Goddess In the Swamp
2035 Words
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“Well, poke my eyes because I've seen this woman before,” says Jasper, walking out of the truck and walks near her.
“Who's that?” asks Hiroki, leaving the truck.
The woman is lying on her belly. Her face is facing away from them but Jasper knows her by the torn clothes she's wearing. She's full of mud and her skin is being swarmed by flies and other bugs.
“Ugh...,” says Hiroki in disgust when a breeze blows at her and rises to his nose. “The stench... Maybe she's dead.”
“No, she's not,” says Jasper, squatting to see up close. He swallows, looking at her bottoms. Her pants are tattered but the mud conceals her skin. “Hehe,” he smugs. His hand itching to touch. “That's nice...”
“Jasper, don't—”
“Huh?” Jasper gasps when she grabs his wrist. Her grip could almost crush his bones. “Argh!!” he screams, flung up into the air. In time, he transforms into a bird, avoiding a bath in the muddy swamp.
“Get back!” Philip yells, putting himself in front of Hiroki. Icarus doesn't care and just leans against the truck, watching them. “Who are you?” he asks, taking a stance.
“Asking a woman's name after trying to m*lest her?” she asks, standing up like a crooked tree.
“We didn't try to touch you... at least the rest of us.”
Jasper comes back, transforming into himself. “Alright, alright, I'm sorry,” he says, raising his hands. “We mean you no harm.”
“Couldn't believe that for a second...,” she says in an airy voice. “you tried to squeeze my—”
“Hold up!” Hiroki says. “You can kill him,” He points at Jasper. “since he was the one who tried to touch you. We won't be mad at all.”
“Hiroki!” Jasper yells. “Are you my ally or what?”
“How could I be an ally of yours if you keep tricking us and getting us into trouble?!”
“You have point...” Then he stirs, shaking his head. “But no matter how you put it, we're still allies!”
“I'm done with you!”
“Shut up!” the woman shouts. “So noisy!” Then she points her nose into the sky, sniffing the air.
“What....?” asks Hiroki.
The veins on her neck and forearms expand and become more obvious under her skin. A surge of fear runs inside Hiroki and Philip. Even Icarus pays a little attention as he stops folding his arms.
“I smell...” Sniffing a couple of times, she finally growls, “vodka!”
“What?” asks Hiroki.
Over them, she jumps so high. Icarus dodges to the side and she lands on the back of the truck. “Yes!!” she laughs, pulling out a bottle of liquor.
“Hey!” Jasper yells. “That's mine!”
She doesn't listen to him and opens the bottle with her teeth. With the bottom of the bottle up, she drinks all of it in a couple of seconds.
“NOO!!!” screams Jasper, jumping to her to intervene as she grabs another bottle.
But she grabs his head with her whole palm. Her grip is immense so instead of reaching for the bottle, he tries to get himself out of her grip by grabbing her arm.
“Argh!!” he screams in pain. “Guys! Help me! She's taking our stuff!!”
Observing, Philip talks to Hiroki beside him. “Should we... help him?”
“Nah,” Hiroki answers. “she's only taking his booze, not our food supply. Plus, it's not my place to pick a fight against her. I'll reserve that judgment on you.”
“Yeah,” says Icarus. “she's a full-grown goddess. I don't know her powers but I can tell she's incredibly strong.”
“What?” Jasper asks, looking betrayed. “Guys... how could you do this to me? After all we've been through together, you—”
“Stop the drama,” says Hiroki. “She's only after the booze you stole on the road. I say we give them up in exchange, we get to keep our hearts pumpin'.”
“Curse you, Hiroki!!” he cries as the last of his bottle is getting consumed by the goddess.
The last drop of the last bottle drips into her tongue. She lets go of him and he's lifeless when he lies on the floor panel, his heart in pieces. The goddess sits, panting hard as if she's about to drown. She leans against the rear panel, her left leg extending and right leg bending.
“Good stuff,” she mutters, l*****g her lips.
“You're gonna pay for that!” cries Jasper.
Like she didn't hear him, she heaves saying, “Gotta... go... to... trial...”
“Trial?” asks Jasper. His glittering teary eyes widen into curiosity. He crawls to look at her closely. Hiroki, Icarus, and Philip watch over the side panel. She's starting to doze off. “Trial for what?”
Yawning, she answers, “For... bride...”
“Of whom?”
“Dunno...” She hiccups, making her a little awake to say, “Just wanna... have... child... to bring me... booze.”
“I could give you a diligent child if you want.”
Hiroki hits Jasper's head from behind. “If our lady was here, your severed head would be flying across the whole swamp.”
“What?” Jasper reasons, “I just wanna give her what she wants.” She has already fallen asleep. “Well, anyway, I bet she knows something about the selection Ammar told me.” He's squatting and smirking at the goddess. More unnerving than any eerie creature in the swamp, he hisses, “Finding her here, things have just become more interesting.”
Riding on the wide swords, Sayuri flies in the morning sky with Gwen. They also bring with them, supplies, just in case someone needs them. Like hawks, they scan the plains. It has been days since Jasper and the others went to investigate the swamp. That leaves the rest of their comrades, except both of them, staying to guard the ship full of people seeking refuge. Sayuri decided that she'll find more survivors after hearing that no more government leads them.
All of a sudden, Sayuri takes both of them down. Gwen realizes that there's a camp hidden in the misty part of the plain. They land so softly like feathers. The people are inside their tents, perhaps not eager to come out to shiver in the cold weather early.
“I'm hungry, Momma,” whimpers a boy inside a tent. He's in his mother's embrace as they lie on the muddy sheets. His mother could not hear him. “The bread... was not enough, Momma.” He notices that the thin hand of his mother is colder than before. “Momma?” he asks, nearing his ear to her nose. “MOMMA!!” he cries, trying to take her up. “Mom—” He stops, staying put. He calms down. His face is empty. “Liar... you said you were full. I hate you...”
He gets out of the cold embrace of his mother and stands on his fragile feet. His limbs are as thin as branches of trees. Out, he goes with his eyes widening, wishing that everything he sees is food. He wishes the clouds are soft cotton candy. He wishes the mud at his feet is chocolate.
“You're a liar, Momma,” he mutters, his knees splashing on the mud.
He tries to cry but his eyes could not produce more tears. He swallows with his bone-dry throat. It feels like swallowing thorns. Out of desperation, he licks the mud and jolts away, tasting its unpleasantness. Even so, he proceeds to lick his hands covered in mud just to fill his empty stomach—screaming for anything to digest. Then firm hands grab his thin arms. Eyes that pierce his soul, feeling his suffering.
Gwen gives the boy a whole bread, larger than his face. Sayuri lets go of him as he takes a bite. It's dry inside his mouth but chews it well enough to swallow. His stomach feels so warm, finally having something to digest. His tears fall of the bread, making it even softer and saltier.
“Someone!” Gwen yells. “Anyone! We have food!”
No one answers but a handful of them come out. Three teenage girls, one adult woman, and five children—four of which are girls. Gwen gives them food. Sayuri helps a little bit. The survivors don't have the energy to say thank you nor the concentration to mind their manners. “Food”—is what's inside their minds.
“How about the others?” Gwen asks them as they chew. They don't answer and just eat like all they can do is eat.
“Gone,” a little girl mutters.
Gwen turns to look at Sayuri. The goddess heard it as well but just acts as if she didn't. She can sense that only ten survivors are here. All of them are here, eating. An hour later, they come along with Sayuri and Gwen without a hitch. They're like fallen dry leaves from a tree, letting the winds of nature guide their fate, and eventually rot somewhere after some time.
Looking at them, Gwen remembers how she used to live. In her thoughts, she says, “This is worse than what I've been through.”
They fly for a whole day with only the wind in their ears filling the silence. The looks in their eyes tell that they don't look forward to tomorrow. Whether it's good or bad, they don't care. What they lost cannot be found there. It anchors them, keeping them from moving forward. Deep inside, Sayuri knows that she's doing the same. Although, she doesn't look like it.
The majestic ship becomes visible on the horizon. Tents have been built around it. Water tanks have been placed to hold water that has been pumped from underground. Upon landing, Hyun and Jack welcome the goddesses
“Welcome back,” says Hyun nodding at them. Sayuri walks past them.
“Thank you,” nods Gwen.
“Okay,” says Jack, counting the new arrivals. “there's ten of them. That makes it three hundred ninety-seven people we have right now.” They are a bit scared of him because of his metal limbs. He notices this so he holds his waist and smiles at them. “Welcome, all of you,” he says in a benevolent voice. “We will lead you to a comfortable place to stay. Please, follow me.” He walks and they follow him.
“It's a lot like a village now,” Gwen says, walking with him as they guide the new arrivals.
“Yeah, I'm glad that we could help this many people.”
“Though, I think there are thousands of people in need scattered throughout this planet. We covered only a small area and this is how many people we already have.”
“Are you fine?”
“I'm good.”
“I'll take your place if you want to.”
“Nah, I can do this. My task is simple enough. If I can't do it well, I don't know what else can I do to help.”
“That's not true. You're the Goddess of Prayers. We need your power if we're in desperate need.”
“That's the problem. It's not that I wish for something worse will happen but everything seems to be easy for all of you. Even if I'm not here, you can deal with it.”
“We don't know that. The universe works in complicated ways. Sooner or later, we're gonna need your power. Lady Sayuri will need your power.”
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