Chapter 26 | LUNA AND THE ORIGIN OF THE SCAR

I wake up at 8:45 a.m. on the dot, not at all surprised to see that the annoying acoustic song has no effect on the nearby sleeping Vaughn.

I push myself to not lay back down on the cot, knowing that if I do, I'll fall back asleep again. After slowly getting up, I brush my hair and put a log in the woodstove.

After that, I silently eat some peanut butter before I eat a can of tuna.

They don't mix well together at all.

By the time I've brushed my teeth, and filled up a few water bottles, I notice Vaughn start to stir.

Crap...I really didn't mean to wake him up; I was trying to be quiet, in all honesty.

Quickly, I scramble outside, running to the outhouse before I leave.

When I come back in, Vaughn is sitting up on the futon, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "What are you doing?" He asks sleepily.

I'm almost tempted to grab a handful of snow, but then again...it's 9 in the morning, and he woke me up at noon. So...it's not entirely fair.

"Going to the village...?" I remind him.

At this, he moves his left hand away from his face, almost immediately appearing awake. "What? It's dark out still."

"Well, it's a little past nine, so the sun should be rising soon."

He sighs heavily, standing up. "Alright."

"You don't have to get up, y'know."

He doesn't say anything as he reaches into his cedar chest, pulling a sweatshirt over the white t-shirt he's wearing.

It's odd, seeing him tired and his movements this slow. I'm used to him being quick and telling me to get up.

It's a good thing I don't really care for revenge.

"Well, anyways. What did you say you needed? The other day, you gave me a list of items? I can't remember them."

I hear him mumble, "Forget about it," as he randomly pulls the black duffle bag literally out of nowhere.

And then it sort of clicks.

"Wait, what are you doing?" I ask.

"Going to the village," he replies nonchalantly.

But...

What?

He hasn't gone in months, and now he suddenly decides to go?

On the day I'm choosing to go? But why?

I had it all planned out, too...Now I have to maybe consider him in every aspect of my plan.

"Um...when did you decide to do this?"

He doesn't reply.

"What about Moo-Moo?"

He shakes his head at the nickname, "He'll be fine for a few days alone."

"But-"

"I'll leave him plenty of food. He can drink from the crick. And, I trained him to open the sauna door. He knows to go in there if anything comes for him."

"Are you sure?"

"This way has been working fine for years. He's still alive. It's fine."

I nod, hesitantly. "If you say so."

I wait outside with my duffle bag slung around my shoulder until he's ready to go.

After he steps outside with his bag and rifle swung around diagonally, across his back, he goes off somewhere. I'm assuming it's to make sure the dog will be taken care of.

When he appears again, I begin walking in the general direction of the lake.

However, he has other plans, apparently.

"Wait."

I sigh inaudibly, stopping in my tracks and looking back. "Yeah?"

As he nears me, I see what he has in his hands.

"Here," he says simply as he hands me the hatchet.

"Oh, thanks," I say as I slip it in my back pocket of my snow pants.

I can't believe I almost forgot about it.

He asks, "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Walk in the general direction of the lake for a bit. Tree-travel. Walk across the lake. Then find the trail," I reply, accidentally sounding quite bored.

He shakes his head lightly, "Follow me."

I watch as he turns away from the direction I was going, opting to go more northwest rather than north.

"So, I'm assuming we're walking around the lake, then?"

"Yes."

I nod, even though he can't see me, and start to follow after him.

Well, here goes a long walk with long awkward silences, I think.

After we've gone from walking to tree-travel to walking again without any breaks, I decide that my stamina has improved a considerable amount.

Well...I will admit, I still struggle with tree-travel, but I don't complain or say anything at all.

And, of course, neither does Vaughn.

However, when he tells me that we're getting close to the trail, I start to think about what will happen once we're in the village.

I mean...will the people recognize him?

Immediately after the question pops into my head, though, I reprimand myself for having such a stupid thought.

He's literally 6'6," and his face is quite memorable. They'll recognize him.

Will they stare, then?

Will they say anything?

What will they do?

My flow of internal questions is broken off by the sound of Vaughn's voice, asking me a different one. "Who talked to you about me?"

I glance up at the back of his head, a bit startled. "Um...what?"

"Who told you my name and whatever else you know about me?"

"Oh," I reply, "Nina."

He stays silent, and I decide to take action on the thoughts lingering in the back of my mind by asking him something. I've already asked one of the questions before, and he didn't directly tell me. Maybe this time he will, though.

"Vaughn?"

"Yes."

"I...have a couple of questions that may or may not be personal."

He sighs slightly. "Go ahead and ask them."

"Why do you dislike Matthias? And, how did you get your scar?"

He answers immediately, "The answer is the same to both."

My eyes widen. "So, you're saying Matthias is the one who gave you your scar?"

"Yes."

"Well, what happened?"

"A few years ago, I needed supplies from town. I brought Moose with me, as I always did," he starts.

Oh, no.

Whatever happened...is that why Moose stays at the cabin now?

He continues on. "I left him outside while I went to get some things, and the next thing I knew, I heard shouting.

"When I got outside again, Moose wasn't by the door, but rather, he was being hit by a drunk Matthias. There was a crowd forming right in the middle of the street, and they were trying to get Moose to fight this other dog."

My mouth drops open, "That's horrible! Did Moose get hurt really bad?"

"I immediately stopped it, but he got a few cuts. And, Matthias was so pissed about everything that he attacked me with a broken beer bottle."

I frown, "Okay, but...Vaughn?"

"Yes."

"...How did he attack you?" I ask, remembering how even I towered over Matthias.

Vaughn's literally 6'6".

He's silent for a few moments. Then: "He attacked me after the fact when I wasn't paying attention to what he was doing."

Huh.

"I know I've only known you for six days, but that doesn't sound like something you'd do. Not pay attention to Matthias after he hurt Moose, I mean."

He's silent, so I just say, mostly to myself: "Wow...so, that's why Moose doesn't go to town anymore."

"Yes."

"I still can't believe it though--a dog fight?" I ask, shocked. "But Matthias literally owns sled dogs! How could anyone trust him with them after that?"

"He got them after he claimed he changed for the better."

I shake my head, already feeling the distrust of Matthias raise within me.

I don't care if he says he changed; he literally hit poor Moose to try and get the gentle giant to fight another dog.

And, I guess he did give Vaughn his scar.

Although...it's not a bad looking scar, in all honesty.

Shaking my head of such thoughts, I ask, "And, do you think he really did change for the better?"

He scoffs lightly, "No."

"Why not?"

"You ask too many questions," he comments.

"Well, it's better than contributing to awkward, painful silence."

He's quiet.

So, I opt to ask another question.

"What did my uncle think of Matthias?"

He stays quiet.

"Well?"

"He liked him."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

I stay quiet.

We walk side by side in silence for a while, until we finally come to a winding trail that I remember taking on Saturday.

"The trail to the village," I comment like the Captain Obvious I am, and Vaughn ignores my statement.

I feel nervousness pull at my stomach, and anxiety tug at my chest as we get closer and closer to town.

The towering trees up ahead are castle walls all of a sudden, and I begin to feel like I'm not yet prepared to pass them and enter the courtyard.

Images of what could happen to me once we're there enter my mind, flashes of sirens and handcuffs.

I probably have my face online by now, so I guess it's a good thing there's no internet here. Or that most in this town seem older and like they aren't addicted to social media.

"You might want to stay away from me, once we're in town," I tell Vaughn as glimpses of buildings come into view through the trees.

He doesn't say anything. And, he's not an idiot, so I don't bother to elaborate.

Once we've exited the trail, I tighten my grip on my duffle bag's strap. Without the woods surrounding me, I no longer have the illusion of safety that I felt. I feel open and exposed as we trudge through the middle of the main street, side by side.

I look up and to the sides, seeing a few silhouettes of people appearing and disappearing from windows, like in some type of movie.

I decide to ignore them and focus on getting to the tavern.

Vaughn continues to stay by me, even though I basically told him to ditch me when we got to the village.

I mean, if someone recognizes me and I get arrested or something, and Vaughn's right there? He could totally get ripped from his peaceful life, Moose would be stranded out at the cabin all alone, and I am not going to let that happen and be my fault.

So, I start to try and pay extra attention to my surroundings, just in case.

Glancing to my left, I catch my reflection in the window of a hardware store. I look...cold. However, my skin is thankfully clear, except for a slight red spot near my left side of my chin.

Yay for saunas!

Looking up ahead, I see the tavern and its small parking lot, where there's a total of four vehicles parked. Three of them being trucks. However, I do not see Roan's black one, so I take that as a good sign, I guess.

Once we're actually in the parking lot, however, I stop walking, causing Vaughn to halt, also. He glances at me oddly, apparently not getting that I'm waiting for him to leave and get whatever he needs.

To pass a bit of time, I take my hatchet out of my back pocket and put it in my duffle bag, instead.

And, after that, a few moments pass. And, he still doesn't get it.

So, I tilt my head up to look at him curiously, "Don't you have things to get, or...?"

He looks down at me, going from seeming curious to uninterested. "I'll get them later."

And with that, he begins taking his usual long strides over to the tavern door, and I have to hurry to scramble after him.

By the time he's opening up the door, I'm right behind him, and immediately my ears are flooded with the loud sound of angry shouting.

However, the moment Vaughn steps in through the door with me at his heels, all of the noises cease.

I let the door close after me as I step out from behind Vaughn, shifting to stand beside him.

Immediately, I see there are six people in the tavern, and I recognize all but one of them.

And all of them, save for one, are staring at the man beside me.

Ten wide eyes directed at Vaughn, while Nina just smiles, almost knowingly, at me.

Smiling back at her and stepping past Vaughn, I walk straight to the bar, sitting down in front of her and Henry, who stand behind it.

"Hey, guys," I greet.

There are two open seats to the right of me, and the one person that I don't recognize in the room, a woman, stands to my left. To her left, three of the regulars sit, eating burgers.

Henry gives me a silent nod, although he seems to be quite on edge, sending glances here and there towards the woman to my left.

"You're back," Nina comments, seeming to be in a pretty good mood. Although, her eyes shift to her right, looking cautiously towards the woman next to me.

"That I am," I answer lightly, turning my head to the left.

The unknown woman, who looks to be in her late twenties to early thirties, stares right back at me. She has black hair like I do, and her eyelashes look voluminous without looking like daddy-long-legs glued to her eyes. Circular shaped face, big eyes, plump lips. Dark tan, clear skin that's free of wrinkles. She isn't wearing any makeup, yet her skin has a subtle glow to it.

How? It's literally November...in Alaska.

I'm immediately intimidated.

She's...basically flawless.

However, I try my best to not let it show as I genuinely smile at her, holding my right hand out in her direction.

"Hi, I'm Mikaere," I tell her.

She smiles back, but it doesn't show in her eyes as she shakes my hand. Her hand is much warmer than mine, nails not painted but certainly look manicured.

"Luna," she replies.

Oh.

So she's Luna, huh? I faintly remember Nina and Henry mentioning her. And, if I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure I gathered that they don't like Luna very much. Were they the ones shouting before we walked in, then?

Right after the introductions, her eyes settle on the man who's now sitting down to my right.

And, I understand immediately.

It's difficult not to stare at him.

Moving back around to face Nina and Henry, I see them both standing there, looking almost as awkward as I feel. Nina's examining Vaughn's current state and Henry's still staring at Luna.

Then, I look to my right, to where Vaughn's setting his things down on the last seat at the bar, leaning his rifle against the chair next to him.

Finally, he looks up, and after making eye contact with me for a split second, looks at the people behind the bar.

He nods to Nina and Henry.

They both smile and nod back, and Nina asks if she can get either of us anything.

"I would love a cheeseburger," I answer a bit too quickly.

Vaughn glances sideways at me momentarily, and I think I hear him mumble something under his breath.

"Of course," Nina replies before looking at Vaughn. He simply just shakes his head in a silent, 'no.'

After nodding, she walks into the kitchen, but Henry stays behind, sending what appear to be warning glances at Luna. It's almost like he's telling her, 'back off.'

He probably wants her to stop upsetting his wife, as he should.

The bar is dead silent after they leave. The three regulars, whose names I can't seem to recall at the moment, eat in silence. Luna just stays leaning on the bar to my left, ignoring Henry's blatant staring and looking at Vaughn every once in a while.

"They're going to think I'm starving you," he mutters to me.

I think back to how enthusiastic I sounded about having a cheeseburger, and then I nod. "Yeah. Probably."

It's silent again until Nina returns, then: "You're still here? Get out!"

She says it loudly, and immediately my relaxed form straightens as I watch Nina and Luna glare back at each other.

"Oh, so you will yell at me in front of Vaughn and the girl? I thought you were just going to 'nod and smile' for the rest of the time."

Vaughn and the girl? I just told her my name like five minutes ago.

Nina motions in the direction of Vaughn and me and laughs, "You brought them into it because you exhausted the other dumb argument that you decided to come up with. You know, you'd think after what happened between us you'd be anything but rude to me."

After what happened?

Vaughn watches silently along with me, our eyes darting back and forth between the pair. Once in a while, we share a look. He remains as calm as ever, but I probably look a bit too confused for my own good.

"That's not it," Luna scoffs. "And, what happened was not my fault."

"So you continue to say for seven long years. But you've yet to actually tell me who's apparently responsible."

Henry shifts, uncomfortable, so Luna glances at him.

I can totally relate to Henry right now. This is a really uncomfortable situation.

Luna shakes her head, "Nina, why don't you just focus on Vaughn and the girl and stop harassing me?"

"Ah, I see," Nina nods mockingly. "You're jealous, aren't you?"