_ Let the dogs feed on the healer if he fails

Farris

~~

He was frustrated, more than frustrated. Fender's life was on the line and he felt too helpless not being able to help out. These people had made him their leader. He was responsible for their lives for Pete's sake!

" If you think we will let you go alone Farris, you are kidding." Luna chanted as she walked out of the house, hand in hand with Amadio.

Farris knew protesting and arguing with Luna was pointless so, he only sighed and walked over to drive the car out of the driveway.

After parking for Luna and Amadio to get in, he drove the car out of the compound then in a speed powered by his rage, headed straight to the healer's abode.

" It was hard finding this healer in town. I pray we do not have to worry about moving Fender to another healer if this one fails." Luna shivered behind him in the passenger's seat where she sat curled into Amadio's hold.

He had no vigor to reply to any of Luna's worried comments but that was why Amadio was there. To listen and deal with all of Luna's naggings.

" I don't think Fender has enough time left to be moved from one healer to another Luna," Amadio said to her.

For Pete's sake, thank the heavens for composure! Farris almost collided with the van in front which had stopped to abide by the traffic light.

" What's up with you man?!" He yelled at Amadio.

Luna's voice was filled with horrification " How can you even say that?!"

" It's the truth," Amadio replied nonchalantly as always.

Nevertheless, Amadio was probably the most honest one in the family.

" You don't have to be so vague. It doesn't help in this situation." Farris corrected him.

Now, his fear had risen by that single statement of Amadio's. None of them was ready to lose a brother.

" Can you not drive faster Farris?!" Luna jeered.

Argh, the woman knows too well how to be nonsensical with her words at times. " Would you rather I fly over the cars in the queue awaiting the red traffic light?!" Farris barked, unable to suppress his fury and exhaustion.

" Fuck this!" Luna cursed out loudly.

Amadio went scolding her. " Luna!"

.

As soon as the green light shone on the traffic light, he sped up the car, damning the law.

In a matter of minutes, they were at the small cottage of the healer residing in the suburb of Orange City.

The healer's house had dogs chained right on the porch which was what announced the arrival of guests before they made their entrance with their loud pitched nonstop barkings.

" Shut your trap!" Luna jibed and almost immediately, the dogs whimpered in obedience.

She was the queen of the dogs. Jokes on the healer for keeping doors by his doorstep when they could be controlled to bite the hand that feeds them if Luna wanted.

The door opened before they could knock. It happened every time they come here.

The healer would have already gotten alerted by the dogs and would have opened the door before a knock could sound.

His chocolate brownish beard which was complimented with a matching color of shoulder-length wavy hair and whitish skin with a series of open pores came out before his entire body.

One look at him and one could tell he was a cowboy. A cowboy hat was what was missing.

" I knew the dog was here the moment my beasts whimpered," he said, the corner of his face stretched up as a smirk settled upon it.

Luna hated to be disrespected. " The original dog is who is here, healer." she snarled, and the dogs growled in response to their master's outburst.

The healer in turn raised his hands up surrender. " Easy peasy. Drop the action for after you hear the news I have for you," he said.

One could tell all he was doing was messing around. Farris was quiet because he knew his type too well. They were the ones who liked to peck up people's annoyance for no reason at all except that it amused them.

" Come on in fellas. Have a lot to tell ya." he waved them in and they all obeyed not in respect but out of curiosity.

Swiftly, they rushed to the room where Fender was kept, overpassing even the owner of the house.

To Farris's surprise, Fender was still pale and sickly but he didn't look as worse as Farris had pictured.

" Oh, Fender!" Luna drew in a sob as she held the weak Fender's hand. "It's cold" she frowned.

" And why are his eyes shut?" Amadio remarked.

" Don't worry, he can hear you. He just can not relate with the living right now."

What in the—?

Farris sharply turned. " What do you mean?" he demanded sternly.

" I mean he's dead" the healer replied smugly such a bombshell.

Luna had already dropped her handbag on the floor in shock. Farris's world had paused and he was unable to do or say a thing.

Amadio was the only one composed still. " You just said he could hear us."

" I did" the healer threw his hands in the air listlessly.

Farris had regained a few of his senses now. Fender could not be dead.

The dead doesn't hear moreover, what poison could be so lethal to take the life of an original?

The only reason Fender had been able to hold on this long was that he was an original.

" Come on, spit the whole detail. Don't mess around with us." he coughed out irritatingly.

Luna, of course, was sobbing and listening to the conversation. Her hands were wrapped over Fender's cold body.

" Easy peasy," the healer said again.

Damn! To hell with the healer and his slang.

" He is dead but not the kind of death originals undergo. I believe you call that perish. Nope, that's not it" he clicked his tongue. " I was able to generate help from other healers outside of Orange City because I must say, this phenomenon was beyond my power. With this —" he walked to the fantasy door which looked like a door leading to a room but when opened, it had all of the healer's potions and herbs stocked in it.

It was at the back of the wine shelf in the sitting room. The first time they came, Farris was doubtful as they entered the house and found no sign of a healer's potions and talismans until the man opened the door behind the wine shelf.

It was a heaven of potions and herbs in there.

.

The healer took a short and very small staff with runes inscriptions over every piece of its body. " With this, we were able to send his body into hibernation so he would be free from feeling the excruciating pain that comes with what he is suffering from."

" And how is hibernation the same thing as death?!" Luna who had just realized she had been saddened and shedding tears for nothing hollered.

Yet again, " Easy peasy." came the healer's first words. " Hibernation is the closest term to death so it's no crime to assume he's dead."

Farris had to cut in. " Oh, please just continue"

" Very well" the healer nodded. " He is suffering from a very lethal substance which after so many consultations, I found was a product of an original close to extinction."

An original close to extinction?

Was Vidal's ex about to perish too? Perhaps, that was the reason why she came back for revenge.

" We do suspect an original of this incident. She is a chameleon but we have no idea if she is close to perishing." Amadio provided.

Again, the healer clicked his tongue. " That— will be up to you all to find out. And you better find this chameleon soon because only when she finds her cure could this original here be cured. We will need about 3.5ml of the blood from her cure to cure the one who has fallen ill from her perished substance" he explained.

By Jones- does it have to be this hard?

Now, they needed to find not only the chameleon but find her cure to be able to cure Fender.

They should be glad she was about to perish but they needed to save her for Fender to be saved.

How harder could it get?

Following an exchange of looks between the originals, " We will be back" Farris said to the healer and they turned to the door.

However, before they exited, "One more thing" the healer called from behind and they were forced to turn.

" Doing all of this costs a lot, I must say—" the healer began but Farris cut him off.

He was not going to waste their time trying to sugarcoat the cause for the overchargement he was about to place on them.

" Whatever cost it is, we will pay. Just continue to preserve Fender's life till we sort out this mess," he said.

" No, no, you are wrong. I don't want money. Hmm hmm," the healer shook his head.

He didn't want money?

"What else then?" Luna had impatiently asked.

With a malicious grin, " I want a liter of the substance used in poisoning this original in a week. If it goes past a week or doesn't amount to a liter, I will wake him up from his hibernation until he suffers and gets pushed to the edge of his extinction."

Freaking cunning supernatural creatures! Farris had to grit his teeth to retain his composure.

Luna was about to protest but he held out his hand to stop her. " Very well. In return, nothing must happen to Fender, and if anything goes wrong with him within the span of the one-week deadline, you will be held accountable for it. And trust me, you don't want to tamper with these originals."

The healer only smirked and threw his hands up in the air in a false surrender. " It's a pact"

Luna made sure to talk still as they walked out. " I will enjoy watching his dogs feed on his eyes," she said loud enough to the healer's hearing.

In silence, they got in the car and drove back home.