Chapter 2: A Gift To Remember
Back at their house Jack helped his mother take a seat before hurriedly fetching over a towel and bucket of water to clean her wound
As he took a look at the ripped dress however he flinched noting the long bloody gash running down the thighs till the ankle
"Bear with it mother this might hurt....a bit"
Drenching the towel in water he started to wipe away the blood first, his mother stopped him moments later though, shaking her head
"My injury can wait, hiding takes priority"
Jack frowned, in this mess of a situation where could they hide other than their home?
"Move that rug for me"
Pointing him to the dining rooms rug she said, much to his confusion, had they hidden something under it?
Rather than asking he put the dining table and chairs aside before flipping away the rug, under which he found ground, plain normal ground
"?"
Looking toward his mother in confusion he saw her get up shakily, limping her way to the ground
"You shouldn't move mother"
His warning went unheeded as she came over, kneeling down and laying her hand on the earth
Jack knew this pose, it was when she used her trait to loosen the earth, did she want to create some hole in here?
Interrupting his thoughts was a dark line spreading out from her hand, creating a box on the ground, and soon enough a small grip in the box
"Lift it up honey"
Somewhat piecing the puzzle Jack dug his hand into the grip and gave his all in lifting the new trap door, giving view to a crude room underneath
"Under your father's advice I used my Trait to loosen the earth here so he could dig it out and make this hidden room, that man really knows how to think ahead"
The tone of her voice cracked at the mention of his father, still, she gripped her emotions and climbed the stone ladder formed from the wall while he held the trap door open
"Come down"
"One second"
Stretching his leg he hooked the towel and bucket, dropping them down before he did, the trap door shutting after him
His mother proceeded to seal back the entrance by hardening the earth above once more, blocking them off from the surface
Jack wasted no time in taking hold of the towel, but a problem arose
"I can't see anything"
"We can't light any fire, the smoke will choke us even though I did allow a few holes for air to ventilate"
That certainly made things harder, Jack could only be more delicate to try and clean the wound without hurting her
"Gentle as ever, you really aren't fit for a world like this"
His mother commented as he wiped away with the wet towel
"For so long we never told you how dangerous the land here is, figuring that we could keep you safe, living the peaceful life you always sought"
Tears dripped on his hand, his or hers, he wasn't sure
"Even today, when your father told me they spotted a pack of Blood Orthurus we still didn't give you any words of warning....merely taking this peace for granted when people as weak as us were not meant to live in a world such as this"
"Mother...."
Jack lifted his head to say something, trying to piece together words of comfort, yet the sound of shuffling feet above brought him to absolute silence
Sniff Sniff
They could hear the dogs above searching, perhaps it was the blood that brought them here for they quickly came upon the hidden trap door
"Grrar rargh!"
Joyful barks came, followed by the sound of digging, sinking Jack's heart into his stomach
The two didn't even dare to breathe, hoping the beasts would lose interest sooner or later if they didn't attract any attention
Sadly the dogs were having fun digging thus they didn't seem like stopping
"Awuuuuu!"
Soft as it may be a howl was heard by the two underground, with it stopped the digging above, followed by feet shuffling once more as the intruders left the premise
""Haaaah""
Both mother and son let out a breath of relief, it seems they got saved by the pack leaving just in the nick of time
"Let's wait some more before we go back up"
Jack nodded, taking the extra time to make sure the wound was as cleansed as it could be, an infection was the last thing they wanted right now
"Let's go"
Thinking enough time had passed she loosened the earth so Jack could flip open the trap door, then carry her on his back and climb up
"We should leave the town before wild beats start to gather at the smell of blood"
Jack was in agreement with her words, having somewhere in mind too
"I know a place where some plants can be used to disinfect injuries mother, it's also somewhat of a grotto so we could rest the night there"
She nodded slowly, feeling tired already, the day was packed with so much that her body and mind were giving away to slumber
"Meee"
How could she be allowed rest however? A deer with seven antlers made sure the struggle was to continue by popping its head through the door, looking at them like they were dead bodies walking
"That's! One of father's blades!"
Noting the dagger lodged under the deer's eye Jack instantly realized it was this thing that killed his father
Anger did not overtake him, instead his mind sought the best option of running away, which happened to be a window on the other side of the house
Darting toward it he heard hoofs kicking against the earth behind him, then above, before he even got to the window the bloody thing was waiting on the other side
'Damn it!'
It was fast, nimble, and seemingly unwilling to let them go
Mind spinning in thoughts he tried to look for some way to lose it, or at least get from out from this entrapment
'I could trick it!'
An idea popped into his head promoting him to put it into action immediately
Just like the first attempt he went in the opposite side of the house, the deer saw him and kicked its hooves to jump up, exactly what he was waiting for
Turning heels mid dash he made haste toward the window it just left, even one second could not be wasted since he had to get to the next house before it figured his trick out
'Huh? The sound of hooves isn't there?'
Something felt off but he was already standing next to the window, retreat wasn't an option
Slash! "Aargh"
Something slashed his outstretched hand, rending it bloody from shoulder down, in his shock he stumbled backward, almost falling into the crude underground room
'Damn, it probably was listening for my footsteps too'
Realizing he underestimated its intelligence Jack cursed his thoughtlessness
Pak! Pak!Crack!
With widening eyes he watched as the creature started smashing its antlers into the wall, cracking it open slowly but surely
'Why is it so persistent! Why is it all the way here alone?!'
He couldn't understand what motivated the deer to torture them like this
'? Its leg seems to be injured'
The cracks in the wall widened under its unceasing smashes giving him view of the somewhat sliced up leg, another dagger of his father's still stuck in it
All of a sudden everything seemed to fall into place, the reason it was still here, why it was so stuck on killing them, unrelenting even with nothing to gain
'It's injured, left by its pack because of it, now holding a grudge on the family of the person that did this to it....'
It made sense but...it sounded so unfair! Not only did it kill his father now it was going after the rest of them for getting injured by the person it has mercilessly slain already!
'We can't run, no matter whether it's injured or not the darned thing will chase after us no matter what, we can't kill it either'
That only left one option, going back into hiding
Getting up Jack tried to flip back the trap door with his only functioning hand, barely managing to do so and hold it in place for his mother to climb down
"Go down mother, quick before it-?!?"
Feeling something push him from behind he turned to see his mother, in tears, smiling at him, just before the trap door slammed down with nothing to support it
"Cough, mother!"
Despite having the air knocked out of him after the fall Jack stood right back up, climbing back up with his one arm, or at least trying to, before the thing entered the house
Shake~ "Woah?" Bam! Crumble...
He only felt the house tremble as the sound of the wall being blasted open came just before a loud crashing noise filled the place
"Mother!!!"
Battered as he may be Jack only thought of saving his last family member, moving his unwilling body to climb up the stone ladder with difficulty
He tried to lift the trap door but to no avail, resorting to banging it instead, hoping whatever was stuck above could be slid away with enough tries
Rubble and debris started to fall inside as a small opening was created, from this Jack could guess the house had come down, perhaps due to the wall but most probably under his mother's manipulation of its foundation, no doubt exhausting her dearly
Hoping for her safety and fearing the worst he accelerated his efforts even as his arm started to turn bloody and numb with pain
Bang! Bang! Bam!!
Finally, after what seemed like a long time his efforts paid off, the debris sliding off allowing Jack to crawl out into the open
His head took in the surroundings, no trace to be found of any living being, only rocks upon rocks in these ruins of a house
Getting up slowly he moved to where his mother was before pushing him down, removing the debris in an effort to dig her out
"Mother...I can't lose you too, I just can't..."
His tears rolled down like a dam had been opened, first it was the town he loved, then the girls he liked, his father followed shortly after, if he lost his mother as well then what was there to live for, why was he still alive!?
"!!"
Finally spotting an arm Jack threw all his thoughts aside and pulled her out, or tried, it seemed she was stuck so he pushed at the remaining rubble with energy that came out of nowhere, sliding them all away to reveal his mother's body
"....."
Hope was instantly extinguished, one look at the antlers stabbing through her stomach and he could tell her life was beyond saving
"....Ja..."
Those dead eyes of his twinkled with life at the soft whisper, meeting the cracked open gaze of his mother
"...y...ali...ood"
"Don't talk mother, I'll get you out of here and to the grotto"
He went about surveying what he needed to do to safely remove her, first was the rubble next the antlers needed to be taken out, and then...and then.....
"...ok....it's....okay..."
She took one labored breath after the other, consciousness an inch away from falling into eternal slumber
"...you....mu...live....please....live"
"How can I live without you mother, without father, without anyone"
"..I.....with.....y...forev....wi....you"
Her words failing her she reached with her weak arm to tap his heart
"Mother...."
"..present....I...didn....giv....."
She seemed to recall something as she tapped his heart, moving her gaze to the dagger stabbed into the deer
"...bri...ing...it..."
"?"
"...plea...se..."
Confused he unlodged the dagger, presenting it to her
Clutching his hand to hold the dagger tight she brought it, much to his horror, over her heart
"...my...parting.....gif....tak....move.....on...."
"No!"
"...pro....mise...you.....move...on...."
"I can't, I can't leave, I can't do this"
"....please....."
His eyes were red, body shaking, afraid, terrified of what was to come, of being left alone
"Mother I...."
He wanted to argue, say that it was going to be okay, her smile didn't allow his words to come out though, what lies could he spout during her last breath?
"I....promise"
"...thank.....y...goo...bye..."
Stab!
Plunging it into her chest, his mother, as if not feeling any pain, smiled as she tore it open, giving a peek to her heart, still beating inside
"....."
Badum! Badum! Badum!
She was dead, her eyes gave it away, just as her frozen smile did, but her heart still beat
Badum! Badum Badum
So this is what things have come to
Badum Badum...Badum
In the end, he had to activate his Trait, or had things came to this because he refused to do it?
Badum...badum....
The heartbeat grew weaker, and though his mind was not made up he had no choice, his mother already made the decision for him the second she sacrificed herself
His palm reached inside, shaking as it gripped the heart, gently holding it in place
Badum!Badum!Badum!Badum!
By merely holding it the heart grew rampant, beating away like no tomorrow, veins disconnecting themselves from it allowing him to take it out, a miracle in its own accord
"Thank you, mother.....Goodbye"
Final words said he called forth the power of his trait, the one he refused to use, the one that required the beating heart of a human to activate
'Let's see it, the power that seeks such sacrifice'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone