Goldilocks (15 page)

Chapter 19:

“This was my second home for a while,” Jake admitted, pointing towards the cabin as they settled on the top of the boulder marking the beginning of the old miner’s trail. “I kept the garden up after old man Jacob’s disappeared…for the deer,” Jake smiled at Hannah’s surprised look.

“So you lived
here…in my house?”

“No, not lived,” Jake shook his head, snatching a leaf from one
of the branches dangling over them, the stem twirling slowly between his thumb and index. “It was my thinking spot. When I needed some space away from my parents, I…”

“Your parents!? So you don’t live all alone up in that cave. I mean, I know I saw two bedrooms, but…” Hannah’s words trailed off as her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment.

She hadn’t meant to bring up her previous violation of his privacy and home.

“Yeah,
we’ve always lived here,” Jake shrugged. “These woods,” he sighed, the leaf dropping from his fingertips to float to the ground below. “They’ve been guarded by my family for more than a few centuries now. Before roads, before Hinsdale had even been thought of, even before humans, there were only Kind,” Jake explained, his eyes closing to see more clearly the ancient history his father had imbedded deep in his memories.

He spoke it as he saw it, the way his father had explained it to him, even b
efore he was old enough to really comprehend.

“
Once upon a time, the entire earth was ruled by only animals, some of the smartest of those creatures consisting of apes, eagles, bears, wolves, moose and many others. Thousands of years ago, any warm blooded creature was known as Kind, meaning givers of life. Today, many believe that humans only evolved from apes, because that is the form they can be associated with the best, but in their truest of forms, the leaders of every Kind species had the ability to create new life, as well as give old life. So that the power wouldn’t be abused, and the earth overpopulated by one particular Kind or another, a council was formed. But there was still strife within the council, each Kind wanting to be more dominant than the next. So it was decided that a new species would be created. Born of their spirits, but superior in every way, and
that
Kind would be the head ruler of the council. And so they created a Kind from all of their traits, long arms and hands like the ape, sharp eyes like the eagle, a lean torso like the wolf, soft skin like the otter, thick hair to cover it with, like the bear…from every council member they gleaned something. And when they were done…a new Kind was born of their images, and they called it man…hence the word Mankind.”

“Man born of animals,” Hannah whispered in awe, her eyes wide as Jake’s words sunk in.

“Yes,” Jake sighed, wincing at the vivid images now flashing through his head, reliving the downfall just as his father had all those years ago. “Now the council saw what they had done, and pronounced it good. With man leading their path, they could do things they’d never thought to do before. He had their combined intelligence and a unique structure that they used to their benefit. They loved man so much that they used their combined powers to create an ability to shift into man’s form. They could mimic man, but they could never be man. But it came a time, where man grew lonely. He didn’t just want a companion that could look like him; he wanted a companion that could be him. He saw that every Kind had another Kind, and one day he asked the council to give him a true mate as well. It was a request that would lead the Kind to the destruction of their purity as a whole, and create an earth that they’d never be able to take back. The council decided that only man would know what type of mate would please him, so even though it was forbidden to ever give one’s power to another, they decided that for one time only, they would bless man with their own power so that he could create an equal match for himself. Well, man was smart, and saw the council as selfish for only giving him this power once. The council had off spring for many generations, and man worried that one day, they would no longer need him. So man used his power to create woman. It was a loophole the council had overlooked. A bearer of his own offspring, man no longer needed the council’s power to continue his own Kind. Now because man was created of every Kind spirit, the dominant animal trait within him lived on through his breed. With each new Kind born of man, a Kind trait was instilled in them. Wolves, bears, moose, eagles…they were all born with the ability to shift into the kind trait that was bestowed on them in the womb. But man was the only one of his Kind that could pass on the trait. The council realized that as man’s offspring grew and began to procreate, the Kind spirit became completely lost. These offspring were called human,” Jake paused, his eyes meeting Hannah’s for the first time since he’d started telling the story.

To him it was history, but to h
er, it was an unbelievable truth that his father said no human would ever understand. He expected to see doubt in her features, maybe even a smirk on her face, but all he found was wonder. Her eyes searched his, pleading for him to continue. She took his hand gently when he hesitated, her eyes closing as she turned her face up towards the trees.

“And then…?” she murmured, exhaling softly when he finally continued.

“And so decades passed, and man grew old and weak. He pleaded with the council to give him the gift of immortality that only they shared, but they refused. Man’s breed was beginning to outnumber the Kind all together, separating themselves from their superiors and changing the earth from the natural habitat that had always been the Kind’s home. It was with relief that the council watched man die from his old age, but it was already too late. Man’s offspring had evolved, branching out into their own languages, and territories, forgetting their origins. Only his direct breed remained and even then, after man’s death, they no longer recognized the council as rulers over them. They turned on the Kind, using their shifting abilities to trick them into leaving their homes, and enslaving the ones that stayed for their benefit. The tables were suddenly turned. Humans were thriving and despite the council’s efforts to remain the true rulers, even their own breeds succumb to the lesser nature humans force them into. Human shelters became homes, and thickets of forest were wiped out to build roads. The higher the human population became, the less the council fought it. They knew that their creation of man was the undoing of the Kind and they accepted it because they had no other choice; their numbers were no match in comparison to how fast the human breed was reproducing. The council disbanded when the last of their breeds moved on, their own immortal lives, only a reminder of the true history of this earth. Most of them were resolved to their fates, except one. Creed –the council’s wolf Kind- was unhappy with the council’s decision to disband. He didn’t want to listen to reason, and when the council refused to fight with him against the humans, in secret, he began to birth from his spirit an army that would help him destroy the humans. But a spirit can only be given so many times, and a flesh with a spirit could only be born jointly of all council members. After the first few attempts at recreating a man Kind, Creed had already done more damage than he himself could contain. His offspring’s spirits were birthed broken, their animalistic, pack tendencies more prominent and deformed than anything the council had ever seen, but Creed didn’t care. He continued trying to birth the perfect spirit on his own, and by the time the council got word of the hordes of wolf Kind ravaging the land, it was almost too late. Except a handful of babes, what you know now as Hinsdale and Lake City had all but been massacred, the human breed desecrated and left to rot right where they fell. By then, Creed was too weak to produce more offspring, so it gave the council time to come up with a plan. You see, they are immortal against each other. A spirit taken, is a spirit given. So the council set about capturing each of Creed’s army, binding their spirits and casting them down into the center of what is now the four passes. They also encased the loop around the pass with a curse that would never allow a wolf Kind to pass in its bound state. Unable to shift, it’s impossible for a wolf Kind to climb the treacherous terrain of the abyss; they are stuck there forever, their spirits immortal. Well…that’s how it was supposed to be,” Jake sighed, present memories fading in and out of the past ones now.

“
Time passed, and humans begin to populate the area once more, but sparingly. Most branched out further across the earth, never to be seen again. Once the mine was built, a flood of new humans came, and it was no longer safe for the council to live together in one area. They were hunted many times over, and once rumors of the Kind’s immortality began to spread, they were subjected to treatments even worse than being hunted. If caught, they were tortured, only to live on in excruciating pain, locked in cages, and put on display for all to see. They were becoming experiments, and something to be feared as well, and every time the council had to go in and rescue one of its brothers, they risked being captured themselves. So they decided to leave. But because the abyss had to be guarded, my father volunteered to stay and keep watch over the woods. It was also because of his love for my mother that he couldn’t go. Regular Kind are not immortal, and she was too old in her age to make a journey required to leave the area. It was a selfless act by my father, and as a thank you, it was the last time the council agreed to use its joint power. They restored her youth, and gave her the gift that man had so desperately wanted. My father had his mate, and as he watched each of his brothers leave, he vowed never to bring another Kind into such a world as this. But surprises happen,” Jake smile wryly, gesturing to himself. “My father never wanted a child. He never wanted this…” he let his hands spread outward to the woods around them. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but the mine has been one problem after another. While Creed and his army remain contained within the four passes by the curse, the curse only extends but so far, at least not miles and miles down into the earth, like we’ve come to find out. What started off as a tiny gold mine, has flourished over the last few years, sending the humans deeper against the walls of the abyss. Now while the wolves would never be able to climb their way to the top, they have certainly managed to pass through some of the newer tunnels. There are probably thousands down there now,” Jake whispered, stiffening at the horrified gasp Hannah let out.

Her head was shaking, and he didn’t want to admit anymore but the truth came tumbling free anyway, his eyes searching her face for some sort of understanding of their dilemma.

“My father has been the one blowing up the tunnels in the mine. He’s trying to keep them sealed in. It has resulted in a few human deaths, yes, but compared to the entire town, its worth it isn’t it?”

“No! Not if it’s my dad!” Hannah couldn’
t help the tears that pricked her lids at the thought, her mind racing to wonder of his whereabouts right now.

“
Creed’s pack is born directly from him. We can’t kill them; all three of us are council born. So when one escapes, the most we can do is maim and cast them back. It’s the only way Hannah, don’t you see. We are trying to preserve human life! I spend hours upon days out here on patrol. My father works in the mine simply because he wants to save man’s breed, not destroy it.”

“
So if you can’t kill them, then who can?!” Hannah demanded, her head shaking as she tugged her fingers from Jake’s. “There has to be a way.

It was only theory. His parent’s overheard private conversations when they thought he was sleeping. He had no right to give her false hope, but it slipped, his need to make her understand, stronger than his resolve to keep her as much in the dark as he could.

“A human,” Jake whispered, grabbing her wrist as she shot up from her cross legged position on the boulder.

“That’s all! All this time!”

“It’s more complicated than that Hannah,”

“How?!”

“I don’t know but it is!” Jake snapped, frustration seeping into his voice. “I don’t have all the answers. I’m only telling you what I’ve been told over the years. I’m still trying to figure all of that out myself!” he nearly shouted, immediately reaching for her again when she moved to jump down from the rock. “These aren’t regular wolves Hannah,” Jake said quietly, releasing her wrist just as suddenly as he’d caught it.

The pull was there again, sparking between them, heat circling around her entire body and exploding into his che
st when she brought her tear filled green eyes to meet his.

“I lost one parent Jake. I’m not about to lose another.”

He felt every fiber of pain that formed that one declaration, her sorrow his own for a split moment as their emotions somehow joined. She felt it to. He could tell in the way that her breath caught, her hand covering her heart as she took a step back from him. The connection was broken just as suddenly has it had formed, Jake’s words so quiet that they were almost just a breath.

“This isn’t your battle Hannah.”

“I’m the only human standing here,” Hannah squared her shoulders, refusing to back down. “And I’m the only one that knows aren’t I?” she questioned, grabbing for Jake this time when he jumped to a stand.

“I won’t let you get involved. You promised if I told you everything…”

“But you haven’t!” Hannah exclaimed, following him off the rock and back onto the trail. “I have so many questions. Like what just happened a second ago?”

Jake shoulders stiffened at the question, his feet stilling as he turned to look at her. He’d done enough speculating for one day, and once again didn’t know himself what had just happened between them.