The Beast and The Brain.

I wasn’t sure what had happened. One minute I was in blinding pain, expecting death and the next there was J. She spoke to me and led me out of the darkness and into the living world. The pain left just as quickly as the light came.

~ ~ ~ ~

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I laid my hand against my skull, but for now it seemed I was as healthy as before. I let out a sigh. I couldn’t live like this. Not knowing when I would suddenly fall ill, and wondering if I would wake up the next time it happened. I was afraid, afraid that the pain would come back, that I would locked inside of my own mind, at the mercy of the world.

There was a knock at the door, “Come in.”

It was J. “Good morning, how are you feeling?”

I didn’t answer immediately. J was her old self again. Her feelings were masked behind her disciplined face. Her expressions showed only what she wished to show; it seemed that whatever had set J differently before was gone. Something had happened because the old J was back, and with a mission.

“Alright…for now.”

J nodded, “Get dressed, we leave in an hour…breakfast is waiting.” She closed the door and I got out of bed. I pulled on a shirt and made my way towards the voices. There were a lot of people. There was an older man sitting at the head of the table with his back towards the fire, his gray hair was held back by a piece of leather. J sat next to him, across from her sat two older men, and a petite woman. Two woman about the same age as the older boys were in the kitchen along with a young girl who seemed to be the same age as the young boy who sat next to J. There were eight of them, ten including J and I.

“Good morning.” I greeted and instantly the room became quiet. Everyone looked up and stopped talking.

“Jeeze Bethany, when did you get so good at healing?” One of the older men turned to the petite woman who was sitting at the end of the table. She bowed her head and poked at her food, her cheeks flared up.

“I didn’t do much…” She mumbled quietly.

“Well whatever you did do worked.” He mused looking at me, “You don’t look like a dead man anymore, welcome to the living, I’m Carson.” He stood and offered his hand, I hesitated, looking at J. She was ignoring me so I took Carson’s hand, “Nice to meet you, my name is Asher.”

“Sit down Carson before you make a fool of yourself. Your sister has delicate hands, and she uses her head…unlike some…” The old man at the head of the table scolded Carson; it was obvious that it was his father. The son sat down, his cheeks turned red and Bethany looked up and smiled at her father.

It was also obvious that J enjoyed the old man’s presence; she had a small smirk on her face from the father comment. “And you, young Asher.” I turned my attention to the father, “Sit down, a young man needs to eat, and from what I hear you could use a good meal in your stomach.” He nodded to the three girls in the kitchen and they all moved to place food and coffee in front of me. I looked at J, but it seemed everyone had already ate, so I dug in.

The father leaned back in his chair and drank slowly at his mug, everyone was silent again, the girls talked quietly in the kitchen, everyone’s eyes were on me. It was a little unnerving, “Tell me Jeremiah are there any river ports nearby?”

Finally, the tension broke and everyone went back to his or her chores. All the women went about cleaning up the kitchen and making sure my plate was kept full, the men left the table and went out to check on the livestock.

The old man frowned, “Not too many ships willing to risk traveling up river this early in the season, you might be lucky and find a captain, but he’ll charge you a arm for passage. Especially since there’s danger of the water freezing over, the weather is unpredictable this time of year this far south.”

J drank from her cup, the steam rolled of the top but she didn’t seem to mind the heat. “Is there one nearby?”

Jeremiah frowned, “You’d be best to lay low for a while, you’d be welcome here until the snow starts to melt, we could use a few more hands around the farm.”

“Is there a port nearby?” J persisted; I realized the old man was trying to get around the question. This interested me, I kept eating as if I didn’t care, but I kept my ears open.

Jeremiah hesitated, “None that you’d want to deal with.”

J leaned back in her chair, leaving the steaming mug on the table, “I’m not interested in games old man, I deal with all types of men. Tell me, is there a port nearby?”

Finally, the old man held up his hands and sighed, “There’s a small port a ways up the road. But its nothing more than a private camp with huts. The men that work the port are smugglers and thieves; they would sooner string you up and rob you clean before they would bargain with the likes of you. Stay clear of them, you’d best keep traveling until you reach a larger port with more reputable men.”

“Thank you for the concern but its wasted on me, why do you fear these men so much?” J asked him curiously.

The old man waved his hand, “My farm is on the main road, they pass by here on a regular basis when the season gets busy. On more than one occasion, they have stolen livestock and crops. Their a nuisance, we’re not fighters, so we dare not go near them or stand in their way.”

J frowned, “You haven’t told authorities, surely the next town over would send soldiers?”

Jeremiah shook his head, “No one messes with them. Anyone who’s ever stood up to them has fallen ill and died, their leader, he’s a terrible man…my wife, she died last spring, after I tried to stand up to him, he said my wife would fall ill and die. My wife laughed in his face, a week later we buried her.” The old man’s hands shook with fear and grief. I had stopped eating, and was now staring at him in shock. A seemingly innocent question from J had revealed more of their lives than we could have guessed.

“I am sorry.” J said, and she placed a hand on his arm. I noticed that J didn’t say she would stay clear of them, she simply let the subject drop. I had little appetite left, but I had a feeling that J and I would be visiting these men, so I ate every crumb, and replenished my energy.