ã€ŠHer New Worldã€‹


 Chapter 1 - Uprooted

    Remy sat on the train. The lights from the subway tunnel flashed past at a monotonous pace. Her eyes drooped and her head lolled back bumping into the glass window behind her. The soft thump from the impact caused her snap awake. Blinking off her sleepiness she shifted in her seat readjusting her med bag that sat on her lap. Though it was filled with all she needed to survive med school, today, it just felt like a ton of bricks.

    They had been practicing suturing that afternoon. A classroom full of third year med students meticulously inspecting the inflicted wound on their ham hocks and determining which suture style would be ideal for the depth of the cut. Twenty minutes in Remy stood back ¨C proudly admiring her mended pig leg. The cut had been over an inch deep requiring a more advance technique. Remy always had a natural knack for learning techniques hands on and was able to manage the thread and needle with ease.

    Her moment of glory had been cut short. Her instructor, notably her least favourite, paused to review her work. He held a clipboard and tutted in disapproval, ¡°with stitches that large this patient is bound to left with disappointing scar ¨C"

    ¡°With a wound like this ¨C a patient should be happy to be alive!¡± Remy retorted. She instantly realized that she had run her mouth ¨C again. She bit her lower lip to stop herself but it was too late. Her instructor sneered, choosing not to respond but instead scribbled something down on his clipboard.

    An audible sigh escape her lips and she hugged her med bag close to her chest. Three years in and she still wasn¡¯t her if med school was for her. Her GPA was amongst the lowest in her class. It''s not that she was stupid, she just wasn''t great with memorization. Remy loved hands on work and in all their practical labs she excelled - but those traits where not "testable" and it was difficult to prove a 90% in quick thinking.

    Remy reached in her bag and pulled out a notebook, flipping it open to this weeks notes. There was to be a quiz tomorrow and she would have to review. Her eyes glazed over just looking at the words on the page. Remy had no interest in memorizing notes just to regurgitate onto a piece of paper for some mark. The information before her had such gaps. It never felt like the whole picture and Remy wanted more. She was always keen on asking the question, "why?". Her friends thought she was crazy and would answer, "well, the prof said he wasn''t going to test us on that - so don''t worry about it." But Remy couldn''t help but wonder - it was in her nature. Med school, however, didn''t wait for those who wondered.

    The train stopped. People shuffled off and on ¨C the crowd slowly thinning the farther they got from the city center. Remy¡¯s eyes scanned through the remaining passengers, the last of the suits had filed off, leaving behind those with a longest commute to the more ''affordable'' housing. Her gazed was drawn to a man in a tattered trench coat standing by the train doors. He was muttering to himself, the palm of his hand pressed into his forehead covering his eyes, his fingers clenched in his hair.

    It was normal to see the odd passenger of this variety. Remy knew she didn''t live in the best part of town, one doesn''t make much on a student salary. She watched the man from the corner of her eye and her mind went to diagnosis ¨C possible mental disability? It was not uncommon for the homeless to go undiagnosed, they lacked proper income, and therefore unable to receive proper treatment. Schizophrenia, maybe? She watched him look up, his eyes wide as if to be focusing on something right in front of him - though nothing was there. He was young still, maybe late twenties ¨C congruent with the typical age for the onset of such a disease.

    His fist balled and struck the wall of the train and his voice grew louder. Remy could hear his words now ¨C they weren¡¯t English. If she had to guess she would say Japanese, maybe? The words left his mouth fluently. She watched as he slammed his fist against the side of the train cabin several more times, each time with increasing strength.

    The man had collected several onlookers. Some passengers got up from their seats and as casually as they could ¨C moved to the opposite end of the train car. Remy couldn¡¯t blame them ¨C she too found herself sitting attentively, her eyes locked on the man.

    The train stopped again ¨C more passengers shuffled off but not the muttering man.  He turned toward the people at the end the of the train, his head swivelling and his eyes wild. He appeared to be talking to the whole train now addressing them like an audience ¨C though no one looked to understand him. He was pointing here and there, all the while speaking hurriedly ¨C his tone frustrated and angry. Passengers gasped as he targeted one middle-age woman. He walked over to her and bent to speak to her in her seat. She tried her best to ignore him but he was too close and she flinched at his rushed words.

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Remy, though concerned for the woman, was distracted by the man¡¯s other hand which remained deep in his coat pocket. By the way it bulged it seemed that his hand was grasped around something about a foot in length and solid. Remy watched as he pulled his the hand from his pocket revealing what looked like some kind of blade. Before she knew what she was doing, Remy was on her feet ¨C her hand reaching to stop the man¡¯s arm from moving any closer to the woman in the seat.

    Sometimes all it takes is human contact. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to show that they care. Remy stood, her hand resting on the man¡¯s arm. He stopped muttering and for a moment there was silence. Their eyes locked. Remy had his attention.

    The silence was cut off by the screeching breaks of the train, the bell dinging and a voice alerting the passengers that the emergency bar had been activated. Remy and the man stumbled with the sudden stop. Her eyes went to her feet instinctively but stopped short on the object in the man¡¯s hand. It was indeed a knife. A very strange and very sharp looking knife.

    Remy didn¡¯t let go of the man¡¯s arm ¨C this way, if he moved to strike her, she would know and could push the blade away from her. It took all she had to tear her eyes away from the knife back to meet his. To her surprise, they no longer looked wild, instead they studied her. His muttering continued, but it was hushed and steady.

    ¡°Has someone contacted emergency services?¡± Remy¡¯s voice addressed the passengers of the train, not the man in front of her. The train had started up again and was moving slowly toward the next station. She heard a voice call from behind her, ¡°I¡¯m on the phone with them now.¡±

    Good. All she needed to do was keep this man right here until the train doors opened. Officers and emergency personal should be waiting for them when they pulled into the station.

    Remy and the man held their eye contact. He wasn¡¯t blinking and his stare seemed to be seeing past her. Though the look felt invasive, Remy held her ground. From the corner of her eye she saw the station roll to a stop outside the train. They had made it.

    Her small shift in attention must have been noticed by the muttering man, for his eyes turned wild once again. Before Remy could react the man swung his free arm up and reached for her throat. Remy threw herself backward and out of the way but it wasn¡¯t far enough. The man¡¯s fingers caught the front of her shirt and twisted in the material. He pulled her toward him.

    Remy fought to get free and pushed away his arm that held the knife but he was too strong. He thrust the knife forward and into her chest. She was released from his grasped and fell to the floor.

    Cold spilled over her. She could feel her mouth form words but could hear no sound, ¡°sixth intercostal¡­ left side¡­ pneumothorax¡­ increased in pleural pressure¡­¡±. A collapsed lung. But, it was worse than that ¨C she knew it. The knife had gone in deep ¨C too deep. She reached in the direction of her med bag. Her vision blurred and she watched as someone place the handle of the bag in her outstretched hand. She didn¡¯t need to see their faces clearly to know that they wore looks of helplessness.

    Her vision swirled into black and the shouts announcing the arrival of EMTs faded into whispers.

    *****

    The air smelled sweet and the grassed tickled her neck. The lids of her eyes burned red. She was having a dream. She remember there was a man, he was thanking her for¡­ for doing something, but then he was asking for her help again? She kept her eyes closed trying to remember the man¡¯s face. He was handing her something in the dream, telling her to keep it safe ¨C telling her¡­ Remy tried to visualize the object. Her thoughts were murky. It was¡­It was a knife¡­

    It was the knife that had stabbed her. Behind her closed eyes a face flashed, the face of the crazed man on the train. Her memories came flooding back - she had been stabbed. Remy¡¯s eyes shot open and she sat up. Sun light burned her eyes and she raised a hand to shade herself, the other feeling at her chest for a wound.

    None. There was no wound ¨C none at all. Confused, Remy blinked, frantically trying to speed her eyes'' adjustment to the light. Looking down she inspected herself. She still wore the same clothes she had on in the while riding the train.  Her white button up shirt had no signs of blood and bore no holes made by any knife. Remy clapped both hands on her chest. She sighed and laughed with relief.

    She leaned back on the grass, resting on her elbows and basked in the sunlight. Her jeans felt warm in the sun and the breeze tugged at the collar of her shirt. She was on a hillside that overlooked a valley. The sky was blue and dotted with clouds and the wind rippled the leaves of the tree and rolled over the grasses that lined the valley¡¯s floor.

 Chapter 2 - Lost

    ¡­  ¡­  ¡­

    Wait¡­ where the hell was she? Why was she on a hill? Whose grass is this?!? Remy sat up again. Was this even real? Or was she just dead? Had she died on the train? She ran her fingers through the grass then brought her hand to touch her face. She felt real, the grass felt real. She pinched her cheek ¨C it hurt! Pain felt real too.

    She crossed her legs and took a deep breath. She existed still ¨C her consciousness was her own as she was definitely having her own thoughts about the situation. Her body - Remy did a double take; yes, those were her flats, yep same jeans, same shirt. She look at her hands - they looked like hers. She ran her hand through her hair - it was still the short pixie cut that she remembered. Everything still seemed like her own and was tangible like a body should be. Her senses seemed to be functioning normally and her pulse, she briefly checked, was a steady healthy rate. Medically speaking ¨C she was alive.

    She looked around the area that she sat. Behind her was her med bag, resting on its side and beside it lay the knife. It was THE knife. She didn¡¯t want to touch it, but forced herself to reach for it anyway. It was heavy in her hands and warm from lying in the sun. It looked to be about 12 inches, the blade taking up two thirds of the length. The handle was old and worn and was decorated with three round stones, one blue, one green, and one red. Remy ran her finger over the stones ¨C they felt so smooth, almost soft.

    She moved her thumb to test the sharpness of the blade and it immediately produced a cut on her first and lightest touch. The blade was sharper than scalpel. She pressed her thumb into her pant leg to stem the bleeding. Within a few minutes she checked the status of her cut. The blood had been wiped away on her pants leaving her free to see the damage. There was none ¨C there was no cut.  She ran her fingers over her thumb ¨C it hurt so she could feel the cut was there, but it was so fine that it couldn¡¯t be seen with her naked eye.

    Lucky for her, a cut that fine should heal quickly ¨C on the flip side, the blade on that knife was incredibly sharp and extremely dangerous. Remy popped open her med back and reached in to pull out a notebook. She opened the book near its center and placed the knife, blade up, between the pages. Closing the book around the knife, she placed it back into her bag.

    Great. She bent her legs, propping her arms up on her knees she surveyed the land again. So, she was stabbed by a guy on a train with a weird knife. Knife ended up here with her and so did all that she was touching. Something had magically transported her from the train to this hillside. Remy''s bet was on the weird-ass knife that now sat tucked in her bag.

    Remy reached and opened the side compartment of a her bag and pulled out her cell phone. No service. So much for just calling for help. The battery showed 53% remaining. She sighed and hit the power button. She would save the battery for now - just in case.

    She had a few options. She could sit here and wait to wake up ¨C perhaps this was all a dream? Unlikely. Or she could wait here for someone to come find her. Remy scanned the valley for signs of life. The brightness of the sun made it difficult to see ¨C but as far as she could tell she only saw trees, grass, and more trees. The odds of someone finding her here didn''t seem too great - perhaps it was best that she go in search for help herself. Remy¡¯s gazed paused on a sparkle that dipped past a hill nearly two kilometers away ¨C the sparkle could be water, maybe a stream.

    Judging by the sun in the sky it was either nearly midday or slightly past. The hill gave her  good vantage point; she could ascend further up, but behind her the forest looked dense. She had a pretty good sense of direction ¨C but not that good; her chance of getting even more lost than she was now would increase ten fold if she went into the trees.

    Remy stood, dusted off her pants and picked up her bag. She would have to start moving if she planned on ever being found or more accurately ever planned on finding help. Remy set her sights on the glimmer of water. If it was a river of any kind it was her best bet to lead to back to civilization.

    *****

    The sun was high now. Remy¡¯s shadow tucked close to her feet. She had just made it to the river bed and had decided on following it downstream. From the river she could see that the hill she descended was near the base of a mountain range and that the river likely birthed from its snow-capped peaks.

    The river rushed at a good pace and had a width of approximately thirty feet. It could be wider, Remy judged, but the level of water wasn¡¯t at its highest. There was about ten feet of bedrock between the water and the riverbank allowing Remy to walk alongside it without difficulty. She had stopped to inspect the water and found it crystal clear. She soaked her hair and the collar of her shirt to battle the heat from sun. She even refilled her water bottle she kept in her bag. The water was moving quickly and from a mountain spring ¨C she felt confident that it would be safe to drink.

    Then she heard it. A tremendous blast rumbled from a distance. Though it seemed far away ¨C whatever had made the boom sounded explosive. Remy had determined, with the help of the sun, that the mountains were north. And if the mountains were north than the direction of the sound came from the southwest. The river headed south ¨C provided¡­ provided she was in the northern hemisphere.

    Remy began walking, her pace was fast. She would continue to follow the river south and then cut into the woods when she came closer to the origin of the sound. Her heart fluttered at the thought ¨C she wasn''t and expert but she was pretty sure explosive sounds didn¡¯t happen too often in nature. She hoped that it was man made. Perhaps a mine, a blast site ¨C maybe limestone? Whatever it was ¨C it definitely meant that help was not far off.

    With the hope of finding answers, Remy¡¯s head filled with questions. Where was she? Who would she find? She had noticed the foliage as she walked. It wasn¡¯t like home. Home was rocky and Mediterranean. Here seemed more tropical. Wide leafy greens and tall skinny trees populated the woods. And the humidity in the air was more than she was accustom too. She had a gut feeling that she had travelled a great distance. How she was going to explain herself to a stranger about how she got there was going to be a tough task.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    She heard it again. This time the blast had moved. It was closer to the river. It was more south then southwest. Were there two blast sites? Remy felt an urgency to move faster. Her feet stumbled on the round rocks of the exposed riverbed. Not only had the blast moved toward the river, but there seemed to be less distance between it and Remy.

    She walked on keeping her set pace. As she closed the distance between her and the blast site new sounds rose. Crashing sounds, almost like that of a tree falling over. Perhaps it was a logging company? Before her the river turned sharply to the east leaving a row of trees directly south. Another blast erupted and this time Remy could see a cloud of dust shoot up into the air just past the tree line that was directly in front of her. She was close.

    She approached the tree line with caution. The sounds of crashing had ceased after the blast. Remy climbed the riverbank and peered through the foliage before entering. She didn¡¯t want to walk into an active worksite ¨C especially one using explosives. But, it was so quiet now. She couldn¡¯t hear any equipment that would have sourced the crashing noises.  She listened intently for signs of life, for the voices of the work crew. She held her breath and strained to listen.

    She could hear shuffling, like something moving through the underbrush some distance away. Was it moving toward her? She looked for movement in the foliage. Then she saw it ¨C the shaking leaves of the underbrush about fifty feet into the woods. And from it emerged¡­ a person? Remy couldn¡¯t tell from her position. The shade of the trees made it difficult to see, but the figure outline looked humanoid, like a tall man.

    Remy raised both her hands and began waving ¨C ¡°HEY, HELLO!¡± she yelled.

    The figure shifted in her direction and as far as Remy could see she seemed to have gotten its attention.

    ¡°Oh wow I am glad to see you. I¡¯m lost and I need some help¡­¡± Remy began to holler to the figure. She stopped when she saw it abruptly turn away and crouch down.  Confused, Remy looked in the direction the figure had turned to face. A crashing noise came again ¨C it was loud and rushed toward her like a wave. Remy watched the trees in the forest bend as if bowing in submission to the sound¡­ and then she felt it.

    The blast launched her from the riverbank backward on to the bedrocks.  She felt the hard contact of a rock connect with her skull.

    *****

    Remy¡¯s eyes shot open. Her head throbbed fiercely. She had never been knocked out before and knew well that it¡¯s not something that just ¡®happens¡¯ like in the movies. She reached with her hand to touch the back of her neck. She found it sticky with blood. Not good. She probably has a concussion.

    It was still light out, but the sun was sitting lower in the sky. Remy sat up to look at her surroundings. Leaves littered the riverbank; the blast had torn them from the branches of the trees. Some smaller trees had even fallen over leaving splinter trunks in their place.

    What the hell was that? Remy groaned. Today was the weirdest day ever. Cursing, Remy stood. Her legs were shaky and her balance wobbled. She faced the wreckage in the woods and decided she didn¡¯t want to rush after whatever caused the damage. She turned, instead, to the river and stumbled to the water.

    She bent and splashed water onto her neck. The pink droplets spotted the rocks around her. She rubbed at the caked on blood. The wound was at the back of her skull. The gash felt superficial. Remy wasn¡¯t surprised, head wounds were always a little over dramatic when it came to blood. Her head continued to throbbed, though, it had lessened a bit.

    Remy rolled thoughts through her mind. She decided that it was best she didn¡¯t follow the figure in the woods. Whatever it was running from seem to be causing the blasts that she had heard earlier. The last she wanted to do was encounter something like that again. Whatever it was ¨C it definitely wasn''t anything industrial. If it was ¨C there would¡¯ve been safeguards in place, it likely would¡¯ve been less mobile. So whatever THAT was seemed more like a weird force of nature than man made. Or if it was manmade ¨C then it was more like a weapon then some kind of industrial tool.

    On the bright side, she was sure she saw a person. So, that definitely means there was hope to find help.  Remy rolled from the heels of her feet and sat back on the rocks. She dug her hand into her bag and flick on her cell phone - no service. She decide to leave it on - with people around perhaps it might grab a signal. She hung her head between she knees and breathed deep. A possible concussion and lost in dangerous territory. It would be really BAD luck if she had been transported to some kind of warzone.

    Remy felt her eyes droop. She was beginning to feel sluggish ¨C not a good sign with a concussion. With a lot of effort she pushed herself to her feet. She started walking downstream again. Her limbs felt heavy but she knew she must keep putting one foot in front of the other to keep moving - and that''s exactly what she did.

    <hr />

    Hey guys! Hope you''ve enjoyed it so far! Stick around as there is more to come!

 Chapter 3 - Emergency

    The sun was low now. The river had twisted back and forth. And at every bend Remy had hoped that around the curve lay a bridge, a town, a dock¡­ something. But there were no signs of life. Thankfully, the movement kept her mind focused. The throbbing had subsided substantially and though her limbs were tired they didn¡¯t feel sluggish like before.

    Her thoughts touched on the reason for her being here. Maybe she had died. She laughed at the thought; if that was the case, then the afterlife is NOT what people were expecting. She quickly turned sombre and wondered about home. She had been stabbed on a train. It¡¯s unlikely her body just disappeared from there and is now here. And if it had¡­ well, she¡¯ll be all over the news. Technically, she would be in either case. Someone stabbed on the train, dead or disappeared, either way it makes for good press.

    She thought of her parents. How worried they would be. Her little brother would be upset too. Her friends and classmates probably shocked. Remy Dalton, 25 year old medical student, killed in train stabbing. The thought of the phrase just plain sucked. Tears burned at the corner of her eyes and her throat grew tight.

    She cursed under her breath again and pushed the thoughts from her mind. She blinked back the tears and concentrated on the riverbed. The shadows were getting long and soon night would fall. Remy hoped to find something before it was dark. She was rounded another bend in the river and could feel anxiety twisting in her tummy. Maybe this time¡­

    Nope¡­ just more river and ¨C and a body? Thirty feet in front of her the crumpled figure lay on the rocks.

    Remy stopped in her tracks. Was it dead? She began to walk closer. She had seen a corpse before in her cadaver class - but seeing a body outside of a school setting gave her a completely different feeling. Instinctively her hand went to her cell - still no service. Oh, please don''t be dead¡­.

    Then she saw it ¨C it moved! The crumpled body shifted. Remy¡¯s feet moved before her mind realized what was happening. Before she knew it she was crouched beside the body. Her hand touched the skin to find it warm. She move it quickly in front of the person¡¯s mouth to feel a faint breath and her other hand on his wrist checking for a pulse. They were still alive ¨C good start.

    Remy took in the situation before her. Male. Long black hair. Complexion was dark but even so his skin looked pale. She frowned. She examined him further. He wore a red rob-like top that wrapped his torso and beige wide legged pants. The material was linen-like in texture. It was definitely an odd outfit but Remy''s mind didn''t linger long on the fact. She saw blood - lots of it. The man lay on his side with his back to where Remy was crouched. The blood pool from his chest and wove its way in small crimsons river between the rocks toward the river. She followed the dots that drizzled across the bedrocks. He must have had wandered out from the woods.

    Remy quickly checked to see if there were any other major wounds. Her hands patted down his legs and she checked her palms for blood. No red flags for any other injuries. She took a deep breath and steadied the man body by placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on his hip. With a controlled pulled she rolled him toward her onto his back. She couldn¡¯t help but gasped when she saw the gash across his chest. The wound was approximately 15 inches in length running diagonally from his right pectoral, crossing the sternum, and ending in the upper left quadrant of the abdomen. Remy would have to clear away some of the blood to see the degree of its depth.

    Her hands dove into her med bag and she pulled out the notebook that held the knife. She quickly unsheathed it from the pages. She would need some clothe to wipe clear the blood. Remy eyed the rob-like top. It wrapped around his chest and tucked into a cloth belt at his waist. She pulled one of the sleeves taught and carefully cut free the material about midway up the arm.

    She returned the knife to the notebook and exchanged it for the water bottle in her bag. She darted to the river. She dumped the contents of her water bottle and refilled it with fresh water. She dipped the piece of cut clothe into the river and wrung it out so that it was slightly dampened.

    She returned to the man and went to work. Her hands untied the belt around his waist. The clothe fell way and she moved to pull open the his robe. Her mind was set on work and Remy had fail to notice that the man was now awake. She was alarmed by the hand that took hold of her wrist. She instinctively pulled her hand back but found it held fast. For someone with a wound of such calibre he was awfully strong.

    His eyes were open and watched her without blinking.

    ¡°My name is Remy,¡± she heard herself say, her tone soft and reassuring. She slowly raised her free hand and placed it on his arm. He didn¡¯t waiver in his hold. She kept eye contact with him and continued, ¡°I¡¯m here to help you.¡±

    She didn¡¯t try to pull away from his grasp. She didn¡¯t feel afraid ¨C instead she felt an overwhelming sense of certainty.

    ¡°Please,¡± she began -.

    Before she could finish she felt the grip on her wrist loosen. She gently moved his hand away and pull her hand back to her chest. Her wrist flushed red and burned ¨C his gripped hand been incredibly tight. She watched his eye flickered and the clarity in his gaze fade. Within seconds his head fell limp and he was unconscious. Remy checked his vitals again. Still alive ¨C good, he¡¯ll be easier to work on this way.

    She went back to pushing away his robe. The material was heavy and sticky with blood. She had a clear view of the wound now. She noted that it was no longer bleeding and the blood was beginning to crust and coagulate. She began clearing away the blood with quick strokes from the clothe paired with splashes of water from her water bottle. Five minutes later and two trips to the river to freshen the bloody clothe, the wound sat cleaned.

    The cut was smooth and approximately a half-inch deep. It showed no signs of the flesh being torn so it must¡¯ve been made with something sharp ¨C like some kind of blade or knife. She turned back to her medical bag and rummaged through it. On her way out of class that morning she had grabbed a couple extra suture kits. After the outburst with her instructor she had planned to practice when she got home. On pork tenderloin of course - of which would become her supper afterward.

    She held the suture pack in her hand. This was no pork tenderloin, that was for sure. Though her mind felt the effects of the shock of her current predicament she found her hands continued to work without hesitation. The packet held a piece of thread secured to a small curved needle. As aseptically as she could, she brought the needle to his skin. Her hand floated above the edge of the wound. Well, here goes nothing¡­.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    *****

    The sun had fallen behind the tree line and the shadows reached across the river creeping toward the opposing bank.  Remy used the decorative blade to cut free the remaining thread of her final stitch. She tucked the needle back in the package and stored both the blade and needle into her bag. She sat up and stretched her back. It popped and cracked at the release of her tensed muscles. She inspected her work ¨C and to her it looked good, for first time field work anyway. Definitely not pretty ¨C but it would hold. She frowned at the thought of it being exposed. She would have to cover it somehow, but without some sort of antibiotic cream it there was a risk that infection would set in regardless.

    Remy looked at the face of the man she had spent the last hour tending to. It lay relaxed and free from the pain that would be waiting for him when he woke. She leaned over and brushed his black hair away from his face. His skin was slightly darker than hers and his complexion, though pale, was that of a healthy young man. If Remy had to guess she would say he was slightly older than her ¨C possibly late twenties or early thirties.

    His cheek bones and chin were sharp. Remy would admit that even in this state he was rather handsome. She blushed suddenly and sat up abruptly. She grabbed her med bag and adjusted its contents. Shifting the rocks of the riverbed to make space she placed the bag under her patient¡¯s head. She carefully moved his body to a more comfortable position. He would be out for a while ¨C it was all she could do to make his state a little more bearable. She decided to leave his rob open in hopes that it would dry the blood more quickly, so that by night fall it could provide a bit of warmth.

    Nightfall. It would be dark soon. Remy had grown up in the country, and even though she had spent her most recent years in a large city she remembered that when it got dark ¨C it got REALLY dark. She would need to make a fire ¨C somehow.

    Thankfully, her parent had put her in boys scouts growing up - she was never much for selling cookies. She remember the basics to building a fire. Although, starting it would be a problem. Perhaps if she could find some dry moss she could try the whole stick twirling method.

    She stood and dusted of her pants and began to look for kindling. As she made her way up the bank she inspected the trail of blood that led from the forest to where she and her patient were camped. The drops had been thick and heavy. She had been lucky she found him - had he been left alone¡­

    There was a bag. Well, more like a sack tied closed. It was sitting at the edge of the embankment. Remy looked back at the unconscious man - considering his weird outfit perhaps the sack belong to him. The sack was close to the trial of blood. He must have dropped it when he came stumbling out of the woods. Remy too a seat on a large rock next to the bag. She took one last look at the man ¨C he was still. She tugged it open.

    Remy carefully took out each item in turn and set them out across the rocks in front of her. A half a loaf of bread wrapped in cloth. A hardened chunk of white cheese. Two stones just smaller than her palm, both flat, one smooth and the other rough. A piece of metal, small and shaped like a C. A roll of fine string spooled around a small rectangular wooden block.

    Remy dropped the spooled string when she felt a prick on her finger. She carefully picked it up and examined it further and found a small metal hook tuck into strings. The hook look like one that could be used for fishing. She placed the fishing tool onto the rocks next to the other contents of the bag. It was nearly empty now - the last remaining item was a small round wooden container.

    She place the empty bag on the ground and took the small container into both hands and raised to her eyes. It was beautiful. It was sanded so smooth she could barely see the seem in the wood between the lid and its container. She tugged off the top and found it filled with a golden coloured ointment? She held it closed to her nose to smell it. It was sweet¡­

    She paused, then dipped her finger it in and tasted. Yep. Definitely honey.

    Wait. HONEY! Remy stood and rushed back to the man. Without hesitating, she scooped out a bit of the honey and carefully applied it to the wound. She used her knife again to cleave a piece of his other sleeve off and using the cleanest side she gently covered the wound. She was sure she had read that honey had antiseptic properties. She remember being fascinated by the fact that honey was so dense and nearly anhydrous that it created a environment that was too concentrated for microorganism to survive.

    Remy used half of the honey. It had been a pretty rough day - but at least her luck hadn''t completely failed her. She returned the honey and the other times the items to the bag - minus the two flat stones and the piece of metal. She brought all the gear back to where the unconscious patient lay.

    Remy went about collecting a small amount of firewood and kindle and built a makeshift fire pit complete with a teepee style fire starter at the center. She then sat with both stones and metal piece laid in front of her. It was just past twilight.

    She brought her hands together as one would in prayer and rested the her finger tips against her lips. She often took this position when she was thinking - when she was thinking really hard. Remy evaluated her situation. It was definitely weird that this man was wearing what looked like traditional Asian fashion from the 15th century. It was definitely weird that the contents of his bag were that of a 15th century individual. But this was definitely a weird day to begin with so why start drastically questioning things now? Remy took a deep breath. Some strange historical enthusiastic just so happen to be wondering the woods and got himself hurt. Perhaps he was one of those survivalist enthusiast and had blog about journeying into the woods and living like it was a historical time - being an internet celebrity can prove to be quite lucrative.

    Regardless, Remy knew that at least this unconscious gentleman had conveniently came prepared when entering the wilderness ¨C complete with food, fishing rod, and what Remy hoped was flint set. She picked up the rough stone took a closer look. She wasn¡¯t sure which stone was the flint. She had never used flint before.

    She swapped the stones and took a look at the smooth one. On closer inspected she found it had small nicks and chips. She picked up the piece of steel and stuck the rock. SPARKS! She smiled and let out a involuntary and loud triumphant ¡®HAHA¡¯. She glanced at the man ¨C still sleeping. She regained her composure and went to work coaxing a flame out of a tiny shower of sparks and dry grass.

 Chapter 4 - Awake

    It was dark and Remy¡¯s eyes felt heavy. The warm heat from the fire made her want to curl up and sleep. She shifted in her seat. She couldn¡¯t fall asleep. She was sure she had a concussion and couldn¡¯t risk it. The night was cool but not cold and she was thankful. Next to the crackling fire, the running river, and the chittering nightlife of the forest it was far from quiet. She found it quite soothing and laughed to herself when she remembered spending 10 dollars for a music subscription just like it ¨C she was told it would help with her studying.

    She frowned at the thought of school. She didn¡¯t want her mind to wander to the ¡®what if¡¯s¡¯ generated by her circumstances. For now, she would just stay the course ¨C she was here and she found a person. Hopefully, if they didn¡¯t die, they could lead her back to civilization.

    As tired as she felt she pushed herself to her feet to check on her patient. His pulse was steady and Remy was hopeful that it was getting stronger ¨C though it was difficult to tell. His breathing rate 12 breaths a minute ¨C which was good and meant the wound hadn¡¯t affected his lungs. Upon waking, however, Remy suspected the taut stitches might take away from his depth of breath. His temperature was warm but not hot ¨C which meant he was infection free¡­ for now.

    She pulled back the blood crusted robe and gently lifted a corner of the fabric covering the wound. It was oozing a bit and in the firelight it was difficult to tell but Remy guessed that fluid was clear.

    She replace the bandage and was about to cover up his chest but something caught her eye. Under the streaks of blood and dirt on his chest was what looked like another scar.

    Remy grabbed her water bottle and the rag she used earlier and wiped the area clean. It was another scar. It ran horizontally along the seventh rib on his left side and curved around his back. The scar was wide and smooth. To Remy it look odd ¨C almost too perfect but not. Like imperfectly prefect. The smoothness hinted at expert skills in repair but the width of the scar was questionable. It meant that the original wound would¡¯ve had to have been extremely large. There was no markings from stiches of any kind - it had to have been treated by a really talented surgeon.

    A confused ¡®huh¡¯ left her lips and she examined his torso further. She hadn¡¯t really taken the time earlier in the day to really get a look at him. She went from sewing him up, to hunting for fire, to cleaning herself up, and ended with a period of exhausted dazed staring ¨C of which took her late into the late evening. She had noted that he was dressed curiously, like that of a traditional oriental culture but she couldn¡¯t pin point which culture considering she¡¯s at very little exposure.

    She found three more curious looking scars on his abdomen and chest. One reached over his shoulder onto his back. Her eyebrows raised - this guy has had some bad days. She covered his chest with his robe, again.

    A small scrape of something hard against rocks caught her attention. Something had shifted beside his body - on the side facing away from the fire. Remy reached around his and felt for the item. She found the belt she untied earlier and gave it a tugged out of the way. The sound - she heard it again. She got up and rounded the body.

    She pushed the fabric away and saw what looked like a long back tube. The shadow cast from the firelight made it difficult to see. Remy grasped the tube and gave it a pull. To her surprise the it slid toward her with ease. Her eyes grew wide when  the length of the tube produced a blade. Shit ¨C she was holding a sword!

    Why did this guy have a sword? How hardcore was he? Wandering in the wilderness like it was what ¨C 15th century China? It was seriously weird. There had to be some reason -  a blog, a youtube channel, maybe a really weird joke.

    But still ¨C Remy didn¡¯t know much about blades but she could tell it wasn¡¯t cheap. She carefully pulled the sheath out from under the man body and slowly replaced the blade. The sheath itself was black and embossed with delicate cravings. The hilt matched the sheath in that it sported black cloth that woven tightly around a dark wooden base.

    Remy placed it on the ground next to the man. She knew she should feel bad for snooping ¨C but really, how could she not? You don¡¯t come cross a ninja, or samurai, or whatever he was on a regular day. But then again - this was no regular day. She sighed a moved back to her place by the fire. Once he woke up she could ask him all about it.

    She folded her hands across her knees. Just stay the course she reminded herself. Regardless of how weird things got she just had to stay the course and she would get home.

    ****

    Remy was dreaming. There was a man standing in front of her - his back facing her. He was wearing a brown suit - old fashion in style like she had seen in black and white movies. He even wore a bowler. He began walking away from her and Remy shouted for him to wait. He threw a glance of her shoulder but continued on. Remy tried to catch up but her feet were so heavy and she felt like she was sinking into mud. The man in front of her was gaining distance. She forced herself forward but her feet sloshed awkwardly. It was like she was walking through water. It felt so wet - so cold - SO REAL.

    Remy woke. She was still on the river bank. The sun shone bright in the sky as Remy got her bearings. She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow remembering her dream. It was so vivid that the feeling of the water on her feet still lingered. Wait- her feet were wet! Remy sat up and pulled her feet up to her chest. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. The river has risen over night and Remy had awoke to her heels in the water. They had been at least five feet from the water the day before.

    The river sounded louder and Remy could see small rapids rolling over the rocks. It must¡¯ve rained hard somewhere upstream - maybe in the mountain somewhere.

    Remy surveyed her camp and leapt to her feet when she saw that the water was lapping at the bottom her of medical bag. Her patient slept quietly unaware of the water reaching for the tips of his long hair. Remy would have to move camp. If she could just get them up the embankment they could have the comfort of the grass and the shade from the trees.

    It didn¡¯t take her long to find a small clearing sheltered by a circle of young bushes and a couple of large trees. She had brought along the stranger¡¯s bag and sword and set them at the base of a tree. The clearing was about 30 feet from their camp ¨C it would be a difficult move for her patient and she hoped he would be capable of walking.

    Remy returned to her patient. His face looked as peaceful as ever and Remy felt a twist in her stomach knowing that he was soon going to wake to a horribly uncomfortable reality. The river had soaked through a corner of her bag. It had risen another inch or so in the last half hour. She didn¡¯t have time to dawdle.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.¡°Hey,¡± Remy said. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook lightly. The man didn¡¯t stir. She tried again with more force and this time the man brought his arm up to push away her hand. It was followed by an irritated groan. Remy was surprised to find herself wanting to roll her eyes forgetting for a moment that the man was not in perfect health. She tried again, shaking him enough to cause his head to sway while it rested on her bag.

    The man grumbled again and muttered something in a language Remy didn¡¯t recognize. He brought his hand up to push Remy away again. After he successfully pushed her from his shoulder his hand came to rest above his head and his fingers dangled over the back of the medical bag. He had, unfortunately, set his fingers right into the cold water. The startling temperature change caused him to crumple his brow and slowly open his eyes. Remy sat back and watched him bring his wet hand in front of his face to confirm that it was indeed dripping with water. His sleep drunk state began to subside and next she saw his attention shift to his wound.

    He lifted his head slightly and dropped his hand to his chest. He pressed in against the wound and let out a soft hiss. She watched him discover that it was bandaged and knew he would soon be looking for his doctor. She cleared her throat politely.

    But he didn¡¯t hear her on the account that he had erupted into a disgruntled conversation completely and entirely with himself. Remy could his exasperation in his tone and she felt as though she would be interrupting if she spoke up. It wasn¡¯t until he sat up that he noticed that she was there. She couldn¡¯t help but gasp at his recovered condition ¨C sitting up with such a wound without assistance wasn¡¯t what she was expecting.

    He stopped mumbling when his gaze landed on her. His eyes a were dark brown and starred at her unblinkingly. Remy felt heat rise to her cheeks. Something made her look away and she busied herself by collecting her medical bag. She looked back to her patient to find him still staring. This time she could meet his gaze. His face held an analytical intensity that seemed devoid of emotion. Remy wanted to say that she could see hints of confusions but they were elusive and transient only to appear for a heartbeat than to disappear again as soon as she noticed.

    She breathed in a greeting but before it could escape her lips the man turned his attention away from her and resumed his disgruntled conversation. She watched him shift to stand and though he seemed to be well down the road to recovery ¨C she anticipated that this wasn¡¯t about to go well.

    She was right. The man got to his feet, waivered slightly, and upon his first step he lost stability. Remy had rose with him and moved to catch him. His body felt solid as it fell against her. She had noticed the night before that he was lean but now she confirmed that he had an extremely athletic physic. His waist was slender and Remy could easily reach her arm around it. She slipped herself under his arm and steadied him. She felt his hair tickle her cheek and even slightly hunched he was taller than her ¨C not hard considering Remy was below average height.

    She could feel his stare again and turned to see if her aid was unwelcomed. His face held the same expression and just as subtle as the confusion Remy sensed his acceptance. Their faces were inches apart and Remy could feel heat returning to her cheeks again. She looked away and the word ¡®unprofessional¡¯ danced in her through her mind.

    ¡°Ra-ee-to,¡± he said. His voice was deep and Remy could feel it rumble through his chest. The infliction suggested it was a ¡®thank-you¡¯ of sorts and Remy nodded in acknowledgment.

    Remy waited for him to take a step forward but found his free arm shifting around his robe. His head twisted to get a look at the ground. He was searching for something. Remy tugged at his sleeve and pointed to the embankment where his sword that sat leaning against a tree. That was it. He settled onto her and together they made their way to their new camp. After a few heavy steps she found that the man burdened her with his weight less and less. When they reached the edge of the riverbank he let go of her entirely and climbed it without her aid.

    He settled beside his things and rested his back against the tree trunk. He sighed audibly and let his head fall back. His eyes closed and Remy was reminded of a cat lounging in the sun. She sat timidly on the ground beside him and desperately wanted to get a look at his wound. She was baffled by his speed of recovery. He was extremely capable for a person with such a severe injury.

    They sat in silence and Remy stared at the rushing river. The water had covered their old camp and she realized that she probably could''ve grabbed some coals from the fire. Too late now.

    She ran her fingers through her hair nervously and turned back to her patient to find his eyes open and studying her.

    He pointed at the bandage on his chest and said some words in his language. Remy assumed it was along the lines of, "was this you?".

    She nodded. She felt a sudden wave of confidence and moved over to him. She reached her hands up to the bandage and paused.

    "May I?" she asked knowing that he wouldn''t really understand. But, they have had pretty decent communication until now and she was happy to see that the inflection of her speech was enough to elicit a nod from him.

    She pulled back his bandage and her eyebrows raised in disbelief. The cut showed signs of healing that would normally take at least a week to achieve. She saw his hand reach up and tugged at one of the stitches and before she could stop herself she slapped at his hand. He rose his hands in surrender and muttered what sounded like, "bendio, bendio."

    Remy tried to keep her demeanour professional but inside her heart flutter with a bit of shock. It''s a good thing she wasn''t in school - her teachers would''ve kill her for her current bed-side manner. She glanced to see how he took it and found his face still stoic, though rather than it holding the intensity earlier it was relaxed, even bored - but for the corner out his mouth which twitched upward suggesting the smallest of smirks.

    Remy focused back to the wound. At this rate the stitches could be removed in a few days time. She replaced the bandage and leaned back. She wanted to give him thumbs up but figured she shouldn''t push her luck. She was impressed thus far that the linguistics held so many similarities already. It unnerved her, however, that his language did not sound like anything she could recognize. But, thankfully he was a person and would be her key to get back to civilization¡­ provided he lived with the rest of civilization.

    <hr />

    Hey guys! I know it seems like I''m really cranking them out - but I''m just giving each chapter a once over before I post. I''m hoping to catch the majority of the grammatical errors but I know a few always slip through. ANYWAY - hope you like the writing so far - there still is more to come!

 Chapter 5 - Hello

    It was midday when he woke. After she had moved him and checked his wound he quickly fell asleep again. She was almost thankful as it gave her time to review her current situation. She clearly was still very lost. She was currently with an injured individual who casually toted a sword and was dressed and geared as if it was the middle ages. In addition it appeared as if said individual did not speak a lick of English.

    She watched him yawn lazily and slowly stretch his arms up and again she was reminded of a cat - his movement were fluid and purposeful. She had decided she would help him get to where he needed to go. She had figured it was a win-win situation. One: he would need help given his current state and two: he would lead her back to civilization and there she would be able to find a phone or some form of communication to contact home. Maybe if he had a computer she could use a translation app to explain her situation.

    She saw him look her way again. His eyes seemed lazy from his sleep but still his unbashful stare made her shift uncomfortably.

    "Cho dan woo. Chu yung so?" he said.

    Remy didn¡¯t know what to say. She had no guesses of what that sentence was, though, she suspected it was a question.

    "I can''t understand what you''re saying," she said while raising her hands fruitlessly.

    "Ah."

    She figured that meant he got her message. It didn''t stop him from continuing the conversation, though, instead of speaking directly to her - he more spoke to the ground or more likely to himself.

    She was surprise when he suddenly made a motion to stand. She hurried to help him but he put his hand out to stop her. She paused and watching him bring his sword and braced a hand against the tree. Using the aid of the trunk as he stood, he tied his robed closed and tucked his sword into his belt. Remy thought she saw pain flit across his face but she couldn''t be sure.

    He bent to reach for his bag but this time Remy motioned for him to stop. She scooped up his bag and threw it over her shoulder and before even checking to see if he was displeased she gathered up her medical bag. She turned to face him with both bags slung over her back and again was met with a penetrating stare. She felt her cheeks begin to flush but this time she didn¡¯t avert her eyes. She met his look with confidence. She was going to carry his bag for him - if he was okay with it that than it meant he was most surely willing let her follow him.

    They stood for a moment longer then finally he turned without a word and made his way into the trees. She guessed that was as good as a ''were cool'' as she was going to get.

    *****

    The forest was humid. The air felt thick and moist and stuck in her nose when she tried to inhale. She was sweating profusely even though they were walking at a fairly slow pace. Her buttoned shirt stuck to her chest and she had finally given in to unbuttoning it exposing her undershirt. It was a bit revealing considering it was only a white tank top but her companion hadn''t looked back since they had begun their journey a few hours ago so she figured she was pretty safe.

    Her short bangs clung to her forehead and she wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Now that she was in the trees she had a better look at the foliage. It was most definitely tropical looking. She recognized bamboo but nothing else. Many of the bushes had large wide leaves. The humidity alone pretty much confirmed that she was no longer in her temperate zone. How in the hell did she get here? How had that knife transported her across such a huge distant?

    Her thoughts didn''t wander for long. The forest broke open to a wide path of short grass. The humidity lessened slightly and a small breeze swept past her carrying the wind down along the path in front of them. She noticed that the ground was worn in two parallel tracks - they were on a road!  Well, not a constructed road - but a clearly a road created by a constant flux of traffic. It was the first sign of actual civilization and to that Remy couldn''t help but to feel a pang of hope and happiness.

    Her male companion turned to their right, which Remy figure was North-east-ish according to the sun. He began to walk again and she followed in tow. She knew it must be painful for him to move this much and had hoped they would take a break soon - he would need to rest up. But to her amazement he kept his pace and his posture wasn''t slouched like a man in pain. Instead he stood tall and moved, though slowly, with the same graceful and cat-like manner she had noticed earlier. What was this guy made of? Maybe he was a professional survivalist - but to function with that much pain regardless of how fast he healed would take a heck of a lot of will power. He was very fit - maybe he was a guy who was into extreme sports and was used to getting hurt often.

    She watched his long black hair swing softly as she walked. Boy, was she going to have a story when she got back - Yes, I was rescued by Tarzan. Very tall, very fit, very handsome Tarzan. She laughed out loud at the thought and quickly covered her mouth to stifle it. She checked to see if he had heard. Thankfully, he walked on.

    About an hour past before she heard the sound. A rumbling noise, like something scrapping a long the dirt. It was coming from behind them. Remy turned to looked and couldn''t help but stop in awe as a full-blown wagon came round the curve in the road they just rounded. It was pulled by too large horses with wide hooves and thick legs. Their heads bobbed rhythmically tossing their manes about.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.Remy felt something tugged on the back of her shirt. It was her companion. He was motioning her to stand to the side of the road - off the worn path. She obliged. Remy couldn''t help but stare wide-eyed. The wagon the horses pulled was loaded with burlap sacks and wooden crates. She could see that they held a variety of bright coloured squashed and other vegetables. The wagon looked well used and the wheels were make of seasoned wood. She looked up at the driver who called to his horses pulled the reigns to bring them to a stop.

    The man wore short pants that came just past his knees and a wide sleeved shirt. On his head he wore a large hat made of woven stems. He grinned widely at them, his face plumb and kind. His smile didn''t seem to last. He face quickly went to an obvious state of confusion and he blinked twice doing a double take a Remy. He then shifted his gaze to her companion.

    "Hisao!" he said, "hyeol-eun ibnikka? Dangsin sang cheo?"

    Remy watched the two man exchange words. She wasn''t entirely sure what was being said but the two of them appeared to know each other. At first she guessed there was concern in the driver''s voice but her companion responded in a way that calmed him down. She watched the driver shoot her several nervous looks as the two of them conversed. Finally, it ended in her companion walking around the back of the wagon and motioning her to follow.

    The crates only filled part of the wagon leaving an room along the tail end. Her companion climb aboard, albeit slowly, then patted a spot beside him. Remy climbed on along side and as soon as her feet left the ground the driver whipped the horses into motion.

    It wasn''t long after they got moving that Remy felt something brush her arm. The sudden contact made her jumped and recoil slightly. Her companion had taken it upon himself to remove his pack from her shoulder. Remy hadn''t realized that she still hadn''t set down her bags. She quickly removed her medical bag from her other side. The relief from the weight made her sigh audibly. She felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over her and her limbs felt heavy and awkward. Her fatigue was evident and it had been more than two days since she had last eaten. She was hungry.

    It was as if her companion had read her mind. In front of her appeared a piece of bread and in it was stuffed a large piece of cheese.

    "Chi," he said.

    Remy took the bread and took a big bite. Bread had never tasted so damn good. She watched her companion call to the driver and she figured he was offering lunch to him too. The driver refused and together she and her companion ate in silence.

    When she was done she dusted her hand together wiping of the excess crumbs. She had felt his stare again and tired to ignore it. She watched the road rolled past. It hypnotically folded out from under that moving wagon. But it wasn''t enough - finally, in disgruntled failure, she raised her head to meet his gaze.

    He took his hand and place it on his chest and said, "Hisao."

    Next he pointed to the bread his was holding and said, "Pan."

    Then he pointed to the cheese in the bread and said, "chijeu."

    He was teaching her his language. Remy nodded and responded. She followed the lesson starting with the cheese.

    "Chijeu. Pan. Hisao," she pointed to each in turn. His name was Hisao. Remy smiled. Hisao. She took the opportunity and added to the list. She pointed to herself and said, "Remy"

    Was that a look of disgust or confusion? It only last seconds but his brows furrowed slightly and she watched him struggle to form the sound with his lips, "Rem-ee?"

    "Ani. Ani. Ani," he shook his head, "geu sonyeon itum bida? Dangsin bayo, sonyeon ani? ."

    Remy could see the ever elusive hint of confusion flit across his face. He starred at her again.

    "Remy?" he said to confirm. She nodded. His eyes went to her short hair then to her face then to her chest. They lingered there with some finality. Was he looking at her boobs? "HEY!" Remy shouted and wrapped her arms around her front blocking her chest from his view.

    "Wo nanun saen handa¡­" muttered Hisao. Remy expected him to show some signs of embarrassment but he was as cool as a cucumber. He went back to looking out toward the road and munched on his bread and cheese. Remy could feel that both her cheeks and her ears emanated a decent amount of warmth.

    After a moment he said in a calm and relaxed tone, "Ta dekigon soona, Remy."

    His words and tone were cooling and her flustered state subsided. Though she had no idea what he had said she felt in her heart that the proper response would be:  it''s nice to meet you too, Hisao.

    <hr />

    Okay guys! This is the last chapter for today. I plan to be posting a new chapter every Monday and Friday. I know it''s a bit of a slow build of a story - but trust me - I''ve got some big plans in mind. Anyway - let me know how you feel and your thoughts - feedback is super important and I''d love to hear from you! Also if you feel inspired toss out a rating or review - that''s always super appreciated. Cheers mates! Enjoy and see you - tomorrow!

 Chapter 6 - Surprise

    They waved goodbye to the driver. He had dropped them off at the mouth of a path that broke off from the road. Remy had noticed that they had travelled back in the direction she had come. The mountain range that she had put her back to now loomed over them to the north. And the path that was in front of them began with a slope - they were going up the mountain.

    Beside the path was a wooden sign. Burned into the wood was a picture of a house - to Remy it looked slightly oriental as the roof curved up at the ends and the door was framed by two pillars. There were symbols printed along side and Remy made the assumption that it was the writing of the language that the locals were speaking. The writing didn''t look like any kind of Asian characters she had seen before - but held a similar style. If anything the symbols looked more like a cross between Chinese characters and the Arabic alphabet.

    Hisao started up the path and Remy followed closely behind. For the last part of their hour long wagon ride he had made himself comfortable and rested his back against the crates. Remy noted that his face had been paler than it was in the morning and was certain this journey was extremely taxing for his body. She made sure to keep close to him as they walked - just in case his body decided for him that he needed to take a rest.

    Her mind went back to wondering about who he was and his story. Though, now that she had seen the wagon she was considering that maybe he and his attire weren''t so out of place after all. If anything Remy felt the like stranger. The way the driver of the wagon had gaped at her made her feel like an animal at a zoo. Where ever she was it was evident that the people lacked the technology of the modern world - thus far. Perhaps this man had never left this area and apparently has never been introduced to the internet.

    Remy pulled out her cell phone from her med bag. She had checked it while she was on the wagon and realized that from the time that she had seen Hisao''s body until that moment - she had left it on. She made sure to turn it off as soon as she confirmed that she was indeed without service - still. Remy had thought with the road that maybe there would be some kind of reception, but, being that she was riding in a wagon that a lack signal should have come as no surprise.  Her finger hovered above the power button - maybe now? The screen blinked to life and again the top corner read: no service. Damn¡­

    Remy quickly turned it off and reached around to place it back in her bag. With her eyes off the trail, Remy failed to see the root sticking out of the path in front her. Her foot caught and twisted sending her sailing toward the ground. She knew she wouldn''t be able to catch herself in time and braced herself for impact.

    But - it never came. Her face sat inches from the ground and an arm was wrapped firmly around her waist. Hisao had caught her. Was she not paying attention? Had he not been walking a few feet in front of her? Now, he was positioned next her - holding her up from face planting into the ground.

    He pulled her back to her feet and Remy watched for pain on his face. He showed none - though his colouring was fading even more quickly than before. He steadied her with a hand on either shoulder once she was upright.

    "Thank you," said Remy - forgetting for a moment that he might not know what that meant.

    "Bey qi," said Hisao. He turned to head up the path but stopped and reached for her cell phone that had been flung to the ground in her moment of grace. She saw it this time - his face twisted in pain as he bent for the phone.

    "We should take a rest," said Remy. She looked about to find place to sit down. Maybe some roots that were protruding from the mountain side could make a good seat.

    Hisao held her phone in his hands. He flipped it over in his fingers and examined both front and back. He ran his fingers along the blank screen. Remy stopped scrambling to find a place to sit and watched him. He had clearly never seen a phone before. It hadn''t even dawned on her to show him. Everybody had a cell phone nowadays - it was so strange to see someone find one so¡­ alien.

    The wind rustled the leaves and Remy felt like she wanted to cry. Instead she cleared her throat and held out her hand to accept her phone. Hisao obliged and she tucked it safely back into her bag. He pointed ahead, said a few words, then continued up the path. Remy followed forgetting why they had stopped in the first place.

    The vegetation thinned as they climbed. She noticed that the low leafy foliage had been replaced by the ferns and the trees grew taller with smaller leaves like the ones back home. The incline of the path increased but just when it became almost to difficult to climb worn stone steps protruded out of the dirt. The steps were wide and deeply cracked. The edges were worn and round so that each step looked as though it could be as old as the mountain itself.

    Together they climbed and finally the steps broke onto a plateau. There a stone path paved the way from the top of the steps under a series of arches. The pillars were painted red and covered with twisting vines. They too looked old just like the stone steps. Remy followed Hisao as he walked down the path. Upon reaching the end Remy saw what the imagine on the sign at the foot of the mountain was suppose to represent.

    It was a temple. Remy had seen pictures of old oriental style temples and this definitely fit the bill. It had clay shingles that sloped into an ornately designed trim and the corners of the roof top curved up into gusting swirls of clouds. It had a wide porch that wrapped around the building and was framed with four pillars - two near the front entrance and two at either corner of the porch. It was painted with a mixture of greens and reds with highlights of gold. The entrance to the temple were two large wooden doors upon which was carved a scene of clouds pouring over a mountain range and spilling into a valley. It was beautiful but so old. The paint was faded and the wood, though cured, was chipped and worn.

    Remy followed her companion up the steps to the large doors. He made a motion to push them open but was stopped short by a sudden hollering voice.

    "KIDDO!!"

    Remy looked to her left for the source of the voice and saw that a portly man had just appeared from around the side of the temple. He walked across the porch toward them with his arms out in greetings. He worn robes similar to Hisao but they were somewhat ragged and ill fitted. The belt that wrapped his waist cupped a large belly that caused the rob itself to expose a large portion of his chest. As he walk closer Remy could see that his chest was decorated with some kind of  markings. Careful not to stare she quickly focused on his face. It was wide like the driver of the cart and brown in colour. His cheeks were round and his nose was flat. His grin pushed his bulbous cheeks up so high that they nearly covered his eyes. And his hair - Remy nearly laughed at the sight of it - it was frizzy and stuck straight out from his head like wire.

    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    "Rojin," said Hisao.

    The man''s grin quickly faded when his eyes landed on the state of Hisao''s robes. His tone changed from its friendly sound to a heated the string of words that were clearly of the scolding variety. As far as Remy could tell, Hisao was in trouble.

    The man, or Rojin as Hisao called him, tugged at Hisao''s robes and pointed at the blood stains. His tone went from angry to exasperated to irritated. Up until this point Remy would¡¯ve described Hisao as reserved, or borderline sombre. She had never seen an emotion last more than a second on his face - until now. Hisao erupted in protest. Both men were waving there arms about, pointing this way and that. Their voices rose and Remy watched as they both scolded each other and as far as she could tell neither side was winning.

    Before things got too heated Remy decided to introduce herself. She cleared her throat once. No response - they couldn''t hear her over the argument. She tried again, louder this time. Hisao heard her first and he quickly returned to the reserved demeanour he had held previously.

    "Rojin. I nachseon sanm eun jeojang," said Hisao. The old man looked at Remy.

    "oooooh," said the old man. Hisao continued to speak and Remy was surprised to see that the old man didn''t look at her with astonishment or awe. His look was more that of simple inspection - like he was lightly perplexed, but more so curious. Remy felt her confidence grow in her theory that she had landed in a rather isolated area. She must be a site to see and she appreciated that the man didn''t gape openly.

    "Jiao ta - Rem-ee," said Hisao.

    A smile returned to the man''s face and he bowed his head toward Remy, "Ta dekigon soona, Remy. Wo de ming shi -"

    "Rojin," Hisao cut in. To make things clear he did his pointing method starting with himself and ended with the old man, "Hisao. Rojin."

    The old man did not look pleased with Hisao and grumble quietly under his breath. Remy bowed her head like the man had done and replied, "Tah de-key-gon soo-na, Ro-jen."

    At that Rojin seemed delighted. He clapped his hands and laughed. He threw a hand over and slapped Hisao on the shoulder with enough forced to make Hisao place a foot out to stop himself from falling forward. Rojin waved at Remy to follow and moved to the front doors of the temple.

    He pushed the doors open and ushered her inside. The room was vast. It was easy to see that the entire building was just this one room. It shape was rectangular. There were doors on the walls on either side of the hall. They were made with a wooden frame and covered with an opaque paper. Four support pillars created smaller rectangle near the center of the room and framed a shrine that sat opposite of where Remy and her companions stood. The shrine itself was a statue placed on a modest pedestal. The wall with the shrine held two more paper doors - one on each side.

    She noted that the interior was better kept than the exterior. The floors were still old but they were clean and polished. The light let in by the paper doors and the windows gave it a look that was warm and welcoming. Rojin made his way past Remy toward one of the paper doors on the opposite side of the hall. She followed with Hisao closely in tow. As Remy got closer to the shrine she could see that this was the oldest piece of all. It was made of stone and as far as Remy could tell it was a figure of a man shrouded in flowing robes. The figure was bent slightly at the waist with one hand extended forward, palm up, while other was thrown out casually behind him. The figure looked like he was dancing.

    Curiosity took over and Remy found herself stepping away from her guide to get a better look at the statue. As she drew closer she could see that the condition of the stone was pitted and worn. At first she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her but now that she was closer she could see that the statue didn''t have a face. It held the general shape of a face but there were no lines, no details to show any expression or to provide any human likeness. For some reason it made her feel so lonely - an aching loneliness unlike she had ever felt before. She raised her palm to cover her mouth worried that she would let the pain escape through her lips.

    It took some effort for her to tear her eyes away from the faceless visage. Before she turned away she noticed an insignia on the palm of the statue''s hand. The symbol read "astonishment". Wait, Remy felt her brow furrow - yes, that''s what it read, she was sure of it - however, she had never before seen a symbol like that in her life. It wasn''t the same as the markings on the sign she had seen before - no, this symbol was more geometric in style.

    She inspected the statue further. On the other palm, the one extend behind the man was another symbol and it read "revelations".

    "What the fff-" she felt the words slip out of her mouth. How could she possibly know what these symbols meant? She knew she had never seen them before yet they were as easy to interpret as if she were reading a book. Her eyes travelled to the base of the statue where a string a symbols ran in a horizontal line.

    "Be humble for the unknown is thy master," said Remy. Her finger traced along the symbols as she read them.

    She placed both hands on her hips and stepped back from the statue, "Huh¡­. Weird."

    <hr />

    Hope you liked the chapter and the story thus far! See you on Friday ;)

 Chapter 7 - Rest

    What an incredibly puzzling situation. How is that she knew a language without every learning a language. It was insane. There would be a reasonable explanation for it but right now Remy found herself thinking so hard that it hurt. Maybe it had something to do with the knife and her journey to this new place. Perhaps she was expose to the language when she was young and was recalling it from some distant memory. No, the supernatural circumstances that brought her here was the more obvious of choices¡­ but how¡­

    Remy had forgotten that she was in the company of two other individuals.

    "Sindeu e uihae¡­" said Rojin.

    Remy¡¯s attention snapped back to the room. She looked over at the two men and realized that what she had done was not likely a normal occurrence. Hisao looked at her even more intensely than he had ever before - which quite honestly Remy didn''t think was possible - and the old man''s face scrunched in perplexity. As if she wasn''t enough of a freak already - why on earth did she read it aloud?

    She waited for the repercussion. Slowly the confusion faded from their faces. Hisao still kept an intense look but it was substantially less intimidating while Rojin reverted to the warm smile he held earlier. Rojin motioned for her to follow him again accompanied with a few words that Remy interpreted to be, "come along now."

    Hisao, however, did not follow. He gave Remy and Rojin a slight head bow in farewell and stepped in front the statue. He took a deep bow then slowly kneeled placing his hands on his lap. Rojin opened the sliding door beside the shrine and motioned an after you to Remy. She took one last look at Hisao - who now had his eyes closed in prayer - before stepping through the door.

    She was standing on a porch that opened to a wonderfully aged court yard. The square yard held buildings on all four sides. Each were connected with an stone pathway that met in center forming a large circular landing. The building directly across from them was the largest and mirrored the style of the temple. The two on either side were smaller. The one on the left looked the newest. It had porch on the side that faced the courtyard and the plaster walls had windows with shudder. Remy thought it looked rather homey. The building on the right side of the courtyard was the smallest and shed-like in style. It didn''t have a porch but instead it was raised on stilts.

    The courtyard itself was well kept. Trees surrounded the buildings and grew tall overhead laying shadows across the yard. The sun was quite low and the light it cast was a reddish bronze. Remy thought it looked so peaceful. Even though her being here was due to a series of unfortunate events she couldn''t help but appreciate the beauty.

    The old man walked to the newest building and Remy followed. He ushered her through he door and Remy was impressed with her instincts - it was their home. The floors were covered in matts and in the center of the room was a low table. Cupboards were tucked against the walls and Remy saw that they were topped with bowls and cups and a teapot - all made of either porcelain or clay.

    The wagon, the sword, the traditional clothing, the dinnerware - Remy was wondering now if she really had gone back in time. Rojin took off his sandals and guided her to the table. Remy followed suit by removing her footware. She set down her med bag and took a seat. Rojin held out his hands as if to say, stay here - I''ll be back and disappeared out the door toward the back of the home.

    Remy tried to logic out her thoughts. It had been a strange journey so far - no doubt about that. Could it be that the knife transported her not only to a different place but maybe a different time? It wouldn''t be a far stretch considering how she ended up here in the first place. The thought made her tummy twist in worry - if she was in a different time that would make it far more difficult to get home¡­ it might even make it impossible.

    Remy took a deep breath. Perhaps she was just in a place that was behind the times. Like a corner of civilization yet to be integrated with the rest of the world. She had heard of African tribes like that - she wasn''t entirely sure if there were any uncontacted peoples in Asia but one could hope.

    It wasn''t long after that Remy could smell something cooking and smoke from a fire. A little while later bowls of rice, broth, and charred fish were set on the table in front of her. Rojin handed her chopsticks and smiled. He didn''t wait for her to begin and instead dug right in. He filled his small bowl with rice and topped it with fish. Remy did the same. Her mouth was watering - she hadn''t realized how hungry she had been until now.

    She ate until she was stuffed. Rojin kept refilling her bowl whenever it was empty and she did not complain. For the first time since she arrived in this strange place she felt a sense of relief. The tension in her body released ever so slightly, but, Remy was unable to savour it as it quickly transformed into sheer exhaustion. She could feel her eyelids drooping and her shoulders sagged.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Her tiredness must have been apparent because Rojin came around the table and helped her to her feet. He guided her to one of the doors off the dining room and opened it. There was smaller room with one tall wardrobe and a small cupboard. Rojin opened the cupboard and pulled out a stack of blankets. Moments later Remy stood in front of a modest bed made two thin quilts and a roll for a pillow. Rojin had brought in a lit candle as the sun had finally set. He bowed on his way out and closed the door behind him.

    Remy unbuttoned her top and folded it setting it to the side of the bed. She took of her socks and laid them beside her shirt. She blew out the candled and reached for the covers. Remy felt a little guilty about crawling into her bed with her soiled pants and tank top but she was to exhausted to remedy the issue. She pulled the covers to her chin and her eyelids acted on their own volition forcing her to say goodnight to the world.

    *****

    Remy awoke to sunshine blazing in through her window. It was warm, just warm enough to cause beads of perspiration to form on Remy lip. Just warm enough remind Remy that she had not showered for days. The corners of her eyes felt crusty and her neck felt sticky with sweat. So much for this being all a dream¡­.

    She got up to find a two bowls and a clothe set by the door of her room. One bowl, the large one, held water for washing and the other held an assortment of berries and nuts.

    Remy tried a nut and found that it sort of tasted like a hazelnut. She crunched away on her breakfast and reached for the cloth. The fresh water on her face felt divine. She splashed it onto her neck and used the clothe to wipe away the dirt and sweat. She didn''t know how long she took but by the end the water sat murky with grime and her skin felt raw from scrubbing. She ran her fingers through here hair and tried her best to patted down any pieces sticking up from sleeping. If only she had a mirror¡­

    Remy let out a sigh. The clean and freshen state brought clarity to her mind. Today she was going to find the nearest town. It was her best chance to get her bearings straight. It was possibly that she would be able to find someone who was connected to the modern world. Remy finished up her berries and nuts, folded up her bedding and made for the door.

    The dining area was empty but the front door to the courtyard was left open. Remy stepped out onto the porch. Rojin and Hisao were in the center of the courtyard standing about five feet away from each other but facing the same direction. They moved together - their motion synchronized with one another. It looked to Remy as if they were doing Tia Chi but slower than she had ever seen before - each pose taking as long as a minute to complete. Remy stood silently  and observed.

    Hisao was wearing fresh clothes and his long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His robe was a deep blue and his wide legged pants were a soft white. Rojin wore the same clothes as yesterday except he did not dawn the top half of his robe. It was left dangling from his belt. Remy''s first impression was that Rojin had been overweight but now she saw that he was more muscle than fat. His belly was tight and his arms heavy and sculpted. From the porch Remy could see the marks on his skin, the same marks she noticed the day before. They were white in colour and linear in shape but from where she stood she couldn''t see enough to confidently say what they were. Remy wondered if it was a unique kind of vitiligo - as that was the only thing she could think of that would cause such pigment loss in skin.

    Remy watched the men. She hoped that her being there was okay and that she wasn''t any kind of a disturbance. Quietly she made her way to the edge of the porch and sat. She noticed that against the nearest pillar rested Hisao pack and sword. She could see the hilt clearly now and hadn''t really given it any thought since the night by the fire. The embossed hilt held the same gusting swirls of clouds like the ones on the front door of the temple. The swirls broke apart to leave a small space for two symbols - similar to the ones on the statue.

    "Be. Wilder." said Remy. It didn''t seem quite right. She tried again.

    "Bewilder."

    That was it.

    <hr />

    Alright - hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a short one this time but a good one is coming Monday. See you then!

 Chapter 8 - Found

    Hisao must have had the same idea as Remy. His pack and sword had been laid out with the intentions of taking her into town - or so Remy figured after an awkward conversation of charades. It took no time at all to pack up and head out with the morning sun fresh in the sky.

    Two hours of walking brought them to a well used road. It was wide and smooth from travel. Other smaller roads connected and merge with the one they walked. They had even been past by another wagon - this time full of burlap sacks spilling over with different beans and grains. The driver waved jovially at Hisao and naturally did a double-take at Remy. The reaction had dampened her hopes slightly but she still felt determined that she was on her way to finding answers.

    Hisao walked silently beside her, his day pack slung lazily over his shoulder and his sword tucked tightly in his belt. He was in much better shape than he was yesterday. His posture was strong and straight. Remy had even checked his stiches before they''d left and decided that she would need to take them out in another''s day time. The sight of his healed wound again gave her a flicker of doubt - the fact that it healed so quickly was not natural - but being transported to a random mountainside wasn''t exactly natural either, nor was being able to read a language she had never seen before.

    Still she was taking the best course of action. Hopefully, something or someone in town would point her in the direction of home.

    They crested a hill and from the top Remy could see the town splayed out in front of them. The road they were on drove through the town splitting it down the center. The buildings on either side of the road were the largest and held awnings of various colours. Several smaller streets branched off the main vein into the smaller buildings and homes. Remy would guess that the town itself housed a couple hundred people.

    Hisao and Remy reached the mouth of town. Dust lingered in the air as wagon rolled slowly through and people bustled about. The road had been wide but as the entered the town stalls took up space on either side and squeezed the traffic to the center. It wasn''t overwhelming crowded, but it was busy for a town so small.

    Voices shouted back and forth across the alley and customers bartered with the stall owners. Remy was so enthralled that she failed to pay attention to where she was walking. She felt a sudden grip on her arm followed by a strong tug. Remy was pulled to the side of the alley just in time to avoid being trampled but a pair to work horses pulling a large canopied wagon. Remy looked up to see Hisao right in front of her. His hand still gripped her arm.

    "I''m good," she said with a reassuring nod.

    Something flickered across his face again. Maybe irritation - no, it was something else. He let go of her arm and turned back into the market. Remy wondered if she would ever get better at reading him.

    The wagon had past and the loud rumbling of it''s wooden wheels faded. Remy felt as though the sound of the market had faded too. What originally started as a bustling place now felt eerily quiet. She wasn''t wrong. When she took a look around she noticed that the town folk had stopped what they were doing and were starring at her. Some had their mouths open while others leaned and whispered to their neighbour.

    Well, shit. Remy wondered if this would happen - it most definitely wasn''t a promising sign either. Hisao had stopped shortly ahead and turned to call her, "Remy."

    Remy caught up with Hisao. Her onlookers seem to be staring at them both now. Most returned to their work when they saw who she was with while other weren''t so easily affected. Remy followed behind Hisao. As they walked people called out friendly greetings to Hisao, knowing him by name - but it was always followed by a stuttered silence when they saw who he was with. Greetings, silence, then a wake of murmurs - that was the path Hisao and Remy carved through the town.

    Remy tried her hardest to ignore the stares and to focus back on her mission. Were there any signs of the modern world? Electricity? No. Modern Clothes? No. Plastics? No. Corporate logos? No. Things were not looking good.

    Smoke meat hung from the awnings. Some stalls held food while others had basic supplies like rope and iron tools. A few stalls even sold luxury goods like art - some were small wooden carvings or handmade jewellery made with flat smooth stones of all colours. Doorways to the buildings along the street were either behind the stalls or tucked between them. Some buildings had large windows - no glass but instead framed with painted shutters. Inside she could see people eating noodle bowls and steaming veggies.

    "HISAO!"

    A stall owner called to them with a cheery smile. Of all the greetings thus far Hisao actually made his way over and spoke with this man. Remy saw the man animatedly talk with Hisao - joking and laughing. Hisao''s demeanour remained ever calm and his tone polite and soft. The man eyes flicked over to Remy a few times during the conversation but he did not stare and Remy felt eternally grateful. The man waved a hand at Hisao then ducked behind his stall. The man''s back bobbed up and down behind the bags of different varieties of rice and bean he had on display. Finally he stood and in his hand he held a small red bag marked with a golden insignia. He handed it to Hisao. Hisao accepted and moved to open his pack, likely to pay, but the owner of the stall shook his head in protest. They exchanged a few more words and the conversation ended with the shop keeper giving Hisao a wry smile, several nods, and a dismissive wave.

    Hisao looked like he was about say more when a door from a couple buildings down burst open. A woman came tumbling out. She wore a plain full-length robe that was held in place with a wide belt around her waist. Her hands were above her head in a guarded manner. Her tone was rushed and apologetic. From the door emerged three large men. From what Remy had seen thus far was that most of the population was around 5 and a half feet - Hisao being tall at six feet. These men were six feet and then some. They wore grungy looking clothes. The one in the center of the group had shortened sleeves revealing his heavily muscled arms. The word ''douchebag'' danced in Remy''s mind but their faces were far too frightening for her to utter the term aloud. The center man sported a bald head and the one to his right had a large scar down one of his cheeks. The one on the left had a squashed nose which looked like it had been broken more than twice.

    The bald one held a bowl of soup in his hand. He faced the woman and turned the bowl''s contents upside down. The soup and noodles splashed on the ground and if that wasn''t rude enough - the man followed up by dropping the entire bowl letting it smash to pieces. He said some harsh words and sneered. The woman kept bowing deeply in response her string of apologies endless. Unfortunately the whole scene had attracted several onlookers.

    An older woman rushed out of the crowd to the young woman''s side and consoled her while directing her away from the aggressors and back into the restaurant. The bald man, however, didn''t approve and reached for the young woman''s arm.

    Remy had thought Hisao was standing right next to her. No - she was sure he had been standing right next to her. But there he was - some 30 feet away with his sheathed sword blocking the bald man''s outstretched hand. How on earth did he¡­

    The two men starred at each other.

    "Wo kan ni cong bush¨¬. Wo xiang ni yeojong zozhu bu keqi." said Hisao. Remy was a fair distance away but the ice in his tone was evident.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The man was smiling now. A disgusting sort of sneer.

    "Dang wo ¨ªkai shi. Nae bangsig-ui," said the man. He made the motion to push Hisao using both hands. With the cat-like grace Remy had seen before Hisao took a half step back causing the man''s hands to meet nothing but air. The bald man stumbled awkwardly to regain his balance - clearly he was planning to push Hisao with some serious force.

    The man straightened out and shot a look back at his buddies with a head hilt toward Hisao as if to say, would you get a load of this guy? Remy had seen that look before - from couple of drunk guys outside of a bar that got into a scrap back in her undergrad days. But this was going to be three on one. Hisao didn''t look scared but Remy felt worried. How was he going to get out of this? Those guys were huge. She looked at the crowd to see if someone would jump in to help him. To her surprise the people in the crowd were smiling with almost eager looks on their faces. The two people next her whispered excitedly and then snickered. Remy felt like she was on the outside of an inside joke.

    The large bald man turned on Hisao and without warning swung his fist - fast. Hisao had seen it coming and he causally lean out of its way. The man''s force carried him forward and Hisao parried using the man''s momentum. With a quick twist his feet Hisao spun past the man while rounding his sheathed sword on the back of the man''s neck. The connection was solid and made a sickening crack. It had happened so fast that had Remy blinked she would''ve have missed it.

    The second man, the one with the scarred face, charged Hisao. With a similar sidestep Hisao moved past the man and struck him on the side of the leg, right above the knee. The force alone caused the man to fold and fall to the ground. The third man stood looking at this two companions, one writhed and groaned on the ground while the other was out cold. He looked at Hisao, shook his head and then bowed deeply muttering some sort of apologetic sounding phrase.

    The crowd didn¡¯t applaud or shout with glee. A murmur swept through and there were some hints of laughter but everyone seemed to be returning to their regular duties - tending shops, buying or selling. Was this a common occurrence? Remy was in awe. What the hell just happened? The third man tended to his friend who moaned in pain holding his knee while the other still laid face down in the dirt. Hisao tucked his sword back into his belt and made his way to back to Remy. He was stopped short by the young woman whom he''d rescued.

    She bowed deeply and thanked him several times overs. Remy noticed that girl almost seemed nervous and was blushing profusely. Hisao stood calmly and formally bowed his head only once to her string of praises. He stepped around the girl and continued to make his way toward Remy.

    Remy watched as two more girls, dressed similarly to the one who had just been saved, come running out of the shop toward their friend. They talked excitedly, consoling the girl and shooting looks over a Hisao.

    What in the f-? Hisao casually approached Remy as if he hadn''t beat two grown men to the ground to less than ten seconds. Remy had to mentally verify that her jaw was not touching the ground. No, her mouth was closed but she was sure the shock she was feeling was blatantly plastered on her face. Hisao''s eyes must had seen it too. Briefly his eyebrows knit together. Why was he surprised that she was surprised?

    Remy continue to turn over the her thoughts in her mind - forgetting that they had begun walking again and were steadily winding their way through the market. What had happened sparked so many questions. How had Hisao moved so fast? He had been standing right next to Remy and then instantaneously moved 30 feet. Perhaps she had not been paying attention - but for how long? Then there was the natural acceptance of the fight within the town. Maybe it was a cultural thing - perhaps here they settle their disputes the old fashion way? May the strongest man win - or something like that.

    Remy looked at the back of the man she was following. His black hair that was held tight in a long ponytail swayed back and forth - the rhythm matching the slight sway of the equally as dark hilt of the sword tucked in his belt. He was clearly a skilled martial artist. Remy had never seen anyone move like that - not in real life of course. She didn''t even think it was possible. The man had the grace of a dancer and the power of a heavy weight champion. And the way he used his sword - Remy didn''t know much about swordsmanship but Hisao evidently knew how to use one. Is this what he did for a living? Her eyes widened in realization - the cut on his chest¡­ could it have been from a fight he had -

    Hisao had stopped walking. Remy nearly collided with him. They had stopped at a stall; this one was filled with papers of all kinds. Images hung - portraits of woman wearing beautiful dresses holding ornately decorated parasols, landscapes of mountains and sunsets, a strange looking wheel that reminded Remy of a clock. Stacks of folded pamphlets lay across the table. The parchment used was thick and rough. Remy noted that each copy looked slightly different indicating they were all made by hand and not a press. Remy inspected the writing. She didn''t not recognized any of it. None was like what she had seen on the statue.

    Hisao said something to the smiling man behind the stall. The man went to a table in the back and dug through a pile of large sheets before settling on one that he tugged free. He laid the parchment across the table in front of Hisao and Remy.

    It was a map. It had mountain ranges, rivers, and lakes. It had small and large dots that appeared sporadically connected by fine lines - likely roads. The dots were labelled, some with larger font than other''s to which Remy assumed was based on importance. Hisao pointed to a small dot on the map. Then he pointed to himself, then to Remy, then made a sweeping motion with his hand as if to encompass the rest of the town. Remy looked at the map. The dot sat beside a river not far from a mountain range. Hisao was pointing to where they were.

    Remy stopped. She looked at the mapped. She didn''t recognized the landmass. The map did have a scale but she didn''t know how to read it. Maybe it was just too zoomed in for her to recognized. She looked at Hisao. He gave her an encouraging nod and asked a question while pointing at the map. She guessed that he wanted to know where she lived. Remy answered ''no'' with a shake of her head. She brought her hand ups and started with them closer together then spread them apart to show - bigger.

    Hisao nodded and spoked to the man in the stalled. The man grabbed a large roll of parchment from a bucket that held several more. He unrolled it out on the table keeping his hands along the sides to stop it from folding up. It was a world map this time. There were landmasses divided by spanning oceans. Remy saw prominent mountain ranges, deserts, and large lakes. All of it was labelled eloquently in the language she could not understand.

    ¡­ Not that it would''ve helped anyway. The map she was looking at sure as hell wasn''t earth.

    She was not in Kansas anymore.

    <hr />

    Finally! Alright we got there! Now it''s time for the fun stuff ;) . See ya''ll on Friday! Thanks for reading!

 Chapter 9 - Friendship

    The morning sun peaked through the leaves of the high canopy sprinkling the temple courtyard with golden flecks of dancing light. Remy stretched her arm out in front of her with her palm face up and her elbow slightly bent. Concentrating hard on keeping her stance she brought her other arm up close near the center her torso and extended it out in front of her in a similar manner. Slower. Move Slower. Her eyes darted to Rojin who stood beside her holding the same position. Good. She was keeping pace with him still.

    When she had first joined in with the morning meditation Remy found it easy to keep pace with Rojin and Hisao. She even sometimes felt as though she was lagging behind - not knowing exactly which movements came when. It didn''t take her long to memorize the series of positions and when she did she began blowing past Rojin''s lead glancing over to find herself several stances ahead of him. It took her another two weeks to discover that the pride did not come from simply knowing the movements but instead perfecting them.

    Remy shifted into the next position sweeping her back foot out in a wide controlled arc bringing to a stop inches away from her front foot. She curled up the heal so that only the ball of her foot touched the ground. Her palms flipped inward and in a fluid movement she scooped the air in front of her and pushed it away. The transfer in the stance took minutes to complete and for every moment Remy urged herself to stay present with her body. Her feet on the ground, her hips stable, her core firm. She drew power from her solid foundation in order to manipulate the motion she made with her arms. She focused on feeling the movement of the air around her and tried to imagine how her hands made it swirl in front of her. She could almost feel it tickle her skin, lapping along her arms and flowing through her fingers. A gas was a fluid after all.

    The feeling was rewarding and Remy always felt more relaxed afterward. The time spent with her body made her feel more limber. Remy had never considered herself a graceful person - but after six weeks of meditative exercises she felt more in control than ever before. Her feet felt more sure on the ground and she would catch herself before knocking something over or from stumbling over an unforeseen obstacle. Even something as simple as reaching for salt on the table Remy felt like the movements of her hand held a grace similar to what she had seen in movies about Victorian royalty - delicate and soft, free of clumsy redundancies.

    Her and Rojin came to their last stance finishing their meditative dance. Remy slowly brought her hands down to her sides, she turned to Rojin and gave him a deep bow.

    "Thank you, teacher," said Remy. Rojin returned the bow but quickly switched from formalities to his comically wide grin.

    "My girl, you are learning so quickly," he beamed, "you never cease to surprise me."

    Remy smiled gratefully. His compliment was genuine and his eyes shone. For having landed in a strange world she couldn''t have ended up in the care of a kinder person. Remy bowed again in thanks.

    It had been nearly seven weeks since she arrived in this world. From the moment she realized that she was not on earth Remy had vowed not to give up hope. She would find the answers to why she ended up here - simply chalking it up to divine intervention would not suffice. In order to find what she was seeking Remy would have to come to learn the ways of the world and that meant asking A LOT of questions. When she followed Hisao from that market back to the temple that fateful day she came up with a plan. She would learn the language, then she would find a way to travel to where there were institutions of knowledge. She hoped - if the world wasn''t too primitive - that she could find people who would take her case seriously and would help her find her way home. That day Remy placed her faith in reason. There had to be a reason for what happened to her and she would not rest until she discovered it.

    Remy pulled at the bottom of her tunic - straightening it after their exercises. Remy wore a sleeveless robe that was tied about her waist with a belt. The robe was short and reached about mid thigh. Underneath it she wore a pair of fitted shorts. Her feet sported wrappings for stocking that tucked into slipper like shoes. Days after it was decided that she would be staying at the temple, Rojin brought her some new clothes. She didn''t ask where they had come from  - more so because she really didn''t know how at that point - but she did show great gratitude. Rojin had even supplied her with stylish robes for visiting town - similar in fashion to what Remy saw the women wearing in the market. Food, clothing, and basic living necessities were are given to her by Rojin. He was a good man and Remy promised herself that she would repay him somehow in the future.

    Rojin had turned to go inside leaving Remy in the middle of the courtyard.

    "Rojin," she called, "meet you in the dojo for my lesson after breakfast?"

    Rojin threw his hands up and spun on the spot, "Aiyeeee¡­. That''s right - no language lesson today Remy. I have a meeting in the village. Can''t miss it. Aiiiiyussh, you''ll have to be on your own - "

    Rojin rubbed a hand through his hair and paused. Remy was about to say it was alright when Hisao rounded the corner of the temple. Rojin''s attention shifted to the new arrival and he called greeting to Hisao. He was back early from his trip to a larger town about a weeks travel from the temple. Remy was surprised too - he had managed the trip in only six days when it should''ve taken double that. She would''ve doubted he had even gone but the size of the pack he carried was clearly loaded with the goods he went to pick up. He didn''t even look tired - just standing there lazily as per usual, his bored eyes surveying the courtyard.

    "Oh - perfect! Hisao - you can help Remy with her lesson this morni-"

    "NO!"

    They had shouted it at the same time. Remy and Hisao glanced at each to other then turned on Rojin. Remy spoke first.

    "I mean - no thanks. I''m fine. I had plans for this afternoon and I''ll just get an early start on them," she said. Remy did her best to recover her composure and saw Hisao do the same out of the corner of her eye. There was no way she was going to let him teach her again.

    Hisao shrugged, "Suits me."

    Remy turned away from the two men. She didn''t want Hisao to see her scowl. Of course he would say that - acting all nonchalant and cool. Remy headed toward the dojo but failed to get two steps from where she was before Rojin called to her.

    "Don''t forget to collect the eggs, Remy!"

    Right. Remy took a sharp right and headed toward the bathhouse. She had come to feel rather at home. The four buildings that had looked so strange to her now brought her comfort. On the most northern edge of the courtyard sat the dojo and was opposite of the temple. The bathhouse sat opposite of the living quarters. And the chicken coup was just beyond the bath house tucked into the trees.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Remy gather the eggs in the basket left by the coup. She peaked her head around the bath house and saw Rojin and Hisao conversing on the porch of their living quarters. She didn''t really feel like interrupting them. Well, if she were to be really honest with herself - she wasn''t quite ready to welcome Hisao back from his trip.

    She grumbled under her breath and headed to the dojo with basket in hand. Hisao had saved her, no doubt, and without him she may not have made it back to civilization so quickly. And to anyone she could imagine that she would appear rather ungrateful. But Remy wasn''t one to pander strictly out of obligation - and especially not to those who turned out to be complete assholes.

    And that''s just what was Hisao Hajime was - an ass. Remy felt satisfied with the conclusion. Nearly a week after Remy had been welcomed by Rojin, Hisao became more distant and more aloof than before. The only time he really spoke to her was to insult her form or her stance during their morning meditation. She even tried giving him the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe he was just a poor communicator and that maybe he just had trouble expressing himself. Within another week the theory was crushed when they went to town. Hisao talked politely with the town folk - given a celebratory greeting as he walked from stall to stall like some popular star athlete. She even witnessed him flirting coolly with the waitress in one of the noodle houses causing her to giggle and blush and causing Remy to roll her eyes. He was most definitely capable of being entirely civil - she just couldn''t figure out why he did not treat her like everyone else (minus Rojin, of course).

    Three weeks in Remy and Hisao could manage short conversations. Rojin had encouraged Remy to talk as much as she could so that she could learn how to apply the language lessons they had each morning. He also encouraged Hisao to converse with Remy so that she could practice. It didn''t go particularly well and Remy quickly learned a variety of words for annoying, silly, dumb, clumsy, etc, etc. And Remy was sure that Hisao had learned a variety of equally insulting words in English.

    She likened Hisao to a moody teen. One that complained about doing daily chores then spent the afternoon sleeping like a lazy cat. And that was no exaggeration - Remy found him sleeping any where. On the porch, in the temple, on the roof of the bath house, or in splayed out along some sun drenched rock or tree branch even. For a man, one that clearly had some special skills in the way of martial arts and was clearly some sort of folk hero to this local town, Hisao was far from being considered ''mature''. Perhaps he spent too much time as a child in the dojo and not enough time socializing. Or it could be one of a thousand other reasons - for Remy had thought of them all in attempts to justify his total ass-like personality.

    Five weeks into her stay it was this same ass-like personality that caused Remy to make a fool of herself during her last visit to town. Hisao had filled in for Rojin on a language lesson that morning. He had designed a lesson to teach Remy to speak less formally and to learn common colloquialisms. Remy was more than happy to corporate - she had noticed different sayings used by the town folk and she didn''t want to seem so much like an outsider, aside from her foreign appearance. Since she had started speaking their own language the people in the town seemed more incline to accept her as one of their own.

    Hisao told her that a friendly farewell was: ''mame to pank¨¥ki''. From his explanation Remy likened it to ''see ya later'' or ''take care''. When Hisao spoke it he held cheery tone and a smile. She should''ve know by his cheesy smile that something was off. But, being that he was treating her so nice she had thought that today he had decided that they could be friends and that maybe he had finally set aside his mysterious grudge and was ready to make amends. How wrong she was¡­

    She spent the day in town buying items from a list Rojin sent with her. She had practiced her ''mame to pank¨¥ki'' with the first few shop keepers she encountered. The reactions varied. Some men gaped and women scoffed. Her final attempt resulted in a woman using one of the insults Remy had learned from Hisao - a word that was commonly used to describe a tactless woman, a.k.a. ''a bitch''. At that Remy sought out Yuuko, the friendly shop owner she met on her first day in town - the one that had given Hisao the red package. She repeated the saying to Yuuko explaining how she was taught to use it. Yuuko clapped and hand over his mouth in shock. Apparently, Remy had been wishing everyone well with: "Go jump in a river" - or so that was the direct translation. The subtext, however, implied that she hoped that the person jump in a river and fail to resurface.

    Remy was so embarrassed. So enraged. That evening was their biggest fight yet. Hisao and Remy fired insult and after insult - english and new world tongue. And for the first time Remy cried. Tears broke from the corner of her eyes and she ran out of the house into the woods. She didn''t want him to see her break. She had held it together all this time. Even in the darkest hours of the night when her mind thought of earth she refused to let the tears out. But that fight was the straw that broke the camel''s back. Remy cried. She cried until the sun set and a blanket of darkness fell. When she finally made her way back the house it was dark but for a single candle left for her return. In the morning Remy woke to find only Rojin having breakfast. He explained that Hisao had to go for supplies in another town and would not be returning for quite some time. Remy had hoped ''quite some time'' meant weeks or months. Evidently that was not the case.

    Remy climbed the steps of the dojo and pushed the thoughts of Hisao from her mind. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment even now and she tried instead to focus on the task at hand. He wasn''t worth the energy. She had bigger fish to fry.

    <hr />

    Hey guys! WOW - I''m late on this post. Like legit late. Now I''m not gunna make up a bunch of excuses as to why, like ''my favourite fern died - it was devasting'' ¨C or whatever. ''Cause really, anything I say is NOT going to change the fact that I''m totes behind the schedule.

    But - I will be honest - posting twice weekly is tough stuff, man. Yeah - it''s tough to crush out at story at that pace. I mean real tough. Turns out, there is a lot of planning that goes into the evolution of each chapter. Don¡¯t get me wrong ¨C I have a plan ¨C a BIG plan ¨C like an big arcing plan that epically spans probably farther than a really good baseball player could throw a ball¡­.

    Not a great analogy ¨C but I¡¯m gunna go with it.

    Anyway ¨C turns out filling in the deets on that epic plan takes a lot of mental power. SO ¨C to do a good job I¡¯m going to update my writing schedule to something a little more manageable. Because, guys, GUYS, I don¡¯t wanna let you down ¨C seriously. Lots of love coming from over here.

    So ¨C to the point. I¡¯m thinking I will update on Saturdays. One chapter a week. If I am super motivated and have time I will post a bonus chapter on Tuesday evenings.

    I hope that¡¯s cool with you. I¡¯m gunna do my best to stick to it. You guys are probably like, ¡°uh yeah ¨C don¡¯t care¡¯. BUT I CARE ¨C I care¡­..  :P

    Uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh¡­ well, I feel like this has been a great heart to heart. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. OH and just because I feel bad from skipping my due dates¡­.. here¡¯s another chapter! (Right after I finish grammar checking it).

 Chapter 10 - Gifted

    The dojo was as large as the temple and was similar in style but for the addition of a back storage room. Remy made her way to the back room. It held various equipment - old practice swords made of wood, quarter staffs, and different targets for practicing kicks, punches and blocks. Rojin had told her that this temple once had a great following but it had been a decades since it had been open for students to practice. Remy always wanted to ask him more about it - but he would just wave it off - saying that the time had come and gone and was not be dwelled on for now was a time of peace and the need for warriors long gone. Remy even dared to probe for answers from Hisao all she got was, "the old man speaks true."

    The storage room, in addition to the martial supplies, held but one ornate chest. Remy fell into her routine at the sight of it. She looked forward to this part of her day most of all. She opened the lid to the chest and pulled out one of three books that lay inside. Next to the books sat the knife she brought with her on the day she arrived - she took that as well. She gathered up her book, her knife, and grabbed a short wooden sword from one of the racks. Without forgetting the eggs, Remy headed out the back door of the store room and into the trees beyond the homestead.

    Remy walked through the woods. Her feet on autopilot taking her to her favourite spot. Here, most of all Remy felt like herself. Her mind could roll over the problems she faced and she could review her journey so far. She had learned the language of her new world at an exceedingly fast pace. Where it took years to become proficient in one language by taking university courses, Remy had become fluent in the language of her current world in a matter of a few weeks. She couldn''t give credit to herself - she knew very well how much she information she was capable of retaining in day - medical school had pushed her too her limits more times than she''d like to admit. But, here, in this place - she never felt like she reached her limit even though she spent hours learning a new concept. Even the next morning, she would expect some sort of mental fatigue - there was none - she could pick up right where she left off.

    She toyed with the idea of it being tied to the accelerated healing. That in this world recovery time was shortened. Remy was curious as to why this occurred. Before she was even able to ask Rojin about - he presented her with a possible answer. He called it the Qi of Faith.

    He explained it to her on the same night that he showed her the chest in the back room of the dojo.

    "It is the energy of our world. The blood that brings life. The nectar for our souls. The Qi can be accessed through service to the Gods. With prayers a farmer can sow a bountiful crop. With dedication a warrior can wield the power in his sword. With meditation one can bring clarity of mind and healing of the body. The Qi of Faith is every where and bestows upon us a great many things."

    Rojin talked calmly, standing next to the ornate chest. For the first time Remy noticed the lines that aged his face, creasing around his eyes and along his cheeks.

    "Remy, my dear, these are the memoirs of old," said Rojin. He leaned over the open chest and retrieved one of the large ancient books. The cover was worn so that any traces of a title was lost. The spine held a geometric symbol - a symbol that Remy could innately translate. The symbol read ''2''.

    "Every temple has a memoir left to its caretaker by the Eiraf," said Rojin, "the Eiraf were the first holy men. These men were said to have directly spoken to the Gods that govern us. They were given the language of the Gods and tasked with documenting the desires of the deities within these books. Across our land only ten Eirafs ever existed. The last Eiraf past on over one thousand years ago."

    Remy listened in awe. Her eyes locked on the book held in Rojin''s hand.

    "In our world individuals are sometimes gifted with strange abilities or talents. The Gods work in mysterious ways assigning peculiar tasks to the most unlikely people. You say you are not from our world and yet here you are. I cannot begin to imagine what the road ahead of you has in store. You have something that has not been seen for over a thousand years. A gift that allows direct access to the words of the Gods - the secrets behind the divine Qi. It is something that many will seek. That many will covet."

    Rojin extended the book to Remy. She reached for it. The pages thick and old, the cover made of solid cured leather. The weight felt tremendous in her hands.

    "I cannot ignore what you''ve shown me, my girl," said Rojin, his voice steady and sure, "take these books. Use them as if they are your own. Don''t refuse - for you are the only one to know what they truly read. For us mere followers of the faith have only teachings past down from the generation before. Whether you choose to enlighten us with its teachings is up to you. The Gods have decided that. You are the one with this gift and thus you are the one to choose how to use it."

    Remy shifted the weight of the book under her arm. It was the third and largest book of the series. It was also the volume that discussed the applications of the Qi of Faith. And today - Remy planned on discovering exactly what it meant. She could hear the small creek that was just over the next hill. There she could spread out along the water. The trees still grew tall providing lots of shade and the sound of the moving creek added to the peaceful atmosphere. It was Remy''s ideal place to study.

    Studying language was easy. Remy could practice it constantly and repetition lead to a quick mastery. These texts proved far more difficult. The writing, though she could innately interpret the symbols, actually translating the text into sensible terms was frustrating. The words were not separated by any punctuations and the symbols were not separated by distinguishable spaces. It was like reading Morse Code. Remy had to figure out were one word ended and the other began. Once she deciphered the words she had to construct the sentences. More often than not, the sentence was poetic in nature. The meaning ambiguous and open ended.

    She sat down on her favourite rock. It was flat and wide allowing for lots of room to spread out and work. Remy set down her supplies - the basket of full of eggs, the ancient knife clad in leather, the wooden short sword, and volume 3 of the Memoirs of Orodoki. She opened the book and tugged out one of her notebooks from home. She had stored it within the pages of the large book using it as a bookmark and to take notes of the text that she translates.

    To Remy the term ''memoirs'' was an accurate description. Even though the writer of the text often wrote in prose - the prose often times read like a journal. It was an Eirafs documentation of the wishes of a God called Orodoki. From the text Remy figured it was the same God worshipped at Hisao and Rojin''s temple. She found the teachings in Volumes 1 and 2 to be synonymous with the motto on the statue in the temple, ''be humble, for the unknown is thy master''. Remy had translated as much as she could. The teachings urged for man to be humbled by his future for the path he walks, though directed by his choices, is inevitably left up to some degree of chance. Volume one explains that man should embrace chance - to revel in it and to never fear it. While volume two discusses a ''realm of possibilities''. Or was it probabilities? Remy couldn''t exactly figure out which one. Volume two was far more abstracted than volume one. So abstract that Remy even doubted the Eiraf understood what he was writing.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    The third volume was far more concrete and by far Remy''s favourite. It was a book dedicated to Orodoki''s Qi. It was essentially a manual for how to properly access the Qi of Faith. At first Remy had believed that ''Qi of Faith'' was a figurative term - sort of like karma on Earth. Like an intangible currency based on one''s personal belief system. The Qi of Faith was still just that - but it book talked of harnessing it as if it was something that could be collected and then used.

    Remy flipped open her notebook, the pages filled with notes from memoirs volume one and two. Question marks were frequent and circles encased words with lines stretching to the margins holding various interpretations. Remy flipped through to the place that she left off. She was mid-way through the third volume and had finished the day translating a poem. The memoirs, though written like a journal, never spoke from the first person perspective - whereby the author avoids using the term ''I'' in his descriptions. The poem at the center of the third volume was the only exception.

    Her notebook sat open to her translation of the poem:

    I am not the one who cries in jubilation

    I am not the one who rests content or satisfied

    I am not the one who strives for admiration

    Nor the one who cowers in humiliation

    I do not partake in distress or hardships

    Nor do I seek vindications justified

    I am not the one who longs for affection

    Nor the one who desires ones attentions

    I am not reduced by shock or fright

    Nor do I tremble with disquiet

    I am the one who falls between all these

    The one who waits unexpectedly

    It was as if Orodoki was describing himself - not the Eiraf explaining his nature. But that''s all Remy could figure - she had no clue what it meant or exactly how it related to the lessons regarding the Qi of Faith. Of all the readings thus far - this was the most peculiar and distinct. She tapped her pen against the page and tutted. Having translated it the day before, she wondered if letting it stew overnight would bring some clarity - it did not.

    Remy decided to move on. She was, in fact, more interested in the pages beyond the poem for they held literal instructions on creating artifacts to ''harness Qi'' - specifically Orodoki''s Qi. Remy turned the ancient page. She had read a bit ahead and knew that she needed an object that would act as a channel for the energy and aid in gaining access to it. For that - she had brought the wooden practice short sword.

    Remy picked up the leather wrapped knife. Carefully she unfolded its makeshift sheath. Remy eyes went back to the page. The instructions were clear. She need to mark her ''talisman'' with the spirit of Orodoki. The symbols where laid out in sequence - some were ones she had seen before like ''revelations'' and ''wonderment'' but others she found too difficult to read. It was almost as if they acted like an optical illusion - she could see many words in one symbol and the longer she stared the more it would change.

    Remy blinked to clear her vision and went to work. She did her best with her knife to whittle the symbols into the bottom of the wooden blade of the practice sword. After a solid hour''s worth of work, Remy blew away the last of the flakes of wood. Her work was crude - definitely not an exact replica of what was written on the page but she was no expert wood worker. She put away her knife and picked up the wooden sword.

    It felt the same as before. The wood didn''t tingle in her hand - nor glow with a mysterious aura. Remy didn''t really know what she was expecting - but regardless she felt a little disappointed. She had been given a gift of reading "Gods" words and a mysterious knife transported her to a strange world where people with major wounds healed within days. As soon as she discovered this "Qi" she had wondered if this was the force responsible. And if she had a chance to study it - to understand it - perhaps she could use it to get home.

    Remy waved the short sword in front of her as if it were a wand. She had to admit to herself that she was jumping to conclusions faster than she usually did. Clinging to the hope of a quick fix. But, discovery took time - countless experiments of trial and error. Maybe she was just being a silly girl reading into an work of fiction - putting money into a religion that was all smoke and mirrors - or maybe there was truly something to it. It would take time and a lot of work  to find out.

    Remy got to her feet sword still in hand. She had never really held one before. It felt heavy and awkward against her palm. Remy took the stance she had seen Hisao take in the market - on the day he had fought the three thugs. Just like Hisao, Remy swung the sword out to block the imaginary hand her foe. She mimicked Hisao movement and dodged her foe''s punch then rounded him - twisting as she went to bring the wooden sword crashing down on the back of her ghostly foe''s neck.

    Remy stood gloating over decimating her enemy - her completely non-threatening, entirely imaginary enemy. Regardless, she found she liked the feeling of the sword and what had felt awkward only moment ago now felt comfortable and familiar. Maybe she would have to get Rojin to show her a few moves when she got back - - - wait. Remy paused to listen.

    Was someone clapping?

    Yes. Yes there was. Remy had an audience. Hisao stood at the top of the hill, casually leaning against the side of a tree, applauding.

    <hr />

    Thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed the update. Once again - sorry for the lateness. <3 See you Saturday!

 Chapter 11 - Abilities

    Remy didn''t know if claps could ever be considered sarcastic - but if they could - she felt that this would be a prime example.

    "Daojah - "

    Remy rolled her eyes. Daojah was the nickname he preferred to call her most often - it meant ''freeloader''.

    "A bit sloppy on the foot work but¡­." said Hisao.

    Here it comes¡­

    "you might actually have potential."

    Remy''s eyes widened. Was that a compliment? She didn''t believe it - not for a second.

    "What do you want?" said Remy.

    "Just enjoying a stroll in the woods," said Hisao. In two graceful leaps, Hisao scaled down the side of the hill - landing  next to the creek. He walked along its edge towards Remy''s rock.

    "There are lot of woods. Would you mind strolling somewhere else?"

    He ignored her. He was focused on the running water next to him. It was so infuriating. Why even come all this way if he didn''t have something useful to say? And now his refusal to acknowledge that she had asked him to leave. Was it just to annoy her? Could he be that oblivious? He must remember how they had left things six nights ago.

    Remy watched him. She searched for any signs of a current mood or hint of an emotion. He was so good a keeping whatever he was thinking hidden. Remy knew what Hisao looked like when he was annoyed - she seemed to be the finite source of that emotion. She could also recognize when he got pouty - not mad per say - more grumpy, like a child who didn''t get his way. She knew, too, when he was feeling mischievous - that emotion in particular, came with a signature smirk. For all the rest - Remy was S.O.L.. She had no idea when he was upset, angry, sad, or even happy. In public, he defaulted to a generic kindness - one that could please the masses. At home, if his mood was not pouty, annoyed, or impish, his demeanour was reserved and pensive.

    His silence became notable in those times. It was the same silence Remy could see now as he stood by the creek. He had fallen into it so quickly - his mood shifting nearly instantaneously since his arrival. It was one of the reasons why he remained so unpredictable to Remy. But this mood - his sombre silence, Remy found that if she interrupted it one of two things would happen: one, he would revert - back to the one of the three basic emotions that he used in all interactions with her or two - he would speak, cool, and abruptly - answering whatever Remy needed in the fewest words possible. The latter of the two, though infrequent, made Remy feel like it was her best chance of catching a glimpse of the real Hisao. It was Hisao with his guard down. In those moments, she couldn''t describe it - the closest thing she could liken it to the was feeling she got when she saw the statue of Orodoki in the temple.

    She continued to watch him from her perch on the rock. His face absent, his eyes lost in thought. She wondered what he was seeing. She wanted to be able to talk with this Hisao. She remembered, before they had begun arguing almost constantly, that she wanted to solve the mystery that was him. She watched his jaw clenched as his focus stayed locked the current flowing past the stationary stones of the creek. His eyes were piercing - it was a look that she wouldn''t forget - the look he had given her on the day they met. She could feel her resolution melting - her anger fading the longer her mind played with the idea that Hisao was more than just a grouchy fool.

    Her cheeks flushed red. No. Remy snapped out of it. He was just that - a jerk. Soon he''ll be back to taunting her just like before. She quickly bent gathered up her things. Setting the wooden sword down, she tucked her notebook back in the memoir and began folding the protective leather casing around her knife. He was not going to ruin this place for her ¨C she liked it too much. She would head back to the temple and finished her chores for the day - maybe even boil up a bath with her spare time.

    She hadn¡¯t noticed that Hisao was on the move, gone from his spot next to the stream. Her attention was focused on her making plans as she finished tying off the leather around the knife. She went to grab the wooden practice sword and found it missing. She had sworn it was right behind her.

    It had been but now she watched the wooden blade scoop under the handle of the basket of eggs. The basket was lifted from the ground and into Hisao¡¯s free hand. He spun the weapon expertly and slid it into his belt next to the hilt of his sword.

    Remy gathered up the remaining items in her arms. She shifted to her knees to stand. She didn''t need his help to carrying things back. She was about to tell him so - but when she turned to do so she was met with an imagine of her own reflection. It was a mirror. Hisao had produced it from inside his robes and was holding it out for her to take.

    Remy set down the memoir and knife. She took the small mirror from his hand. It was about the size and shape of a tea saucer. The back and edges were decorated with moulded silver - ornately spun into soft swirls. Remy couldn''t deny the shock she felt as could see it painted plainly across her reflection. He must have picked it up on his travels. But why would he¡­.

    Hisao had moved from just behind her to the edge of the rock.

    "I don''t like people so¡­ close," he spoke away from her, "People see what they want to see. They don''t wait to be shown was is and what isn''t. And I hate expectations. Too low and people never believe you will amount to anything. Too high and you fail to ever meet them. Someone is always left wanting. Strangers are far easier to disappoint."

    Was this an apology? It was hard for her to feel sorry for him. Was he worried she was judging him? That he would disappoint her? No¡­ that was wrong. Remy forced her emotions down and approached the subject objectively. She needed to take what he said without bias.

    ¡°So, your solution is to make enemies instead of friends and keep the remainder at an arm¡¯s length?¡± said Remy. It was more a working hypothesis than a conclusion.

    He didn''t answer. Instead he hopped off the edge of the rock and walked back the way he came, the egg basket swaying in his hand. He stopped before he ascended the hillside. Remy only half paying attention, her mind sifting through the evidence to see if she could support her newly formulated argument.

    "Oi! Daojah - "

    She didn''t hear him. Remy was too lost in thought. It wasn''t until she felt a tickle on her cheek and she was brought back to the moment. The tickle on her cheek grew into a sudden wash of air flowing past face - something was moving through the air toward her. Reflexively, as if she was going to swat away a bug, Remy threw her hand up. Her fingers locked around a small hard object. She had snatched whatever it was right out of the air.

    What the¡­? Her thoughts lagged behind her actions. She brought her hand down so she could see what she had caught. It was a barrette made of silver, just like the mirror, and it was decorated with soft pink stones. It was pretty - but Remy''s mind was more amazed by the fact that she had caught it. She hadn''t even seen it coming.

    "OOOooooo Daojah¡­" said Hisao, "lucky catch."

    Remy looked up a him. Was that luck? She had felt it coming. She had almost knew where it was going to be - like exactly where just by the way¡­ the way the wind had moved? She got to her feet with barette still in hand.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "Yeah - I mean maybe¡­. I don''t kno -" said Remy. But there wasn''t time. She hadn''t seen Hisao''s hand dart into the basket. Three eggs were pelted straight at her. Her reaction was swift, she felt them coming. Intuitively, she could read the speed of the eggs by feeling the air with her out stretched hand. They were moving fast. She felt the wind ripple and splash past her palm as it extended to catch them. She swept her hand back, following through with the trajectory of the throw so that the velocity of the flying eggs didn''t smash to pieces with a solid stop against her palms.

    One. Two. Three. She completed the task in one swift dance. She ended facing the opposite direction - her back to Hisao. She stared at the two eggs in one hand and one, plus the barette, in the other. She replayed the events over in her head. She saw it for sure this time - the air had rippled and moved -  things had slowed and which gave her time to act. How in the hell¡­ what had given her this ability? She turned to Hisao. He wore a smirk.

    "Rojin said you were a fast learner," said Hisao. He turned to jump up the side of the hill, "a little too fast¡­"

    Remy mind spun with questions. She scrambled to grab the rest of her things ¨C knife, book, eggs, and all.

    ¡°Hisao ¨C wait!¡±

    He had already disappeared over the hill. Remy chased after him climbing the ridge awkwardly with her arms full. She reached the top and saw him nowhere to be found. How did he always do that?

    It took Remy a good 15 minutes of walking to get back to the temple. She found Hisao sitting on the edge of porch of the living quarters. He was inspecting her wooden sword, his thumb tracing over the carved symbols.

    She set her armful of items down next to him, careful to avoid dropping the eggs. She then took a seat. She gripped the edge with her hands - her fingers tapping against the wood. The silence between them didn''t last.

    They both started talking at the same time:

    ¡°What is the connection with the Qi energy and my abilities ¨C how does it work?¡± said Remy.

    ¡°I know you can read the script but how did you know to write them like this?¡± said Hisao.

    Hisao let out an annoyed sighed and Remy brought her hands together and placed her fingers tips on her lips. They both stared out into the courtyard. Hisao spoke first.

    ¡°Rojin told you that Qi energy can imbue things ¨C like aid in a farmer¡¯s bounty. It has been used for thousands of years. Warriors used the energy to become more effective fighters. These symbols,¡± Hisao pointed at the ones on the wooden, ¡°help with focusing that energy ¨C but it¡¯s very difficult to construct¡­¡±

    ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t explain how I can do these things,¡± Remy blurted, ¡°can you do them? AND HOW?¡±

    She couldn¡¯t sit anymore. Remy stood and began to pace, ¡°And I clearly don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing. At first I thought it was just superstition - some great figurative energy. I wasn¡¯t sure if it could be real ¨C I hoped it could be - and that maybe it could get me home. But you and Rojin have been studying this for years ¨C you must have some kind of abilities. I mean, I¡¯ve seen how fast you can move ¨C you are ¨C¡°

    ¡°Hold on,¡± said Hisao, he was standing too now, watching Remy pace, ¡°You have NOT seen how fast I can move.¡±

    ¡°- you are clearly capable - wait ¨C what? How do you mean?¡± said Remy.

    Another smirk crept on Hisao¡¯s face. She recognized it and she knew it meant trouble.

    Remy could not describe her disappointment when the temple doors came bursting open. An interruption now? She felt that she was getting so close to getting some real answers. And for the first time, she and Hisao had been getting along. Well, sort of.

    The distraction had been Rojin who was followed by a young man with short black hair. The boy wore black robes trimmed with red. He wore matching red wrappings on his hands and a red headband. On his back was a traveling pack and strapped to it was a long pole topped with a wide blade.

    ¡°I demand that you take me to him!¡± the boy shouted, ¡°I stand here in the name of Gennu! I cannot return until I have proven my worth in his name!¡±

    Rojin looked exhausted. He caught sight of Remy and Hisao and threw his hands up in defeat.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t shake him. He latched on in town. He just kept following me. And talking. And following me. And talking.¡± Rojin put his fingers into his wild hair, his eyes looking crazed, ¡°he just wouldn¡¯t stop!¡±

    The boy was close behind. He closed in on the three of them.

    Remy guessed that he was no older than 18. He had a dark complexion and a square face. His brown eyes were determined and set, shaded by heavy brows. His lips were thin and tighten into a concerned frown. He looked to Hisao, his eyes bouncing to Remy every so often.

    ¡°I am a Son of Gennu. I seek the Child of K¡¯aos, Hisao Hajime.¡±

    Hisao¡¯s eyes darkened at the boy¡¯s words. He looked to Rojin for clarification. Rojin was at a loss and again shrugged in defeat. Hisao sighed.

    ¡°I am the one you seek, boy,¡± said Hisao, his tone frosty, ¡°state your business.¡±

    Remy watched the boy¡¯s expression twist to a furious anger.

    ¡°I challenge you to a fight,¡± said the boy, ¡°¡­ to the death.¡±

    <hr />

    Oh hey guys! Here is yet another chapter - it''s late - but it''s not too late ;)

    Anyway - enjoy!

    Oh! and keep up the feedback! I love hearing what you guys have to say!

 Chapter 12 - Fight

    A cricket. There was only one - just in the bushes beyond the courtyard. Remy could hear it now - clear as day.

    To the death is what he said, right?

    Remy wanted to asked if she heard correctly. Was this kid for real? She starred at the kid as the kid starred at Hisao. His face was set with a fierce determination. His mouth drooped in a frown and his breathe heaved audibly. He looked nervous.

    SMACK!

    Rojin had hit the boy about the back of the head.

    "Aaayuushh," said Rojin, "Don''t be so stupid. No one is going to fight you to the death. What nonsense! Life should not be wasted so senselessly. What would your parents say if you went back home dead?"

    Remy didn''t think it possible but the kid''s frown deepened.

    "I am a Son of Gennu and I answer to him only. He demands his warriors be fierce and to never waiver in the face of death! I''m not afraid - I''m here to battle him," the boy yelled, "to banish the evil Children of K''aos from the land - the last remaining spawn of Obwatu."

    Remy knew there was definitely some words in the boy''s outburst that she did not recognize. K''aos? Obwatu? Remy made a mental note to ask Rojin about it later. She was more taken by the kid''s passion. It was fierce. So fierce, in fact, that Remy found herself wanting to edge way from him. She looked to Hisao for any hint of how to take this kid - was this a serious situation? And was this kid implying somehow that Hisao was one of these "evil" people?

    In science, sometimes the absence of information can tell a researcher more than a positive result - and that''s what Hisao gave her. His face devoid emotion but for the tiniest flicker in his eye. Remy couldn''t define exactly what the flicker meant - only that for now, Hisao was in business mode. Not good.

    Rojin sighed, "Talked this kid out of this, Hisao. He doesn¡¯t know what he''s saying."

    "Shut it old man! I know exactly what -"

    "Boy," Hisao voice was clear and crisp, "I will fight you."

    "Hisao¡­" protested Rojin.

    Hisao ignored Rojin''s plea and continued, "I will fight you - but not to the death. Instead, it will be a wager. If you defeat me I will return with you to you''re Temple of Gennu and be dealt with according to his wishes. If I win¡­"

    Remy watched the boy straighten his back and his jaw stiffened. He was intrigued.

    "I win and for one week you will remain at this Temple and for one week you will walk without Gennu as your guide."

    The boy''s fist clenched and Remy could swear she could hear his teeth grind. The boy dropped his gaze from Hisao to the ground. Remy could tell he was thinking about it - hard.

    "A minute ago you were willing to risk your life. Now what makes you so unsure? You don''t plan on losing do you?" said HIsao.

    "Of course I don''t," spat the boy.

    He fell silent again. Remy had never been dedicated to any faith back at on Earth - but she could see how asking someone to abandon theirs might be considered worst than death - even if it was for a short time. She hoped this wasn''t the case. The boy looked so young and to be involved with such extreme beliefs gave Remy a bitter taste in her mouth. Remy felt herself bite her bottom lip. This Gennu god was not leaving her with a good first impression.

    "Well¡­" said Hisao

    "It''s a deal," answered the boy.

    There was no hand shake - Remy had half expected one. Instead, Hisao and the boy gave each a shallow nod to confirm the agreement.

    "Ooooh aaayuussh," said Rojin, "what trouble¡­ what trouble this is¡­"

    ***

    The four of them trekked through the woods. Hisao leading followed by the boy, then Remy, then Rojin. The path they walked was well worn and headed east along the side of the mountain. Rojin had requested they ''do battle'' outside of the temple grounds. Hisao suggested that he knew a place.

    Remy barely had to argue to come along. Just as Hisao and her were getting started Rojin interjected with a simple, "it''s time, Hisao."

    A mysterious statement, no doubt. What had they been hiding from her until now? Remy could only speculate. Judging by the fact that they were now headed toward a "battlefield" and that clearly two armed, well-trained men were about to fight - Remy figured that it had to be something to do with the Qi energy. That maybe she would finally get to see a live example of how ''warriors'' harnessed this energy. But was this ''Gennu'' anything like what she read in the Memoirs of Orodoki? Doubt flitted in her mind - perhaps this was all metaphorical and that this Qi was merely a strength derived from faith and nothing more. That the books she studied were nothing more than words on a page.

    But she was sure she had felt something when she caught those eggs¡­.

    "Hey boy," Rojin''s voice carried itself over Remy to the kid who walked in front of her, "what''s your name Oh Great Son of Gennu?"

    Remy watched the boy shift his pack, the blunt end of the spear nearly grazed the ground. His pack looked old compared to the robes her wore. The matching wrappings and the overall tidiness of his attire made Remy feel like his was wearing a uniform. The boy turned his head slightly to answer.

    "Juyong. It''s Juyong Gu."

    "Gu, you say?" said Rojin, "Hmmm¡­. Does your teacher know about your current endeavour? Because if they were the one to send you - you may want to consider finding a new one."

    Juyong scoffed. He shifted his attention back to the path in front of him and continued to walk. Remy had to wonder - was the kid here on his own? Remy didn''t know much about Hisao''s skills but she can assume by the age difference alone that Juyong was at a disadvantage. Or so that''s what she hoped, at least.

    Remy didn''t know how exactly how this battle would go. She had never seen a martial fight before. Regardless, she decided to take her med bag with her - just in case. Her eyes darted to the spear that stuck out from Juyong''s pack. The weapon reached far past the top of his head. The blade was wide and instead of coming to a point it was curved up like a decorative sword and was about a foot in length. It could be used to pierce things but the style looked like it would do better if one were to slash with it. Remy remembered Hisao''s wound from the first time she met him. It was a fight, she realized¡­. a fight just like this one that nearly took his life.

    It wasn''t long before the trees and foliage broke and the path opened up to an expansive field. The earth was unbroken and was seeded with short grass and stunted brush. Rocks protruded here and there reminding them they were still on the side of a mountain. To the north the mountain continued up - but to how high, Remy couldn''t tell as the peak sat further beyond the crest of the nearest hill. To the south¡­.

    Remy''s breath was taken away. The field gave a clear view from the side the mountain. Land stretched on for miles. Remy could see the road that led to their town, Yodakodun, and even the Yodakodun itself. She could see the river where she found Hisao and beyond that she could even see another town - larger than Yodakodun - it was probably Ibikosun. If it were a clearer day Remy wondered just how far she would be able to see. But for now, Ibikosun was the furthest. After that the sky melted into the earth in a grey haze.

    It was a beautiful sight but for some reason it made her heart sink. Homesickness. It had a tendency to sneak in when she dropped her guard, if only for a moment. She shooked it off and turned her back to the view. Today was an important day - today she was going to see if the Qi of Faith really existed. And if it did then perhaps it really could be something that could help her get home.

    Juyong had removed his pack and set it by Rojin who sat comfortably on a wide rock off to the northern edge of the field. Remy went to join him as Hisao an Juyong took their positions at the center of the field. It was strange, but seeing Hisao standing there in the yellowing late afternoon sun made the remaining thoughts of home slip from her mind. She became focused - her stomach tightened with anticipation.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    The men stood about 30 feet apart. Juyong straighten his weapon, setting the base on the ground at his feet and the blade in line with his face. Hisao removed his sword from his belt. One hand rested on the hilt with the other secure on the black sheath - the blade remained undrawn.

    Juyong spun the spear above his head and sunk into a deep wide stance. He swung the weapon down and directed it so that the point faced Hisao. Before Hisao had even begun to removed his blade from its sheath, Juyong charged. He closed the distance of 30 feet in only a few seconds. Remy watched as his blade moved in a swirl of blurs. It slashed and swept around Hisao. Hisao moved quickly though, just as fast as Juyong blade. Hisao dipped and side stepped and occasionally brought his sheath sword up to deflect Juyong''s attack.

    Juyong was grunting in frustration. He swung his blade wide - sweeping it around his back and over his head. To gain momentum, Remy watched Juyong throw his whole body into the air to spin along with his ferocious blade. Hisao moved out of the way just in time as the blade came smashing down. As it struck earth Remy heard a tremendous crash that made her rise to her feet. Juyong''s blade had cut right through solid rock, splintering it as if it were a piece of wood.

    "Holy shit!"

    The words had spilled out of her mouth unconsciously. How in the on earth? No¡­ this wasn''t earth. On earth a human male would not be able to accomplish such a feat. On earth it would take bloody jackhammer to do what that kid just did. Remy gaped. It was like the two men hadn''t even noticed. Hisao, though focused on the fight, hadn''t even drawn his sword in response to the obvious danger.

    Hisao continued to dodge and deflect Juyong advances. Remy watched him leap from side to side, his agility beyond what she could fathom. He was able to casually cover so much distance, moving five to ten feet with each stride. The two men moved across the battlefield covering an unsurmountable amount of ground. When Hisao dodged backward he was easily clearing 15 feet.

    This must be the Qi. No man could move like that. It was unhuman. Remy was afraid to blink. Afraid to miss any moment of it. The shear power from the both of them¡­ she had never seen anything like it - she couldn''t have - there was nothing on earth to which it compared.

    Juyong grunted more frequently now - each time landing vicious strikes upon the earth. Dirt and stones were launched in air as his blade cut deep with every missed attack. Hisao still hadn''t struck back. One final clash of spear blade against sword sheath the men jumped back - again putting a distance of 30 feet between the two of them.

    Juyong heaved. He chest moving quickly up and down. He reached his hand up to his headband and tugged it loose. He looped it around the based of his blade and tide it off. Remy watched the material dance in the wind - floating like a banner for Juyong''s Gennu.

    "Draw your sword," called Juyong.

    Hisao didn''t answer. He stood with his hands by his sides, his blade still tucked safely away.

    "DRAW YOUR SWORD!" shouted Juyong. His voice shook with anger.

    "ooooh my," said Rojin. Remy looked over to find it that his comment wasn''t directed at her. Rojin''s eyes were locked on the boy. Remy couldn¡¯t see what Juyong face looked like from where her and Rojin were but it was like she could almost feel that it was twisted into a furious rage.

    The rage Remy felt emanating from Juyong took the form in a frustrated roar. His voice echoed against the mountain side. With that, he grabbed knot of his headband near the base of his blade. He pulled the loose material away from the blade and let it slide through his closed fist. As it passed through his hand and out the other end¡­. it was on fire. Juyong dropped the flaming material and brought his hand up in a sweeping motion past the blade itself. The flames followed - igniting the weapon from the makeshift tassel to the very tip. Juyong now wielded a blade of fire.

    Remy felt her knees weaken¡­. It wasn''t possible. You can''t create something from nothing. It must be an elaborate trick. As soon as he starts to move the flame had to go out, right? Was this all for show? For intimidation?  She looked to Hisao. He lacked any signs of astonishment, he looked almost¡­ disappointed?

    Juyong brought the flaming blade above his head and began to spin the weapon. The faster he spun it the larger the flames grew until it look like a continuous circle of fire. He launched into an attack. The flames trailed behind each move. They leapt and licked Juyong as he moved from stance to stance. He was dancing through them - and together it made it seem like there was more than one weapon assaulting Hisao.

    Then Remy saw it. There was something different about the way Juyong was attacking Hisao. Instead of swing wide arcing attacks, his range was more concentrated. She saw that his hands were farther up the handle of his weapon - that they sat closer to the flame bearing blade. He was thrusting in between his short sweeps and Hisao was being forced to deflect using his sheath more and more frequently. Juyong must have figured out that Hisao was faster than he was - that he had to change his game to keep up.

    Juyong shouted again and a blast of flames extended out from the tip of his blade - grazing past Hisao''s left shoulder. Hisao barely made it out of the way.

    It had happened so quickly that Remy nearly missed it. During Hisao''s dodge there was a flash. A flash of metal catching sunlight. Remy saw Juyong cry out and stumble back.

    For a moment Juyong lowered his firey blade. Remy could see his face - and she could see that there blood was spilling down from Juyong''s brow and onto his cheek. Hisao had cut him above the eye. The blood gushed - it poured like a waterfall, completely covering Juyong''s right eye.

    Hisao sword sat unsheathed. The sun latched onto the blade making it glare harshly. Juyong was heaving more deeply now, his exhales accompanied by savage grunts. He took his hand and brought it to the flaming blade, he swept the flames downward along the handle of his spear. The fire followed hungrily igniting the weapon from tip to based.

    Remy couldn''t believe it. Juyong had his hand in the flames and still gripped to the weapon''s handle. She had barely begun processing that information when Juyong leapt into action again.

    He became a flurry of fire. With every sweep giant arcs of flames followed. His reach extended three fold and he chased Hisao around the battle field with a giant snake-like stream of fire. Hisao could not stop moving - not for a moment. If he did - oh god, what would she do? Remy would have to treat burns¡­ she didn''t have the stuff for that - not in her med bag. What was she going to do? How was she to -

    Hisao had disappeared. She had been watching him. She hadn''t taken her eyes of him. Where had he gone? In that instant Juyong was sent flying back. The boy was launched into the air and hit the ground 50 feet from where he had been standing. He tumbled to a stop then struggled to get up.

    Hisao was standing from where Juyong had been launched. His blade was back in his sheath. He was waiting patiently for Juyong to regain his footing.

    As soon as Juyong could stand he returned to his fighting stance, though wavering slightly. He didn''t hesitate for long. Juyong ran at Hisao again - blade held straight up above his head creating a flag of trailing fire. He swung the blade forward and launched the whole collection of flames from its tip. The fireball sailed through the air toward Hisao.

    Remy watched close this time. Again she nearly missed it. Hisao dodged and closed the distance between he and Juyong in less than a second. Juyong didn''t even have to turn his head as Hisao darted past - Hisao was just too fast. Before Juyong could react Hisao brought his sheathed sword down across the back of Juyong''s right shoulder. The forced carried through Juyong''s body and flung him face first into the ground.

    His spear tumbled to the side. It''s flames snuffed out.

    <hr />

    Apparently, I have no idea what the word ''schedule'' means.

    Regardless, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

 Chapter 13 - Answers

    "I need water. Both hot and cold, please," Remy could hear herself say, "and if you have any more spare cloth - I would like that too."

    Rojin nodded and disappeared out of the guest room door. Hisao laid Juyong''s unconscious body on the bedding Remy had laid out. Just one sheet and a head roll.

    They had made it back to the temple just as the sun sank past the treeline while twilight was creeping in from the east. Remy had spent the walk back, not thinking about the fight she had just witnessed, instead about the boy slung over Hisao''s shoulder. With the impact damage he sustained - she prepared herself for the worst: broken bones, internal bleeding, organ damage. Inside her mind she made a list of supplies and organized a plan of attack. If someone were to mention the word Qi - Remy would answer, "what about it?"

    Juyong''s face was covered in a smear of dirt and blood. As concerning as it appeared it was the least of Remy''s worries. She touched the back of her hand to his face. The boy''s head felt warm to the touch - feverish almost. Remy moved her palm to his mouth. His breathing was weak and shallow. His pulse - still strong.

    In that time Rojin had brought a bowl of cold water and a large sheet of linen. He disappeared again before Remy could say her thanks. She pulled her med bag nearer to her and opened it. She reached in a grabbed her thermometer and stethoscope. She threw the stethoscope around her neck and put the thermometer in Juyong''s mouth. While it took his temperature she went to work on untying his belt.

    She opened his robes. The blood from his face had trickled down his chest and mingled with the sweat and dirt from the fight. Just like Hisao, Juyong was fit and lean from his training. Remy squinted in the fading light. It was difficult to see if there was discolouration of his skin. She cursed aloud. The thermometer beeped to indicate it was finished.

    Remy looked at the display screen, holding it to the light from the window. It read¡­ she squinted harder.

    Light from a candle illuminated the screen. She had almost forgotten that Hisao was still in the room. She murmured a thanks. It read 47 degrees Celsius. What the? That wasn''t possible - adults were considered to have a fever if their temperature was over 38 degrees. At this temperature, Juyong should be suffering from severe heat stroke - severe enough to induced seizures. Proteins in the body can function at that high of a temperature - Juyong should be showing all the signs of a system wide failure.

    Remy brought her stethoscope to her ears and put the bell on Juyong''s chest. His heartbeat was regular and strong. No arrhythmia. She move the stethoscope to his lungs. The breath came shallow - but not rapid as she would expect with heat stroke. She reached for the candle. Hisao had set it next to her on the floor. She brought it closer to Juyong''s skin. It wasn''t flushed either.

    Juyong had a raging fever but showed zero signs of having any form of detrimental heat shock. Remy moved her palm to his forehead again. Still hot.

    "It''s because he can wield fire," said Hisao. His voice made Remy jump. Again she had forgotten that he was still in the room.

    "His temperature, you mean?" said Remy

    Hisao nodded. Not that Remy knew anything about the strange magic she had seen on the battlefield - but as least she felt that she could trust Hisao on this. A temperature that high would kill a man - Juyong should''ve been long dead. The heat, Remy concluded, was a red herring. Juyong was suffering from more serious issues - his wounds from battle.

    Hisao had hit him twice - once across the chest and again across his upper back. Remy took the candle and moved it to Juyong''s chest. She could see light bruising - the strip ran diagonally from Juyong''s lower rib cage on the right side to just next to his sternum. The bruising was on the surface - the colour was discontinuous and a light purple. It was capillary bruising - something one would get if they bumped their head or got a charlie horse. Good - Juyong wasn''t suffering form internal bleeding. Remy considered this rather remarkable considering the kid was launched 50 some feet from the impact of the attack.

    Remy placed a hand on either side of Juyong''s chest. His breathing, though shallow, came evenly to both sides. Remy listened with her stethoscope again - respiratory sounds were normal. She even percussed to check for dullness from hemothorax - no sign. Remy was astonished. Such a powerful attack - yet no blunt force trauma. She did a quick palpitation of Juyong''s ribs to check for irregular bone structure. All ribs were intact. If she were to be asked for diagnosis she would have to say he likely had a few fractured ribs and mild bruising.

    The temptation to pondered these findings lingered for mere seconds. Remy knew that she had to move on - Hisao''s second hit had finished the fight - the damage to Juyong''s shoulder and back could be worse.

    Remy worked on pulling Juyong robe off his shoulder and Hisao lit another candle. The sunlight was fading fast and darkness had settled in the guest room. Shadows from the candle light danced against the wall. Remy gently lifted Juyong''s arm to slip his sleeve free.

    Most things in medicine didn''t bother Remy - she had volunteered time in the emergency room back at home and had seen some pretty grotesque sights: infected cuts, bodily fluids of all kinds, severe swelling. But for some reason what always got under her skin was broken bones or torn ligaments. She hated the way it looked. The body seemingly fine but for the unnatural angle of someone''s ankle as their limp foot dangle at the end of their leg would make her shudder. And so Remy shuddered when she saw Juyong''s shoulder.

    The arm hung limp at his side and where the smooth curve of the shoulder should have been was a large gap. Remy could see the clavicle sticking up under the skin while the rest of the shoulder fell away. It created a deviation in the shoulder that looked like a step - the top step was the end of the clavicle and the next step the acromion. Juyong had a shoulder separation - an AC tear grade 3. Meaning it wasn''t the kind that could be fixed with a quick twist of the arm. The ligaments were torn, severely, right at the joint that connect his arm to his torso.

    Surgery. That''s what would fix this. Pin and bolts and a sheet of metal. Remy could do none of those things for Juyong.

    "Damnit¡­" said Remy. Her mind spun desperately looking for solutions. It looked like a complete tear. The only thing she could do for him would be to stabilize the shoulder. If she brought the joint back together, maybe by reducing the distance, the healing process could repair the damage on the joint. It would take months - but it was better than nothing.

    Remy reached for the cloth. She tore a few strips free and set them aside to use for later. She kept one and rolled it into a firm ball. The large remaining piece from which she tore the strips was large and rectangular. She it measured it against Juyong''s body. Yes, it would worked as a sling.

    "I need your help," said Remy. She didn''t even look to check if Hisao was still in the room and thankfully he was. Hisao stepped out of a shadowy corner and crouched across from her on the other side of Juyong.

    "I''m going to need you help me lift him - you support his arm and aid me in rolling him on his side. I need to get this," Remy held up the ball of cloth, "under his shoulder blade. And then I''ll need to tie it in place with that."

    Remy was pointing at the large piece of rectangular linen. Her goal - if she could do it - would be to push the scapula forward, bringing the arm back to it''s original position before the separation.

    "Ready?" said Remy. Hisao nodded.

    "Go."

    Hisao lifted Juyong with one hand on his arm an the other tucked under his back - tilting him only a few inches off the floor. Remy went to work. She slipped her hands behind Juyong''s back and pulled his shoulder blade up and then forward. The step-like gap between the clavicle and the acromion closed - not completely but enough. Remy wedged the bundle of clothe under the shoulder then reached for her sling. She slid the square linen under Juyong''s back - making sure the small bundle didn''t move. She bent Juyong''s arm so that it was folded up toward his neck. She covered his arm with the sling and tied it off on the opposite shoulder.

    It was all she could do. Juyong had been using his spear primarily with that hand. Now, without the possibility of surgery, Remy doubted that he would ever get full range back. She didn''t know much about this world''s warriors but she suspected that this kid''s warring days would be over.

    Hisao gently rolled Juyong back to the floor.

    "Thanks," said Remy. She place her hand behind her to lend support as she leaned back to stretch her hunched back. She could feel her mind was slowing down and the adrenaline fading. She closed her eyes and breathed out a long sigh of relief. It had been a long day.

    When Remy opened her eyes she found Hisao staring at her. He was still crouched, his arms resting on his knees, and his eyes locked on her. The dark pools of brown looked even deeper in the candle light. Remy remembered how this stare used to unnerve her, how it used to make her blush. But today she met his gaze and instead of feeling a rush in her cheeks she felt a swell of pride in her chest. For she was sure his gaze wasn''t that of investigation or curiosity - it was something different.

    Juyong stirred slightly. Murmuring something under his breath. It was Remy''s reminder that her work wasn''t done. Not yet.

    "I''ll just need to get him cleaned up now - before he wakes," said Remy, "you don''t have to stay for that. All the tough stuff is done."

    Hisao took her advice. He got to his feet and moved out of the room, closing the door behind when he left.

    ***

    The room was quiet and Remy had just finished cleaning the last of the blood from Juyong''s face and chest. Rojin had returned with the bowl of hot water but hadn''t lingered - Hisao must''ve passed on the message that there wasn''t much for him to do.

    Juyong would stir every once and a while but his eyes remained closed. The cut above his brow hadn''t been too deep. It would heal better had it had stitches but it wasn''t severe enough for Remy to use another one of her suture packs. The scar would be bigger as a result but Remy had a feeling Juyong would be the type to see it as bragging rights rather than complain about its appearance.

    Remy sat back on her heels. Technically, she had done all she could for Juyong. For having been in such an extreme fight, he was holding up pretty well. The worst injury being the AC tear - if it didn''t heal correctly the long term effects weren''t great.

    It had to have been the Qi, Remy figured, that saved him. The Qi must''ve protected him from the force of Hisao blows. The same Qi that allowed Juyong to control fire with the flick of his hand. The same Qi that let both men move swiftly across the  battlefield - moving a speeds beyond any human''s limits.

    It was the same Qi that Rojin had talked about being able to harness - to use to one''s gain whether it be in battle, or in harvest. Though, he''d never really given her a more detailed explanation than that. Remy wasn''t an expert with physics - she didn''t know how this ''energy'' could be a part of the tangible world. Or how fire could spontaneously erupt from one''s hand or how it increased the speed of one''s actions. She didn''t know what it did to matter on a molecular basis - or how it could physically manipulate the world around her.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    But it did. And she had felt it - earlier that day. She had felt something change when she had caught the hairpin and the eggs. She had felt something she had never been able to feel before. Her senses were heighten, she could react faster - it was like something had sparked within her. That something had to be the source of those abilities. She recalled the feelings from her morning mediations - she could feel the air stir when she was meditating. She had thought she was just in ''the zone'' but perhaps it was something like the Qi energy. She remembered the way she would imagine it moving around her hands and through her body.

    If it could be manipulated and formed¡­ then maybe¡­ Remy listened for sounds from outside. The guest room she was in was the one next to hers but at the back of the house. The window faced the yard, overlooking the back porch into the small area where Rojin did his cooking. She could hear someone shifting around the yard, like they were stoking a fire - likely Rojin. Some light flickered in from the window indicating that the lanterns on the porch had been lit as well. No one was close enough to see what she was about to do next.

    Remy brought her hands over Juyong''s shoulder and began to concentrate. She attempted to clear her mind in the same manner she did during her morning practice. She tried to feel the energy around her hands. Was it stirring? Remy couldn''t tell. She focused harder - thinking Juyong''s wound. She imagined bringing the joint together - hoping to bridge the gap. Remy could feel her palms tingle. Or were they? Maybe they were?

    "That''s not how it works" said a voice from the window.

    "Son of a ---. Christ, Hisao," Remy was snapped back to reality in a flash, her heart leaping to well past 100 bpm. The burn of embarrassment in her cheeks followed thereafter. Where the hell did he come from? And why did he always do that?

    "You shouldn''t think so hard," said Hisao, "it''s not good for you. Plus it makes your face all wrinkly - it doesn''t help your appearance. And trust me -"

    "I need all the help I can get," finished Remy. She got to her feet and cursed under her breath some more. Her legs protested fiercely - her knees ached. She had been sitting way too long.

    "Ahhh - well, I''m glad you know it," said Hisao, "come out. Rojin made some food."

    Remy stretched her back by reaching her arms forward and bending at the waist. She hadn''t realized it but she was starving. She didn''t even notice the smell of the cooking food while she was working - but now, it was all she could think about. Her mouth watered in anticipation.

    She was outside seconds later. It was late into the evening and the warm light from the lanterns and Rojin''s cooking fire was a welcoming sight. Rojin, himself, was no where to be seen but Hisao sat on the edge of the porch. Beside him a plate of cooked fish. Remy bee-lined it toward the plate, quickly settling next to him. It took thirty seconds for her to finish her first fish. She reached for a second but then paused. The hunger had subsided and she felt her priorities shift. Hisao was sitting quietly next to her. This was her chance to finally ask some questions.

    "So, how does it work?" said Remy. She dusted bits of food from her finger tips onto the ground.

    Hisao sat silent. Long enough for Remy to begin to wonder if he was just choosing to ignore her - which wouldn''t be the first time.

    "It works based on you''re God''s will," said Hisao, "your Qi and its form depends greatly upon which God you to choose to practice under."

    Remy unconsciously leaned toward Hisao. He had never really given her lessons on anything, minus their one disaster. She had always looked to Rojin to inform her on the ways of the world. There were something things, however, that Rojin would wave off. Most of those times it would be the question in regards to Qi - saying that she needed to know more of their language before he could explain or that she would find better answers in the memoirs. The memoirs, however, just brought Remy more confusion without any worldly context. Hisao could be the real world link that she needed.

    Hisao continued, "Of the ten Gods, each has its own practice, its own memoirs, its own following. The Qi granted by following a particular God will take the form of their philosophies found in the memoirs. Just before, when you tried to heal Juyong - there are practices of that nature under the God called Aione. Healers are trained at Aione''s Temple and use her Qi to mend wounds and treat illnesses."

    Remy couldn''t stop herself. She interrupted bluntly, "so, what about Gennu and Orodoki?"

    "I''m not familiar with Gennu''s practices but it looks like his Qi grants control of fire," Hisao voice dropped off, "it''s not just that¡­ though¡­."

    "It''s what exactly?" probed Remy.

    "I''ve seen flame wielders before - from the Temple of Fuchou. But this Gennu¡­." Hisao shook his head in defeat, "I''ll need to ask Juyong when he is able¡­."

    She could see the concern on Hisao face - a rarity to actually witness a definable expression that wasn''t one of his top three. Unfortunately with this new found concern he was slipping into his withdrawn mood - she could tell. But Remy wasn''t done with her questions - not yet anyway.

    "What about Orodoki? Have I been practicing under him? Is that why I can move differently now? Is that why you can move so fast?" The questions spilled from her mouth in a panic.

    It had worked, thought. Hisao flicked a look over to her. Her eagerness must''ve been painted on her face because Hisao let out an annoyed sigh paired with a hint of an eye roll.

    "It''s not as simple as just attending a temple and going through the motions. One must adopt their God''s beliefs as their own and live to practice them daily. The further the understanding the deeper rooted the Qi becomes. Most never surpass a basic connection - the farmers, the shop owner, the regular folk. Warriors could always harness more in comparison due to years of dedication.

    You''re abilities have grown just past a basic level understanding. I''m guessing it was the memoirs that allowed you to learn so quickly - but you don''t seem to be a person who follows in Orodoki''s ways. Not normally anyway. You''re too bossy. And you can''t just relax."

    "What?!" said Remy. She felt suddenly hot. She was so annoyed - why did he have to insult her in the middle of explaining things? He did not have to do that. Her voice cracked as a bit of her patience flitted away, "What to you mean too bossy? And what is Orodoki''s beliefs? Is he the God of ''being cool'' or something?"

    Hisao looked at her confused, "No? What? Orodoki''s Qi is not an ice wielding Qi."

    Remy groaned. Granted it was nice that she was become so fluent in the language - but she sometimes lost herself in her own excitement. Maybe she would teach him about it later - Hisao, for some reason, enjoyed picking up on her slang.

    Remy breathed out to calm herself. Okay new topic. One that involved her this time.

    "Earlier Juyong had mentioned two words I didn''t recognized. He called you a Child of K''aos and said something about an Obwatu. Could you tell me what those mean?"

    Remy had her guard up - preparing for more insults, but dropped it quickly as she watched Hisao''s face. It wasn''t concern that she saw and it was far from being annoyed with her. It just looked like shear exhaustion. Hisao had been leaning casually on one arm but now he move forward. He slouched his back and brought an arm to his knee so that he could rest his chin upon his palm.

    He answered, though his eyes were lost to the dwindling flames of the cooking fire, "our world is a complicated place, Remy. Our people have been through a horrendous trial. The Qi that you see us using today - the power that can be wielded has increased greatly in the last 15 years. And it began with Obwatu."

    Hisao paused. When he continued his voice was quieter and his words came slowly, "Rojin wanted to wait to tell you. You were so strange - it was obvious you were not from our land. Then to discover later that you claim to not be from our whole world brought more concerns. I don''t know much about your home, Remy. But our land has been a frightening place. 15 years ago, Obwatu arrived and with him came terrifying monsters. Thankfully, our gods did not turn away and granted us gifts and abilities to fight back. Obwatu was stopped 5 years after he had arrived - but our powers remained and so did the memory of the  his terror. We are in the wake of his path of destruction - this land is trying to rebuild. But after so much devastation I fear it is struggling to find its way. Juyong, his Gennu, the Children of K''aos¡­."

    Hisao brought his gaze back to Remy. It was then that Remy saw it again - Hisao had dropped his guard. And her heart sunk in her chest  - it was like she was staring straight into the face the statue of Orodoki himself. Even though Hisao sat right next to her he was looking at her as though she was miles away. She gripped the side of the porch, curling her fingers around the wood to stop her from reaching to touch his face to show him that she wasn''t - that she was, in fact, right beside him.

    Hisao spoke, "there is so much you don''t know but, it is late¡­ and the story is long,"

    "You will tell me - won''t you?" said Remy.

    "Yes. I will. Soon. But not tonight."

    <hr />

    Holy crap guys! That was a long chapter - I hope you enjoyed it. I really do. Annnnnnd guess what - I''M ON TIME!!! WOOT WOOT. Come now - it''s the small things in life - am I right?

    Anyway - if you like what you''re reading and think it''s cool as beans then please comment below, write a review, give a rating, show your support, yo!

    Also, been doing some thinking and having some thoughts - I miiiiiight do a blog. MAYBE. It would be focused on writing and I''ll be blurbing and word vomiting about my first time experience attempting to write a full length story. CAUSE IT AIN''T EASY! So, if you''re interested PM or comment and let me know. I just thought it might be a cool way to: ONE - get more feedback and TWO - create a community where beginner authors can vent about the trials and tribulations of creating a world all on their own (there is probably a subreddit for that but I think a blog would be MORE fun).

    Buuuuuuuut yeah..... I guess that''s it. Have a good weekend?

    ;)

 Chapter 14 - Godless

    Remy wasn''t sure if she would fall asleep when she finally made it to her bed. But as she lay her head down it took only moments for her lids to fall. She slept until the first hint of light - it was then that she woke with a start. Her mind felt refreshed and from the moment her eyes opened her thoughts raced in attempts to process the events from the day before. There was so much, however, that Remy couldn''t see it all clearly. She needed to map it out and she couldn''t do that from bed.

    The ground was damp with dew and Remy could see her breath as she made her way to the dojo across the courtyard. There were no shadows yet for the sun hadn''t risen above the horizon. The steel blue sky of dawn provided Remy just enough light for her to make her way to the back storage room. She pulled the memoirs from their chest and brought them with her to the East side of the wrap-around deck of the dojo.

    There was just so much information to process. She had come into this world not knowing anything about it. Since the day she arrived she had learned a multitude of things. Starting with the primitive setting - the world was roughly 500 years behind Earth''s modern civilization. Remy had grown to accept that. She had also grown to understand, through Rojin''s guidance, that the people of this world were very religion oriented. He had explained to her the memoirs and the rarity of her gift in being able to read such an ancient language - but until now, Remy hadn''t any context for the information that her gift was capable of revealing to her.

    From what she understood so far was that there were ten different sets of memoirs - each in reference to a God and their teaches. Judging by the information Hisao had given her yesterday these Gods had their own following. Study their philosophises and thus gain their powers based on those teachings. It was from such memoirs that the philosophies were being taught - it was from the memoirs that warriors gained their special abilities.

    Remy opened the second volume of Orodoki''s teachings. The spine was well worn and the pages yellow with age. The words had been documented approximately one thousand years before by an Eiraf - a holy man connected to the God, himself. The instructions in the memoirs were there to teach man how to walk in Orodoki''s footsteps. Originally, Remy had approached these memoirs with the same skepticism that she held with any religion back on Earth. She knew that holy scriptures were used as tools - tools that taught lessons on the do''s and don''t''s of life. She, personally, had never followed one particular religion - in fact, she considered herself, not an atheist, but instead an agnostic for her skepticism never fully allowed her to believe either argument; there may not be proof that there is a God but also, that there was zero proof that there isn''t a God. Science often answers questions with more questions - perhaps a higher power is involved - it''s an answer Remy wasn''t willing to discount.

    But here¡­ in this world - the Qi of Faith was something that was real - that was tangible - that was usable. It was proof that something within the teachings of the scriptures allowed access to a higher power of some kind. Whether it was an actual God, Remy couldn''t say - but still, there was something beyond just plain old ''faith''; something that granted a normal human beings supernatural gifts. And Remy - given her special ability - had direct access to that information.

    Remy pulled open her notebook and flipped to a blank page. Remy''s original goal, when reading the memoirs, was to find reference to how she got here - as the her gift to read the language came when she had arrived. Now, there was so much more too it. Now, it wasn''t quite that simple. She numbered the lines from one to ten. In the top four lines she wrote: Orodoki, Gennu, Aione, and Fuchou. Beside her list she wrote the words ''Obwatu?'' and ''Children of Chaos?''. Her pen tapped the edge of the page and Remy chewed on her bottom lip. Hisao had said that when this ''Obwatu'' arrived the Qi of Faith gave raise to the abilities granted to the warriors. For thousands of years these people had known about the Qi of Faith - but only recently has it allowed for these super humans to exist. Hisao was one of them.

    "Oooooh," whispered Remy in revelation. Hisao must be a war hero - he must''ve battled against Obwatu - that''s likely why the town folk treated him the way that they did. She just thought he was some kind of star athlete but now - now she understood that he must be much more than that.

    But¡­.

    Remy''s ''oooooh'' went from one of revelation to one of confusion. Juyong had showed up claiming that Hisao was ''spawn of Obwatu'' - that he was this so-called ''Child of K''aos''. Juyong also claimed that Hisao must be brought to justice as if implying that Hisao was some kind of enemy of the state. Remy''s pen tapped at double the speed now - her mind raced to straighten the story.

    She had no proof either way. She was so isolated at the temple that it was difficult for her to grasp the entirety of this civilization''s history. Apparently there were ten gods - of which she knew four. Additionally, there was some kind of war that happened over 15 years ago that ravaged the country - leaving behind super humans. She couldn''t blame Rojin for wanting to keep her sheltered. To him and Hisao she must look so fragile - so na?ve - so delicate.

    Remy''s cheeks burned at the thought. She remembered the way that Hisao changed when he found out that she would be staying with them permanently - or at least until she found her way home. For a guy who shirked his daily responsibilities regularly - he now had to deal with her. To him she must look like a helpless lost puppy.

    Remy grumbled under her breath. She wasn''t helpless - was she? Her eyes drifted from her notebook to the open pages of the memoir. She had tip toed long enough - listening patiently to Rojin''s cryptic teachings and tolerating Hisao''s annoyed eye rolls. Remy read the top line of the open page, "A path is a result - not a direction - all depends upon the choice to walk it".

    Remy had been standing still long enough. The time for playing coy had come and gone - now she wanted answers.

    *****

    It was hot. So bloody hot. Even in the shade Remy felt the trickle of sweat travel down her forehead, roll along the bridge of her nose, and drip off onto the page in front of her. She brought the back of her hand up to wipe her face. It was noon and Remy had but left her perch on the deck once to check on a sleeping Juyong. His fever had reduced and his vitals were stable, but he was still out cold. It had been hours since then and she thought of going to check on him again soon - just after she finished reviewing one more page.

    The memoirs had held her attention for most of the morning. She had looked up a few times from her studies to see Rojin doing his morning meditation. She did not join in - she considered it but something kept her rooted to the books - a new found ambition of sorts.

    Hisao had remained unseen for the day. When she had gone to bed the night before he had stayed up - for how long she didn''t know. He was frequently a night owl - which is why she and Rojin would catch him napping all over the complex regardless of the time day. It wasn''t a habit she was fond of considering the lack of sleep made him rather unpredictably moody and cranky.

    "At the center one''s direction infinite. Possibilities bombard the senses - but which is most probable? Do not discount circumstances - for it frames the outcome," said Remy. The words swirled in her mind. Each line read like it was from a poem - and it was infuriating. She filled in the last line of her page - "To which circumstances is it referring?"

    Two pages of questions she had written. Rojin had told her - it was her choice whether or not she wanted to share what she had learned from the pages of the memoirs. She had decided, early that morning, that she would have to - it was the only way to give the words any context - the only way to truly expand on her understanding. She hadn''t known the value of her talent until now - that knowing the teachings in the text was the best way to gain access to the Qi of Faith - and that meant gaining unbelievable abilities in strength, speed, and even elemental manipulation.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Remy slid her notebook away from her in a gesture of finality. She reached her arms up for a stretch and tilted her chin from side to side to relieve the kink forming in her neck. Upon turning to her right she saw that sitting beside her was her patient - Juyong.

    "Good morning, Healer," said Juyong. He was smiling. His arm was still wrapped tight in the sling and his right eye was slightly shut due to the swelling from the cut on his brow. His smile, however, was revealing of his youth. The day before he looked so severe when he was calling for a battle to the death - now his eyes looked welcoming and kind. His tone was polite and calm. Remy had forgotten to factor in the rapid healing time - still she was surprised by his condition.

    "The old man said that you were over here - he said that you helped me get better," Juyong pointed at his sling, "I am grateful. Thank you. And Oh - "

    Juyong slid off the edge of the deck to his feet. He laid his free hand by his side and bowed deeply, "My name is Juyong Gu. I am a follower - "

    He stopped but didn''t rise from his bow, "I regularly follow Gennu''s wisdom. His temple is my home and his worshippers are my family."

    Juyong rose from his bow with a pleasant smile, although, to Remy it looked slightly odd. He sat again next to her and his smile faded. She could tell he was taught to smile and be pleasant - as if instructed by a parent. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that he looked dejected. He had introduce himself without claiming his defining aspect - his religion.

    "I''m Remy Dalton," said Remy. She bowed her head slightly toward Juyong.

    "Rem-ee," Juyong tried it out, "that''s a different name - are you a traveler?"

    Remy didn''t know exactly what Juyong meant, or perhaps she had her words mistaken, she answered anyway, "of sorts, I guess."

    She saw Juyong look past her to the memoir and reactively she closed the book. She was going to share her knowledge - just not yet. Not with Juyong, anyway.

    "Are those - " said Juyong.

    "Uuuuhh¡­" Remy cut him off, "Juyong - you''re right. I''m not really from here. And I did travel from a long way."

    Her distraction worked. His attention was back on her.

    "I''m from a land that is¡­. Uhh¡­," lying was not her forte, "well it''s far. And yesterday you mentioned a ''Child of K''aos'' - what is that exactly?"

    Juyong looked taken aback - but by now it wasn''t something that Remy was embarrassed by and with her new found ambition she forged shamelessly forward, "You called Hisao a Child of K''aos. I''m not familiar with the term."

    Juyong looked at his feet, "It''s a term used to refer to those who wield Qi but lack a God''s guidance. In the eyes of Gennu they are considered dangerous - that they are imbued with Obwatu''s evil spirit."

    Remy was watched him shift uncomfortably. He wasn''t quite as enthusiastic as the day before. What had changed - was it embarrassment? Juyong continued, "We Sons of - I mean - the Sons of Gennu have pledged to protect the people - from any and all things left behind from the time of Obawtu."

    Remy watched Juyong struggle with his words. He was staying true to the wager from the battle - to walk without Gennu as his guide. He had even denied himself the title of ''Son''. Needless to say, Remy was impressed - this kid had honour. She had to wonder why such a seemingly good kid was doing here - challenging a seasoned warrior to a battle to the death. The answer to that question would have to wait - for now the issue was Hisao. He was what - Godless?

    "But why would Hisao be considered a someone without a God? He''s a Son of Orodoki, no?" asked Remy.

    "At one time there was a God named Orodoki - but he has been dead for many years," said Juyong.

    Remy had always been under the impression that immortality was sort of a given when it came to being a God - but maybe that was just an Earth rule.

    "I''m sorry - did you say dead?" said Remy.

    "Mmmm - yes, for many years - before the arrival of Obwatu," said Juyong, "you have noticed? You live here, right? Temples are places where many come to worship - not just on holy days but any day. This temple hasn''t been used in a long time."

    He wasn''t wrong. Remy hadn''t seen anyone come to the temple since she had arrived. None of the town folk came to visit, even though Hisao was often given gifts when they went to town. Rojin, too, would say he was helping one person or another from town and his payment was in food or supplies -  or anything that was supplemental to the what they already grew themselves. But, as a practicing religion - the Temple of Orodoki had no parishioners.

    Remy looked around and now it became apparent - the fading paint, the over grown vines - the Temple seem to be falling apart before her very eyes. She recalled Rojin spending days repairing leaky roofs, loose boards, rotting window frames - often asking Hisao for help and Hisao reluctantly assisting. It was only the two of them who kept the place together.

    "Orodoki''s following left after his Qi faded. The followers said that he had died and abandoned his teachings. Then Obwatu came and when the other nine Heroes of Faith rose from their temples - Hisao Hajime came from Orodoki. It was said that the followers came back - but still found that the Qi wasn''t there - that Hajime was getting his power from elsewhere."

    Remy listened intently. She wanted to ask about the Heroes of Faith but didn''t want to interrupt Juyong, afraid that he''d stop.

    "It was when other people - those who didn''t belong to a Temple were gifted the abilities of a Warrior''s Qi that Hisao Hajime''s powers could be explained. It was only after Obwatu was entombed that Hajime was deemed a true Child of K''aos."

    "So, why are they considered dangerous?" asked Remy. As far as she could tell - Hisao would never used his power to harm someone. She couldn''t see him doing anything of the sort.

    It was Rojin who answered her, "unguided unbridled power corrupts the soul. A true child of K''aos grows into a monster; sick with Qi. This kid wouldn''t know a Child of K''aos if one sat right next him."

    Rojin had come from the direction of the living quarters. His old robes were wet with sweat and his chest glistened in the sunlight. Just seeing Rojin reminded Remy of how hot she was feeling too. Juyong, however, showed no sign of feeling the heat. An added bonus of being able to shoot fire from your hands, Remy guessed.

    Juyong scowled and Rojin ignored him.

    "Come along, you two - it''s time to eat" said Rojin

    <hr />

    Sorry for the late chapter! Hm.... I don''t like the way that ended. Another one? Should I post another one? Yeah - I''ll post another one.

    Cheers!

 Chapter 15 - Eleven

    Hisao Hajime, a godless, unbridled, unguided monster? Remy had to wonder how many people thought this way of him. In Yodakodun he was regarded as a hero - but to the rest of the world?

    Juyong and Remy sat in the dining area of the house. The doors and window were open on either end allowing for a breeze to carry through providing some relief to the sun''s heat. The small table in front of them held bowls of berries and fruit slices, as well as cubes of cheese and a variety of nuts. Rojin, who had disappeared into his room, returned without the top half of his robes. His large round belly hung past the waist of his pants. Remy had seen him enough times in this state to not feel uncomfortable - Juyong however, held no such experience.

    "Old man - what are those markings!?" said Juyong. He pointed unbashfully at the white symbols that marked Rojin''s back and chest. Remy had nearly forgotten that he had them - she had seen them so many times that she barely noticed how unnatural they appeared. The markings looked as if they could be scars - but the lines were too perfect to be made from any kind of cut. The symbols mimicked the language found in the memoirs but they seemed incomplete - so much so that whatever may have been written was a mystery to Remy.

    Rojin sat next to Remy at the table and gave Juyong a inquisitive look - as if to size the boy up. Rojin pursed his lips and cleared his throat.

    "ooooooooh, yes," said Rojin, stroking the stubble on his chin, "when I was a boy - much younger than you - I was journeying from Tanodun to Rubitisun. It was a long journey and I had not brought enough food. Thankfully, the road ran along a river and there I found a sleeping fisherman. Beside him sat a large fish. I took the fish for myself - for he a fishing rod and for certain he could catch another. I ate that fish and continued on my way. A short while after I came upon another sleeping fisherman. ''How strange!'' I thought to myself - for he look so similar to the man before - and just so, next to him sat another big fish. What could I do? The journey was long and for certain I would find myself hungry again - so I took the fish. It wasn''t before long that I came upon a third sleeping fisherman and just like the fishermen before him he too had a fish just for me - how could I deny myself these meals? I had no fishing rod and surely those men would catch another before they starved.

    It wasn''t until that night that I awoke with such pains. I had eaten all three fish and my tummy thrashed as if they swam inside me as though they were alive. I saw, as I lay in pain on the ground, the faces of the sleeping fishermen hovering above me - saying that I should never take that which belongs to another man. I awoke the next morning and found these marks - branding me forever as a foolish selfish thief."

    Juyong''s eyes sat wide in a amazement, "HOOO - old man, no doubt you angered Chiru and he marked you for shame!"

    Remy too, sat agape for that was NOT the story Rojin had told her when she had asked about the markings. He told her a story of him and his mischievous friends finding an old statue and carving it a new face; that night Rojin said he was visited by an apparition of the statue who cursed him with those marks.

    He''s full of shit. He had to be. Remy sat by and watched Rojin return confirming nods to Juyong''s exclamations.

    "Rojin - what happened to Orodoki''s following?" said Remy. She had no idea possessed her do it, however, she felt that now was the time to ask. Even though she had heard Juyong''s account - she wanted to hear both sides before she could make a fair assessment.

    Rojin, who was about to take a bite from a slice of orange stopped short. He slowly brought the fruit back down to the plate. His jovial temperament quickly shifted to one that was sombre and contemplative.

    "Hmmm¡­," said Rojin, "Orodoki has always been the most complex of the Ten. He teachings difficult to grasp and arduous to maintain. He is not like Aione, the Goddess of Harmony or like Fuchou the Vengeful. His Qi is elusive, to say the least - so elusive that people began to believe that it didn''t exist. When the land fell under times of great distress the people looked to Orodoki for answers, for direction, for stability and help. As foolish request for a God who is the Master of Chance¡­."

    "Orodoki the Gambler," chimed Juyong. His mouth hung open as if he intended to say more but if looks could kill - Rojin would''ve murdered Juyong on the spot.

    "His followers believed him to be dead," Rojin continued, clearly choosing to ignore Juyong''s less than appreciated comment, "He may be old - but not dead. No - our God is greatly misunderstood."

    "How do you know he''s not dead?" asked Juyong. Remy had thought Rojin''s looked would''ve silenced any normal person for the rest of the week - but not Juyong. He faced Rojin with the same determination he held the day before. Remy had to admit - the kid had spirit.

    "How do you know Gennu is alive?"

    It was Hisao. He stood at the entrance, leaning lazily against the frame of the door. "He''s new, is he not? A God born after the time of Obwatu - how do you know if he''s alive when he is not part of the original Ten? Is it not the same as believing in a God known to be dead - either way, neither of us has proof."

    Remy felt the berry she was holding slip from her fingers and fall to her plate. Gennu wasn''t part of the Ten? How did THAT work?

    Juyong got to his feet - his face set with his unwavering frown - the same challenging face he wore from the day before, "It''s NOT the same. We sons¡­.. The Sons of Gennu have guidance. We - I mean - they worship a God based on the writings of our Eiraf! He currently resides that the Temple and is writing the Gennu''s memoirs. Gennu maybe the newest God - but he is alive for he is speaks and his voice can be heard."

    Hisao didn''t move from the doorway and if the news that Juyong relayed had been new to Hisao - he didn''t show it.

    Remy wasn''t the only one to notice Hisao''s lack in response. Juyong saw it too and Remy guessed it was not the reaction he was expecting - which can be the only reason for what he decided to say next, "And in 5 days, during the Festival of the Mountain the Imperator, himself, will announce Gennu as one of the Ten - as a replacement for Orodoki."

    That did it. Remy saw it - Hisao''s lip dipped down at the corner and his shoulders tense. Now she was on her feet too - placing herself between both men. Juyong''s nostrils flared and the fingers of his unslung arm danced as if itching for his spear. Hisao stood, no longer leaning against the door frame, his lazy demeanour forgotten. If these boys decided to fight here and now there would be nothing left of the complex.

    "Hisao - take me for a walk?" said Remy.

    "Why should I?"

    He spoke over her shoulder, his eyes still locked on Juyong.

    "Just -" Remy bent over and scooped up a bowl of berries from the table and shoved it into Hisao chest, "come on - "

    With that she dragged him from the doorway with a hand firmly locked about his arm.

    *****

    To Remy''s surprise Hisao hadn''t objected and together they walked South past the front of the Temple. They silently trekked through the red arches that were overgrown with ivy stopping at the top of the complex''s stairs that lead down the mountain side. Hisao sat on the edge of the step and there Remy sat with him. She placed the bowl of berries between them and wondered what she could possibly ask first.

    It was hard to believe it was only yesterday that they had they''re talk by the creek.

    "People see what they want to see. They don''t wait to be shown was is and what isn''t. And I hate expectations¡­"

    It was what he had said to her in that moment. She had thought it was in regards to her but now she wasn''t so sure. Much had happened to this world before she arrived and though it held the illusion of simpler times she now knew that wasn''t the case. Truthfully, in the six weeks she was here she really knew nothing about the man sitting beside her.

    Remy tucked her knees up closer to her chest and folded her arms across them. She looked over at him. He was in blue robes again today. His black hair pulled tight into a ponytail and loose strands fell to block his face from view. He head turned toward the path before them. Remy followed his gaze to the old steps that curved down the mountain. It looked so peaceful. She noticed how the aged stone of each step was walked smooth, divided by deep cracks where small tufts of wild grass poked through.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    These were steps had lead her to place a safety when she first arrived. She was protected by the Temple behind her and by the man who sat next to her. With the help she received here she got her footing. She remembered waking each morning and reminding herself to ''stay the course'' and she would get home. As it turned out - this was a world of strange and powerful magic where Gods could tip the scales of war and where it was common for them to communicate with her fellow man. It was becoming apparent to Remy that the events that brought her here might not be so strange after all. She, however, wouldn''t be able to find that out here at the Temple. She couldn''t see enough of the world to know for sure whether or not she could get home.

    "Hisao, how does a man know if a God lives?" asked Remy, "not and Eiraf - but just a man¡­."

    "You''re asking me how do I know if Orodoki is alive?" said Hisao.

    It wasn''t exactly what she meant - but it would get her an answer that would be close enough. Remy nodded.

    "It¡¯s like the wind," said Hisao, "you can''t see it but you can feel it moving around you - touching the trees or rolling along a valley floor. Orodoki''s presence, his Qi, is the same. I feel him. But, he is very old¡­."

    Hisao was speaking to her like he had been the night before. His voice moved slow and he chose his words carefully. She liked it. It made him seem patient and wise - unlike the Hisao that he was normally, full of sarcasm and complaints. The way he so easily changed his moods made it simple for Remy to accept his current behaviour. She hoped since their talk that he would show her this side more frequently.

    "But just the like wind changes with a new season - so has Orodoki''s Qi. It''s different now. His memoirs have guided the lessons of the teachers of this temple - but now, the way Orodoki sees the world has evolved and his will is no longer aligned with perfectly with his teachings. His Qi resides here just as strong but his followers fail to connect."

    "I was just studying his memoirs this morning," said Remy, "from what I can understand Orodoki says that ''man''s path is determine by the choices he makes'' and that ''life is a game of countless possibilities'' and that¡­."

    Orodoki the Gambler. Juyong''s words floated in her mind. It was like a light switch clicked on and she could finally see the whole picture. Orodoki saw possibilities like the outcomes of a statistical problem. The outcomes were assigned probabilities based on the circumstances of the choice that faced the individual. Paths are results - not direction. Every time a person acted on a choice it determined their path - but until that action is taken all options remained open; some more likely than others because of the pre-determine probabilities. THAT''S what the memoirs were saying - embrace chance and place your bets on life for one could never truly know what the future holds. Be humble for the unknown is thy master.

    "and that¡­. " said Remy again. Her mind still raced - but, now Hisao said that he wasn''t that same God any more. "Wait - how did he change?"

    "Have you ever wondered what a man sees before death?" said Hisao, "as he waits for a the shadows to claim his soul?"

    She wanted to say that she had never seen that before. She wanted to shake her head ''no'', but, she would be lying. On her second week into clinical rotation she was sent to work in the geriatrics ward. Before she left to go home one evening a man called her into his room. For the life of her, she couldn''t remember his name - though, she would never forget his face. It was a pool of wrinkles that folded together like the bark of an aged tree, but, in between the lines sat two bright blue eyes. He had asked her to sit with him just for a while.

    She did. Remy wanted to ask him what he needed - if she could get him anything but she couldn''t seem to bring the words out of her throat. The room felt like a vacuum and she felt that even if she managed to speak that her voice wouldn''t be heard. Together, the man and Remy, sat in the weightless silence.

    When he spoke his voice was clear with certainty. He told her that he would be leaving soon. It was obvious what he meant. She asked him if he was afraid.

    He said, "Of all the hundreds of emotions I''ve felt all my life - anger, fear, love. Ah, I can see them clear as day. They''ve guided me to this point, but now, I see that they can go no further. I am left with only¡­. me."

    She remembered how his eyes traveled past her. Whatever he was feeling Remy could not describe. She wondered what it could be - how he felt when faced with witnessing the conclusion of his life. She thought of reading the last page of a book, the final lines of a story and how every time she wished it wouldn''t end, but even so, it wasn''t like it was her story. This man was facing the last line of his very own tale forged from experience and life.

    She wasn''t sure how long they stayed there together. Eventually he patted her hand and wished her a goodnight. On her next shift she learned that the man had died that very night.

    She wasn¡¯t sure how Hisao knew - something about the look on her face must have given him her answer. He didn''t wait for her to relay her story. He continued.

    "Orodoki is still the same God - yet different enough," said Hisao, "he has allowed me to see as he sees now. I think that most men are to afraid to learn what that could be. Instead they say that he is gone - but I still feel him. He still lives."

    "So, Rojin is right - Orodoki is just¡­ misunderstood," said Remy, "and that means that you''re not a Child of K''aos."

    The words made Hisao flinch ever so slightly, but he still answered, "No, I''m not."

    "But some people in this world seem to think that you are?"

    He gave Remy but one nod to confirm. It was no surprise that Hisao wasn''t keen on making friends. Though, now with Gennu''s followers attempting to vanquish the Children of K''aos from the land and now that Gennu would be recognized by this ''Imperator'' - what could that mean for Hisao? Was Juyong Gu just the beginning?

    She wanted to ask him more questions but felt that now wasn''t the time. But truth of the matter was that Remy needed to know more. She could feel her patience waning. Sitting at the Temple was beginning to not be good enough. She wanted to know where all these rules came from - who set the laws and how this world worked. She wouldn''t be able to make those discoveries from the shelter of the Temple.

    She wouldn''t allow herself to say that she was sent here for a reason - but she was given a unique gift. So few people could communicate to the Gods and yet they seemed to dictate how the world was run. Hisao spoke of feeling Orodoki''s presence and being ''allowed'' to see as he sees but they couldn''t converse directly. Remy could - Remy could read their language - perhaps if she could contact a God - a higher power - just like an ''Eiraf". Maybe they could explain the weird forces that brought her here and maybe she could clarify Hisao predicament to higher officials. Her gift gave her so much potential - how to go about using it properly would be the next challenge.

    She could feel something spark in her chest. Something she hadn''t felt for a long time - but to Remy it was a sign that she was on the right path.

    "Hisao - I was thinkin -- mmmpphfff," Remy''s mouth was covered with the palm of Hisao''s hand. She stopped talking and saw that he sat still as a cat poised to leap. His head was tilted up, his eyes focused on nothing in particular but his ears were directed down the path in front of them.

    "Someone is coming - " said Hisao. And without further warning he was on his feet racing down the mountain path.

    <hr />

    There! Finally! Hope you liked what you read! ''til next week!