Chapter 3: Malice
Joel, Michi and Hikari started out again with their map and a bag of food and supplies before the sun rose the next morning. José had directed them to the country road that led to the Haven of Heaven; beyond that, it was up to Joel’s map-reading skills and Hikari’s memory – or, at best, his sense of wanderers’ intuition.
Michi clutched on to the sleeve of Hikari’s cloak as they trudged down the road. “Where are we going, again?” she whined.
“A city where the Gifted live,” Joel replied. He looked over at his sister, then glared at Hikari. “A city that Hikari should know where to find,” he snapped. The remark didn’t phase Hikari, who tiredly dragged himself onward. Joel puffed his cheeks angrily and ordered, “Michi, get away from him!”
Michi ignored him and held on tighter. “Hikari,” she said, giving the sleeve a tug, “why don’t you take your hood off?” Hikari gave her a questioning glance. “Doesn’t light make you stronger?” Michi asked.
“Who told you that?” he asked, looking a little surprised.
“José told us yesterday,” Michi replied, “after you and Joel were fighting.” She frowned at the thought, then fell silent.
“Me and Joel..were fighting?” Hikari asked. “When?”
“Huh? Don’t you remember?” Michi asked. “It was after José told us that you were a Gifted. Joel got all mad ‘cause you didn’t tell us. And then you fought. Remember?”
“But I’m not...” Hikari trailed off suddenly, and an empty look came into his green eyes. “They hated me...” he murmured, his quaking hands clutching the edges of his hood as he started to curl up into a ball.
“Who hated you?” Michi asked.
As Joel glanced over at him, he saw the spark come back into Hikari’s eyes –which, strangely enough, had now taken on a hazel color. Hikari stopped shaking and slouched casually. “I’m hungry. Can we eat yet?” he asked.
Michi stared at Hikari, then at her brother, blinking with confusion. It’s like we’re talking to two different people, Joel thought.
“Yeah,” Joel said cautiously, “we can eat.” He sat on the grass, took out three servings of food and gave each person one. “Don’t ask for any more until way later,” he told his sister. “We don’t have that much, so we can’t be greedy.”
“I know,” Michi grumbled.
“It’s good,” Hikari commented after he had taken a bite.
While Hikari was eating, Michi reached up and flipped off his hood. “There,” she said. “Better?” Hikari nodded and grinned in reply, but something made him flip the hood back on only a moment later. Michi turned around and saw another person walking down the path. “Joel,” she called, “let’s ask for help!”
The kids quickly scarfed down their lunches and stood up. “Mister!” Joel called. “Hey, Mister!” The man stopped and the three kids approached him. “Do you know a quicker way to the Haven of Heaven?” Joel asked.
The man looked startled, then glared at Hikari, who drew back under his cloak and clutched on to his hood. “Why are a couple kids like you going to a prison full of freaks?” he asked. “Don’t tell me that kid in the cloak is one of them.”
“No!” Michi cried. “He’s got sunburn!”
Joel shot his sister a furtive glance. I can’t believe she’s lying for him, he thought.
“Right,” the man said sarcastically. “Sunburn.” He reached toward Hikari and yanked his hand out of his sleeve, turning up Hikari’s palm to reveal another crescent and flame marking like the one on his neck.
Eyes wide with alarm, Hikari cried, “Don’t touch me!” and pulled away defensively.
“Like I thought,” the man said. “He’s one of the Gifted. Take my advice and ditch ‘im before he gets spotted by the wrong people.” He began to walk away and added, “And don’t go to the walled cities. You’re just askin’ for trouble if you do.” Finally, the man disappeared down the path ahead of them.
“‘Walled cities’?” Joel repeated.
“Hikari, what’s wrong?” Michi cried. Joel turned his glance on Hikari and saw him trembling wildly, his green eyes wide with fear. “Hikari?!” Michi cried again.
“No...” Hikari stammered shakily, “I don’t–I don’t wanna go back there...”
“What the heck is wrong with you?” Joel snapped.
“I don’t wanna go to the walled city!” Hikari cried suddenly. “You can’t make me go back to the Haven!”
“So you are from one of the Havens!” Joel exclaimed. “That means you can take us–!”
A vacant look replaced the panic in Hikari’s eyes. Joel knew what that look meant by now. A second later, Hikari was all grins once more. “Can we eat?” he asked.
“We just did,” Joel muttered.
“We did?” Hikari asked. “Oh...Right. I’m sorry. I’m not hungry, anyway.”
Hikari flipped down his hood and commented, “That’s weird. I thought I had this down a minute ago. Did something happen?”
“No,” Joel lied. “C’mon, let’s go.” He took his sister’s hand and started up the road again with Hikari in tow.
- - - -
As the day dragged on, the sun beat down on the children, and they quickly tired. “Joel,” Michi whined, “I’m thirsty. Can I drink?”
“For the last time, no,” Joel said irritably. “We’re almost out of water.” He wiped some sweat from his brow.
“Joel, I’m tired!” Michi whined again. “And my feet hurt!” Hikari gave his cloak a tug, as if he was thinking of pulling it off, but stopped himself and settled for flipping off his hood. “Joel,” Michi pleaded again, “c’mon, pick me up!”
Hikari grinned and scooped the little girl up into his arms. “Better?” he asked.
Michi grinned back and nodded in reply. “Thank you,” she said sweetly.
Hikari looked back up at Joel, grinning, and said, “We should find some shade. Or even better, is there an inn on that map?”
“We can’t stop yet,” Joel insisted.
“But we’re running out of water,” Hikari reasoned, “and I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, too.”
“Me too,” Michi chimed in.
“You two are always hungry,” Joel snapped. Much to his chagrin, his stomach growled loudly, and the others heard it.
Hikari grinned, and when he opened his eyes again, they had taken on more of a green tint. “There’s an inn in the town between here and the Ha–” He suddenly stopped, and his hazel eyes became vacant. “Is there an inn nearby?” he backtracked. “I’m hungry, and we need food and water.”
Weird, Joel thought, I could swear his eyes just changed colors. And..what was he about to say? “Did you just say there’s a town nearby?” he settled for asking.
“I don’t know,” Hikari replied. “If I did, I don’t remember, so please forget about it.”
“But you just said it,” Michi pointed out, “and you said there was an inn, too.” She noticed the beads of sweat on his face for the first time as she looked into his confused eyes.
“Let’s just find somewhere we can get some shade,” Hikari said, grinning.
“Are you hot?” Michi asked. “Why don’t you take your cloak off? Nobody will see.”
Joel noticed the green tint come back to Hikari’s eyes as he said, “I can’t,” and his smile faded into a frown.
Michi felt Hikari's arms tense around her. “If anybody comes down the road and sees me,...” He trailed off and backtracked again. “Let’s find some shade,” he said with a grin; his eyes had turned hazel again, and his arms relaxed as he slouched a little.
He did say there was a town with an inn nearby, Joel thought, looking down at the map. Here’s the town. But where are we? His head jerked up when he heard his sister scream. He looked over and saw both Michi and Hikari on the ground. “What the–?! What happened?!” he cried, hurrying over to his sister. “Are you hurt?!”
“No,” Michi said shakily, “but Hikari – he just...” Hikari was breathing hard, and his face was bright red, beads of sweat trickling down all over.
He got overheated, Joel thought. Michi told him to take off that stupid cloak. Man, now we’ll have to carry him around. He glanced to and fro and saw a grove of shady trees nearby, then reached down and started dragging Hikari down the road. “Michi, come on,” he told his sister. Michi followed as Joel dragged Hikari over to the trees and started pulling off his cloak. When he finally had it off, the marks on Hikari’s hands, and two more on his arms were clearly visible. Joel and Michi also instantly noticed all the bruises and cuts all over his body.
“Somebody hurt him bad,” Michi cried.
“They hated me,” Joel remembered Hikari saying. Is this what he meant? Joel glanced at the cut on his own hand and remembered his own hatred. As much as he pitied Hikari now, seeing all the scars he was bearing, he still couldn’t stand the way Hikari hid things from them, how unpredictable he was, and the way he always wore that smug, stupid grin when he lied to their faces. Serves him right, Joel thought.
Hikari twitched, then slowly came to. “What happened?” he asked. When he saw Joel holding his cloak, he flipped. “Don’t look at me!” he cried, his now-green eyes wide, as he shook wildly and tried to cover up the markings on his arms.
“It’s all right, Hikari, we already know,” Michi said worriedly.
“I’m not Hikari!” he shouted. “Who–Who are you people?! Just leave me –!” The vacant look came into his eyes, which turned hazel again as he calmed down. “What happened?” he backtracked.
Joel dropped the cloak into Hikari’s lap and said, “Put the stupid thing back on, then, if you wanna overheat again.”
Hikari stared at it blankly for a moment before he slowly took it and put it back on. “I’m sorry..if I caused trouble,” he said. He grinned, though his eyes looked sad. “I just don’t want people seeing –” He stopped and backtracked again. “Is there an inn nearby? I’m hungry.”
Joel looked away from him. He’s so useless, he thought. If the Gifted are all like him,...then maybe looking for Sky is... He tried to shake away the thought. No. I need to believe that Sky can save her. We need to keep looking. Joel studied the map again. “There should be a town a little ways down the road from here,” he said. “Maybe we’ll find an inn there, then we can take a break and eat.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” Hikari reached out to pick up Michi when Joel shoved him away.
Glaring at him, Joel ordered, “Keep your hands off my sister, you wannabe ‘Gifted.’”
“Joel!” Michi cried.
Hikari just grinned and asked, “What are you talking about?”
Joel scowled. That stupid grin again! As if he doesn’t know! “Stop that!” he yelled. “Stop acting so coy and innocent!”
“All right, whatever you say,” Hikari conceded. “Let’s just go.”
Joel puffed out his cheeks and hoisted his sister on to his back. “Follow me,” he ordered. They walked until the sun began to sink in the afternoon sky.
Finally, they reached a town town – a bigger, busier one than the rinky-dink town with the wooden shacks of houses where Ms. Kirsty lived – and stopped at the inn. Michi had fallen asleep by then, and Hikari’s face was dripping with sweat. Hikari flipped up his hood as they stepped inside.
The innkeeper met them at the door. “Kids?” he scoffed. “Where are your parents?” he asked. “Do you have any money?”
“Well – no, but – ”
“No money, no boarding, kid,” the innkeeper said.
The innkeeper’s wife stepped in. “Just prepare a room for the poor children,” she said. “It would be cruel to send them back out in this awful heat.”
The innkeeper griped under his breath and sent a maid to prepare a room. “Would you kids like some food?” his wife asked.
“Yes, please,” Hikari replied with a grin. “Thank you for asking,” he added politely.
What a goody-two-shoes, Joel thought. “Stop butting in,” he snapped.
“Ask for some water,” Hikari whispered. “Michiru was thirsty.”
Joel spun around to face him and asked, “How do you know her full name?”
Hikari stared blankly at him. A blue tint faded from his eyes. “Guessed?” he replied.
The innkeeper’s wife returned with a few bowls of food and directed them to a room. As they passed others in the lobby, Joel realized that they were attracting a lot of attention – or rather, Hikari was. People spoke in hushed tones as the kids walked by and headed for the corridor that led to the rooms. “That cloak makes you stick out like a sore thumb, you know,” he hissed.
Hikari just grinned and laughed off his embarrassment.
Joel and Hikari stopped and opened the door that the innkeeper’s wife had pointed out. Upon stepping into the room, Hikari immediately flopped onto one of the soft, thick beds with his meal. Joel let his sister slide off his shoulders. “Michi,” Joel said, “wake up.”
Michi rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “We’re at the inn!” she cried excitedly as she glanced around. “Yay!” She saw the food in Joel’s hand and reached out for a bowl, which Joel gave her. Michi quickly scarfed down her meal, then pleaded, “Did you get some water, too, Joel?”
Joel folded his arms across his chest and puffed out his cheeks as Hikari grinned and said, “I think he forgot.”
The words made Joel sick to his stomach. “Shut up!” he yelled. “Just because you forget everything in the world and remembered the stupid water doesn’t mean that you get to treat me stupid for forgetting to ask the lady!”
“I’m not calling you stupid, I just told her the truth,” Hikari insisted. “I thought you wanted me to tell the truth.”
Joel turned and glared at him. “Yeah,” he said, “I do. So why don’t you tell us the truth about who you really are and where Sky is?”
“I don’t know Sky – ”
Joel leaped toward Hikari’s bed and grabbed him by the cloak. “You’re lying again!”
“ – and I don’t know anything about the Gifted!” Hikari finished.
Joel flipped up Hikari’s hood and yanked off his cloak. “Even though you’re one of them?!” he yelled. “Look at these and tell me again that you don’t know about the Gifted!” he said, roughly turning Hikari’s palm toward his face.
Hikari’s eyes changed color again, from hazel to green. “You hate me too, don’t you?” he asked as the traces of his grin melted into a frown. “Just like the rest of them...They all hated me...locked me away in that city with the awful walls...the..Haven...”
“‘Locked’ you..away...?” Joel let go of his hand and stepped back for a moment. He shook the doubt and shock from his mind. “Listen, Hikari!” he ordered. “You need to take us there–to the Haven of Heaven!”
“I’m not Hikari! And that hell-hole isn’t a ‘haven’, it’s a prison!” Hikari cried. “A prison where they lock us up to save their own skins! But we never did anything to them!! Never!!! And you can never make me go back there!!!” Hikari suddenly stopped himself; his eyes became vacant, then turned a bluish-hazel. “I think Joel forgot the water,” he said, grinning a little. “Sorry,.. Michiru...” He toppled over on the bed, and his eyes eased shut.
Joel and Michi just stared, and for a moment, neither of them moved or spoke. Joel turned Hikari toward the window and flicked on the lamp. “That should do,” he said quietly. “Let’s try and get some sleep so we can hit the road.”
