“So that’s what happened.” Oculus said.

Once Oculus gave the men his name, he asked what exactly went down. The men explained their situation, leaving out the information about the girl in the cage, of course. No one could know about that.

“That’s basically it.” Head bandana man said. “By the way, my name’s Harold. This is Liam.” He pointed to arm bandana guy.

“Harold and Liam? I can’t say those names are common around here.” Oculus tilts his head, thinking about all the people that passed by after getting attacked again and again.

“Well, I don’t blame you thinking our names are strange. We come from the Brigand.”

Upon hearing that interesting piece of information, Oculus perked up, his curiousness never more curious than that moment. He’s never met someone from a whole other country, much less from one so far.

“You came all the way from Brigand? What for?”

Harold and Liam looked at each other, wondering how much they should say and how much they should keep hidden. Liam nodded, and Harold silently agreed to let him do the talking.

“You see that wooden box at the back of our carriage?” Liam pointed behind him. Oculus stretched his neck in order to get a good view of what they were talking about. “We’re delivering important luggage to an extremely influential client. We expected to get there in a month or so if we could keep going as before, but this is going to hold us back for another few weeks.”

Oculus listened to their story and nodded along. He could feel their pain as he thought about the time he accidentally let a kill get the slip on him. His village had to cut their rations by a decent amount for a week, leaving some of the adults to go with significantly fewer portions of food.

He tried thinking of ways to help them, and that’s when an idea came to his mind. The carriage’s wheels were still intact, and his village wasn’t that far. The plan formed in his mind, and his smile went from comforting to extremely creepy. It creeped out the men so much that they backed away from him for the time being.

“Okay, I think I can help you.” Oculus said.

“How?” Harold asked.

“Simple,” Oculus pointed to the carriage. “I’ll pull the carriage back to my village.”

Harold and Liam stared, unblinking at the crazy notion that had just come out of his mouth with little regard for reason. They looked at each other and back at him. The kid did just kill a Kinx with a rock and his bare hands, but the carriage was much heavier than anything he could have carried before in his life.

Yet, Oculus still carried the biggest shit-eating grin they’ve ever seen before in their entire lives. In some way, they believed he could do it, but basic logic kept them level-headed enough to know that he may be bullshitting this one.

“There’s no way you can pull that entire thing by yourself.” Liam said.

“Yeah, that thing weighs more than, like, a hundred pounds. No matter how many abs you have, that’ll be impossible.”

No matter how much they tried to talk the kid out of it, he just wouldn’t budge. Instead of sulking and coming up with something more practical, Oculus stood up and approached the carriage with wiggling, antsy fingers.

“The more you say it’s impossible, the more I’m just gonna do it.” Oculus said, taking the reins away from the horse corpses. “Get on the carriage if you’re coming with me.”

They didn’t know whether he was telling the truth or not anymore from the way Oculus carried himself, but it’s not like they had much of a choice. There could be other Kinxes stalking in the trees, and as soon as their only protector left, they’d be sitting ducks.

Shrugging it off, Liam stood, and Harold followed. They climbed into the carriage while Oculus gripped the reins and stood forward. He looked back to make sure the men were comfortable, and they gave him the signal to begin. Nodding, he looked forward, took a deep breath, and planted one foot forward.

The carriage had yet to move, and the grunting coming from Oculus made him think that the kid was way in over his head. He was about to call it off, until the carriage jerked. The cards, which were already scattered around, tossed about even more as the wheels of the carriage began to turn. Oculus took another step, and the carriage moved again. The more steps he took, the smoother the tires turned and the easier it was to move.

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Harold and Liam’s mouths slacked wide open as the kid somehow pulled the carriage with nothing but grit determination. He continued to pull, and the carriage managed to stable itself to a point where he could relax since it pushed on with momentum alone.

“The hard parts out of the way.” Oculus said. “My village isn’t far from here. It’ll only take a few minutes. We have a few horses you can borrow for the next leg of your trip.”

“Hey, kid.” Harold spoke up. “Are you a Gifted?”

Oculus shook his head. “No, I’m no gifted. These muscles were all cultivated by me and me alone.”

Harold gulped, wondering how strong this kid could become if he was Gifted at birth. The idea of being Gifted was something known throughout the entire world. In the continent of Hiphon, any kid being born could end up with a Gift. No one knows who gave them their Gift, but everyone who’s Gifted always reports having the same dream after their birth.

When a child turns out to be Gifted, at the age of five, their powers reveal themselves. The powers could be anything under the sun. Some people could gain the ability to control fire. Some can even manipulate their bodies in some ways, like changing their limbs into blades or turning their knuckles into rocks. There were even reports of shapeshifters out there. In some cases, even when a kid doesn’t seem Gifted, as soon as they pick up a weapon, the weapon reacts with their Gift, which turns out to be weapon modifications.

A Gift could really be anything. All that matters is how they’re used and who uses them. Harold had met a few gifted people in his time. The higher ups of the group he works for have a few gifted within them, and each time he sees their abilities, he couldn’t help but feel jealous he wasn’t among the chosen few.

“So, is everyone in your village this strong?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, my pops especially. We live out here with creatures like those Kinx. We have to be in top shape at all times.”

Even still, the strength that this kid possesses is beyond incredible. If only he had a Gift.

***

The carriage slowly makes its way through an even narrower section of the woods. As Oculus pulled them down the road, a subtle path showed itself amongst the trees and foliage. He said that they had to head down it to reach the village and for them to grab onto something since it’ll be a rough ride.

He wasn’t wrong either since as soon as they went down the path, the road and trees tore at the sides of the tent and bottom of the carriage. A branch three times the size of Liam’s arm cut the side of the tent and sliced through it all the way. Not only were their horses and driver dead, but now they had a hole in the tent. Things couldn’t possibly get worse for them if they tried.

Suddenly, they heard movement in the cage behind them. Harold looked behind him, and he shouted, jumping back from what he saw. An eye was peeking at him through the iron balls, and once he spotted them, they disappeared from view.

“What is it?” Oculus shouted.

“Nothing.” Liam reassured him.

Oculus nodded and went back to pulling them along the path, whistling a tune all the while. Harold calmed himself down and he worked his way to the window of the cage.

“Listen to me. If you so much as peep outside that window or talk to anyone in that village, you won’t like what’ll happen. We have the call anytime, and we have bases everywhere. Don’t forget that, and no one will get hurt.”

Nothing from the other side. Harold took that as her getting the message, so he leaned back and waited for the village to pop into frame. It didn’t take long, since once he made himself comfortable, the trees broke away, revealing a village filled with log homes.

The people inside the village bustled all around the village, always doing something. Men came back from the woods with game in their mighty arms, and the women would walk around with logs and other building supplies in their hands. A new house was being built, already nearing completion. Everyone in the village was shirtless as well, priding their muscles without a care for shame. Only the women wore something that could be lightly considered a bra, but it didn’t leave much to imagination.

However, they had the right to pride their muscles since everyone in this small village was so jacked from living out in the woods that it wouldn’t surprise the men if their muscles had brains of their own. Even the women packed some meaty muscles, although with a much leaner grace than the men. Even the children didn’t waste away, training and sparring again and again to get that extra pair of abs.

As soon as they entered the village, all eyes turned from their activities and onto them. It made sense since there wouldn’t be too many visitors passing by, especially ones in a large carriage with a wooden cage trailing behind.

“You think they’re going to see her?” Harold whispered.

Liam waved away his concern. “Not if she’s smart enough to stay away from the windows.”

The wheels stopped as Oculus slowed down and eventually set the reins loose and let them drop. He doubled over, taking in deep breath after deep breath. Though he managed to pull the carriage this far, it still took a toll on him. His face was as red as his hair, and sweat poured from his face.

“We’re here.” Oculus said, standing straight and wiping his brow.

Liam and Harold were about to get out until the carriage started vibrating. Liam looked at Harold, who just shrugged in response. They didn’t have any idea who or what was causing the shaking, but whatever it was, it was getting closer.

That’s when it popped into focus. A giant foot slammed on the ground in front of the carriage, just enough so they could see its absolute girth. Harold screamed and grabbed Liam, pulling him closer. Liam didn’t reject the advance, since he was just as afraid and wanted something real to hold on to.

The foot crouched, and it went out of view, only to be replaced by a knee. Then a face appeared, a large, hairy, and terrifying face. The eyes were as large as their heads, and Liam was confident he could climb inside of his nose as if it were a cave.

Suddenly, the giant smiled, the same type of smile Oculus would do.

“Welcome to Mirth Village.”