Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder

Ronin sat on his bed and began to weep. He wiped his eyes and read the letter one more time. An uncontrollable flurry of tears streamed down his cheeks. As he dropped the letter, he let his face collapse into his pillow.

Two weeks had passed since Mrs. Kinney had been hospitalized at BrightWood. Two weeks in an induced coma. Ronin visited her every day. For two weeks there had been no improvement. It was touch and go the whole time. Based on her age, they gave her a twenty percent chance for survival. For those two weeks Ronin was an inconsolable zombie.

As he rolled over he wiped the tears from his face. His trembling body relaxed. He took a deep breath and exhaled. A smile emerged, something he thought he may never do again. He stared at the ceiling and held his arms up. “Yes!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. Not only did the letter state that Mrs. Kinney had woken from her coma but it also said she suffered no long term damage and that she would be making a full recovery. It might have been the happiest moment in Ronin’s life.

The door burst open. In ran Grace. She jumped on the bed and hugged Ronin. She twisted to her side and just held him. She released her grip and sat up. She looked embarrassed. “You got the letter right.” Ronin nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes. She laid back down and put her arm over his chest. “I’m so happy,” she said.

“Me too,” said Ronin. He turned and faced her. They lay on the bed almost nose to nose. “Want to go see her with me today?”

“Of course.”

Thirty minutes passed like thirty seconds. Grace needed to prepare for teams, she told him. Ronin’s heart ached as he watched her walk out the door. She promised she’d come back after the match so they could go see Mrs. Kinney together. The faint smell of jasmine lingered. It was her smell. It was his favorite smell. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

As he stared at the ceiling a feeling of calm came over him. For some reason he knew everything was going to be okay. The door opened. In walked Kevin and Mike. They were both wearing black armor made of bamboo, or team gear as they called it. On the front of the armor was a red painted insignia. A pine tree on Kevin’s and an Oak tree on Mike’s. They each held a bamboo helmet in their right hand and a bokken in their left. They looked like modern versions of samurai.

“Bro.” Mike adjusted his shoulder armor. “We just got the good news.”

“You going to see her later?” asked Kevin.

“Yeah. So is Grace. You guys want to come?”

“Sounds good,” said Kevin.

“You know it,” said Mike.

Mike nudged Kevin. “What do you think?” said Mike, to Kevin. “He looks better. I think he can handle it.”

“Fine,” said Kevin. He turned to face the door, obviously not happy with whatever Mike was talking about.

“Bro,” said Mike, looking to Ronin. “We weren’t going to tell you this but with the good news about Mrs. Kinney I think it’s only fair that you know.”

Ronin’s heartrate quickened. He almost didn’t want to hear what Mike had to say. Anxiety and fear had already taken its toll on his body, he didn’t know if he could handle anymore.

“Rob was coming back from lookout duty and saw Ryan walking into House Grey,” said Mike. “It was pretty late at night. Obviously Ryan didn’t want anyone to see him. Not sure if he’s still there. No one has seen him leave though.”

Ronin shot out of bed and stood before the fireplace staring into the orange glow of the embers. He didn’t know how to handle what he just heard. He thought for sure Ryan would never show his face at the school again.

“Bro. I think we should tell Mr. Wetstone. Now that Mrs. Kinney is out of her coma, she can back up our story. It won’t just be our word versus his anymore. We can get him now. We can’t just let him get away with almost killing Mrs. Kinney.” Sweat beaded above his forehead and rolled down the sides of his cheeks. He stuck his hand under the neckline of his armor and pulled it away from his body.

“We’ve already gone over this,” said Kevin. He turned and glared at Mike. “You heard what Grace said about Ryan’s dad, he’s worse than Ryan and look what Ryan tried to do. We can’t say anything. I don’t know if we will ever be able to say anything. We need to accept the fact that the guy is going to get away with attempted murder.”

The muscles in Ronin’s jaw flexed as he clenched his mouth shut.

“I know that look,” said Kevin. “You’re not going to try anything stupid are you?”

Ronin shook his head. “You think I’d risk them hurting Mrs. Kinney?” He turned from the fireplace with folded arms and a hateful look in his eyes.

“I couldn’t blame you if you did,” said Kevin. He sat on the edge of his bed and laid his bamboo helmet behind him.

“It’s messed up man,” said Mike. He shook his head as he stared into the fireplace. The sand clock caught his attention. With a surprised look on his face he blurted out. “Oh crap.”

Kevin looked to where Mike was facing. He shot up off his bead and grabbed his helmet. “We’re going to be late,” he said.

“I thought you guys were done,” said Ronin.

“We have one more match today,” said Mike.

Kevin was already at the door.

“Pine versus Oak,” said Mike.

“That’s your two teams,” said Ronin. “I thought you guys would only go against each other in the finals.”

“They changed the bracket after Maple won,” said Kevin.

“Wow,” said Ronin. “So the winner of your match faces Grace’s team?”

“Yup,” said Mike. He laughed. “I almost don’t want to win. That girl has been on a rampage. She’s already injured two people, broke some guy’s nose and some other guys clavicle.” He shrugged with a smile and walked to the door. “You can still come with us if you want.”

“Nah. I’m okay. Thanks though. I’ll come to the finals though.”

“Sounds good,” said Mike.

“After the match meet back here so we can go see Mrs. Kinney?” asked Kevin.

“Sounds good,” said Ronin. “Good luck guys.”

Mike and Kevin said thanks at the same time. As they left the room Mike nudged Kevin into the wall and started laughing. Kevin chuckled, and said, “You’re an idiot.”

House Grey, the house where the Rahvein students were housed. Ronin had only been there one other time. It didn’t look any different from House Ware. Only real difference were the paintings, instead of portraits of Humayre there were portraits of Rahvein. The common room was empty and so were the halls. Ronin figured they were all in class. Room twelve, Ryan’s room. Ronin knew this because Ryan’s especially oily stink lead him there. The smell was strong at the door. Ryan was still inside. Closing his eyes and focusing, Ronin pulled the sounds of breathing out of the silence. There was no doubt now, Ryan was in there somewhere.

The pounding in Ronin’s chest forced him to step away from the door. Exhaling and then inhaling, he tried to calm his nerves. Knowing that if he barged in as worked up as he was he might actually lose himself and really hurt the guy. The plan, he hadn’t thought of a plan, he was purely winging it. Not a good way to go about it. The anger began to swell, he pushed it back, but it grew once more. If he didn’t act soon he would enter the room in an enraged furry.

The handle turned, it was unlocked. What an idiot. He pushed open the door and barged in. He was expecting to see a shocked Ryan but instead was greeted with a half circle hall just like his room. The sound of frantic movement echoed off the stone walls. Ronin hurried through the hall and exploded into the room. Ryan spun around from whatever he was doing inside his trunk.

“Who… wha… You,” said Ryan. “Wha… What are you doing?” He stumbled backwards almost tripping over the trunk in front of his bed. “Yo….” His eyes searched the room for something. “You can’t.” He took another step back while focusing on Ronin’s hands. “You can’t just come into my room.”

A pop followed by a hum filled Ronin’s ears. The room narrowed until all he could see was Ryan. His mind went blank, all that remained was a craving, a terrible, terrible craving. Anger overwhelmed the fear of losing himself. An aching desire for pressure exploded behind his four fangs. They wanted to plunge into something, to feel the resistance, to feel the force. Spreading his feet wide and crouching low, he spread his arms out. Razor sharp pearlescent daggers, ten of them, glistened in the light cast from the fireplace. The smell of fear and panic filled Ronin’s nostrils. He sucked it in deep and let it further enrage him. It was sweet with a slight hint of bitterness. He could feel it as much as he could smell it. A smile which would have terrified the most hardened of men formed from his scowl.

The salty foul smell of urine spread through the room. A darkness spread across the front of Ryan’s pants like a paper towel soaking up spilled juice. The weakness enraged Ronin, like a wolf before it takes down a deer. Ryan stood frozen with his mouth slightly agape. Terror bled all color from his face.

Fifteen feet separated Ronin from Ryan. The muscles flexed in Ronin’s calves and thighs. In one explosive burst Ronin was in the air. He covered the fifteen feet in a heartbeat. The first strike ripped across Ryan’s chest. It cut through BioArmor and skin, but it wasn’t a fatal strike. Ryan stumbled and fell onto his back. Like an enraged tiger, Ronin pounced onto Ryan’s chest. With arms flailing Ryan screamed out in horror. Tears streamed down his face as he pleaded for his life. The next strike was partially blocked by Ryan’s out stretched arms. Once again the BioArmor was shredded.

Ronin pulled his clawed hand back, his eyes on Ryan’s neck. Ronin was gone, all that remained was the Rage. He began his down stroke, the killing blow, but his hand stopped just before it reached Ryan’s throat. The crying and utter helplessness of Ryan snapped Ronin from his enraged frenzy. No matter how badly he hated Ryan, he couldn’t end his life. He wasn’t a killer.

Ronin reached down and grabbed Ryan’s shoulder. Four of his claws pierced through BioArmor and into flesh. Ronin could have forced his claws deeper but he decided to show Ryan some mercy.

“What was on that letter that was so important that you would try to kill my family?” asked Ronin, in an icy calm voice.

“Please,” pleaded Ryan. “I’ll tell you everything.” Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Please, it hurts. Please stop.” He grabbed Ronin’s hand.

Releasing his grasp and at the same time slapping Ryan’s hand away, Ronin said, “Tell me or the next place I grab will be your neck.”

“Okay. Okay. Please. Just don’t hurt me.”

“Talk!” shouted Ronin.

“They were instructions for our Vein informant,” said Ryan. “Telling him that the weapon was ready and that he needed to fulfil the rest of his mission before returning to the BioTech labs. The letter also contained detailed schematics for the weapon.”

“What weapon?” asked Ronin. “What are you talking about?” He extended the claw on his right index finger and held it to Ryan’s throat.

“It’s a weapon that can kill all Vein and Humayre,” said Ryan. “Please. That’s all I know about it.”

“Humayre? Why would he want to kill Humayre?”

“An uncontrollable byproduct of the weapon,” said Ryan. He tried to wipe the tears from his cheeks but it was of no use, they just kept coming.

Ronin paused to gather his thoughts. One thing still didn’t make sense. “Why would a Vein help if the weapon would also kill him?”

“My father promised him protection. Told him that there were ways to keep the weapon from effecting Vein. The price for protection was his help.”

Something else dawned on Ronin. “Why do you care if the letter was lost? Couldn’t you just send another?”

“No!” shouted Ryan. “My father would kill me.” He looked terrified at the prospect of what his father would do to him. “If he knew I lost it, he would kill me.”

“Why?” asked Ronin. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Because if that letter got into Vein hands, and they figured out how to decipher it, it would give them a reason to unite. If they came together, no one could stop them. Together they could Techno Suppress the entire world. It would be the end of everything as we know it. Imagine the entire world going dark. No technology of any kind. Millions would die.”

“But you said you had a weapon that could destroy all of them. What’s stopping your dad from using it?”

“My father was being overly optimistic. It’s not ready yet. We lack one key component.” Ryan wiped the tears from his face. “And that was the other part of the letter. It contained the plans for stealing the other component.” He stared past Ronin. “If the Vein come together before the weapon is ready, we will lose the war.”

Putting two and two together, Ronin said, “The Mayrestone.”

Ryan’s silence confirmed Ronin’s theory.

And then it hit Ronin. Raven had been telling the truth, at least about the weapon Dr. Grey had designed. Was he telling the truth about everything else? As guilty as it made him feel he wanted to know what else Raven knew.

Shaking his head, Ronin said, “You and your father are worse than the Vein.” He stood up and looked down on Ryan. “The Vein don’t want war. They are self-centered beings who value their own pleasures and survival above all else. By making that weapon your father might be starting a war that never would’ve happened.”

“Those are lies that BrightWood teaches,” said Ryan. “You don’t know the truth. It’s only a matter of time before someone unites the Den’s and brings down the wraith of the Vein upon the world.” It was as though he was reciting someone else’s speech. He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “My father knows. He knows first-hand. It’s what happened in his home world and it will happen here. It’s just a matter of time.”

“It doesn’t matter what you monsters have planned,” said Ronin. “I’m ending it right now. You’re going to pay for what you did to Mrs. Kinney and so is your father.” He turned his back on Ryan and hurried out of the room, his destination Mr. Wetstone.