“NooOOOoooOOo! Don’t hurt mister Cluckypoof!” Marie cried, tightly hugging the clucking chicken to her chest.
“Come on, Marie, you know we don’t want to do it either, but we have no choice!”
“No! We’ll just eat potatoes again! I want potatoes!”
Bwak! Bwak! Bacawk!!
The poor chicken was madly struggling in Marie’s arms, pecking at her forearms, while Bruce and Kazuki tried their best to console her.
“Stop making a show of yourself Marie!” Anastasia suddenly shouted. “Where was that compassion when it was our turn? And how many chickens have you eaten before coming here?!”
“I never ate mister Cluckypoof! There’s only one mister Cluckypoof!” Marie bawled, snot rolling down her face.
“You were eating chicken stew just yesterday!”
“Cluckypoof’s mine! You killed your children, I won’t let you eat mine!” Marie started circulating mana into her legs, suddenly speeding up like an olympic runner.
“Don’t let her get away!”
Bruce and Kazuki quickly sped up as well, chasing after Marie who fled from the coop with her chicken in tow.
Bacawk!! Bacawk!!
They ran into the courtyard. Marie nimbly navigated through the obstacle course with expertise she scarcely showed in our daily training. She jumped over the holes in the ground, climbed the vertical wall, not slowing down even when running on the rope hanging over the rose bushes. She never lost her balance, despite holding a terrified chicken who was doing everything to disentangle himself from her bosom.
“I’ll be blessed by Raia! If she did swords practice with a chicken in her other hand, she’d even give Gunterson a walloping!” Bruce quipped. “It’s not the time for jokes, Bruce! Stop her before she runs away with our dinner!”
Unbeknownst to everyone else, mister Hendricks was watching the whole affair, hiding his presence with a skillful use of mana. There was a satisfied smile on his face. He bent and picked up a small rock from the ground.
“Get down Marie! You know the rules! We can’t force you if you don’t want to do it! Just stop running already!”
“No! You’ll trick me! Like you did with Allie!”
“We didn’t trick Allie!”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Yes you did!” Allie suddenly interjected. “Roger would have been alive right now if you didn’t say we all had to do it! Now you’re saying she can save her pet?!” Allie turned towards Marie, who ran herself to the top of the training pole, with no easy way forward. “I saw you eating Roger! Even if I were to be the only one, this afternoon I’ll have your Cluckypoof on my plate!”
“NooOoooOOOoo! I’m sorry Allie! Please don’t eat my PoofPoof!” Maire wailed despairingly.
Her anguish must have finally exhausted her energy, cause suddenly she lost her footing and fell from the pole.
“Watch out!”
“Catch her!”
Bruce and Kazuki simultaneously jumped to catch Marie before she hit the ground. Their speed, enhanced by mana, made it easy for them to reach her in time. Sadly, they did it at the same time, essentially crashing into Marie and the poor chicken in her arms.
Bacawk!! Baca--
“Mister Cluckypoof?” Marie blinked, her hand petting the suddenly quiet chicken.
“No... No... No!” She roared at the two boys who tried to save her. “You killed mister Cluckypoof!”
“Finally, we can end this farce. Hand it over and I’ll pluck it and gut it for you.” Anastasia said.
“The hell’s wrong with you?” I asked her angrily. “Why would you say something like that right now?”
“And what’s your problem? I’m only trying to help, or do you think she’ll be able to do it?” Anastasia retorted, quite peeved with my comment.
We both looked at Marie. She sat on the ground, completely distraught. She kept alternating between slapping Bruce and Kazuki who were awkwardly apologizing to her and hugging the late mister Cluckypoofs. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and falling on his colorful feathers.
“We’re not going to eat him.” Marie suddenly said. “We’re going to hold a wake and bury him like he deserves.” She cast a fierce glance at our group. “Whoever doesn’t attend will never be my friend again.”
“Marie…”
“No! I’ve decided! You said so yourself, it is my decision! No one can force me!”
“Everyone else went through with it. We didn’t make a scene, but it wasn’t easy for us either…”
“I don’t care! He was my only friend! I’ve lost my home, my parents, my sister, my life… I only had mister Cluckypoofs… And now he’s gone too…” She no longer shouted and instead sobbed softly, her small body trembling with grief.
“Marie…”
Allie pushed Bruce and Kazuki away and tightly hugged Marie, her hand gently stroking the crying girl’s hair. “It’s all right, Marie. You’re not alone. We’re here for you. We’ve also lost everything. But at least we have each other. I’m sorry for what I said. You were right. No one’s going to eat mister Cluckypoofs.”
The excitement we were feeling before was snuffed out.
Even Anastasia’s face softened a bit. Marie’s plight was one we all shared. We spent the past few weeks trying to lose ourselves in training and studies, but the memories of our previous lives hanged over us like an unrelenting phantom.
Days were usually bearable, but nights… We all had our separate rooms, but the girls quickly moved their beds to one room, whereas the boys would spend evenings playing cards with each other, eventually falling asleep in a group all the same.
Anything was better than laying alone in a dark room, hours of the night stretching endlessly, as your mind raced through memories of everything and everyone precious to you. Everyone that you’ve lost.
I recalled yet again the day we were brought here.