Possessed

I don’t mind sharing things, but assuming you have a right to my stuff pisses me off to no end. It’s like your mom trying to take away your laptop when you bought it! No! This is mine! You can’t take this from me!

. . . . .

Orion returned with a handful of leaves and dropped them next to where Graham was sitting. “Oh, thanks,” Graham said, piling the leaves on his foot and using some vines he’d found to lash them in place. He’d made sure the vines didn’t move or try to kill him before approaching. It was only prudent, considering.

Orion stood with his arms crossed and his foot tapping against the ground. Graham quirked a brow. “Impatient? We’ve still got a good few hours before we get there.”

Orion stopped his foot and sighed. “Let’s just get there quick. I’ve got a bad feeling, being out here in the open.”

Graham pulled the vines taut, completing the new rendition of the Leaf ShoeTM. Now with vines for extra durability! He tapped his foot on the ground to settle it into place, then gave Orion a thumbs up. “Alright. Good to go!”

Orion set off at a brisk jog, meaning Graham had to run. “Y’know, if we go at this pace the whole way, my shoe’s gonna fall apart again.”

Orion looked back over his shoulder. “It’ll just be for a while. Half an hour.”

Graham pursed his lips and shrugged.

A few hours later, the tower took up a good portion of the sky. It really became apparent how big it was. Easily a match for most skyscrapers. They stopped for a rest atop a small ledge, too high for them to drop down without injuries. They’d have to find a lower part to hop down and continue their trek.

Graham shaded his eyes from the sun and craned his head up to look at the tower. “How many stories do you think it is?”

Orion shrugged, sniffing a clump of grass he’d pulled up. “Fifteen, twenty?” He looked over at Graham. “Do you think this is edible?”

Graham peered at it, chin in hand. “It looks like normal grass. It probably wouldn’t kill you.”

Orion sighed. “Probably, huh…” He tossed it away. “Not risking it.”

“Here,” Graham said, offering one of his spikes. He’d picked up the ones he’d lost when the bear was knocking him around. “Maybe you can catch a rabbit or something?”

Orion gaped. “What? Me? Do you not see how big I am? I don’t think I’ve ever snuck up on anything!”

Graham threw his arms up. “Then I don’t know what to tell you. I certainly can’t catch one. Those little bastards are too fast!” He ran his hands through his hair. “Maybe I should have tried to grab some frogs from the pond I found yesterday. I hear frog legs taste like chicken.”

“That reminds me,” Orion said. “I’m thirsty, too. I hope there’s some water in the tower.”

Graham shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

They followed the ledge to the left, ostensibly West, though Graham wasn’t sure since the only thing to orient himself by was the tower. They found another dry streambed and slid down the much shallower bank, meaning they could now move forward again.

Graham paused, toeing a patch of mud. “You think this feeds into the ravine back there?”

Orion turned back, his gaze wandering up the trail the streambed made and shrugged. “Maybe. Why?”

Graham blinked. “I don’t know. Just making conversation. Gets a bit dull if we just walk in silence.”

“Really? Doesn’t bother me.”

Graham snorted and shoved his hands in his pockets, muttering, “Yeah, well, you’re weird.”

They walked in silence a few minutes. Orion’s stomach started rumbling. He rubbed it, frowning. “Hey, you think I can have one of those fruits?”

Graham blinked. “What? No! We should save these in case one of us gets injured again. Just bear with it, there’ll probably be something at the tower. It’s only an hour or two away, anyway.”

Orion turned and faced him. “What makes you think there’ll be food there? I’m a big guy, I need a lot of calories. Seriously, I’m starving!”

Graham tossed his arms wide. “Oh, you’re gonna drop dead from an hour of walking? If you’re that hungry, why didn’t you try to catch something?”

“Because I knew I couldn’t! It’d just waste energy! Look, there’s two fruits. One for me, one for you. Just give me mine, that’s all I’m asking for.”

Graham’s jaw fell. “One for you, one for me? Really? Somehow, I don’t recall you being there when I was attacked by that bear and bombarded with those fucking spikes! I’m the one that got these fruits, so they belong to me. I only gave you one earlier cause I’m a nice guy!”

Orion’s hands curled into fists at his sides. “We both know you want to work together to use me as a meat shield! I’m fine with that, but I want payment. You’re just being unreasonable. Don’t make me take it from you, I don’t like fighting.”

Graham’s eyes narrowed. “Fine.” He pulled out one of the fruits, its surface shining under the sunlight. He offered it to Orion, but a screech pierced the air and a blur smacked into his arm, taking the fruit.

Graham and Orion gaped at the disheveled form of a woman. Gloria. Orion paled. “Shit.”

Gloria brought the fruit to her face and took a deep breath, shivering and rubbing it against her cheek. Graham blinked. “Hey! Hey, you can’t have that!” He reached for her, but she lunged and knocked him down, then ran back into the trees.

Graham stared at the place he’d last seen her. “What the fuck! She just stole my fruit!” He glared at Orion. “This is your fault! If you hadn’t kicked up such a fuss—”

“Quiet,” Orion said, holding a finger to his lips. He looked around.

Graham stood and grit his teeth. “Y’know, you’re being a real ass, all of the sudden.”

Orion frowned. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice low. “But kindly shut it! I think there are others.”

Graham pursed his lips and started searching. “This isn’t the end of this. Selfish bastard. And I thought he was a nice guy…” Graham laughed scornfully.

Orion was right, there were others. They moved through the brush just beyond sight. Graham could hear them. He swallowed heavily. “Let’s go. We should get to the tower.”

Orion nodded. “Let’s run.” And so they ran. The mysterious group followed, moving through the brush noisily to keep pace with the running pair. Graham’s leaf-shoe started coming apart, but he ignored it. Finally, they arrived at the tower. So did their pursuers.

They numbered three. The one they’d seen earlier, Gloria; an equally disheveled, but more confident-looking man; and a younger woman with brown hair. She looked a bit different from the other two. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, but many locks had escaped and hung around her face. She wrung her hands together, standing behind the other two. She was breathing heavily, unlike the others.

Graham and Orion had their backs to the tower, facing the other group. Graham frowned and addressed the man. “What do you want?”

The man stuck out a knobby, grasping hand. “Give it! I know you have it! Give it here!”

Graham’s eyes narrowed. “Give what?”

The brown-haired woman stepped forward, biting her lip. “Um… they, they want the fruit,” she said.

Graham blinked. “Isn’t that the crying girl?” The crying girl was one of the few people he’d paid any attention to in the clearing, if only because she was loud. She looked a mess, but he was pretty sure it was the same person.

“You already took it,” Orion said. “We don’t have it anymore.” He glanced back at the tower and clicked his tongue.

Graham sighed. They hadn’t been able to get in the tower because there was no door. “It might be on the other side, but we don’t really have the leisure to check.”

“Lies!” the man shouted. “I can smell it! You have it! Give it!”

Crying girl’s eyes teared up. “I’m sorry. They won’t leave you alone until you give it to them. Please, just… let them have it. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Graham furrowed his brow. “She talks about them like they’re wild animals. What the hell happened to those two?” He didn’t have time to think about it, as Gloria and the man lunged forth. Gloria attacked Graham and the man went for Orion.

Graham side-stepped her and turned, arming himself with a spike. She turned and lunged again. Graham grimaced. “Don’t make me hurt you.” She swung at him, foaming at the mouth and eyes bloodshot. Graham dodged backward, staying out of her range. He grit his teeth and put the spike back in the waist of his pants.

He leapt forward and knocked her to the ground, pinning her arms down. She writhed and snarled viciously. “Fuck, she’s stronger than she looks.” He had to focus all his weight on her arms to keep her pinned, but her legs were free to move. She kicked at the ground, hard, managing to flip them over so Graham was underneath.

Graham tried to keep them rolling, but she headbutted him. He grunted with pain, feeling blood run down his lip. His lip curled into a snarl. “Bitch, that hurt!” He let go of one of her arms and punched her cheek, knocking her off him. She didn’t even try to stand, instead pawing at his pocket, more intent on getting the fruit than winning the fight.

Orion appeared and lifted her up, putting her in a chokehold. She struggled for a few seconds but quickly lost consciousness. Graham pushed himself to his feet and wiped his bloody nose. The man that was fighting Orion was unconscious as well, and Crying girl was tending to him.

Orion set down Gloria and leaned back against the black stones of the tower. Graham frowned and scratched his head. “Um… thanks.”

Orion shrugged, looking at the sky.

Graham looked at Crying girl. “Are you gonna attack us, too?”

She glanced at him with wide eyes and shook her head. Her hands kept fiddling with the hem of her t-shirt. “I’m, I’m sorry. They don’t listen to me. I really didn’t want anyone to get hurt...”

Graham sighed and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m Graham; that’s Orion.” He gestured to the large man.

She blinked. “Um, oh. I’m Robin… and this is, uh, James. That’s Gloria.”

Orion snorted. “I’d gathered.”

Graham quirked a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” But he didn’t ask. He looked at Robin. “Why are they, uh… like that?”

She shook her head, staring at the ground. “I’m not entirely sure. They seemed nice on the first day. But, as time went on, they started acting weird. Like they were… less human, or something. And, and they communicate with each other, but not in words. They can just look at each other and know what the other wants to say.”

She sniffed. “I’ve been so scared. They haven’t tried to hurt me, but I can’t help but think it’s just a matter of time…”

Graham rubbed his head, sighing, and approached her. He stepped on something sharp and winced. “Right. My shoe’s broken again. Great!” His eyes fell on James’ shoes. “He tried to steal from me first, right? It wouldn’t be… unreasonable to, uh, take compensation, right?” But Robin might get angry, and she had the ultimate weapon that he wouldn’t be able to stand up to. Crying just wasn’t fair. Nothing makes you feel worse than making a girl cry.

He extended a hand to her. “Hey… why don’t you stick with us? I promise we’re more sane than those two,” he said, grinning.

Robin laughed softly and took his hand. “That does seem to be the case, at first glance.” She looked at Gloria and frowned. “But what about them? It doesn’t feel right to just leave them here. What if something attacks them?”

Orion pushed himself away from the wall. “They’ll wake up in ten minutes or so. There shouldn’t be a problem.”

She blinked as the tall man approached, dwarfing her. Orion was taller than Graham by a head and a half, and Graham was several inches taller than her, so the difference in their heights was quite pronounced. “Oh, uh, I guess that’s alright, then. Um… thank you both for letting me join your group.” She lowered her head to the two men.

Orion shrugged and started around the tower. Graham put his hands in his pockets. “Don’t mind him. He’s just hungry. Probably.” He looked at the two on the ground. “Why don’t you go on ahead. I’ll just lean these two against the wall. Make sure they’re comfortable.”

Robin smiled. “Okay. Thanks, Graham.” She jogged after Orion. Graham waved and waited until he couldn’t see her anymore, then started dragging the two over near the wall. “I can’t let a chance to get some proper shoes pass me by. I just hope she doesn’t notice,” he thought as he pulled off James’ shoes. He ripped off the remains of his leaf-shoe and tried the new sneakers on.

He drew his lips to the side. “Bit tight, but they’ll do.” He’d changed out his good shoe as well, so they’d match. Mismatched shoes might draw attention. He pulled the strings taut and jumped a few times. “Nice.”

“Excuse me? Please, wait!” Robin called, chasing Orion’s back. He turned his head and stopped. She stopped next to him, hands on her knees and breathing hard. She caught her breath and looked up at him. “Graham told me you were hungry. I… I can help with that.”

Orion’s eyes widened. “Really?”

She nodded. “Before Gloria started… acting weird, she taught me about some of the plants here. She was a botanist. A-Anyway, I can probably find something to eat.”

Orion nodded and headed away from the tower toward the trees. “C’mon.”

Robin’s eyes widened. “Right now? But…” She looked back at the edge of the tower, beyond which Graham was handling James and Gloria. “Won’t he be confused when he can’t find us?” She reached out to tap Orion on the arm but chickened out at the last second. She followed him, chewing her lip and looking for some of the plants Gloria had pointed out to her.

Her eyes widened. “Stop! I found one.” She knelt and started digging around a branching brown stalk. She pulled up a lumpy reddish thing and started brushing off the dirt.

Orion knelt next to her and took a close look. “What is it?”

“A type of tuber. It doesn’t taste very good, but it’s filling. If we find some water, we can boil it or mash it.” She scratched some dirt out of a wrinkle in the tuber. “Um, there might be more around here. They tend to grow in groups.”

Orion nodded and started searching for similar stalks. Robin did the same. She glanced at Orion and took a breath. “S-so, how did you and Graham meet?” she asked.

Orion paused but remained focused on his digging. “I was being chased by a bear. Graham saw me and helped out.”

Robin paled. “A bear! That sounds awful.”

Orion snorted. “It’s worse than you think. It wasn’t a normal bear. Easily twice as big as any I’d ever seen. Graham says it’d attacked him before and it used to have spikes on its back. That’s where he got the ones he carries.”

Her jaw fell. “Then, those holes in his jacket?”

Orion nodded. “He got hit by two when the bear launched all of them at once.”

Robin began to shake, a tear dropping into the dirt on her hand. “I hate this place. I want to go home.”

Orion grimaced and stood, piling the tubers he’d gathered with hers. “I think we have enough. Let’s head back.” He picked them all up by the stalks and set off. Robin wiped her eyes and followed, jogging to keep pace with his walk.

She tapped him on the arm. “Um… earlier you said that… ‘you gathered’ when I told you Gloria’s name…”

He shrugged. “I ran into her a few hours ago.”

Robin frowned. “But Graham didn’t seem to know her name.”

“I didn’t tell him about it. Honestly, I’d half convinced myself that I imagined it.”

“Oh, uh… I see.”

Graham circled around the tower the direction opposite what Orion and Robin took. “Wouldn't be good if they came all the way ‘round and saw James without his shoes.” He reached the other side of the tower, but they were nowhere to be found. He brought a hand to his mouth, ready to yell out for them, but thought better of it. “Making loud noises in a forest full of murderous beasts? Not a good idea.”

Perhaps they’d show up in a bit. In the meantime, he circled further, looking for the door. The tower was as wide as his apartment building and the black stones were packed tightly together. Nary a crack could be seen on any of them, as if someone spared no effort to maintain them.

Graham frowned. “Is there no entrance? Why is it here if there’s no entrance?” Something moved in the trees a short distance away. Graham tensed up and put his hands on the spikes at his waist. Orion and Robin appeared from the trees. Graham relaxed. “Hey! Where were you guys? I was worried.”

Orion shrugged and lifted up the plants he was carrying. Robin wrung her hands. “Um, we, uh, went to find some food. Sorry to worry you…” Her gaze fell to her feet.

Graham smiled. “Ah, don’t feel too bad.” He frowned. “Though, I do have some bad news… I searched all around the tower and I couldn’t find a door.”

Orion sighed. “Let’s not worry about that now. We’ve got more important things to do, like eat.” He dropped the plants and headed back for the woods.

Graham quirked a brow. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“To get firewood. You come, too.”

Graham blinked. “Sure, I guess.” He took a step forward, but Robin stopped him with a hand on his sleeve.

“What about me? You’re not gonna leave me here, are you?” Her gaze bore into him, green eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

“Oh, man, not the tears. We can’t just leave the food unattended, though.” He rubbed his chin, then nodded. “Alright, you come with.” He took off his jacket and wrapped up the tubers in it, then handed it to her. “It oughta be easier to carry like this.”

She blinked, smiled, then clutched the jacket to her chest. Graham and Orion gathered firewood, Robin following Graham like a puppy. Once they had enough, they returned to the tower and dropped the wood in a pile. Graham crossed his arms and stared down at it. “So… anyone know how to start a fire without a lighter?”

Orion averted his eyes. Robin hesitantly raised a hand. “Well… in theory. I mean, don’t we just rub two sticks together?”

Graham ran a hand through his hair, placing the other against the tower. “It’s not as easy—” The lines between the bricks where he’d placed his hand began to glow with orange light, spreading in an area taller than Orion and twice as wide. Graham yelped and hopped away.

Slowly, the bricks in the glowing area protruded and rearranged themselves into an arched entryway. It was too dark to see what was inside. Robin hid behind Graham as he drew two spikes. Orion strapped the shield to his arm, holding it in front of him.

Graham gulped. “I guess we found the way in.” He took a breath. “Should we go?”