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A montage of a huge deserted city fades into the screen. I gazed upon the ruins, waving my hand to control the view around the city.

The ruins of the once tall and mighty buildings everywhere on the ground. The huge tree-shaped mega structures turned into nothing more than some broken charred remains scattered all across the city. The deserted streets, devoid of all life, with only a bunch of old cars and crashed planes remained.

With the destruction of Avalon, the whole world soon follows.

A sobbing sound interrupted me from my musings. It was coming from a corner of a sidewalk. I quickly swiped my hand and the screen zoomed in towards the sidewalk. There, I saw a small figure sitting down near a destroyed street and right next to a broken down building.

I pushed a small handle and the screen zoomed in towards the figure. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first, but there she was; just a little girl all alone in the middle of a desolate ruin. I can hear her sobbing for her family, for her mother, for anyone to help her in that moment of time.

For a moment, I thought about leaving her and try to find the person I’m tasked to guide. I swiped my hand across the screen but it shifted back to the little girl.

“You’re joking…” I pulled a lever, trying to move my view elsewhere. The screen shifted a little, but it slowly returned.

“No.” I pressed the reset button, nothing happened.

“No, please…” I switched off auto focus, can’t move very far.

POV switch, screen modes, filters, anything that can save me from this horrible reality.

‘Error 137: Out of Range’

I cupped my hand in front of my face and looked away from the screen. “No, no, no, no, no...” I repeated again and again. Gods she’s just a child, dammit! Just how in the name of all existence are you even choosing a Chosen One?! 

Gods! Damn you! 

“Dammit…” I looked back at the console and flicked a switch to turn on the microphone. I hesitated for a moment before saying anything. I didn’t even know how to talk to a little girl, how am I supposed to guide her?

Putting reasons aside, I moved my mouth closer to the microphone. “Umm, Hi, my name’s Edward, what’s your name?” I asked as softly as possible.

The little girl jerked her head up and looked around, giving me a clear look of her face. Her bright innocent green eyes widens in fear and tears of horror trickled down her cream white face. “Wh-where are you? Pl-please don’t hurt me!”  

I’ve never been stabbed in the heart before but I’m sure it felt close to what I’m feeling right now. Just seeing her looking straight at me through the screen in shock and horror makes me feel even more like a horrible person.

“Hey now, don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you.” I said, trying in vain to comfort her.

“Wh-where are you?” She whispered, backing away from the source of my voice.

Okay, I will try to be honest this time. “I’m speaking to you from the Astral Dimension, my full name is Edward Robert William.” Then I thought about it for a moment. “But my friends call me Aceward.” I added, hoping that by giving her my nickname will open up her trust for me.

The little girl stopped backing away. The fear disappeared completely as her eyes shone with a newfound feeling of hope and awe. “Y-you’re from heaven?” She looked up at the sky above her. “C-can you hear me?”

A smile appeared in my face after seeing the look of hope on her face. “So that’s what they told you. No girl, I’m not in heaven. But it’s not far from where I am.” I replied softly. Then I took a closer look at the girl, her purple hoodie loosened a little bit, giving me a clear look at her long silky black hair.

“What’s your name?” I asked again.

She looked up to the sky to answer my question. “M-my name is Cleo. Can you hear me?”

I shook my head patiently and moved my view right behind her. “Cleo? That’s a nice name.” I watched in amusement when Cleo looked back instinctively.

The girl looked around in confusion. “Where are you?” She asked again in surprise.

“If you want to know where I am, just follow my voice.” I said, while moving the view around her to deliver the point.

Cleo followed my voice and looked straight at me. “Can you see me?” She asked.

“Of course, you’re looking at me right now.” I replied kindly.

“Why can’t I see you?” She asked innocently.

“Because I’m in the Astral Dimension, you can’t see me but I can see you.” I explained patiently.

Cleo nodded understandingly before sighing to herself. “Do you know where everyone is?” She asked sadly.

My breath hitched after hearing that question. It’s just an innocent little question asking. ‘Where is everyone?’ ‘What happened to the city?’ ‘Why am I here all alone?’ But how am I supposed to tell her that she survived an apocalypse? I can’t bear hearing her crying for help once again. She’s just a kid dammit!

“There was a... disaster...” She gasped in horror and I cringed a little. “No please, don’t be scared. If you survived, maybe others did.” I closed my eyes and tried to remember anything that can calm her down. “There’s also some people who managed to escape to Tyneglade.”

For a moment, there was no response. Cleo just sat there, contemplating what I just told her. “Did my parents made it?” She asked suddenly. “You said you’re not far from heaven, my parents are good people. If they...” She closed her eyes and took a deep pained breath. “If they’re gone... They will go to heaven and you can tell right?”

Unfortunately, the matter of life and death is way beyond my pay grade. “Sorry, but I don’t have the power to do so...” I replied with a hint of regret. “But hey, who knows? Maybe they’re still alive somewhere.” I added, trying in vain to cheer her up a little.

It worked, I can see Cleo’s eyes shine in a newfound hope. A little smile slowly graced her face as she looked at me with a hopeful look on her face. “You really think so?” She asked.

Who am I to crush a little girl’s dream? “Cleo, in my five hundred years of lifetime, if there is one thing I’ve learned is that anything is possible. You will never know what will happen in the end.” I said encouragingly.

Then, another thought appeared in my head. “By the way, did you remember how you survived the apocalypse?” I asked.

Cleo looked down in deep thought after hearing that. “My mom hid me inside a cupboard. She told me to stay there and go to sleep. When I woke up, the cupboard turned into a small room made out of metal.” She explained in a mixture of sadness and confusion. “I missed my mom, I hope she’s okay...”

I rubbed my chin in deep thought as I tried to piece together what happened to her.

‘That cupboard must’ve been an illusion. She must’ve hid her inside a living vault. The question is; how did she survive the apocalypse by hiding inside a living vault. It did absolutely nothing to half of the world’s population.’ I thought to myself while Cleo is looking at me in worry.

“Mr. Aceward? Are you there? Please don’t leave me...”

I quickly turned on the microphone. “I’m here don’t worry! I was just thinking about some stuff.” I calmed her down somewhat.

“Promise me you won’t leave me...” She begged in fear of being alone again.

I closed my eyes and banged my head on the console. It broke my heart to see a little girl begging for companion. I really need to speak to the life manager, she really do not deserve any of this. “Don’t worry Cleo, I won’t leave you for...” I checked a small bar at the control panel that says ‘Life Warranty’.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“A decade, which is a very long time.” I explained after checking her Life Warranty.

Cleo seemed to be calmed down somewhat, but she still look a bit disappointed. “So, you’re going to leave me?” She asked in dismay.

“Heh, usually by then you’ll be sick of me.” I joked, momentarily forgetting that Cleo is just a kid.

“Why would I be sick of you? I thought you’re a nice person?” She asked innocently.

“How old are you again girl?” I asked when I realized that she might not be ready for some dark humor.

“I’m ten...”

Ten isn’t so bad, usually by then children already took pleasure in seeing a person being kicked to the atmosphere.

I took a closer look at her, or more specifically her ears. It’s rounded and not pointy so she’s not an elf. “Umm, what are you? If you don’t mind me asking.” She seemed human, but I really do not want to take any chances when it comes to race.

“Everyone told me I’m a human, but my mom always told me that I’m special.” She replied.

I took a breath of relief when I heard that. If she’s a human, chances of her survival sky rocketed by a factor of ten. “Well that’s great! You’re impervious to most harm and disease, you also have a very good regeneration power.” I explained in excitement.

Cleo smiled at me. “That’s just like what my brother always told me. ‘We humans are tougher than diamonds.’ But then my mom always added. ‘But just as dense.’ It always makes me laugh and made me feel better when I didn’t get really good grades on school.” She explained.

A small genuine smile grew on my face as I listened to her chattering about her family. “...and my dad, you’re gonna like him. He’s a big goof and he just loves to tell me funny stories about fishing and...”

As much as I like hearing her talk, I can’t let her stay here. She needs to start moving if she wants to survive. “Sorry Cleo but, you can’t tell anyone about me.” I said.

“What?” She asked in confusion.

“You’re the only one who knows about me. You’re the only one who can hear me. If you tell anyone about my existence, they will think that you’re crazy.” Cleo looked visibly upset when she heard that, but she nodded understandingly. “Now, I need you to get up and start moving. It’s not safe to stay here for too long.” I said.

She slowly gets up from the sidewalk and looked around. “You told me everyone was going to Tyneglade, can we go there Ace?” She asked.

You know, I would gladly do anything to help this little girl in front of me. But there’s the Atlantis Ocean and The Great Belt Continent right between the City of Avalon and the Island of Tyneglade. It will take more than a decade to get there on foot not to mention the huge amount of swimming without any kinds of vehicle.

“If you want to get to Tyneglade, you need something that can fly. You also need a pilot unless you know how to fly an aircraft. So the first thing we gotta do is to find someone to help us.” I explained as optimistically as possible.

“Where to go now?” She asked.

I thought about it for a second and decided that sometimes, the cheesiest answer is the best answer. “Follow the sun, follow the light, it will guide you through your darkest time.”

Cleo smiled a little when she heard that. “You’re just like my dad, he likes to repeat words from movies...”

With that, she walked towards the direction of the sun. Her purple hoodie protects her from the scorching heat of the sun. “So Cleo, do you feel a bit hot? I mean, you don’t look bothered by the heat...” I said, noticing the unforgiving glare of the sun.

“But I feel comfortable with my jacket. It’s cold and refreshing.” Cleo replied.

‘Must be an enchantment of some sort.’

“Do you know where we’re going Ace?” Cleo asked.

“To an adventure Cleo, a glorious adventure unlike any other.” I replied encouragingly. She smiled a little at my proclamation.

“Yeah, I like being on an adventure.” She replied.

“Have you been on an adventure before?” I asked her.

She nodded excitedly. “Yeah! I like to play find the treasure with my big brother. He always wins, but one time he lost; he said something about his legs but I think he’s lying.” She replied.

With that, we all continued our way through the urban forest. Cleo kept walking forward while I keep track of her surroundings. I have no doubt that she’s the only living creature aside from cockroaches that survived the apocalypse.

“Wait look, on your left.” I said, noticing something gleaming in the distance.

Cleo stopped in her tracks and look at her left. “What is that?” She asked while walking towards it.

When she gets close, I can finally see what it is. “It’s a Machete, take it.” I told her.

She crouched down in front of it and picked it up. “It’s not that heavy...” She muttered. Cleo clumsily swings the machete around. “Mom and Dad never let me go near anything sharp... Do you think they’ll get mad if they saw me using this?” She asked before continuing the adventure.

“Why would they be mad? They’ll be too happy to see you!” I exclaimed.

“You’re right, I trust you Ace...” Cleo replied. She looked at the machete in her hand for a moment and tried to fit it into her pocket.

I found myself gaping in disbelief when she managed to fit a whole machete inside a tiny pocket jacket. Cleo seemed to be surprised too since she suddenly jerked a little and start rubbing the pocket with her hands. “That is definitely an enchanted jacket...” I muttered to myself.

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Five hours later...

Cleo sat on an old bus stop at the side of a crater on a street. She has a can of bean in her hand and a reluctant expression on her face. “Eat it Cleo.” I said.

“It tastes disgusting...” She muttered.

I smirked and raised my hand. Cleo followed my movement with a frown on her face. “Hey, stop doing that...” She said when her hand slipped into the can.

“Nope, you gotta eat.” I replied.

Cleo closed her eyes and opened her mouth. She slowly put the beans into her mouth while shuddering in disgust. “Now chew.” I said. She obliged and slowly chewed the beans in her mouth.

A few seconds later, she swallowed them all and looked back at the can in disgust. “Are you going to eat that on your own or do I have to make you?” I asked.

Cleo shook her head and slipped her hand back into the can. She held herself back from gagging and I started to feel a bit guilty. “All right, why do you hate beans so much?” I asked her.

Cleo shook her head in response. “I like beans; I just don’t like canned food... They’re gross...” she replied before taking another scoop.

“Well they last forever, chances are, you’re gonna eat plenty of canned food for years now.” I explained. Then I looked around her, noticing a small door behind where she was sitting on. “Hey, you mind checking that door?” I asked her.

Cleo was about to stand from her seat when I waved my hand. She quickly sat back on her seat and looked at me in annoyance. “After, you finish your food.” I said sternly. Cleo just sighed and went back to eating the canned beans.

A few minutes later, Cleo finished her food. She put the can beside her and stood from her seat. She looked back and saw the door I mentioned early. Then, she walked towards the door and tried to twist the knob, it wouldn’t budge however.

“It’s locked...” She muttered.

“Usually I would tell you to cut the hinges, but now let me show you how to kick a door open.” I said.

“Why should I kick a door open?” Cleo asked.

“Because you might lose your enchanted machete someday. Now kick it open.” I said.

She kicked the door like kicking a ball. “Oww, it’s too strong...” She muttered, rubbing her feet.

“That’s not how you kick down a door.” I raised my hand and Cleo raised her feet up.

With a flick of my hand; the soles of her shoes impacted the middle of the door. ‘Crack’ the door burst open, revealing a dark empty room with a huge metal door at the end of it. The metal door looked like a vault of some kind and it seems to be made entirely out of a very powerful metal alloy. “You think the Machete can slice that door?” I asked.

Cleo said nothing. She just walked towards the vault and took out her machete from her infinite pocket. Like a knife through butter, the Machete sliced cleanly through the vault. “Oh dear... It worked.” Cleo muttered in disbelief. She moved the machete and created a small hole for her to slip into the vault.

“That machete is scary...” I muttered to myself.

Cleo walked into the vault. I smirked in excitement when I saw a hundreds of boxes stacked all over the vault. “Jackpot! A supply storage room! This could feed a family for months!” I said in a mixture of relief and happiness.

However, Cleo looked at me with a reluctant expression on her face. “Do we have to steal this Ace? I don’t like stealing...” She muttered in guilt.

It was at times like this that I forgot that she’s just a kid. I can’t just tell her to steal and take other people’s stuff. But I can’t let her die of hunger too, who knows when we’ll find another vault like this. Chances are; this is the last Supply Vault left in town. “Look Cleo, stealing is a bad thing to do. But for now, let’s make an exception. We’ll take as much supply as we can and if we ever meet the owner of this vault; we’ll give it back. Okay?”

Cleo nodded understandingly. “Okay Ace, where should we start?” She asked, looking at at the boxes all around her.

“We’ll start at the nearest ones and work our way from there.” The girl nodded and walked towards the nearest box. She raised her machete and slowly slice open the top of the box; revealing dozens of canned food stacked together inside the box.

“Eww...” She muttered in disgust.

I chuckled a little when she finds a lot of food repulsive. “You know, anyone else would’ve cried in joy if they find this many food.” I commented.

“Sorry, I just don’t like canned food.” She replied before walking towards the next box.

She opened the next box, revealing another legion of canned food. “Do we really have to check all of them.” She whined.

I smirked at what she just said, for some reason she still can’t understand just how much of a blessing all these food are. “Coming from you, that’s just adorable. Anyone else would’ve sound like an ungrateful jerk.” I pointed out.

I watched in amusement as Cleo starts blushing in embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I just don’t think we should open all of them...” She said nervously.

“Nah don’t worry girl, like I said; you’re adorable. And you can skip the identical boxes if you want, let’s see what that big box has in store for us.” I replied, looking at a line of huge boxes nearby.

Cleo nodded and walked towards the big box. She sliced the box open, revealing dozens of water bottle inside the box. “Water!” She exclaimed before picking up one of the bottle and start opening the cap.

“Now that’s the correct response...” I muttered while watching her gulping down the water in relief.

“Ahh... I was so thirsty... Those water in the pickup truck taste weird, but this one taste just like a regular water.” She muttered.

‘Because those weren’t drinking water...’ I thought to myself.

Cleo explored around the room a little more, trying to find anything of interest. “Ace, what is this?” She took out an mp3 player from a small box.

“That’s a music player. Press that button and see if it works.” The girl pressed the button and a soft tune came out of the player. She gasped and dropped the mp3 player in shock.

“Whoa, watch it girl!” I yelped in surprise.

Cleo doesn’t seem to hear me however. I watched her slowly kneeling down on the floor, clutching the music player close to her chest. I was at lost of what to do when she suddenly closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “You okay?” I asked.

“M-my piano lesson...” Her voice a mere staggered whisper. “M-my mom... Every morning she always...” Her breathing hitched and she took a sharp pained breath. “It's okay..." she sobbed, tears start trickling down her face. "I'm not crying... I won't cry again..."

The girl dropped down on the cold hard floor and covered her face. "I'm just... sleepy..."

“Cleo, I... It's alright...”

That’s it, that’s all I managed to say. Pathetic aren't I? That’s all I could do. I just watched her crying herself to sleep. I couldn’t cheer her up, I couldn’t help her feel better, I couldn’t do anything!