“And there she is. Babilu.” Daş muttered prompting Akairo to fully awaken.

He looked ahead with half-closed eyes and saw sitting on the distant horizon, towering over all else, a massive tower that looked half-built.

It was covered in lights and was surrounded by an ethereal golden hue which gave the tower the appearance of a candle in the night.

Teyrn’s eyes widened as his radio suddenly sounded off.

[Hey, Teyrn. Just got word from ahead. They said that a group of Ciddiyaha Madow have occupied a chunk of road about fifty kilometres ahead. I think they noticed the increase in traffic. What’s the call?] Asked a voice belonging to one of Teyrn’s fellow guards.

Akairo watched as Teyrn’s brows knotted.

“Fifty Kilometres?” He asked after pressing on his radio.

[Yep.]

“Call in the boys back at the station behind us and ask if they can send us some help.”

[On it.]

Teyrn let out a sigh before glancing at Akairo, who wore a concerned expression.

Teyrn gently rubbed the boy’s head and leaned back into his chair.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be safe and sound in Babilu soon enough, alright?”

Akairo weakly nodded prompting Teyrn to do the same.

[Bad news.]

The voice from before suddenly announced.

[They said they can’t risk reducing their numbers. Can’t blame them. So it looks like we’re on our own.]

“And that’s totally fine. They’re just a bunch of savages anyway, so it shouldn’t be too big a problem, right?” Daş asked with a toothy grin.

“I don’t think you can say anything since half of your face is missing.” Teyrn weakly laughed.

“But you’re right. If we’re careful, we should be able to swiftly take care of them.”

“Yeah! So what’s the call?”

Teyrn took a deep breath before pressing on his radio.

“We’re gonna drive straight for them. We’ll stop about ten Kilometres away and three of us will go ahead and clear the path. The two who remain will have two jobs. If we are successful, I want you to quickly pick us up, but if we fail, we’ll kill as many of them as we can allowing the rest of you to rush past them.”

Akairo’s eyes widened.

[Got it.]

Teyrn turned to fully face Akairo before placing his hands on the boy’s shoulder.

“Listen. My current mission, above all else, is to ensure you and everyone in that bus makes it to Babilu.”

Akairo’s eyes trembled.

He tried speaking but his throat ached in pain and so he pitifully hunched forward as his eyes fell.

“Hey. Look at me.”

Akairo complied and looked into Teyrn’s eyes which flashed brightly once.

“All I need to do is make sure that you guys are able to pass the blockade. As soon as that’s done, we’ll hop straight back into the cruiser and follow you, alright?” Teyrn asked with a smile.

Akairo sat frozen.

“Alright?” He asked again and this time, Akairo nodded.

“Good.” Teyrn nodded but just as he did, his expression changed. His brows knotted and his eyes narrowed as he turned to face Daş.

“How’s your vision?” He asked while adjusting the strap to which his rifle was attached.

“None in one. Crystal clear in the other.” Daş said making Teyrn nod.

“Alright. You’ll stay with Kairo and the others.”

A moment of silence passed as Daş piloted the cruiser.

He then let out an extended sigh while holding the steering wheel so tight that its shape distorted a little.

“Alright.”

.

..

The bus and single cruiser came to a stop on the side of the eastward road as the darkness of night hung above.

Akairo spotted, rising from further ahead on the road, thin pillars of smoke but he shifted his focus to Teyrn who gestured that he follow him out of the cruiser.

He gently placed his hand on the boy’s head before giving him a curt nod.

Teyrn then turned to two of his fellow guards who approached from the parked bus.

Without saying a word, they joined Teyrn in the cruiser while Daş walked up to Akairo.

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The cruiser then returned to the road and although Akairo wanted to raise his small hand to wave Teyrn goodbye, he found himself unable to.

Daş placed his gloved hand on Akairo’s shoulder and led him into the bus wherein the twenty survivors and one guard awaited.

They all paid Akairo little mind and instead kept their weary gazes on the road ahead.

Their breaths were hushed and their movements were muted.

Daş led Akairo to the two free seats behind the driver’s and, after sitting down, he let out a deep sigh.

Akairo turned to him with a racing heart but Daş simply offered him a gloved hand.

“Oh-“ Daş sounded before removing his glove.

He allowed Akairo’s hand to rest on top of his.

He then tightly held the boy’s hand as a single distant crack filled the air.

Daş’s eyes turned straight ahead and they sat unshakingly.

Several more cracks filled the air which made a few people flinch and they were followed by explosions that made Akairo curl forward.

His heart then jumped as a short burst of white noise came from Daş’s radio.

[Alright, we’ve managed to push them back a little! Push through and don’t stop for anything!] Teyrn yelled over the sounds of gunfire.

Daş inhaled sharply before striking the side of the bus with his fist.

“Floor it!”

“Copy!” The driver replied before putting the bus into motion.

Akairo then watched, with a racing heart, as Daş’s hand hovered above his radio.

It looked like he dearly wanted to press the button but his thumb never reached the button.

Akairo then turned forward and watched as the bus rushed forward.

Its engine let out a fierce roar as it gained even more speed.

The gunshots and explosions from before grew louder and before long, something struck the bus.

“Keep your heads low!” The driver yelled and although Akairo complied, Daş kept his head raised and his eyes glared at the darkness ahead.

Countless more things then struck the bus but nothing was able to shatter even its windows.

Akairo, in an act that defied reason, raised his head a little, allowing him to catch a brief glimpse of a scorched battlefield.

The buildings, although damaged beyond repair, looked at similar to those of the station they had passed and scattered alongside the road were countless people who wore clothing that was lined with twisted metal.

Some of them held guns which they used to shoot at the bus but others simply hurled orbs of fire from the palms of their hands.

One such orb struck the front window, making Akairo reach out to Daş but, just as the guard reached out to hold the boy, a loud explosion came from ahead.

Akairo then watched as a strange and large blade tore through the bus from below, taking Daş’s left arm with it as it cut the bus in two.

Its halves sped out of control before toppling to their sides, tossing Akairo to the right.

His small body was caught by one of the survivors, who held him tightly as the bus struck the ground.

Akairo’s vision blurred for a moment but it quickly returned, allowing him to see that he was still in the arms of the survivor who had caught him.

The man weakly smiled and shortly after coughed out blood.

Akairo’s eyes trembled but before a whimper could even leave his lips, high-pitched Ululations filled the air.

“Scrap for the heap and meat for the pots!”

Someone yelled but all Akairo could do was watch as the man beneath him choked on his own blood.

He tried saying something but all that came from him were pained gurgles as tears fell from his eyes.

“What do we have here?”

Akairo fearfully turned around and raised his head to find a man standing over the wrecked half of the bus with a twisted grin.

Just as twisted as his browned teeth were his clothes which were an assortment of old leather clothes and twisted metallic armour.

“Come on! Give me your hand! I promise I won’t hurt you!” The man said while barely managing to hold in his deranged snickering.

He reached down to grab Akairo but found that the boy was far too low and so he returned to a standing position.

Akairo trembled in fear and this seemingly filled the man above with glee. Making more of his horrid teeth visible as he smiled. His scruffy short black hair allowing all of his grin to be visible in the dim light of the grey morning sky.

“Come on. Here. Take my hand-“

The man failed to finish his sentence as the top half of his head was suddenly punched clean off by Daş who kicked the headless corpse away quickly before jumping into the wreck, revealing to Akairo that he was bleeding profusely from where his left arm once was.

“D- Double C! Your pocket!” He grunted prompting Akairo to frantically search his pockets.

He found a certain box in his jacket’s right pocket and he quickly handed the soot-coated box to Daş who took the pill within and threw it in his mouth.

He chewed on it and quickly inhaled any of the green smoke that escaped from his nose.

He then knelt and gently wrapped his arm around Akairo before jumping straight out of the wreck in a single leap.

The two landed next to the wreck only to find several people waiting for them. Some held guns while others held orbs of fire and even ice.

Daş slowly placed Akairo down and watched as one of the people before him walked forward.

He, unlike his companions, was dressed in nothing but a loincloth which revealed his countless tattoos and scars.

Even the dark brown skin on his bald head was not spared as it too was riddled with scars.

“It would be best if you came with us peacefully, meat.” The man said through browned teeth.

Daş squeezed his fist and just as a cold wind whistled by, he spoke.

“No.”

The scarred man let out a silent scoff before sending forth a left hook even though he was several meters away from Daş.

The ground to the right of Daş then suddenly rose and the sand gathered to form what appeared to be a blade which rushed towards Daş at an incredible speed but, with the swing of his arm, Daş sent out an unseen wave of force that destroyed the blade.

Silence then befell the area surrounding the wreckage.

A mixture of vast stretches of forest and patches of nothing but grass.

“Akairo,” Daş called without turning away from his opponent who stood in cautious silence.

“Always remember to say goodbye. So, goodbye, dear boy. I wish I’d spent more time at that old diner.”

“Now run!” Daş yelled just as the scarred man sent forth two jabs which called forth two sand blades.

“RUN AND DON’T EVER STOP!” Daş screamed as he destroyed the incoming blades with the swing of his hand but this time his opponent charged towards him shortly after.

Akairo nearly choked on his own stifled terror but his instructions were clear and so he turned around and ran.

His thin legs carried him around the wreckage and back onto the road, all while screams and explosions filled the air which he left behind.

Looming above, in the distance, was Babilu which seemed far more distant than before but regardless of how painfully his chest or throat ached nor how many tears he shed, Akairo kept running.

As he did, he recalled it all.

All the pain.

All the suffering.

But before any embers could leave his breath as fire, he took a pained breath and continued eastward, under the light of the rising sun.

.

..

Hours had passed and Akairo had run out of the strength needed to keep his head raised as he walked and so it hung beneath the dark of moonless night.

He kept his eyes on the road, allowing him to see that he was still on the desired path.

At this point, his lips were as cracked and as dry as the road on which he walked and his eyes had long since gone dry with no more tears left to cry.

His stomach twisted in pain from hunger and his mind threatened to surrender the battle which Akairo so desperately fought and just as the pain reached its worst, Akairo was assaulted by a bright light and several loud noises.

[Stand right where you are!] Someone yelled over a megaphone making Akairo’s ringing ears ache that much more.

He lifted his head up as high as he could and let out a pained cough upon seeing that he had reached it.

Babilu’s Outer Wall.

Standing atop concrete and steel palisades were several guards who all had their weapons trained at him.

Standing above even the wall was a statue of a Saint.

Akairo let out one more breath and it was here that his legs finally gave in.

He fell forward and struck the paved road but any pain he felt was washed away by the sweet burning sensation within his heart.

He had done it.

He had made it to Babilu.

For Teyrn, Daş and the others.