Feral

Xeynordamere and Silver try to find a supposed feral child who lives in the woods.

    9:13 A.M…

    October first came on a Saturday, and I could feel the cool breeze gently carrying dead leaves to the ground.  

    “What are you doing here?” I ask Fiona, who was collapsed in a chair. A big old book was in her lap, and she glanced up at me.

    “Reading.”

    “Are you okay? It’s unlike you to read.” I say, and she shakes her head.

    “Don’t worry: it’s a book about the feral kids.”

    “The what?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.

    “Hasn’t anybody told you the story?” She asked, and I stared at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

    “Okay, so Telgemier used to be this mental institute for kids. One day they heard of this brother and sister who pretty much lived together and the brother was feral. Well Telgemier told them that all mental kids need to go to the institute, you know? But the sister, the older sibling, said no since she loved her brother too much.

    “Well word caught on and soon people were rallying to get the two out of the city. So finally they try to run but they get caught by the institute and they take the little brother in for testing. But the sister got mad, so she snuck him out and into the woods around the institute. Nobody has seen them since, but from what legend tells us that the little boy’s case was the most unexplained thing ever and that he could live to be five times the age of a human. And rumor has it that the two are still in the woods. It’s a Halloween tradition.” She finished.

    “Wow. So what’s the big deal about it?” I ask.

    “Well, you know how I said how the boy could live longer? Ever since we found out about that, everybody’s been dying to get their hands on him to see how they can live longer too. Unfortunately, Telgemier limited them so that they can only hunt for him during the month of October.”

    “So, everybody’s looking for this kid?” I ask, and she nods.

    “I’ve been searching for him ever since my parents told me. If I find him, I can see how he lived for so long!” She exclaimed, and I remembered that this was her thing. Yeah, reading isn’t much of her thing, but education is.

    “That’s awesome. So why are you reading?”

    “To find out more about the legend! I’ve uncovered so much more than what I’ve heard.” She said, the book dragging her eyes to it.

    “Cool.” I say, and in a flash her eyes are on the book again. I wait a minute before realizing that she wasn’t going to say anything else. Then I got an idea.

    “Hey, I bet I can find clues that this boy did exist.” I say, and her eyes snap to mine.

    “By yourself?” She asks.

    “Yeah. I’ll go out for at least two hours and try to find any clues.” I say, and she nods.

    “Good luck.” She calls after me as I head out the library.

    9:15 A.M. (two minutes later)…

    “No. No you’re not.”

    “I’m going. Nothing you can say and do will stop me.”

    “So? You know I’m going to try anyway.” Xeynordamere replied, glaring at me with his black eyes.

    Here I was, in my dorm, packing a book bag to take with me. I already had two water bottles, my charged phone, a map, and a snack packed and now I was searching for anything I could use as trail markers.

    The only thing that was preventing me from going was Xeynordamere, who didn’t like the idea of me going out into the woods.

    “I’ll be fine. Stay here. Watch the dorm.” I say, and he folds his little stuffed animal arms.

    “No. Nothing ever happens here. If you’re going, I want to come with you.”
    I was running out of options. If I wanted to actually cover a mile or so, I needed to get going now.

    “Fine. But don’t run off.” I say, and he looks a bit less resistant.

    A few minutes later I had a series of flags to mark my path and was walking through the halls, Xeynordamere by my side.

    “Why are you going into the woods anyway?” He asked.

    “Ever heard of the story about the feral child?” I ask him, and I was a bit surprised when he nodded.

    “Oh yeah. The nineteen forties were a bad time for feral children.”

    “You were alive-

    “Of course I was alive back then! Remember how old I am.” He said, and I remembered that this was a thousand year old demon I was talking to.

    “Why was it such a bad time?” I ask, and he shrugged.

    “It’s a long story. But anyway, why do you want to go find this kid?”

    “I figured that whoever this guy is would be sick and tired of people always trying to find him, so I decided to put an end to it. If I don’t find him, I’ll tell them the truth: but if I do, I’ll lie.”

    “Why? Why would you lie?” He asked.

    “Think about it: boy who can live five times more than a human being. Won’t people want to be getting their hands on his blood and stuff? I figured that’s got to suck, and chances are people will just keep passing on rumors about him until something does happen to him. So I’m going to end the rumors.”

    “Huh. I can’t help but think about you looking at one of those ‘what would Jesus do?’ pens before answering my question.” He said, and I laughed.

    10:42 A.M. (Same day)…

    The woodland around Telgemier was a lot scarier once you got about ten feet into it.

    At my side, Xeynordamere held a flashlight. Rain clouds had begun to cover the sun, making it darker. I couldn’t even estimate what time it was: that’s how dark it was.

    “God this is taking forever.” Xeynordamere growled.

    “You were the one that wanted to come with.” I say, stepping over a large tree root.

    “Yeah, but I didn’t know it would be this boring.” He said, and I silently agreed with him. It sounds a lot more dangerous when you actually know what you’re doing.

    I put a little red flag in the dirt before following him. “Hey, you should’ve at least guessed. I’m not the thousand year old stuffed animal here.” I say, and he glares.

    Looking down at him, I saw mud and dirt stuck to his soft leopard coat. I made a mental note to throw him in the washing machine when I get back to the Academy.

    “Hey, do you hear that?” He suddenly asks, and I freeze.

    I listened hard for a moment and picked up nothing. Telling myself to listen a bit harder, I closed my eyes and searched for anything. Didn’t hear a word. Opening my eyes, I was about to tell Xeynordamere to quit scaring me when the bushes rustled, and out popped Vienne and Zarma.

    “Zarma? Vienne? What are you doing here?” I ask, and they look at me.

    “Konnichiwa.” Vienne said, and I greet her back before turning to Zarma.

    “What are you two doing out here?” I ask.

    “We were in the neighborhood and we decided to visit.” She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

    “You were looking for the feral boy?”

    “Yes. And I take it that you are too?” She said, and I shrugged.

    “Maybe.” I reply evasively.

    “Why?” There was a hint of something in Zarma’s voice, something I’ve never heard in her voice before. I tried to pinpoint it as I answered her question.

    “Want to stop people from gossiping about him. That and I also want to see what a feral child looks like.” I say, trying to sound innocent.

    Fortunately, Zarma nodded. “Good to know.”

    “Why is it good to know?” My eyebrows furrow.

    “Oh, I figured he would want to know.”

    “He? You mean the boy? Where is he?” I ask, getting excited.

    “Behind you.”

    Xeynordamere and I whirled around and came face to face with a little boy. He looked about seven with a pale boyish face and messy black hair. Torn and tattered clothes marked with mud told me that he had been living here for some time now. He looked like a perfectly normal child.

    Except when he opened his mouth, exposing two thin saber-like fangs.

    “Uh…Silver you’re the human sacrifice!” Xeynordamere said, moving behind me and shoving me towards the feral boy.

    The boy closed his mouth and stared at us with confusion. Then he nodded.

    “The smell on you. It’s faint.” He murmured, and I realized he was talking to me.

    “Huh?”

    “The vampire smell. It’s faint.” He said, grabbing my hand and lifting it to his noise where he delicately sniffed it like he was sniffing a rose.

    Then I remembered. Last night I had been trying on Emily’s clothes, just to see if one of her tops would fit me.

    “…Yes. I’m Silver, and the vampire you’re referring to is my friend Emily.”

    “I’m Will. Nice to meet you.” He said and we shook hands coolly. It was kind of funny how a child so young could act so serious.

    “Will, why are you still here?” Zarma said behind me, and in a flash Will was over by her side.

    “I like it here. Nice animals and good prey. Besides, nobody ever comes in here. Except you four.” He gestured to us.

    “How do you two know each other?” Xeynordamere asked, curious.

    “Zarma is my sister.” Will answered, and I stared.

    “You’re the girl from the legend?”

    “Yep.”

    “How are you both still alive?” I ask, and Will and Zarma share a secret look.

    “We are the offspring of a human and a vampire.” They say in unison.

    “How is that possible?”
    “The answer to that is the same answer to ‘where do babies come from?’.” She said.

    “Well I know that, but still! Why don’t you have fangs?”

    “Being a half vampire means you get certain perks. Super hearing is mine while Will got the fangs and super speed.”

    “So, we have two people with vampiric blood at Telgemier?”

    “Yup.”

    “So…what now?”
    “I don’t know.” She said.

    “Tell everybody that Will doesn’t exist?”

    “Sure. Sounds good. And then we can go get smoothies.”

    “You serious?”
    “No. I hate smoothies. I prefer milkshakes.” She said, and I stared at her.

    Mental Note: Some vampires are stranger than others.

    “Leaving so fast?” Will pouted.

    “Don’t worry sugar. I’ll visit you later. Now do me a favor and show us out.” She said, and faster than the speed of light we were facing the Academy, the woods behind us.

    I turned to give Will one last look but he was already gone.

    7:22 P.M. (same day, current time)…

    “Woah. That’s what happened?” Fiona said as I fiddled absentmindedly with a little thread on my blanket.

    “Yeah. You swear not to tell anybody right?” I say, and she rolls her eyes.

    “Duh. Besides, nobody would believe me.” She said, flopping back on her bed.

    It was silent for a moment before she spoke again. “Hey Silver?”

    “Yeah?”

    “Do you really think people will stop trying to find Will?”

    “I hope so, or else they’ll have an angry Zarma to listen to!” I say, and we laugh.

Author's Note

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