Asmireen
©2024 by Jonathan Scott
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Chapter 8 - Alone in Eastbrook
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Smart Things
27.1 The good, where it come from if no all make it?
27.2 If no all make it, then, it come not.
"I went to your Uncle's house, but I don't think he lives there anymore." said Marie.
When Jake and Hank had entered the city, they had found Marie standing on a nearby street corner in front of a soap maker's shop next to a man who was juggling his own head and two large yellow balls.
Jake was incapable of listening to Marie's small shrill voice though. The volume was sufficient. But, compared to the sight of watching a man's head go around and around in circles as it sang nursery rhymes to passing pedestrians, Marie's voice was simply far too ordinary to pay attention to.
Marie then looked at Hank, whose head was bowed.
"Hey! I went to your uncle's house and I don't think he lives there anymore!" she said again as she walked closer to Jake's wagon.
Jake continued to watch the man's head fly through the air. At the man's feet was a small hat containing several coins.
"HEY! I WENT TO YOUR UNCLE'S HOUSE AND I DON'T THINK HE LIVES THERE ANYMORE!" screamed Marie at the top of her lungs.
Jake tore his vision away from the juggler and looked at Marie. It was then that Marie's message finally entered Jake's mind.
"What? Why?" said Jake as he jerkily recovered from the still on going spectacle.
Next to Jake, Hank sat atop Gale, his head still bowed. His rage still flowed within him.
"Well, I went there, and I knocked on the door. An old lady came and said that they had just moved in a few weeks ago and didn't know where the people that used to live there had gone." Marie said.
Jake didn't know what to say. So, he just sat there and thought.
Hank continued to sit with his head bowed. This time though, he began frowning and staring directly at Jake.
Unfortunately though, Jake had forgotten all about Hank and instead looked back to the man that was juggling his own head. This time, rather than being mesmerized by the sight, he seemed to watch it casually. Inside his mind though, his thoughts were desperate and confused. He didn't know where his uncle lived. What were they going to do now?
"I don't know what to do." Jake said.
"Jake, why did you do that?" whispered Hank coldly under his breath.
Jake turned his head in surprise towards Hank. Hank was now looking around. His eyes were everywhere and Jake could see the intense look of fury held within his face. Hank then, in a lightning quick flash, reached out and punched Jake. Jake fell sideways across the wagon seat and simply lay there, unable to move.
Quick was the first to react. Quick jumped from the wagon where she had been sitting next to Jake. Quick's leap propelled her directly at Hank's upper torso where she began to bite and claw everything she could reach. Hank then quickly reacted by grabbing the little dog and throwing her to the ground. The punch, as well as the barking and biting though had spooked Gale. And now that the dog was close to Gale's long powerful legs, still barking and snarling, Gale became even more and more spooked until she finally jumped and ran. Pedestrians scrambled to get out of the way. Several yards down the road, Hank himself was thrown. He fell to the hard ground painfully as Gale continued her flight around a corner and out of sight.
Hank's first foolish concerns were about preserving his honorable image. He had hoped to punch Jake quickly enough that perhaps no one would see. He hadn't figured on Quick attacking him or on Gale running away. Hank's lip and cheek were bleeding freely from Quick's attack. There were also several long red claw marks on his arms, hands, face and neck. Hank began to look around to see if anyone had seen his actions, and when he saw the dozens of people looking back at him, his heart fell to his knees in despair. Many people had been passing by that now were simply staring at him in wonder. A few laughed. The juggler had stopped juggling and had replaced his head to its normal position. He then picked up his hat and walked away.
Jake lay unconscious in the wagon. Marie climbed in to look at him. She then stood up, pointed at Hank and screamed "GO!" Hank would not move, half out of embarrassment and half out of condescension. She then quickly looked down to try and find a weapon and eventually found the dagger attached to Jake's belt. She drew it, jumped from the wagon and began to wildly run in place as if she were warming up for something. She then held the dagger out in front of her as though it were a bayonet and once again screamed "GO!"
Hank now realized what she was planning on doing. He fearfully climbed to his feet and ran after Gale. Marie stopped her running and once again boarded the wagon to look after Jake. Jake lay still, seemingly dead.
Moments later, one of the city guards came to the wagon.
"Hey! What are you kids doing here?" he said angrily.
Marie looked at him and was afraid. Jake had just been attacked and was now unconscious. Her mother was gone. The adult she'd been traveling with had just snapped and wounded the only remaining individual on this planet who seemed to care for her at all. And now, even the law seemed to be confrontational.
"That man just hit my brother." she cried.
She didn't know what else to do. Had she said that they were not related, she thought that he might take him from her. Jake was all she had left now, and she couldn't bear to lose him even though, by any standard, their relationship was still perfectly brand new. And for these reasons, Marie chose to lie.
"I know. Why did he hit him?" menaced the guard.
"I don't know." Marie said and she began to cry.
The guard looked at her and then began to look around.
"Where are your parents?" demanded the guard.
Marie paused for several seconds and then weepingly said "They're dead."
The guard looked at her and the boy and the items in the back of the wagon. He then seemed to debate something within himself for several moments. Marie became afraid.
Several passerbys approached the wagon and began to show concern for Marie and Jake.
"They didn't do anything sir." said one woman.
"Yeah. That other guy, he just went and punched this boy here and then she defended him." said a man.
And at that, dozens and dozens of people began to crowd around the wagon. Some were there to defend Marie. Most though were simply there for the entertainment of it. A few had noticed that this young girl was driving a wagon full of goods and was now alone. To these sorts of people, this was an opportunity for some good fortune. Some of them looked closely at the contents of the wagon. Others looked at Gideon. Others looked at the wagon itself. Others though eyed the girl. Marie saw all of their faces and began to become so frightened that she stopped crying.
"Sir, can I go?" Marie asked nervously.
The guard looked down in frustration. Whatever plans he had had were now impossible due to the number of witnesses.
Marie impatiently waited for the guard's answer as her eyes went from face to face to face. It seemed that, with each glance, she saw more and more of something that filled her with fear. She knew that she was in danger because, how she felt didn't match the excited expressions that she found on most of those around her. Some were happy. Some were even laughing. Some were staring at her, but not at her eyes. She was afraid because she saw apathy, but it was more than just apathy. Apathy is what you see in the face of a person hurriedly walking down the street who happens to accidentally look at you and then looks away. This apathy reminded Marie of a time when she'd seen a wolf attack a rabbit near her home. She'd seen the wolf before the attack and was amazed by the intense look of interest that the wolf had on its face concerning the rabbit. It was a look of intrigue concerning a being who's welfare was of absolutely no concern to the looker. And with this type of lustful intrigued apathy, misfortune usually follows closely. With the exception of a very small handful of concerned onlookers, the rest cared nothing about her, or her plight. All they cared about was how they could profit from her misery, either through diversion, or through financial profit, or through despicable physical amusement. Marie became very scared.
"EVERYONE, GET AWAY FROM THE WAGON!" boomed a voice.
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound to see an eight foot tall immensely fat and muscular man walking towards the wagon. Everyone began to walk away except for those who were truly concerned about Marie and Jake's welfare. The half-giant approached, who, as he approached, looked carefully at Marie and then began to scowl at the other guard.
"What's going on Jones?" said the half-giant in a large booming voice. Jones, the guard, shook with each syllable.
"Nothing Zeb. Just a little girl and her brother. I guess another man hit the boy and he hasn't woken up from it yet."
"Is that it, then?" said Zeb with his eyes fixed on Jones' every movement and on his every intention.
Zeb was dressed inconspicuously. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about him other than his size and fatness. For some reason though, this guard knew Zeb and seemed to be intimidated by him.
"So then, I guess you can go, can't you?" said Zeb. Jones immediately left trying his best to pretend that he was not afraid.
"I saw what happened from over there. How's your friend doing?" asked Zeb in a much quieter voice.
Marie looked in Zeb's eyes and saw something. She saw the same thing that she had seen in her mother's eyes hundreds of times. She had seen it in Jake's eyes that first day that she met him. She'd also seen it, at one time or another, in the eyes of everyone else that she had ever loved. She saw empathy. How she felt matched the expression and the intention of the man she spoke with. Something inside of her told her that she was safe. She calmed down just enough so that she could begin to cry again. She'd been too afraid to do so before.
"Don't worry kid. I'm just here to help. That guard there was one of my students once. Be careful about him. He's not so good." Zeb said.
Zeb began to look around as this little girl cried. And then he looked at the unconscious body of Jake. He saw that Jake was breathing, which was good. Then he saw the blood that was oozing from a cut just to the side of his left eye. He wasn't as worried about the boy though. His main concern was for this little girl. She was alone in Eastbrook now. Being alone in Eastbrook, today, as things were now in Eastbrook, was almost like being alone in hell.
"Hey kid, my name is Zeb Hunderson. Can you tell me what you're doing here?" he said.
"We came here to see if we could stay with his uncle?" Marie said as she pointed to Jake. She was now beginning to regain her composure.
"Is he going to be ok?" she asked.
"Probably. Lots and lots of people have been punched like that before, and pretty much all of them were fine afterwards. I'm assuming that your friend will be fine as well. But to be safe, we better go and find a healer." Zeb said.
"Do you have any money?" Zeb then asked.
"Yeah, he's got some and so do I." Marie continued.
"Ok then, let's go."
Zeb turned around and stood at his full height looking back towards the walls of the city until he saw what he was looking for. And then he began to bellow.
"ADAM!"
Marie held her hands to her ears to avoid the pain. Pedestrians passing by the wagon stumbled at the sound. The sound alone made many afraid. Most immediately changed their route in order to avoid the half-giant.
There was a pause. And then he yelled again.
"ADAM!"
Gideon bolted slightly at the sound.
Then, from the hubbub near an inside portion of the wall surrounding the city, a huge form arose. It was another half-giant. And then, from that great distance, the second half-giant raised his hands to his mouth and a small sound could be heard.
"WHAT?" Adam yelled back.
All around the second half-giant people flinched at the sound and many immediately began to walk away from the area holding their ears.
"THE KID NEEDS HELP! I'LL MEET YOU LATER, ALRIGHT?" Zeb screamed.
"YEAH, OK."
Then, the second giant raised an enormous hand and arm and casually waved.
Marie was actually quite amazed to see these two communicate in such a manner. Neither seemed to care whatsoever for the normal rules of etiquette. Screaming over long distances one to another while being amongst so many others seemed quite rude. But then again, this half-giant had possibly saved her from who knows how many horrors. Marie smiled and enjoyed the rudeness. It was far more polite and affable than the cold heartless apathy that she had felt up until now in this city. They were half-giants after all. Rudeness is just something that tends to follow them around. Zeb carefully picked up Jake and laid him in the back of the wagon. He then climbed into the wagon himself and sat next to Marie. There was hardly any room for her at all, but she did manage to squeeze in. The entire wagon lurched and tossed as it attempted to deal with the weight. Marie began to stare intensely at this huge man. She could not begin to guess how much he weighed. Had he been normal sized, he still would have been immense. But this man was extremely tall as well. Zeb flicked the reins once and Gideon began to move. He then stopped in frustration and looked back at Zeb and Marie as if to say "You're kidding, right?" Zeb then flicked the reins again and Gideon reluctantly began to move the wagon forward.
"Yeah, I know where to go. There's a guy that's pretty good at this sort of thing over this way a few blocks." said Zeb.
"So, where you from?" he continued.
Marie looked up to answer, but then she saw something that made her unable to respond.
Zeb had begun to pick his nose in an extremely detailed manner. Marie sat still looking up at him. She was amazed that somehow he was capable of doing this with absolutely no concern about what others thought of him for doing it.
First, his forefinger entered into his huge right nostril and began to swab the inside of his nasal wall. Then, Zeb hooked his finger slightly in order to get a better use of his fingernail. Apparently, the particular thing that currently resided in Zeb's right nostril was not capable of being exhumed with only a general swabbing. Marie looked in horror as Zeb began to scratch the right side of the nasal wall in his right nostril. Then, as he began to scratch, he began to scratch deeper and deeper. Marie's mouth and eyes opened wide. And then, finally, Zeb, having loosed the thing that he no longer wished to keep within his face, turned his finger slightly to hook the object with but one corner of his immense fingernail and began to pull the object out. Marie's face was frozen in horror. Zeb, businesslike, pulled out the immense blob of wonder, and stared at it slightly before he finally flung it onto the road. To finish, Zeb thoughtlessly cleaned the sludge that still remained on his finger off onto his pant leg and then looked down at Marie. Marie looked at the giant and began to wonder how much of this giant's clothing held the traces of his boogers. She noticed that she was actually in contact with several portions of him. It was such a tight fit on this wagon seat that it was unavoidable. She began to wonder how much of this giant's own nasal excrement now clung to her own clothes and flesh. She looked back up at Zeb with an immense look of horror. Zeb looked down and saw Marie's face. In response, Zeb simply stated...
"What? You don't ever pick your nose?"
Marie thought about it for a second. And she considered telling him "Well, yes I do, but not in front of strangers. And while we're on the subject, my nose happens to be much smaller than yours and the picking of it would not nearly be as offensive as the immense spectacle that you just performed for me!" But then, she realized that, Zeb, as a package deal, seemed to be a pretty good guy so far and that she didn't like hurting the feelings of people that she liked. She was also extremely grateful to him for his help and compassion, so she simply said, "I'm sorry for staring. You're just very big."
"Yeah, I am, ain't I? It comes in quite handy from time to time. Don't you agree?" Zeb responded with a smile.
"So, where are you from?" asked Zeb again.
"I'm from Pine Mountain. Jake's from William's Peace. We had to come here after our villages burned down." Marie answered.
She then bravely added "My name is Marie."
"Yeah, like I said, I'm Zeb Hunderson. How do you do?"
"You say William's Peace and Pine Mountain both burned down?" he continued.
"Yeah. Everybody but us and that guy that ran off is dead." Marie answered.
Marie and Zeb then began to talk about how her and Jake's villages died. Marie was surprised that Zeb did not know. She had assumed that everyone would know. Zeb showed intense concern, especially when Marie began to relate the story of the monster that Jake had told her about.
Zeb continued driving the wagon through the city streets until they entered a wide open area filled with vendors selling all manner of goods. This was one of the main marketplaces of Eastbrook. Zeb pulled the wagon up to a smallish tent that was located between an exotic fruit vendor and a man selling tin pans and weather alteration. The sign on the tent read "Healing and Sewing."
"It's a good thing you guys didn't come here about a year ago. The prices for this stuff was so high, only the king himself could afford it. Now though, there's so much competition, everyone's prices have had to come way down. You all should be able to afford whatever it is you need." said Zeb.
Zeb then carried Jake into the tent and found a small old man sitting at a long table mending a hole in an old pair of faded blue work pants.
"Hello sir. What seems to be the problem?" he said.
"This boy here got himself knocked out. He hasn't woken up yet. Can you help him?" asked Zeb as he laid Jake down on the table.
The healer then touched Jake's head with his forefinger, and immediately, Jake began to stir. Jake's eyes opened.
Jake saw the healer and the half-giant both looking down at him in mild curiosity. Jake began to wildly look about trying to find the answers to the mass of questions that confronted him.
Marie then came to Jake and placed her hand on his sleeve and said "It's ok. They're helping you."
Eventually Jake would shakily walk out of the tent being supported by Zeb. Had he been more coherent, he would have asked many questions. As it was though, all Jake could do was stand still and weakly look around.
As they exited the tent, Zeb noticed a tall man who had begun to walk to the small group with a questioning look on his eyes. He began to stare at Jake. Zeb began to stare at the man. With each step, the tall man, slightly bent over more and more in order to better see Jake's face. Zeb squared his immense shoulders and began to prepare himself for a fight.
Zeb loved fighting. Zeb loved to attack and to punch and to dominate. But, he was also good, meaning that he always wanted to live his life in a way that left him in harmony with his own conscience and with those in whom he had respect. And luckily for the world, one of those in whom Zeb had respect was Papa Voice. Zeb had helped Marie partially because he felt sorry for her. But also, he helped her simply because he wanted to have another opportunity to do the thing that he enjoyed doing the most: to fight and to punch and to dominate. Jones, and those at the wagon had let him down when they had walked away. He had truly hoped for the excuse to fling their despicable bodies and souls through the air and to tear them to pieces. But, when they left, he'd no longer had the excuse. And so, he was somewhat frustrated. Now though, a new man was approaching these children. And he dearly hoped that the man was looking for trouble.