Spirits were high when we made our way home as the sun was setting.
By the time we hit the stretch towards the house, the stars were starting to come out, which Darcy stared up at in fascination while River slept on.
It was a nice sight to see everyone so happy and calm after a great day out. Despite the heavy questions of existence that had been settled for something River now wasn't afraid of, the time out of home and in a new town had been the getaway we all needed.
River startled himself awake when Lavender pulled up the hill towards the house. I saw his arms immediently draw Darcy to his side from beside him until he woke up a little more and saw he wasn't in danger.
To have him move like that must have become second nature to him. Darcy didn't seem concerned either to suddenly find himself pressed to Rivers side. He snuggled into it and enjoyed the comfort as River gained clarity on where he was.
Mum was at the door when we pulled up. Her smile was wide and welcoming when we gathered our things, and a few souvenirs, from the tiny boot to haul them inside.
"River" Mum started seriously when he went to walk past her with the basket "Darcy's parents have been worried sick about him today. They came over to see if he was here."
"They were looking for me?" Darcy piped up with a frown from the kitchen Dad was serving up food in.
Mum nodded.
"She said she had dinner served when she came around again a few minutes ago."
River placed down the basket warily and looked to Darcy who was equally confused.
"Are you sure?"
"She said it right there" Dad chuckled lightly "she was very concerned where you two had gone. On the verge of tears even."
River snorted.
"I highly doubt it, but Darcy should be getting back anyway. It is getting late."
Darcy groaned and shuffled past Dad and Mum who hugged him and wished him well.
"Ted, come with me?" River gestured at the front door.
I looked to Lavender who was returning from her room, and nodded.
"Don't be long" Mum kissed me on the forehead "or it'll get cold."
I smiled back and quickly joined River who flashed a smile to Mum who leant against the doorframe to watch us go.
"It's odd" River mumbled when we went around the house to head down towards the water "she's never worried about Darc."
"Do you think she's maybe... changed a little?" he spoke hopefully but hesitantly "that she actually was worried about us?"
"You, maybe" River kept his arm around Darcy "but me? Those people never worry about me. Something is up."
"Are we in trouble again?" Darcy whimpered as his eyes grew tearful.
"Hey" I soothed him now and wrapped my arm around his other side "you did nothing wrong to be in trouble. You went out and had fun at a new place; you can't be in trouble for that."
"He's not allowed to go out though" River muttered to me "they like him close."
Darcy nodded as we approached the waters edge that River leapt with Darcy across. I peered back to the house and saw Mum standing on the verandah, watching us, before leaping over with them.
"I'll hang in the shed until we know what's going on" River spoke to Darcy whose stride had grown withdrawn and uncertain the closer we got to the house "I don't want to make things worse if it genuinely is her being nice for a change."
Darcy nodded with a gulp.
"If she starts, or he scares you, you bring me over there right away, OK?" River told him sternly when we approached the dark shed "don't hesitate; I'll be right there."
"I'll be here until you need him" I nodded with a small smile, knowing there wasn't much I could do in this situation inside someone else's home.
Busting in could be seen as tresspassing. I didn't want to risk another Cradle if I lashed out to protect Darcy from whatever brutal abuse I could think he might fall victim to.
"We'll be right here" River reassured him when he still didn't move "and I'll make sure Flower is fine too."
This seemed to calm Darcy who took a deep breath and marched his way back to the lit home awaiting him.
River guided me just inside the shed where I sat, watching Darcy enter. I heard raised voices when the door was quickly opened and closed, unable to make out any of it before it was shut out again.
I did hear River's low growl from somewhere above me at the back of the shed.
"Flower is fine; thank the spirits" he spoke before a thudding noise startled me and he sat down beside me to watch the door intensely "Flower is the mantis I got him."
"Its a cute name" I smirked back when River dragged his long nail through the dirt ground in circles uneasily.
"I figured that it would be safer up the top. Actually, we can wait up there in case anyone comes looking."
He got to his feet and took my hand so he could lead me further into the darkness. He stopped and I heard him leap up again to land on something wooden before light spilled into the darkness to illuminate through wooden boards River peered over the side of.
"Come on" he smiled.
I leapt up, snatching onto the edge that he dragged me up from easily. I felt something soft under my knees and saw that it was a bed made from old blankets sewn together.
The wooden board floor was connected to the back of the shed but open on all the sides except for the back that had pictures nailed to the wood above a small enclosure the flowery mantis climbed within.
The blanket bed took up all of the space on the floor. Hanging from the support was an old electric lantern that flickered slightly when River pulled it from the nail to rest it beside us.
There was a radio and a stash of snacks in a tub to the side with an empty softdrink bottle. Other than that, the area was empty.
"It's a nice hideout" River commented humbly as he dragged his blanket over the both of us and laid down, watching the front of the shed now "they can't get us up here since there is no ladder or anything."
"Do you sleep here?" I breathed back beside him, feeling him tense up for a moment.
"Sometimes" he admitted with a shrug "when things get too intense because of me, I come here. They don't like it when I sleep with Darcy. It scares them."
"So it should" I added with a snort that he smiled at.
"I sneak in anyway. Darc has a window that looks straight at your place that he likes to look out of. He gets a good view of the water and everything there. It's one good thing about that shitty room at least."
"I didn't realise it was so bad" I mumbled back, suddenly feeling guilty for my trivial problems compared to what was literally happening next door.
"Well, it hasn't been good since the caught me kissing him. Once they suspected he had feelings for me, all shit hit the fan. He was dooming his future by loving me, of course."
"Of course" I rolled my eyes back.
"His mum went off the deep end ages ago. And his dad; well, let's say that he's just as bad. They used to be nice people, but with me still here, they see that Darcy can't be beaten into the thing they want him to be without me stopping them. I'll do anything for him; anything, Teddy."
I saw River grow tense again, and place my hand on his clenched one to pry it open and hold it. He looked down at our hands and leant his head against mine with a smile.
"I'm just surprised they haven't put you in a Cradle. You fight against them all the time and nothing has happened."
River chuckled, kissing my cheek when he wrapped an arm around me.
"I just intimidate them and talk big. I haven't laid a hand on either of them yet. And I'm thinking that self defense would be different to downright trying to kill someone."
I felt his eyes on me and looked down in shame.
"So, no. I'm not in one yet. But if they keep hurting me, then so be it."
"Speaking of hurting, are you feeling anything?" I frowned to him "he's not summoning you yet?"
River paused and all was silent for a moment between us.
"No" he mumbled with his own frown "nothing."
We looked to each other with obvious worry.
"Do you think he's OK?" I asked.
"Maybe... they have cha..."
The door opening and slamming shut cut off River's sentence. He immediently killed the lantern and flattened his body as much as he could so that his chin was pressed to the side of the platform.
I did the same, neither of us breathing when crunching footsteps stomped towards the opening of the shed and a silhouette bathed in a small blinding light stood there.
"River!" a voice boomed in the darkness "I know you are in there!"
I saw River's claws curl around the wood and his mouth pull back into a silent snarl at the sight of the silhouette waving the beam of light over the junk beneath us.
It wasn't until it hit River in the face that he let out a growl and blocked my line of sight with his arm.
"What do you want?"
The voice that came from him wasn't the same as the one I had heard moments earlier. This one was dripping with hate and rage that had turned it feral.
I felt and heard every breath running through River come out with a snarl that snapped through the air when the footsteps crunched over to stop below us.
"Darcy would like you inside."
"What have you done to him?" River lifted up now, his tail flicking when he planted both arms on either side of him to lean over the edge menasingly.
I could see a man below us but still couldn't see his face since the bright torch light obscured his body.
"I haven't laid a finger on the boy. I just want you inside."
"Where you can see me?" River hissed with a laugh, getting up now to drop down to the ground before the man who took a few steps back "where you can check up on me?"
I could see River's body had mutated just from seeing this man. His tall body hunched over now, so that he walked.towards the man on all fours before drawing himself upwards to his full height. Sharp thorns grew from the branching spikes down his spine and I could see the back smoke billowing from River's mouth was now tinged with flecks of gold that floated upwards like embers.
The light washed over me briefly to make me huddle back down under the blanket. River moved so that it was beeming on his chest instead, and advanced again.
"I just want you inside, that's all" the man snapped, with fear on the edges of his voice.
"Teddy" River snapped to me without moving "go home."
"But..."
"Go home. You don't need to be dragged in this."
I didn't move for a moment, weighing up my options if I chose to stay with River and protect Darcy like I said I would. But River wasnt going to allow it. He snarled and pointed a curved claw to the front of the shed while still keeping his eyes glued on the man.
I darted past them both and sprinted out onto the grass. I saw River's skull markings on his face turn to me briefly before I darted back to the water to leave the fate of the man in his hands.
When I threw myself back over, I saw both figures heading back towards the house. The small beam of light lit up the back of River's hulking body that walked in a mixture of ridgidness and down on all fours.
He wasnt going to have the life he wanted if he wasn't taken out of the dangerous situation soon. Just looking at what bought Darcy fear had acelareted the mutations within him at an alarming rate.
I wasn't sure what I would be seeing when they both left that house.
Mum was still on the verandah when I leapt up onto it to hug her and wrap my arms around her.
I didn't realise how cold I was until her warm arm pulled me close and we both watched the house anxiously.
"I'm glad you are safe" she kissed the top of my head and pressed her face to the side of it "if things get out of control over there, I'll ring the police."
"Can't you ring them now?" I looked up at her to see her grimace.
"Without a dispute, they can't do anything. They can't exactly arrest a man for standing in his own shed, Teddy."
I let out a frustrated huff and felt Mum's hand rub my arm to try and warm it.
"Come inside and have your dinner. There is nothing we can do for now."
"River will have it sorted" I told myself more than I told Mum "he can stand up against them."
"He shouldn't have to" Mum mumbled back "but until we literally see or hear something happening, it's up to them to speak up. Good intentions can sometimes have bad outcomes if they aren't needed. For all we know, Darcy's mother and father have been worried about thier son missing his dinner."
"Thats bullshit and you know it" I whined back when I was led around the veradah to the front door "it's not fair."
"It isn't, but there is nothing we can do for now. I need to think about your safety as well; I can't have you in another Cradle for marching into someone else's house."
There was literally nothing I could do. I just groaned out my frustrations with tearful eyes and ignored dinner so I could head to my room to sit on the veradah and watch the house in the distance bitterly.
With no-one else around, I let my tears flow and blind me. It hurt how powerless I was in this situation and what River or Darcy could be facing while everyone else just ate dinner obliviously.
I wanted to help, but Mum was right. There was nothing I could do until I heard or saw something. Sending police out here for something that could just be dinner would be pointless. And I wasn't about to go sneaking around windows to find out either.
All I could do was sit and wait.
I watched those lights like a hawk but nothing changed.
I didn't hear or see anything unusual coming from that house.
Many times I had been tempted to just sneak over, but something in my gut was telling me that was a bad idea.
Trespassing could land me in another Cradle. And with my already stained name, another one would throw me into a locked room somewhere.
Stupid humans and thier privileges. They liked to make it known where we stood beside them, even though we should have been equal.
Then, I heard something.
My ears shot up immediently at the sound and I straightened from my position slouched over the verandah.
I focused only on that noise before realising that it was the sound of a scuffle.
"MUM!"
She was already rushing around the verandah when I pointed to the house that River came tumbling out of.
Only, it wasn't the River I had seen earlier.
His screams of agony shot through the silence to chill my blood. It sounded like an injured animal caught in a trap; gargling and wailing to try and run from the pain.
Mum was on her phone before I could beg her. I watched River bellowing and thrashing about on all fours like the animal he resembled.
His back was bulging and his arms were massive. His tail flicked around when he tried to tear himself from the grip of the man who rushed over to try and restrain him with only his arms.
Mum was blurting out what she was seeing in the background while I was stunned, unable to even utter a word.
Darcy was on the ground, unmoving. River thrashed over him, almost crushing him in the process a few times.
Then the woman came out and all hell broke loose.
River mutated further at the sight of her, tripling in size instantly. The black smoke from his mouth billowed out in thick plumes, the embers now absent to be replaced with pouring water spilling from his open jaw.
It looked like waves of saliva.
Thats when I jumped and started running.
"TEDDY!" Mum screamed out to me in panic.
"TEDDY! DON'T!" I heard Lavender scream out too as Dad's footsteps thundered along the verandah and I heard his feet hit the ground.
He wasn't going to stop me this time. I would make sure of that.
I pushed my legs to thier limits so I could bolt to the water side and leap over to the other side, standing there to catch my breath as Dad did the same on the other side, huffing and panting.
He had been right behind me. One successful snatch and I wouldn't have made it.
"Teddy" he panted out "come back home."
"He needs me" I tried to glare back through my worry "I can't just leave Darcy on the ground with River like that."
Dad looked up behind me but said nothing. He wasn't even trying to cross the water to reach me. He just did nothing.
He straightened up and looked to me sternly.
"You move him, then you come right back. Nothing else, Teddy."
"But, he..."
"Nothing else" Dad warned through his clenched teeth "please."
I just nodded and sprinted towards the chaos.
River was still bellowing and bucking when I darted into sight.
Darcy was still on the ground, unmoving and drenched. His lips looked blue and his skin was deathly pale. I thought he wasn't breathing until I saw his chest quiver upwards a fraction beneath his shirt clinging to him.
My priority was Darcy. He was in danger of being trampled.
The man and woman worked together to try and secure River under the ropes they tried to throw over him. I saw his swimming eyes meet mine before he screamed out at me.
"I'm here to help you, you moron!" I snapped back when he went to lunge at me but was startled by the rope being thrown over his neck.
With River tugging against the flimsy restraint that was snatched onto by the man, I scrambled for Darcy.
I had to throw myself on the ground to avoid River's tail swining around. The large spikes skewered through the skin acted as the perfect weapon against anyone who stood against him.
I was on my stomach, dragging myself towards Darcy, to avoid being collected by the stamping feet or swinging tail. I snatched onto Darcy's freezing arm and felt the tacky skin cling to mine.
What did I do now?
Turn him over and whack his back? No, that was for choking.
Resuscitate him? Turn him on his side? But he was still breathing.
Warmth. He needed warmth.
I dragged Darcy against my body and felt the chills immediently run through my own body. He was absolutely stone cold but his body was making no attempts to warm itself. He was just limp.
I felt River's teeth tear on the back of my shirt, soaking my body with the water spilling out. I huddled around Darcy and clung to him for dear life when I was dragged back a few meters through the soaking ground.
My heart was hammering in my chest when I was finally released. Everything in me was screaming for me to run from the monster that threw its head forward and screeched at the man and woman standing strong together.
For once, I was glad they were here. They had some sort of control over River that I didn't. He wasn't attacking them either; rather trying to buffer them away with sheer intimidation and fear.
It was working for me. My hands were trembling when I peeled off Darcy's shirt to try and rub some warmth into his skin. It stuck to me like glue when my hands ran furious circles over him.
I needed to get back over the river, but I couldn't move. The moment I tried to run with Darcy, River would attack.
He wasn't against mutilating a demon. There was no law or consequences keeping me safe.
All I could do was try to make Darcy's body respond as I waited it out.
I pressed my ear to his mouth to listen for the faint breathing. It sounded rattly and wet; like water being sucked down a plughole.
Water! I had to get it out!
Why didn't I do this sooner?
I dumped Darcy on his side and shoved a finger into his mouth. I silently regretted not cutting my long nails that I felt scrape the hard, slimy roof of his mouth as it thrust down his throat.
His throat clamped down on my finger instantly when I felt around for that little dangly bit at the back of his throat.
He wasn't choking, so I couldn't scoop it out. I would have to try and force it up another way.
I felt the throat recoil and react when I found what I was looking for, my finger ripping out so I could haul Darcy against my body and slam my palm into his back sharply.
Come on, damn it! BREATHE!
He was still limp under my blows. When I pulled him from me, his head lolled back and his weak breaths were gone completely.
River screamed out at me when he saw the unresponsive Darcy and charged. I pushed Darcy to the ground and shielded him with my own body when his nails raked through the air where my face had been moments earlier.
River skidded to a halt and turned, his teeth bared and his eyes murderously focused on me.
I looked down at Darcy, feeling the fear spike through me as the adrenaline pumped it throughout me.
"Come on then!" I choked out and stood up "attack me and let him die! I'M ONLY TRYING TO HELP YOU!"
He roared and went to run at me when a rock hit the side of his face. We both turned to see Dad standing there, his arms bundled and his face scowling with determination and fear.
"Go, Teddy!" Dad yelled out when River turned towards him instead "get him over here!"
I didn't even try to fight his instructions. I threw Darcy against me again and bolted for him.
But when I was almost within reach of safety, I was slammed to the ground.
Darcy was crushed underneath me, the force of the blow making a shaky breath gasp inwards before he started to choke on it.
I lifted myself upwards so Dad could drag Darcy towards him and stretched outwards for his hand before I was jerked backwards from him.
I screamed out when River threw me back, crumpling me in to the grass. I felt my body tense on the impact and felt my entire ribcage burn with pain as River snatched onto my leg again to heave me over towards the man and woman trying to tug on the rope curled around his massive throat.
I got weakly to my feet and turned to face River who stood there, snarling at us.
Dad was doing compressions on Darcy only meters from him.
He had to understand. We were trying to save him. We all were!
"RIVER!" I bellowed out as I wrapped the rope around my hands to help tug sharply on it "STOP IT!"
He growled and yanked back when his head was being forced downwards. All of us dug our heels down as we skidded along the ground to try and halt him.
"Boy" the woman huffed when we gained ground again "here."
She passed me a small plastic vial that had a red dropper embedded into the lid inside.
"What is it?"
"A sedative" the man jerked his head to River as I pocketed it "get it in his mouth and hold it shut."
We all yanked back and I questioned if something so small would even work on someone so large.
It was worth a shot. Anything to keep him from hurting himself.
I could hear sirens wailing in the distance when I released my portion of the rope to dart to River. I saw the woman come skidding past me until the rope was yanked back by new force.
Lavender held onto it where I had been, with Mum's determination helping the man at the back.
With thier added steangth, they hauled River's head onto the ground and kept it there when I knelt beside it and wedged the side of his lip up to try and find a gap in his clenched teeth.
"You need to take this" I grunted to him when he jerked back from me roughly "it's this or a bullet when the cops arrive."
His eyes focused on my tearful ones but he wasn't going to just obey so easily. He jerked again and screamed out when he was pinned to the ground again.
I ripped off the lid and plunged my whole hand into his open jaw. He stopped screaming instantly and held his teeth open when I hastily shook out all the brown liquid onto his tongue.
I took my arm out of harms way then used all of my weight to brace River's jaw shut. My arms wrapped around it and my knees dug into his bottom one to keep it from opening.
Knowing that he couldn't spit it out now, River resumed his thrashing. He threw me around with his head, trying to throw me off so he could avoid the sedative.
His claws gripped the ground to grasp it and his feet dug down to try and give him more leverage he didn't have.
"Swallow it!" I snapped to him when his head hit the ground once more in his blind escape "if you swallow it, you can be with Darcy!"
His eyes shot to Darcy who was still being worked on by Dad. They then hardened on everyone holding him back, his head yanking back once more to try and break free.
The police and ambulance were passing our home now to speed towards Darcy's. River saw the force and paused for a moment to assess it.
"Swallow it" I begged him now "you've done your job. Show them you aren't dangerous, please."
He growled and yanked again but with no real force this time. I saw his throat move and his face crinkle from the taste before he huffed and scowled at me.
The tugging stopped on the rope from both sides when police climbed out of the truck parked at the back of the convoy to swarm the area. I could see River grow nervous and pull on the rope to drag Lavender towards him when she wasn't suspecting a fight.
Many hands grabbed the rope from the family to secure it. River bellowed out again, his cry coming out warbled and strained when I nervously left his side to join Dad.
The police made me nervous. Thier eyes assessing me as they went to contain River were cold and calculating. They only saw possible threats, not the scared kid I was trying to hide behind his father.
Darcy was loaded onto a stretcher and wired up with all sorts of fluids and breathing machines in no time. River grew slack as time passed, and could barely hold his feet up that he dragged along the ground towards the back of the truck he was ushered into.
Police assessed every inch of the ground and took statements from us all. I could barely speak through my nerves rattling me all over again.
All I could think about was that Cradle and how it could be put back on me at any moment.
Both Darcy's parents were put into handcuffs and loaded into the police cars. I saw them hang thier heads when they rejoined the convoy leading down the road.
Mum and Dad talked with the police while Lavender kept close to them. As they chatted, I was allowed into the shed with an escort to collect Darcy's prized pet that still clung to its leafy surrounds inside.
Who knew when he would be back. I would keep Flower safe for him until then.
But until then, that's all I could do. It was killing me more not knowing how they would be or when they would return home. They were just being rushed away in a sea of screaming red and blue lights to thier uncertain fates while we trudged back home together.
All we could do was wait and hope that everything would be alright and justice would be served.
It was going to be a long night.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
