Sweat was beading on my forehead, the sun high in the sky. It was a little past noon, judging from the sun’s position. The sun beat down on me with every swing of the hoe.

I’ve been working in the fields since my grandfather took me in following the death of my parents. It’s not a simple life, but I have no complaints. After everything I have been through, this is a better life than I could’ve asked for.

At first, I’ll admit it was hard, but as time went by, it got a little easier until I could work the entire plot by myself. I’m rather proud of myself, too.

Until the death of my parents, I suppose I lived a normal life. We lived in Corinthin, a small city about halfway between here and the Capitol. We enjoyed the city life like any other normal family. Going to movie theaters, restaurants, and the occasional shopping adventure. I even went to school like any other kid my age did.

Now my days consist of getting up at the crack of dawn and working until just before sunset. Toiling away so that I can raise as many crops as possible. After all, these fields didn’t supply food for me and Gramps alone, they also provided food for the entire town. A lot of people depend on us and I wasn’t about to let them down, so I bust my ass.

Unfortunately, everyone that lives here is poor, and with no means to support themselves, all we do is work the fields to feed our families, but that doesn’t pay anything. If we needed cash, we had to snag the occasional job. Those jobs usually meant dungeon clearing for the Adventurer’s Guild and that came with its own hazards. Some never came back.

If you could stay alive and get strong, there was a lot of money to be made in the Adventuring business. Even though the guilds are a relic of the past, they employ people and make sure the magi material needed to power the barrier was in constant flow. Without it, the barrier would fall and our nation would be exposed to the outside. That meant all the beasts and darkling’s on the outside would overrun us. The barrier has protected our nation for well over 1000 years, allowing us to progress and grow as a people and as a country.

Where we live is right on the border of where that barrier ends. Which is why people like us get condemned to live here. If the barrier ever fell…

We do the best we can with what we have, though. I thought about clearing some dungeons with the guild, but my aptitude for combat doesn’t exist. My only talent is working in a field, so that’s what I do.

Most of the people are grateful though, and it makes them feel at ease seeing me tend the fields. I was happy to do my part and make their lives less worrisome. Living in a town like this, we had to stick together. People don’t go hungry anymore, but we still have problems.

The town itself is nothing to write home about, it’s a rundown place, but we call it home. Most of the houses are abandoned, business have little to no goods to sell, and the Capitol doesn’t aid us, so it’s always a struggle. Sadly, most of the homes that are empty belong to families who have perished or disappeared and since we don’t get newcomers moving here very often, they stayed abandoned.

Most of the townsfolk are outcasts and families labeled as non-essential. Non-essential meant you had no genuine talent for magic and you were useless in the eyes of the people who decided your worth. I am one of these people. Other than being strong, I’m not any different from anyone else that lives here.

You need magic ability to function in society because everything from a microwave to a car required one’s own magic power to operate it. The locks on your door and even a phone required magic. So, to be honest, I would have ended up here at some point, anyway. Unlike my parents, I don’t have any magic talent.

Thinking about it now, my life really has changed a lot over the years.

It wasn’t all bad living in this town, but things weren’t normal around here. You could feel that something was off the second you arrived. Even as a kid visiting gramps, I could feel it.

While working, I would often hear rumors about some of the families that disappeared. More than a few people in town had nothing better to do than gossip, so I often listened in for entertainment.

They would claim they saw something take them in the dead of night. No one believed them, of course, but I can’t deny that I have witnessed a few strange things of my own.

I would see odd creatures lurking at the edge of the barrier, watching the town at night. You could see their eyes glow, bobbing up and down as they walked along the perimeter. There was also the time I stepped through the barrier to grab a crystal that was sitting just at the edge and there was a darkling hiding in the tree line not too far away. It didn’t attack, just watched. The next day there was another crystal left in the same spot and the same darkling hiding in the trees.

Even before those events, lots of weird things have continued to be rumored throughout the town. The worst one for me was the day I came to stay with Gramps.

I still don’t understand what happened that day since Gramps refuses to talk about it. I don’t know what to call it either. It was more than weird. It was insanity; I guess?

********

I was just settling in for the night after gramps showed me to my room so that I could put my things away. The room wasn’t new to me. I’ve slept here many times before, when my parents would bring me to visit Gramps. The difference this time was I was here to stay.

It’s odd being in a place that’s familiar, but it feels foreign at the same time. I knew it would take some getting used to and I would need time to adjust. For the time being, I just had to try my best to make things work. Step one put my stuff away, step two… well… I don’t know yet. The jury is still out on that one.

I was almost finished putting my things away, it’s not like I had a lot to begin with, but still.

I froze for a second, as I was folding the last shirt. I thought I had just heard a scream. I listened and took in the surrounding sounds, but I didn’t hear anything else. I put the shirt away and thought nothing of it. I knew I would have to get used to being in a new place and hearing strange noises just kind of came with the territory.

I lay on the bed and stretched out, pulling the covers over myself, staring at the ceiling, exhausted from all the change.

I was still in shock over the car crash. The images were burned into my eyes, even closing them couldn’t shake the images out of my vision. It felt like a constant nightmare.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel after losing my parents. I guess I was hoping it was just a dream and I would wake up tomorrow with things back to normal.

I laid there, looking off to nowhere, deep in thought.

I awoke to a loud noise outside my window. A glance at the clock on my nightstand read 2:39 am. I really just wanted to roll back over and go back to sleep and was in the process of doing so.

Thud... thud thud…

This sounded different. It was louder and more aggressive. It could be because I was half-asleep, but I thought I heard someone scream again.

No longer able to ignore it, I got out of bed, walked to my window, and opened it. I stuck my head out to look around.

I heard it again, echoing down the length of the alley. This time I knew it was coming from the neighbor’s house.

It sounded like something soft being thrown very hard.

I was listening intently but heard nothing else, pulling my head back in and closing the window. I stood there in confusion.

“What is that?”

Peering out of the window towards the neighbors, I noticed there were no lights on in the house, no signs that anyone was even home. I decided I was going to have a look around outside. I didn’t even bother letting gramps know since it was so late, which I know was a terrible mistake.

Once outside, I peered into the alley, a dim light spilling out of my window, but nothing was there. I walked around to the back of our house and took a second look, but I still saw nothing.

Feeling like it was safe, I crept down the alley, being careful of how much noise I was making.

I stood just below the window to my neighbor’s house, seeing some crates to stand on a short distance away. I grabbed a few to stack up so I could climb up and see into the window. Being careful not to make a racket and alert gramps to what I was doing, I stacked the crates.

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I climbed up on top and slowly brought my head up to see over the window ledge. At first, nothing was visible, since my eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the room and alleyway.

I gave myself a few minutes and then attempted to see into the window again. This time, I could see everything. I could see a body on the floor and a shadow with its hands wrapped around the neck of a young girl. The shadow’s green eyes focused on her.

Something wasn’t right. I was pretty sure she was in danger, but what was I supposed to do?

The shadow squeezed tighter. The girl just lay there limp like a doll.

A sense of urgency invaded me. I pounded my fists on the window and screamed for her to get up, screamed for her to wake, for her to fight back. I hit the window as hard as I could.

The next thing I knew, a void was expanding from my hand swallowing the window and part of the wall of the house before disappearing. I turned my attention back to the shadow. Its green eyes set on me.

For what seemed like an eternity, we just stared at each other, not moving, not talking.

It released its grip on the girl’s neck and turned its body to face me, but it didn’t move any closer. Instead, it spoke to me in a deep, ominous voice, but its words were simple.

“Who… are… you.”

Its words bombarded me, but it was strange how they seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Reverberating in my head, bouncing between my ears, the sound made me sick.

The taste of iron was on my tongue.

What is this?

I couldn’t hold on anymore. My mind collapsed, and I was surrounded by nothingness.

I was conscious, but I felt detached from my body.

“It’s happening again, Hono, you mustn’t let it happen again,” a voice called out into the nothing. It was a female voice that I was not familiar with.

“Where am I?” I called out, but no one responded. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I even spoke any words.

I felt like I was floating, lifeless, yet alive.

“I’ve been here before.”

“Why is this so familiar to me?”

I noticed a feeling of movement. Kinda like riding on a train, picking up speed just before rocketing into a tunnel.

A bright light filled my vision as I came out of the other side, melting away the darkness. The day of the car wreck flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all somehow connected and, as if on cue, it sent me back in time.

For a second, everything moved in slow motion as my mind caught up.

I suddenly found myself looking out of a car window, cars zooming by. I immediately knew where I was. And just like I remembered that day, I was in the back seat of the car, just behind my mom.

This wasn’t a place I ever wanted to be again, so why am I here?

My parents were talking about work, like they usually did. This was all very strange. I was aware of myself, but had no control over what my former self was doing. It was as if I were being forced to relive this hell from the first-person point of view.

I saw a car pulling up beside us, matching our speed. I couldn’t see the driver. A few minutes passed as I watched the car. It finally pulled away and drove ahead of us, exactly as I remembered. I watched it speed ahead and as soon as it was gone I returned to watching cars pass by, my parents still droning on about work.

As my former self turned his gaze back to the passing cars, I noticed something I had forgotten about. There was a long brown box in the floorboard, the same box I remember authorities handing my gramps when they turned me over to him.

What is happening? This can’t be a dream, it’s too vivid..... right?

While lost in thought, I heard my mother scream, followed by the car spinning out of control before slamming into a concrete barrier dividing the highway. Glass and debris pelted me in the face, my head slamming into the door before I slumped back into my seat.

“Ugghhhhh.” I groaned.

When I opened my eyes, my mother was still buckled into her seat, but something was very wrong. I couldn’t see her face.

“Mom,” I called out, unsure if my words were reaching her.

I reached down to unbuckle my seat belt. My hands were shaky and my fingers felt tingly. I finally got my seatbelt off and grab the back of my mother’s seat to pull myself up.

“Mom,” I said again.

I leaned forward to grab my mom’s shoulder and check on her, but she wasn’t responding. Looking around to survey the damage, I realized my dad wasn’t in the car. A trail of blood littered the ground, leading to his body a few feet away.

Looking back to mom, I called for her a third time but didn’t receive a response. I stood up, my head almost hitting the headliner, and leaned forward to check my mom for injuries when I noticed a large shard of glass sticking out of her neck.

Not something I wanted to see again. It was like seeing your worst nightmare in a replay.

My face contorted as I saw the blood that covered the inside of the vehicle. My mother’s shirt is soaked.

My ears were still ringing. My hands were trembling, and I couldn’t maintain a singular thought. I tried to steady myself, but my body gave out as I doubled over onto the floorboard.

I knew what was going to happen next.

I was too stunned to comprehend what was going on. Why was I being forced to see this all over again?

I just watched.

I glanced at my dad on the ground, but this time he wasn’t alone. The same shadow figure from last time looming over him. I could hear it laughing. That menacing laugh that made my skin crawl.

I saw the knife in its right-hand plunge into my father multiple times. Then It looked directly at me, a smirk on its ugly face. The shadow dissolved into the wind, just like that, leaving us there alone.

One thing was wrong here. I don’t remember the shadow looking at me the first time.

I closed my eyes, wishing for this to end and when I re-opened them; I was back in the dark alleyway, eyes locked with the monster in front of me. Its eyes were now glowing red.

My mind swirled with doubts and fear, regret and pain until they became a string of incoherent thoughts and emotions, all intertwined and tangled.

“Never again, never again, never again, never again”

Rage swelling up inside of me like a violent typhoon.

I held out my hand with my palm facing the monster and pushed my feelings out towards him, not even sure what I was doing.

A faint glow started emitting from the palm of my hand. Building, building and building even more. The glow became brighter with each passing second.

Clouds formed overhead, reflecting the horde of anger I was about to unleash when a bolt of lightning struck my hand, shaking the house.

After the lightning faded, I saw a dagger had brandished itself. I tightly gripped my hand around its hilt. Astonished at the scene before me, unsure of what to do next, my body moved on its own. I stood tall in front of the shadow, refusing to let it scare me.

I brought the dagger in close to my chest and I could feel it soothing the torrent inside, like it was feeding on it. I pointed the dagger out towards the shadow, but it just continued to stare at me. A grin spread across its face, and I could hear laughter through its clenched teeth.

All I could do was scream at it with all the energy I could muster. I balled up my fist and gripped the blade tighter, poised to attack.

“Aaahhhhhhhhhh” I screamed, like a Viking giving his best war cry.

I jumped into the room, landing squarely on the bedroom floor. Falling to my knees and slamming my fist and dagger onto the ground. A screech came from the shadow. I look up to see it struggling to stand as if it was being crushed.

I pushed out everything I had left inside me. The shadow continued to screech as something smashed it further and further into the floor.

I slammed my fist and dagger onto the floor once more, screaming for it to disappear.

“You took my family from me, you bastard. I can never forgive that,” I howled at the shadow.

“You will take no one else from me. You will not escape me. I vow I. Will. Crush. You. I WILL CRUSH YOOOUUUU!!”

The shriek of my voice sent a shock wave through the air, stirring up dust and debris

The shadow wailed even louder, growing in intensity as it was crushed. Then everything went silent. I wasn’t sure how I was doing this, but I somehow knew this power came from me.

My anger had yet to subside. I stood up on both feet and secured myself as I strolled over to where the shadow had been. It was no longer cloaked in shadow and blood pooled around its body.

So it was human.

More time had passed than I thought, feeling the warmth of the morning sun on my skin. Illuminating the bodies that lay on the floor before me.

It was a man dressed in a Capitol Guard’s clothing, his body mangled and crushed. Luckily, the girl was alive and safe. I could see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.

The room became a whirlpool of sunlight and wood as I fell to the floor.

I awoke a few days later, my gramps asleep in the chair next to my bed. Gathering my strength, I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I turned to look at gramps again and he was already awake, looking at me with a blank expression, but I could see the worry in his eyes.

“Hono, listen closely, son. I promise on your 15th birthday I will answer any question you have and I will tell you everything I know about what happened. Especially about our family. The truth is very dangerous, so please wait until that time comes. Speak of this to no one and never tell a soul what happened. You will come to understand why when the time is right.”

I understood that Gramps probably had a good reason for not wanting to tell me, buuut…

“What about the girl?” I asked.

“Ah yes, Siyuri. She is alive and so is her father, thanks to you.”

“Siyuri, huh.”

My Gramps’s eyebrow lifted on one side.

“Speaking of which, she will be over later. She’s been coming by every day to take care of you.”

“Wait. What do you mean every day?”

“You’ve been asleep for 3 days, Hono, your little episode almost killed you.”

“I see.”

I wasn’t aware that it was that serious. Mostly, I felt fine.

We didn’t speak again after that. I still had questions. Questions about what that strange power was and how I could use it when I had no magical ability to speak of.

I was about to ask Gramps anyway when a knock came at my bedroom door.

“Come on in Siyuri.” Gramps said.

A small girl around my age walked in. She had long blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes. The marks on her neck were visible, but she wore nice teal and white dress that looked lovely and complimented her nicely. She seemed frail, but that wasn’t unusual for the way people had to live here.

“Oh, you’re awake. I wasn’t aware, but no matter. I’m S-s-iyuri, and I’m thrilled that you are finally awake. We were all getting concerned.” She said in a nervous voice.

“Um, uh, thank you for looking after me.” I blurted out, not sure what to say.

She giggled at my display. The nervousness she had faded away.

“So, uh… thank you... Hono, for saving me and my father.”

She looked down at her hands while she said this, red in the face. Was she blushing?

“Uh, n-n no problem. I’m not even sure myself what happened, but I’m glad I was able to help you.”

She flashed me a smile. A genuine one.

Gramps stood up and walked out, saying nothing. He just gave Siyuri a nod and had a weird grin on his face when he looked at me.

*******

We became close friends after that. We spent almost everyday together. She would even come and help me in the fields from time to time. Ate dinner with us and would even fuss at me to clean my room.

We never talked about it again and I never brought it up. Honestly, I was also afraid to at the same time.

Seven years have passed since then. And today is the day before my 15th birthday. I’m out working the fields with just one more row to finish before calling it quittin time.

I enjoy this work. It’s honest and bares results based on my efforts. I hadn’t realized until now that I had been growing more and more apprehensive as my birthday grew near.

The last seven years flew by. All I’ve done is throw myself into this work to grow strong but also to distract myself from dwelling on the past. Pretty soon I would find out the truth.