Believing in Myself

Thank you for the review Falcon. It\'s nice to see you again too, especially after all that it\'s been... Anyway, as promised, another update! And I\'m glad you like Aivon too, by the way. I do my best to create a well rounded batch of characters!


Chapter 28


His back was completely sore from laying on the stone cold floor, with nothing to cover him or make himself comfortable on, but the clothes on his back. The fire may have warmed his body some, yet his heart never felt colder and more alone. Somewhere, out there, Jessica and Aivon were stuck, either half buried in snow or wandering aimlessly to look for him. They didn\'t know where he was... heck, he didn\'t know where he was either. But the thought of them wandering out in a snowstorm, practically freezing to death, while he sat by the fire doing nothing...

Trying to get up was a pain, as his feet seemed to have lost all thought of movement. Getting up, he nearly topppled over sideways, had not he held on to the cave wall, hoping to get the feeling back in his legs before setting out. He didn\'t care what that guy in black said, he refused to leave his friends out there, suffering the cold. Moving his hands from the wall, trying to get his balance, he took a step foward and fell, hitting the ground hard. All his energy seemed to have left him, and he struggled to crawl his way back to the fire. Just how long had he been out anyway?

John took a sitting position near the fire, firmly wishing to stay awake to see the return of his friends. His pack was nowhere to be seen, for it was probably lost amoung the snow, and with it, all the food they had taken with them. He rubbed his arms hoping to warm himself more when he felt something. Reaching into his inside pocket, he pulled out a book. It was the one he was determined to open, the one which had a lock on it. He never did figure out why anyone would want to lock the book anyway, unless it wasn\'t meant to be opened. But then why keep it in his own house, unless someone had hoped he would find it. He stared at the lock, as if mere thought could force it open, but in the end, he gave a sigh and fell back, asleep.


What felt like hours later, John awoke, a paining in his stomach. Having not eaten anything, he wondered how long it would be until he starved. After all, with no real energy, he couldn\'t go out and find food. He would be prey to those monsters easily. Not wanting to think about it, he tried going back to sleep, when a strange aroma went through the air. Opening his eyes, he looked to see a steaming bowl of stew and a half a loaf of bread on a cloth, waiting for him, as if it just appeared on whim. John looked around quickly, but nothing caught his sight.

\"Hello? Is anyone there?\" John knew someone had to have just put it there, for the food looked freshly prepared. But yet no one answered his calls. Perhaps they were hiding, waiting to poison him with the temptation of food, and for awhile John merely stared at the bowl. Considering the options John went ahead and began to eat. Even if it was poisoned, John knew then a quick death by it, rather then the slow torturous one of starving, was more appealing. John carefully ate the stew, not wanting to waste a drop and ate the bread in big bites, much bigger then he had intented. But when your half starved, who could blame you? Finishing his meal, John waited for awhile to see if anything would happen, or to see if someone would collect the bowl. When neither happened, John laid back and let sleep claim him once again.

When he next awoke, it was to neither the pains of hunger or the smell of food, but the cool touch of a hand. John opened his eyes again to see two amber ones staring at him rather closely. \"Ah!\" He screamed in surprise and moved away, but soon realized as it wasn\'t needed, for Jessica and Aivon were looking to him. \"Guys, it\'s really you!\"

\"See, and that\'s how we first met... except with alot more cursing.\" Jessica said.

\"Talk about an entrence...\"

\"Aivon! Jessica, your both ok! But how did you find me?\"

\"It wasn\'t easy really,\" Aivon explained, \"but I managed to get out of the snow covering me, and instantly went searching the area around for you and Jessica. Well, I found Jessica ok, but we couldn\'t find you. We did, however, see some footprints on the ground and followed them, but a snowstorm came up and we lost sight of where we were going.\"

\"By luck, we met someone who said they found you and carried you over to this cave.\" Jessica added. \"She was nice, and gave us something to eat when we got here. Then we came to see you.\"

\"Wow, this is great! By the way, where is this person?\"

\"Over here,\" a voice called out from the right. Wearing a battle skirt and top, was a woman dressed for battle. Her bronze-like boots echoed in the cave as she walked to them. Her skin was lightly tanned, and his hair seemed a dark brown that reached just past her shoulders. John was surprised how she could expose her lower stomach and her bare arms and legs to the cold, but she seemed unfazed by it. \"I\'m glad your alright.\"

\"Thank you for helpping me and my friends, but who are you?\" John asked carefully.

\"Come, we will talk more later. Follow me.\" The woman walked off deeper into the cave and the three followed. Somewhere in the darkness, John thought he felt the stare of someone, someone he really hoped wasn\'t there, but ignored it. They reached a curve and decended a bit deeper into the cave wher a light was emitting. Then they had entered a rather large chamber, the ceiling high up, a good twenty or so feet. A bright fire was burning in the center of the room, with a rather bason of stew over it, warming and cooking it. Some mats had been placed around for sleeping, and John saw the packs they had taken with them. \"Please make yourself at home. It\'s rare I get visitors nowadays.\"

\"Whoa... you actually live here?\" John asked.

\"Train is the better word. But yes, I do live here. I sometimes come down the mountain for supplies and such, but mostly I live a seculded life here in this cave.\"

John looked around and could see all sorts of swords of different shapes and sizes. Some looked too heavy for any normal man to carry, others looked more like daggers then actual swords. Each one was seperate from the other, to display in all it\'s glory. \"Quite a collection you have here.\" Aivon said.

\"Thank you. I train alot with these swords. They are my way of life. Oh yes, I never told you my name. Call me Karin. In any case, I need to check on something. Please help yourself to some stew if your hungery.\" With that, she left them.

John felt at this point to mention something. \"Jessica, I saw that stranger in black earlier.\"

\"You did?\" Jessica said worried. She had certainly not forgotten the last few times they had met. Those times, John had been brought to the point of lashing out in fury.

\"Who are you talking about?\" Aivon asked puzzled somewhat.

\"Oh right.. well, you might as well make yourself comfortable, it\'s kinda a long story...\" Jessica said.