Three bandits were sitting around a crackling fire. Two of them, a round, bald man and a man with greasy hair were exchanging crude jokes between bites of roast meat. The last bandit was sitting quietly on a rock. His body was facing the fire and his two companions, but his eyes were closed, as if in meditation.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes. An expression of thought came across his face.

“Chen Lin, Ah Gou,” he said, snapping his fingers at the two men, “you remember the rumor we heard this morning from those bastards on Black Lizard Street?”

“What rumor?” Ah Gou said as he scratched his head of greasy hair cluelessly.

“You mean the one about Rayyan getting done in by a bunch of kids, boss?” asked the bald-headed Chen Lin.

Their leader, Zhang Mo Yu, nodded and said, “That's the one. Do you remember the descriptions of those kids?”

“I think they said there was a Malay kid, a Chinese kid and an Indian teenager. Why?”

“Well, you remember the kid that pulled a fast one on us? He came back for his father…with friends. And I’m thinking that these friends are the same ones that did Rayyan in, which means they could lead us to his mines.”

“Rayyan’s mines?” exclaimed Ah Gou with a smile, “We could be rich!”

“We certainly could,” said Zhang Mo Yu with a smirk.

——————————————————————————————

Ru Meng shambled awkwardly beside the older boys, fidgeting restlessly. The boys were taking turns carrying his father on their backs and he wanted to help somehow, but he didn’t know what to do. He was worried sick to his stomach and standing on the sidelines wasn’t helping. There was a moment of relief when he found his father alive, but that was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of guilt and concern.

He knew his father’s condition was serious. They had tried to wake him up, but he was completely unconscious. The boys forced a bit of water down his throat and decided they needed a doctor. For now, they were going to bring him back to their hideout in the mines.

When they finally arrived at a particular branch in the tunnels, Vardan laid a hand on Ru Meng's head and bent down to speak to him, “Follow Hafiz and Han Yang back to the mines and get some rest. I’ll be back with a doctor soon.”

Ru Meng shook his head and reached out to grab Vardan. The older boy was the only reason he wasn’t completely lost now. He knew, logically, that someone had to go get a doctor, but he was reluctant to let Vardan go. Vardan gave him a reassuring hug and patted his back.

“Come on, Ru Meng. Let’s go,” Hafiz grabbed Ru Meng’s hand with his own and led him away as Vardan slowly vanished down a tunnel with his lamp.

Ru Meng followed the older boys back to the mine.

Several minutes after everyone had left, a tiny rat with glowing red eyes scampered into the clearing. It held its nose up and sniffed the air for a few seconds, before running down the tunnel in the direction Ru Meng and the boys had left.

As it scurried forward, a shadow lunged out of the darkness. Vardan rolled to a stop when he crashed into a wall. He held the rodent up with one hand as he reignited his oil lamp. The white-furred pest struggled in his grip, violently thrashing about as it tried to bite the teenager's hand.

Vardan brought his other hand over the rat’s head and looked away. There was a soft snap as the rat’s vertebrae were snapped in half. Vardan looked at the dead rat solemnly before tossing it away.

Somewhere in the distance, a certain bandit started exercising his rather extensive vocabulary of swear words.

——————————————————————————————

The boys were rather wary initially, but they quickly gathered around the unconscious man, offering water or pieces of meat or potato they had saved from their previous meal. It started to get a little overwhelming, and it took Han Yang noticing Ru Meng’s discomfort to finally chase all the children away.

They had laid Ru Meng’s father on a bed made of threadbare blankets piled together, right next to the rest of the injured people. Hakimi was snoring away on the right, while Lan sat up curiously in his bed in the middle.

Hafiz and Han Yang realized that Ru Meng preferred to be alone with his father and left to give out instructions to the other boys. The Malay boys that were part of Hakimi’s clique were reluctant to listen to the orders of people who, up until very recently, had been their rivals and enemies. Nevertheless, somehow Han Yang managed to convince or push everyone to pick up a pickaxe and continue working in their assigned tunnels. The children were not the least bit upset to be working again. If anything, there was something vaguely exciting about working of their own will and at their own pace. They broke up into small groups and talked amongst themselves as they happily toiled away at the rocks with their bellies full of stew.

Lan was still recovering from his injury and his friends were adamant he didn’t join them for a few more days. He s stole worried glances at Ru Meng, but said nothing. In the end, he reached over and gave Ru Meng a hug. Ru Meng returned the hug, but it was clear that he couldn’t be happy about the situation at all.

What would his father say when he woke up and saw all this? He had friends now. His father would probably tell him that he couldn’t trust others and try to make him leave. What would he do if his father made him leave his friends behind?

Ru Meng thought for a moment and was both mortified and heartbroken when he realized he would probably leave and follow his father back into the darkness, the lonely, quiet darkness where there was nothing but himself and his magic.

Yet, despite all of this, there wasn’t a shred of hatred for his father in Ru Meng's mind. His father had done plenty of horrible things, but not once had Ru Meng ever blamed his father. It was all his fault, after all. Even if his father made him leave his friends this time, it would only be his fault. If he had taken better care of his father, shown him how capable he was, he might let him stay with his friends.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But what if his father didn’t wake up?

The thought alone brought a tear to Ru Meng’s eyes. He couldn’t imagine that at all. He loved his father. He truly did. And he didn’t know what to do if his father was gone. Just like his uncle. And all those other people he killed.

Ru Meng sobbed quietly into his sleeve as his complicated emotions threatened to swallow him alive. Hours passed by, every second as painful and tormenting as the last one.

Two pairs of footsteps rang in the distance. Vardan stepped into the cave, followed by a middle-aged Indian man who was wearing a strange device around his neck and who carried a bag full of tools in his right hand. The man had a pair of deep-set eyes, a straight nose, a friendly smile and an uncanny, good-looking resemblance to Vardan.

When he approached Ru Meng, he immediately grabbed his hand and shook it warmly.

“You must be Ru Meng. Vardan told me all about you. Thank you so much for taking care of him!” said the man with a brimming smile and a local Mandarin accent so authentic you would’ve mistaken him for a Chinese person.

Ru Meng didn’t so much shake his hand as let his hand be shaken. He looked at the man in confusion, his gaze flicking quickly between Vardan and the man.

The Indian man seemed to catch on to the confusion and immediately clarified, “Right! Where are my manners? I’m Vardan’s father, you can call me Uncle Raj.”

Ru Meng looked up at Vardan, his eyes opened wide in shock. Vardan’s father? The handsome teenager grinned and mouthed something, I’ll explain later.

“I heard your father has a fever. Where is he?” asked Uncle Raj.

Ru Meng immediately snapped back to his senses and led Uncle Raj to where his father was lying. The man kneeled down beside his father and set his bag down. He then took the strange device around his neck and place its two prongs into his ears, while extending a long and loose rope-like appendage to his father’s chest. Ru Meng wasn't sure what Raj was doing, but Vardan came back with him when he said he was going to get a doctor. Ru Meng trusted Raj to heal his father. He seemed like a good person.

After a few moments of prodding around with his weird device and touching Ru Meng’s father here and there, Raj turned around and looked at Ru Meng. His expression was solemn and dire.

“How many days has he had a fever?”

“Eight days, maybe.”

Raj rummaged around his bag and handed a bottle to Ru Meng. The bottle’s contents rattled about.

"Have him take this pill. Twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Get a wet cloth and put it over his head. The most important thing now is to get his temperature down,” he said.

“Is my father going to be okay, Mr— Uncle Raj?”

The Indian doctor looked down and sighed.

“I don’t know for sure, but it’s not looking good. His temperature is way too high for an ordinary fever and if his body has been at that temperature for eight days… I’ll come back for another check-up soon. Keep your father comfortable and make sure he has enough water to drink. Feed him some kind of soup so he has energy to fight off the infection.”

Ru Meng asked anxiously, “But he’s going to live, right?”

Raj looked a little conflicted.

“It's likely, but…”

“But what?”

“But…there might be lasting side-effects from this.”

“What kind of side-effects?”

Raj sighed and said, “It's hard to tell at this point.”

He rubbed the kid's head and said, “Don't worry too much about it. He’s going to be fine. I’ll do my best to make sure he pulls through.”

Having said that, he turned away and went to tend to Hakimi and Lan's injuries. He took their bandages apart to examine the wounds and make sure they weren't infected, then dressed them and wrapped them in fresh bandages again.

There was a pained look in his eyes as he worked on the two children's crippling injuries.

Ru Meng tried not to think about what the doctor had said about side effects. He gritted his teeth and went to take care of his father.

Several hours later, Vardan hugged his father farewell. He said something and his father nodded in response. Uncle Raj caressed Vardan's scarred face gently. Even from a distance, Ru Meng could discern guilt and pain on his face. Reluctantly, the doctor picked up his bag and left in the same direction he came from.

Vardan scratched his head and sat down beside Ru Meng and his father.

“How’s your father’s condition?”

“Uncle Raj said it’s not looking good.”

Vardan patted Ru Meng on the head and said, “I’m sorry to hear that, but my father’s a good doctor. He’ll do everything he can to help your father.”

Ru Meng nodded in silence as he wrung the piece of damp cloth in his hands. All he had done in the past hour was change the cloth on his father’s head and have him drink water. There was nothing else he could do and it was grueling to be sitting on his hands.

Vardan kept him company, even though neither of them had anything to say. Hakimi was still asleep and they needed the rest as well, after everything that had happened today.

The rest of the boys were enthusiastically mining away, ironically being much more efficient and productive than they usually were. Everyone was in high spirits.

“Why is everyone still staying here? Do they not have families to go back to?” Ru Meng suddenly asked, nodding at the boys in the distance.

Vardan shook his head and said, “Not really. Almost everyone here has nowhere to go home to. They are either orphans or they were sold into slavery by their own parents. What do you think happens if they go home to their parents again? At least they have friends to count on if they stay here.”

“And you, Vardan?” asked Ru Meng as he turned to look at the older boy, “Your father is still around and he seems like a nice person. How did you end up here?”

Vardan stared at the ceiling with a wistful look in his eyes, but his tone was cheery, “He sold me off to Rayyan, just like the rest of the kids. Because I told him to.”

Ru Meng was shocked to hear that, but he said nothing, because he knew Vardan had more to say.

“I’m very lucky, Ru Meng, luckier than most people get. My mother died during the raid where they caught my family and forced them down here, but I still have two younger sisters and my father. My father is a good father. He took care of us, made sure we never went hungry before he did.

He was a good man too, took care of all our neighbours and anyone that needed help. So when the exiles were driven out of the Undercity, he went along with them, because the exiles were still people and they needed help.

He was too kind for the Nameless Town, however. He saved a lot of people, but they didn't always pay him back. Sometimes he refused to take payment at all, especially from those who struggled the most. Four years ago, when the Darktide finally came, he didn't have enough money to pay for shelter for all of us.

He was going to pay for the three of us children and take his chances outside, but I convinced him otherwise. So he went to Rayyan and for a generous sum of money, sold me so he and my sister could survive.

We live in a shitty world, Ru Meng. I like to count my blessings and you should too. Your father will live. I’m sure of that. ”

Ru Meng choked back his tears and nodded.

“Are you going to go back to your family?” he finally asked after a long pause.

Vardan thought for a moment.

”I’ll go back to visit sometimes, but I think I'll stay here.”

“Why? Don’t you want to go home?”

“Well, to be honest, I’ve kinda gotten used to sleeping on the ground. Can’t fall asleep if my bed’s too soft now,” he said with a chuckle, before settling into a more serious tone, “And I—I can’t just leave you guys alone now. Lan got injured because of me and all the other boys are looking for someone to tell them what to do.

I can’t just leave it to Hakimi alone. He’s a tough boy, but he’s the kind that will just keep going until he breaks. He needs someone to help him.

You too, Ru Meng. I’m sure you know how it feels, don't you? This place is like family to us.”

Ru Meng nodded. He knew what Vardan meant. He had only been here for a week and already he felt like long-time friends with everyone. Not just Vardan and Hakimi, who braved through all that danger with him, but Han Yang, Lan and the others.

Vardan smiled at him, his long, matted hair pushed behind his ears to reveal the gnarly brand on his face.

“I think I might go take a shower. It's been a while. Rest early tonight. We have a lot to talk about. Hopefully, Hakimi will be feeling better tomorrow,” Vardan laughed his chime-like laughter and walked away to check on the other boys.

Ru Meng stayed where he was. Nothing had changed, but he felt a lot better than before. That night, he slept early. He slept well.