Shadow parasite

Gorn finally reached his destination. After investigating the area, he soon found what he was looking for. All five girls were safe and sound, without any injuries whatsoever.

“Good to see you!” said Gorn from afar.

Like always, Ella was the first to rush towards his direction. She jumped off the tree without hesitation. Gorn caught her with ease. Tousling her long hair, he smiled. Seeing some people, after an entire month of time spent entirely in the company of monsters, was very pleasant.

“Next time, please take me with you, idling around is too boring,” protested Ella.

“We’ll talk about that later.”

Blinking, Gorn appeared on the tree. Putting Ella down, he asked: “How are you?”

“Welcome back. We are all fine. Good to see that you are also in one piece.”

Gorn was very happy, seeing that nothing bad happened to them, and that their little plan was successful.

“While I expected things would go south, I didn’t think it would happen so fast,” said Gorn while at the same time took out multiple bottles of water, delicious food, and a few snacks.

“Please, take whatever you want.”

The girls had been through a period of fasting, and the food Gorn took out looked rather appetizing. All of them started to wolf down, greatly enjoying the feast. If he didn’t show up for a few more days, Elisa was planning on getting down the tree, to search for food and water. Rebeca previously asked what was her plan, but that was a foolish question. It was only reasonable that they had to look for basic resources before anything else.

After everyone finished eating, Gorn spoke again: “Tell me everything that happened.”

“Thank you for the food. Things are like this…” Elisa told him what they experienced. It was actually less information than what Gorn found out from the stranger he met shortly before arriving here. The reason for that was simple, Elisa left earlier, and did not know much.

“I see… Your decision to leave was the good one. I met a few people on my way here that left later than you did. They told me that new, bizarre rules were announced, rules that turned everyone into some kind of slaves, greatly restricting people’s freedom. Of course, I will have to investigate further for a more close to the truth answer.”

The girls made a weird face. “But why do such a thing?” asked the twins, somewhat puzzled.

Gorn smiled slightly: “Simple. Because he can, and because that’s what he wants.”

His answer was weird, but that straightforward logic could not be contested. “Of course, you must also take into account the consequences of your actions.”

“What would be the consequences of killing another human being?” asked Ella suddenly, startling everyone except Gorn.

Gorn was also surprised by the odd question, but if he knew what happened between all of them, he would be even more surprised.

“Darling, don’t bother Gorn with such silly questions. What should we do now, since going back to the city is no longer an option? ” Elisa tried to divert that subject with another important topic.

Rebeca made an unsightly expression. Just by looking at her dramatic expression, one could tell that something was way off. Gorn let out an inward sight. ‘It would have been too good for everything to be alright…’

“Human lives are very important, you can’t kill them easily. Just imagine someone killing you for something trivial, or for no reason at all. How would that feel? It would be very painful and sad. Furthermore, everyone has somebody that cares for them. Those people would be devastated in such a situation. What do you say? Makes sense what I’m saying?”

Ella was deep in thought. After a few moments, she answered: “It makes sense.”

“Good girl! What do you say, want to come with me for a short walk?”

Ella’s eyes brightened: “I want!”

Taking her hand, both of them disappeared. No one tried to stop them. In his absence, everything turned quiet.

“Can you tell me what happened when I was away?” Gorn was walking on air, high above the tree. Ella was on his back, completely enjoying the experience.

“Some time after you left, we…” Ella told him what happened in great detail. She was very talkative in his presence, doing so was no problem.

Gorn listened carefully. His expression switched multiple times in the span of a few minutes.

“That’s pretty much everything that I remember,” said Ella, being very sincere.

“Facing those reapers was very brave of you. Nicely done!”

“It wasn’t hard at all.”

“Stepping up to protect your mother when you saw Rebeca intending to attack her was also a good decision, however, trying to kill her was wrong. It’s not right to kill someone just for that. Usually, for someone to get killed, they must first do some horrible things. For example, if someone kills others, it’s very probable that he will also get killed. It’s a little more complicated, but I don’t wish for you to kill anyone.”

Gorn was sad to find out that Ella went through such drastic changes at such an age. All of this was because of him. He was directly responsible for her; after all, he was the one that made her physically so powerful. On the other hand, allowing her to get stronger was also a way to help her survive. Both options were rather complicated.

“I understand that killing is bad, no matter the reason. It’s just that, at that time, I acted based on my instincts, not thinking things through. Sorry to make you worry about me, I promise I will be extra careful in the future,” replied Ella earnestly.

Gorn was pleasantly surprised by her answer. “Great! If you encounter any difficulties, you can always come to me. Every problem has a solution, so we will figure something out no matter what.”

Talking with her, and explaining some things, was the right thing to do. Ella needed someone to guide her through these harsh changes; at least until she became mature enough to know exactly what she wanted, and to be responsible for her own actions.

Gorn spent some more time together with Ella, giving her good advices. In a way, it was pretty hard, since he knew that his behavior was far from what was supposed to be good.

Bringing Ella back, Gorn looked towards Rebeca. “I want to talk to you in private.”

Rebeca gulped: “Sure, no problem!” She was very anxious.

A few moments later, both of them were on top of the tree.

“I want to hear your version of what happened,” said Gorn in an even tone.

‘So it has come to this after all…’

She told him her version of things, not daring to lie. While her way of telling was different from Ella’s, the things she said were approximately the same.

“First of all, Ella trying to kill you was something very wrong, I understand that, and took some actions in that regard.”

Rebeca was very surprised by his answer. In her mind, she was expecting only the worst outcome. “Thank you!”

“Now, please answer me a question. How must a kid act and talk in front of someone older than them? What is common sense?”

“He… He must be respectful towards them.”

Gorn’s face turned more serious: “Exactly. That, however, doesn’t mean that all the people older than you deserve your respect. Some people are stupid regardless of their age.”

Rebeca became confused.

“What if someone do you a great favor? How will you treat the friends of such a person when he is not around? What is common sense?”

“I…”

Gorn tried his best not to lose his cool.

“I’m sorry!” said Rebeca, not daring to look into his eyes.

“Answer the question, please,” said Gorn in a low voice.

“You must be respectful to them…”

Gorn started to clap: “Good! Very good! That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now, if you only had some of that common sense in that head of yours, then nothing bad would have happened. YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SHIT!” His voice became louder, and mixed with anger.

“I gave you a great gift, and in return you had to teach the girls how to fight, and protect them when necessary. I didn’t expect from you to risk your life for them, or turn them into warriors overnight. No, what I expected was just COMMON SENSE.”

Pausing a moment, he continued: “But you…you… I want to fucking strangle you with my bare hands right this instant!”

Silence.

Gorn calmed himself down. All that rage was gone as quickly as it came. “I don’t blame you. This is my fault entirely. While I didn’t take you by force, it was me who approached you nonetheless.”

“I…” Rebeca wanted to say something, but she didn’t find the strength to do it.

“No one is perfect, I understand that. Please think about what is the best thing for you. If you want to go back to the city, or to some other place, then I can bring you there. Consider those potions as a gift, you don’t need to do anything anymore, nor will I hold any grudge towards you.”

Hearing those words, Rebeca felt a sharp pain in her heart. Even if she thought about it already, deep down she didn’t want to leave. However, she did not dare say it out-loud.

“If you, on the other hand, want to continue staying by my side, you can do that as well,” added Gorn.

Hearing those words, Rebeca started crying.

“I want to remain by your side!” she said with resolution while tears fell to the ground.