Akairo's cold body had grown tired from crying and so he laid motionlessly on the ground.

His face was covered in dirt but he did little to remove it as he thought back to what had happened.

Night had fallen and the distant panicked cries Akairo heard earlier were gone.

His throat ached from thirst and his stomach cried in hunger but still, he did not move.

What eventually drew motion from him was a flash.

A vision.

One mired in blood, grime, tears and fire.

A vision of his life.

A small life which, for reasons that escaped him, he was determined to keep and so, with a gasp, he sat up and, with shaking eyes, he stared into the chasm before him.

His half-open eyes shot to the left, where the road to the Outer Field was.

Without thinking, he crawled onto his feet and walked towards it.

Lamenting winds filled the air and their cold touch reached Akairo’s bones so he tightly clutched his small arms.

His vest did little to protect him from the elements but, even in this vulnerable state, he kept walking, as he had always done.

He eventually reached the road and saw that it had been deserted.

No cars or people were to be found, only piles of rubbish and large waste disposal cans.

He glanced to his right and saw that the road abruptly ended a few meters away from him.

He fearfully scurried backwards only to bump into one of the trash cans.

He collapsed and tightly clutched his vest as his heart frantically raced.

His ears then perked up as he heard movement from behind him.

He also saw a beam of light and hurriedly crawled against the lower quarter of the fence which was made of concrete and held his breath.

The sounds from before got close enough for him to realize that they were footsteps and so he closed his eyes and prayed that whoever it was didn’t see him in the dark of night.

The footsteps grew louder and the longer Akairo held his breath, the faster his heart raced.

“Mmm?” A raspy voice sounded.

“Kairo?” The voice called while a blindingly bright light blared through Akairo’s closed eyelids.

“By his name- you made it!” The voice cried.

Something then touched Akairo’s left shoulder making the boy jerk away.

“Hey! It's me! Uncle Teyrn!”

Akairo’s body continued to flail, even as two large arms tried holding him still.

“Buddy, open your eyes! Are you hurt?” Teyrn asked and it was here that Akairo opened his eyes so see the face of a burly man covered head to toe in black tactical armour. His eyes glowed dimly blue.

Akairo let out a whimper as his body finally fell limp.

Teyrn wasted no time in gently wrapping his arms around the boy as he tearlessly wept.

“Thank goodness you’re safe,” Teyrn whispered while gently rocking Akairo from side to side.

He then held the boy up and looked him over, his flashlight hanging by a strap on his wrist.

“Are you hurt?” He asked with a pained and tired expression.

Akairo weakly shook his head prompting Teyrn to nod.

“Alright. Come on. We’ve gotta move. The few who survived made their way to Babilu and the last group is about to leave.” He explained while standing up.

Akairo joined him in standing while holding onto Teyrn’s left hand.

“Mmm.” Teyrn droned as he led Akairo towards the Outer Wall where the statue of Neîkos could be still be seen.

“Did… where are… Engel… the others…” He struggled to say as he and Akairo walked.

He then came to a stop and looked at a shivering Akairo.

“I-I…” He stuttered with a face that was twisted as though it were in severe pain.

He then raised his right hand and gently placed it on Akairo’s head before ruffling his hair.

“Ahem!” He sounded before taking a deep breath and facing forward again.

“Let’s keep moving. The last group has about twenty people. The elderly, women and children went west first with the most gourds. The wounded went second and we’re the last to remain. I’m glad we did because we managed to find a few survivors, and I managed to find you.” Teyrn explained as he and Akairo approached the fifty-meter-tall Outer Wall.

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It's gate stood half as tall and hung open revealing an old bus and two police Hovercruisers that were parked just outside the wall. The bus had four of what were considered to be old-school rubber wheels while the Hovercruisers had landing gear which kept their sleek dark blue hulls from touching the ground.

Standing by the vehicles were around twenty four people. Four of which were heavily armed men who wore gear similar to that of Teyrn’s.

One of them pointed his flashlight at Teyrn and Akairo, blinding the boy temporarily.

“Hey! That’s Engel’s boy! Did… where is-?” The guard tried asking as he lowered his flashlight.

Teyrn walked up to the guard and simply lowered his head.

The guard’s eyes, which glowed dimly blue like Teyrn’s, widened.

He then glanced at Akairo and sighed.

“I’ll go get him some clothes and food.” The guard said before making his way into the bus.

Teyrn then led Akairo to one of the two cruisers were ten men could be seen huddled together.

They all ignored Teyrn and Akairo as they entered the cruiser via one of its two doors.

This revealed that it had three seats.

One in the cockpit for the driver and two behind the driver’s seat.

Teyrn and Akairo sat in the rear seats in silence.

The guard from before arrived shortly after and gave Teyrn what he had brought.

Teyrn then gave his fellow guard a nod and closed the door before giving Akairo an officer’s jacket which the boy wore over his dirtied vest and bandages.

Teyrn then gave Akairo a flask of coffee and a cream donut which the boy slowly ate.

He rested his head on his seat and deeply sighed.

“We should be on the move in about thirty minutes or so.” He muttered.

Akairo lightly choked on some coffee prompting Teyrn to lightly pat his back.

“Hey, slow down. Food’s not going anywhere.” He smiled.

Akairo nodded weakly while drinking more coffee to soothe his throat.

As he did, in the darkness of the car, he saw visions of the chasm and, even though it was a brief flash, it threatened to paralyse him with fear.

Teyrn must have noticed this because he quickly switched on the overhead lights and opened the windows.

Akairo mimicked Teyrn and rested his head on his seat while swallowing.

He then took deep and evenly paced breaths while looking out into the world beyond the outer field.

His eyes narrowed upon seeing that it was mostly grassland.

He had seen videos and images showing which depicted the world beyond the western wall as a twisted Wasteland filled with rusted metal and burnt land.

He looked up and saw that the stars were clearer than ever.

He could also see a glimpse of the Lavan Nachash, a vast cluster of bright stars, but, before he could focus on it any further, he quickly turned his head left upon hearing the sounds of footsteps.

He saw the guard from before instructing the men to get into the bus.

The men did as they were told and it wasn’t long before the guard entered the same Hovercruiser as Teyrn and Akairo.

Without saying a word, he started the cruiser up and it suddenly rose from the ground as it’s windows automatically closed.

The guard then flew it behind the bus which drove behind the other cruiser.

[The first group is approaching Babilu now. The boys over there are saying that we’ll be kept in the same place as the survivors from Southview.] A voice from the radio on the guard’s left shoulder said.

Teyrn grabbed it and pressed the button on its side.

“What do you think the chances of Balilu getting attacked are?”

[Hehe, I’m sure Daş can answer that.]

“Well?” Teyrn asked.

“Blue Typhoon is there. So the chances are non-existent.” Daş muttered.

[Haha! I barely heard anything but I can already tell he’s fangirling over that sack of wrinkles!] The voice on the radio laughed.

“Go easy on him, will ya? This trip is going to be long. Let’s not make it any longer.” Teyrn chuckled.

[Yeah, yeah.] The voice from the radio sighed.

“So… you think they’re gonna go for Northview next?” Teyrn asked but Daş shook his head.

“Nah. Five bucks says their gunning for Westview. Way too much security in Balilu and Northview so they’re gonna try and hit Westview before they can properly raise their guard.”

“Mmm…” Teyrn sounded before glancing at Akairo who was barely managing to sit upright as his eyelids threatened to close.

Teyrn gently tapped the boy’s left hand and without a word, Akairo leaned to the left, allowing his head to rest on Teyrn’s shoulder.

Akairo then fell asleep with the low rumble of the cruiser’s engine as his lullaby.

.

..

“Akairo,” Engel called.

The boy tried opening his eyes but they were far too tired.

“Kairo,” Engel called again but this time her voice was a little deeper.

“Boy!”

Akairo’s eyes slowly opened only for them to narrow as the light of the afternoon sun flooded the cruiser’s interior.

He looked to his left and saw a weary-eyed Teyrn.

“Mornin’.” He greeted prompting Akairo to weakly nod. The sunlight allowed Akairo to see that Teyrn’s tanned face was covered in thin golden lines that resembled those found on circuits.

“We’re gonna take a quick break in a few minutes. Some proper food is being prepared on the bus but once everyone’s done eating and whatnot, we’ll hit the road again.”

Akairo nodded again but with a yawn.

The bus and cruisers eventually came to a stop by the side of the seemingly never-ending road.

Akairo spotted what appeared to be the ruins in the distance of both sides of the road along with scattered patches of trees. Remnants of what were once bustling cities had been reduced to frames of concrete and rust.

He turned his attention to Teyrn and his fellow guards who stood in defensive positions around the vehicles.

The light of day allowed Akairo to see that they were all armed with assault rifles and had side arms strapped to their legs.

One of the men from the bus handed everyone bowls of food. Some remained in the bus while others stood outside, taking the opportunity to stretch their legs.

The man then walked up to the cruiser wherein Akairo still sat.

The left door was still open, allowing the man to hand Akairo a bowl of what appeared to be soup and bread.

Akairo accepted the food and the man gave him a weary nod before making his way back to the bus where he joined those who were standing by its side.

Akairo ate all while staring at nothing in particular. His ears caught the sounds of distant chatter and howling winds. Sounds that felt so small in the vastness of the Outer Field.

He frowned upon realizing that they had probably left the Outer Field and were in an entirely different territory. A place further from home than he had been in years.

He sighed deeply before finishing his food.

He then cautiously stepped out of the cruiser and walked towards the man who had given him the bowl.

He returned the it and, after getting a thankful nod from the man, made he made his way back to the cruiser but as he did, he looked around for Teyrn.

He and his fellow guards all wore similar clothing and even though they varied in height and build, Akairo wasn’t sure which one of them was Teyrn since they all had their backs to the vehicles and wore helmets.

Akairo stopped midway to the cruiser and focused on the man standing a few meters behind it.

He wanted to call out Teyrn’s name but just as he opened his mouth, something bright suddenly struck the guard's head, making his body jerk violently backwards.

“What the- it’s the CM! Get down!” Someone yelled but a horrified Akairo simply stood frozen as several loud crashes and explosions resounded all around him.

“Kairo!” Someone yelled before grabbing Akairo and throwing him into the cruiser.

Akairo looked to see that it was an unharmed Teyrn.

“Keep your head down!” The guard yelled and before Akairo could even respond, Teyrn rushed to the other side of the cruiser where he grabbed the guard who had been struck.

He then opened the right door and threw him into the car revealing that it was Daş only the left side of his face had been burnt to such a degree, that charred and burning embers could be seen within.