Wind howled under the silver moonlight. It traveled across great distances parting clouds as it whistled through the lands. Passing through the great forest, it converged into the mountains, until it reached the valley of the dead. It bowed pass the two great mountains dividing the valley. It twisted and turned until it whistled pass a boy who was climbing up the rocks of the valley.

  The boy was about 15. The wind blew the hood off the boy's head. He looked down the valley, fear riddled his face. He started to breath in heavy breaths. He had traveled so far already. He could not give up. He looked up, it was not very far from the top. Leaning against the valleys walls he brushed his clothes of dust and dirt. They were torn and ripped beyond belief. The long journey had ensured that his clothes would not last. He inspected his arms and legs. They were covered in wounds. He sighed. This was the result of running. He had run away, run away from a place he dared not go near again. That place was not a place for humans. Those people were monsters, beyond monsters. They were the devil themselves.

  The boy looked down the valley walls. His pursuers were down there. He could feel it. The boys name was Chace, Chace Mettalum. He was a Charmer. He placed his hand against a crevice in the rocks and started climbing again. Slowly he climbed up the slant walls of the valley. The broken chains around his legs clinked as they brushed against the rocks. Those were the remains of the locks that bind him.

  He grabbed the top of the wall and finally managed to lift himself up and over. He breathed in a sigh of relief. The climb was long and arduous, but he had finally done it. He had reached the top of the valley of the dead. Once pass the valley he would be outside the kingdom. He would finally be outside the reach of those monsters.

  If he played his cards right. He may even be able to find others like him. Only then would he be safe. The kingdom did not accept his kind. They shunned him. They even imprisoned him. He was a charmer. One of the few in the world to be gifted with powers.

  His powers were useless to him at the moment. The shackles around his ankles, wrist and neck bound his powers. There was no way he could remove them himself. But other charmers may have a way. He could only put his hope on them. Other kingdoms were less cruel to charmers. He could only hope that life would be different elsewhere.

  He had a normal life up until his eighth birthday. That was until his powers started to manifest. That was the beginning of his nightmare. He was taken away from his parents when his powers appeared. At first, he had hoped that his parents would save him. Unfortunately, they to shunned him. They had given up on him when he was proven to be a charmer. They even went as far as disowning him. He had felt so hurt and lost that he cried every night in his cell.

  He was taken to the facility, a place where charmers were imprisoned. The kingdom hated charmers, but they also wanted to know the secrets to a charmer's ability. They wanted to be able to study the power and take it for their own. There were all hypocrites. On one hand they hated charmers to the bone, but on the other hand they wanted the power for their own. What kind of morons were they?

  Chace only stayed on the valley's edge for a few minutes before he started to move again. His pursuers were still on his trail. He could not let them catch up to him. Back in the last town he had passed, he was almost caught. But luckily, he hid himself inside a pile of haystack that was going out of town. He managed to slip away before the owner of the hay stack noticed him.

  He had traveled a great distance to reach this valley. The facility was located almost at the center of the kingdom. He had traveled halfway across the Kingdom. Halfway cross a land that hated his kind. He had learned to steal and hide on his journey. He found out that he was a perfectly natural thief. He had stolen countless clothes and food. These clothes he wore were all clothes he had stolen. Yet, they to have all been torn through his treacherous journey.

  Chace pulled the sack off his waist. These were his stolen goods. He was fairly skilled at stealing. That was his life saver on this long journey. Pulling out a robe, he threw it over himself. The valley was a place full of winds. He needed to be prepared. He quickly placed the sack back around his waist and pulled his hood over his head and ran up the hill toward the valley.

  He was determined to escape.

……………………

  Down the valley, five men stood looking up the valley wall. They had followed the boy all the way here. They were tired and angry. How could they have let the boy get so far? This was unacceptable. One man went up to the wall and sniffed.

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  “It’s his scent. He was her not long ago. He went up” he pointed upwards.

  “Great,” said another man.

  “What’s so important about this boy anyways. Why don’t we just let him go. We have plenty more of them back at the facility. This has been such a troublesome chase” said the youngest of the five men.

  The oldest man hit the young man over the head. “We cannot let even a single one of them escape. Those monsters must not be let go. Besides, the doctor likes this particular subject the most. He says this boy may just be the one they need to finally crack the code to these filthy Charmer abilities.” He laughed menacingly.

  “Alright, what are we going to do? Climbing up this wall is going to be a drag” said the youngest man.

  “Don’t worry, we have technology on our side” he said. Taking out a small contraption and placing it on his left hand. “Everyone, grab onto me. We can’t allow him to escape. Even if we have to use this. He will not escape.” He said pushing a button on the contraception.

  Suddenly heaps of energy surrounded him and soon he, along with the other four men floated up the wall of the valley.

  "What is this?” asked the youngest.

  “This is one of the contraption the doctor created using the life of one of the charmers. It’s to bad, I had to use this for such a useless thing. It’s a valuable item you know.” He said looking disappointed

  “Wow” said three of the men in unison.

  Soon the five men were on the top of the cliff. The rough looking man sniffed and smiled dangerously. “The boy was just here less than 10 minute ago." He informed his comrades.

  “Good, we better hurry. We have a charmer to hunt. I will show that boy the consequences of running away.” The oldest man smiled wryly.

……………………………….

  Chace ran into the valley. The valley was a small pathway that stood between two giant mountains. The valley was dark. Light usually could not reach all the way there because the two mountains that stood to its left and right blocked its rays. Not much could grow in these kinds of circumstances. No plants grew in the valley. Only small miniscule mosses grew within the valley.

  The clinking of the Chace's chains echoed in the air. The valley enhanced the sound. Even his breathing could be heard from far away.

  Suddenly the sound of boots against rock echoed up from behind. Chace's eyes widened. He looked back, he could faintly see a flint from the distance. They had caught up to him. His mind started to panic. He could not be caught. He was to close. He speedup his speed. The clinking of his chains grew louder.

  The man in the back yelled “He’s just up ahead. I can here the chains” he said laughing loudly.

  Chace shivered. He recognized the voice. It was his top pursuer and also the doctors most adamant follower. He was the guards' commander. He could not believe that he was the one leading the chase. Although, he had been on the run for months, he had never once come this close to them. He had escaped them before, but he had never seen or heard who it was that was chasing him.

  Chace's lungs grew heavy. He was at his limit. But he could not stop. He rather dies than be taken back. Chace looked ahead, he could see light. It was the end of the valley. He was so close.

  He squinted his eyes, he could see the bridge up ahead. If he ran pass that bridge he would be safe. His pursuers would not dare go into the other kingdoms. The kingdoms were extreme enemies. But he knew the other kingdom welcomed charmers. If he could cross the bridge, the people from the other kingdom would be able to chase his pursuers away.

  He raced across the rocks. He finally reached the hanging bridge. The bridge existed as a border against the two kingdoms. It hung across a great cliff. Two giant peaks broke through the heavens and the cliff was the result of these two giant peaks. Beneath the bridge, clouds of mist constantly hid the depths from view. But everyone knew that the cliff was almost bottomless because no one has ever returned from trying to go down the cliff.

  Chace jumped onto the bridge. It swung from side to side from his sudden movement. He started to race across. He had no time. They were directly behind him.

  The five men also reached the bridge. Without a moment of hesitation, they to jumped onto the bridge. The bridge swung profusely as the six of them ran across.

  Chace tried his best. He was so close to the other side. He could even see the gates at the end. Suddenly one of the men used an item and appeared in front of him. Chace's heart stopped and so did he.

  “You really made us work boy. You cost me two items. You will have to pay dearly for this” the commander said stepping toward Chace.

  Chace backed away. He leaned against the rope railing of the bridge. The bridge leaned to one side. He looked to his left, the commander was fast approaching. He looked to his right, the other four men were also fast approaching. He glanced behind him. The endless pit stood buried in the clouds.

  No matter what direction he looked, there was no path to safety. He closed his eyes. He rather die. He could not go back with them. Leaning farther back. He allowed gravity to take its course. Slowly he tipped over the railing and fell off the bridge. The five men all cursed in unison. But they could not stop him. They did not reach him in time.

  The commander cursed deathly foul language. He had used both of his items already. There was no way to stop the boy. He cursed so load that it echoed through the mountain.

……………….

  Chace fell through the mist of clouds. His speed increasing minute by minute. Wind tore through his hair. He could not remember the last time that he had felt this free. Yes, he was about to die, but he was finally free. Free of the facility. Free from the restraints of the kingdom. And free from a world that had tormented him. He spread his out his arms, ready to embrace the end. He closed his eyes ready to dive into the darkness.

  Suddenly the whistling of the winds stopped. The feeling of impending doom stopped. Everything just stopped.

  Chase opened his eyes and found a pair of blue pupils staring directly at him.

  “Wah, that was a close one. You shouldn’t fall through the sky like that. It’s really bad manners to die in such a way” said a boy with blue eyes.