Kai stirs the fertile ground, trying to find some supplies. He finds some potatoes and starts to gather them, along with wild plants. Leo locates a well and starts looking for a bucket or something similar to get some water. During this time Jax keeps being on lookout, being suspicious that the area is not really deserted. And he was right about that.

-Kai, did you find anything?

-Yeah, something. Not really things to travel with, but I think we can have a decent meal here. Only thing needed is some protein.

-I got that and some water too. -says Leo with a couple of rabbits and a jar containing water – so let’s have a nice meal for a change.

They decided to make their camp near the main house ruins. There they set up the fire to roast the rabbits and to cook the other ingredients. Kai was in charge of the side dishes, while Jax was taking care of the meat. Leo was just sitting there, as the other two try to give him more time to rest, still worrying about his recent comma.

-You guys know that I’m alright, right?

-Yeah, but there is no downside of letting you rest some more.

-Arghhhh, don’t treat me like a little kid. I said I’m fine guys.

Jax laughs with Leo’s pouting, and Kai does it too. Jax finishes roasting the first rabbit skewer and after giving it to Kai, he heard a noise. He was always on alert and saw something move on foliage near them, jumping on it. He was ready to fight it out if needed, but it turn out to be a small child, with no more than 10 years of life. Her hair seemed to be dry just as her mouth, showing signs of her malnutrition. Her clothes were dirty, which consisted of a patched-up shawl and some short shorts, supplemented by some odd slim bracelet. Her eyes look like she had just given up on life, like nothing else matters anymore.

-Hey, are you alright?

Jax tried to talk to her, but no response came from her. Jax tried to touch her, she flinched like she was afraid. Jax retract himself from touching her.

-Are you here by yourself?

The girl continued to look to the horizon, without looking in Jax face as he talked to her.

-Do you need help? Do you want to eat with us?

Leo jumped to her side, with a rabbit skewer. The girl smelled it and started eating it avidly.

-There you go little girl. Enjoy it, but don’t choke on that.

-How is this kid here by herself? Who left her here?

-I know you two didn’t travel as much as me, but you are certain to encounter many more kids like this on our journey. The Nation has a strict policy when it comes to its rules and doesn’t care for someone who doesn’t fall in line. The clashes between them and the rebels cause, and other riots result in war orphans that don’t have any place to go.

-But this kid doesn’t even react when we talk to her.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

-I guess she is just a shell of her old self. We don’t know what she has gone through.

-Let’s leave her eating here.

The group finish eating and decided to look for clues about the girl to help her, at the same time that they were looking for supplies for their trip. Little by little, the kid started to follow Jax closer and closer, growing attached to him. The sunset disappeared on the horizon as the night came once again.

-All day and we didn’t find anything relevant. This farm looks like it was abandoned for years now.

-I think we are done for the day. We didn’t find any mentionable supplies or any hints about that kid.

-But it looks like she likes you Jax. Have you ever thought about being a father before?

-Don’t joke about this Leo. We have to do something for her.

-Let’s sleep on it. We decide what we will do about it tomorrow.

*****

The moon was getting concealed by the dark clouds approaching the skies. The sound of the clapping thunder tear apart the silence night, announcing the downpour that was to come. The rain washed away the traces of any presence outside the ruins. Leo and Kai were soundly asleep. Jax was too, but the sound of the heavy pour down outside contribute to his uneasy to sleep. Jax woke up feeling something weighing over his chest. When he opened his eyes, he saw the kid sitting on his body, staring at his face. Jax got spooked but the girl wasn’t moving an inch.

-What are you doing, you should-

-You are going to suffer.

Those were the first words spoken by the kid, and Jax couldn’t help but feel shivers running through his spine. The kid started touching Jax body and tears flow from her eyes.

-You are going to suffer so much.

-Hey, calm down. What do you mean?

-You have so many decisions ahead of you…you are going to choose between different hells, between bad things and evil things. All things have an end, and you are not an exception. But your journey and choices will impact the whole world.

-You aren’t making any sense, I…

-No one should have to make the choices you will have to… but it is your destiny. You will clash with other people wills, and it will be hard to keep going but I know you will. And for the whole world’s fate I will try to give you a hand.

-Wha-

The little girl reached Jax chest with her right hand, over Darkmore’s seal. She mumbled something that Jax didn’t comprehend but as soon as she went silent, her hand start glowing. In a blink of an eye, she thrusted her hand through his torso, for Jax shock.

-This will help you for now, trust in your own power, stand up for yourself. This will be the first and last time we talk, but there will be others after me…goodbye Jax.

The light shine even brighter, and the seal on Jax chest suffered modifications. Just as the light appeared, it disappeared.

*****

It was dawn when Leo woke up with the first rays of sunlight hitting on his face. Kai was snoring and Jax was laying down on the floor fully stretched out awkwardly.

-Hey guys, get up. We have to travel right?

He easily woke up Kai, however Jax was more troublesome. Jax was always good to wake up early, but today was like he was more tired than ever. Kai and Leo let him sleep a couple more hours as they tried to gather some supplies one last time from the farm remnants.

-Jax, wake up! We have to go.

-Huh? I’m up, I’m up.

-We were waiting for you for some time sleepyhead. Let’s go. We already let you sleep for three more hours.

-Huh? Wait, where is the kid?

-We can’t seem to find her; it seems that she left the farm before us. She simply disappeared; we didn’t find her anywhere.

- She disappeared? Wait…

-You seem slow today. Are you okay?

-Yes, I’m ok.

-Then let’s go.

Kai and Leo walk ahead of a confused Jax, who touches his torso where he was pierced by the little girl. He doesn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Was all just a dream? He tried to justify everything as an awkward dream and got ready to continue his own journey. When he was picking up his bags, he noticed the kids odd bracelet on his pulse. He was intrigued by it, starting to doubt about if last night events really happen or not. But Jax didn’t have time to think about that now, his brother and Kai were getting far ahead of him.

-Wait for me guys!