "Nothing like that handsome, you just have to touch it with your palm extended."
She opened her hand and raised it. "Like this."
Fran did the same and touched the glowing stone. "Like th-" his body collapsed on the floor.
July screamed in horror. "Oh shit."
The woman grinned and ordered to two mans to take Fran's body. She turned back to July. "Your turn."
July gulped and started cursing everyone on her way through the small altar. "Fucking wolf, stupid temple, shitty radioactive stone."
She stared at the stone and changed to face the woman straight in her eyes. Without thinking, she touched the stone and screamed. "I hope your ass get-"
Her body collapsed too, laying down on the floor. They took the body too.
The woman stared at it for a moment, and grinned.
"Avere deuz nuevos prétendants!"