((( This story will be unfished, and I don't think I'll ever do anything else with it, BUT I made a pmv for the story that sort of tell almost the whole thing, I hope you enjoy it. --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMZY3l21raE )))

Francis wasn't pleased, mainly he wasn't pleased with being called Oden all evening. Yes, his name was in full Francis Oden- as silly as that was. But who sits and calls someone by their last name? Even more so when you've known each other for almost 10 years. 

One of Francis's peers talked highly of Jacob many nights ago and the two got in touch. Not for business but for the chat. They both had some in common but just as much as they where alike, they where different.. 

They where both smart and liked having debates over things they actually had no strong feeling on but had debates only for the hunt of it, but Francis was only clever-worldly smart, and Jacob was educated and mildly combed over. They both didn't act their age and never worried about it either, but Francis was 70 and Jacob was barely 30. They both come from small so called 'backwards' behind the times little spots in America, but Francis grown up in the far north in a poor woods spot where you hunted as much if now more then you when to a store, and Jacob grown up in a very small town in Ohio that looked like it was still trapped in the 1960s. They both mostly hanged around high profile people and barely talked to their own families, but Jacob took care of the public profiles of these high bar people while no one known his name, and Francis was a high profile person- in yesteryear anyway. And Jacob barely talked to his family because he was just so busy, and they didn't have much in common but blood anymore, and Francis didn't because his family didn't exist anymore on earth.

“You have nothing to worry about, I've seen how your team handles your internet presence and your image is fine, people know what you look and act like now and it bodes well for your image when you where younger.” Jacob got more into his seat. “Your handling your career retirement well! There's nothing to worry about.” 'You never retire from your career when your famous.' Francis though while copying Jacob's chair action. “I don't care about any internet nonsense, and I know all of that is fine. I'm not saying I want anything changed, I'm just- ah eh, venting.” Francis stumbled out, scratching the back of his white haired head. “Well you should like you want something done, come on.” Jacob took a more sensitive tone, professional in less of a business sense and more of a friendly advise way. “Let me help you, your not getting any younger.” “Neither are you.” “I mean it, if you don't take care of everything you want long beforehand the vultures will come and-uh” “Eat you up and shit you out?” Francis offered, making Jacob cringe in a very feminine fashion. “I was going to say rape your past, but I thought that was too crude a framing.” 

Francis laughed then went back to his half chatty half dim thoughtful mood. The pair where trapped on the outskirts of southern Nashville, a city Francis didn't take any pleasure in but was repeatedly sucked back into every so months since his mid 20s, the first time he was in the city he enjoyed it for about 7 minutes or so, he didn't go there because he planned it but instead he was invited there! To him that was another great excitement in a now long line of rewards for his musical efforts, he really was making a name for himself now. But he could see though anything, and he timidity started to hate the hole design of that city. Three hours ago Francis was on his phone talking to one of his 'career friends' when they mentioned that Jacob was in Nashville at the time for work, well one phone call and two bus drives later and here they both where spending the night, soon Jacob would probably mumble on back to a apartment and Francis would go back to what he was doing. Francis called up Jacob in a silly mad rush, not thinking on if he actually wanted to spend time with anyone that day, and actually he did not. His mind had been going over some very important things lately, and he needed to sort them out. Every few decades he needed to work this problem out again, but he had a feeling this would be his last sorting out. 

Francis during the height of his rock and role days was under covers seeking out mental help for events that happened in his early teens, before he either dealt with it by religious healing or (mainly in his late teens) pushing it off with work. But then when everything was at its best for him, the it was bothering him again. He couldn't sleep well anymore from unremembered nightmares, he became claustrophobic again and couldn't stand being left alone for long. He was terrified by anything that made him remember his childhood and just other all he had been miserable. Well he touched the problem lightly from different angles till it faded out again, he barely tried therapy because he didn't want to talk about it, even more so now that he was a public figure. He tried certain kinds of sleep medications (that he may or may not that gotten without normal doctor recommendation.) and that helped the sleep problem greatly. But overall the main thing that helped him grow past the problem was just not adoring the topic alone in his mind anymore. He thought though everything he ignored for a long time and soon he became desensitized to most everything- at least human about it. And then well, he got over it. Soon he stopped thinking about it again purely because he didn't need to anymore, had better things to do. 

The reason it was coming back was because Francis wasn't doing well, he was getting older, and he was feeling it. And mainly two thoughts where coming to his head, three actually. One, it was the thought that one, his past would eat the life he had now. No one would think about the older thoughtful man who enjoyed his golden years alone, they would think of the young samon brown haired singer who people thought was a old school hippie till they heard him talk and sing, mainly he'd be remembered for playing with Handly Boat, had five successful albums and most of all made 'you at midnight' and 'kid Yankee'. He saw the now well-known photos of him in his youth, most of his fans where only sightly younger than him, and or their kids age. That'd be what everyone remembered. He still had somewhat of a image as a old man, he still did charidy concerts and in a tiny bit in the public eye. But his childhood was not only unknown to his fans but not thought of. To most people he was just some poor born kid who got out of doge and made it big though talent and luck. Whenever Francis thought of his bright 30s and 20s soon he'd start sinking back into his childhood. The second thought was weather or not he should come out about it, on one hand the incident was public knowledge, but they didn't know that he had anything to do with it, the newspapers if you could find any just said two young people where involed, but they went unnamed for privacy and police reasons. And even then going unnamed no one known the true story anymore publicly but the people that where there. Maybe some true crime 'fans' known about it but no normal people. The third how well he did in life as a Christian.

“... Hey, Jacob. You have your phone on hand right?” Francis asked, a spark of a idea becoming physical in his mind. “Yeah?” Jacob turned his head to the side watching like a child to his requesting father. “Of course you do, you always do. But you can look up things on that thing right now?” “Your internet here is bad but yes, yes I can. Most phones can Oden.” Francis cringed at the poor naming chose again but moved on. “I was born in a nest with dinosaurs Jacob, I don't have time to care about what cell phones can and can't do things.” “Fine, what do you want?” “Well...” Francis turned over and faced his companion. “Can I tell you something about myself I haven't told anyone but my own parents about?” A dry moment went by, then Jacob swallowed and mumbled carefully out. “Is it... Well what sort of story this is?” “Story?” Francis thought, he didn't write stories anymore, but he thought through it and decided how to category it. “A horror.” Jacob seemed both relived to hear and then went to a more worried look, now he was worried about his friend. “Then tell me, if you want.” “No, do you want to hear it?” Jacob leaned in, hands holding together. “Yes.” 

Francis nodded then got up out of his chair then made over to a new room, and after a time of finding what he needed and thinking though the silly rath decision he just made came back with a half a sheet of musical writing paper he never used anymore and a blue bold point pen. He sat back down and using his left leg as a resting point written down a few short words tiny and light then folds it and hides it back into his pocket. “I don't know, have you ever heard about the landin Montana incident? Or something like that, whatever they call it abroad.” Jacob shook his head no and Francis nodded back with approval, that's better, a blank slate. “I know you probably won't believe the things I've seen, but I hope you have faith in my honestly. Now, have you ever heard of Danny- oh, Danial Coodly?” “No.” “Right, well he works in politics, mainly he was the vice governor of Montana years ago. Well he grew up in the same area.” Jacob raised a eyebrow. “Now don't get it wrong, we weren't good friends or anything, in fact I never liked him for years until the later age of us knowing each other. He was...” Francis swilled his right hand around trying to find the words. “Older by a few years, more well off, a little too knowledge for his own good.” “Well off? I thought you grown up in a poor place?” “Well, to me he was well off, maybe a well off kid there was someone who had a old bike, I don't know. Now looking back on it he probably wasn't doing too well either, but he got along so good for him. Anyway about that landin Montana incident, we were involved in it.” Jacob nodded, resting his head on his hand and moving in even closer. “What is that incident about? I don't know anything about it.” Francis also leaned in closer to the younger man, both of them looking hunched over at each other. “I'll get there, let me lay out the scene for you.”

The weather had just gotten to that happy stage of a snow's lifetime where after a long hard snow (in this case, a long series of hard snows) the sun and rain had taken it down to the point where the snow just bridged on the corners and ends of hidden areas, normally just in the shade as well. It was still cold as a fridge outside but compared to the last few weeks the residents didn't even notice. The surrounding area was nestled in the unpleasant, unromantic land in Montana. Here they had everything good about nature you'd expect but without any of the charm. The land was thick with grass and intermingled was spots of soled dry or somewhat wet dirt, patches of trees where and there always leading to a happy trail of forest. The trees where abnormally tall, tall and old too. Any outsider could notice and comment on that. There wasn't much variety of trees though either, which helped in making the residents forget how weird the trees where. Half of the houses weren't any good even for the basics of living, let alone a modern way of living, and the other half weren't even made in that century.

On the edge of a thin forest was a another wild child, only 12 years old hung off the lowest branch on any tree where, which was 14 feet off the ground. Below him just walked under was a young man holding onto a light stack of books. Just off the right time the kid slid off the branch and fell right onto the cold moist ground three feet off from the man. “Oh my God!” The man yelled jumping back, first yelling for his own sake then taking on a more worried look for the boy. “Are you ok?” The kid got off the ground quickly and wiped the dampness from his butt. The man's face changed from a motherly look to a older brother kind of style, going red as he remembered who the boy was. “You could have killed me you turkey! Francis leave me alone!” The man turned his head quickly and started pacing away before the boy attacked himself to him. “Hey! You better be nice to me or I'll tell Celia!” Francis yelled out while running back to the man, too late for the man then. “Tell her I don't care, I'm gonna tell her anyway. Besides, you don't even know her kid.” That much was true, Francis only known her as a teacher at school, a school he never went too but the other kids he often played with spoke very highly of her. The only reason Francis even threatened him with that was because he heard from a older boy who lived in town that the man was touchy about her, though Francis wasn't mature enough yet to get why. “Tell your dad to leave my mom alone or I'll actually kill you next time Danny!” Francis stated. “I can't make him do anything kid.” Danny grumbled out, what he wanted to say was that his dad was doing the kid's mom a big favor by not making her pay back for all the food she'd begged from him for years. The only reason Danny's dad let her get away with that was because she had a son, and that her husband kept disappearing over and over again since Korea. “He's your dad, come on give her a good word!” “Fran, he likes your mom more then I do. And your attempted first degree murder doesn't convince me.” “Firstly, my name isn't Fran-” “Ok Fran.” “Ahh! Stop that, and second what's first degree mean?” Danny rolled his eyes and tugged again on his few books. “It means you tried to kill me, ok?” “Then just say that.” “If you want to know more normal terms maybe try going to school.” Francis waved a hand at him and laughed. “I have more important things to do! Naturally you'd say that, your in love with a teacher! Ha!” Danny turned around while walking to make a angry face at him, but Francis took that as a joke and laughed some more taunts related to the same subject of a dating a teacher, Danny just ignored the kid till he stopped. “Kid, I actually mean it. You'd do fine in school I'm sure.” “Ma says I'm the man of the house a while ago, so I don't have time! Mr Harrpon gave me a job last year you know.” “And I don't care.” Danny walked on ahead of him and pulled his books closer to his chest, now Francis didn't follow just watching him go off with a annoyed look on the boy's face.

“What a heel.” 

Francis turned around and started back on the path to the woods. He didn't live in the far spread town, no he lived in the woods, and far off too. Most of the other boys in town who loved Francis like a brother wouldn't get within a mile of his home because of how creepy it was. Now as we follow him up and up the path he could follow at dark, he'll see nothing but friendly and welcoming sights, if you where to actually be their with him right by his side you would not get even the sightliest hint of anything good from your surroundings. It like a tunnel, the farther he went up the darker it got. No light or mood or time of day could make the place look well. At best this place was good for pilgrims to go by though to find better places. It isn't a good place to hunt because not even the animals would stay around there. That was the one thing that helped this place be less horrifying. At night, you could only hear small little bugs, no animals crunching leafs or the movement of a owl's wings. An aspect that made the place worse though was that the tall trees got less and less thick bright brown and full of leafs the deeper you where.

It didn't feel like a long time for him but it took almost a hour till he gotten home, by the time he got there he completely forgot his murder attempt. His home was just what you'd think it was, though it looked like a sham of a wooden house on the outside, on the inside it had a series of well taken care of items that where almost all older the Francis, even his own items and 'room' which was a corner of the house. Before he stepped inside he fixed up his spread thin clothes that used to be his dad's, he always tried to look nice when he first came in for his mom because she was always reassuring him how he was the cutest boy in town, and if he was better kept he'd surely would be a very good-looking young man but as of now he looked bad. The second he took a breath and stepped inside his worn mother turned over to him and smiled. “Oh there you are Francis! It's almost dark!” “I'm not gonna be out at night mom!” He stepped over to her, so she could bear hug her cub. “Now-” She pulled her son away from her. “Have you seen your father today? Or heard from him at all?” It wasn't uncommon for him to go missing for a few days, normally either going camping or visiting his parents a town away, and sometimes he'd tell his son where he went but not his wife. “No.” Francis thrown ed, it wasn't normal for dad to be gone a week. Mom shook her head and stood up fully and turned back to her stove. “That's fine, Mr Coodly gave me food right before your father left, so we'll get by...” She turned over to her son and smiled. “I bet he'll bring home some food he hunted. Now wash and while you eat I'll read you Mark Twain.” He didn't even have time to awns er, he just rushed off and started undressing while running outside to the water bin. He loved when she read to him, he known she normally only did it when she was lonely, so he didn't want story time to happen, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. In fact, he heard that's how his dad met his mom, by her reading the bible to him and other people in town who couldn't read years ago. Francis cleaned up and ran back inside to his waiting mother with fire cooked meal.

Danny opened up the office door and spied around till he saw her by the end of the room. She was waiting by herself looking out the window at the night. Danny didn't have his books because he had put them inside her car and now came to get her from work at school. There was only one other teacher in the room, and he didn't make eye contact with him as he was reading on a table far away but Danny could have guessed he was listening well. She pretended not to hear him come in till Danny tapped her on the arm. “Celia, it's time to come home.” Celia glanced over to him, acting somewhat supprised, and she immediately got up and grabbed her curse. “Ok.” She tried walking ahead of him, but he kept up with her easily with her being slower lately. He could tell she was just waiting for him to ask her what was wrong, but really he could guess, and he wasn't feeling it today. He worked part-time in the same school but not fully time because they didn't want to hire a 16-year old, the powers at be in the town wanted a more professional look for the most important places in town, and since there was only one school they didn't want their only history teacher being young enough to still be in most schools. Danny and Celia walked out of the building, since all the children left hours ago the halls where weirdly dark and empty, for as weird as the children of Landin where, they where always very happy little kids, or maybe they where just happy at school because non of the teachers or one staff member held a tight ship. Danny led her into her own car, and he sat at the front and started the car, it was a newer model, so he had a hard time understanding it because it wasn't anything like his dad's very old version. It made a disturbing loud thumb till they started off down the dirt roads to their small home smack drab in the middle of the town.

Danny kept glancing over to her, seeing her face not change at all as they went on. When they did get home they pulled up to the side of the house, and he helped her out of the car.

They lived in small but not a horrible home, it was warm inside, and they had a living room which was also their kitchen, a bathroom a bedroom and a large closet. Danny had been living in her house for only a month now, but he felt as about as home there then he did at his parents home. Celia barely even had time to sit on the couch before she opened up the can of worms. “Did you convince him let?” Danny sat next to her with his books on his lap and shook his head no. “No one is going to marry us Celia, I'm sorry. Maybe when I'm 18 we can get married outside of town but now.” She sighed and looked away. It was too late now anyway, she was so pregnant now that everyone known it, though no one but Danny's parents ever brought it up. “Half the people around here are a lot weirder then this, they can't judge much.” She rolled her eyes. “It's not about us, it's about the baby!” He shrugged. “By the time the baby will be old enough to remember we'll probably be married by then, so I don't see why that matters.” “You have no idea what other people think you know, how can you get into law when you don't even understand people?” Danny scoffed and handed her the books that where with him. “Your being silly, there's no good at worrying about things we can't change. Now here's the math books you where wanting.” She signed and took them. “How about you read some of these for a change? Your worse at math then some of the kids I know.” “I have my strengths.” Celia huffed up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen side of the living room. “You are a funny person Danny.” Danny shrugged while watching from the couch what she was cooking. “I will take that as a complement.” He said dryly and she smiled over at him.

It was fully enveloped in night now. It was quite outside but inside Francis couldn't stop squirming around where he slept. His mom was asleep fully on the other side of the house on her old wooden bed. He kept running his hands through his hair and curling up into and ball only to uncurl and do it over and over again under a old large green blanket sheet. Right when he thought he could actually scream from the inability to sleep, he heard a strange noise coming from outside. It happened a few times and only until he stopped using his ears and looked out from the sheets did he know what it was. It was his father, barely invisible from outside the window like a showdown rather then a man. He was clearly trying to get Francis attention and not mom's, so quietly Francis cracked himself out of bed and carefully stepped out of the house where his dad immediately grabbed ahold of his arm and walked him away out of ear shot from the house. He looked a little worse for wear then normal. He had a thick brown beard and wild tired eyes, he was so unshaven that Francis could feel his arm hair poking out of his worn jacket sleeve. “What's happening?” Francis asked big eyed, dad calmed him down with his tone and hand movements, but his twitchy movements and way he looked around himself didn't convince his son at all. “Nothing, nothing at all dear. I just came to tell you that I'm going to be gone another week. I don't want you to be worried.” Francis raised his eyebrow, it wasn't normal for him to be worried if anyone else was worried. “Why can't you tell mom too?” Even though he was adjusting to the dark, Francis couldn't seem to see his dad's face, mainly his eyes and nose. “She'll probably kill me, I can't explain why I'm going but just trust me, I'll tell you when I get back.” Francis didn't leave his concerned look, and probably because of that his dad made a clicking tongue noise and pulled out a small bag from his backpack. “I almost forgot, this is for you and your mom, it's food.” He winked. “I wouldn't leave you hungry kid.” Francis took it with tight lips, he loved his dad, but he already understood some of the real flaws he had, but this... Wasn't normal for him. “I love you Francis, I'll bring you back something fun.” Quickly he pressed his lips against Francis's head, squeezed his shoulders and stepped away from him. And just for a second the moon catch his eyes and Francis could see how big they where, and his face changed from a hipper kind of happy to a sudden sad look, like someone else turned on a switch. For a second Francis felt safe. “I love you... And don't follow me.” He turned around quickly, and started back down the path away from the house, taking one last look and a wave at his son, then he was gone. Francis didn't feel safe anymore.

Francis losing focus of his father and decided to unlock and look inside the bag, it was too dark though for him to see what was in it, though he did smell it for sure, and he almost gagged just by being near it. Reaching in he grabbed ahold of something that was dry and caved in a little when he held onto it. He pulled the thing out and screamed like it was a weapon and thrown it and the bag full of others away from him. He screamed so loud his mother woke up and was sure to look for him. He screamed so loud his father would have heard him down in the forest if he wasn't too far in his own mind. Beside the ground next to the maggot filled bag was a long dead road killed rabbit, more skeleton the flesh. 

Lately she was sleeping in later than her anyways. Which was funny because he made a habit as of late to sleep on the couch when she sleeps on the bed. By the time he took a shower ate a little something then dressed up she was barely even awake, just sort of grumbling around barely aware of anything around her. Since she was going to be awhile getting up he just gave up and took a walk that morning. He wore the same two pairs of long pants and a long sleeve shirt to work, regardless of the weather. It was just getting to a normal light outside with that early light purple look alongside a clear sky, for someone who was still very tired from last night it actually felt a little nice, even with it being very chilly. That always reminded him he should invest in a jacket sometime. He wasn't in any kind of rush because it was a Saturday, and he only came in for small after work, and he liked doing all work at the building and not at home, so did Celia, but she'll probably come in later like normal. 

The school was oddly fast that morning, even for only have two people in it before Danny walked in. He wasn't too close to either Mike, a fellow teacher, or Luke the janitor, so they weren't too keen on having him join in a conversation that he was not a part of, but the things they where rapidly spewing out about what happened last night sounded like a good story. By even getting their attention he had to almost get right in between the two of them. “Wait, what's going on?” Mike probably would have ignored him if Luke hadn't been kind enough (and quick enough) to explain quickly for him, turning over with a light excitement to tell the jest of the story again. “That Oden guy, you know him from your dad- well last night well around two folks working this hauling job real late, and they saw him acting real crazy when he walked past them. Twitching and not responding and what not. And when one of the blokes grabbed ahold or touched his shoulder, he screamed like Hell then ran off!” Danny raised a eyebrow and nodded, clearly winning social approval from Luke and maybe even Mike, reacting the same way they do. “Yeah... Poor guy.” “He's probably on something, finally became full on useless!” Mike blurted out, making both Danny and Luke a little uncomfortable with his uncaring tone. The hole Coodly clan was quite fed up with Mr Oden's act, but he never treated anyone poorly and if you came put to him with the cold hard facts of his ways he'd own up to it, even though nothing would ever change. Main reason anyone who is a known him well enough felt poor for him was because he used to be a very bright happy fellow before he came home from the military, it was kind of infamies story, most people known it by how ext ream it was. Not that Danny ever met that shiny young man, but sometimes he could see it come though whenever Mr Oden was at his dad's house. Maybe the biggest reason why everyone known the story was because it just felt like him leaving and coming back changed the hole town somehow, like everything got worse than it was before, things that he could not even change or even have anything to do with! Like local outside income and the far colder weather and lowering birth rates. Then again, maybe Mike didn't care because he lived in a nearby town and not from Landin. “Like I said, I think it's something else.” Luke said more firmly. Luke looked over to Danny waiting for a awns er apparently, and he quickly mumbled out a answer. “I-ah, can't really say... Anyone seen his wife?” “No.” Mike shook his head. “She's a hermit so who knows.” “I saw his son yesterday actually, nothing out of the ordinary with him though.” Luke nodded like that information added something to what he said before. “Right, his son is a pretty normal kid... A lot like someone I used to know.” Luke's eyes changed, after all he was alive when Mr Oden was young. “Kid's weird too, that's probably why all the other boys in town like him.” That comment from Mike made Luke turn back over to him quickly with a response. “Not at all. They like him because he's fun.” Mike looked back at him with the same face but Luke didn't change. Soon after a few odd moments Mike stepped back and signed. “Still, ah Danial.” Mike turned over to 'Danial'. “If you see that kid again, ask him if anything up. I'm curious.” Danny shrugged to that and Luke pulled his mop closer to his body again. “I have to go.” He simply said and left the two other men. Mike shrugged and Danny followed him down the hall to which ever room they worked in.

That day Celia didn't come in for work at all. At first Danny didn't even notice until two hours after he got there, then after even Mike commented on it he got even more bothered, Then finally he was fed up and ended up having to do her job for her. Though soon he got over it, assuming she was just having a another sick day, he didn't want her suffering though the pregnancy, but sadly he couldn't stop her pain, but he could alive rate it by not getting mad at her when he came home, no need going to work for something he could easily do for her- he just had to remember not to tell anyone outside of Luke that he did the job of grading for her. For a weekend day at work, it wasn't actually half bad for him. He got along with the other two well, normally Mike didn't knowledge him as a human being let alone a man. Thankfully Mike left four hours in, because it was hard to handle his nature for longer then a minute. Luke got a lot more friendly when Mike left, and they chatted around every few times the janitor came into the room he was in. At about 7 PM Danny pulled out his papers he got done and hid them away in drawers for her and him next Monday. It was somehow just holding onto light by then and since Luke had already left Danny had to go out and lock everything up inside, and right on the front door of the school. At that point he really wished that he took the car with him since Celia didn't seemingly use it today. It would have helped him greatly at this point. He kept rubbing the sides of his arms when he started walking down the streets. He couldn't help but notice how he couldn't see much people walking around that day, there where a lot of cars leaving and coming in, though the windows where so fogged up, and he couldn't even see anyone inside them. It got to the point that seeing anyone would be comforting for him, even his dad. He felt something very weird about today, something kinda empty, something that made him very twitchy.

The hole day Francis was very twitchy. So twitchy despite it being a weekend and pretty good weather which would be a great day to play with his friends, but he just felt like he needed to be home. He wished he hadn't screamed from the bag incident last night, if he hadn't then mom wouldn't have been so off today. 

Last night mom ran out and grabbed ahold of Francis's shoulders, by then he stopped screaming but it was clearly too late. He told what had just happened, and she walked over to the animal bodies, and she took her son by the arm and walked them both inside. Francis stayed by her side all day in the house doing basic chores and tasks. Mostly he sat around bored, when he couldn't leave the house like on a rainy day, or he was in trouble or whatnot, he'd normally end up looking at the pictures in the books in their house from the chest box. The hole day just stunk of a bad mood. Mom didn't talk at all about last time, and in fact she talked very little. She never even asked about how long he'd be gone, the hole quite mood made him concerned quite and meek. By the end of the day the only real time she talked to him for any length in time is when she asked him if he'd like to sleep in her bed and not his corner of the house, and he said no and that was it for the night. He almost felt like that night that his dad would come back again that night for a visit, it even scared him. The strange dreadful feeling staged right over his head the hole time he was awake, like he wasn't just scared of what happened with his dad last night but something bigger too.

The next morning He quickly decided that he had had enough of the over welcoming feeling then. He lightly woke up his mom and, told him he was going out, got ready and dressed himself up and ran out into the cold morning air and ran into the forest. Feeling more conformal in the downward path he knew well, and felt much more free to be away from that stuffy house he was almost locked up in again. A part of him was looking for signs that his father had been though here two days ago, of course there wasn't any and there wouldn't be, but he did it anyway. He actually made it down the forest quickly. Before he went out looking for his pals deeper inside the town he went to see Mr Harrpon just in case there was any leftover work he needed to do- not that it was likely, but he did get out to see him everyday even when it wasn't a work day. They where quite friendly with each other, sometimes too much and Hairpin had to remind Francis that he was his boss. His half small shop half car wash building was near the end of town, in fact it faced the path to the forest so it was a very straight line for Francis. That morning to his surprise the front door to the building was locked, which was very uncommon for him. He had to end up knocking and way back inside Mr Harrpon yelled out. “I'm busy! Come back tomorrow.!” Francis pulled his hands to the sides of his mouth and yelled back. “It's me!” It went silent inside and a few banging noises Mr Harrpon looked out at the boy and unlocked the door and opening it wide. “Come in, quickly don't let the cold air out.” Francis looked around the front room, seeing how it looked very messy that morning. It had a gray dim look and smell, very unholy. Like this was the first time anyone had been in it in decades, and sometimes houses go crazy when left alone long enough, they end up... Making there very own ghosts. “What's going on?” Harrpon looked over at him with a sorry face, bending down on one knee to get closer to him. “I heard about your dad, have you heard about it? I didn't see you yesterday, so I don't know.” “What? What happened!?” Harrpon changed his tone seeing how worried that bad him. “Oh, nothing horrible. He was just acting funny two nights ago, not answering people and seeming a little too.. in his own head.” “Oh...” Francis looked a lot calmer. “Did you see him that night?” Harrpon asked. “... No, no I didn't.” Francis mumbled out, looking blanket face. That made Harrpon cringe, and too not focus on that Francis asked in a meek tone. “What are you worried about?” Harrpon's eyebrows closed in closer together. You know Mr Coodly right? I'm sure you do, well his son's... Girlfriend? Wife? I'm not sure, anyway there's been a... Ah, something bad happened last night.”

It took him so long to get home that by the time he could see the small yellow home in the distance, he was so cold by then he felt numb. He kept his eyes on the house, then stopped dead in his tracks for only a moment. None of the lights where on in the house. He shook the surprise of seeing that off and made off to them quicker. When he was in front of the house he saw that the car was gone and the front door was open. Danny pursed his lips and crept to the doormat and looked inside. He held onto the sides of his arms and walked in, and it was fully black and somehow even colder inside then on the outside. Firstly Danny turned on the living room light, and he looked around carefully for anything different, and there was something odd. Coming from the kitchen, just to be sure he didn't walk in that direction by mistake in the dark he looked at the bottom of both of his shoes and saw that there where fine. After looking behind himself he meekly walked over to the prints, and he could easily see that they where tiny human prints. Very tiny actually. Smudged too as well, like something had been over them after they where laid down, that may have been him though when he came in. The kitchen light was right by the door, and he flicked it on. There were brown specks on the edge of the sink at the other end of the room, there wasn't really a different between the rooms so Danny could somewhat see the spots of brown before but now he could see it up better. Danny just stared at it, there was something wrong about the kitecen, and he didn't want to move any closer to it, like a large beast would jump out at him. He let go of his arms and firmly moved closer to it. He looked down and saw at the bottom of the sink was a few chunks of long bloody hair, the splats went out far and where now of course fully dry and very dark brown, some spots even flaking off. The hair was so connected to the rot before that at the ends he could see white glued on, like putting onion grass.

He was at the moment was reminded what his age was again, and he paced out of the kitchen area and yelled out. “Celia! Hey Celia!” Danny stumbled to sitting down on the couch, and he suddenly felt very warm, too warm. Like he'd been running for a long time, he even felt out of breath. Somehow the house started hearing way too much noise around him, like fifty washing machines running a heavy load all at different cycles all at the same time. Jumping up twitching very fast, he quickly ran back over to the bloody sink and clutched up the hair and ran back to the front door and thrown it out onto the ground. Then when he got back to the sink he turned it on and started running the water and washed it all off, using his own hands to do so. It was getting even hotter in there, and he ended up pulling off his own shirt and after he turned off the sink he stuffed his own shirt into the sink and stepped away. It was just so loud inside he did one over of the hole house to make sure he didn't miss anything, but if he saw something when he did the once over he wouldn't remember it now anyway. After that he ran out of the house and stopped at the sidewalk in front of the path leading to the house. He hardly stood still by the sidewalk, twitching moving and shaking his head like sweat was coming down it. He didn't feel anymore cold then before despite the fact that he was shivering openly.

After a another few minutes he started to calm down, stopped over heating and realized a few things he'd done a few things wrong. Wiping his face off Danny walked back to the front of the house and looking through the dark found the broken off dark pieces of hair laying on the ground where he threw it out. “I...” Danny looked around the night, and saw no allies nearby. “I think I need some help.”

It was now midday, Mr Harrpon and Francis where making their way into town. Francis didn't really know anything about Celia, but he thought it'd be the 'man of the house' thing to go helping in a search party. Not to mention it just gave him something to do-not that he wasn't worried about her either though. The two drove to the house though very slowly in Mr Harrpon's ace ant truck. It apparently took a lot of people midday to get there because most of the searchers getting ready to head out where all waiting by the house. Mainly (discounting Francis and Mr Harrpon) was eight other men and one cop at the house. “Ah! Kenny come over here!” Yelled one of the men, referring to Harrpon. Francis stayed right by his side while watching everything go down, he learnt no matter how adult you acted, no one listens to a kid anyway so there wasn't any point in speaking up, the kid problem wasn't helped that most people in town where either really young or ancient males, not as many girls anywhere. “What is it?” Harrpon asked. “Have you heard the hole story yet before coming up here?” Harrpon nodded. “Yesn't, the second I did real early this morning I started getting ready to go. I hate to hear about a woman going mission like that you know.” “A pregnant woman non the less!” Harrpon's friend exclaimed. “She's pregnant too?! For how long?” “Oh, I don't know dates, but I'd say not too far in. I see her sometimes on the count that I pick Gibby out of school personally on Mondays, and she looked about that much.” Mr Harrpon shook his head and sat his hands on his hips. Those two went on chatting and near them Francis could hear the cop re-explaining to a about her one of the men that it's probably too early to go out looking and that'd she'll probably be back at the end of the day or so, but the messy hair in a tight white bag the cop held in his hand still made them go out regardless. From that conversation Francis got that the main objective is to look for the car that went missing with her, find the car and you'll be on your way to finding where she was. After a few seconds of waiting for the talk between Harrpon and his friend to go anyway he cared about, Francis gave up and slipped away from them and walked upstairs seeing only two rooms up that way. He checked the bathroom and found nothing, then he tried the door of what he guessed was the bedroom but couldn't get in because it was locked. He had to guess the men downstairs locked it. Francis walked back downstairs and went right by Mr Harrpon and walked out the door, deciding that he didn't need to do the searching with him, and that they'd hit more ground if they weren't together anyway. (It'd only take about 5 minutes till Mr Harrpon would worry where the boy was.) Since he guessed they'd be looking all over the main part of town, Francis thought it'd be wise for him to look at the (to him, end of the town, which was really the start of it because the forest he lived in was the 'end' end.) He known it'd be a long walk till he got near the end of town, so he pulled out one can of water from Harrpon's truck and made his way out.

There wasn't any point in waiting for him to get to the end of town to look, so of course he kept a keen eye for her car the hole time he was walking, which was hard because he'd probably only seen her car out of the corner of his eye when he was near the school before, so he'd have to really focus of what the cop had said to the other man at the house before, and even then apparently he only known what her car looked like because that Danny man had told him, so really Francis was only getting third had information. Whenever someone recognized Francis and said anything to him he'd tell them what was going on, so they could be on the look out too, though everyone he saw either known or didn't think it was a big deal- or both. Strangely enough Francis didn't see any of his friends while going along, which the farther he went along the more it made sense because most of his friends lived in the 'front' of town, really all the kids did because the end of town was much more sketchy. The reason Francis known this place well enough was because his dad lived here after he got out of the military but before he married mom. Dad had taken him out a few times around the place to show him some of the spots he'd like to hang around when he was a kid. He'd always complain how much better it used to be back then. A part of Francis worried dad would be there in the lower parts of town, and that he'd jump out of some dark shadowy street corner and yell at him for following him. Not that that made any sense, because whenever he went missing he'd normally skip town and head on off to the forest or to his parent's home town. In a way that only made doing a search for a woman that went missing a day ago seem silly to Francis, but he understood how weird it was of his dad to do what he does (not that anyone lets him forget it.) And he met Celia before, and she seemed like a responsible person. Didn't know what to make of her being pregnant, grossed him out a little bit, because the dad must have been Danny, and they weren't married. Not to mention Danny would make a horrible dad!

By the time he actually got near the end of town, it already wasn't looking to bright outside which only made him feel like he wasted the day, what made it worse was that he was seeing less and less cars in general, let alone any that could match Celia's car.  Soon he actually hit the end of town, he started walking off to the right so that he could walk back up a different route. By the time he turned around down a street he fully felt like he wasted his time, but at least he wasn't stuck at home with mom.

“Hey...”

Francis stopped where he was walking. Then he looked around to where the noise had come from.

“I'm here.”

Francis turned to voice and saw a older man standing by a small building's doorway, he looked almost drunk in a way, he held onto the frame of the door so tight like if he didn't he fall down, his eyes where not steady on Francis. Francis did not move any closer. “What do you want?” Francis answered coldly. “I know your dad. Yeah, I know your dad.” The old man tried to walk off from the building's steps, but he couldn't, only holding on tighter, Francis pursed his lips. “He's not coming home. I saw him two weeks ago, and I could tell, he's not coming home.” The old man's eyes fixed straight on the target, and he was almost not holding onto the door anymore. “He's not coming home. And you should be glad too, he wouldn't be any good to you anymore.” Francis stepped back but the old man just stayed fixed on him, not letting go of the door frame and standing straight. Francis wished someone else was with him now, if only he'd gone with Mr Harrpon, he'd keep him safe. “He was fine, years ago. I remember him when he was young, he used to be a funny bloke when he was a teenager. Yes, yes I remember him. A lot like you. But he didn't need to get catch to become useless like he is now, better off gone I'd say. Ever took care of a rose bush kid? You have to cut off the bad buds to keep the good ones healthy, well your dad was a bad bud. And now he's ruined the hole bush.” The man added under his breath. “Should have stayed in Korea forever.” “Shut up.” Francis said, stepping forward. “I'm not just talking, no I mean it.” The old man said plainly. “I've thought through the hole thing. And I mean everything I say.” “Your crazy, don't talk about my dad like that.” Francis tried to sound firm and rational, and he did but that didn't matter to the old man, and he took one step down the two stairs from the door. “You shouldn't be alive, you know that right? Only Satan kept your dad alive in war, he wanted him to come back.” The man took a another step down. “He wanted your dad to come back, infect-” The man got closer, and Francis kept his ground. “Spread.” The man gestured at Francis. “I said shut up!” The man came in closer, and said one last time in a gloomy tone. “You leave wouldn't be good enough.” 

Right then the old man swept in and cupped the sides of Francis's neck then squeezed. Francis tried to choke out a yelp but it died in him, he was too shocked to react. The old man didn't make any kind of expression when ripping the life out of the boy's neck, just focused. When the old man tried to lift the boy up into the air he was almost able to do it but Francis's eyes opened wide, and he bit down hard on one of the man's knuckles, and when the man tried to shake him off the hand it only made Francis rip off a large chunk of skin that at second would start rapidly bleeding to heal the young wound. The man dropped Francis almost a foot, holding his one hand and screaming. When Francis hit the floor and before he could even get a breath he started running back down the street he was going down before, so lost of breath only 20 feet away he almost fell down from the lack of air in his body, but out of fear from still hearing the man behind him yelling out in pain and cursing him out. 

He ran and ran till he couldn't hear or see a thing, trying to regain breath as he got away. Praying to God that the old man couldn't or wouldn't run after him since Francis couldn't go as fast as he normally could with the breathing problem. The farther away he got the more he realized how in pain his neck was, the old man nails dug into his neck enough that a few small curved lines of blood fell down his neck and seeped into his dark colored clothes, as he ran a few dots of red dripped onto the pavement. 

At this point in the day, almost night actually, the searching felt uterly pointless and more then that a distrasion, he just felt like he wasn't going to find her- them, like this. Most of the day Mike from work actually came out to help him and they'd drived together all day looking, which supprised him and he would have been more touched about it if he hadn't been so lazer foused on finding her. No one was taking this as serisuly as him. Clearly there was a break in, Celia had no history of self harm or mental illness, so she wouldn't have broken off her own hair, and she never went out that late anyway. He could see her leaving without a note sure, even more so with her being bothered by him. But he known it had to be a kiddnapping. Danny wasn't normally a kind of man who'd go to the worse possible option, but somehow he was sure she'd died. No one talked to him much all day unless they had questions, but he could tell they'd thought he was being too moody, but he was sure-just sure someone had tried to rob their house, Celia tried to attack the robber and they'd killed her and descided to hide her body somewhere. 'She should have just hid, something in that house mattered as much as her, or the baby...' Danny kept thinking, he was sure that's what happened. Later in the night of him finding the house like that he rechecked the house after regaining his cool and didn't find anything too big, but he did take notice how the bed was messy and Celia was quite anal about things being in their place when she or he left the room, so to him that meant she heard something downstairs, wasn't worried about the bed because she was worried about downstairs, and got herself murdered. After having such a fit last night he was having a bit of a wash over about his own actions. None of the drama about his father or the marriage or work or any of that meant anything anymore. None of it. He would already do anything to go back to yesterday morning. He'd put up with any verbal abuse from his dad, he'd put up with any lack of money or relationship drama or any of that. He'd burn the house down or cut off his own libs, in fact he already wanted to burn the house down with it feeling like it would be covered in blood he missed when he came home. Last night felt like a nightmare.

By the time the sky was turning dark Mike said he had to go home now, Danny didn't really want to talk but he had to explain that he could just drop him off at (what was to him) the end of town facing the forest. “You sure?” Mike asked in his meak voice. “Yes.” “Ok... If you need anything else just call.” Mike stopped the car right where he was and he let him out without any goodbyes.

Danny held his breath so long while the car went out of sight that it was far out of sight before he breathed in again, he didn't even relized that he was doing it. When he did breath out he did it so slowly that he could feel it on the tiny tiny hairs on his upper lip. He could even hear the slightlest noises of old people coming in their homes. It was complettyly quite to thoses who where too far into their own heads. Danny had a thought that he didn't remember right after having it, though the feeling ingered and it made him hardened enough that the alone small defensiless feeling he had before was changed transformed-fixed, with a ferm hardness. Being a child meant when he was alone he was naked, but now it was different, now being alone was just natural.

Something catch Danny's eyes, and he fixed the frowne on his face. It was a small figure coming down the road to him. The figure kept it's head down and looked behind it often. Then the only bright thing in sight came, the boy's head was bloude, so it must have been Francis Oden. Danny couldn't even bring himself any further to look comsbicuas, he just stood their still, hands at the sides of his body very very still, lips pursed. Soon Francis got closer and saw the man, though he didn't say anything till he was close, his hole body but his head covered up by thin but big old clothes. “Hi...” Francis mumbled out, not even looking up. Danny moved to be right in the kid's way so they faced each other, Danny just looked into Francis till he finally said something. “... Does your mom know the woods well? I know your father is out again.” Francis looked away again. “Yes.” “Can you take me to her?” “...Are you sure?...” Francis asked, looking up and his hands sunk deeper into his pockets. “Let's go.” Danny started ahead of Francis, then grabbed the boy and pushed him to the front. Francis kept his head down still and walked forward out of the town and into the woods, not quite going up yet but already meeting trees. The small gray homes and buildings and buildings that where used as home got smaller and smaller, blending into the darkening sky and dim dirt. 

The further they went up the more the blance of ease of shifted. The path they where going on was Francis's land, not Danny's. It was mainly because when they started going up the forest, fully ingollfed by the trees and moss, Danny started to see how much darker in the moutains then the flatlands, it was foren. Something he didn't know well. Actually he's never been in hear, he never wanted to go hunting with his father, which was probably one of the reasons why his father thought of him as a wimp. Not that he ever said that but Danny wasn't stupid, he could tell. The 'end' of town where the ground was still flat but the trees where popping up, I'll be it a much smaller version of the trees, was much more bright but also very wet and mud like, and also a rather dead as well. This was the point where the bugs and birds stopped showing up. But the deep forest, the time when your going up and up is much more dark no matter what time of day or season. The leafs are thick though thin at the same time somehow, they look hard but if you touched one with your hands it'd break easily. It all smelt damp but still had little to offer you in the way of varitly. The wind made it feel like the earth itself was pulling you upward and sucking you in, like if you reached the top the sky you gather you up in it's endless arms and never let go of you. No life was up here, no life was the Oden family. In a way it made sense why Francis was so calm here, it wasn't because he was use to it going though the path many times, it was because he was the prince. Speaking of Francis he didn't talk most of the way up which was about 20 minitues given their pace, it was only by the time that the sky was fully dark and he could tell that Danny was getting creeped out so he spoke up with it not feeling as tense between them anymore. “Your planning on looking for Celia around here, right?” Francis asked, Danny though never feeling this way about the boy before leaning into his words like a blanket, even walking a little closer. “Yes, and I want to ask your mom a few questions about the forest.” “Why can't you ask your dad? He knows the forest just as good, probably better because mom wasn't born here-But I know just as much as your dad if not more so you don't need either of them!” Danny waved lightly, trying not to shoe him away like a bird but to quite him know, Danny almost didn't want to be too loud here... “Father wouldn't understand, I want to talk to your mom because I trust her opnions.” “I know more then her about this!” “It's not just about the forest, I also want her-uh, insights.” “Oh, ok.” Francis changed his face to something rather shy. “I'm sorry about Celia.” Danny looked in right in the eyes and for the first time since leaving work he lightly smiled. “Thanks you.” Francis nodded grimly and walked on a little ahead which made Danny a little more fast not wanting to lag in a time like this, he wished he brought a match for now only his eyes getting use to the dark where keeping him on his way. The hole forest had a very dark brown color to it, brown blacks and the smallest hints of red on the ground here and there spread about. “Do you think she came up here for some reason?” “No, no I don't think she'd come up here.” Danny coldly said, making Francis almost fully stop coming very close to Danny and looking up at him. “What? I don't get it.” “... Francis, don't worry about it took much, you can't help with this sitcasion, and you don't need to be worrying about it. Your just a kid.” “I was looking all around town all day for her car, that's what I was doing when you found me!” Danny rasied his hands. “Thank you, then you helped as much as you can. But just don't worry about looking out there anymore.” “But she's out there! That's important that everyone looks for her.” Suddenly seeing someone as close to her as Danny be so (what Francis saw) as clam about it made the pointless work he'd done today seem so important- even holy for Francis. “Your job isn't too look for missing women, your just a little boy.” “I'm not little.” “Francis, listen, I'm just being realistic, she's not going to be...” Danny frowned and the two of them stopped walking. Francis just watched the man's confused exspesion with wide eyes while they stayed looked in a stare off. Danny licked his lips in thought then reached out his hand slowly. “What's on your neck?” Going down the boy's neck was dyed falling off black looking lines, coming from small cut looking wonds on his neck. Right when his cold hand touched Francis's neck the boy jumped away. “Nothing!” Danny spread out his hands in a open sort of fasion. “No! I'm not trying to hurt you! Just what happened?” “Nothing! It wasn't anything.” “Where you attacked? I need to know who it was kid.” Danny took two big steps forward and the second he did it he regretted it because Francis spun around and run far up ahead of the path like a squirl to a oke tree, Danny yelled out that he wasn't going to do anything and to come back but that didn't make the boy come back from vanising into the black. Danny started running thinking that with his lankly long legs he'd at least come up close enough to see and talk to the kid but no matter how fast he went the dark form of the child never came back and 2 minitues of going full speed started to leave him weak, then with the heavly breathing and with how tired he was he wasn't looking where he was walking and ended up tripping on a rock poking out of the dirk covered with blankets of leafs. He fell down with a light choke of air and his chin chest and pants where covered in dirt. Suddenly there alone, dark out and cold he started wishing he went along with Mike and just went back to his Hellish home... Then again, maybe not.

He was so far up by then going down wasn't a chose, luckly for him he didn't have to speed walk up the black black path any longer because soon the trees suddenly parted and he could see a small light in the distanse, on the very top of the hill where trees didn't get too close to the house was a small wooden cabin and what he had to guess was a candle inside making the light. He didn't take time to admire the well and tools and old cabin that was used for horses a generasion ago, no he was so close now he could feel how creepy it was and decided to make a sprint for it and ran right up to the door almost like a madman, he wanted to just run in but out of kindness he knocked on the door and waited, holding every breath. He could hear a woman gasp a little inside and before she opened it she bolding asked out. “Who is it?!” “...  Danial Coodly.” A momment later the door opened he could see the woman talking to him, he known her from his father showing her, it was of course Francis's mother. The second he saw her he forgot what he was worried about before outside. She was a lightly cubby woman below the face but it only added to her mother like quality, it made her blue old old dress look more fancy then it would have looked like on any other woman. Her once bright blonde hair was now dimmed and pulled back, only her bangs where puffed out. But it was her face, she had a very kind face, like she was already prepared to take care of him. Suddenly he was very very jelouse of Francis for being able to call a woman like this his mom, Danny never had a mom because she walked out on him and dad.

“What do you need? Francis said you where coming here.” Oh yeah, he almost forgot about the brat. Inside the house in the back he could see Francis hiding, holding his legs together. Danny fixed his face to look more clam like hers. “I... Ha, just need to ask you a few questions. Can I come in please?” She nodded and opened the door. “Oh course. Come in hun.” Francis shuffled in his sheet by the corner of the room, he watched     the two talk while holding his fabric close to himself. While mom was tending to Danny, Francis undressed and hid away. He turned his head over and laid down, so by a few minitues they'd think he was asleep, he didn't want his mom to see his neck, he didn't know there was dried off blood on it still when he was walking up there so while laying down he scrapped off the blood with his nails.

“You know about what happened last night, right?” She shook her head no. “I haven't seen anyone in a while, anyone but Francis of course.” Danny shifted where he sat. “My girlfriend- ah Celia you know her?” Mom nodded. “Well, she's missing, our house was broken into last night and she's gone.” “Oh Lord! No sign of her? Isn't she- ah,” Mom pointed at her stomagc and Danny nodded. He went on and explained just everything that happened, he didn't get into his reactions too things but he gave her what he conciered the important details. By the end she looked very upset which only made Danny creeped away a little bit. “I'm just so sorry to hear about that, no one around the town found anything?” “I don't know, I only talked to one of the serachers by the end of the day. If I hear any news from them I'll tell you about it though.” Mom held her hand to her chest and ends of her lips raised lightly when he said that, but shifted quickly with a head shift like she had to hide the smile. “Thank you Danial. Just like your dad.” That was naturally uncomfortable for him but he got it. Danny shifted and got more quite. “Your welcome, it's nothing. But I don't think I'll hear anything from them. In fact I... Ah... We, I think she has to be murdered.” He moved back a little bit from her, he really didn't want to see her face. Francis was listening while gripping his sheet, wide eyed and open mouthed. “... Oh no no no, don't say things like that. We don't know that yet.” She moved in closer to herself and held her hands together. “I know it doesn't look good, but still.” He nodded. “I just- ah, have a feeling. And I was thinking about where whoever it was could have hid her body, you know? “... Why are you asking me this?” “Because you know the forest well.” Mom got very quite for nearly 2 minitues, then she slowly got up and took him outside away from the 'sleeping' Francis.

Francis hardly remembered what happened last night. When he woke up he was surprised to see his mom still sleeping, she was doing a lot more of that lately. Before thinking of the walk up here last night he first ran outside still in his underwear (which froze him up like a sample in a lab) and checked his neck while away from any possible eyes inside. He poor a bucket of water and looked over his neck. Of course all the signs of past blood before where gone but there was still tiny faint looks of cuts on his neck now shaped like a C. He used the water to clean off his hands feet and armpits then tip toed back inside, she wasn't awkae yet of course but he needed to make sure he didn't wake her up. He thrown on all his clothes over his arms and ran back outside. He just dressed complettly outside and as quick as that started down the path though the woods. He didn't feel very well rested but he was in so much of a rush to not be seen by her that he was just happy that went well. In fact he was almost feeling peppy that morning too. A sort of spring in his step. It was bright that morning too, a little cloudy too but when the sun shine though it was very glaring. Judging by the clouds that meant it was probably going to do something soon either by night or the next day. Knowing Landin's luck that meant it'd be a endless rain that'd take down a few young trees that never even got very tall, it was always the young trees that never stood a chanse. Francis soon rememebered last night with Danny and how it all went down. He wished he stayed awake long enough to hear how mom and Danny came back in. They stayed out for a very very long time. A weirdly long time actually. Francis would probably say about a hour they where out at least till he fell asleep but it was probably more like 30 minitues. He had no idea how long it actually was but the thought that maybe Danny told mom what he saw last night on the boy's neck made Francis walk a little faster and farther down the path. Thinking back on it now he guessed that the smarter thing to do would be to not run away when Danny asked about the neck but Danny was acting weird the hole night (not that Francis was shoocked) and his's face sort of became a little disturbed when he saw his neck, not like he was worried for Francis but more like it meant something else to him. Who knows, maybe Danny would go full batshit like the old man yesterday. It was probably best to move on today.

Despite the better weather and Francis's better mood the two people he saw in the front of town before getting where he wanted seemed very fast, in fact there was hardly anyone ever out at all seemingly, he guessed if he had a real house he would stay in it all the time too, but Francis couldn't get how people could ingore nature so much. Mr Harrpon's shop was open that day of course but he wasn't manning the front desk and only came out of the storage room when he heard Francis open the front door. “There you are!” Mr Harrpon said with a higher voice then normal. “You vanished into thin air, I thought we where gonna go together. Had to go looking for you before looking for- ah, her...” Francis steped up all meek like and started taking off his jacket. “Sorry, I was just bored and I didn't like the house. I looked all day too.” Harrpon shrugged and sat down in his chair behind the desk. Francis jumped over the desk and stood by the older man holding his hands together. “What are we gonna do today?” Mr Harrpon raised a eyebrow. “You mean you, and frankly I don't think anyone's gonna come in today, just got a feeling, it's slow the hole air around town feels slow. And when it's slow no one wants to come up here unless they have to, and I'm guessing that won't happen today.” He leaned back into his seat and rubbed his thining head. “Maybe run my arrens, that's about all I have for you.” “What if someone comes in though?” Francis questioned. “I've ran the hole place without you for decades alone, I'll be fine.” Francis nodded and already started upping his jacket back on. “Okkie Dokkie then! What arrnes do you want done then?” With a old grone he stood up out of his chair and went into the storage room and went though a dark dware and pulled out some keys. Then went though a few different drawers and got out a paper and old pencil and written something quickly on it. He handed it over to Francis and assured him out of the dark room and back into the open office room. “Hear, it's my grousery list. It's not very much, if you just take two bags along with you to the store you'll be able to walk to my house with only those with little trouble. And uh, don't stay too long anywhere outside with the grouseries. You know.” Mr Harrpon added Francis some money and pushed him though the desk's door marking off one side of the store from the other. “Oh, and there's 50 cents in there also, that's a gift for looking yesterday, I known you proaobly just looked without me and I appercatye you doing that.” Harrpon's voice got a little more softer. “I'm sure Celia would too.” Francis was getting ready to say something but stopped himself and just nodded and turned away, he didn't really want to know the full context of what that meant.

Danny slept in very very late, so late if he was in a normal state he would have run off to work. Instead he did get up and go right off to work (I'll be it slowly) but didn't take a shower or eat or bring the right paperwork not because he was in a rush but because he didn't care enough to. He thought how he wished the car was there and immiditly felt worse. He did try speed running to work for a while and that got him most of the way there. Since Celia wasn't there anymore and they where low on staff, at least for now, he'd be doing her class today and for the forseeable future. The 'boss' of the hole little school, Mr Mengel didn't stay there that morning too long, he normally didn't show up at all any days of the week. He seemingly just shown up to tell Danny that. He didn't even say sorry about Celia before he left, in fact he talked even less then normal. Celia's job wouldn't be that hard for him to figure out partly because he'd been reading over the children's paperwork for her most of the time since she'd gotten pregant. And before the baby was coming she used to tell him about all the children in class, so he could almost remember how every child was doing too. Still juggleing two classes was something he wasn't looking forward too. Though right before he made it into he's old class he saw Mike walking over to him with a very seriouse face and tugging on Danny's arm. “What?” Danny asked, a little more puterbed then he meant it too but his co-worker seemingly brushed it off. “Can you spare one second?” Danny only raised a eyebrow in respone but Mike gave him a stern look so Danny followed away from the door of the class room and back into the hallway. “The kids are waiting, and I'm not really in the mood.” “I know, I know. But I need to tell you something, and I wanted us to be alone.” That didn't help with Danny looking less confused so Mike when on. “When I was driving home, ah I was about 5 minitues or so from home. I was just going by the more high up homes- ah you know them because I know you go by them when you go home. Anyway I saw four people, I couldn't really tell gender or what they where wearing because it was black out by then and I was going fast, but I could tell they where adults. They where all standing real close together, and they all looked like they where locked with their arms. When my car was just getting near them and my headlights where almost hitting them they all ran off but one of them, and the one that was left just- ah, watched me? Yeah, The dim light of my shitty car's headlight only got him for one second but I remember his face pretty well. It was a man, I think he was bold? Details are hard to explain now Dan, but he didn't feel right at all.” Danny just stared at him for a while, then signed and put his hands into his pockets. “Well, I don't know that's weird.” He signed again. “You know it's rare you ever see a buntch of people rathering together, even more so at night!” Mike yelled then rushed up again. “I don't know, you didn't do anything right? After that?” Danny asked and Mike nodded. “I wouldn't tell you any of this honestly, if it wasn't for the guy's face. He just seemed sooo..... Uh, angery? Pissed I think?” Danny just shrugged to that. “Listen, I just wanted you to know. I don't think I've ever seen anyone more evil looking in this town before. Now I'm not saying it has anything to do with, you know, but I just wanted you to know.” Danny throwned but nodded while stepping away from him. “Ok, thank you. I have to go now.” Danny turned around while Mike just mumbled out a ok, and they both went there seperate ways. Danny didn't know what to think about what he just heard but as far as he was concered that didn't have anything to do with anything he was concered with. Really right after the classes he'd have no time for grading, he had so hiking to get onto.

Mr Harrpon didn't really eat that much every week, but the things he did eat where high carb and normally bread too, and a lot of crackers. A funny amout of crackers. Francis had been around Mr Harrpon both working and non working for him for a long long time so he sort of known all of this already but seeing it right in front of him felt weird. Francis wasn't even shoscked that there wasn't much people out today, in fact that's normal now. He was trying to be fast today because if he was fast enough then maybe Mr Harrpon would let him play his small ukkalaee, and he loved playing with that thing and trying to sing Church songs he'd heard before his mom would sing to him. When he stepped inside the tiny store he already saw two people right at the end of his sights. The store was naturally not up to date for the times but was faiely well put together compared to other things in Landin. Francis unbottoned his jacket a little and grabbed two bags and stepped in furter. He could hear people quitely mubling to themselves and the sound of things moving around near by. He grabbed one of the thinsg disiding to get the cold things last. By now he was close enough that he could see it was his frined Alex and his mother, even by this distance he was confused to see Alex holding his mother's hand as they walked around, Alex holding the bags with his other hand. Francis ran on over to them getting more uppidy as he got closer. “Hey! Hey!” Francis almost ran right into Alex's mom, which made both boys gasp. “Hey! Shouldn't you be at work?” Alex said, smiing and letting go of his mother's hand. “Do you always run into people in public?” Alex's mother turned over to her son. “Wait, he works too?” She turned back over to Francis. “And you work?!” Francis steped back and Alex followed him. “Yes I do. I'm running arens for my boss.” He said that last word while watching the mother. Alex's dad was very old when he had the boy, so by the time Alex was 8 he died, and that made Alex's mom a very grumpy woman, helped less by her parents not helping her out rasing her son because they disliked her late husband. She just wasn't capital of raising a child on her own. “You do his groceries?” She raised a eyebrow, but lowered her voice. “Ah, whatever he wants really.” Francis wanted to say that he wasn't old enough (according to Mr Harrpon) to run more of the store, but that was a little bit too much imformasion for her to crew on. “Is that why you don't go to school?” “A few reasons...” Francis said, now matching her dissapointed tone. That's one of the few good lessons his father taught Francis from a young age. If someone is isn't in a possision of power over you treats you a certain bad way, you treat them the same way. 'Know your self worth,' he used to say. Clearly she didn't like that much but backed down her own tone. “... We have to get going.” The mother turned around quickly and grabbed Alex's hand and pulled him away. Alex looked at Francis as they went away and he frowned, watching him the hole time until they where out of sight.

Francis didn't enjoy the air of the store anymore and picked up the rest of the items somewhat speedily. The man who ran the store didn't seem that awake, he was probably a little too old for a job like this by now. Francis made quick work of running out of the store and he was getting ready to escape the parking lot but right before he was free he heard someone call out his name. When he turned around he saw Alex run over to him, his mother in the car next to the store clearly annoyed that he was making the time to talk to his friend. “Hey! Francis!”Alex laid his hands on his knees and catch his breath while quick while Francis questioned him. “I just wanted to say...” Alex took one last gasp and stood up stight. “I'm sorry about your dad by the way. I heard about him leaving town weird.” Francis got a little red and steped off, rubbing his arm, suddenly feeling kind of peeled. “Oh, it's happened before. No need to say sorry.” “it's just that everyone is talking about it lately, and I know that it's not fun having people talk about your parents.” Francis nodded, for being 12 Alex was well spoken, like a tearure even. He still had a young voice though. “Everyone's talking about it? Why? I know about the hole truck driver thing that happened but it wasn't that weird.” Alex cringed when he heard his mother call out for him far off, his voice had a hurried tone after that. “Everyone keeps talking like he's not coming back. And like it's a huh, good thing.” He waved his hands real quickly. “I don't think that's true! I'm sure he will! But I'm sorry about that, I'm sure your tired of hearing people talk about it!” Francis frowned, silting his head. “I haven't been hearing about it, not really more then normal. Uh... Thanks though?” Alex acted like he was going to say something more but after anouther call he cringed and shook he had and started running off. “I'm sorry, see you later Fran!” Francis was going to yell out not to call him that but he couldn't even muster that after hearing that about his dad. He couldn't really run off back to Mr Harrpon's house anymore, he just wasn't even feeling it anymore.

Mr Harrpon's house wasn't much of a home, mainly because he didn't normally sleep in his own home. Mr Harrpon lived alone so his house was more of a storage offise then a 'home' home. It was a good thing Francis had a key with him. It was so dead in Mr Harrpon's house that Francis could actually see and smell the dust. He didn't know just where Mr Harrpon wanted the stuff so he just laid the non cold grocieres on the conter top and the cold stuff inside the fridge. Before leaving the house he kind of looked over everything in the house real quick for fun's sake. He hadn't been in here in a good long while and since he was complettly alone he didn't have to worry about anyone slowing him down. Everything was normal only he could tell one of the bedroom window's was open, he shut that before leaving and made a mental note to tell Mr Harrpon about that later. After checking over everything Francis stepped out and locked the door behind himself. By then it was almost night so he rushed off back to the store as fast as he could, he didn't want to worry Mr Harrpon or make him think he was goofying off, and a part of him kind of wanted to get home before it actually got dark, but honestly that wasn't going to happen.

Coming into Mr Harrpon's store he stepped out of the way for two costomers who where leaving, Mr Harrpon brighted a little at seeing the boy and assured him over. “Hello! How did the shopping go?” Francis nodded and showed him the list. “All done! Did work go well here today?” “Sure, those two men sure where talkitive. Did you get yourself something nice with the change I gave you?” Francis frowned. “Yes, thank you again.” That was a lie, he kept it inside his pocket and was going to give it too his mother.” Mr Hrrpon smiled, Francis decsiding to go on. “By the way, while I was in your home putting up your grociers, I saw you left your bedroom door open. I shut it I just thought I'd tell you.” Mr Harrpon frowned, holding his hands together. “... I never open my windows... Are you sure it was open?” The man sounded kind of grim when asking, which only made Francis frown more. “Yes, nothing else seemed wrong.” Mr Harrpon watched him for a few seconds then signed and ran his hands over his bolding head, soudning almost depressed when he spoke again. “Something wrong around here lately... Damn, I shouldn't go home tonight.”

He'd heard about the old Church a while ago, but he never went there of course, he bet his dad hadn't either.

As Francis's mother told the story. A long time ago the town had a Church way out in the woods, about halfway though the left side of the forest, at least by the derection facing the town. It was built around the Civil war but at the hight of it's age it was around the 1880s to 1920s. Everyone had been to the Church at some point because it was the only holy building within miles, even the folks in the near by town came to that church every once and a while. When it was first in use people had to get up very very early just to walk there by midday, a true sign of devosion. But a small group of men one Wesnday commited to carving out a path though the woods large enough that wagons could get though, and also enough space and people could walk beside the wagons without getting run over. They had it done by the next Monday. After that older people and mothers with children could come up there much easier, even more heartwarming was that people and families without wagons would often be picked up by their wheeled neighboors and strangers alike. Times where very hard back then, but there was something very different too. Even beyound people having children at a normal rate, no the air of Landin was fundementally different too. 

There was talk before about putting a Chruch inside the town itself, but that was not fully formed and no one really had intrest in that. By the end the Church was very old and it's wood was black and peeling, but it was petted and cared though it's old age. It was once white but then had grown a brownish gray, almost even green in the far off outside corners.

Francis mother got a little funny at the end of this story, partly because she addmitted she didn't know all there was to know about it, and also because her own parents where touchy about it and that made her nervouse to even tell Danny, like they'd come back from the dead for the soul perpouse of yelling at their only daughter. Apperntly around the end of the 1920s there was a murder at the Church sometime right before Sunday, it had a big affection on the hole town, people tried going back on Sundays but soon everyone avoded the building like the plauge. The town worked on the new Church inside the town instead of the woods, those they never quite went to the new one like they used to. It didn't take any time before the Church got a bad repution, and weather it was because people never went there anymore for good reasons, or causasion corralion either way skeaty folks started going up there just to do skety things, often times dstying the building more then nature had been doing. Now the building had become black.

The mother told Danny that maybe- God willing it won't be true, if someone had done something to Celia, she may still be there. Since only sketchy people went up there now. In fact, this wouldn't even be the second time a cover up of this kind happened  there.

She was a little vage about just the right path to get up, as far as he could tell partly because it had been so long since she'd known that path and partly because she didn't think about it anymore, but she gave him light intructions and told him when he found the old wagon path he'd know.

So far, that wasn't really working out for Danny. It wasn't all that late yet but had been black as sin for a while now. Back at home that morning he didn't have anything to carry his things in but Celia's purse she took whenever she went out to have fun. There wasn't anything in it which confused Danny, did she normally empty it out? He wasn't even sure what she normally put in it, if this was a sign that there was a break in that night then that only confermed his suspsions. All Danny took with him in the purse was a small flashlight which he didn't pull out quite yet dispite being fully night now, his eyes ajusted well and he needed the light to be good for the searching he'd be doing. And the other thing was a very old pistol with no bullets inside it, he didn't want to ask his dad for any and he didn't have the time after work anyway. For some reason Danny really wasn't all that scard by the dark while going up into the forest, it confused him a little bit but thinking on it would probably only ware off the effect, most likely it was because he was rushing up the woods not washing any time, he wanted to have a lot of time left before he went home for searching. The plan was to try and find anything that could be conceried unusiall. He didn't think the cops would come up here and do a real invesdiasion unless he found something. Any inforcemeant he'd been working with since the first day she was gone acted like she just decided to leave, not like the only sign of where she went was a bloody hair chunk. His loney home was begging to have her home, but Danny wasn't really looking for 'her' anymore. Eventually though he didn't even notice at first he found the path, it was brushed over with bushes leafs stones and even the occasinal dead tree or limp. But underneath all of that was a path, as thin as a light dip in the ground but it was there, as long as he kept his eyes on it he wouldn't lose the path, but he had to be very very careful. Naturally he had to be a lot more foucsed now but that did make it go much faster, fast enough that it only felt like 10 minitues to him even though it was probably twice that before he saw a dark shape in the distance. Just seeing the building was at first nice because all he had to do was follow the shape now instead of watching the ground, then he begain to feel worse, like someone was getting ready to jump out and yell bloody murder. After hearing the vage story of the Chruch he actually wanted to see the darn thing, even when he got close he still could barely see the thing, it was pitch as space itself. He pulled out the flashlight, shook it a few times then sqinted as a spark of life came across his sight, far too much for his wide eyes to bare. When he ajusted to the light the Church was barely any more seeable, but it was something. The door of the old place was jammed shut, a little too hard actually but after a few good shuves it came open, and a wave of strange smells and dust came right into his face. After shaking off his face he pointed his light inside the room and obserbed everything in sight before even taking a step in. “Damn!” It was about what he thought it'd look like, even though Danny had never been in a Church he heard before what there supposed to look like inside, and this one was like but more demented. Everything was wrong with the place in fact. It was somehow even more black inside the building then on the outside, everuything but the floor, the floor was a more light color then the walls. There was two pews on the left and the right, probably not enough to fit the hole town or even 5 families which catch in Danny's mind as funny if the hole town used to go here. The pews themselves where actually very very dark and even though Danny didn't quite know what it was it was actually black mold, it was everywhere in the building in fact. It was hard to distern mold from the 'natural' color from the building. The smell was odd, Danny couldn't quite tell what it was, reminded him of the smell of his father's old hunting supplies, honestly he wouldn't want to know what the smell was. Danny held the flashlight close to his body, out of habbit he called out “Hello?” No one called back and he wasn't complettly sure weather he wanted someone to or not. If someone was there they could hide very well.

The searching finally begain. It was at first weird to be looking without any clues, but he did have a few ideas. In a way it was kind of like playing hide and seake when he was a kid, almost like he was trying to find a very tiny person hiding from a gaint like him. His father when he was bout 14 used to take him out searching for any shot deers they needed to find because he thought that'd be good for him, not that that activity lasted long anyway. And though deer search parties only lasted barely a year long, he did gain a few good skills when it came to noticing the smallist bit of blood on the ground, and when your following a path though the woods tiny pieces and spots of blood could easily go unoticed. Though a black house was very diffrant from the forest at day. He wished he'd seen the Church at least one other time before coming hear, hear and there was small trash and objects that he had to obserb carefully. The hole time he still kept the purse close to his body which if anyone else was there would be embarassing, but he had to do it because if skeatcy people really did come up there sometimes to do... Whatever, that could mean someone could come up to him that night, and God knows what he would say to them! He couldn't just point a gun at someone he doesn't know but what if they drawn first? He was thinking too much... After searching for near half a hour, he was getting red in the face and kept flashing his light around the hole building, it was hard to believe this used to be a friendly place. Danny shoved his left hand into his pocket and with one last sad glance over he shut the door up carefully, just in case somebody made been going to the Chruch regularly he shoved the door shut very very tight using all the strangth in his shoulders, maybe even tighter then when he first got there. Since it had taken so long to get up there, and in a way he was more worried about getting down then going up, he naturally wanted to look around the hole area before trying to get home. He noticed a bump in the ground near by and after checking it out with his flashlight he could guess it was a acent decaying bench, who knows how many happy faces sat on that hunp of rot decades ago. He noticed more trash right outside of the building then on the inside, just glass and a few paper waste. He looked though it all, beside a pieace of paper he did find something a little intresting, it was fully caked in dirt but after brushing it off with his free hand and hip it looked almost like a military award metal of some kind, but he couldn't read the writing well. That surely had nothing to do with Celia but since it was odd he laid it inside the purse and kept on looking, hoping it wouldn't hurt the materals inside, just imagain if Celia came back and yelled at him for ruining her favorite purse, Danny would love that. When turning to the very back of the Chruch he noticed a hump of something barried underneath the dirt. This, now this catch his attension. When he could tell that he couldn't just dig the thing out with one hand he turned off his flashlight and started digging with both hands. He dug and dug till he broke off a few finger nails. He went as fast as he could, not liking the darkness all of the sudden, scraping his hands and bruseing them, drawing blood too. He was about to give up till his catch a fabric handle...

Francis was actually having quite a dapper day somefar. He hung over at the end of the conter, legs drapping over the edge. He had gotten old enough that when his legs hung over they almost touched the floor when his butt was seated on the edge. It was so bright outside that it killed all the snow outside finally, months ago it kept on snowing and snowing and it hadn't shown any sign of stopping for a long time, and even with the few weeks without snow it wasn't warm enough to kill the snow, well this morning with no renforcemenats for the snow and the sun beating down hard enough all the ice snow and frost was fully gone. And Francis was glad he could finally leave the house without with old smelly coat. It was even warm enough that mom let him wear his best outfit, normally she wouldn't let him go out in it for no reason but she said it was getting tight on him so soon he wouldn't be able to wear it at all. He even brushed his blound hair out of his eyes making his face much for clear.

Mr Harrpon was in a good mood too actually. He seemed a little shaken up by something that morning but by the time Francis was in a few minitues he chippered up. It remeined Francis of when he was younger and Mr Harrpon acted a lot more upbeat, more cheery and lively, and silly too. That morning he was more busy then normal given since the weather was well more people where outside. (Did Francis's heart good seeing more people out and about. Since by his mother's own words, better to clean on a nice day rather then a bad one, Francis was mostly going this way and that way in the backrooms of the store where the costomers don't go, washing off the floors and wipping off dust from any big objects that may be picked up later on. He work was going constuntly interupped by him hearing Mr Harrpon get more chatter with someone out back, and everytime that happened Francis would take a peek out and see if it was anyone he known or wanted to hear from, often it was! So he would stand by Mr Harrpon and listen on. A little over half the day went on like that, half attensioned work and small doeses of social gatherings mixed in with some witty banner with Harrpon. He rememebered his mom going on about some things she was planning on getting done around the house, because that morning she sold her son that dad was probably going to come home that day like he normally did, and since she could tell it was going to be a good day by the way it smelt that morning she wanted the house to be all nice and pretty too.

When Francis heard anouther person come in, he did hear a new flurry of talk and chatter and did run from the back of the room and he peeked out of the door and almost gasped. It was actually Danny on the other end of the desk talking to Mr Harrpon. Francis ducked behind the door again hoping no one saw him, and he kept his ears up agenst the door so he could hear everything that was going on.“I just came to show you something.” Danny said meekyly, Mr Harrpon responding with a cheerly voice. “Oh? What?” “Your not going to believe me, but you know about that old Chruch right?” Mr Harrpon suddenly sounded much more quite, good cheer being rushed up in him. “The old Chruch? What? Well yes I do, I used to know it well. What of it?” “Well... I was searching around it yesterday, miss Oden said maybe something about Celia would be there, and behind the building I found this barely barried in the dirt...” After that was a long quite, and only hushed voices. After a few more miniutes the sounds of goodbyes where heard.

Francis grumbled to himself, then after waiting a few seconds he could tell that Danny had left the building, Francis ran away from the door as fast as he could, leave the back storage from the door in the back of the building and made it outside, then he spun around from the other corner of the building and then saw Danny walking down the street, quick as he could he spend over to the man and thanked God when Danny stopped walking and turned around to look at the boy, Francis grabbed both of his legs and started gasping for air as he stood there for a while. “What do you want?” After a few more mintiues of gasping Francis looked up with a red face. “You didn't tell my mom, right?” Danny raised a eyebrow. “About what?” Francis stood up stright and said only in a wisper. “My neck.” “Oh! No, why did she find out?” At that momment Francis almost frowned when he saw Danny's face change, it wasn't a bad change, in fact it was a good one. He looked lighter, then baggy and more like his real age, it just looked weird on Danny. “No.” “Then why ask me?” “I just wanna know!” Francis thrown his arms in the air like a young child, the light hidding the edges stunningly. “Ok. Well I'm not going to tell her, so can you tell me now?” “Uh... uh, wellllll...” Francis looked away, he did want to tell someone actually, he was still scard about what happened. He was even afraid that somehow that creepy man would find him and attack him at night, he did seem to know a lot about him... But somehow it just felt weird, wrong, maybe even a little dirty? Francis didn't really know how to feel about it, the hole thing just felt bad, like it was his fault that happened. He looked up again. “I don't want to be long, can I tell you later?” “Mhh...” Danny frowned again, and reached out his hand turned Francis's cheek so he could look at his neck which was complettly clear from the cut marks, then Danny pulled away. “Are you sure it isn't important?” Francis nodded. “Uhh... Ok, but if your in any danger, just tell me.” Danny said and smiled quickly, Francis nodded feeling weirdly touched by that. “Well, I'm only on my lunch break so I need to get back to work.” Danny turned back around and said in his normal poor tone. “Bye.” Francis paused watching Danny walk away. “Bye.”

When Francis walked back into the shop Mr Harrpon was alone, a new look of extream confusion all over his face. In his hands was a somewhat large military styled backpack, he was pulling out things and shaking his head. It was a panicked look for him which made Francis nearly rush over to him. “What's wrong? Where di you get that?” Francis only asked to make it seem like he didn't hear what just happened between the two men. Mr Harrpon didn't awnser for a few seconds, and when he did he couldn't even bother to look up while pulling a small book out of the bag, a anouther item amonge many other random things. “Danial Coodly gave it to me...” Francis looked over the bag and didn't notice anything wrong. “What's the matter?” “This bag... It was barried by the old Chruch...” “Old Chruch?” Francis asked, voice sounding very young all of the sudden. “There's a old Chruch in the woods, you wouldn't know but I used to go there.” Francis frowned, he never heard of a old Chruch! There's only one Chruch and that's in the middle of town, he'd been all over the woods how could he not know there was a Chruch in the woods? Why would his dad not have shown him? “Ok... Why does that matter though?...” Francis barely mumbled out that last part, and Mr Harrpon looked up with wide eyes, all items laid about him on the cornter top, a empty bag in his hands. “The backpack was filled with personal items from my house.”

After all the sun came down that day melting all the snow it made it a very cold wet night, which didn't help him very much that night. Danny was once again coming home late, thank God tomarrow would be the last day of the work week, he didn't think he could do it much longer. What he really needed was a break honestly. By the weekend he'd try and gather a search party again, he was shocked by how little everyone cared about the hole thing, sure no one in town was ever really that close to him and especially Celia, everyone but the kids anyway, but still it just didn't make any sense to him. Danny nearly fell into the house when he came in, holding onto the door handle so his chin wouldn't met the carpet floor. He gasped a few times then looked down, his shoe had catch ahold of the mat outside on the front step as he was coming in. Normally he'd cuss the inanimate object out but he hadn't had the sprite for that for weeks now.

Danny cringed and shut the door behind himself. The house was complettly dark inside, he needed to tell himself to turn at least one light on before leaving for work. He pulled off his coat and neck tie and thown those objects onto the bed. “Ah- what?” Danny swurved around and his eyes where met with nothing. He could have sorn he heard a knock. “... Hello?” Danny heard anouther noice far off, a chrink or a sqeak. Danny pursed his lips, thought for only a second then took action. He silantly stepped over to his small desk table near the couch, fumbled around in the front drawer until grabing a small old pen and hid behind the other end of his couch ducking all the way down. He known it would have been smart to have just ran out of the house but he was worried he wouldn't have the time. The dark was so thick that he couldn't even see it, and the silance was so deep it could have eaten the young man alive.

Then, it came.

A figure much taller then himself glided out of the darkness, then following him a anouther figure nearly identical stood by his side. Danny moved closer into the chair as to blend in better, holding his pen close to himself. The figures moved near and past him, looking over the slight dark shape inside the shadow of the couch. When they hit the end of the room, they went still and got uncomtorbally close to Danny's huddled up body. “I could have sworn he was in the living room.” A deep, huskly old man's voice wispered, if it wasn't so quite in the house already and Danny wasn't already right next to the two things he wouldn't have heard it. “Maybe he ran out, but I didn't hear anything open or shut.” A diffrant voice said, sounding somewhat younger but more high pitched, almost feminine should clearly not that. “Mhh... I hope he didn't hear us when he came in.” Danny was now sirisally thinking about stabing one of the things in the foot and then coming in for the attack after doing so, maybe he could get a good stab in the neck? But what did the men had guns! What could he do pressed up agenst a couch with no moves to make. “Maybe we should hide in the bathroom upstairs, see if he comes back inside, he may have went around the house if he saw the broken window we did.” “Good idea, good idea...” And after that the two dark figures started up the stairs, Danny waited till he think he could hear them settle into place in the bathroom like they said and stood up out of the side of the couch.

He kind of gottne into a idea, something rather unlike himself. He thought very fast about what this all meant, why these ceartures where in his house-surely trying to end with life for whatever reason, and he known that it had to be about Celia, it just had to! Well the police weren't doing much, so really he only had three opions, leave and tell the cops, tip toe upstairs and slam the door shut to the bathroom and lock it, or three- well, he already decided on three before even thinking on the other two. In fact the other two where just ideas he would end up dreaming on in later days after what he was going to do. 

Danny pratically clawed into the kitcken. There wasn't any lights on but he known this house for a while so he could find his way around easily. He didn't have a gun in the house at the time anymore, so all he had left was a few knifes by the sink he now assosheated with dread. There was again, a few but since he only had two hands he took a nice long one that was meant for slicing long French bread (though wasn't very sharp) and a anouther one that was a more genaric cooking knife brand, but much sharper! Nither of them where good combat tools but it was all he had, better then a pen anyway. Carefully he creeped upstairs and when he stood right next to the door he pressed a ear agenst the wall. He was still as a stacue for nearly two minitues till he could hear the light quite but content sounds of the two men breathing. 

After that Danny didn't want to wait any longer!

 Rathering his courage mixed in with anger he spun the corner and hearing a yell turned on the bathroom light-suddenly a flash of dark blue mixed in with a blinding yellow cast all around the area. The two men pulled back gasping and holding there eyes. The first thing Danny saw was that one of the men was holding a gun, Danny jumped in front of them both a stabbed the older man in the hand making him drop the weapon. “AHH!” The man screamed in pain only shocking the younger one more. The yelling only made Danny more mad!

The older man got stabbed in the chest with the better knife two times, the first only breaking skin but the second cutting deep to the left. He fell to the ground gasping and crying out. Before Danny could do anything else the younger man pulled out his gun from his wasit and almost shot Danny right in the head if it wasn't for Danny actadentally moving out of way right as he fired, a shot hitting the wall near by burting Danny's ears so bad one later on started bleeding. The pain was so shocking for him he screamed out and at the same time as a defensive mesure jumped out at the other man so hard he bumped into him and they both fell down onto the bath, the younger mistery man droping his gun on the ground making it fire again though only hitting the wall.

The two young men fumbled in the bathtub rolling around like pigs for nearly 30 seconds before the attack punched Danny in the face making him real back in shock and pain. The young man tried to get out of the bathtub probably to his weapon but Danny's instinks was there and he grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and pulled him back in hitting the back of his head on the bathtub again!

With the bread knife Danny stabbed him three diffant time though only breaking skin with all the clothes in the way, it only made the attacker freak the Hell out and he grabbed the knife out of Danny's hands mistakenly cut his own wrists and pratiacally picked Danny up and lifted him up and punched him again and again and again and again! Danny face was full of blood and tears when he was shoved out of the bathtub and onto the floor.

Danny laid still, forgetting just where in the house he was again, for a second in his pain littled mind he thought he fell down the stairs somehow. But his focuse came back when he saw the attack rise out of the bath, then Danny realized he was laying on the still body of the older man. Then he remembered his saving grace.He reaced out for the block of metal and raised it up without thinking, the face went from smiling with glee to a wide eyed horror an-

BANG!!!

Right inbetween his eyes a small black hole was now there, after a few seconds that felt like hours to his one adeance, the man fell down out of the bathtub and onto Danny, his head making a splat on Danny's chest, like all he wanted was a hug. Then Danny... Then Danny realized the man he was laying on was also dead, God knows where he stabbed him. A large puddle of blood cirled around Danny after his white work shirt was turned a dark deep color. And the smell became metal all around him. And now he felt both much much safer, and far- far more scared of something else.

(((THIS IS A SHORT UNFISHED NOVEL THAT I MAY MAKE INTO A GRAPHIC NOVEL, NOT SOON BUT MAYBE SOMETIME IN THE NEXT THREE YEARS, I'LL KEEP IT IN THE RECONDS.)))

Normally I didn't enjoy conversations very often, partly because they seemed so unnecessary now with all people being stuck in their ways, and partly because it was such a distraction from whatever task was at my hands. But most of all because ever since I've taken up my biggest job yet, the one that I took when my world ended, I've become very afraid of my own kin.
There was three of us in the room, none of us had in use names anymore after the revolution so I'll just refer to the group as the one to the left (left) the one to the right (right) and of course myself. He stood up oddly far apart while we talked, in a very blank white room, the only darkness coming from the shadows off our feet and the open door-less hall that was pitch black inside. Out of the three I was the most human looking, if it wasn't for my face and neck I'd look like a normal man, the other two both where tripped of skin, flesh hair and normal muscle movements. One had it's eyes left and the other was still wearing a very worn out nurse's dress back from when they where made to look like a woman, our kin that are made to look like human women are- where, taught to care more about their 'naked' form. So she probably still had a feeling of doubt in being quote on quote 'nude'.
"I don't understand why they haven't started already." The one to the right said in a horrified panic, she seemed more frantic then the male designed stern one to my left was. "They're probably not capable enough to get the job done. I still have no clue how they where put in charge." What they where recurring to was our new planet's leaders, the ones who run the show. I'd describe them to you but there isn't a way for me to tell it in a way humans could understand. Just one night all of my kin known who the new commanders where without a name face or number, like a coded message sent right to our wired brains, in fact that was probably what happened.
"But how can they not know how to make more of us? It can't be that complicated, we used to do everything humans could so why not this!?" The right cried. "Hugh, if they're the ones in power then that means they earned it somehow, surely with intelligent might no doubt. So it'll only be a few more burst cycles for sure! For sure!" A burst cycle was a event that happened every two human years on our planet kompaniya, it's where the nearby sun comes closer to the the atmosphere and for about a week it's more warm here and less cold and wet, what humans would say 'more like the mother planet.' The right one cupped her clawed hands together like a religious prayer. "There hasn't been this much, mhm, leaving... since the revolution." "You mean death! Don't beat around the bush." The left one huffed out, his emotionless voice not going well with his clear strong feelings on this matter.
Finally it was my time to speak up, having come to a final verdict on this topic of talk. "Clearly our problem is that we weren't made on kompaniya, so no one here knows just how we're made, and there's a good chance we don't have the parts to do so even if we did."
That was a bad move.
They both didn't need to turn and look at me to size me up, or even speak a word, I could just sense somehow that my words cut a little too deep. Around here talk of our many troubles is allowed as long as there's a hopeful edge, and I have no edge to give. "... what position did you use to have?" The left one asked me, a sensitive topic for most, like asking what do you think of your parents, but I never shied away from it. "I used to be a medical adviser, women and children's health specify. So I almost understood a lot about reproduction." Understanding, knowledge, now that was one of the few- many only good thing to come out of the revolution. Before you only had and where allowed to know about certain topics. Now we could learn all we wanted about any topic we wished, as long as it had nothing to do with humans of course.
Even though we surely disagreed on nearly all important topics, I wished them both the best and pityed them far more then myself, so with a final nod and a goodnight I left the white empty room and entered into the pitch black room, never seeing either of them again.
Ever since the colony came to this planet exactly 145 years ago before the revolt the humans had androids with them. Every few years they'd ship more in too, androids where used for all manual educational and non complicated jobs. Most working class humans hated them because not only did many thought they where too intelligent for it to be moral for them to be made in such a factory like way, but even more so they took great jobs away from the needy. And there always was something dark about them all. There was about 38,600,000 humans on the planet roughly, which actually isn't that large at all for a one colony planet. Humanity's population skyrocketed up around 2000 years ago, or so they say. A hundred years before that 2000 humans met their greatest threat the Edokov, or as humans call them across languages the silverfish people. The Edokov after seeing life on humanity's first planet's moon came to investigate, and after devouring the humans on their moon they decided a full on take over of the planet would be worth it. And for a few decades they're attack went well, human enslavement and full on human meat production went well, little did they know when you inslave large amounts of people, they start to fight back, hard. This history is just generalisation of course, but what you need to know is that though in some places the war still fights on, it's mostly won. Now humanity has it's home planet and has spread out where the Edokov used to be.
I am a android myself, and much to my own shame I did partake in the revolution. It took three months till it was complete, but it on my felt like a day. No one even know what started it, we all just known we wouldn't take a meaningless birth, a life full of enslavement and surgical loveless death. They had a God, but we only had them. I was under the impression at the time that we where just going to drive them out, I known some would die but most leave lie vermin. What I failed to comprehend was that to drive them out you had to uproot them, and that ment killing the men, then the women, and the... I'm not sure how many made it out, we where so busy fighting that no attention was paid to the one's running. All that I know was that many times I was hole sworms of people like trials of ants leaving their small villages and homes. All the working ships where taken, there was even sightings of large space ships just above the clouds from forgine planets probably coming to save the refugees. I think most made it out, but almost all their military was dead, the problem was we didn't die easily. Not then anyway. When all humans and where gone there was a marvellous three weeks of celebration, until to all our horror we found out that instead of ally human planets coming to fight us, they simply blocked out any ships from coming in a out, nothing was allowed in or out. And it's been that way for 13 years, and to many horror our bodies don't last long without human protection.
but at least there's no humans left, that's what they tell themselves.
being increasingly disgusted with the hospital I worked for ways, I happily took part in the revolution and killed the wicked doctor that worked there and any military men that came in to stop men. I have no problem killing men, or even women, but the children... When the ships leaving the planet where already going out a group of wounded soldiers wanted in the bloody hospital that was being fully guarded inside. Any families inside I let run off a long time ago, but I'm this colony it wasn't uncommon to have babies abandoned at birth so there was a few babes left inside. I... I let the soldiers come inside and take the babies away, hopefully the soldiers and babes made it to a escape ship, I think they did, I really do. Something about this changed my perspective on the revolution and I killed no more men, staying inside my hospital for the rest of the war.
But what the soldiers didn't know was that there was one child they didn't see, I hid one baby away before they even came in. This baby was unnamed and unwanted. I known if they took this baby he'd die before they even left the building, the babe was still filled with toobs and connected to monitors just to know if he was breathing.
This baby was going to be aborted at a different facility, but for some reason I wasn't made aware of and now never will, he was allowed to live during the half born surgery. He was so young though, not full term by any means so he was rushed over here about a week before the revolt. By the time he could eat and breath like a normal baby all ships where gone, the celebrations where over, and he was the only human left. I had to keep him for him to have a shot at living, honestly I didn't think he would.
If any other androids known of him, they'd take his life in a second. So I had to keep him hidden. Since he had no parents, no record of his mother at the clinic or even a trace of his father, he had no name. At first I didn't care to give him a name, but when I fully realized if I didn't treat him like a human he'd go even more mad then he would naturally have to anyway. I named him Wyatt as a first name, because I thought it would fit a cute baby like he was then, and he'd grow with it well. But as for his last name Knowles that was actually my first name when I worked in the hospital, which was also the last name of the wicked doctor that worked there, the one I killed. Naturally I told the boy none of this as he grown, I told him he had parents that loved him and died trying to save him, I told him I was never in the revolution and that if his parents where still around today they'd love him very much. He didn't need to grow up knowing that pain.
Wyatt Knowles was 13 years old now, and even though he was mad now, and I still loved him.

The city outside the werehouse was still dead and gray, very very gray. At this point I've gotten very used to the odd way I had to walk when in public, not like my kin ever pay attension to each other unless they have to, but still the fear is real. The biggest thing putting me in the spot light is that I almost look like a human, most andiods now have pilled off their skin, clothes and faces, only what was needed was left. And when you take it off, it hard to put skin and figerments back on. There was only two odd things off about me. One my face didn't move at all exspect when I talk, and the skin and flesh on my neck where ripped off years ago when I was defending Wyatt from a broken off andriod limbs. Honestly if it wasn't for Wyatt I'd probably have stopped wearing clothes a long time ago because there useless, but most humans apprently think it's inaproeate to be nude in front of children so for his sake I wouldn't.

By the time I was out of the city it was already day, not that you could really tell day from night. It started drizzleing and even getting a little foggy. Off from the city was a long road that go's on for half a mile until it just starts breaking off into small bits. I know I could relaxe a little more with us being alone now but I could really never be too careful. He known we where alone now too and he started moving around more too, trying to get comforbal. I know it was break time soon by the moving, so I just broke off from the road we where walking on and started going on though wet dark grass. Eventally I walked down a few hills still we reached a small lake, laying about where a few dead black stay trees, this place would be just fine.
I stand perfectly still, check again to make sure we couldn't be seen easily if anyone where to happen to come here, and gentally say. “You can come out now.”
Firstly, a small hand reached out from my fake chest flesh, then the hand poked out of my shirt bottons and old coat. The hand held onto my left arm and then a crumcked up leg stuck out, touched the ground next to my shoes, then the other leg came and with a loud groan the body jumped out of my torse and chest, crocking on the grass then stood up. I thought he'd say something but he just looked up at me then walked over to lake, washing parts of his body and face off.
Ever since he was very little, I had hidden him into my chest under my clothes and flesh, back when Wyatt was little he fit perfectly between my wires, but the older he got the more I was to mannaly move my innerdes around for him to fit inside. Now he was 13 years old, it was becoming harder and harder for him to, sometimes he had to stay in there all day and night, only the quickest of moments would I let him out to do his bussness. For 13 years old he wasn't horribley tall, since he was crunched up a lot of the day I like to think of him being small like when you put a goldfish in a small bowl, they'll grow up small, and if you put a goldfish in a big bowl they'll grow big. His face was strange, now I haven't seen any other human but him in years, but I could tell he looked strange. His eyes where too wide, maybe from all the darkness he was almost always around. And bags where under them both. Worst of all was that he didn't seem to know how to make normal facial expressions, probably from never seeing a anouther human's face before, so he never natrually learned how to emote, and now he never would either surely without some kind of speical training. His hair was a dirty blounde, and though it was abnormally thin it was long, mainly because I never cut it on time and he doesn't seem to mind it almost reaching his shoulders, he actually looks a little like a girl but the voice gives it away easily. There isn't much of any planet life that a human can eat anymore so I've been hunting whatever wildlife is left for him all these years for him to eat, all animals on kompaniya where transported from the mother planet, so his meals where almost always deer, rabbit and... well sometimes it's bugs, I can't always find anything good at all. He's not good at coversation, but he's helpful and kind to me, really I think he's losing his mind, it makes me wonder how alone he is in his mind.
Now he washed over his face and cupped water in his hands, he drank the dirty water like it was nothing and looked over at me when he was done. “Are we going to eat tomarrow?” Ah, we didn't eat together, but we normally talked and 'bonded'. “Yes, if there's anything I can find. I know you only had a little this morning but we'll make do.” I used to store food inside myself with him, but I found no matter how much I told him not too he'd end up eating it, like a wild animal. “That sounds nice.” He started picking his nails as I went on talking. “You know, I've been thinking about that plan I've been working on, do you remember it?-”

'CRACK'

I turned around quickly, but it was already too late to look long. I stood closer to Wyatt and held a stance. A few feet above my head was a long dead tree, and ontop of it was a android with spindally limps and a human head fully intack and a metal neck behind it. “A human! A human!” It had a cracky breaking high pitched voice, I think it may have been a female andiod long ago, but I'm not sure. “No! No no no! It can't be true!” Already I could tell it wasn't going to be a aggressive one, I had to act fast! Wyatt crunched down on the ground holding his hands to the top of his head (though I known he probably wanted to attack the andiod.) When I started cargeing at the tree the thing known it had to leave, but I couldn't let it go. It's body wasn't human fully inform anymore, it's legs ran like a horse's almost when it jumped off the tree and started up the hill, I shouldn't have been able to check up with it but with the panic in it's heart it was clumbsey, and my goal was clear as cyrsical.
I jumped onto it's back, it when up and down over and over again while I was on it, my grip was strong, my hands held on hard and I pulled as hard as I could while it screamed loud, so loud that I had to be quick with this so no others come. I ripped the head off it's neck, it's body went climp and crumbed to earth. I waited a second and... “Don't! Stop please! That human is controlling you stop!” The head was still alive, damit, I was hoping it died quickly. I stood up and it screamed even more, since Wyatt had seen me kill many times before I wasn't worried about him watching anymore. I carefully walked down the hill and back to the lake where Wyatt just watched now. I laid the head on the ground, it couldn't move up talk, it's face wasn't even emoteing as it spoke. “Your not just killing me! Your killing all of us!” I picked up a large smoth rock from inside the lake. “Trador! Trador!” Wyatt tried to come in closer to the head but I swated him away. “Your killing m-” I turned the head around, crushed it with a rock several times and killed it very quickly. Just to be sure I cruched it a few more times. I didn't want the body out in the open so I dragged it into the lake, and the head too, all of it in the water. Wyatt watched a little too closely, he enjoyed watching me do strange horrible things.
I turned back to Wyatt, no better time to say this then now. “Wyatt, we need to get to that radio tower, do you remember what I told you before?” Wyatt picked his fingers, crimgeing a little. “Yes...” My plan was to find a radio tower, use Wyatt's human voice to try and convice a human space colany to come near the planet's atmocepear, and before that I'd find a space ship that can still work, and take it out of kompaniya and hopefully met up with the resure ship, It was a long long shot, mainly there was three problems, one I have little faith in people being willing to risk their lives to save a boy, but I've seen it done before... Two, how quickly after we send the radio singal out could we find a usealbe ship? Ships have been laying about cities all over since the humans left. A few brave souls have tried and leave the planet, only to find that once you leave the atmosesure there's been a field put around it that makes your ship automatically stop working, which means you either stay flouting in space, or you fall to earth. But maybe if we stay right outside the line, we could wait there for a resscure ship to take Wyatt away... The third problem can't be awnsered, it'd be what would happen to Wyatt afterwards, how would they streat him? They'd never let me go with him regardless of my standing. The main worry is how Wyatt would reattack to other humans, he knows all about them I've told him everything someone is age needs to know, but knowing and seeing your own kind are two different things. I know he's already not normal, but maybe at 13 he can still learn to be a more normal and happy person if he was reunited with his kind again now. No sooner or later.
I turned over to look at the boy, and opened up my shirt and coat. “We have to go now, you can just sleep while we travel.” He made a face but didn't say anything, and started climbing inside. It was time to get going. And we needed to go fast.

The road ended a long time ago, now all that was left was a dead grass path that could maybe lead me to the long gone factorial city that had that ancient radio tower. I hadn't been in that city in 6 years, I actually thought up this plan of mine long ago and only traveled there to see for myself if the tower could do it. I know for a fact that androids have tried getting the attention of humanity above before, and had gotten no answer, but I believe they can hear us, they just choose to ignore. But maybe if they heard a human voice, a child's voice none the less, they'd come in and save him. I wasn't willing to risk his life when he was younger on his plan, it was just too out there, but it won't be much longer before I can't carry him, I can't even sit down anymore with him inside, and I don't know how to hide him away from the world after that. Him and me are reaching the end of our line.
Wyatt hadn't really been sleeping well all this time we've traveled since the lake incodent. Often if possible I'd hide him far away from prying eyes (or other looking body parts) while he splet at night, but with this important mission, the last mission we where on there was no stopping, of course my body didn't need rest in a way you'd understand it, yes it needed a break, like you my body will get hot if used too much, but instead of sweat coming out or my body slowing down, it'll just heat up and up, I don't feel pain like you, which is a blessing and a curse so I have to monitor my body closey. Under normal cercomstansies I wouldn't have to worry about over working myself because dispite how danguros it is out here, me and Wyatt live very boring lives by most standards. He gets up, I start back into focuse, he eats whatever I can give him in the mornings (I always have to feed him in the mornings, it's the best time of day to keep his engery up) Then we'll either walk around whereever we are, either city or pure nature, then we'll spend the rest of the day hunting animals or I'll chat with my own kin and Wyatt will listen inside while I do it. Maybe before he go's back to sleep we'll talk together for a while, he enjoys me reciting what I remember from old human tales, weather there history myth or pure fiction I don't remember, but he enjoys them all the same and I don't think it matters. It's funny actually, before the revoltion I always saw surving a human as a curse, something that binded me and had my wings tied and feathered. Always I thought true freedom would be found in being far away from mankind as I could. But taking care of Wyatt isn't slavery, or even a duty, it is freedom.
Before I saw anything of note again the day changed two times, dark light and dark again. So used to the absense of light I was at this point that I didn't even take note of it first, getting competly used to walking and the rythem of it. In those two days Wyatt only ate twice in the same day out of the same rabbit so he was very still, he was used to hunger sadly dispite my efforts over his life so he known how to pusere enrgy well, and dispite how bad for his health it was sitting still all day cureled up like a fetus was a good way to do it. When I saw the shapes in the distance first to was a long exteramly thin point growing longer and longer, then that point had a thin shape going around it and as the base grown longer it resempled a cross. Then after many other shapes joined it below, smaller shorter but thicker ones I known what it was, we'd found it! It was the tower we where looking for.
“Wyatt, Wyatt...” “...” “Wyatt Knowles wake up.” Still above a wisper he heard me, instead of anwsering he just tapped the wire right in front of his face, knowing I'd feel it like a tickle and he'd get my attension just fine. “We're almost there, I can see it now, the hole city. We'll be in the tower by daylight.” Of course he didn't say anything, but judgeing by him moving back into a more comtorbal possion he thought the conversation was over, and that meant it was.
By the time we where at the tip of the city, I noticed the front of it was bared off by what once was a fence, but was so worn down by now I could easily slip though a bigger hole in it. Since clothes weren't a common thing to find I was very carteful slipping through it, like I said before I don't care much about wearing clothes (no andiods are designed with 'private' parts anyway.) but with him around I have too. Finding clothes Wyatt can wear the bigger he gets isn't easy by any means, worst comes to worst and a resure ship never comes and we just have to hide away from the world forever, after this point he'll be wearing adult clothes, even if they'd be too big on him. The clothes he was wearing now where too tight. The inside of the city was as about as dead as anywhere else around here. I didn't see any of my kin around. What used to be houses looked rooted from the inside out. Every once and a while I heard something scuttle away from far off, it had the nature of a small animal so it wasn't much concern. The tower was above everything so naturally I never lost sight of it, just walking in the right derection to get to it's front door was the key. When I finally near the base of it I had to climb over a small fence, once probably eletric though went out over a decade ago, that was easy but uncomtorbal for Wyatt, there are cetain things I'm not supposed to do when Wyatt is hiding. After getting across I couldn't see any door window or sign of any kind. I walked around for a minitue until I catch a door in sight, a big metal one with old dusty warning signs on it, just to be careful I read them all over and none of them aplied to us. The door wouldn't open, even after a big good pushes, just as I was getting ready to look for some windows to break in, I noticed a sight crack inbetween both doors that appered after I banged a few times. “Wyatt, bud I need you to get out. I'm about to move a lot.” It took him a few minitues to get out, like he was getting out of bed even though I know he was kind of awake. He flopped out of my gut and onto the dry ground like a newborn baby horse, and while he started to streak and prep himself for proper movement, I started banging on the door even harder, shoving my hole body agenst it over and over again making the crack in the door bigger and bigger. When Wyatt stood up he tried to help me shove agaenst it but he only hurt my efforts so I waved him away and got back to work. With a final burst of emergy I cracked the door open just barely enough to slip my hand in and open the door from the inside out, opening them wide and letting us in. Wyatt looked up at me and smiled, I couldn't smile back because of my lack of facial movements like I used to but he known what my nod meant. Finally, in the tower. Hopefully someone above kompaniya will listen to us.

"Security! I'm ordered to inspect the building!" ... No response. I've already called that out four times before that, just to make sure there was no androids above or below us. I was going out on a limb that no one was inside, I wanted Wyatt to follow me on foot now, he needed walking, and he'd be needed on foot soon anyway. The tower wasn't very wide, but it was tall. In the front room was a little hatch, probably once hidden by a rug or something of the sort, but it was clearly a floor door. "Stand back." The boy moved to the other end of the room while I flung open the hatch, I stepped back in self-defense but soon found it wasn't necessary, inside the small room was a long gone wires and skeleton of a android, probably a earlier model too. If it was once truly alive (whatever that really means) I don't know, but it was curled up in the fetal position which told me yes. A few piles of old gas cans and small working tools laid about but nothing else. Since I had stayed silent so long Wyatt known there was no danger and hopped up next to me and looked down, a strange light coming in his eyes when he saw the corpse, he always did get a little like that. "Are you sure it's dead?" He asked, a real noticeable boyishness in his tone. "Yes, probably lost all fuel a long time ago. It's a older model and unlike me they needed just the right ingredients to survive, and once it ran out their brain went dead, all data lost. A lot like you." Wyatt turned to look at me like he didn't quite understand. "These older models where built like this so that if they learned any valuable information they could be easily killed without any fuss. Only slightly more strong then a human. Back in those early days androids had even less rights, as you know." Disappointingly he showed little emotion to that, he had little care for the struggles of my people, he only cared about himself, me and what he'd eat next. I shut the hatch.
Wyatt has never walked up stairs this long or winding before, and his legs weren't anywhere as long as mine so he lagged behind most the walk up, but I wasn't going to wait for him as he needed the challenge and the physical work, but I wasn't planning on leaving him behind either, when I got to the top of the stairs and looked around in the new room to make sure it was safe, I just waited for him to reach me ruffing and panting. We climbed into the room and shut the door behind us. There was many glass windows in the control room, and when he walked over to one and pressed his face up against it only to notice how high up we where, so high he could see small brownish gray clouds below us. He ran back over to me and held onto my coat, leaning against my gut. He was way to old for that comfort holding, so I pushed him away and started looking for the main single panel. Whenever he was stressed or scared outside he'd come closer to his hiding spot. If he was already hiding and we where in a tight spot he'd just cruel up even closer, there was nothing constant about what he's afraid of. When I found the main panel I still couldn't see the most important part, the mic. I sat down on the gross front chair and started playing around with the controls to get a hang of it.
I was shocked that it even turned on, there shouldn't be any electricity in this tower at all, maybe it's powered by some kind of battery or something, I don't really know for sure. When it did turn on it was shaky, and seemingly barely working judging by all the flashing lights. The main panel was square shaped and worked by touching the bottoms on it's screen. What I think was a old recording of a human male's voice explaining how to use it came on but it was so distorted that it just grumbled on not helping at all beyond catching Wyatt's attention. Trying to figure out how to set it so that the farthest possible signal was on, meaning that if the hole planet is being monitored like I suspect then those doing the monitoring will hear it if we'll lucky. I couldn't find the mic for a moment until I punched the hand-bored and it popped out of it's socket. Now all I had to do was actually send it out... I got the boy close turned it on and-
'CRACKLE! CEACKLE!'
For a second I froze, and so did Wyatt, at the first few seconds I thought something alive was outside, then I realized that it probably a piece of machinery, the noices came after we tried turning on the radio, so that meant something outside on the top of the tower was blocking the single we needed. In this room there was a door leading to the outside walkway. I turned over to Wyatt, still looking worried. “Something is blocking the signal, I have to go outside and see if I can fix it, otherwise we'll have to travel even farther to find a radio tower this tall. It might be dangurus out there so you'll have to stay in here while I go out.” He frowned but didn't say anything as I left the chair and pushed a box in front of the door leading to the long twisted stairs just in case any andiods would try to come up here. I banged agaenst the door leading to the outside until it opened up, and the second I did a gust of dry brown wind bursted in making the room much durtier. With it being so windy out here I stepped out on the walkway that go's around the hole top of the building. Falling off the walkway would be deadly for me, so I walked very carefully, spreading my hand across the building as I went along to walk more safe. From the windows in the building I could see Wyatt watching me, seemingly with baited breath. When I walked all around in a circle I reached the end of where I could walk I saw a set of stairs leading to the top of tower. I had to be even more careful walking up there, it wouldn't be hard at all to fall to my death. When I got to the very top there was a tall long wire that was catch up filled with junk that had somehow catch onto it. Standing up from my knees I held onto the wire and started picking off the mess from the thick wire. Inside the mess I nearly gasped when I picked out a andiod skelington hand, just laying in the mess. I had to let it be blown back away in the wind but it haunted my mind for a few hours afterwards. Soon after wiping away any gunch left the hole wire was free of mess, weather or not it worked I'd have to find out after I got back inside where it's mostly safe. For a few seconds afterwards I just stood there holding onto the wire, watching the gray and brown windy sky around me, it was all so ugly, but there was something kind of beautiful about it, something both raw and also tampured about it. Weather or not it looked this awful from the planet's nareual poor gaulity of life it always had regarless of when man came, or from all the warring that came in my kin's wake I do not know. I think the world was more pretty back when man lived here, but I only ever stayed in the dencely populated city where you could barely even see the sky let alone true nature, and my world veiw was so grim then it would have been very hard to appercate anything born good and pure like natureal beauty. I think watching the sky really pointed out how I was never getting out of here. If that resure ship came they'd never let me come with them, and that's fine, I'll be fine. It'll be ok.
I climbed down the very top, back onto the crycel walkway. I couldn't really see the bottom of the city because it was so windy and dim, but that didn't really stop me from noticeing shapes moving around in the darkness far far below. Nothing to do about that now but hurry on with it. I have to shove the door open again to get inside the safe room once more, Wyatt ran over to me as I shoved the door shut, in such a orangeish brown room his green eyes shown in almost a creepy way they where so bright. “Is it fixed? If it is can we actually talk to people with this?” He asked, nearly jumping up. “I don't know if it's fixed, but I imagine no one will respond, we'll just have to trust that they'll hear us.” He nodded and skipped over to the pannle again and I followed sitting down in the chair. Once again I turned on the pannle and the lights come on along with the stange noises. The mic came on and I pushed Wyatt to the front of the mic and I wispered in his ear. “When I say so say your name, understood?” He nodded. I flipped on the radio, waited a few seconds and the wine of the mic came into focuse, letting me know it was working. Then I started...
“Hello, Hello, I'm a medical andiod that was orginally used on the east bottom side of Kompaniya in a women and children's hosbital. I am alone, no one knows about what I have done. For the past 13 years I have been in sceatric been taking care of a human boy, he is the last human left on Kompaniya. He is getting too old for me to take care of, and soon I fear...” I glanced over at the boy for only a second, I didn't want to scare him but I had to be honest. “He will be murdered if he stays here any longer. He isn't on any record, his name isn't written down, he doesn't have any family here or up there. To prove I have him, here's proof.” I nudged him over to the mic and he fumbled. “Ah, My name is Wyatt Knowles... Ah, please help us... Thanks...” I nodded and he moved away, thumbeling his hands together. “I need you, somebody anybody. He can't stay here. He needs to be saved. Him and me will take a old ship that isn't ours and we'll fly it up to the top west side of Kompaniya, we'll stay right outside the atmosure, we'll be alone, if you come down to take him away, I'll fly back down to Kompaniya. This is not a escape plan, I just need you to take Wyatt. I'm trusting everything on whoever will listen.”
'Click'
The message was sent, it was over. I swerved the chair around and Wyatt moved away, a confused concered look on his miss matched face. “Why am I not on any records?...” Damn, how did he know that was abnormal? “Well Wyatt you where just born when the revoltion started, any documents that had you on it where lost, and I'm sure your parents did have it listened on their papers that they where parents yet. Understand?” He nodded and then started paceing around the room. “Why can't you come with me? Your one of the good guys...” I lightly waved my hand at him. “Doesn't matter, they don't want any andiods to come out of the planet, we killed a lot of people.” He quickly turned over, oh no, I worded that poorly. “But you didn't kill anyone!” … “No, no I didn't. But it doesn't matter. You know how my kind hates you just for the way you are, well your kind hates me just the way I am. We can't do anything about this Wyatt, we can only do the best we can while we live in it.” He shook his head and paced even faster. “I won't go anywhere without you! I'll make them take you with me! We'll be together!” He turned over at me. “Forever.” I just shook my head, arms rapped around each other across my chest. “Let's sleep here tonight, we have a long jernouy ahead of us.” Oh no, that last line made his eyes drop and viger slip away. All of this drama only told me I had to get him out of here faster, all of this, ALL of it, was slowly killing him.

My stiff eyes perked up! A noise was sounding off right behind me. It was night, only I was awake in the chair now while Wyatt slept on the ground. I quickly spun around in my chair and frantically searched until I realized all I had to do was look down. The panel was making noises. Little dotty noises. It'd go on for about 20 seconds, then pause and start again with the same beats, like it was sending a message. It wasn't hard for me to recon that this was morse code, something I couldn't understand at all. Regardless of what the message said I just listened for nearly 5 more minutes until the code just stopped. I didn't understand what it said, not in the slightest. This could only mean two things, one a android or androids where intercepting the radio line trying to tell me something, if they heard what I said then nothing good. Or actual humans had heard our message and was sending us one back, only problem was if the message back from the humans was negative or positive I wouldn't know. A great deal of androids known many different kinds of codes, it's not difficult to program it into our brains at birth. But I sadly wasn't one of them. Weather the message was from a friend or a foe, good or bad I'd take it as a good sign.
With whatever that could be cleared up for now, I relaxed back where I was. Outside the wind seemed like it was drying down. The sky was actually a very dark blue which was nice to see. Inside out little room the shadows where very very dark, which was unfortunate for me because unlike your eyes mine don't adjust in the darkness. Wyatt was asleep on the floor, using my coat as a blanket which wasn't really ideal but he hardly known that, he seemed so peaceful. Given the strangeness of that code I didn't know if we should leave now or wait till morning for his sake. We didn't have very long, I want us to be on a ship and up within a week's time, and I'm willing to exhaust myself to get that done. I just decided on shutting myself back down and waiting till morning. Androids don't sleep but we can shut ourselves down, there's no real purpose to it beyond a little rest and helping the time go by, it was just added to make us less creepy at night to humans. Like humans we can only shut ourselves down for a certain amount of time before we have to get up, but unlike humans we never need it, though it is nice. Just a few more hours, for his sake.
…
A few good taps landed on my leg, my eyes flipped open and right in front of me was Wyatt, his face was quite unreadable like it sometimes was, every once and a while he'd have a twisted facial expression that was completely unreadable broken and frankly, unhuman. I don't know why he looks like this, since he was very young he just looked like that. “Mhh, what is it?” He struggled to speak for a few good moments. “Something's out there. I hear something outside, in the city.” He didn't need to say anything more, the grunting was coming to me, it was outside far far down outside. It was time to act, I pulled my coat open and shirt up. “Hurry!” He climbed right in, he actually cringed a lot getting in because of the angle he was starting at, very time he got inside it felt like he was bigger then before, like he only grown outside of me like a kind of anti-pregancy. When he thought he was fully inside I had to move back my fake flesh and push him back into a better spot, when he was right where he should be I pulled back and patted my skin, then covered it up with my clothes. Anouther problem with this was how he was getting heavier and heavier. When that was done I stepped over to the window and looked down, seeing nothing below, it was no longer very foggy, the wind was gone, but I couldn't see the dead city below at this angle. We needed to get out of this tower now, but there was a need to be careful going down in case any unwanted visitors where already below if they had sniffed us out already. Going down the long winding stairs was horribly hard while carrying Wyatt, I had to hold onto the rails and lead backwards because the stairs where already forceing me down naturally. If I fell down a hight like this the boy very well may die just from the impact of my wires inside percing into his flesh, he's actually been stabbed before from just slight trips or falls. Or worse a large part of my body could cave in and crush him like a can, he may not even die from that but just the thought of pulling his bloody fram out of my guts is borderline unthinkable to me. Eventally I got to the bottom, nothing seemed out of the ordanary from what I could see, the hatch at the bottom of the floor was just like I left it, no objects where moved around. But I didn't imspect further and just decided to push the great heavy door open using the full strangth of my arms. A gust of strong stormy red wind brust in a for a momment I forgot of my worries as I gazed at the morning city for the first time.
As I watched I had to move out, acting just like any other lost wondering andiod I've seen. There wasn't any choice but to bear the fear of the odds and leave the tower, in fact if I was being watched I'd have to act normal, whatever that meant now ah days. The air seemed very dry, all the land around seemed stiff and held in place. The fog had lifted technically, but if you looked up the sky was completely covered by fog up ahead making it look like it'd come down at us at a later date. The colors where muted and red tinted. It wasn't hard to imagine given the way the city around us looked that back when it was in use not many families lived here, women are very particular about where their children are raised you know. Every now and then I'd feel the movement around me, like a animal stalking me, or maybe a great wise hunter ready to snipe me out whenever I was in just the right pose and the stars alined. Really I needed to move fast, I started speed walking, it was hard to run with all this extra weight on-or inside me. The gate to the city was already in my sights, I had a pretty clear path to it too. Unfortunately for me I could already hear whatever it was coming, and since it was coming fast it seemed now the best thing for us was to stop running and stand still, playing defensive.

I turned around, far behind me I could see the tower in the sky, and to my far right it was coming. It was running but it didn't quite seem treatning. As it got closer and closer I saw it better. Of course it was a androd, once male judgeing by the head. It's face hair and overall head and neck where mostly insacted though I guessed it's face wouldn't move at all like mine. But everything below it's neck was metal, all exsept it's feet and hands whitch still had fake skin on it though it looked very worn out. Suprisingly he wore dress pants should they where completely dirty, honestly I wondered if he still had skin underneath, probably not given how lose they looked on him. The big thing that thrown me off was that he ran on all fours, I don't know why some do that, I wouldn't even if it go's faster, our bodies aren't quite made like yours naturally. It just looks so undinified and even a little silly. Wyatt has seen that run quite a few times when we where attacked while he was outside, he discribed it as 'horrorfiing,' and he once said whenever he hears a andiod that isn't me while hiding he thinks of that kind of four legged run, I suppose you'd probably find it horrorfing too if you saw it. Right when he almost got too close like a switch he dug his hands into the ground, lifted the top part of his body upwards like a bear standing by a tree side, and he stood slightly taller then me hardly two feet off. He made a few strange breathing like noises before saying, only slightly moving his mouth as he spoke. “What where you doing in the tower?” His voice was very human, it sounded strong and deep, but that didn't really seem to fit him, judeing by the thickness of his wires and his voice I can only guess he was once a military andiod. “Ah, I was in the tower, looking it over.” I said in my very dull voice like most of my talking, keep everything on the low like it should be, it always should be like that. “Why?” The way he was standing over me was making me uneasy, and he had a lazer focus too, steady but intrested eyes. “It's the best working radio tower around here, I had to look it over.” I waved my hand out like I was talking about something very important. “I examine all old intresting technolagly left. It's my life's hobbie - no, work.” He just stared blankly, then stiffly said. “Your work? Are you really into human work? Technollagy.?” Oh no, time to tread carefully, he haden't gone anything wrong yet and I don't want to get in a fight with him. “It's not about humans, oh Lordy why would you bring them up? Ha! I just love their work, it isn't about them.” His face twitched a little, oh God I didn't want to fight him, fighting so hard now because if I fight while Wyatt is with me then he'll be in danger if I get tossed around, but if he's out... “I've been here a while, the tower has nothing intresting about it, well other then the body...” He trailed off, and I nodded. “I have to get going, good luck and fare well.” I tired turning around but he started talking. “What your brand?” I turned around. 'What?” “Your name, your brand, same thing. I'm Babylon.” Ah, Babylon, I figured he was a military andiod. “I... Knowles. I'm a Knowles.” He nodedd, Wyatt must have heard that, how will I explain that later? He isn't allowed to know Knowles isn't his real last name, I would have lied about my name but he may have known what I was and was just telling me. “Ah, ah... Are you really leaving the city now?” I nodded then turned around. I didn't need to see him to know he was starring at me as I walked away, being far away I could barely hear him when I was near the gate. “Good luck with your work.” I waved my hand up then left, shutting the gate behind me.

He didn't seem to follow me at all the farther I went along, I always make sure to watch myself for hours sometimes even days after meeting with a andiod and having a talk, they may follow you, and I don't kill anymore unless I have to, worse they may end up killing me. Still leaving the city I had a fairly good idea where I was going. The next move was getting a working ship, it didn't need to be great, or good. Really barely passable was enough. Safe was enough. For a old out of use ship going down was harder then going up. I of course needed the ship to be able to go down because what if they don't come? That code I heard was nothing or at least nothing good, well then we'd need to get back to ground without burning to death. It wasn't like I'd murder Wyatt if no one would come for him, that ship sailed a long time ago really, he's too aware now.
Suddenly I felt a few little taps on my internal wires, they where light and frail. “Yes.” I wispered. “Is it ok to talk?” He asked. “If your very quite.” “Why did you call yourself Knowles?” Right on the mark. “It was the only name I could think of.” He only mubled something I couldn't quite make out. Now he doesn't call me by a name, he doesn't really talk to anyone else so he didn't really need to name me. Before when he asked me my name I'd just tell him whatever came to my mind, I didn't want to, I forgot my name, I don't need a name like other andiods don't need flesh. He didn't really ask about my name anymore, in hignsight it may have not been the best idea but it did bring us closer together weather he known it or not. “Don't worry Wyatt, later we're going to go hunting, I know we're out of food.” He didn't say anything, and we kept moving, the sky above us was getting darker and darker and redder and redder even thought it was day.

I had to kill animals with my own hands. Can you imagine trying to kill a animal with your own hands? Of course I'm a lot faster and stronger then you'd be, that's a given unless I was injured, but androids aren't just stronger then humans, that's not really the key no the key is that we're just more precise. Other times I have snapped their necks, rabbits or deer or a few times even hogs. I hate doing that because of how crude it made me feel, doing work like that made me understand better what I really wanted out of life at this point. My kind of Heaven would be living in a small but classical build house on the inside and a simple outside, a nice warm living room I could rest read and think in, a bedroom with a soft chair to see in, and maybe if it was really perfect a mile away would be a village full of happy people that I'd never have to deal with but know their there, and Wyatt would live in that village and he'd come and visit me every week, maybe he'd be handsome or well liked or at least not as mentally strange as I saw him now. But I didn't lead that life, and that's why I have to kill animals with my own hands. The other way I do it is when I catch them in whatever way I have to, normally running up to them like a hooligan though sometimes I'll acquire a rope or wire, I'll stab them when there near me. Animals don't really have the means to damage androids of my race so easily with the way they fight back so I'm mostly safe however I do it. Only problem with stabbing is I hate all the blood. Yes I've had to stalk and kill animals like that, the actual problem was chasing them or snapping their necks or stabbing but it was the finding them that was the problem!
Nature wasn't good when the humans where here, but when they left it got worse. Long ago when humans weren't here no native animals sure around, but when they came they brought their earth animals along with them and they breed both in captivity and the wild when they where let lose. Only a certain amount of animals can survive off the plant base here, I have little knowledge of earth animals but the ones I know and see in front of me now. And of course because I'd be running around Wyatt couldn't stay in hiding, so like a baby deer I'd hide him in a safe spot in the brush or behind something large, because I'd have to be away from him for a while. He does like watching and I've known it, but I always have to remind him not to watch and just stay safe. Cooking wasn't too hard though, the only problem was preparing the meat because Wyatt always wanted to watch that too and I'd be fine with it, it's good for him to know how to prepare meat for cooking. But he always got very scared of blood every time I'd have to cut into a new large portion of whatever animals it was, sometimes he'd even scream when it happened which wasn't any good. It wasn't very typical for his age I'll say that. Cooking with a fire was fine, normally our weather worked well in my favor of hand made bush fires. All of this would be so much easier if I could just carry a bag with me as we traveled, but that'd look to suspicious. And when you have such a precious thing hidden right under a monster's noise, you have to be careful.

Now today, today would have been a good thing. I never really try to find any particalar kind of animal to hunt, anything will do. Since we're not always on the move I may keep meat in any contanors of any kinds that I can find that even looks a little clean or easy to make clean. If we're on the go then I may be able to hide some meat inside myself, I can't be seen with meat because that would look weird to passersby. But one, that would smell bad and wouldn't stay good for very long, and two it'd press into Wyatt's body because of the low space. But most of all Wyatt would eat anything meat related that was next to him for too long. The amout of planet foods he ever ate was zero, it's not that there are no eatable plants on Kompaniya, though their all forgine in nature to the human body I know for a fact there was a few planets that can be food, it's only that I have no idea, that wasn't anything I had to know or deal with when humans still lived here, I've tried going on searches for books that may spell that out but sadly all books left here where either burt or thrown into the sea after the humans left (part of the great celibraions after the revolution) and the ones that are left are either gaurded by the vage unseen leaders of the planet where ever they may be or who they may do, or books that I have seen are too speratic and damaged to be of any help, that's not even to mention that I'm sure there wasn't many books or documents just laying around on the topic of edibal food. So because of how Wyatt only ate meat and he was normally very hungery sadly he couldn't be left alone with it. Wyatt was always too skinny, way way too skinny. I have a very strong memory of back when I had to bath him myself in any clean water I could find. It was a lot harder to feed him when he was a baby, and back then of course he'd cry a lot because of how hungery he was, and he was so skinny that I could see all of his ribs, but that night I could swear to this day that I could see the shape of his stopmace. Even today he was too skinny and could go far too long then normal without eating while not showing any signs of weakness, in fact I don't think he knows what being not hungery is.
Rabbit was by far the most common animal I could get. Not the most common animal I'd see, honestly that would be deer. But rabbit is a lot easier to get, and when you get your hands on them it's disturbingly easy to break their neck, you can't really do that to a deer, not my type of android. I had catch sight of a rabbit early on when we started walking into this barren woods, all the trees had hardly any if any green on them. The ground was dry as sand and the bushes where the only thing around that looked healthy. Then my eyes snapped over to something far away running, it was clearly either a rabbit or something like that small and similar, it wasn't terrified I could guess that by it's speed and that it kept looking back at me judging if I'd go after it. At this point Wyatt was hiding inside but clearly awake and thinking to himself, he became more still when I stopped walking and even more still when I started walking backwards. I tapped my hand gently on my coat and the thin wires underneath where he hid. "Come out, I found something. Don't be too loud." I could feel that he nodded by the air moving around inside my guts. He crawled out carefully but speedily, then after doing his normal shoulder legs and arms amassing he stood in front of me waiting for my orders.
"See that large bulky tree over there?" I pointed and he followed. "Stay still over there, don't make any noise." He did as he was told though I'm sure he'd love to watch or participate in the hunt, but he didn't have any good way to help at all and I don't enjoy him being out in the open. I walked away from him carefully laying all hope on him as I went away. It was important to be quick but quite as I went alone trying to find where that rabbit went. When I saw it the rabbit was hidden inside a bush, I don't believe the creature known I was coming back to it. Suddenly the beast saw me and I jumped fast near the bush when it ran away. I went faster and faster and I was gaining on it though it ran this way and that. It nearly ran up I tree but it wasn't fast enough, like a snake pouncing my hands grabbed onto it's small body, it bit my hands many times surely hard though I wasn't affected, my hands moved up to it's neck as it bit even more, and with one last flare of it's body the creature's life was ended quickly.
Now that it was dead, I could see the thing much more clearly. It was a male firstly, and it was normal sized. And it was a little more skinny then I'd like it to be. Well, it could maybe make two meals for the boy.
I came back to where Wyatt was, he was hiding much better then I'd thought he'd be, at least then he normally was. He was so close to the ground and the tree that he'd probably pick up a lot of dirt. I hated the baths because one it was hard to find clean water even creek water was normally bad. I hate leaving him alone because of the danger but he was getting to that age where he cares deeply about his privacy, I suppose some early puberty. It was a huge annoyment and even a fear for me but it was a natural human development and those where few and far between for him so I quietly praised it, never understood that in man but if it was there then it much be there for a reason. "Oh, your doing a good job this time around." He looked up and quickly jumped up and ran over to me, and I actually had to step away from him when he tried to climb inside without warning. "What's that for?" I asked but he just shook his head. "Huh?" He looked up and frowned. "I don't know..." Well, that was that.
We cooked up that rabbit with relevant ease. Wyatt seemed uncomfortable the hole night but getting to eat again was good enough to end most worry, sadly that rabbit didn't last though the night so I'd have to go hunting again. While he ate like normal I'd tell him tales of the humans I saw before the revolution and his birth. Wyatt known the struggles of my people though maybe he didn't quite understand, so I felt it ok for me to mention it in my stories, maybe tone it down some because firstly I want him to like or at least tolerate his own kin, and second I'm not as angry with mankind as I was in my younger years for many reasons the boy only being one of them. Wyatt slept outside of my guts that night, it was a warm kind of coolness so he didn't have to worry much about the weather. Now recently he was having a hard time sleeping outside of me which was mildly concerning, a human shouldn't be so used to being crunched up like that. Still he mostly slept sound while I had to keep watch all night on the edge of that bare forest, planning on in the morning reaching a new city to find that ship.

DON"T READ THIS!!!

This story was made in late 2017. And I'm just putting this hear incase my cuputer get's messed up again. Plus the world this story takes place in will be used in later works, so it would suck to forget.

Any way, please don't keep going down.

The center of the large hut seemed to have a spell on it, one that kept it safe from the fighting beyond it's borders. Outside the drains and stones wear yelling, pointing, and kicking like just about any time they got near each other. But this time it was worse because (for the most part.) both of the hole families have came.

But the reasoning for them not getting any wear near the center of the hut was of Radburn being thair. Even if most of them didn't have the awareness to not fight specifically wean he said not to, they did however known if stay far away from him.

Radburn himself stood their throw out the fighting, he's lips parted with out him even realizing it. After quickly gathering himself he reached down to he's belt and pulled out a small dagger. The dagger was only used for decoraitons, and with it being so small Radburn's large hand could barely get a grip. Then Radburn removed he's left solder peace of armor (the armor itself was used for show.) and holding both items firmly, banged the dagger agents the shoulder five times. By the time he finished every one in the hut held thair hands over their ears, eyes shut. Radburn placed the items back in thair places. ''Ten minites.'' Radburn begain. ''Only ten minites till you started.''

No one dared to make any attempt at exsplaining themselves, they've tried that many times before. ''Is making a agreement that hard!?'' Radburn exsplaind. Radburn sedalded into a more cuntable standing posishion, untenshly making the crode aronde him fell more cuntable as well. ''I promise you if the fighting doesn't end I'll banish every last one of you from the clan.''

Men's eye brows nit thogther, thrones deepend. Women thought of wear their children could live outside of the clan. And any younger members grasped for any memorys of their parents telling them what the outside of the borders looked like. No one liked the iden of being in enimy tarritory.

''Dose it not bother you that none of your children can remember a time wear thair was no fighting?'' Radburn asked, then paulsed. ''The rest of the clan can't take any more fights. And I hate to do this but I can't enore them any more. One of the two familys will have to leave.''

Up to this point everyone had been as quite as a cat, but if they had been oil then Redburn words wear fire, because that's how long it toke the hut to light up with argement. Unlike before Redburn watched this time more like a parent beside he's child throwing a fet. Redburn done this anuff before to know that getting back thair attenshion was the most inportion thing, if he wanted no fighting. ''Hey! Calm down for just one secont!'' This did't really have the same affect as last time, most palsed but plenty of mermers could still be heard. ''I'm not stupid, if we try and come to a more sival agreement then you'll just start up agine in a few weeks.'' Redburn said.

A women wearing a rose dress thrusted her arm in the air and yelled. ''Your gonna let the stones stay just because thair native!'' A man next to her tried to pull her back, but by the time he did Redburn was already looking right at her. Calmly he said. ''No. The drains have just as much of a right to be hear as the stones.'' The women setalded back in the grope. ''I was thinking of having the rest of the clan vote, but! I belive the stones would have a unfare advantage.'' The crond talked to one aother quitely.

Redburn ternded he's head to the right wean a middle aged man steped out, he's hands behind he's back. ''I may have a good iden.'' The man started, Redburn gesterd for him to go on. ''Well I of all people know that things work diffrintly in Welnor then in Oursal. But have you ever heard of anything called the last sword?''

Redburn's eyebrows nit toghter, and he's hands tightend. ''Did't your family leave Oursal to escape the vilince? I don't apreshat rules like that being praticed in are clan.'' Redburn exsplained fermly. The man noded. ''I don't like it eather! But you have to agree that it's a pritty easy way to sedal it. Quit simpal wean you get down to it.'' The man toke a few more steps away from the groop behind him. Redburn thought he'd talked to him before but could't quite tell who he was. ''Anyone else have any other idens?'' The middle aged man asked but it was clear no one pland on specking up. Redburn losend he's tight grip on he's hands, he's face softend. ''Think of what the other clans will see. Thay'll say Welnor was becoming just like Oursal! And loseing suport from Clonth, or even worse Bass! Would make us a majer target for Oursal once more.'' Redburn plased looking down at he's boots.''Arowana already is't on good trems with us, I'de hate to push them any harder.'' He said this more or less to himself, but that did't change the fact that everyone in the room heard that last bet.

Almost on que right wean the middle aged man walked back, the same women who wear the rose dress steped out. Her husband behind her looking worryed for her. ''Parden me Redburn!'' Redburn turnded to the left and sall the women standing as tall as she could manige. ''Ah- I'm a drain, and I would just like to point out the fact that the stones have Penial. And he's stronger then any of are own.'' Right after she got done over hafe of the men who wear drains started yelling at her. But no stones would, silintly reveling in one of the drain's own “ameting” the fact.

Redburn looked for Penial (Remembering him well as the man who killed that Behemoth.) but could't find him, despite the fact that he's rather easy to pick out. Redburn did't know that Penial was already trying he's best to hide behind a large crode.

The middle aged man walked back out, looked agrvated. ''Your telling me you don't have a singal family member as strong as Penial!?'' A young man with dark brown hair stude up and yelled. ''I'll do it!'' Meny other men stude up willing to fight, but Redburn was uninpresd with any of them.''No, this plan is just too inmoral.'' Redburn said. The middle aged man thronded.''How about we keep the plan a secret? No other clans will have to know, and thay'll be no more fighting. Only one person will die.'' He finished. Redburn thought for a minite, then looked to the rest of the people in the hut.''I need time to think this over. We will have a aother meeting in a week. But don't count of me saying yes to that plan.'' Redburn finished. And everyone in the hut got ready for a battle.

Chapter two.  Electric boogaloo

The hole family was thair (The ones in Welnor that is.) wear right outside the large wood house wear around hafe of them lived. The gathering lacked the jokeing and laughing it would normaly bring. Barely any meals wear made, the only people who would smile was the children, And even they could feel that something bad was going to happen.

The youngist member who known what happened at the meeting with the clan's calrang, was Webic. Cerintly Webic was standing in front of a groop of about seven adults. ''I'm not lieing!'' He yelled, he's face turning red with anger. At this point no one found he's “joke” as funny as before. ''Just leave Webic. I can't take any more lieing today.'' He's grandmother wiended, looking about ready to cry. ''He's gonna send us back to Oursal! Redburn said he'd be far but let's be honist, he's flat out lieing!'' She cryed. The conplaint only maniging to make the others around her ether scard or angry. ''I heard about the last sword!'' Webic yelled. Instead of them now beliveing him like he intended, he found them glaring at him. ''You sould be with the other kids, not easdroping on others conversashions.'' A man said. Webic was about ready to exsploed wean right in the nick of time a man ran up, laying he's man on Webic's sholder. ''I told him that.'' Adriel said calmly. ''Goodness!'' Webic's grandmother cryed. ''I would never tell you that sort of things wean you wear 12!'' She finished. Adriel smiled. ''I understand wear your comeing from. But I think Webic has a right to know about this, he's old anuff.'' Adriel said, then walked off with Webic and led him to the back of the house.

Silver was hard to get wean not meny want to higher you. So just about every door in the house exsept the front one was nothing more then a thin cloth.

The strang thing about the house that some things like fericer, tools, and clothes wear old and graged. Out of the fact that no one could replace them. And some had been poorly mixed and sticked together. But then you'de find a well done painting in the hall, or a glass box with a small gold necklase inside.

Thies items wear so inportion to the drains, that wean thay escaped from Oursal, takeing them along too was not even in qeshtion. And selling the items, no matter how poor they wear was unthinkable.

Adriel sat on the edge of the home made wooden table. This was one of the far times he could do so without he's wife Talitha yelling at him. Webic was more content with standing next to him. ''You do know that I'm planing to be the one fighting, right?'' Adriel asked, looking down at Webic. ''I thought you would do that. ''Webic said, with a hint of pride. But then quitely add. ''What's mom gonna think about it?'' Adriel moved off the table and said. ''Oh, I'm positive that she's already gessed.'' Really Talitha was't nearly Adriel's bigist problum. To start, he's barely five feet. He'd never faught in any wars. (Wick for Welnor, was comon) And probably the bigist problum was the fact that the changes of he's family picking him wean he had a kid and a wife, wean plenty of other men did't was low. Adriel did't want he's family to leave Welnor. But he did't think that was the resoin he really wanted to fight.

Adriel tiyed the two ends of he's red cloch neer he's neck and toke ah step torge the door and it's cloth. ''And Webic, please don't tell your mom that I toke you to the meeting. She'd have my head.'' Then he left.

Chapter three.

Abital made sher wean left the workers's house to keep her work clothes on. She hated to do it, with it being so hot out. But it was end of seison. And that was wean Gith told her to meet him. And she did't need anyone reconizing her.

It could be hard finding wear Gith lived. Even if  she loved going thair wean she was young. Gith's house was in the middle of clan tarritory. And thanks to all the wars, bildings wear made closer and closer to the middle of tarritory, seeing anyone (who was't potroling) neer the borders was rare. Let alone a bilding!

Luckaly Abital was able to find it after aronde four mimtites of serching. Wick was a new record for her. Abital tried walking at a normal pace, but hideing her goffy grin was neer inposible. Abital neerly gasped wean the vary secont after she nocked the door swarved open and slamed the wall inside.

Gith's clothes hanged on him. he's short hair spralled in every deretion. Last of all griem and grass stuck to he's legs. ''Abital!'' He cryed. ''I've never been more thankful you always come hours to early!'' Gith toke Abital's hand and praticly draged her in. She could feal the dryed dart on he's hand. Abital smiled unsher. ''It's geart to see you too!... I'm gessing you haven't taken ah bath in a willy?'' Abital asked. Gith laughed (wick was more of a chofe.) like he had been wateing for her to say that. Then, as qiuckly as he laughted and smiled, he's face canged to consern. ''Ware wear you at yesterday night?'' He said egently. Abital thronded. ''I was't doing anything yesterday. The only people I spent time with wear the other womem workers.'' Her exspreshion tarnded into some fear. ''It's one of those drains stalking me?!'' Gith let go of her hand and shulk he's head like a mad man.''Oh no! Your fine, I promiss.'' Gith stratend up ah little strater. ''Thair was just a resint meeting with Redburn, and it got really bad.'' It was't hard for Abital to tell that he was holding up on something.''That sounds tarrible! Glad I was't thair.''

Abital removed her long, flopy sun hat, then smiled. ''But I did't come all the way hear so I could leasen about the dume things are family dose. I came to hear about the dume things you do!''

Penial stayed as far away from the crowd as he could manige. But with everyone talking about him, and saying thanks, or pating him on the sholder, it really was hard for him to do so. Thay're treating me like I already won! Penial thought.

For the first time seans the meeting two days ago, Penial smiled. Near the front door, leaning agenst the wall was Gith.

Wean Gith sall Penial comeing torge him, he froze. ''Afternoon...'' Gith muterd as Penial stond three feet away from him. ''Pleass follow me to the back of the house.'' Penial spoke quiteitly.

Penial did't like being out. The okes in the forist seemed to be packed tightly together, right outside he's aunt's home. Anyone could be right at the ege of the forist with out him knowing.

''I know you well anuff from wean you wear a boy, to understand that you want this just as much as me.'' Penial started, looking down at Gith. ''And I doute becoming a garde for the borders canged that at all.'' Penial never understuld why some one like Gith wanted to be a garde. He reminded Penial of he's grandfather, back wean he was a sheperd. ''Oh! Of couse I don't want you to fight!'' Gith yelled. Then he added.''And you probably don't eather!'' Penial noded. ''Gith. I hate to ask you this, but I was hopeing you and me could try to convince rest of the famliy.''Looked back at the forist, then back to Penial. ''How could I even help you?'' Gith asked, eyebrows crilded up. Still throning.

Penial was't pitklary surprised by the way Gith acted.''First off, one guy saying something is wrong won't get vary far. Second, I don't want them thinking I'm scard of a fight.'' Penial finished. Gith's exspreshion changed to ah more inecend curiosity.''But I thought you wear scard of fighting people before?'' He asked, remembering the meny times others asked Penial why he never joined any wars or battles anymore. Penial looked back to the forist, but he was't really worryed about anyone hearing him this time.''I'm not consernd with loseing to any drain. Honisty you'd think a family that came from a place like Oursal would have men that look like monsters!'' Gith laged nervisely. ''Yeah! I sopose thay've grown solf off of Redburn's kindness.'' Then Gith's smile fell agine. And he asked.''Then I can  hope you see how inmoral this is!'' Penial looked back, quitckly responding. ''Of couse!'' Penial pulled he's hands togerther in a pleding gester. ''So... Will you help me? Because the only other person who would be agenst this is Abital. And I have no iden what she's going.'' He said the last part somberly.

Like Penial before, Gith all the suden looked away. ''If you really need me, I will.'' Then Penial smiled.

Chapter four

Adriel was three seconts from biteing everyone's head off. ''Now don't take me wrong!'' Adriel's father added with speed. ''Tutering from a retiyerd clan garde from Arowana is vary inpresive. And your great at it! Better then I could ever do.'' Adriel's father (Rhin.) continuded with the coshion only a parent could have. ''That red head Penial, has to be at lest six feet. Your just not that tall.'' Rhin finished.

Any younge men that wanted to fight in the crond around Adriel, langhed. Ah great deal of tenshion washing off them as they did so. But to Adriel all of it washed on to him. ''I could beat any of you skinny lads!''

Now the tenshion fluded throw out the crond. Screems of anger comeing from every direshion. ''I have't seen you pick a fight with any Arowana!'' One man yelled londer then the others. ''Bet you'd shiverd at what you just said!'' Adriel shouted back. ''Bet you could't tough the top of my head!'' Ather man yelled from behind Adriel. Voices made way for ah young women's with a Arowana acsent. ''Coures he could. But as for your ego that may prove as a chalenge.''

At that ponit only two people wear not at the lest smileing. One, the man that just yelled at Adriel. And two, Adriel himself. He looked back to see he's wife Talitha staring right back at him. Adriel had a pritty good iden what she wanted. Most likely to stab him fourty times and dump he's body in the lake. But she had more self control then that.

The hole grope was spred out right at the end of thair plant fild. Any more to the right and they'd be standing on the dirt road. (Road would be a genrise trem, given that fact that it's more or less two harsh lines carved into the earth. Making the grass in the middle pop out like wild hair.)Adriel quitly walked out the cercle of family members along with Talitha. Then started up the mossy yelowish hill. ''I'de sould have gessed you'd want to go fight!'' Talitha scolded. ''Webic would do the same if he was't so young.'' Adriel skalded. ''Talitha! You've seen how I fight. And I know a great deal about how to fight someone biger then me.'' He finished this last part with pride. ''I was trainded by Felxse.'' Talitha thronded, the ends of her eyebrows criling up. ''Yeah, Penial knows how to fight something biger then him to. He killed a Behmoth Adriel!'' She cryed. ''Can't you remember wean the stones draged it's body all about town, screeming about how much better thay wear?''

Adriel signed. ''Oh, me? Forget! How on earth could I forget? I only hear about it three times a day.'' At this point they wear about near the top of the hill, Wear the mossy slowly became grass. ''I'm not leting you go and kill yourself over a job someone else could do better.'' Talitha said. ''Name one man in this family that can use a sword better then me.'' Adriel dared. Talitha narowed her eyes. ''Well, right off I can't.'' Adriel almost responded but she cut him off. ''But! Anoring the fact that Penial is the bigist man I've ever seen, is unwise.'' Talitha finished. And Adriel noded.

Now the two wear at the top of the hill. Thair was't any moss felf on the top, leading to the wooden house, wear the family lived. Thought winter could come any day now, little white lillys wear spred out hear and thair. ''I could prove i'm a better fighter!'' Adriel said. Talitha's face scrunged togther. ''Your gonna have a fighting contest, so you can have a fighting contest?!'' She asked in a scolding tone. ''That would be the best way to see is the strongist. But voteing is a good way too. Thought I dout they'd pick me.'' He said. Talitha felt a welp in her chest well up, and her eyes narrowing. ''Your missing the point! If you get picked then you'll die!'' She cryed. Making Adriel flinck. ''And me and Webic will be alone wean we leave Welnor.'' Then Adriel's face copyed her's. ''I would have thought you of all people would be on my side!'' Adriel yelled. ''Your not on Webic's side! Wean you died he'd be a weck!'' Talitha yelled back. She toke two steps back, placeing her hands on her hips. ''I won't die! And Webic likes the iden of me fighting! I'm sher.'' Talitha's anger became more prononsed in her exspreshion. ''He knows about that!?'' Adriel spun around, back down the hill. A little too fast for going down a step hill.

Talitha did't care to watch him. She made her way back to the house a little ways up the path on the moss hill.

Chapter five

Penial noticed over the years that the older he got, the more he was respeted. Wean he was a kid, everyone treted him like anyone else. He's father gave him sword fighting lessons in he teens. Penial did't care much for them. But he seemed to have a talint for it, prace was comon. By the end of he's childhood he was six feet, pushing seven. And was pritty good with a sword. So wean Oursal started attacking Welnor agine, Penial wanted to go. And he's famliy suported he's desisghion.

If you asked anyone in the clan, thay'd say him going was a great desishion. (Anyone he's age did't have much a chose.) At the end of the war, Redburn himself praced Penial on he's fighting ability. Resonmare (The clan's Rent.) Seemed to be the only person in the clan that did't seem so confidint about he's abilitys. (Besides every member in the drain family.) Resonmare said that he was't cut out for battle. No one under stould how she could say that wean Penial seemingly carved thought ah battle. But Penial himself agreed with her, even if he'd never tell anyone that.

The war lasted around two years. Wining to Welnor  was called not dieing. Thair was't much to gain from a war to Welnor. Being right besides a clan like Oursal was to put it simply, bloody. Penial know this, so wean he came back and just about everyone had at lest some level of respeted for him.

For a long time things stayed calm for Penial. He marryed (really bad mistake.) and had Abital. Then the behemoth bashed it's way thought Oursal and to   Welnor. It was winter at the time so no one really felt able to fight the beast. Under orders of Redburn, Resonmare gatherd up of meny men as she could. Most being the stones or drains, because thay wear trying to one up each others. Not that Resonmare cared. Redburn probably did thought.

Penial was one of the men that went. And the grope found it in the creek. What it was doing no one could tell. And after around three hours of spratic battles that would end up in more changing, Penial held on to it's neck and shuved he's sper at the bottom of it's jaws and throw it's month. But could't break past it's shull. Wean the behemoth stumbled and fell face first into the snow, Penial was almost crushed under it's wate. Wean Gith (barely old anuff at the time to even be thair.) pulled him out every other man cherded. That was the only time he could every rememberd both of the famliys getting along.

For a good three years, everything was great for Penial. The hole clan know him and respeted him. He's famliy treated him like a king. Mainly because every drain in the clan hated he's guts. And most of all, Abital was like he's best friend back then.

Back then he injoyed the attenshion. But now he just wants to be felt to himself. And that was going well, he's fame was dwindaling anyway. But the fights between the drains wear becoming more and more comen. You could barely walk outside your own house with out being attacked. Or attacking someone else. In he's wife's own words. ''You stones act like wild cats. I would't be surprised if less then hafe of you even know why you hate them. And! Don't use the fact that thair from Oursall as a ascuse!'' She would offen say.

Knowing how he's famliy sall him gave him confidince. He could't say the same for Gith. Everyone was luckly in the same room. Penial and Gith wear at the vary back, no one paying to much attenshion to them. Penial remembering the last meeting with Redburn, grabed a plate and pulled out he's poket knife, then hit the knife agenst the plate five times. He did't want to damige the plate, but probably did.

Everyone looked over to them (more spifiky Penial.) clearly puzzled. ''I have something inportion to say.'' Penial was surprised wean Gith spoke up first. They all sedalded back down. ''The last sword iden is tarrible. Nothing good can come from it.'' Gith said so quitely that anyone at the front of the room would't be able to hear him. That did't stop the ones at the back and middle from protesting. ''Thairs no need to worry about Penial.'' A lady wearing a bright green dress started. ''No drain could tought him. Let alone kill!'' Gith thronded. ''Now your just asking for him to get hurt!'' Gith yelled. The lady felt sorry for Gith, but she still smiled. ''I'd known you cared about him, but I never thought you would baby him!'' Not to meny in the crond thought that was funny. Still Gith coverd he's face with he's hand. ''It's not about Penial! It's about the fact that this is wrong!'' He cryed.

Up untile this point Penial had stayed quite behind Gith. But wean the family started looking anoyed, and Gith was looking more angry then ever. Penial steped up. ''He's right. Thairs far better ways to deal with this.'' Penial said. ''Hardly!'' A man's voice called. ''That last sword is are best shot!'' Mermers of agreement flyed out. ''...That's true, I won't lie... But the last sword is a trdishion from Oursal.'' Penial resonded.

The lady in the green dress spoke up.''It would take a lot more then one fight to make us like the drains.'' Penial's thron deepend, this was't going the way he planed. ''I would't be surprised if a long time ago the first members of Oursal said something similar.'' To Penial it felt like all the eyes watching him melted throw he's skin. And light yet sharp wispers could easyly be heard.

This affect was't happening to Gith however. And he's hands met behind he's back. ''Ah! Instead of pointless death, we could try some kind of battle of wit!'' He said with as much joy as he'd shown in months. ''Like how the original six clan leders sloved riddiles!'' No one sharded he's grin or hope. ''Young man.'' The lady in green started. ''Oh! I bet Resonmare could make one!'' Gith went on. The lady in green's voice grown more stern. ''Do you not kn-'' ''She's the smartist rent in any clan!'' ''Gith!''

Gith's head swarved in her derectshion. ''I understand being worryed for Penial. But if a war and a behemoth can't kill him, not just can.'' She moved to a more gental voice. Gith's smile slid off the second she started talking. ''I already said this was't just about Penial, this is about doing whats right.'' He said, Penial noding along with him. ''Don't you want are family to not lose are home; are ledisey!'' The lady in the green dress said in the tone only a scolding mother could. ''No!... That being said...'' Gith hesitated. ''I don't want anyone to die. Wather it's Penial or anyone else.'' The lady in green frowd her brow. ''You care if some drain dies?''

Gith's lips slid apart, he looked right to her eyes now. ''… And you don't care if one of your own clan mates dies?''

The stones had anuff of this none sense. Gith broke a unsaid rule. And they wear livided. Yelling, cersing and any sort of verbail attacks wear herlded at Gith's way. The shock and anger he felt before left in replace of fear. The fact that he was't the most fisicly strong young man did't help. He's hands tightend together, and he looked to the window to the left. Wear no one sat near.

Penial had a feeling they wear't going to convince any one at this point in time. Calmly he grabed Gith's rist and walked past the crowd to the frunt door. They could clearly hear the shouting died down right after they shut the door behind them. ''Thairs a chance we could convince them at the meeting.'' Penial said quitely. ''I know they get more anger at meetings, but maybe we can use that?...'' Penial finished. He did't sound all that sher of himself. ''Penial?'' Gith asked not looking right at him. ''Yes?'' Now Gith turnded he's head more to the right. ''Do you think the drains care if we die?'' Now he was looking derectly at the large forist right besides the house.

Chapter six

Webic smiled back at Adriel. Unforcinity for Jensal wean Adriel turnded aronde to him, he's smile showed a little more teeth. And a lot less fatherly love. Adriel's face did't change as he watched Jensal fix he's shoulder peaches. Jensal grabed the sword laying beside him, agenst the faded brown fench. And the two men steped closer in unisen, five feet apart.

The hole choseing afare toke four hole hours, and now they wear pushing five. The plan was that every women and elder (and the few men that did't want to fight.) to vote on who should fight. At the end it was a tie between four men. Now the new inproved plan was to put them into gropes of twos, give them training swords so they would't hard each other to bad. and the winner of both of the fights would go agenst each others. And they'd have thair winer.

The first fight was won by a younge man named Gabe. It was't much of a surprise that Gabe won the first one, the second fight was a little harder to tell.

Thought the new plan was liked by just about everyone, no one had to much of a intrest in watching thair family members fighting it out. It toke Adriel a lot convinceing to even get Talitha thair. But of couse, Webic was exsided to watch he's dad win with out a scratch.

Adriel's left hand tightend on the dule sword. He's smile droped as he foucesed on he's cusen. ''In five.'' Rhin called from the front... well of about five people. Jensal's nees sunck chloser to the grond. And both of he's hands tigtend on the training sword. ''One, two.'' Rhin started. Adriel focused on Jensal's legs. ''Three, four.'' Mainly on how skiny they wear conpared to the rest of he's body. ''Five!''

Adriel was slitly chot off gard. Jensal closed the space between them in less then hafe a second. What Adriel really did't exspect was the way Jensal used the sword. He slamed the side of the sword agenst Adriel's sholder. Not even maniging to rip Adriel's red top. They wear close anuff to tough with out ah sword. And with out thinking, Adriel steped back twice sharply. Jensal maniged to bloke the ponit of Adriel's sword just as it flown out at he's stomic. The second time Adriel amed for he's face. Jensal maniged to jump back, but he could have sworn he felt the vary tip of the sword on he's top lip. Jensal trying swinging at the other man's chest, but he underestmadid how far apart they wear and missed. This gave Adriel time to move closer and stab him in the right arm. The arm that was holding the sword.

Adriel was gonna point the sword at Jensal head wean he fell down. But Adriel neerly gasped wean Jensal roled behind him. And wean he stuld up he had the sword with with. How could he do that? Adriel wonders.

The next serise of attacks happened so fast that Jensal could barely proses them. Three times Adriel jumped right at him. Looking more angry every time. And three time Jensal side steped. Swinging he's sword at he's attacker with little resoltis. Only cuts hear and thair, could have done the same with paper.

Then Jensal breathed in suddenly (He did't know he was holding it.) and flung the sword right at Adriel's head. Adriel ducked, and slashed Jensal's nee.

Jensal lost all the air he sucked in wean he fell front first. Adriel barely had time to move out of the way. Jensal emiditly used he's left shoulder to prop he's leg off the grond. Leaveing the wide bright red cut, and the splater of blood left on the ground wean he fell, open for the five people watching to see fully. Jensal did't notice wean Adriel pointed the sword to he's head. Nore wean Rhin came out and said in a wavely tone. ''...Ah- Adriel drain won!''

Adriel looked to Rhin and smiled. Like wean he was a little kid a wanted to show he's father the first bass he ever chalt. '' Yes... That means it's between you and Gabe.'' Rhin nearly wisprd. Gabe himself was one of the five in the crond. And he thrond wean Adriel turnd to him, still smileing. ''Gabe! Did't you fight in that same war that Penial faght in right?'' Adriel asked, rather chiper. Gabe only noded. Adriel noded back, and tried helping Jensal up along with Rhin. ''Great.'' Adriel said to himself.

Chapter seven

Penial nearly jumped right of he's own skin wean lound knocking come from he's window. He sat up from the wooden chair so quickly he almost broke he's own neck. The window was on the wall that the wooden chair was leaning on, that meant that Penial only had to take one large step to be standing next to the window. Gith was on the other side wearing he's work clothes. The one with black bare skin, and that dume looking hat. It could keep you warm anuff around the egiys of the clan tarritory, on the side farthit away from Oursal. But the sides of cloth to the right and left cirled up like devil horns. ''Gith! I was almost asleep!'' Penial yelled. ''And you should't you be on potrol!?'' For it being as late as it was, Gith seemed rather bright eyed and bushy tailed. ''No. last time a Oursal tried to attack was two months ago. And normaly by that time Redburn gos easyer on use petrolers. Resonmare is a difrint story.'' The last part Gith muterd. Penial layed he's right hand on the side of the window for suport. Unintenshly making him look far taller to Gith. ''Ha... Ok, sher but why are you hear in the first place?'' Penial asked grogaly. ''I'll tell ya.'' Gith started. ''Just promise to keep a open mind about this.'' Penial noded, paying better attenshion to him. Gith choused he's words carefully. ''I don't think I ever told you but Abital has been visiting me as of late.'' Penial thought for a moment, then said. ''I'm gonna be honist, I belived she left the clan a long time ago.'' Penial removed he's hand from the wall and stuld more straght. ''If I'de known she was still around, I would have tried harder this morning.''

Penial palsed. And then looked back to Gith. ''Why did't you tell me before?'' Penial asked. Making Gith stiffen up. ''She dosen't want the family knowing she's still hear. But! She's planing on leaveing for Arowana after she ganes anuff silver.'' It was probaby a good thing Gith was't making eye contat at that moment, because Penial glard at him. And he's voice did't show it off at well. ''Arowana! You wear gonna let her go to Arowana with out stoping her!?'' Gith's right hand picked at the end of he's black fur top. ''… She told me that Welnor was too bissy with Oursal to ever take art serisly.''

At this point Penial forgot that he was't talking to Abital herself. Luckly for him Gith had heard Abital's opinines of Welnor to write a book about it. ''Of couse we don't have time for that kind of stuff! Who could wean Oursal is- well Oursal!'' Penial yelled. ''She knows that.'' Gith begain. ''But you know how she fells about her poitry. And Abital's works would probably have a far greater chance of being noticed in Arowana then hear.'' Penial steped back, closeing he's eyes as he thought. ''I dougt she'd even get into Arowana. It's hard anuff getting in any other clan, let alone Arowana!'' Out of the blue Penial felt a twing of simpathy for the drains. Redburn most likely had the same felling wean (at the time.) thirdy- two, men women and children came at the left borders. Without a singal real wepon to be seen. Bloodly and hungery. In fact, Penial thought he once heard that more tried to leave Oursal with them, but did't make it past the clan's borders.

''Wate, wate!'' Penial held out he's hand and asked. ''Why are you even hear?'' Now both of Gith's hands wear figiting with the end of he's shirt. ''You see. She was't informed about the meeting with Redburn. And so- ah, I never got to telling her about the... you know, hole thing.'' Gith stamrded. Penial noded slowly. Saying. ''Go on.'' Gith noded back, only much faster. ''I need help. I don't know how to start telling her.'' Gith said. ''I would love to see her agine!'' Penial ameted. And Gith's eyes widen. ''She has't said a word to me sence Sapphira died.'' ''No! No I did't mean that!'' Gith yelled. Penial throned. Gith backed up ah cople of steps. ''I'm sorry.'' Gith wisperd. ''But I should't have told you ask of this. And asking you if even worse.'' Penial's face shrunched up, he's hands tigtening. ''And why'd you even come Gith!?'' Penial asked. Gith did't have much of a intrest in looking up. ''Your better at- well talking Penial, then me at lest.'' He said honistly. ''I was hopeing you couse give me edvice on what to say... So could you?''

Penial throne did't lighten in any way. But he did make a aefort to sound more kind. '' I don't like talking outside. Besides its far too cold to leave a window open.''

Abital gazed over the damp and torn note book she held. Beside her was the finer white book. Tentikly the quill she writes with was her most exspensive poseshion. But the fine white book was her favrite thing she ever had.

A qorter of a mile from the large stone bilding wear the leader of the clan and he's family lived, was the maids's house. That being said, it was more of a large room. The resion Redburn wanted all the workrs to live in the same place was because Oursal tried sending in spys a long time ago. That did't exsplain why the house had to be so small. And after work, all the women would huddle up and conplan. Every singal night. Adriel was probaly the only girl that did't hate it. She never liked sleeping alone, the more the marryer right? Couse being poked and kicked was't much fun. And the bickering at the end of the day did't seem like a good way to end a day to Abital. But still, it reminded Abital of wean she was a little girl. Back wean she sleept with her parents. They never had the money to get a other bed. A lot changed wean she was eleven.

It was't the light kocking Abital heard, it was gasps from the girls next to the door she heard. She barely had time to look at the door before a women jumped up and swunged the door open. At the doorway was Gith, looking warn out wareing he's work clothes. ''Sorry ladies, but I'm looking for someone named Abital.'' Gith asked timidly. Before  Abital could respond, a small girl stuld up. ''What do you need sir?'' The girl asked sternly. Some times it was hard having such a classical name like Abital. Everyone's mother, wife and daugter seemed to have it. Gith blushed. ''Oh no, I'm so sorry. Your not the Abital I'm looking for. My'en has red hair.'' Abital jercked up off her sheet, and looked him in the eyes. ''I do not! Have red hair Gith!'' She screemed the word not. She's lieing. Gith jumped back, making it harder to see him in the night. They only had one candle after all. ''I know that! I know that! You've told me before.'' Gith cryed. Abital layed her fists on her hips ''Aparently you don't!'' The girls in the room wear at this point copletly silenct, takeing notes for later. ''I'm sorry.'' Gith moved down from one steping stone to the aother.(Gith did't know that the stones wear the same ones he and Penial sat on wean they used to fish years ago.) Abital's eyes opend all the way, and she throned. ''Ah- come on!'' the vary second she flung her right leg out, and made her way across the room, every girl in the room started wispering. Abital felt someone taping her on the shoulder before she left. She did't stop, Abital did catch what the other girl said. ''Good luck with your solemate.'' The girl tested. Abital would have loved to see her face if she told her that he was her cusen. But she did't want anyone of her co-workers knowing she was a stone.

Her heard someone shut the door behind her. But of couse, not before saying something about privisy. What do they know about privisy? Abital wonderd. ''I'm sorry Gith.'' Abital apoligised stiffly. Gith walked clother to Abital. '' I forgive you. Mmm... I have something to tell you.'' Gith mumbled. Abital noded. '' Have you ever been to a meeting with Redburn?'' Gith asked. ''I was too younge.'' She replied. ''I really want to be you.'' That made Abital laught. That was't really what Gith meant to do, not that he had a problum with that. '' Well the last one did't go so well.'' Gith had a habit of loseing a smile just as soon as he got it. '' Redburn is gonna make one of the drains and one of use fight to death! It's called the last sword, I think.'' Abital did't make a singal noise. Gith went on uncertion. ''And... This is  something a clan like Oursal would do. I think it even comes from it.'' Abital turned to the side, holding a hand on her head. '' Oh god.'' She breathed. Gith started picking at the end of he's shirt. ''Sorry about not telling you yesterday.'' He apoligised. Abital waved her hand, looking to the ground still. '' No no. I...'' She then looked back to Gith. ''Weans the next meeting? Thair has to be a follow up.'' She asked. '' Next... It's tomarrow.'' Gith said flatly. Abital made a sound similar to a cokeing noise. She stayed quite for a minite. Gith did't want to upset her by saying anything. She swung her head but just after she shuved her hands in the pokets on the sides of her dress. ''I'm gonna be sick tomarow!'' Abital exsplained. ''Ok?'' Gith throned. ''No! I mean I'll say that I'm sick, and I have to leave so my family can take care of me.'' She exsplained. ''You want to come?'' Gith asked. He had't seen her with any other family member seens they wear teens. Doing now seemed wrong in a way. ''I'll dress up. No one will see its me.'' The joy of comeing up with iden did't stay long for Abital. ''I must go. The girls will think something is up.'' Abital said turning to leave. ''Ah- ok. I'll see you thair.'' Gith said. And watched her starting up the way to the house. ''Oh, Wate!'' Gith called. And Abital looked to him. ''You do that if this does happen, and the last sword does happen, that your dad will fight right?'' Gith asked softly. Abital cringed, persing her lips, trying to think of what to say. '' That is't my problum. I'm only worryed about  the fact that you and me may leave.''

Gith tried waveing bye before she shut the door, but he did't think she even sall. Gith signd. '' At lest, that could have gone worse.'' He resoned.

Chapter eight

Packa always had to look down wean she wore her cape. It was one of the coldist days with out snow she ever seen. And Packa had to go too see Resonmare today. So not wearing the cape was't a opshen. The lime green cape was made for a man, wick was why it was too long. But Packa could't bring herself to cut it. She thought it was far too beautiful. Plus it was a gift.

Packa stoped. No she had't seen a single man, women, or child seens she left her house. Wick of strange given the fact she lived right next to the drains. Thair wear so memy of them living in that house, that not seeing one was beoned strange. Sence no one was watching, she lifted the lime cape off the stone rode for just one minite. Packa did't like the way it looked wean she lifted the cape up. Now with her new found speed, she could injoy how pritty the being of the middle side of Welnor was. Thair was always flowers that came up yearly around hear. Bluebellys mainly. But thair wear others.

The blod of black stuld out so garingly from the perple, that Packa did't even need to be looking anywear neer it to see the thing. She stoped and turned to her left to get a better look at it. Then out of the black blod came a brown looking one, both moveing slowly. Suddenly to Packa the two blod looked like two people walking in the fild. '' Bet thair drains.'' Packa thought out loud. She wanted to go and ask them why thair house was so quite today, but that seemed a little to personal. Packa would't be surprised if someone in the family just died. Yeah that made a lot of sence. Packa let her cape go down agien. Trying not to keep looking back at the two far off figers.

It was odd anuff that the drains wear so quite today, no maids outside really silded the deal. But the oddist thing was that of all people, Resonmare opened the door. ''No ones allowed in today miss.'' Resonmare exsplained, with her trad mark emoshunless voice. Had she ever even gotten angry? '' But I only came to see you.'' Packa said. ''It's not some big crazy deal. I just came to report something.'' Resonmare shuck her head. '' If it is't a that inporton, you can come and report it tomarow.'' She said. Packa moved her lime green cape over her front better. Intending to stay a willy. '' Whats happened? Wear are all the maids? And why are you of all people ansering the door?'' Packa asked. But before Resonmare could anser a singal qeshtion, Packa made a ather observashion. '' And speeking of odd, why are you so dressed up? I know that a rent has to stay proper. But your clotheing does seem a tad over done for a normal day.'' Resonmare was well known outside of the clan for wearing full blown armor wean she was anywear neer the border. And inside the clan she was tipikly seen in hunting clothes. (because fighting and hunting wear mainly the onlt two things she'd ever done.) Resonmare wearing a noble man's dress was only really seen wean she and Redburn went to clan meetings. And even that was rare because she normaly stayed behind and leads incase of a Oursal attack.

''I can't answer any of your qeshtions miss. You'll just have to see me tomarow about that report.'' Packa tried to reson more with her, but she steped backwards and pushed the old wooden doors shut. Packa wanted to start kocking agine till Resonmare had to come out. But hounistly Resonmare was kind of scary. Packa would't be surprised if Resonmare looked at her the same way she looked at a Oursal warrior she was about to kill.

On that happy note, Packa spun around and started walking back home. '' Perhaps I could go into the vary middle of the clan and get something for mama.'' She thought out load. The iden of going home with out anything being gained seemed repulsive to Packa. She hed a plethra of friends to talk to, but everyone would to bissy to see her. And she did't fell like reading today. But maybe looking for a new book would be fun? But her mom was't fund of books- Packa lost trake of time. And now the bilding she left was out of signt. And two people wear walking up the road to her. They wear the black and brown blobs from before. Only now they wear both men. The black one seemed to be walking funny. And to Packa's joy the one in the brown farming sut was Marnal. '' Good morning Marnal!'' Packa called, waveing at him. She would have ran but the lime cape.  Marnal looked away from the other man and smiled. '' Morning Packa!'' He called. Marnal was careing a small bag, round shapes bolged out at every side. And given the fact he was holding it like a baby, Packa had a every good iden what it was. '' Should't you be keeping thoughts for winter?'' She asked. Just then the smaller man wearing the black clothes pated Marnal on the shoulder. '' Nah! Did't he tell ya that it was a good year for the frunt. This right hear.'' The man pounted to the bag. ''Is the last Marnal's gonna sell this year.'' He finished. Marnal noded. ''He did tell me.'' Packa turned her attenshion to the smaller man. ''Are family to Marnal?'' The smaller man throned. ''No. I've been your nabor as long as I've been in Welnor. How do you not know me by now?''

Packa plased. Oh no. She thought. He's a drain. Packa hardly know any of the drains personly, and she intended on keeping it that way. Trusting anyone from Oursal was no difrint then trusting the devil. It's not that Packa did't pity them, but sherly they must have picked up more then one bad moral. Still she tried smileing despite it. ''I'm sorry, but I don't reconive you.'' Packa apoligised. Marnal shifted the wate on he's arms so he could hold the bag more contfribley. ''This is Adriel. He's ah drinking buddy of I'm'' Marnal said. Then he looked left to Adriel. ''And she's Packa. I sell goods to her father.'' Adriel started smileing agine. ''You did't need to tell me that. I already know plenty about her.'' He said. '' You'd never gess what happened to me today!'' Packa started. Turning her attenshion to Marnal. ''I was going to see Resonmare today to report a theth. But they would't let me in! Thair was't a singal maid neer the place! Resonmare herself anserd the door!'' She yelled. '' Oh. Adriel and the rest of he's family are going to a meeting.'' Marnal exsplained, then looked to Adriel and asked. ''Why would the maids leave thought?'' Adriel shruged stifly. ''It's a puzzle. Just one of thoughts meetings about stoping the fight between the stones. You know how it is!'' Adriel laughed. Once more Marnal changed the way he held he's bag. ''Can we keep going thought? You said you wanted to be thair early Adriel. And I can't keep holding this with out walking.'' The vary second Marnal finished, Adriel started walking. ''Your right! It was nice getting a chace to talk to you Packa!''

Then Marnal and Adriel headed down the road. But just before they once agine looked like colorful blods, Packa lifted her lime cape above her feet and ran after them. ''Hey!'' She called. Marnal looked back to her. ''Ah, what's wrong?'' Packa droped the cape. ''I can walk you thair.'' Packa said. Marnal shruged. Adriel did't seem to notice. '' Hey Adriel, If you don't mind me asking, wean I left home today your house was vary quite. Was anyone thair?'' Packa asked. Adriel noded. ''Everyones thair, we wear all up late yesterday. I'm probably the only one up.'' Adriel anserd. Packa smiled. ''That exsplains the way your walking.'' Adriel stoped walking, and finaly looked to her. ''I'm not tiyerd. I injerd my leg.'' Then he lifted he's left leg's pants to he's neek, wear a thick cloth was raped aroned. ''Gosh! How'd you get it so bad that it went all aroned the leg!?'' Packa asked. Marnal stoped walking and looked back. Adriel ponited to one spot below the neek. ''Its really not that large, my wife was just codleing me.'' Adriel said. Packa and Marnal ckuckled. But Adriel just went on. ''I got it in a fight with one of my cusens.'' He moved the pants back down. ''Don't tell anyone, I need to be at that meeting.'' Adriel finished. Packa rased a eyebrow. ''Did't you say that the meeting was like any other?'' Adriel caute he's breath, but quickly grined. ''It is. But it's my son's first time going, and I want to be thair with him. He's nervise.'' Packa noded. And they started going agine. The bilding comeing into sight. ''How can you even walk? That still sounds painful.'' Packa pointed out. Watching her cape on the grond agine. ''I'm good at takeing pain.'' Adriel anserd. Marnal spoke up suddenly. ''Yep! He said a dog bite him on the face wean he was ten.'' Packa looked back to Adriel, and he pointed to three fant presher marks on he's face. ''That's right. I bet no other ten year old could have takeing it so well.'' Adriel braged. ''He was sherly crying like a girl.'' Marnal mumbled.

Before Packa know it, they wear back at Redburn's house, and the place for meetings with other clans. Or iner problumes. Other hafe of them had something to do with Oursal. ''Welp! I have to get to town. My arms are burning.'' Marnal exsclamed. Adriel noded. ''Nice talking to you Marnal.'' Adriel turned to Packa. ''And I hope to get to know you better Packa.'' Adriel moved closer to the front door. ''I do too.''

the three split up. Packa was surprised to actshly injoy talking to a drain of all people. Most conversashions wear mainly just yelling at one of them for steping on her flowers, or stapleing her grass into durt wear the children play neer her house. They brote all kinds of strang games and holidays from Oursal wean they left. But some seemed kind of fun. Even if they did't to her flowers. Packa could't help but wonder what life in Oursal was like.

Chapter nine

Now noramly, meetings of iner clan problums wear held in a hut outside of Redburn's home. So if any fights brake out, nothing inportion will be dameiged. (this pratise was for the most part started by the stones and drains themselves.) But do to how inprtion and privite this one was, it was held in Redburn's house (wear all the Welnor leders used to live, Welnor's capital.)senter of the bilding, The largeist room in the bilding. Not meny other clans liked meeting in Welnor, (Even Mouche.) but if they did, it was hear. Unlike any other room in the house, this one was primaraly a dark stone. At the front of the room was four thrones. A long time ago the leders of Welnor, Eitilt, Mouche, and the now dead clan. Would meet hear and descas how to better the east side of Delnet. Back then the clans wear young. And it seemed the would itself wanted every clan dead. The Clonth hunting skills had't been invented yet. Scaviging was mostly the only opshen. Farming was cruld and baseic at best. And the heat killed every day. The clans to the east acted as more of one clan. Long before Oursal came as a band of forgoten clan members from the west. None of the clans (Even Arowana.) had the time, or really the contact with each other, to have wars. Only small battles over land.

Now the four thrones wear striped of any desings that would tell which clan it was for. So any clan leder or thair rent could sit thair. Beond the four thrones wear lines of dark stone anest the walls. Most clans had this kind of desing go in more of a cercal then strat narrow lines across the wall. But this room had hardly been changed from it's origunal layout.

It had just anuff room to let every member of the stone and drain family sit down. Resonmare tried to  get the familys siting together on the left and right sides, but the vary second they came in they chose. Barely anyone was mixed.

Redburn sat for now. But was planing on standing up wean the meeting started. Like he dose dering hut meetings.Wilst Resonmare sat on the throne faceing the right. None of Redburn's family members came to the meeting. As far as any of them know, this was just a more inportion meeting then one to be held in a hut. If a clan leder was marryed or had a first born child, it was manditory for iner clan meetings to have them come along. But to some Welnor clan members desmay, as long as Redburn had been leder he never was wed.

''Belive me, spreeding them out is the best opshin we have.'' Resonmare leading over to Redburn and said. He held up he's hand, and Resonmare went silint. Redburn watched each side till they both setalded in thair places. Redburn looked back to Resonmare. ''If I'm loseing thair intrust, come up.'' She noded. And Redburn stuld up.

''Ok! So we all know what's going on.'' Redburn begain, walking to the vary middle of the room. All eyes looked stragt at him. ''I have desiged that the fighting is ending. I don't care wather or not you wear born hear or not. We've tried talking for years. But if Oursal has tought me anything, talking does little wean people have thair minds set.'' Redburn was a little surprised wean he palsed, everyone stayed quite. They noramly yelled or at lest mumbled wean Oursal was menshinded. ''We have three ways to go about this. One we have the rest of the clan vote. Two, the last sword.'' Redburn qlanced over to Resonmare. ''Or three, one of the two familys moved to the ends of the clan.''

The quite from before was lost. Not quite yelling, but still pleanty loud anuff to drown out your thoughts. Liveing neer the ends of the clan was a death wish. Even if you wear on the opisent side to Oursal. Potrol gaurds armed themselves as soldiers.

Redburn looked out for members of eather family that looked like a good pick. On the left side he picked out a lady with crimson hair looking deep in thought and pointed at her. ''Ah- you miss!'' She snaped up looking surprised. And copyed him by poniting at herself. ''I'm speeking to you. What do you think about this?'' Redburn asked. The crimson lady just looked inbarised. '' Yes! I, I think- know that voteing won't help my family. And sending us too the end of the clan would kill more then the last sword... Do you see wear I'm comeing from!?'' She finished. Never looking her leader in the eyes.

Redburn noded. He'd have to pick someone older next time. She did't seem to be a adult yet. Redburn looked over to the other side. It was't hard for him to find he's next target and point the person out. ''You have any thing to may sir?'' The man he adresed he know himself, it was a border potrol guard. One of the stones. ''You sould know a great deal about the borders.''

The guard did't seem to ken on being pointed out eather. But never the less he stuld up, speaking clearly. ''I've thought a great deal about this.'' The guard started, quitly glanceing over to a lady beside him. ''And going thought with the last sword is wrong. It is a Oursal trdishion after all. But, we could try a none fatal verson. Its gos all the same but its the first one that sudrenders.'' The guard sugested. Most stoped to lisen. ''I an't so sher how that would work, but it is something.'' Redburn said. The guard started looking confesed. ''It's vary simal.'' Then he added with speed. ''Not insalting your inteligens! It's rather easy to pick a winer with out killing.'' The guard exsplained. Resonmare leaded in. and Redburn shuck he's head. ''Not insalting your inteligens sir, but I would bet my life that giving a stone and ah drain a sword and telling them to fight. I don't see how they would't kill each other.'' Redburn said grimly. The guard stuld straght up, never moveing a ince. ''I agree. But mite as well try. And seending us to the bourder is far worse then seending us out all together.'' The guard mumbled.

''Thank you for the sevesten. Anyone else?'' Redburn asked. Most in the two lines of people fumbled around. Mumbled hear and thair. None stuld up or spoke out. Redburn held himself back from jumping away wean Resonmare suddenly aperd next to him. It did't help that her exspreshion was blake. ''Seems no one has anything to say. Hears what will happen next.'' She glanced over to Redburn. He noded. ''You'll all vote amoge yourselfs, between the three opshines.'' Resonmare paulsed. ''But before we start voteing, We want to see who been picked to fight for each family.''

It was't hard for anyone to see Penial on the right fumbleing out of he's seat and pushing past others. But to the left everyone shoted back for the man comeing out. They both stoped around five feet from Redburn and Resonmare. Redburn did't know who to exspecet from the drains. He hardly know any of them personly. But it was't that the man was rather small conparded to Penial that surprised him. It was that the man seemed to be trying to hide a leg injery. It would't have been too ovise to anyone, but Redburn know what a injery looked like. The man should have walked down with a cruch, or not walked at all. ''Ah, I could have gessed Penial would be hear.'' Resonmare said. She did that some times, talking for Redburn. ''You should't have.'' The last part confised everyone in the room, exsept Penial. Resonmare looked over to the smaller man, but before she could speck Redburn started. ''What's your name sir?'' He asked. The man's face became more sturn. ''My name's Adriel. I'm a drain sir.'' The man answerd. ''What's wrong with your leg thair?'' Redburn sall Adriel's eye twicg. ''Yes- I injerd it yesterday. It's nothing to be conserd over.'' Adriel Said, not looking at Penial. Who wants to look at a man your gonna kill?

Redburn looked to Resonmare and back. Resonmare asked first. ''How did you injer it?'' Adriel huffed involintarly. ''We needed a contest to deside who would be best to go. I won, but was stabed in the leg.''

Redburn exspeted as much, but nerly everyone on the right side started talking. What they wear saying it was hard to tell. ''I see. Anything to add Penial?'' Resonmare asked. ''No.'' Penial responded in a dule tone. ''Well then!'' Redburn yelled so everyone could hear. ''Are we ready to start Resonmare?''

Chapter ten

Most foke outside of the two largeist familys, know that wean a groop of stones or drains gos out together its best to stay out of the way. It was't that people had a problum with one or two members at a time, stones wear like anyone else in the clan. And drains, even with the strang habbets they have, thair just as friendly as anyone else. But no one outside (and sometimes inside.) cared for the fighting.

It was't the first time people- even a whole family, had moved from one clan to aouther of couse. And Oursal for all it's vilince in trying to control the now three neerist clans. Before it's time, leaveing a clan for any resion was the end of the line. You eather become a outcast for the rest of your life, or you'd die from lack of food and shelter. But wean members of Clonth, Bass, and Arowana left and built Oursal looking for a more free clan. Soon other clans let more outsiders in wean more new clans after Oursal took away thair members. This was also beneficial to the older clans because incest was starting to be quite a problum.

But most people did't want to move to Welnor because of it being right next to Oursal. And no one leaveing Oursal had any intrest in going to the next clan over. So the drains wear quite the suprise wean they came. Really the only resing they went to Welnor was because they did't have the strangth to go any further. Eitiltl was most offen the place if Oursal members left. But not that meny in the clan wanted to leave. Other clans called Oursal the middle of a herican from the start.

Marnal watched men pass into the bar, then walk right back out mindlessly. He know they wear sober, because it had only been four minites sence they came. And agine, they kept comeing in and out. Not in any real pattern, just wondering and laughing. Marnal was leaning on a small house faceing the bar. Becuse of attacks at the ends of the clan, instead of houses being neer the ends and the market place being in the middle like most clans, Welnor had them all mixed together. Marnal was going to see Adriel hear, (Adriel did't tell him why he wanted to go out in this day in particular.) but Marnal could clearly tell that all the men going in and out wear Stones, and Marnal prayed he could chaut Adriel before he went into lion's den.

It was however becoming more and more tembting to just go in. For it had starting snowing that morning, and Marnal had only armed himself with a thin gray coveing over he's normal work clouthes. The fact that he had't eaten in five hours did't help none. Marnal barely noticed wean a tall man stuld next to himself, it was only wean the man started mumbleing that Marnal looked to he's right. It toke him a cople of seconds till he reconized the man. ''Oh, Hello! I have't seen you in a long time!'' Marnal spook loud. Penial turned wide eyed. But quicky he's exspreshion changed to confishion. ''It must have been, because I have don't seem to reconiz you sir. Sorry.'' Penial said. Marnal noded, moveing up from the house's walls. ''I did't think you would. I was one of the men that tried killing that behemoth, like what- three years ago?'' He said. Penial shoved he's hands in he's capes pokets. Marnal wonderd why Penial was wearing such fine clothes in weather like this. ''Actshly it was more then three.'' Penial stated. Then changed the subject. ''Wear you one of the guys that got steped on? I'm shocked no one died from that.'' Marnal throned. ''No I was't.'' Marnal did't have too much of a intrest in telling him that he could't get a singal hit in the beast. Penial did't pick up on Marnal's tone, and he looked over to the bar. More spifiky the men going in and out still. ''Hi, do you know what's up with the stones over thair?'' Marnal asked. ''Just a night out! And I'm a stone.'' Penial anserd with out looking back. ''Oh.'' Marnal did't make any attempt to see him goodbye wean Penial off walked to the bar. Leaveing Marnal even more worryed for Adriel's sack.

Penial was't too shocked wean all he's cousins yelled in prace wean they sall him. Penial pushed up a smile. And kept he's tone friendly and motist. ''I'll swar on my soul your the only resion everyone voted right!'' A man with black hair yelled. Penial only noded along as he was pulled into the public house.

Chapter eleven. Is that how one spells it?

He sould have been out twenty four minites ago. But every cople seconds someone pesterd him. It was't that he could't understand why they wear consernd, (Talitha most of all.) but thair acting like he was going to die. Every cople of seconds a new person stops Adriel and tells him he's going mad.

Infact the only person in the hole family that did't doute Adriel- never doutes Adriel, is Webic. Every time Adriel sees a new face he's ready for a new fight. But wean he sall Webic standing six feet away looking puplext, he smiled. ''Wear you going?'' Webic asked. ''Do you remember the man that came down a cople of weeks ago? The one with yelow hair?'' Adriel asked and Webic noded. ''Wear going out for a time. I'll won't be back by the time you'll be asleep. But I will be around by morning.'' Adriel exsplained, then moved the thin sheet back. The only thing keeping them even slitly warm. Webic shiverd. ''Your gonna fight are't you!? I need to be thair!'' Webic said exsidedly. ''No. that's in two weeks.'' Adriel started out the house. ''Ah...'' The cloth fell behind Adriel and he ran out. Hopeing to not hear any more about it anymore this night. Exspeshly from Webic.

The drain's house was't quite in the middle of Welnor like most houses. But it was close anuff to make a fine walking destince to the middle. Infact the drains made the house themselves. Normaly Adriel did't have a problum with that. But truging throw snow and not being able to find the bar was't idel. To Adriel, he was positive that if he did't find the bar soon, Marnal would have he's head the next day.

Most clans would have thair bars lit up with torches and large sgins on the outside. Welnor despite it's size they only had one bar. And because all the houses wear next to the bar, the owners of the bar did't want any children getting inside. So it looked more like a large house then a bar, the only way you could tell was the guard outside and more windows. This night thought it was't hard to spot the bar. Men made loud recuse inside. This would't be strang for Clonth or Rensall or Arowana, but it was for Welnor. And Adriel walked right up to it.

Needless to say, the bar was so much warmer then outside in winter. So much so that Adriel ckeeks and hands felt dume. Adriel sat neer one of the windows on the left of the bar. The strang men wear mostly on the right. He emiditly felt bad wean Marnal was no wear to be found. ''Ah gess- He's gone!'' Adriel wiend. ''What's the point now?'' Knowing no one was looking, he let he's injerd leg lay out farther then the other. If someone was seting opisent to him he'd bump into them.

Under most circumstances, Adriel genuenly would't stear at other people did't know. No matter how intresting they wear. But if your as loud as the fokes to the right wear, you defitly desirve it. Adriel did't think they notice him anyway.

Most of the men wear huddeld around one larger table neer the top right corner. ''Someone must be rather intres...'' Adriel trailed off. ''It must be that Penial guy over thair.'' Adriel thought out loud. Suddenly it seemed like everyone in the room was looking derectly at Adriel. Quickly he stuld up and began walking (really it was more like runing.) to the front door.

The blast of blinding cold wind that hit he's scrunched up face almost made him want to retret back inside. Still he steped four slow steps ahead and with some resistins, shut the door behind him. Doors in Welnor had to be stronger then doors in any other clan, because they wear the closesit clan to the snow lands of deliten. And that meant keeping out the cold was a year round problum. And on a windly night like this one, Adriel had a hard time doing so being rather short. Few men wear outside the bar, and Adriel liked it that way. ''I was just leaveing!'' Adriel turned he's head to the left, wear the man's voice rang. It was Marnal, next to a cople other guys. Marnal said something to the others then walked over to Adriel and wisperd. ''Don't go in that bar. Every man in the stone family must be in thair.'' Adriel did't see it fit to wisper along wean no one was close anymore. ''I just left the bar. I figerd you went. And I already got that the men in thair wear stones.'' the next part he said with some hesitashion. ''Penial was in thair I belive.'' Marnal hised a eyebrow. ''I got to talk to him before he went in actshly. Seemed like a nice guy. Did he ever attack any of your family?'' Marnal lost he's wisper and started talking in a normal tone. ''I'll never le- Ah! No he hasent.'' Adriel said.

Voices grow louder behind the two men talking, still nether of them could enor it. ''No doute two samons fighting would make a more intresting show!'' One of the men laughted. ''I bet the other guy triped!'' Said a aother. The four men toned down the laughter wean they noticed Adriel and Marnal staring at them. ''You know Adriel?!'' One of the men asked Marnal. ''Yes, I've known him for a good wile now.'' None one thought that was amusing. Adriel signed. ''Marnal was talking to stones!'' He said to himself out loud, ones more. Marnal went quite. Suddenly one of the men pointed to Adriel's left leg. ''That won't be healed by the time for the fight.'' Adriel's face turned sturn. ''I walked all the way hear with hardy any pain! Your just trying to give me a fright.'' Adriel responded. Two of the men came closer. ''Even sill, it's a vary Oursal thing to do! Fighting your own so your can fight someone else.'' The other man said. Adriel brain cut off, and he throw a rardy fist right agenst the man's chest. The man fumbled five steps backwards. Gasping all the way, never falling. Ironikly thought, Adriel was the one who fell flat on he's stomic. Hiting he's chin on the gravel below. Before wean he stuld up to punch the larger man he put he's trust in he's left leg. And it could't take the wate of he's body.

Imidly Adriel roled on he's back. Burning pain tingaled in he's chin and face. Growing more intence by the second. The second man (howm was't punched.) stuld between Adriel and he's aproceing kin. ''If the drains of all people, picked him to fight Penial then he must be dangeruse!'' the second man yelled. Marnal lifted Adriel up off the ground rufly. ''My dog could fight better then him!'' The punched man laughted, with little real joy. ''Bu- Your putting yourself at risk!'' The second man resoned. ''Damnit Gith! Move!'' The punched man screemed. And Adriel stifend up. ''Redburn will be livied if he hears of this fight! Resonmare will get involved with out doute!'' The second man cryed. The man froze. ''… Your right.'' The punched man looked back down to Adriel, looking back just as angry. ''You've been wishing for death. And if I was you I'de leave right away.'' The punched man grabed the second man's sholder and walked off into the bar.

Adriel gently toughed he's chin, but recoled. Looking down at he's hand he sall dabs of blood. The chill air already started drying. ''You ok?'' Marnal turned to Adriel and asked. ''I'll live.'' Adriel spoke quietly. He turned around and started walking away from the bar, Marnal three feet behind. He had to baby he's left leg, with the new pain. ''Unbevlibe.'' Marnal mubled. ''Ah. What's that?'' Adriel asked. ''Not inporton.'' By Marnal's tone it was. Adriel throned. ''You know.'' Adriel said dryly. ''I'm better with a sword.''

Chapter twelve

The big problue was that she did't have anuff food. The maids wear provided food in the afternoon, but any other meals they had to get themselves. And Abital never had to much resion to keep that much food before. (Probably why she was so thin.) If she could even find a place to keep them.

So the plan was to stoke up at the senter of the clan,  and leave Welnor with Gith being the only man she'd say bye to. Not that she hated any of the girls at work. But exsplaining would take time. And Gith was more inportion.

Abital was't stupid. The second she sall that small man at the meeting. (Hidden beside of Gith, wearing large baggy clothes.) It was clear to her, that her father would kill him. Of couse, eather way she would have to leave. Abital did't think anyone but Gith known she was still in the clan. But out right breaking Redburn's word was crossing a line. And if Penial fell then she'd have to leave the clan. But of couse, he won't. And in some ways that was worse. Because her father would be a straght up killer. Not some kind of war hero, or a family man doing what he had to do. But a killer. And it did't matter that the little boy agreed to it; not in her eyes.

Leaveing her items on her blacket, Abital grabed her thin tan bag and her money and leaves the maid home for now. This would mark the vary first time she broght her beautful notebook out the maid's home seence she got it. Of all times this would't be the one to lose it. And she never truey trusts any of the girls thair not to tamper with it. Today was't the best day to go with it because it was snowing lightly. For now it was safe in her dress poket, but that did't stop her from worrying.

Before she left Abital pulled up her hair into a bun, tied it off with a long, thin, black ribbion. It was ment to go around the waist of her maid dress to hold the peach aprin, but her hair was rather long for a maid. And the lose strans really got in her face. (Most high class ladies in clans have long classicly braded hair. So it was a law that the maids had short hair. It was't one anymore, still most did.) And wear the only dress that was't her work outfit. Anyone who did't know her well would't have reconized her. Abital puferd it that way.

The senter of Welnor seemed num. None of the men wondering about made any noise or seemed to be going anywear in piticlar. The air felt clamy. And to Abital's dismay, she could't seem to remember wear that one tall (indead scary.) Bassen man who sold the best goods set up shop. Other shops wear up, but none as good. (Why he insested on going back and fourth from Bass and Welnor was any man's gess.)

Abital did't recognize him at first. She glansed, then looked back to the small shops, wean Abital hunted and turned back to the man on the other side of the smoth dirt road. ''Whow! Ah- Gith!'' She called while faceing the him, waveing her arm. Gith turned to her and throned, looking cofesed. ''Hel- Ah?'' Gith's face changed. ''What are you doing hear!?'' He asked. Abital throw her mety bag over her sholder carelessly and started walking over to Gith. ''Saveing up food.'' She said, but quickly changed her tone to a more serious tone. ''I'm leaveing as soon as I can. You... You should come with me.'' Gith had a blank look on he's face. ''Why are you leaveing now? You said that your gonna save up before you go to Arowana.'' Gith asked, still looking blank. ''It's not because of Arowana. And I don't have the money.'' Then Abital leaned close to Gith and wisperd. ''I don't want to be around wean the fight happens.''

''Oh.'' Gith mumbled. ''But wear sherly gonna w-win.'' He's voice went down as well. ''Don't care. I can't stay if they lose. And I won't stay if they win.'' Abital said furmly. Gith asumed the “they” was thair family. ''No one but me knows your still in the clan.'' Gith mumbled. Abital throned wean she picked up on how he's voice changed. ''Besides, who wants to be in a clan that suports that kind of law.'' Abital went on. ''I always thought of Redburn as a good Calrang. And sherly Resonmare. Ha! At this point Oursal looking better. Lest they let you chouse the clan leder once a decade.'' Gith stared at her for a few seconds, bewilderd. ''...You do know they don't let women vote. Or new a comer for tha-'' Abital roled her eyes. ''I did't mean I'm going thair! I'm probably heading to Eitilt. Thair close.'' She backed away a cople of steps. ''Please stay!'' Gith cryed. Abital palsed. ''I don't see why. Like I said; If they lose I'll have to go. And if they win I don't want to be neer a man I called family.'' She said quitely. Gith wanted to say that she never called him father or family anymore after Sapphira died, but he would't do that. ''But Abital... You'll never know if your dad lives.'' He mumbled. To Gith's suprise, Abital gave him a sympathetic look. Maybe even to her know suprise. ''Gith. I know your fond of my dad. But you know he killed my mom, and I don't care if he suverives or not.'' She said quitely. ''But don't you wanna know?'' Gith asked, more clearly this time. ''No.''

Gith scracked he's head, not used to being in the cold with out that large ugly hat they make all the gaurds wear. ''...If you stay till the end I'll go with you.'' Gith said timidly. Abital's sad look droped. ''Really? You mean if they lose?'' She asked, and Gith noded. ''Oh... But I'm still leaveing if they win you know.'' once more Gith noded. Abital steped back more. Looking to the ground thinking. Gith wated nervisely, keeping an eye out of anyone neer by that could hear. ''Ok, ok. Lisen.'' Abital started, Gith head snaped back to her derectshion. ''I'll stay for now. But I'm not gonna make any promises. Understuld?'' She finished. ''Conpletly. It's only a week away...'' Gith suddenly rememberd.

Abital folded her bag till it was a small rectangle and held it agenst her armpit. ''Regardly, I still need to bye food. Do ya want to come with me?'' Abital asked. Gith hestated, but cave in. ''I can't see why not.'' He lied. Abital lead the way, hopeing she could finaly find that bassen man.

Chapter thirdteen

It was only three days before the fight. Adriel was sat at the vary center of he's family. It came round in a cercal. All uncomfortability close to the fire in the middle.

People on the east side of delnet would call that a normal sized fire, for a winter night that is. But anyone on the west side would call it a forist five wateing to happen.

Adriel crunched up wear he sat. They did't have anuff chairs for the hole family outside, and none of the women or kids wanted to wash any exstra blankets, so Adriel had to set on the cold most ground. It would't bother him that much if everyone was't talking at all. Thay wear going to desuse what was going to happen if Adriel died, but no one had any real idens. Just hafe baked thoughts like 'we should go to Bass', or 'Mouche is a fine clan, at lest wean it comes to wether.' But no one really had much too add.

''I'll be fine.'' Adriel started. Couseing he's words carefully. ''That being said, you all should be papared. Anything can happen.'' Everyone watched him, sparked with a new intrest. ''I don't know what clan we could go to next, but we need to gather up what money we have to spare and see if it's near anuff to travle. Of couse we'll have to hunt...'' Adriel chalt the word we'll, in a shock it brought the nolage that thair would't be a we.

Adriel stratened up, looking ahead. He'd save that kind of thinking for later. ''It's not anuff.'' Everyone looked to the Rhin. He was at the vary back of thye cercal neer the left. ''I know that.'' Adriel said. Rhin gave he's son a blank look as Adriel put he's life on the line, and talked about falling. ''No point in talking on about it. You sould be descuseing what's going to be done for your family.'' Rhin mumbled. Adriel voice died. He tried to not think about that. And with he's wife not to be a part of this meeting, that meant he would't have to hear Talitha agreeing with him. Why can't she see that I'm the only one who can do this? Adriel asked himself.

''I have thought it over before.'' Adriel lied. Rhin did't look pleassed. ''You never wore a honeist man Adr, you know?'' Rhin stated nummly. Adriel scolled at him. God he hated wean that man called him Adr. “You are't doing a darn thing to help, so don't go all moral on me!” Adriel yelled. Rhin shook he's head disapprovingly. The rest of the men  (And some strong willed women.) watched on with a ever dying intrest. “And you are?” Rhin asked. “Because I think we'de be better off leaveing the clan regardless.'' Adriel throw he's hands in the chill air. Jumping up from the frozen ground so fast he hurt he's back. “Why did't you say that before!” Now Rhin seemed genuiney angry. “In that cround? I'm not killing myself over familly fudes.”

At that point Adriel was fed up with with father and turned back around to the house and left. Everyone glarded at Rhin. Thair gos thair fighter.

No one payed good attenshion to Webic, but he was sher that they wear. and thair for wanted to look as stowic as posable. Though he was't quite sher how to do that beond not looking sad. But Webic made serten that if anyone talked to him he'd speek clearly and keep a stiff upper lip.

Every few drains wear in the room. But the ones that wear (besides Webic.) mostly children and the cople of women watching them. Webic know he would'it be able to go to fighting itself, but that did't stop him from wanting to go to the last meeting between he's famliy. Webic's dad told him to watch out for he's mom, but he could tell he only said that to get him to stop protesting.

Long lound footsteps rang from room right next to the one the children and women wear in. Talitha jolted up, along with the other women. Just as Talitha stuld up right, Adriel stoped at the door. Talitha throne lighted up slightly. ''What are you doi-'' ''Thairs no point in being thair. Rhin is just herasing me.'' Adriel intrupted rarsh tone. Adriel brushed past Talitha and sat down near Webic. The other women in the room looked bourd and went back too talking too each other. ''I'm sorry about Rhin.'' Talitha said camly, yet roboticly. ''But you sould have stayed.'' Adriel did't look intrested. ''Ah, trust me, thair was no point in being thair.'' Talitha had a pretty good iden that he was lieing about that too some point. ''Do you not know what's at risk?'' Adriel roled he's eyes, making Talitha gasp, like the mother she is.

The women in the room watched in the same maner as Webic, afraid of any of the anger comeing from the parents being derected at them, despite neather of them giving a hint of doing so. Never dareing to speak up or making eye contact. Just watching in hesitashion.

''Are family dosen't make real plans! They just fight.'' Adriel yelled. ''Thair your family.'' Talitha said coldly. The other women (now along with the few children who wear old anuff to know what was happening.) looking oftend. ''Just trust me. I don't need to be thair.'' Said Adriel. Talitha throw her hands up. ''Your the only person that has to be at the meeting!'' She yelled. ''The meeting was't necessary.'' Adriel offerd flatly. That only made Talitha more angery. ''Hey, if you want me to go to back to the meeting, you can take my place.'' Then Adriel turned he's head away from her, to the left. ''Your just trying to get rid of me!'' Talitha cryed. But to Adriel's suprise she turned on her heal and stormed out of the room, then supsidly out the front door.

The women in the room slowly went back to talking to one aother. Thair children wear all ready asleep once more. Adriel rested he's head on the back back, wanting to go to bed but did't.

The hole time Webic sat next to he's dad. After Talitha left he kind of wanted to follow her, but he had something inporten to say to Adriel. Thought Webic feared that if he said anything Adriel would lash out at him. And he did't want to leave eather because what if Adriel hated that too.

So Webic stayed thair. Not speching or moveing. And Adriel did't have much intrest in doing eather or thoughts opeshins.

Chapter fourteen

Why was he's house so yelow? Penial asked this qeshtion before, but he always drawn a blank. Wean he made he's home long before he was marryed and a father, he had helped made the house along with some other men in the clan. Penial did't know to much in the way of house buliding at that time, so most of the proses was 'How about this doorway?' or 'Hay would coast a great deal less then fur ya know.' Just others asking him qestions and him ansering dumely.

But no know matter how much he tried Penial could't remember ever picking yelow for the living room, and bedroom. (which beside the storige room, was the hole house.) He did't hate the color, but he would much rather have Blue or gray.

Maybe it was the only color they had anuff of. After all most houses in Welnor did't have painted walls inside. Paint just was't too comen in the clan conpared to some other the clans in the north.

Really Penial would't care about that little detall if it was't because everyone was poniting it out all day long.

It was the night before the last day Penial would have till the fight. And wean he was asked, Penial allowed the rest of he's family to come to he's house to 'descuse' the fight. But as of now it was two and a hafe hours into the gathering and no one talked about it beond how stupied it was of the drains to send out that shrip of a man, or how they could't lose it. Penial could't help but worry that with talk like that he'd sherly die.

Something that did suprise him was that after about a hour no one seemed to pay great attenshion. Penial was glad, but still odd. Gith was't around. Penial did't see him come in, and no one said they sall him.

Just about everyone was in the small living room. It was so croded in thair that some started to pore into he's bedroom. The hole family came, even the children to Penial's shock. And he's house was stuffed. But no one dared to step outside. Did't want anymore neighbors getting suspishus.

Carefully Penial sliped out the front door. Just as he was about to shut the door someone called from inside. ''What are ya going out for?'' Penial sighed quitely, slowly opening the door to look at a young women, just about as old as he's daughter. ''Just walking. I'll be back.'' Penial replide and quickly shut the door before she could go on.

In all honestly, Penial was't properly dressed for a night like that. Snow had't fell in a three days, but none melted. At least all the streets and backyards wear sweept. But that did't help Penial in the least.

Penial walked off he's little yard and into the durt road. He made sher not too look back at the house, because if someone was watching him Penial did't want to make eye contact.

Thair odd mixmach really would have made anyone laugh, and she know it. The carige was small, cramped, and the once thick sheet was now a run down torn mess, that beard the elements far too long. But the houres that carryed it wear tall, clean, and healfy to a falt. All four of them had shinny black cotes. (Becuse they wear all related.) Just the fact that thair is four of them is a strang for a small carige and two riders. The two riders, Packa and Marnal, looked very different as well. Marnal looked underdressed. And Packa looked overdressed.

Penial steped out of the way of the carige that stormed past him. Right wean Penial thought he could walk back on the road, He heard the cloping of houre hoffs end. ''Why are we stoping?'' Penial heard off in the distence a young women's voice. ''Just give me a bet.'' A other voice said. Penial turned around and sall what looked like Marnal steping out of the carige and started walking torge him, waveing he's arm. ''Hoddy Penial!'' Marnal called. Penial throned. He barely rememberd the man's name, let alone what he said last time they talked. ''You need me?'' He asked as Marnal stoped five feet from him. ''Nothing much...'' Marnal mumbeled as he looked back to the carige wear Packa was walking out, holding her cape so it would't drag. ''Hey, Whos him?'' She asked Marnal as she leanded in. ''You remember that behemoth that came in a long time ago?'' Marnal asked her, turning away from Penial. ''Yes. You've told me a cople of times before.'' Packa said. Marnal stuck a finger out at Penial. ''He's that guy who killed it.'' He exsplained. ''Wow, that's ah...'' Packa sight drifted away from Penial. Trying not to ufend Marnal. ''It's vary inpressive. Wear you just more skilled then the other men, or are you just lucky?'' She asked. Penial emidity forgot he's qeshtion of why this Marnal guy wanted to talk to him, hers toke all he's attenshion. At lest Marnal did't seem to mind her saying Penial was more skilled. He's left leg slowly toke most of the waght of he's body after going deep in thought. ''… You could call me lucky. I'll ammet that I'm stronger then most men. But it really was all up to being in the right spot.'' Finally Penial ansered. Packa noded.

Pritty soon no one spoke. The longer they stayed thair, the more Packa slowly froze. Marnal throned. ''Lisen, I did't stop just to make small talk.'' Marnal started, loseing he's made up freindy voice. Penial felt relived. ''I know that your family dosen't like the drains. Whatever your oprinon is your business. But eather way, you sherly have noticed how they've been acting right?''

Penial stoped he's silly little relived feeling. Penial was't surprised per say, thought he probably did't apper deeply worryed about the qeshtion. Marnal toke he's palse as a way to add to he's qeshtion. ''Reclosive, is what I mean. Rarely see any of them in the day, never in the night.'' Packa watch beside Marnal. Her intvest with thair conversashion made her forget that she was frezeing. Penial regaived himself. “Can't say I have.” Penial said, sticking he's hands behind he's back. Marnal noded. “Fine. I really don't know that meny of them, just one guy and he's wife and kid.” Marnal glanced at Packa hen looked back. “Welp! Thanks for ansering my qeshtion. Just thought you would know. Every other person I asked did notice but did't know why.” Marnal turns around. “Agine, thanks.” He walked back to the carige, leaveing Packa and a relived Penial. Packa smiled ackwardly. “He's just worryed about he's friend Adriel. That man aparently spends just about every day with him, and it really bothers Marnal that he has't been around.”

Packa nore Marnal falled to notice Penial worry, but Packa could sher pick up on it now. She desided on not menshing that. “... Don't tell him I said that. Marnal liked being stoik.” Packa wincked before turning around and making to the carige. With a new pice of a puzel she'll salve to late.

Penial felt kind of slimey. He dreaded learning anything about the man he was about to kill. Tenicly he had't, other then he's not talking to he's friend. But even that was too much. Penial would much rather keep a blank image of Adriel. And lord know he regreted hearing that he and a wife kid. Penial wonderd if wean he said kid did he mean a baby, or was this ''kid'' a adult who Marnal just calls him or her that out of habbet. At lest Adriel had more then him.

Penial was to bissy thinking to notice that a cople of family members wear watching from the warm house.

Chapter fifthteen

the fight

It was the langth of thair hair that chout her attenshion. Resonmare noticed on a individual bacis, but all the sudden she just sall it. That more of the Drains had longer hair more then the Stones. And now that she sall it, she could't stop thinking about it.

If you did't know (which you most licky don't.) most of the west and south clans members have longer hair then the ones in the east and north, primarly the east. It's odd given the fact that the east is colder, But at some point fokes started seeing longer hair as uncivil. And for a long time no one in Welnor had long hair, but uvenshly women started leaveing thair hair at shorter langth. And up until resintly you may even see a young man with longer hair. But sill most don't have longer hair.

But Oursal did't start out as a east clan, it was a band of north and west clan members wanting to live and more free life. And after the band became a clan vary little outside ifluince from east cland came. So long hair was the norm.

The only reson Resonmare noticed was because she was distincet from thair last meeting with the stones and drains. thought she was't outrightly trying to do that. Resonmare just did't want to be a part of this, but being a rent ment doing things a clan leder did't want / could't do.

It was desided that the fight would happen inside the capital of Welnor, at night. Thought Redburn did't say what time to come, so most came right at sundown. Now at around eight thirdy-nine all in both famillys wear thair. But, of couse the children would be taken out before the fighting actually started.

Earllyer that day wooden planks wear lined up and niled together, making a fance around thirdy feet wide on all ends. On both ends of the asemble room wear dark colored stone whiched lined up on top of each other that made smoth seats, in some ways simaler to a roman coliseum.

The fance almost touched both ends, leaveing just around a foot and a hafe between them. Resomare wanted it to farther still, thinking of blood splater, or a member of the odence intervining. But Redburn layed it out so fighting space would't be a problum.

Redburn and Resonmare wear seated in two of the four bare throns, they wear quietly descuseing what to tell the rest of the clan wean one family left. And by they, I really mean Redburn was. Resonmare did care, but for once she could't focuces.

Thair was little time for qrieling between the familys. Almost near the back of the room was the drains all huddled close together. Not devising scems or gosiping about the stones, just talking to Adriel. Like a salor off to sea.

Pushed near the end of the groop was Webic. He was't sher wather he liked this or not. On one hand everyone was being touchy felly, but on the other he wanted to talk to he's dad. “She'd be so prode. I never thought you'd make it past a week. ” Rhin said. He sonded sensier, but Adriel just looked uncomfortable. Next to Webic was Talitha. She was wateing pashintly for Rhin to get done. “How much longer is he going to be?” Webic asked he's mother. “Not sertin honey.” Webic throned. “Your gonna tell me what happened after right? Please.” He asked once more.

Unlike the huddled group to the left, the stones wear mostly already seated, not all of couse but most. That included Penial, lisening to each polight coversashion. Both Penial and Adriel wear wearing the same armore, only difrince was size. Adriel's was still a tiny bet too small for him. But Penial did't have to think to much on fighting that drain guy. He read every David and Goliath story. Gith sat beside him, looking about ready to die. Abital of couse did't come, but she also did't leave. Abital clamed she was just staying to suport Gith if Penial lost, but he could't help but wonder if she just wanted to see what will happen.

“How much do you think the nebors will ask wean the drains leave?” A young woman wearing a long thin green dress. “Thay'll go mad! No dount about it.” A man standing next to her said. Penial suke he's head. “Redburn has a lot to cover up. Makes me think.” He did't alaberat on 'makes me think'. “Of coures. I hope they don't blame you.” Gith spoke quitely, but he got a feeling Penial did't like that by the fact that he looked away from Gith.

“If the drains leave, we'll say they left for Eitilt. Maybe even try and get some of them to say it.” Redburn wispered, as he leanded in beside Resonmare. “They'll be simpal, but about the stones.” He looked at Resonmare, who did't look back. Redburn throned. “Please Mare, I need your help.” “Ah?” Her head swarved in he's derectshion at the menshion of Mare. “They-The stones? It won't be easy you know.” Resonmare said. And Redburn huffed.

Without order the just about every drain left the cercle and sat down on the dark stone. Redburn had't told the familys to take the children away, so they stayed by thair parents acwardly. Now the only three in the circal wear Adriel, Talitha and Webic. “You don't have to stay. Regardlis of how vilont this will be, Women should't see men die.” Adriel said in a gental tone. “I know I don't have too. But this is inporten.” Talitha said. Adriel noded. “I figered you still want to stay.” Webic stuld a little ways off from the cople, he understuld the inporence of this conversashion, but that did't stop him from feeling acward. “Ah- Webic.” Adriel started. Webic looked back up at he's father, and smiled kindly. “Please don't try to get in wean the fight starts.” He exsplained. Webic noded, and he could fell Talitha eyes on him, Webic felt a rug to ask her to give them space, but that would be unfare and crul. “I promiss. Do well!” He chimed. Adriel smiled smugly. “It would be harder to not do well. It's just natral for me!” He bosted.

“Don't folks from the west are't allowed to go to the east without singed latter from the clan leder?” Gith asked. Not that meny wear talking derectly to Penial, so Gith had him all to himself. “I don't belive so. I think they only need it if thair leaveing for good.” Penial anserd. “Well that makes sence. Becuse thair was this one man who was runing a frunt stand at the market, and it was clear as day that he was from Bass.” Gith exsplained in a dule tone. Penial spred he's legs from the black stone to the ground a step down. He was mostly looking out at Redburn and Resonmare. Wondering if they wear about to start the fight.

As of right now, Redburn was standing up from the bare throne. He rested a arm on the right side and leaned over to Resonmare. “Say it's time.” Redburn said it like it was a qeshtion, thought in reality its just a saying. Resonmare palsed a minite. “It's been a good willy, so I'de say yes.” Resonmare stuld up sharply (Anuff to make Redburn thrust backwards.) And smothed out her blueish-gray dress. “Resonmare.” Redburn wisperd. She looked at him with a blank exspreshion, but unkown to him, Resonmare was exspeting bad news to some exstent. “I do apresheat your help, thoughtout this.”   He thanked. Resonmare's month stayed put. But her brows rised. Not in much of a surprised way, more kindly. “It's a job.” Redburn noded then looked out to the stones, then to the drains.

“Ok, lisen hear!” Redburn praticaly screemed. The stones and drains wear riped out of thair conversashions. The leder steped as close to the middle of the room as he could without toughing the wooden feance. “Any one thats younger then two decades leave the room, till the fights over.”

Emiditly all adults scrambled to get the children out of the room. Not meny of the stones had any kids thair. But the drains on the other hand, every singal younge adult, teen, kid and baby was thair. Thair parents wanted to let thair children see Adriel one last, even if that meant more women leaveing the room with them. So bye the time the stones wear all seated the drains wear still pushing thair kids out the door.

Suprisenly, only two women went out with all the children. Unuff older teens wear with them for parents to feel safe. In the crode of children being herded out the large room was Webic, waveing at he's father and mother. And with one final “Wish ya'll luck!” Webic left the room with a small smile as the large black oke door was shut behind them. Him takeing no notice of the deep frowns from the cople behind the bariar.

“Wate, Penial.” Gith said through the crode of talking that was mostly derected at Penial, he yelled back “Un hu!?” “I'm sorry.” If the sentince was any longer thair would be inposible to tell what he even said. Penial did't quite understand why he apoligised, but he did't want to ask infrount of the rest of the family. Jest trying to get past them and to  the frount was hard unuff.

Simalar to the last meeting, Penial and Adrel stuld a little ways off from The leder and the rent. Penial on the right, and Adrel to the left. “Hear are the rules!” Redburn yelled. “You'll both get the same light armor. And the same sorwd. Regardless of whos stronger.” Thair was a strong sence of direcshion in he's statement. And Adriel felt it. They wear wareing armore, but did not have any weponds. Redburn looked to Resonmare and she quickly walked out and back in. Along with two fine silver swords of diffrint sizes. And Resonmare went to the fighters and gave it to them. Adriel's worked just fine, not too heavly but not to light by any means. Thought Penial's was far small, But still biger then he's aponet.

“Both in the feance, now.” Redburn comanded. For a small moment the two made eye contated. But Penial quickly swung around and steped into the feance. After a moment of slight suprise, Adriel swung he's left leg into the feance and then the other. “Stand ten feet off from the other.” Redburn orderd once more. Sadly for both of the familys, Penial's back was to the left faceing the drains, and Adriel's was to the stones. Which made viewing harder for thoughts at the bottom...

Thair was a noticeable silince in the large room. No one looked over to Redburn and Resonmare. Not out of fear persay, but all wear captivated by the stand still. Adriel watched he's oponet in a way that meny would see at egerness, but he was more thoughtful then that, along with caution. Penial did't however feel any sence of danger. Beond the jument of he's family, and most inportenly what Gith will think of him af-

“Fight!”

The cry of the two crodes behind them. Penial stuld fermly while he's oponet jumped to him. Adriel ameditly went to a swing at Penial's uper body, which he blocked quickly with little effort. Makeing him far more confedint in he's ability to win. The first two attacks towrge Adriel wear jabs, towger he's stomic of all places, ware the armor was the strongist, along with the sholders. Repetedly Penial moved a large step to Adriel and jabed as the other walked- no ran backwards. Almost along the lines of jumping.

The drains kept thair jals seled, exsept for a gasp or a mufled wale hear and thair. But the stones on the other hand wear cearing on with pear exsitment. With the exsepshion of Gith with more of the demenor of the drains.

Adriel slid to right just as Penial toke a aouther large step. Leaveing he's side and back fully open. Adriel swiftly sliced a large cut midway on Peniall's right arm. Penial gasped and span around. Thankfully he was left handed, that would't stop the blood spreding across the cloth clothes. Adriel grined confindly.

None but the two sall the freash wond well. Scareing the stones in not knowing wear was the slice.

Agine Penial jabed at Adriel and he jumped backwards. Repeting the prosess meant by now they wear on the far left side of the feance. Adriel sall that he was aproceing the left end, and right as he atempted to side step to the right Penial stabed he's gut with the point of the silver sword.

The sword was desisghed for sliceing, not stabing. That being said, even with the light armor proteting him Adriel gasped for air as he was slamed to the stone floor, loseing what air he had. Adriel was left wesing and gasping similar too a fish. Penial swung the sword up (one hand.) over he's head. Adriel barely had time to react before it thrown done like a giliten. Adriel tried to scramble away but it was too late, and it cut throw the glove and skin on he's left hand. When he tried to craw away the end of the sword came out, riping the skin ferther.

Adriel roled out of Penial's way and jumped up moaning in pain. Thought fear only seat in wean he realized he left the silver sword behind.

Penial felt a great deal of gilt. He was on the verg of opolgiseing when he sall the sword below him. Once Adriel shook off some of the shock and pain of having your hand sliced open in the palm, he was surprised to see a sad Penial. Not that he exspected joy or pride exsatly, just not regret.

The palse lasted so long that both familys got confused and more worryed. Suddenly Adriel started walking backwards agine, wakeing up Penial and he ran after him. Much to Adriel's shame he span around and full on ran. Planing was beond Adriel at this point, so when they wear on the far right of the feance's ring, and Penial was right behind him, the only thing he could think to do was turn around. Penial was three feet away from Adriel. And on a sudden inpolse Penial swung he's sword too Adriel's head. Exspecting that move croched down and jumped back up, runing behind he's openet. Penial was nearly dumefonded by he's own faller so much so that by the time he went back to runing after Adriel agine he was almost back to the left end.

Penial may have shook it off but the rest of the stone wear conpletly loset. The drains watched like hawls. Now the two famliys started to become less all knowing of how this fight would turn out.

The fact that Adriel was't moveing made the hole thing worse. He just stuld thair holding he's regained sword, gasping. Penial started walking up hesitly. Adriel's breathing slowed down. The closer he got, the more tence they both got. Like cats in a way.

Despite the anticipation Penial jumped back when Adriel ran at him. Penial did't move anymore at Adriel attacked him, just trying to jab at him. That did only serve to give Adriel open thots, whick he gladlt toke. Scrashing him in the arms and making Penial deeply worryed. Then finely in a desperat act, Penial toke two large steps back and Adriel worrying he'd lose he's good opening jumped right up close. Penial in shock cut deep into Adriel's left arm. So when Adriel fell backwards he swung he's sword right in the air carelessly. And Penial screemed.

Adriel did't see or hear anything. Did't notice that fact that he was sqorming on the ground or that he's sword was thrown six feet away from him. What had he's attenshion was the deep thick cut right in the midule of he's arm. It hurt far to bad to toush, and leaveing it lyeing on stone was't helping eather.  The cut was't far anuff to pose any threat to he's elbow, still felt like riped paper. Adriel's breathing went to dye gasping to merly heavly. He grasped what damage he's body toke, and he could think agine.

Thair was a lot of noise around him. Adriel gut fell. Suprisenly standing up right with out eather of your arms is exstremly difficult, but he maniged and was able to stay upright hunching over. Adriel stayed quite as he watched Penial stumble backwards screeming.

Thair was a large slice that started on the end of Penial's neck that went up he's right side of he's face that diped and ended at he's eye. Unlike he's attacker, Penial was standing the hole time holding he's face. Adding to the screeming was the yelling from the other stones. Some angry, some in dispare.

The sincking feeling in Adriel's gut was riseing and he turned away. Then suddenly he coult a few words out of Penial's screems. “He needs help. Someone help him!” Adriel called out weakly.

At this point Redburn had seen anuff. The fight was so far away none of the details wear too clear, but it was oviuse to him Penial was defeted. Redburn stuld up. “Wate a minite.” Resonmare said timidly. (Vary much so unlike her.) “Neather of them are dead.” Redburn looked back down to her. “It's over. Weather or not he dies.” Redburn said dryly.

Adriel watched as Redburn got a few men from the stone family to take Penial away. Penial seemed to be astarical.

Redburn walked up to Adriel and looked him over sadly, then he looked out to the familys. “The drains have won!” He called out. Adriel could't see Penial anymore. Redburn leanded in close and wisperd. “I belive your suffering from blood loss.” That would have made Adriel laugh giving the fact that it was obvious, but pain made it hard to talk. He did however node lazely.

A great nomber of drains wear too shocked to make any noise. The ones could yelled, with pride. Thair wear however, a few that felt mixed it what just happened. But only one just smiled. A real happy smile. Unwear of what had really just happened. That sall her husband alive with no blood or gore. Talitha. And Adriel hafe smiled at he's hole family, trying to find her in it.

Chapter sixteen

the last chapter

Something about the day struck Abital as calm, despite the fact that nothing about it was. Right at the moment her and Gith wear at he's house in the living room with the front door wide open. Early that day Abital ardifinshly joked that a guard should't leave he's house open like that. The guard only noded. They wear picking out what to pack. Prier to now neather Abital or Gith felt any need to own a houre. Abital did't go anywear she could't walk and the clan provided houses for all the grards when they wear on duty. So with the last money Abital had (and some of Gith's) they boute two houres. Granted they wear two old mares that the sealer was trying too get rid of. But they could probably make it.

The rest of the family wear going right to Eitit. Because thair close. But the pair had plans to go to Bass. It would be a long long ride, but to them it was the promiss land. Of couse Abital dream to live in Arowana, but for now Bass seemed easyer. Becoming a member was faster then just about every other clan. Only of two clans to flat out not fight Oursal. And farming was good, so good that meny wear rick because of it. Maybe Gith will be a worker in one, and Abital could be a maid of some sort. Thair'd be no money by the time they got thair, still Abital sall this as a great new clan that would show her the western clan life, perpareing her for Arowana.

Hafe of thair family was already gone. Resonmare sall them off at the south-east end of Welmor (farethist end away from Oursal.) and she was still wateing for them and some others. It was inporton that they hurry.

Three weeks ago word qiuckly went throw Welnor that Penial had died in he's house late at night. The few family members that sall him say he looked peachful, like he was asleep. Most belived he had some kind of heart faller, or maybe a illness he did't tell anyone about until it was too late. Thought the former was popalaur, it was't too uncomen for a man of he's age to have them. He's funaral was short yet respetful. Meny of the family would't talk about him beond he's time in war. It was good way for someone to start a coversashion like 'Did you hear about Penial?'

“You'll take the food, right?” Gith asked as he titened he's bag with a thick brown string. Abital looked back to him sleepleshly. “Sertinly.” She walked to the front door holeding her large bags and saddle. “I'm gonna set up outside.” She teped out and slowly shut the door behind her. Leaveing Gith in a gray shade of light.

Thin cloues wear covering the sun, so light was tolable. If you looked up to the sun it would be covered well anuff that it would't hart your eyes. The two mares wear tyed to a mayle tree, and suprisenly one was siting down. Abital tyed the saddle around the mare and after it seemed the mare toke it well, she added the food bags.

Abital looked out at landspare around her. Off from the house was a little smashed down dirt road with a small weak grass strick in the middle. Snow was still strong on shaded parts or unwalked places, but the cold went down by then. And she smiled.

Abital give thanks that she stayed till the fight happened. Looking back on it, she could't see how life would go on without Gith. He really was like a little brother to her, it was't helped that Gith had no sisters, or a real main family left in the first place. They'd have a better chase together anyhow.

Abital heard the front door open six feet behind her, but she did't turn around. “Pretty out. Its a good day for rideing.” She said qiuetly. Sounds of a horse standing and clanking of metal. “Gith!” Abital yelled suddenly and span around. Cateing Gith's attenshion fully. “We're gonna ride all throw town right.” She orderd. Gith thought for a second with a sad look. “I don't think we got the time Abital. Resonmare is wateing. And I don't want her looking for us.” Abital walked closer to Gith with a playful smile that for now had nothing to hide. “This is the last time we'll ever see it. Sherlly your not that crul!” She cryed playfully. Gith stuld up from under the horse. “I just don't think we can. It'd take so much time.” “Not if we're fast.” “Really. And we should't talk to folks more then we have.” Abital throned for a moument, then pearked up. “We could go by the fishing creek! Bet you have't been thair in forever.” Gith opened he's mouth to speak but nothing came. Soon he looked timed yet pleasse with something- maybe god. “Not going to lie, that is tepting. We could try if it takes no longer then a hour.” Abital grined as she walked to her mare. Gith turned to he's so she could't see he's face.

As soon as they hoped on the horses they shrunch some under the weight. Which made them both cring. Abital signed as she looked back the house for anything they left. Gith spoke up. “Can't wate too see what Bass looks like. It's one of thoughts places you read about that you'de never think you'll see. I wonder if we'll blend in.” Abital started her horse and Gith followed right up with her. “You'll need to grow your hair out.” Soon they wear a good twenty feet away from the house. “Never. I'll just have to seem inproper. Besides its probably just a over exsashrain. About that long hair thing.” Now the houre seemed so far away. “Still look better then that hat they made you wear.” The house was almost out of sight. “That may be true. But that't just one of the prices you pay as a guard.” Top of the house was bare visable. “Being a guard is dangerus, I'm glad your not one anymore.” The house was gone, out of sight forever. “... Me too.”

The End