Return of the Woodcutter

Chapter 9 - Friend Or Foe (part 4)

BOOM!

Aito brought down his twentieth tree of the day. After cutting off the branches, he tied it with a long rope to pull the tree to his new shelter area, located midway in between the cave and the beach.

Soaked in sweat, he settled the tree on the pile of woods he planned on using to build his spike walls just at the foot of his defensive ones.

Three-meter walls built with thick woods surrounded in a semi-circle shape, his new dwelling by the riverside. He passed by the entrance and headed for the river. There, he sat and soaked his feet in freshwater.

The temperature was perfect compared to the one next to his cave. Neither cold nor warm. Aito wouldn't admit it, but it was one of the main reasons he had chosen this spot.

The other one was to halve the time required to build his new shelter. He intended to cover his back with the riverside and his front with defensive walls.

A mountain or cliff side could have done the trick, but he feared the monkey's agility would allow them to climb rocky walls and bypass his defenses.

Of course, the same applied to his defensive structures. However, he had stockpiled wood with the intention to counteract that by using spikes.

Moreover, the riverside could be used as an escape path in case of absolute urgency.

"Yeah, it's not a bad place to build." He said, watching Jack in the river who was swimming towards him.

'Hum? Ah, shit… don't tell me monkeys know how to swim. That's a possibility, a certainty even since Jack can.' Aito thought. 'But a safe place on this island doesn't exist, anyway. I've got nothing to lose staying here. Also, swimming monkeys make perfect targets for spear throwing.'

A wet Jack waddled to him on his two feet and extended his hand, palm wide open.

"Glutton," Aito said, tossing him a piece of roasted meat.

These past three days had been more enjoyable than usual. Surprisingly, Jack had stuck to him, even helped him build.

The monkey proved to be smarter than Aito thought. It rapidly learned to use tools like an ax to cut down a tree. Although it took Jack a while because of his small size and strength, the monkey still managed to perform the task.

When it wasn't helping, it found high ground and scouted the surroundings for potential attacks. Once spotted, he would signal incoming enemies with a "Kyaak."

It made Aito's life easier since he didn't have to be on guard as much as he used to.

Aito had been wary of the monkey at first but came to realize that Jack wanted to help him for some unknown reason. That much was clear to him. He was certain, however, that Jack didn't consider him a friend or an enemy, more like a neutral party.

When Aito had tried to touch Jack, the monkey showed his dagger in response, clearly implying for him to stay back. Since then, Aito avoided any kind of physical contact with his new partner.

"Kyaak!" Jack "said," standing on two legs as it gazed at the camp's entrance.

It dropped the piece of meat, ran for the walls, used its agile limbs to climb on top, and scanned the area.

Alerted, Aito made for the entrance in a record time. Barricading the gap with his shield, he peered into the distance.

Five monkeys appeared out of the woods, but no signs of a leader-type. Those big apes' appearances seemed occasional. Aito didn't meet any of those since the first encounter.

He looked towards Jack's previous location, only to see that it had disappeared, then turned back his attention to the furious-looking monkeys rushing in his direction.

He moved back his right leg to gain stability, brought out a spear, and unleashed a powerful throw.

The stone tip tore through a monkey's ribcage, exited its back, and impaled the poor bastard to the ground.

Aito smiled at his lucky shot and threw two more spears that missed, before grabbing the new iron ax he had picked from the previous leader's corpse.

BAM!

He blocked a spear strike, opened his guard, cut the spear in half, and sent the monkey flying with a front kick. It ended its course on a nearby tree, its skull fractured by the powerful shock.

From a nearby tree, Jack observed the battle undetected. Since the enemies have turned their back to him, he stealthily jumped to a tree on top of the nearest enemy, then let himself fall onto his prey.

BAM!

"Kyaak!"

A cracking sound came from the monkey's broken spine as it was forced down by the impact.

Alarmed, the two other monkeys turned around to confront the new threat. Grave mistake.

BAM!

Aito's ax lodged into the furthest monkey's back. In the same motion, he grabbed the remaining enemy's throat and squeezed.

CRACK!

He threw the corpse aside as if it was trash and scanned the area in case of a new attack, but nothing came.

"Good job, Jack." He said, giving the creature a thumbs up. "Let's get back to work before something unpredictable happens again."

Because an itch tingling his spine told him something really bad would happen at the start of the next month, and he feared his preparations wouldn't be enough to stop it.

***

2nd week of the second month.

Aito finally finished his fortification. Defensive wooden spikes now surrounded his camp to prevent monkeys from climbing the walls. To Jack's discontent, he also added bamboo spikes directed outwards on top of the walls.

He also started to set up pitfalls in the surrounding areas and moved his training ground next to his camp.

One night, tired from a whole day of training, he fell fast asleep to have yet another nightmare. He still couldn't see the creature haunting his dreams, but it felt closer, more vivid.

However, something else took away his fear of the supernatural thing. One leader-type monkey had appeared, accompanied by five other monkeys.

But this time it had been smaller and equipped with an iron dagger. It proved to be a worthy foe due to its agility, but Jack took it by surprise and slit its throat. Turns out, Jack was interested in the weapon and Aito had no choice but to give it to his partner.

The small monkey also began to communicate using hand signs Aito regularly showed him. Pointing, waving, even the thumbs up.

3rd week of the second month.

Evol monkey's appearance frequency per day went up by one. Their numbers grew to eight but were still manageable with Jack and the pitfalls.

However, Aito now hesitated to walk out of his camp before taking out the two groups of evol monkeys. Without the fortifications and traps, he wasn't certain to come out unscathed from an encounter.

To top it off, the creature once more haunted his dream, digging up painful memories. Memories he hadn't come to accept yet and couldn't allow arising before leaving the trial.

4th week of the second month

Aito built a wooden platform, behind the walls, from which he could peer into the distance and throw spears.

Evol monkey now numbered nine per attack, and a leader-type showed up at least once per day. Under its leadership, the monkeys moved more strategically and even attacked the defenses now if necessary.

The stress, training, fighting, and tension from not knowing when the monkeys will attack next left him exhausted at the end of each day. However, the nightmares wouldn't let him rest.

***

Blood covering the floor.

"LeT me hAvE ##."

Bruises on his face.

"YoUr sIn."

Bottle of alcohol in hand.

"YoUr suf######."

Broken skull.

"I ### ##### yOu ### ########## ### sEeK."

"CoMe tO mE."

***

Last day of the month.

Jack was resting next to the fireplace on his small bamboo bed he had learned to craft thanks to the man-thing.

In fact, he had learned a lot of things. Cutting trees, setting traps, planting woods into the earth to form tall fences! He could even communicate without using sounds now!

And most of all, he was proud of his newest find, another shiny pointy thing he had taken from an ugly tall monkey yesterday. Currently, he had two of those and could throw away the trash looking pointy-thing he had kept until now.

Now that he thought about it, the man-thing referred to it as "iron dagger." What a glorious sound! Iron dagger! He liked it.

Despite the obvious benefits it brought to ally himself with the man-thing, Jack never knew that his ex-comrades could be so fearless and strong. Each day proved to be a challenge, but also an opportunity to sharpen his skills.

Apart from that, he didn't dislike being around the man-thing. If he remembered right, it said its personal sound was "Aito."

Aito was what Jack could refer to now as his comrade, yet refused for the simple reasons of their apparent physical difference. It was a fat-moving piece of meat and he was a smart, handsome, perfect sized and powerful creature. Jack deemed his comrade should at the very least share his physical traits.

Moreover, there was something weird about Aito. It would scare Jack awake sometimes during bedtime, screaming and in pain, although it had no wounds. Weird.

So from time to time, like today, Jack would wake up in the night to avoid being surprised by the screaming man-thing.

Jack eyed the man-thing on his big bamboo bed warily, ready for its incoming sound attack, and sure enough…

"AAAAAAH!"

Jack covered his ears until Aito calmed down. The man-thing was wrapped in sweat yet again. Dark circles under his fatigued eyes testified to his lack of sleep during those past few days.

"Fuck!"

That sound again. The man-thing sure liked it. Jack found it ugly though, he preferred the sound "Filona" Aito voiced from time to time while looking at the ugly-looking thing made of ugly material covering its ugly head.

Aito sat down on his bed, out of breath, and stared at the fire. The man-thing then voiced sounds.

"This island is driving me crazy, Jack. During the daytime, I get to fend off monkeys who keep getting stronger every god damn week. And as if it wasn't enough, now I have to deal with a fucking nightmare creature that will soon come to me every night!" It said, eyeing Jack with a crazed glare.

"I don't know if I'll survive the third month. I don't even know if I'll survive tomorrow or even the next hour."

Jack sent a quizzical gaze to the man-thing. It looked truly pitiful, almost as pitiful as the day he found it on its knees.

"And you know what troubles me the most about the nightmare?" Aito asked, his gaze now empty. "It's not even the creature, it's what I see in it. The things I've done. The people I've wronged. I got to see the scenes all over again. Scenes that are as clear as day, barely different from reality if not at all. But…"

Jack felt uncomfortable. What was the man-thing saying? Too many complicated sounds. It had never opened its mouth as much as today. Even if Jack was smart and started to understand some of those words, there were too many unknown to him.

However, he understood that Aito was in pain and wondered where the wound was. According to what he could see, it certainly was not on his body. Maybe inside?

"Those images become fainter with the passing days," Aito said, clutching his stomach. "And the creature clearer. The thing haunting me is asking for my sin and I can feel… feel my pain being absorbed by it as if it was feeding on it. The more it takes the better I feel and the blurrier the images."

Jack saw Aito was grabbing its stomach. Was it hungry? Why doesn't it cook divine food then?

"But you know what? It doesn't even bother me. I want it to take my pain away, despite the fact that it feels wrong. Despite the fact that… I may forget about those who sheltered me from Life's hardships… those who cared for me when I had nightmares… those… I love… those… who hate me now."

Stupid man-thing. If it was hungry to the point of having water falling from its eyes, it should eat.

Jack reached under his bed, looking for the divine food he was saving for a late-night snack. Then he remembered burying it to keep it fresh.

"I'm tired… Jack. So… tired."

He dug it out and gathered all the mental strength he could muster before forcing himself to give his divine food to the man-thing.

***

Aito stared at the monkey's trembling hands with his teary eyes, then at what they held; a dirty piece of roasted meat. Jack, eyes closed, looked sideways with gritted teeth.

Both living beings paused, an awkward silence filled the night air before Aito burst out laughing—the odd situation chasing away a part of his sorrow.

"Puahahaha!"

Jack frowned.

"Hahaha! Are… you… trying to comfor—"

BAM!

Aito didn't have the time to finish his sentence that he received the piece of dirty meat right in the face. But even then, he still laughed.

Seemingly annoyed, Jack held two middle fingers in Aito's direction.

"Hey! Where did you learn that?" He said, before remembering the time he had snatched an iron dagger from Jack. "Ah… right."

Aito then took the piece of meat. It looked horrible and past its edible phase, but…

"Ish not that wad. De tirt adds a cruispy tdaste. Ptoueï! But pebbles are a no-go." He said, spitting out a small rock.

Jack gave him a thumbs up. Weirdly enough it comforted him in a way.. The idea that the monkey could understand him felt refreshing.