Fragment 010

Obe had just finished telling us about his journey leading up to this moment. The three of us sat inside the cave, discussing everything that had happened and trying to piece together some understanding of what was going on. Rocco had explained the storm, while I told them about my encounter with the monsters.

“So this storm must be connected to that light… that portal,” Obe said thoughtfully. “The portal opening must’ve created the storm… or maybe the storm created the portals. Or should I say portals, since we both arrived here. And my guess is you got here the same way I did.” He pointed towards me.

I didn’t remember any portal. Then again, there wasn’t much I remembered at all.

“We know how we got here now,” I said, “but not why. Unless the storm itself caused it somehow.”

Rocco interrupted with a dismissive shrug. “We don’t usually get storms around here. So even if the portals came from the storm, something still must’ve caused the storm in the first place.”

Obe paused to think. “Then someone on this planet must’ve created it?” he suggested.

“Listen,” Rocco grumbled, “I don’t know how, who, or why any of this happened, and honestly, I don’t see why it matters. It happened. Now what? I’ve got two weird strangers interrupting my nap time.”

Something Obe had mentioned earlier suddenly resurfaced in my thoughts. “You said there was a figure looming over you after the crash…” I looked towards him. “I don’t know why, but that stands out to me. Could they be responsible?”

Obe’s expression darkened. “That figure… I don’t know if they caused this, but I’m pretty sure they were the one going through my stuff. And they took Lola!” His gaze drifted forwards as he replayed the memory. “I keep thinking about it. Those glowing purple… eyes? And that weird aura around them. I swear they were wearing some kind of hat too. Something jagged… spiky…”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Rocco suddenly stiffen. His eyes widened and darted nervously around the cave as he slowly began waddling backwards. His mouth clenched tightly while his lips shifted anxiously from side to side.

“Where are you going?” I asked immediately.

“What? Me? Nooo… nowhere…” he stammered. “Actually, I just remembered, I’ve got somewhere to be. Yes! That’s it. Very important place. Definitely not here.”

His nervous rambling was painfully obvious. As he turned to flee, I grabbed him by the scruff.

“Heeey! What’s the deal? Get off me!” he whined, flailing uselessly.

“No. Something’s wrong,” I said firmly. “You know something. What is it?”

Obe now stared at him intently as well, pointing accusingly. “Yeah! I mentioned the mysterious figure and you immediately started acting weird.”

“Weird? Me?” Rocco let out the fakest laugh imaginable. “Can’t a guy just have somewhere to be?”

He continued trying to wriggle free.

“From the little I know about you,” I replied, tugging him back down, “no. Not you.”

Rocco stumbled and collapsed onto the cave floor. Obe and I stood over him, silently waiting for the truth.

He let out a long, defeated sigh. “Fine…”

Even then, I could tell he was reluctant. Fear flickered clearly in his eyes.

“That figure you saw…” he muttered quietly. “If I’m right — and I’m pretty sure I am — then that was… The Boneman.”

“The… Bone… Man?” I repeated slowly.

“Yes,” Rocco replied. “He arrived here a long time ago, but somehow got stuck. Ever since then, he’s wandered the lands searching for something. Some say he’s forgotten what he’s even looking for, but he keeps searching anyway. He collects anything he finds interesting.” He glanced towards Obe. “He probably searched through your ship, saw Lola, thought she looked valuable, and took her back to his lair.”

Obe’s eyes widened. “His lair?!”

Rocco yelped quietly to himself. “Whoops. Shouldn’t have said that…”

“Do you know where this lair is?” Obe asked immediately, hope suddenly flooding his face.

“Umm…” Rocco replied weakly. “No?”

“You do!” Obe practically bounced with excitement. “This is great! We can find Lola! Rocco, please take us there! Please! Please!”

“Woah, woah, WOAH! Calm down!” Rocco frantically waved his paws. “Even if I agreed to take you — which I’m not saying I am — I don’t think you understand how dangerous the Boneman is. He’s powerful! He’s not like us. He’s beyond some ordinary mortal being. He has powers you wouldn’t believe and he’s completely mental!”

As he rambled, a memory suddenly flashed through my mind. “I think I saw him too.”

Both of them looked at me.

“This was before the monsters attacked me. I remember lying on the ground and seeing the same shadow looming over me. Same shape. Same eyes. And I’m pretty sure he was carrying something.”

“Carrying something?” Obe repeated thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it… maybe he was.”

Rocco awkwardly shifted where he stood. I could tell he wanted to say something but was trying to avoid sounding insensitive.

“Well…” he muttered carefully, “chances are those were just things he scavenged. He takes stuff, dumps it in his lair, then goes out searching for more junk—”

He suddenly stopped, glancing nervously towards Obe after realising his wording.

“—I mean… what I’m saying is… you probably both did see the Boneman. He doesn’t normally carry much unless he’s bringing back newly scavenged items.”

I fell silent for a moment, digging desperately through the fog inside my head. What else was I forgetting? What else was buried in there?

Finally, I looked directly into Rocco’s eyes. “I want to see this Boneman.”

I stepped closer. “You’re going to take us to him.”

A strong feeling deep inside me told me I needed to find this Boneman. Maybe he had answers.

“You too? Great!” Obe celebrated excitedly.

I got the impression he thought I wanted to help him rescue Lola. Maybe I did. But even if we tried… did we really stand a chance against something like the Boneman?

Still, I wasn’t about to crush Obe’s hope. Right now, I just wanted answers.

“Um, excuse me?” Rocco interrupted, waving both paws desperately. “Did neither of you hear the part where I said I’m NOT taking you?”

“Well, if we’re going to do this,” Obe suddenly said to me, “I need something to call you.”

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Let me think… Cloud? Because your hair is all white and fluffy?” He tilted his head. “No… Anno? Because we don’t know who you are?”

He continued listing names while I barely listened. My real name meant nothing to me anyway.

I glanced back towards Rocco, who was still muttering complaints under his breath while refusing to cooperate.

The two of them couldn’t have been more different. One was a hopeful young soul, excited by adventure and completely blind to the dangers surrounding us. The other was a grouchy hermit who would happily spend the rest of his life hiding inside caves if it meant avoiding discomfort.

If the Boneman truly was as dangerous as Rocco claimed… should we really have been risking our lives like this? Did we stand any chance at all?

But what other option did we have? This felt like our only chance at answers.

“X!” Obe suddenly blurted out.

He pointed at me excitedly. “I like that one! It sounds mysterious. Strong!”

He nodded enthusiastically to himself, repeating it several times. “X. X. Yeah, that’s definitely the one.”

Before long, we began walking. I didn’t really know where we were going, but somehow all three of us had started moving together regardless.

I suppose that settled it. We were going to find the Boneman.