The Beast and The Brain.

It was nice to be out of the rain, the lantern actually gave out a small amount of heat that circulated in the enclosed space of the wagon, and so we were dry and warm in no time. The young soldier I found out was named Christopher. He found me parchment, ink, and a quill. I wrote detailed instructions for making the paste, as well as things to do to care for the horse. I walked him through it step by step until he had it memorized

The company stopped when we reached the next village and they replenished their water supply and let the horses eat some grain. “We will rest here for a while.” Christopher and I jumped out of the wagon, the sky was dismal and dark, but the rain had finally stopped. I checked the horse and made sure he drank plenty of water. I stared at the outpost for a moment. Most towns and villages had an outpost or barracks. An outpost normally held a couple of soldiers from the local village. The outpost could send messages to the army should the occasion of a surprise attack or some other great need arise in that village. As the commander disappeared into the outpost, Victor came over.

“Would you care to join me for a drink?” He asked.

I shook my head as I shrugged the pack onto my shoulders, “No, I’m going to be off, the rain has stopped and I still have a ways to travel.”

Victor frowned, “It’s nearly dark, don’t you think you should stay at an inn or something?” He asked me.

I shook my head, “I’ll be fine.” I assured him.

“Well best of luck.” Victor held out his hand, I hesitated then shook it. I was confused that these men didn’t shy away from me. All of them had been acting, normal around me, which never happened. I was a Beast; I was always feared in some sort of manner.

“Thank you and the best of luck to you as well.” I started down the road sticking to the sides of street where it was less muddy, but I didn’t get very far.

“Stop that man!” I heard the familiar voice of the commander. I looked over my shoulder to see him stepping out of the outpost, his finger pointed at me. The soldiers were confused for a moment, but then they gathered themselves and started coming towards me.

My heart started to pound. If I transform now I will be discovered, and then there would be no hope. I held back the urge to transform, all of this was probably a simple misunderstanding. I allowed the soldiers to surround me, take my pack and weapons, and lead me back to the commander. When I stepped up to him, I asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“You are coming with us, you are under arrest.” He nodded to the soldiers and I felt the all to familiar feel of steel around my wrists, "Secure him fully, chains and all, he is a dangerous escapee from the prison on the island.” My heart nearly stopped in my chest, but then panic began to rise in my throat.

“Where is the proof?” I demanded. I would never return there, I will not return. The thought of going back into the cold cell, to be chained to a floor was enough to make me angry. However, I fought against my power; I needed to stay in control.

“I don’t need any proof; I would recognize you from anywhere.” He said simply.

Something wasn’t right, the way this man was acting felt wrong. I took in a deep breath of air, her scent nearly overpowered my senses.

My heart pounded faster, she was here, I was close, and she knew it. “J!” I yelled out, “I know you can hear me J! Come out here and face me!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Gag him!” The commander ordered. It took four men to restrain me enough to get a gag into my mouth, but even then I didn’t stop yelling. I knew she could hear my thoughts, so I pressed them and thought about her as hard as I could. If nothing else, she would get a horrible headache. J! I know you can hear me! Please, make them stop! I came for you J! I came for you! They tied my hands to the wagon, my upper body was wrapped in chains and I was unable to move.

The company began to move, Hear this J, I know you can. So long as I breath I will hunt you down and find you. With that the company passed the outskirts of town and went under the first coverings of the forest, and as I looked back to the village I saw a black rider atop a black horse watching us go.

~ ~ ~ ~

Three days passed. I remained a prisoner with no means of escape, as J got further away. I was an angry man, I tried many times to release my power, but for reasons I cannot explain, the chains would not allow me to transform. It has always been this way. Clothes do not affect my transformation, they simply transform with me. The rain had finally stopped completely the day after I was taken. It was simply colder now, and I knew the first snow would come any day. If I had any hope left of finding J then I knew I had to escape tonight, but there laid my problem. I couldn’t escape, not with the chains around my torso.

The company built multiple fires; I was up against the wheel of the wagon, just close enough to the fire to feel its warmth. Victor and Christopher were the only two men that treated me anything like a human. Now that we were away from J the men acted more like I was used to. They avoided eye contact, they stay a few feet away from me at all times, and they all tended to whisper when I was near. This was the effect of being Beast; I should have known that J had something to do with their change in behavior. If she hadn’t messed with them, then they would have never let me ride in the wagon, or even walk near them. I was a fool for not realizing it earlier. She always managed to stay a day ahead of me, no matter how fast I flew, or hard. It was because she was tricking my brain. It had been J all along.

“Hungry?” Victor walked up to me; I averted my gaze from the fire and looked up at him. He held a bowl of hot stew, and I nodded my head. Actually, I was starving. I cool feel my body degenerating already, I need to eat three deer or something. Victor fed me the stew since I could feed myself, and he talked as we did but I wasn’t really paying attention, not until he mentioned something.

“Whose name were you yelling for?” He asked me.

I looked him in the eyes, “A woman, she betrayed me.” I said simply.

“Oh…” He had nothing more to say, and I finished my soup. Victor made sure that I had a few blankets before everyone went to sleep. He threw them around my shoulders and added more logs to the fire.

“Thank you.” I said to him honestly.

He nodded, “I just, have a question for you.”

“Sure.” I replied.

“Why were you in that prison?” He asked me, “People who are taken there….well….”

I nodded my head in understanding, “I was taken there for the same reasons that everyone else is taken there, I am different.” I told him.

I could see that he wanted to back away and leave it alone, he was afraid, but he was also curious. He looked around at the sleeping men, and the commander then turned back to me and took a seat by the fire, “What can you do?” He asked me.

I smiled slightly, “Oh, a few things…” I shrugged, “But I am what people call a Beast.”

He nodded his head, “I’ve heard of those, they are able to turn into an animal.” He looked at me to see if that was correct.

I nodded my head, “That’s right.”

“So what animal can you change into?” He asked.

“Let me go and I’ll show you.” I told him.

He stood up, “I’m sorry.” He said and walked away to his mat. I sighed, it was worth a try. I didn’t fall asleep for another hour, and I used that time to try to break my chains with my strength, but I dare not use my power to much, my body was already taking its toll.

When I woke up the next morning, I saw what I never wanted to see. Snow, it wasn’t sticking to the ground, not yet, but it was lightly snowing, Which meant the first real snow was going to follow shortly. This made me angry, and for a moment, I didn’t keep my anger in check. As I was standing behind the wagon waiting for the company to move, I let out a frustrated yell. As you can imagine, it was manly a Beast yell, the men ducked to the ground, the horses whinnied and snorted in fear, and everyone panicked. As they ran around trying to figure out where it came from I simply stood there, making sure I didn’t lose control again. I caught Victor’s eye he was looking at me. In that moment, he knew that I was the one that had caused it, but he said nothing.