The life in the desert was quite simple. Sure, it was hard, it was annoyingly hot, and the droughts were dreadful but it was never boring. The Maha desert has always been a fun place. It was far away from Mount Hage so it was not as populous as one would have expected. The desert itself was just one big village. And on the periphery of that village lived Aiden, a simple village boy. He was skinny, bald and had some really bad teeth. Who would have thought that he would be the one to bring even more heat to the desert...

Aiden was lying on the hot desert ground, just looking at the bright blue sky when a girl approached him.

"Aiden, get up, Ben's been looking for you!

Aiden stood up excitingly. "So is he finally ready to apologise?", he said with a grin on his face.

"I dunno, but I think you should not be so angry at him all the time, I should be even more pissed than him."

"Huh, why do you care, go play with that freak Gerald" 

"You really are a jerk" , she proclaimed and then proceeded to slap him so hard that his cheeks turned cherry red.

Aiden was so pissed at the girl, he used the most basic instrument of an insult that he could think of... her mother.

"Not as jerky as your mother, she is so big that the neighbours always fear she's gonna eat them up".

The girl slapped him once more, and then ran off crying her eyes out.

"Well, not my fault, she was always a crybaby", Aiden thought.

Aiden's brother was a polar opposite to everything Aiden was. He was muscular, had a long hair, a big beard, a golden heart and some charmingly clear teeth. He was the village healer. The villagers really enjoyed his massages. He was just massaging a person when Aiden approached him.

"Wassup big bro". Aiden was enthusiastic, he thought his brother would apologise. But, his brother had something different in mind.

"Where have you been all day!? I work here all day so we could have something for dinner and you just waddle around like you have a motor in your ass." His brother swept the sweat from his forehead after saying this, and the man wasn't even sweating before. Aiden was the real cause of his sweating.

Aiden's smile disappeared, he expected his brother to aplogise. " So I see you don't want to apologise for yesterday?"

Ben was furious. " Apologise!? Me apologise to you! You threw fucking stones at Gerald, you could have killed him!"

Aiden, as always, dismissed his accusations. " Oh, come on, I threw those little stones, that couldn't have hurt him!

Ben then thigtly grabbed Aiden by his left shoulder. "Listen, I know you did it because you are jealous of him being around Kaylee. If you can't hang out with them like normal people do, leave them alone... You are 17 already you idiot!"

"So what, I am 17 so I get to have no fun anymore?! Besides, what does that half-man even have to be around Kaylee?!"

After these words, Aiden got his second serving of slaps, by his own brother as he shouted angrily.

"Why do you alway have to embarrass me!? You will go right now to him, and apologise!"

Aiden protested. "No way, I am not going to apologise to that half-ma..." As he tried to call Gerald a half-man again his brother interrupted him with an another slap. Aiden's cheeks surely can't get any redder.

"Say that word one more time, and I will have you grounded for a year!"

To say Aiden was pissed, would be an understatement. "Oh, you can't!"

"Yes, I can, and I will, as long as you live here, I will be responsible for you! Now go and apologise to Gerald!"

As Aiden was about to leave, Ben reminded him of an another thing.

"And you will go with Gerald and Kaylee to give your blood samples tomorrow morning!"

Aiden huffed and puffed. "It is not enough that I need to be stabbed in the arm, I have to do it with fucking Gerald!" Aiden was terrified of seeing blood. The only thing he hated more than seeing blood was seeing Gerald. But, his brother brushed him off.

"You are 17, yet you act like you are 7. Grow up Aiden. Now go!"

And so Aiden set off on the dreadest, most humiliating walk of his life... a walk to apologise to Gerald. Gerald was a weird looking white haired boy, and he couldn't walk. To some villagers, Gerald was an orphaned cripple, and to the others, he was the toughest teenager out there for Gerald survived many life threatening situations before, like when he fell in the river, or when he accidentally set himself on fire, or when he almost fell trying to race in his wheelchair, or when he... I mean, you get the point. Although he was disabled, Gerald longed for more in life, and he was a persistent guy. He actually even designed his own wheelchair after his old one burned in that fire he accidentally started. He was actually just lying on the floor making some adjustments to his wheelchair with Kaylee when Aiden approached them.

"Oh, why are you here"? Kaylee said, slighlty annoyed.

Aiden just smirked. "I am not here for you Kay, I am actually looking for your boyfriend"

"I am... I.. I don,t really like Kaylee... I mean no... Not in that way... I like her... but as..." Gerald was sweating more then when he accidentally lit that fire, trying to explain his relationship with Kaylee, but Kaylee intervened. 

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"Hey, Ger, don't listen to this jerk, he is just trying to annoy you."

Aiden leaned forward, almost entering Kaylee's face, and said with his famous smirk. "I am actually here to apologis...".

Kaylee interrupted him, while pinching her nose. "Oh, oh, oh, your breath smells like shit, get the hell away from me."

"Hey, I can't do anything about it, its geneclyc". Aiden tried to explain himself.

"Did... Did you mean genetic". Gerald asked him.

Aiden now leaned into Gerald's face. "Oh, look who is talking, mr. smart guy." He than put his hand on gerald's shoulder. "Listen. Gerald, I was forced here by my brohter, to apologise for yesterday, so... I apologise."

"It... is alright Aiden... I don't mind".

Kaylee was not happy. "Oh, come on, you threw stones at him, you can surely do better!"

"It was small stones, tiny pebblis." Aiden defended himself.

"You... you mean pebbles"

"Fuck of Gerald, stop correcting me!"

Kaylee slapped him again, this time harder than when she slapped him on the riverbank. "Pebbles?! You threw a frickin brick at him."

Gerald took Kaylee's hand. "Hey... Kay, relax, it is alright..."

"Oh, look at them, boyfriend and grilfriend, holding hands, go on, kiss!" Aiden was clearly jealous.

"Well, I could kiss him, at least he doesn't smell like he is covered in shit!" Kaylee replied, angrily.

Aiden couldn't tolerate it any longer. "Your mouth is full of shit today, I aplogised. My job here is done, See you tomorrow at the bloodsuckers place!"

"I bet you are still scared of blood you scaredypants!" Kaylee did not let him go so easily.

"Yeah, whatever..." And then he left. Aiden left home.

"What does that half-man got that I don't. I mean, I have functioning legs, I am the fastest in the village. I may not be as smart as Gerald but I am better than him, I can do things he can't, and I don't have such a stupid name. Imagine being called Gerald, it is humiliating" , Aiden thought on his way home. When Aiden arrived his brother was already sleeping. Ben was really tired. After all he worked the whole day, and helped many people, something that Aiden could not grasp. "Why would he do that, why don't we move away from this hot hellhole". Aiden wasn't tired, and he was angry, so he couldn't sleep. So he decided not to sleep, but to wander around the village. He would have gotten away had he just not steped on the stick his brother uses to wrap around broken arms. "twitch" the stick snapped and Ben awoke. Ben looked at his brother. "Hey, why don't you go to sleep?"

"I can't..."

"Did you apologise to Gerald?", his brother asked.

Aiden was annoyed by the question. "I did, stop bothering me with him!"

" sighs" "Look... Aiden, I know you like Kaylee, but you will not win her over by behaving like a total jerk,"

"Then what am I supposed to do... I am confused?" Aiden asked, unironically.

"Well, first off, you should start brushing your teeth." Ben said and laughed. Even Aiden laughed a bit.

"I just want her to hang out with me... but she is always with Gerald." 

Ben put his hand on Aiden's shoulder. "Well, will you allow your big bro to give you an advice?"

Aiden was interested. "Go on..." 

"You see, when I was your age, I had a crush on a girl named Millie. Oh, she was so sweet. I remember behaving just like you."

"Well, where is she now?"

"She... she died, same as mom and dad"

Aiden was now actually feeling sad. "I'm sorry, I say things sometimes...

"It is alright, it was a long time ago. You see, while she was alive, she and I dated, but before we started dating we were like the worst enemies to eachother."

Aiden was now really interested. "Really?! How did you start dating?

"Well, for one, I stopped behaving lika a jerk to her friends, and step by step... we fell in love."

"I see... I was not fair to Gerald."

"You most certainly were not.."

"But tomorrow, I will change that, I will treat Gerald like a friend until I get Kaylee, and then we will kick him out of our lives together!" Aiden proclaimed proudly.

"Oh, you never change... Well at least you'll pretend to love the guy. That is an improvement. Now, go to sleep, you need to wake up early for the blood tests."

"Those stupid tests...". Aiden, now kinda bored, fell asleep pretty fast.

He did not even sleep for five hours and the morning was here. His brother woke him up.

"Hey, get up, you need to go test your blood."

Aiden, stretched himself and stood up. "Alright, let's get this done."

"And don't forget what I told you." Ben reminded him.

"Yes, yes I remember, be  nice, don't be a jerk until you get Kaylee."

"Hey, that last part was your addition."

"Yeah, whatever." 

"If you are too scared to give your blood, I'll go with you".

"I am not scared!". Aiden was offended. As he said that he finally went to get those blood tests. As he was approaching the big tent put in place in the center of the village he encountered Kaylee and Gerald.

"Hi guys!" said Aiden.

Kaylee was suspicious. "What do you want now Aiden?!"

"I want to apologise for my behaviour yesterday."

Kaylee was annoyed. "Oh, enough with the aspologies..."

"Oh, I am not joking, Gerald, I was a jerk, and I am sorry for that."

"I... accept your apology." said Gerald, quietly.

"Oh, come on, I am not buying that." Kaylee was not impressed.

Their conversation was interrupted by a woman dressed in a grey coat, and wearing a grey hat, and grey sunglasses... Yeah, she was all in grey.

"Come on in kids". She invited them to enter the tent, so the trio entered the tent.

"My name is Marlene. I am here on the behalf of the king. You have reached the age of 17 and by the law you are obliged to give your blood sample to us, by the king's order. Now, now, there is nothing to be afraid of. The king has authorized mr. Latipac's PharmoHage Industries to take the blood samples. So, I am mr. Latipac's representative as well. Believe me, these tests are done for your good, we don't want a disease breakout like 17 years ago." She then looked at Gerald and said. "You first please".

"Okay, sure!" Gerald replied.

Gerald then put his hand in front of Marlene who proceeded to draw some blood from his veins. She then put the blood in a small machine. "Well, it seems your blood is perfectly fine young boy." She then looked at Aiden. "You next!".

Aiden was annoyed that he had to do this. "Let's just get it over." 

Marlene did the same thing as she did with Gerald's blood, but when she put Aiden's blood in the machine, her eyes widened, she looked like she was in shock.

"Is everything alright." Aiden asked.

Marlene was stuned. "Noo.. Your blood is... oh your blood is bad."

Aiden was frightned. While Aiden was speaking with Marlene his brother decided to come to check on him when he overheard one man in a grey suit talking to another.

"Is it possible... We need to take the boy now!"

"Do we kill him, or what, how to we extract it...you know?"

"I guess we eventually kill him".

"I don't want to kill the entire village again though, like in Kalava."

"Don't worry, this one only has a brother, nobody will  bother about them going missing."

"But his brother is the village healer?"

"Yes Klova, my friend, but this is a small hot pocket of desert nobody knows even exists, besides we have clear orders."

Ben was flabbergasted. They were going to murder his little brother. Without further thinking Ben took an axe and ran to the tent. As he broke through the side of the tent he shouted. "Aiden,run!" As he said that the two guys he overheard before came to restrain him. But Ben was strong, he took a swing of the axe and chopped a hand of the one named Klova. But, what Ben certainly did not expect was Klova's hand growing right back. Klova then overpowered Ben and broke his knees with a single hit. Ben now cried in pain, not because of himself, but because of his brother, his only family member left alive, who was now at the mercy of the agents of Mount Hage.

"