Louisa's POV
"I'm sorry... Where's Jack?"
The young man who stood at the entrance was in his early twenties.
He had a fair complexion, with cropped crew-cut brown hair and a pair of charcoal black eyes.
He was holding a toolbox in his hands and looking around.
When he saw the two giant salamanders, he jumped up while shouting, "Zowie guacamole! What is that?!"
Then, he threw his toolbox and ran out of the yard.
...
Darren and I looked at each other and felt very confused.
"Who's that guy? Who's Jack?" I asked.
Darren picked up the toolbox, opened and checked.
"I guess we can ask him when he comes back," he said.
"Are you sure he's coming back?" I asked.
Darren nodded and said, "Yes. These tools are very expensive."
Then, we heard a trembling voice from outside -
"Sir, could you please throw the toolbox out for me? I'll be on my way as soon as I get my toolbox."
I walked out of the gate and saw the young man pacing back and forth outside the fence.
"Please don't come any further!" The young man yelled and pulled up a bunch of grass from the side.
I guessed that he wanted to use it as a weapon.
"OK. I won't get any closer," I stopped and said, "Please put down the bunch of grass in your hands, so we can talk."
The young man threw the grass away and looked very embarrassed.
"Could you please tell me who you are?" I snickered and asked.
"My name is Colt. Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Lisa. This is my friend Darren. Those two salamanders..."
"Whew, you keep very strange pets, Lisa. Most girls keep cats or dogs as pets." He looked a bit relieved and rubbed his nose.
I frowned and said, "They are not my pets. They're also my friends."
He looked at me in curiosity.
"You don't have a lot of human friends, do you?" He asked, "May I have my toolbox now?"
He stretched his arm towards Darren.
Darren passed the toolbox to him.
He opened it and carefully checked all the tools inside. Then, he closed it and stroked it like rubbing a magic lamp.
"Oof, I'm so sorry, old tool. I'll never throw you away again." He said with a sentiment.
OK. He was making comments about me making friends with salamanders. But it turned out that he was the one who talks to his toolbox.
"Who's Jack?" Darren asked him.
Colt replied, "Jack is the hunter who lives here. This is his place. He's my friend and he has asked me to repair his watermill. Have you seen him?"
I realized he was talking about the hunter who had been killed by Vincent.
"Why do you look at me in this way?" Colt asked.
From the knot between his eyebrows, I could tell that he had already seen something bad impending.
I said, "Colt, why don't we go inside? I'll cook you some breakfast..."
His face darkened and said, "I don't want to eat anything. Tell me what happened to Jack."
"You might want to sit down..." I said.
He interrupted me and said, "Tell me what happened to..."
"He's dead," Darren cut him short, "He was killed by the vampire. When we found him, he had already passed away. We buried him in the yard. If you want, you can come inside and take a look at his grave..."
Darren didn't finish his speech before Colt fainted on the ground.
I was terrified and said, "Darren, let's take him inside."
Darren's eyes narrowed and said, "I don't like him. He comes across as being very rude. I'd rather we leave him like this. He'll wake up by himself and walk away."
"Come on, Darren. He's just found out that his friend passed away and we're living in his friend's place."
Darren didn't say anything. He lifted Colt up and carried him into the yard.
"Let's put him on top of the haystack. I guess he needs some more air," I said.
As soon as Darren placed him there, he bounced up like a spring.
Then, he saw the gravestone in the yard and charged at it.
"Jack?! No!" He wailed and hugged the gravestone in his arms.
I didn't know how to comfort him.
I looked at Darren for help.
"Do you want me to knock him off, so we can have a quiet breakfast?" Darren asked.
"Darren..." I frowned.
Darren sighed. He walked to Colt and said, "Please don't cry. Your friend passed away without any pain. If he was alive, he wouldn't want to see you crying like this."
Colt jumped into Darren's arms and cried his eyes out.
Darren held his hands high up in the air.
Obviously, he wasn't ready for this kind of intimacy.
"Jack used to be my best friend! And now he's dead! I can't live in this world all by myself! I'm going to kill myself!" Colt roared in despair.
"Please do me a favor. Don't kill yourself in the vicinity of this cottage," Darren said.
"Your look is appealing and your voice is magnetic, but you don't have a heart, warlock!" Colt deserted Darren's arms and was about to jump into my arms for consolation, but he was intimidated because of the salamanders sitting behind me.
"He looks so handsome," Ms. Salamander said, "Can I lick him?"
"Please don't do that. That won't be..."
I didn't finish my sentences before Ms. Salamander stuck out her long tongue and wrapped Colt on his waist.
"Ahhh! Help! No! Don't eat me! No!" Colt cried out at the top of his lungs.
"Hey, I'm trying to sleep here, sis!" Mr. Salamander complained.
Ms. Salamander dropped Colt into the stream and shouted, "I'm trying to have a romantic encounter with a gentleman here!"
Mr. Salamander raised his voice, "Look at him! He's such a nerd and he's basically shitting himself, sis! You've scared the shit out of him! That's called a traumatic nightmare! Not a romantic encounter!"
Ms. Salamander jumped at his brother and yelled at him, "You want to fight me again, hammerhead?! Let me sit on top of your head and bite your head off!"
Mr. Salamander used his tail to bash the water, flipped his sister over, and said, "Why do you always have to be so grumpy in the morning? I'm not a morning person and you don't see me turning into an idiot and fighting things."
"I've had enough!" Ms. Salamander jumped at her brother again.
"Ick... Yuck... Ugh... I'm covered by iguana's saliva!" Colt exclaimed while covering his face with both of his hands.
Then, he started to pray, "Moon Goddess, spirits in the woods, all the stray dogs and cats I have survived in my life. Please give me the courage and tell me this is a nightmare. When I open my eyes, Jack will still be alive and I will be in bed..."
When he finished the lengthy chanting and opened his eyes, Ms. Salamander was grappling with Mr. Salamander, opening her wide mouth right in front of Colt.
"Zowie guacamole! I'm so done with this world." Colt screamed out and passed out again, falling into the stream.
"Ahhh, the handsome guy saw the inside of my mouth! That's the ugliest part of my body! You've ruined everything, hammerhead!"
"Help me, Lisa! My sister is killing me!" Mr. Salamander shouted while being pressed into the stream over and over again.
The whole situation was out of control.
Everyone in the yard was either shouting, drowning, being deeply bothered and very confused.
I pulled all my strength and shouted, "Everyone! Stop and be quiet!"