Jake had no idea what country he was in. Outside the walls of the castle that had held him, was a barren wasteland. Ragged stones pointed towards the sky, and the rocky ground had begun to blister his feet inside his shoes.

“This was a stupid idea,” he said out loud.

He created a mirror on the ground as he sat down to rest.

“Was this part of your plan?” he yelled into it, “Let me wander around out here till I collapse?”

“Isn’t dying free better than living in captivity?” Kagami declared as she appeared in the mirror.

“That’s not helpful!” Jake shot back, “You don’t eat or drink, so this doesn’t really affect you.”

“Yes but I have to listen to your whining. That affects me,” she said with a smile.

“Why am I so useless?” Jake muttered, “First I got caught, then I ruined Nathans rescue by being used as a hostage. Now I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere talking to a lady that got herself stuck in a sword.”

“Don’t blame me for your problems,” Kagami said, folding her arms, looking away.

“Are you sulking?” Jake said, with a slight laugh.

“Of course not!” she quickly looked back at him, “Anyway what’s your plan?”

“Can I portal out of here?”

Kagami shook her head, “Already checked, this area is one of those blank spots. The person who built that castle must have known about that…”

Jake looked around and stared out over all the rocks, “I don’t know. I can’t keep walking for much longer. I don’t even have any water,” he spun around as he heard another voice.

“Mista, what ya doin mista?” a young girl now stood behind him.

“Kagami, do you see this?” he whispered, as if he didn’t want the girl to hear.

“Clear as day,” she replied cautiously.

“What ya doin mista?” the girl asked again.

“Where did you come from?” Jake asked her, crouching down to her level. She look about 5 years old. Her dark hair was tied back in a very messy ponytail, and she was wearing a dirty, flowery white t-shirt, black shorts and jandals.

“Can’t stay here mista… Bad man come soon,” she said, nervously looking around.

“What bad man?” Jake asked, “Where are we?”

The little girl turned, walking off without an answer.

“Wait!” he called after her, “Where are you going?”

She pointed at him and carried on walking, “Mista need dwink.”

Jake let out a happy cheer, “Yes! Yes Mista needs water. Where is water?” desperation filling his voice.

The girl carried on walking, singing to herself. They walked for another 10 minutes before what looked like a small village came into view.

“Is this your home?” Jake asked the small girl.

“Bad man came to home. Mummy and daddy have been sleeping since,” she said as they walked into the village.

Jake suddenly had a sinking feeling in his heart, “Can you take me to your Mummy and Daddy?” he asked the little girl.

“Yes!” she said with a smile, “They might wake up for you.”

She walked into a small hut and Jake followed. The smell was overwhelming.

“They need to have a bath,” the girl said, walking up to a man and woman lying on the floor.

Jake walked over to them and it was as he feared. They both lay lifeless on the ground. He quickly stood up and walked out of the hut. The girl followed him.

“What’s your name?” Jake asked, looking away from the hut.

“My name is Charlita,” the little girl said, “Mummy says it means I will be a strong woman.”

Jake had a tear in his eye, “Who was this bad man you were talking about?”

“He was man with black raincoat. He was a bad man who made mummy cry,” she said, looking down at the ground.

“She must mean a hunter…” Jake thought to himself, “But why would a hunter be out in the middle of nowhere?”

Charlita skipped over to a well in the village and started to pull on a rope. A bucket slowly emerged and she looked pleased with herself, “Come Mista, have a drink.”

Jake smiled, “My name is Jake,” he replied, taking the bucket to get a drink.

“Ok mista Yaake, you wanna stay at my place tonight?” She asked, grabbing his hand, “Mummy and Daddy won’t mind.”

“I will be there soon,” Jake said, “I just want to have a look around first.”

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“Ok,” she replied, skipping off, singing as she went.

Jake walked through the village, looking in different huts. Some were empty and others had corpses in them.

He created a mirror on the wall of a hut, “What’s going on here?” he called into it.

Kagami appeared, “I’m not sure. But I don’t think we should hang around.”

“Who’s that mista Yaake?” a little voice called from behind him.

Charlita walked up to the mirror and looked at Kagami. “Are you stuck?” she asked in an inquisitive tone that only a child could get away with.

“In a way child. I suppose I am,” Kagami replied with a slight laugh.

“When did you last see the bad man?” Jake asked Charlita in a child-like voice.

“About three sleeps ago. I don’t like him, so I hid when he came,” she tapped on the glass of the mirror as she spoke, “You stuck good lady.”

“Did the man say anything when he was here?” Jake asked, trying to find out anything that might make sense.

“No, he was quiet. He did spend a bit of time at Chiefy’s though,” Charlita said thoughtfully.

“Can you show me where Chiefy lived?” Jake asked, a little excited that he got some information.

“Chiefy live in big house over there,” Charlita pointed over to a larger hut then the others. The two of them walked over to the hut, entering through the door.

“Does he usually keep it in a mess like this?” Jake asked, stepping over clothes and turned over furniture.

“Chiefy doesn’t let me touch things in case I break them,” Charlita picked up a photo from the floor and pointed to people in it, “Chiefy, Mummy, Daddy and Charlita.”

The photo had been taken in Chiefy’s hut. Charlita held a trumpet in her hand.

“That trumpet…” Jake muttered, staring at the photo.

“Chiefy loves trumpet,” Charlita said with a smile, “I show it to you.”

She ran off, hunting through the rubble. Jake looked around the room as she hunted. There were a lot of artefacts in the house, they seemed to be from all over the world.

“Did Chiefy travel a lot?” he called out to her.

“Chiefy never left the village,” she responded, “Ahh, here it is Mista Yaake”

She opened a small trap door in the floor and pulled out the trumpet. Jake noticed strange markings all the way down it. They were similar to the ones on his coat and blade. This was one of the trumpets Hyung had told them about.

“Where did he get this from?” Jake asked her, examining it.

Charlita shrugged, “I dunno.”

Jake made a mirror on the wall.

“That’s cool!” Charlita said, “You know magic!”

Jake let out a laugh, “No, this is where the trapped lady lives.”

“Thanks,” Kagami said sarcastically, appearing in the mirror.

“Is this is one of the seven trumpets?” Jake asked, showing her the trumpet.

“I haven’t seen that before. But with those markings on it, I would say so. This is probably what the Hunter was after,” she said, “Looks like fate has once again intervened with you Mista Yaake,” Kagami finished with a slight smile.

“Ok, we have to get away from this place,” Jake said as he looked at the trumpet.

Charlita looked up, “I know where we can go!” she ran out the door. She had been gone a few seconds when they heard her scream.

Jake ran from the hut and saw a man dressed in black. He held Charlita two feet off the ground by her throat, “Looks like I missed one,” he said with a sneer.

“Let her go!” Jake yelled over to him.

The man looked over, “Well what have we here? Looks like you have found what I was looking for,” he lowered Charlita to the ground, drawing a long, thin, curved sword, holding it to her throat, “Give me the trumpet!” he said in a demanding voice.

Jake looked at the trumpet and then over to the man, “Who are you?” he asked, not worried about the man’s demand.

A bead of blood dripped down Charlita’s neck as he moved the blade slightly.

“Stop it!” Jake screamed, “She is just a little girl!”

Charlita cried out, “Help me Mista Yaake, Please!”

“How do I know you won’t kill her if I do give you the trumpet?” Jake asked with a shake in his voice.

“You don’t,” his voice lowered to a gleeful hiss as he spoke, “But I don’t need to kill her if you give it to me, I will also let you live with the knowledge that you have met a level 5 hunter, and lived. I think that’s generous.” With his free hand, he removed his hood, showing a bald head with three black tattoos.

Jake took a step back in shock, a level five? This is not good…

“By the look on your face, you know what that means,” the Hunter stated, “Now give me the trumpet and I will not kill you. You and this girl mean nothing to me. My mission is to recover that artefact, and if I fail it won’t look good for me.”

“I can’t fight this guy now,” Jake thought to himself, “And I can’t let him kill Charlita. Looks like I don’t have a choice.”

“What’s it going to be boy?” the Hunter smiled, knowing what Jake was about to choose.

Jake put the trumpet on the ground and took two steps away from it, “Now let her go and it’s yours.”

“You’re a smart one boy, and lucky I am a man of my word,” he cautiously approached, collecting the trumpet, still holding Charlita. Once he had it within his grasp he threw the small girl at Jake and disappeared between two huts.

Jake caught her in his arms, “Are you ok?”

Charlita hugged him tight, “Make bad man go away Mista Yaake.”

“He is gone, it’s ok now,” he stroked her hair gently as she cried.

Charlita looked up at Jake, “Mista Yaake I’m scared.”

“I know,” Jake replied, “Let’s get out of here. Can you find me some bottles for water?”

“What about the bad man?” Charlita asked in a scared tone.

“Don't worry, he won't be back,” Jake reassured her.

The two of them stood up, Charlita disappearing to find some water bottles. Jake walked over to the well and pulled up some water to fill the bottles that Charlita had collected.

“Ok Charlita, which way is the best way out of here?” he asked, sliding on his backpack.

“Dat way Mista Yaake,” she pointed off past her parents place.

“We better get going then,” Jake started walking off.

Charlita stayed by the well, which made Jake stop and turn around, “You coming?” he asked, puzzled at her hesitation.

“I can’t leave Mummy and Daddy. They will be worried when they wake up,” she replied.

Jake turned his head away and thought about his next words very carefully. He turned back to her, “You know that bad man?”

“Yeah,” she replied. Her eyes angered a little when she thought of him.

“He has put your whole village into a deep sleep. Your Mummy and Daddy… They are not going to wake up,” tears appeared in his eyes as he spoke, “You can come with me though… I can look after you.”

“Mista Yaake nice man, but Mummy and Daddy definitely wake up soon,” she shook her head as she spoke as if she did not want to hear what Jake said.

“I can’t let you stay here anymore,” Jake said, holding out his hand for her to take.

Charlita looked at the hand long and hard. She slowly lifted hers, placing it in his, “Can I say good bye?” she looked into his eyes and Jake could see a deep sadness in hers.

“Definitely. We can’t leave without saying good bye,” he gave a weak smile and they walked towards her parents hut.

Jake lay her parents on their bed, one next to the other.

Charlita walked to the side of the bed, “Thanks Mista Yaake. They look comfortable now.”

“They sure do,” he replied with a smile.

“I’m going to miss you Mummy and Daddy, but Mista Yaake said you’re not going to wake up. Mista Yaake is a nice man. I think you would like him. He has a lady trapped in glass that he carry’s around. But she is nice too. He said he will look after me. So I am going to go with him. Please don’t worry about me if you wake up.” She gave them both a hug before whispering, “I love you!” Charlita followed Jake out the door. She stopped once to look back then turned and ran after Jake. He smiled a warm smile as she caught up.

“Let’s go Shorty!” Jake messed up her hair as they started walking.

“Hey!” she gently pushed his hand away, “Where are we going Mista Yaake?”

Jake looked straight ahead, “We have to somehow get back to Rogue Island. If I could find out where on earth we are…”