10 Chapter 9

We went to work after that. I took some Paracord and fashioned the ring into a necklace. We didn't have nothing to worry about for now. Kinda ironic thought that when we needed supplies the most was when a Deus ex Machina happened to come. The four of us didn't know what to do after that. I went back to meditation to try to recall any memories of any of my past lives. Again there was no luck in recalling the other identities. The only memory good pointing out was the one on horseback wasn't on a horse at all. Instead it was of a centaur. He sometimes even used magic to change his horse rear to human legs. But his life was no different than mine. He was also a teacher in various things, especially on hand to hand and weapons combat.

Yet the next day I learned ninja was capable in making a few things. Surprisingly these were hyorogan. Hyorogan were food pills that ninjas ate when on long missions. I was actually surprised how sweet they were. After that I started to recall the Ninja's life, he had a capability to do some form of eastern magic. From what I can tell he was an Onmyouji. Yet how can a ninja become an onmyouji? Ninjas we're just spies with crafty survival skills while onmyouji were exorcist.

In this life he could make clones of himself, only for them to fade away once they have been damaged. I put two finger up in the air and focused. A copy of me then started to form in front of me. I touched it and it felt almost like the real thing. The only problem was that I didn't know how to make it talk or speak. It was after all been a very long time since I've used this. On the bright side at least motor movements weren't a problem.

I managed to show the group but it only lead two out of three of them to freak out. The only one that didn't have any reaction at all was Mr. Williams. However the guy did tip his hat to me and decided to give me training with hand-to-hand combat with my clone. Even if it took one hit to materialize the clone is capable of defense. We did attempt to see how long would the clone would materialize however I was able to control it for ten minutes. By the time it exceeds, the clone fades into nothingness.

However there is a downside to all of this. All of a sudden it just revolves to nightmares after imaging a few of my past lives. It was mostly of a shady guy in a fox mask crying. I would wake up to screaming to the point I asked to use the ball gag from Sunny's room to prevent any noise. The last thing we needed were bandits know about our hideout. It's been awhile since I've screamed in my sleep...I just hoped things would have gotten better.

A few days since that discovery and Mr. Williams keeps time of my patrols within the apartment complex. The old man times me daily on my endurance of how long I can maintain the clone before I train. He pulls out a stopwatch and gets his clipboard ready. I then produce a solid clone for half a second. The man times it immediately. After a few minutes, the clone fades away and I was beat. "Thirteen minutes… new record." He told me. I was impressed by myself but couldn't help but feel down. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I remembered that I used to make more of these back then and they would have lasted longer." I told him. He then tosses me a drink and slapped me at the back. "Relax, you'll get better." He tells me, "Just meditate a bit more once we head back and you might figure something out. Did you remember anything  else?"

"Just some old man training me with a sword when I was a kid, but I don't recognize him." I lied. Even if that memory was true, I was more occupied with the fox mask guy. I was splitting hairs just thinking about him.

I then change my shirt and we went on our way back to the room. There I see a blank l piece of white bond paper. There another memory flashes into my mind, one of which was from my first past life. I could see a small anthropomorphic doll appear and form with a puff of smoke. There I had an idea but didn't know how to put it in motion. From the other side was Tyrell setting up the table. "So what are we having?" Mr. Williams asked. "Pork and beans with powdered eggs." Tyrell replied. Mr. Williams then laughs. "I haven't had baked beans and powdered eggs since I was in the Marines and in the UN." He said. We sat at the dining table. We all sat on the table and began to ask for grace. But as we put our hands together we noticed that we were one short. The two of them then looked at me. "Your turn to wake her up." Tyrell said.

I got up the table and went to fetch her. We segregated the rooms between boys and girls. Since Rebecca was the only girl she was given her own room. The only problem with that was Rebecca was a hard sleeper. We took turns in trying to wake her up from time to time to share the burden. But it couldn't be helped because Rebecca usually spends half of her time researching.

Opening the door I see Rebecca sleeping at bed with books scattered on it. Some were even at the floor along with some sketches. I then shake the girl at the shoulder. "Rebecca! breakfast is ready!" I told her. She reluctantly wakes up with a stretch of her arms. The girl then turns her back on me. "Five more minutes…"She mumbled. "The food's going to get cold by the time you get up." I answered back. She then lays on her back and looks at me. Rebecca then points her arms at me and says, "Carry me then." A cheeky smile came at her face. I gave a big sigh and lifted her from the bed. Rebecca started flail as I took her to my arms via princess carry. "What are you doing?!" She asked out of shock. "You wanted this, so I'll give it to you!" I talked back.

I lifted Rebecca to the kitchen as her arms were frantically around my neck. There I put her down at her seat and her face was all red. Tyrell then looks at Rebecca with a cheeky smile at his face. "Looks like that backfired." He said. "Shut up!" She exclaimed. We continued to eat our meal as the time passed. We all finished eating a few moments later with something in my mind. I then raised my hand and asked, "There's something I need to get in my old room. Can we go get it?" I asked.

Later on that day the three of them agreed to my request. Mr. Williams accompanied me to the third floor to get my stuff. On him was an assault rifle from his military days. He figured it was alright to spare a few bullets for this request. As the both of us approached the room we see it barricaded with furniture. A week after the HAP we decided to seal the door since the griffin from that time busted a giant hole from my window. We got rid of the corpse of course but it kinda left a huge security risk. Monsters could easily get through here, to be precise the flying ones. So at best we decided to seal the room off.

The two of us bend a knee at front and hid behind a sofa to think of a strategy. "So how do you think we should tackle this?" I asked. "My guess is we should try to get rid of the furniture gently for now. But when we breach the door I'll go first." He replied.

"You think we might come across some flying monster?"

"We might… but maybe you should go on that demon form."

"Why…?"

"Demons are strong so…"

"..."

"Sorry...but I'm not as strong as I used to be, you know."

I closed my eyes and changed to my demonic form. I could feel the horns extend from my forehead and my eyes changing. But by the time I open my eyes The middle-aged man looked surprised. He then raised his forearm and points at it. "You might have overdone it, boy." He told me. I looked at my arms and I noticed my arms turned a black color with a shade of crimson. There was a horn popping out my elbow from each side and my nails turned black and long, looking slightly sharp. I tried to change back a little but Mr. Williams stopped me. "Maybe we can work with this a little. Call it your 'second stage form'." He said.

With that out of the way the both of us lifted the furniture out of the way. To my surprise it felt like lifting a pillow. But again I didn't expect for the old man to stop halfway. In fact the man was amazed to the point he started to write it on his notes on my strength. We managed to finish moving the furniture quickly after a few minutes and the door was clear for breaching. Mr. Williams then takes a from his pocket and unlocks the door. He then opens the door with his rifle pointing at is front. "Watch my six." He told me. I unsheathe my katana  and we were ready to enter. But once we got inside something jumped towards me at my right side. I sliced its head off with my blade and found it was some kind of reptile with a narrow body, leather wings for arms, and a rear of a snake. "What do you think that is?" He asked. I then got out the Ark Index and looked up the details of our guest. "It looks like a wyvern." I answered. "I thought wyverns were supposed to be at the mountains? And aren't they supposed to have legs." Mr. Williams tried to confirm.

"It's probably a desert variant judging that it's tan and has no legs."

"Desert variant huh? Are they poisonous?"

"Looks like it."

"Then eating one is out of the question..?"

"Not really, the poison sack is located at its head."

"So we just chop the head off and roast it on a fire then?"

"That seems about right."

"Well… snake taste like chicken… I wonder if it's the same with wyvern. Probably skin it too."

The man then grabs a trash bag from the pantry and gets the creature's body. But he reaches it, the dismembered head of the monster suddenly opened. It scared the man half to death as he jumped back. He fell on his bum. The man then whistles, shifting from shock to amazement. "Reminds me of when my buddies chopped the head of a viper when I was assigned to Louisiana." Mr. Williams said. I then get a mason jar from the pantry and wrapped cling wrap from the top with a rubber band. There I got the head and stabbed the wyvern's head on top of the jar. The venom squirts out and enters inside. "Where did you learn how to do that?" Mr. Williams asked. "I think the ninja one." I replied.

Mr. Williams then insisted for the both of us to keep on looking. We heard noises from Tyrrell's old room so we decided to stop there first. From the other side of the door we could hear scratching and screeching sounds from the other side.  Mr. Williams then kicks open the door to find three wyverns scratching at the closet. Once they noticed him the three of them flew towards the man. Mr. Williams reacts with gunfire and manages to kill three of them. One then snuck behind us and I managed to draw my sword just in time. My blade blocked the bite and the wyvern's jaw was stuck at my katana. I slid the beast off my blade and threw a knife between his eyes. All four were dead and we were safe for now.

The both of us were worn out. It felt like a quick-time event at video games. But Mr. Williams managed to recover quickly. He got the wyverns and started to chop their heads off. He hands me the heads and I drain out their poison. I looked at the yellow-green liquid as it had a light syrup-like texture. But looking through the bottle I saw Mr. Williams analyzing a closet. It was a wooden sliding door closet with a built in lock on it. The man noticed there were scratch marks on the door. He takes out his gun and breaks the lock with the butt of his rifle. Mr. Williams slid it open with his rifle pointed in the closet. He  becomes confused. Something was lifted out and it was a giant jar of jerky. He smells the inside and gives a big sigh. "They must have been attracted by the smell." Mr. Williams said. "Well...Tyrell is a good cook. This must be his secret jerky stash." I replied.

"Why would he keep jerky in his closet?"

"Every time he had guests they would eat all his homemade jerky before he can."

"Are they even that good?"

"Try for yourself."

Mr. Williams opens the jar and takes a piece. He takes a bite, rather amazed by the results. "This isn't half bad, the guy would have made a good chef." He said. He tosses me a piece and I took a bite too. "You should try his gumbo. Enough to make a house party in your mouth." I bragged. The jerky was a good find but we also managed to get some other things too such as some clothes and some sheets. We even took the pillow cases to make it easier for us to bring the stuff. But while going out of the room, Mr. Williams tripped on something along the way. It was a fresh batch of bond paper still in the packaging. "I guess we have some tinder." He says, "We might as well tear some to make the load even lighter once we get out."

I then stopped the man as he was about to open the packaging. He looked at me out of curiosity as I stopped his hand. "I might be needing those for what I'm going to do later on." I told him. We managed to get at least two packs of bond paper and decided to head to my room. Some of my gear was still there but most of it was in Rebecca's room. The coast was clear as we checked out the room. There I reverted to back to my human form and looked in the closet. I looked through it a bit more to find that there was flare gun with a few extra shots in a small bag. "Why the heck did you even leave such an important thing here of all places?" Mr. Williams asked. "I guess I was in such a panic in the first week that I forgot all about it." I replied. He then stood up and patted the dirt off from his pants. "I'll see if there's anything else if we can salvage at the kitchen." He says, "Make sure you don't leave out anything this time."

He left me there at my room to see what I can find. Fresh pair of clothes was something that I looked forward to after a long time. All I can get were knives and spare armor. It was no different from what I was wearing from the first day of the arrival to Laputa but I barely wore it. Most of the time I wander around the halls with just some sweatpants and a shirt but there was barely need for any armor. But maybe for times like this it might be customary to wear at least a few pads and a breastplate. It was good for me to always get a spare. The only thing different was actually the utility belt. It was a climbing harness that I customized a few years back when I was still collecting.  It was of course a tactical one and yet it was easy to move with. It even had a few pockets for rifle cartridges but sadly you can't own an AR at California. After that I put it on and wear it with a Kevlar breastplate. It wasn't too shabby the least but I felt that I did lose some weight.

But as I continued to look around I managed to find what I was looking for. It was a calligraphy set that I used to practice writing kanji back when I was studying in Japan. There were a few clean brushes with some ink blocks left along with another stack of bond paper. With so much stuff it looked hard enough to carry it back safely. I had no choice but to execute what I've been wanting to do. I get a few sheets of paper and cut it to long rectangular strips. There I get some ink ready and started writing and drawing a few glyphs and kanji to make a couple of paper charms. Again I did the hand sign much like I did to make a clone. Instead I focused on the paper charms and they glowed a blue color. A small puff of smoke appeared and they formed into small doll-like mannequins the size of a teddy bear. I didn't know what to do after that. Even with no eyes I could tell those pure white dolls were expecting something from me. I then opened my mouth and asked in Japanese reluctantly, "Can you lift these to Rebecca's room?" They nodded their heads and took the stuff as if they were as light as a feather. I went out of the room as I watched them marching to the hall. There I noticed Mr. Williams jaw dropped for the first time with his flask of alcohol at his hand. He pours it to the sink, thinking that he was hallucinating. But he soon notices me, thinking that I might have something to do with it. He then begins to notice my rifle magazine holder at the side was full of rectangle paper slips. "Let me guess...you managed to get a new spell…" He lately guessed. "Yeah… apparently the somewhere around the Ninja's life was some kind of memory of being an Onmyouji around the middle part of his life." I told him.

"And what is that?"

"Practitioner of onmyoudou, some sect of Taoism with spells related to the occult and Shinto."

"So what was it that you just did?"

"Summoning some kind of familiar called a shikigami. Whenever we use paper charms and talismans, it's called ofuda."

"Do they all look like that?"

"Not that I know of."

He then gets his log book and started to look for his pen. Mr. Williams then does a pat down at his body and manages to find it. "Mind if you summon one then?" The man asked. I get a paper charm made in advance and summon it  at my hand. Again the paper transforms into one of those and jumps down to the table. The man slid back as the smoke surprised him. He then recovers but couldn't help but notice the doll was still staring at me. "So how does it work?" He asked. "Just tell it what to do but I don't know what happens next." I replied.

"Then can you make it do something?"

"I guess we can have a go on it."

I didn't see a reason not to oblige. I gave a small order to the shikigami doll to say 'hello' to Mr. Williams. It walked up to Mr. Williams and the word 'hello' appeared vertically at the shikigami doll's body. After that, the doll dispersed into a puff of smoke and turns back into a blank paper charm. That solved the mystery there. "Now I wished I didn't pour that whisky down the drain." He says, "It's like an Asian version of 'Mary Poppins' in here." After that bit we decided to go back. I had a few shikigami dolls lift some of the stuff while others barricaded the door to my room again. As the three shikigami dolls finished closing down the room they reverted back to paper.

Three blank strips lay in front of me as I had nothing to say. But I then fell at my knees as I was exhausted. I could barely catch my breath as I felt the life sucked out of me. Mr. Williams helps me up and he asks for my arm. Without much choice he lifted me on his back and he walked up the stairs. "Is it alright for you to do some piggy back rides at your age?" I asked him. "I should be able to work my own weight too, you know." He implied.

Mr. Williams was always a good friend. He helped me in many things and was a good mentor. Sometimes he gives good advice. But I do need some for now. "You know...sometimes when I dream now...I see a shady individual and I would see weird things." I tell him, "I dreamed of him and he whispered in my ear to come here."

"The same figure? You would tell me that you would wake up into nightmares with him." Mr. Williams said.

"Yeah...Everytime I see him, I'd have bloody dreams for some reason." I added.

"It was hard to think you had those kinds of dreams. You still see him?" He asked me.

"Not as much but now he's helpful." I lied.

"With this information he's giving you...you think he's some kind of past life?" He asked me again.

"I don't know...I feel he is something else..." I mumbled.

I passed out after that as I felt exhausted over summoning so many familiars. The energy drained out of me and I had no volume to move. I was worn out for the day to leave more memories to be unlocked later on.