Chapter #7: Nightshade

Brian’s peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted by someone’s hand shaking his body.

“What?” He hissed out, twisting his head towards a blurry, pallor face.

That face turned out to be Diantha’s face. “Your turn. Wake me up in an hour.” She explained bluntly.

And so Brian sat by the campfire, its flames dancing on the flaring coals searching for that next piece of wood to consume. The sparks waltzed in front of his eyes, but he paid them no mind; He was focused on the pitch-black forest ahead, watching out for predators.

Occasionally, Brian would feed the fire a stick or two when it threatened to die down. There was nothing to do except listen to the distant hoots of owls and sniff the fresh forest air, slightly tainted by manure and blood; he counted the seconds, and then the minutes out of boredom.

Eventually, his hour was up. He shook Diantha five times more vigorously; the revenge earned him a fist aiming straight for his nose, something he narrowly missed.

“Jeez. Calm yourself!” Diantha growled out, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

“Now you know what it feels like.”

“I didn’t shake you nearly that hard!”

“Sorry, just can’t control my strength.”

“That was the most insincere apology I’ve ever…Hey! Don’t you dare go back to sleep! I’m not done talking-“

But Brian had already passed out, leaving Diantha to shiver and shake in the frigid night for another hour.

This cycle rolled on for quite some time, that is, until the sun budded its head from the ground. The snow occasionally falling off the fir branches brightened into a pure white.

Brian was on his shift at this time. Instead of waking Diantha up to sleep for another hour, he decided it was time to ask Noriko if it was light enough to continue onwards. Brian would prefer to take orders from no one, but he wasn’t in his element here. He didn’t even remember what his element was. Noriko seemed the most reasonable of the three he had woken up with, so he's choosing to follow her, for now at least.

He didn’t even need to shake Noriko awake; the moment Brian's hand touched her shoulder, she blinked her eyes open. “Did something happen?” She quickly lifted herself up from the ground.

Brian shook his head. “Nothin' bad. The sun’s just rising. You think it’s light enough to head on out?”

Noriko scanned the mixture of purples and oranges in the sky. After a few seconds, she nodded a yes. “I suppose so, yes. I will wake the others.”

Noriko would have done as she stated she would right away, but she found it difficult to stand up. It was easy to lose her balance and fall to the ground again with only one arm to aid her balance. After a brief moment of watching Noriko struggle, Brian offered his hand; Noriko reluctantly took it, and Brian pulled her up, helping her stand on her two feet.

“That was…ungraceful of me. I apologize.” She muttered, brushing away the leaves that clung to her skirt.

“…Wha…? Ya don’t need to be sorry, you didn’t do anything-“

But Noriko was already preoccupied. She cautiously shook Diantha awake. Diantha was, of course, cranky, but she didn’t lash out at Noriko as she did with Brian. She only sighed when she saw familiar cat-like eyes and stood up from the ground, groggily stretching her arms and groaning.

Aden was the last to be awoken. Noriko crouched near his peaceful body and gently grabbed his shoulder-

Aden whimpered and curled into a tight ball. His body shook so intensely that the leaves beneath him crinkled together.

Noriko yanked her hand away. “I apologize. Did I startle you?”

Aden removed his hands from his face, turning to Noriko with wide, vulnerable eyes. His confusion faded away and was replaced with a small smile. “I am good! Is it my turn to watch the fire?”

“It’s already morning, Aden,” Diantha explained, offering her hand. “We need to get going.”

The disappointed Aden frowned. He was sad that he couldn't help, but he took the hand gratefully and lifted himself up. When standing, he brushed the dust off his green shorts.

Everyone went on their way. It wasn’t long before everyone’s stomachs were growling for food; Aden’s was the first to start moaning. “I’m fine!” He refused to complain and always responded with those words when asked if he was alright. “It is not the troubling!”

Hours afterward, the rest of the quartet's stomachs made small grunts. The tightness and nausea in Noriko, Brian, and Diantha’s stomachs greatly lowered their mood.

Noriko tried her best to keep focus and led the way at a steady pace. Her eyes were slightly furrowed, and every once in a while, she would raise her hand to her stomach, clutching onto it for a few moments.

Brian was also in desperate want of food. He was also getting a headache from the sounds he could hear. The chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves almost tore at his eardrums. Aden hopped along cheerfully next to Brian; he was still unbothered by the monstrous groans coming from his belly. Brian would side-eye Aden with concern every time he heard them.

Diantha decided to tide over her hunger by eating a berry or two that she found hidden in the occasional bush. Whenever Diantha came across these berry-filled bushes, she eagerly grabbed another sweet bite.

Eventually, Diantha couldn’t ignore Aden’s stomach any longer. She picked a couple berries from a bush they passed by and offered them to the boy. “If you’re hungry, you can have some of these.” She offered. “I’ve had some! They’re really good!”

Aden would have eagerly accepted the berries if he hadn’t noticed Noriko freeze up so abruptly. He tilted his head, staring at her stiff shoulders. “…Is you ok Noriko?”

Noriko sped towards Diantha, her eyes wide with an unrecognizable emotion. She grabbed Diantha’s hand and yanked it closer to her, staring intently at the berries for a short period.

As soon as Noriko recognized what was in Diantha's hand, she quickly smacked it away, forcing the berries to fall to the ground.

“Hey!” Diantha whined. “What’s your problem-“

“Those are nightshade berries!”

A tense, heart-splitting silence followed the revelation.

Diantha paled considerably and made the connection between the berries and her wooziness. Aden glanced between the three; he didn’t understand the direness of the situation. Brian muttered an ‘oh shit’ under his breath, his eyes wide with shock.

Noriko breathed in and sighed shakily, covering her mouth with her hand. “How many have you eaten?”

Diantha gulped and glanced to the side. She scratched her head in thought. “Uh…I think more than 10? Maybe 15?”

Noriko hid her face the best she could in response to Diantha’s answer. Aden, who still didn't understand the situation, asked the main question on his mind. “…What are the nightshade berries?”

Pacing back and forth, Brian strained out an answer to Aden’s question. “Nightshade berries are poisonous.”

Aden’s eyes teared up. “W-what!?” He clutched onto Diantha’s leather jacket, tugging it gently to gain her attention. He pressed worriedly for answers “I-is you ok? You are going to be fine, yes?”

Diantha barely heard Aden’s question. She was already beginning to hallucinate; her vision was dizzying, and bile threatened to shoot out of her throat. Despite this, however, she inhaled a big chunk of air and turned to Aden, giving him a strained and reassuring smile. “Y-yeah. I’m going to be fine, Aden. Don’t worry.”

Noriko finally composed herself and removed her hand from her mouth. “We have to keep moving.” She spoke in a whisper. “We need to find a river-“

“And what? Wash down the poison?!” Brian snapped, gesturing to Diantha. He shook his head and fisted in coiled hair. “Like that'll work! Face it, Noriko! We’re in the middle of nowhere and we’re all gonna…die…” Brian faltered, staring doe-eyed to his left.

“Brian?” Noriko urged him to speak up. His silence scared her.

“…I heard somethin'.” He muttered. He narrowed his eyes between the tree trunks in an attempt to scour ahead. “No, not just somethin'…someone.”

Aden stiffened at Brian’s comment; he clung onto an increasingly delirious Diantha, who was slowly losing grasp of reality.

Noriko furrowed her eyebrows. Brian's words made no sense to Noriko. She didn’t hear anything-

And then she remembered her previous interactions with Brian. An imaginary light bulb blinked above her head. Of course!

“You appear to have incredible hearing.” She muttered. “Perhaps it is another one of your ‘powers.’”

Brian widened his eyes at this possibility, and then he cracked his knuckles and puffed his chest out; he was ready to get serious. “Then I’m gonna follow the noise. I’ll be-“

“Wait.” Noriko raised her hand, pointing at the teary-eyed Aden. “Take him with you.”

“What? No! Another person'll slow me down! I can do this myself-”

“I do not care how well you can take care of yourself. Considering our current predicament, we can never be too careful.” She shot back. “There is strength in numbers, Brian. You can swallow your pride for something this important.”

“But…Aden?” Brian grimaced and gazed pityingly at the boy. He quietly cried next to Diantha, who’s body lay on the ground, breathing raggedly. “Why can’t you come with me?“

“Leave Aden by himself? Are you hearing yourself right now?”

“But-“

“No buts. I’ll watch over Diantha. You take Aden with you to the source of the noise.” She commanded, her eyes thinned at Brian. “This is the best we can do right now.”

Brian opened his mouth and prepared to further argue his point...but he quickly realized that he wouldn’t win this one. He let out an exaggerated sigh and stomped toward Aden. “Come on!” He growled out, gripping Aden’s wrist and dragging them with him.

Aden squeaked in surprise but didn’t complain; he tried his best to keep up with the fuming boy.

Noriko sat next to the Diantha and watched the two boys disappear through the woods. Only when she was certain they were gone did she allow herself to whimper and shed a tear.

***

High above the trees that Brian and Aden passed by, the birds chirped a lively song. A song that only Aden could understand.

Aden hummed along to this song, but soon his boredom overpowered him, and he directed his attention to Brian, who dragged him through the forest. A question was on his mind. “Where we going?”

“To the source of the noise,” Brian answered disinterestedly.

“What was the noise?”

“I don’t know, but it sounded like someone yelling.”

“Why are we-“

“Because shut up!” Brian snapped. His patience wearing thin, his grip on Aden’s wrist tightened. Aden flinched in pain, but nonetheless, he obeyed Brian. Aden switched his attention to his surroundings, admiring the plants and trees he passed through.

Brian, on the other hand, was focused on the nonexistent route ahead. As he stomped closer and closer to where he heard the noise — his goal — the faint sounds of someone's struggle grew louder and louder. What this person was struggling with was unknown to Brian, and he had to find out.

Eventually, the duo got close enough to where Aden was hearing the voice. He perked up at the noise, excited they were reaching their destination.

Brian’s heart raced faster and faster with each step. Who would they find? Hopefully, someone they could trust.

Brian and Aden reached a clearing. The two gawked at the scene they were greeted with, one in confusion and the other in awe.