Chapter 37 - Revelation

One week. . . It has been one week since Brooke suggested that she and I should go for a hunt. Since then, everyday at around 4 in the afternoon, she and I would leave the house on top of the hill where we, together with Talia and Cybele resided and go to the forest to get our food for the next day.

We haven't completely vacated the house for fear of being discovered by the Queen's men. They must still be searching, seeing that it has only been a few days since Talia and Cybele-the princess and the traitor have gone missing. The house offered safety, protection, and a clear view from any intruders so it was logical that we stayed.

It was no vacation place. Far from it really. There were no food and luxurious rooms. But we did manage to entertain ourselves with anecdotes from Cybele and Talia's past plus my own silly history. I learned a lot of things about Brooke as well. Stories that didn't involve Cybele.

From what I gathered, Brooke's family originally came from Australia. Her parents were expert programmers. That was where she got her love for computers. They opened their own company and soon transferred to England. They got richer, expanded to different businesses, and lo and behold, became the millionaires that they were today. Brooke told the story like it was nothing but a boring tale, but to me it was fascinating.

I liked the way her eyes would light up whenever her passion for computers would be brought up. I also couldn't help but notice how her voice would take that patronizing tone when her parents were mentioned. She must really love and adore them to ignite such a reaction. And to think that she'd do anything to follow in their footsteps. That was why I decided that I wanted to meet them someday. As their daughter-in-law of course. Hahahaha!

"Shhhh!" Brooke said, holding a finger to her lips.

"What? I didn't say anything?" I complained, shrugging.

She rolled her eyes. "You were standing there and laughing. Have you gone insane?" The game that she was supposed to catch ran away. Brooke looked disappointed. "You're such a freaking maniac you know that?"

My shoulders slumped. I wasn't making any progress with her. But I felt the need to explain myself. "It's okay Brookey baby. I didn't want to eat that game anyway. It's a bunny. A cute bunny I might add." She gave me an amused look. "What?" I said for like the tenth time today. "Its momma might miss it. Didn't you think about that? How selfish of you."

Brooke tried to hide her smile. "Do you know Charles?"

"Xavier? Yeah! He's bald but oh man his power is the best!"

"I was talking about Darwin. You know the one who introduced the phrase survival of the fittest? Blimey Vanessa your mind is always flying. I wonder what you learned in school with your way of thinking."

"Oh. . ." I said, my excitement ebbing. "I thought we were talking about mutants." My lips quirked up. "And I learned from school that hot girls have a sensitive side too. Want to show me yours?" That statement earned me a glare from her. "Just kidding," I added quickly. "So. . . We were talking about your best pal Darwin."

Brooke nodded. "Yes. You said earlier that we shouldn't kill the bunny. But if we do that with every animal that we see here, we'll end up starving. So it's either us or them. I choose to kill them."

I whistled low. "Wow. . . I take it back about the sensitive side. You don't have one."

"Correct. And if you get in the way with my catch again." She raised a hand that held her dagger. "This will go right through your throat. Get it?"

I swallowed hard. The threat was real. "Yes ma'am."

The very next afternoon, we were back in the forest doing our usual hunt. Strangely, the sun was still high in the sky, making me uncomfortably sweaty and sticky. Brooke looked tired too, though we have only been setting traps and searching for an hour. Her blue shirt was drench in sweat.

"Brooke." Damn it my throat felt too dry. I wiped my forehead which was lined with sweat. "Why don't we rest for a while eh? It's too hot for comfort." She continued walking, giving no indication that she heard me. I had to jog to catch up to her. "Hey," I said as I touched her arm. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I did."

"But what?"

She craned her neck. "Can't you hear that?"

I had no idea what she was talking about but I closed my mouth nonetheless before arguing. Learning how to hunt with my dad since I was a kid, I developed good hearing. "Something is definitely crying," I said in a low voice. Why didn't I hear that before? My chaotic thoughts must have hindered me from being acutely aware of my surroundings. "Is that an animal?"

"Definitely an animal," she replied seriously. "Shall we take a look?" I nodded.

The two of us crept silently to the direction of the sound. It lead us at the edge of a steep cliff. As I leaned to see what was making the crying sound, I noticed a bear. It was big, brown, and bloody. It definitely fell from the precipice. But it wasn't dead yet and Brooke saw that too.

She signaled downward. "That is a very large game."

"We're not going to eat that are we?" I asked, deeply disturbed by the thought. Though I have been taught by my father to hunt young, I never seemed to have the right stomach for it. Call me a wuss and a softie but fluffy animals had a big place in my heart. Too bad Brooke had other ideas.

"Remember what I told you about Charles," she said as she grabbed some vines and carefully but steadily made her way down.

I groaned, doing the same. "Yeah, yeah. Except your Charles is not completely bald. Mine is better. And just so you know, my Charles has superpowers. Let's see yours beat that."

"You're so talkative Van," Brooke said. She was right below me. "How did the girls you dated stand it?"

"Stand it?" I huffed, straining my arm muscles so I wouldn't fall off to my death. "They loved it. So would you." She didn't reply after that.

Twenty minutes later, we both stared at the big fallen bear. Though there was blood in its fur and its breath was quick, indicating that it was struggling, the bear's eyes were very much alive. It stared at us menacingly as we approached, though it could do nothing to stop us.

I glanced up at the top of the cliff from where we came from. It was a long way down from there. The bear should have died from such a fall, but here it was continuing to live. "Maybe we should live it alone and find a smaller catch," I said reluctantly, giving Brooke a pleading glance.

She shook her head. "No. . . What you see before you is 400 lbs worth of protein and food."

Wrapping my arms around myself, I shuddered. "I only see an animal in pain." Seeming to hear us, the bear released a loud cry, very much like the one we heard earlier. No. . . It was more like a wail. For a moment, Brooke and I had to cover our ears from the sound. We were not afraid, just stunned to hear it up close.

When it was done, Brooke unsheathed her favorite dagger. I stared at her in panic. "Hey! What are you going to do with that?!"

She shrugged. "Kill it, bring it, cook it, and then eat it." She couldn't have been more precise and heartless. But I couldn't let that happen. I shamelessly stepped between her and the bear. Brooke's eyebrows shot up. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know either," I said lamely.

"Step aside Van," she warned. "Remember what I told you before."

"No," I said stubbornly. "I don't care if you're going to stab me with that dagger." I eyed the weapon on her hand. "Leave the poor bear alone. It might be Pooh, collecting honey. Can you imagine eating Pooh?" Damn it Vanessa, I thought. She would think I was a lunatic. But if it would save the bear from being impaled with her dagger then so be it.

Brooke merely sidestepped me and made her way to the animal. What was I to do? Tackle her? So there I was, my shoulder slumped, my heart beating furiously, my face flushed with sweat as I helplessly stared at her approaching the bear. Why was I so concerned anyway? The bear was dying. It would make things so much easier.

Brooke reached her destination. Standing above the grizzly that was unable to defend itself, she raised a hand up and prepared to strike swiftly. Before anything could happen, 3 cubs appeared from behind the animal. We didn't see it earlier. What do you know? Pooh bear had children after all.

My companion dropped her hand to her side in an instant. Both of us were in complete surprise. She even took several steps back towards me. "Bloody hell," she hissed.

The two cubs went to their mama and snuggled against its fur, while the other one crawled to where we were at and stopped a few inches from Brooke's boots. Strangely, it wasn't afraid of our presence like most animals were. It even gave Brooke a very innocent and cute stare.

"Aww it likes you," I crooned.

"Shut the bloody hell up!" she said, her face reddening. Brooke stared down at the cub. "You! Get away from me." As if she could threaten the animal. The cub didn't pay any attention to her and circled her instead. "Why is it doing that?"

I was fascinated as hell. "I don't know. Maybe it really does like you."

Brooke turned to me, confusion on her face. "Can you make it go away?"

Smirking, I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Survival of the fittest baby. It seems the cub is stronger than you." She raised an eyebrow, encouraging me to continue. "If not, then why can't you get rid of it? Don't tell me Brooke is scared of a cute cub?"

"I'm not," she said indignantly. "But I might step on it or something while I'm killing its mother."

The mere thought made me want to puke. She wasn't still thinking about that was she? "Oh come on," I pleaded. "There are a lot of animals here. Can't we just leave this bear alone?"

"You need to be practical Vanessa," she answered, moving away from the cub. "Do you think the grizzly is having a wonderful time there? It's dying. You are just prolonging its suffering by refusing to kill it. If Cybele was here she'd do the best decision, which is saving it from anymore pain."

"But Cybele is not here," I argued. "I'm not her either, and what I think is we should just wait it out."

Brooke stared me up and down. "For someone who has no problems hurting other human beings, you seem to be strangely fascinated with animals. Don't try to deny it either. Cybele told me how you attacked Lance."

"The guy deserved it, this animal doesn't. Can't we just walk away and go for another kill? Please? For me."

She wasn't going to be swayed. Not even for me. "No. I'll do what needs to be done. Think of it like this. At least we won't starve for a day or two." There was a steely determination in her voice. One that cannot be argued with. I had to resign.

"Fine," I sighed. "But not in front of the babies."

"Suit yourself," she said before moving closer to the dying bear. "Close the cub's eyes if you want." Like the first time around, Brooke stood next to the grizzly. She raised her hands, grasping the dagger with both to produce greater impact. I waited with bathed breath. As she moved, my eyes closed on its accord.

"Is it over?" I whispered a few seconds after.

"Shit!"

Opening my eyes, I caught Brooke throwing the dagger on the ground, a few feet from the bear. It pierced the ground but the grizzly remained living. She wasn't able to go through with it.

Brooke faced me. "Don't. . ." She shook her head. "Just don't speak." I was more than willing to follow her instruction. After all, she did have a change of heart.

My companion moved away from the bear and sat under a tree. I went to her, positioning myself a few inches from she was seated. We remained like that for quite some time.

After half an hour of pure silence, save for the occasional cries of the bear and the movement of its cub, I couldn't take it anymore. "Why didn't you kill it?" I asked.

"And here I was thinking that you wouldn't speak for another hour or two Van." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't want to talk about it."

I reached out to her. "You can tell me anything."

Brooke took a deep breath, then slowly released the air. She also burrowed her face on her hands before staring directly at me. There was sadness in her eyes that I couldn't paint. As if a good friend went away or a close relative passed without even saying goodbye. As for me, my heart swelled open for her. Sure she acted tough and annoyed around me. But I knew for a fact that if push comes to shove, she would always save the day, just as she rescued me from the fire.

"I couldn't kill it because it's innocent and it had children." She stared in the direction of the cubs which snuggled closely to their mother. The grizzly had its eyes closed, yet I could see that its chest moved up and down in quick successions, indicating that it was still alive.

"You have a soft spot for parents," I stated. No questions needed to be asked. It was so obvious I could grasp it with my hands.

"Yes," she whispered. "Mine are the best."

I smiled. "I simply have to disagree on that one. Though they are long gone, I think madre and padre are the most awesome. We weren't really rich like yourself, the princess, and your majesty Cybele. But they gave me love when I needed it." I touched my chin. "I owe my looks to the parents as well. If that doesn't make me love them, nothing will," I joked.

"How did they die Van?"

Her question made the hunger, heat, and basically every feeling leave my body. Nothing remained but sadness and hatred at the moment. "Esmeralda had them killed. There was no evidence of course, but I know it in my heart." I stared at Brooke. "Besides, the Queen has her ways. If she wants to cover something, she can do it easily, just like she did with her highness Cybele's parents."

Brooke nodded, her eyes flashing. By this time, the sun has nearly vanished from the horizon. It was going to be dark soon. We needed to light a fire. I scrambled to do just that.

"So tell me more about your parents," I said, igniting the branches I collected. In the near distance, the cubs huddled, both fascinated and scared by the fire.

"They are hard workers," she answered. "You were wrong. We weren't always rich. In fact we were poorer than the average families." I glanced at her in surprise. This information slipped from me. I urged her to continue. "But my parents, being geniuses that they were, they managed to get out from that predicament and secure our future."

"They must be good people to bring out such love from you."

Brooke nodded. "They are. . ."

She said it in such a way that I felt as if there was something more she needed to tell. Like a question hanging in the air. "I think there's more?" I said, sounding unsure. "Go on."

Brooke chose her next words carefully, but it punched me in the gut nonetheless. "And. . . Because I love my parents so much. It is for that re-reason," she stuttered.

"What?!" I said, getting out of breath.

With a last moan that made me look, the bear raised its head momentarily, and then slumped on the ground. It was dead.

I turned to my companion in sadness, my stomach churning. Brooke met my eyes with her dark ones. "It is for that reason that I need to kill Cybele."