"Damn this kid is heavy…" Freeland mumbled.

Wading through the forest mid morning, he was sweating profusely and could barely make it any farther. He knew he was tired. He felt like he hadn't slept in days. But he had to help Pilot. They couldn't waste time anymore.

"We aren't far from where we need to go,"

Every step felt like hell as he carried Pilot on his back even though he wasn't using all his strength. Every step seemed like it was dragging him down more and more. He felt exhausted, weak, sick, thirsty...and hungry. He wanted to rest but he knew he couldn't. This needed to end.

Pushing through he could finally make out the tops of the roofs of a small house He sighed in relief as it looked like they would get through this alive.

"Hey, idiot wake up!" Freeland announced.

He noticed Pilot's skin was hot to touch to the touch and his brow was damp with sweat.

"Pilot what's wrong?!" Freeland exclaimed.

"My body feels like it's melting….it's like I am losing energy quickly," He said in between heavy breaths.

Freeland pushed his hands into his pockets to check how much money he had his pouch with. There around five hundred coins in his possession.

"There is no food left as we lost in that shake up last night. You need to eat something." He said.

Pilot shook his head and coughed.

"I cannot...I am not hungry right now," He forced out with an almost audible whimper.

"What did you expect me to do? Let you starve? Come on let's find a hotel..." He argued.

He hopped into the clearing with Pilot on his back into the town as he gawked at the surrounding simple wooden structures with cobble roads. People walked around casually looking at their surroundings. Some of them stared and stared until they realized it was a human, not their livestock or something that was supposed to be brought into their home and live there.

"Pilot, are you okay?" Freeland asked.

He did not answer worrying Freeland. They walked through the street until they came upon a building which looked abandoned. A sign above the doors read: Hera Hotel.

Frowning, he knocked loudly on the door, hoping someone would answer. Nothing happened. He knocked again and waited a few more seconds. Still nothing.

"I don't know what to do…he hasn't gotten worse, but he isn't good either," Freeland said to Pilot as they walked along the streets towards the other hotels.

A woman dressed in jeans and tank top stopped Freeland in the middle of the road smiling as he tried to keep a grip on Pilot who was falling unconscious on and off.

"Looking for a good time?" She asked.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

He began to blush and stuttered incoherently as she gently took Pilot from his arms. Freeland tried to grab him back when her fingers lightly tapped his arm causing him to walk backward as in his mind he saw Caym's face.

"Y-You work with!" Freeland shouted.

All the people on the streets gazed up at him curiously. He tripped over his own foot

and dropped to the ground making him lose balance and fall flat on his face.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle ya. How about you go inside and get a drink and relax till your buddy wakes up..." The girl winked at him.

The other woman held tight to Pilot in her arms as he struggled to breathe heaving and wheezing with his eyelids fluttering and his lips turning blue and his skin paler than death she shuddered and squeezed his cold hand tighter.

"We have a doctor inside…my guess is this kid is a gifted and you are too," She smirked.

The building was huge, and it seemed to be very old. It didn't look like it was inhabited by people except for some of the rooms at the front which were filled with dust. As they passed the first one Freeland stopped and examined some of the pictures on the wall.

Most of them were portraits of the same man and several women and children.

"These are some famous people…they were important, wealthy people...but they disappeared over 30 years ago," He told the woman.

"Maybe they just went on vacation or something…" She muttered.

Freckled men, women, and children watched as Freeland and the young woman approached

they bowed their heads in respect following him. A man appeared in the doorway with his wife in tow the young woman stepped aside and smiled politely.

"Good afternoon Sirs…I am told you have a very sick kid with you," The man greeted.

He wore a light brown suit which made him look very serious and professional. Freeland nodded.

"Yes sir. He's very pale, dehydrated, and extremely malnourished" Freeland replied.

"Follow me please…" He said leading them past the crowd as they entered his room.

The lady followed closely behind and put Pilot on the bed. Her husband knelt next to him

carefully checking his pulse, breathing, temperature, and even checking his eyes,but he was asleep and completely unconscious.

"I will give you all the money I have to help him!" Freeland begged.

"That's not necessary Sir..."The husband smiled "but I appreciate your offer. If you would come with me to the kitchen please. We will be having lunch shortly."

After sitting down at a table in a corner of the room with the woman and husband they were served sandwiches and coffee while they conversed about the weather, politics, and other mundane topics they ate quietly for a while.

"So what do you want if you don't want money?" Freeland asked.

"You already know the answer…I want your name Freeland…" The husband smirked.

He shot up out of the chair in terror panic gripping onto him as the man stared at him intensely. He gulped hard trying not to panic.

"N…No. That's my name…I haven't heard anyone calling my name for years…" Freeland admitted.

"But you have," The husband assured him "It's been a long time since you've seen your family, haven't you?"

"I…I don't remember…" Freeland whispered.

"Your daughter is with Caym and you can join her easily you know?" He smiled.

"Please…just give me some time. My brain is still fuzzy. And maybe once I've rested I'll be able to remember something…" he pleaded.

The couple shared a look then nodded in agreement.

"I understand…we hope you feel better soon. Come down later to check on Pilot," He added before walking away with the lady.

Once they were gone, Freeland let out a deep sigh of relief. He was scared. Scared for Pilot. His heart clenched painfully at the thought of losing him he got up and headed towards the door. Opening the door he stepped outside waiting for some sort of response a car drove by

no reaction. Not a sound. No movement. Nothing. Feeling like crying.

"Fawn…how do I protect Pilot?" He asked himself as he turned and walked back inside.

Lying on the floor of his bedroom he sat silently staring at the ceiling. He was laying down with his legs drawn up and his arms wrapped around them holding them close to his chest as if he was afraid to get up. He was tired. He hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning which was 3 days ago and he didn't have much energy to go anywhere either. All he wanted to do was sleep, to never wake up again.

He couldn't hear anything. Nothing that sounded like any kind of noise. He wondered what would happen if he closed his eyes. He wanted to forget everything. His parents, his friends, his village, even Caym and his daughter. Everything. But that wasn't possible right now. He needed to survive for Pilot's sake. He felt helpless.

Freeland had become a prisoner of this place . Even though he hated the idea of being locked up in an old dusty room in a hotel, he knew he needed to. He heard a knock on the door, he ignored it.

"Are you alright in there? Can we come in" He heard another voice ask.

"Just a minute," He said weakly. He sat up and brushed back his hair and then wiped his eyes. He got up and opened the door to find the three women from earlier peering into the room curiously.

"It's Pilot, he is finally up!" They cheered.

"Pilot?" Freeland noted.

He dashed to his feet and pushed through the group of women to go downstairsand into his room so he could make sure Pilot was okay. He leaned against the side of the bed and placed a hand softly on his cheek he looked like a ghost.

Pilot sat up suddenly and his face lit up when he realized it was Freeland but his expression changed when he glanced up and noticed the three strangers standing nearby they smiled and waved at him as Pilot turned to him, confusion painted across his face and his eyes began filling with tears.

The husband and wife stood at the door waiting for Freeland to make the deal they earlier had made as Pilot looked at him for a moment longer with a hollow look in his eyes, he slowly grabbed Freeland by the shirt he was trembling.

"What's wrong? Why are you shaking your head no?" He asked, trying to calm Pilot down.