“The final results are here!” Lara says, coming back into the carriage with a paper in hand and Maya following behind, she places the paper on the bulletin board, which is already flowing with papers and many sketches of the moon shard, but funnily enough, the latest piece on the board dates to two days ago. "Now, from our tests on the weird moon-shard thingy, we concur that the shard has only a set amount of energy it can put out, and we know that every time we move, we use some of that energy. Now, does our speed and/or how much we move change the amount of energy we drain?- I’ve got no clue". Lara clearly frustrated with their conclusion. “We’ve got nothing, really?” Lyan asks. “Yeah, the shard is very random; no matter what changes we made, nothing was linked to when it would actually stop." Maya answers with disappointment accompanying her voice before turning her focus onto the board one last time and reflecting on their conclusion. “What does this mean? Could there be an outside force affecting it?” She says this while wondering. "Maybe,” Vernon answers before continuing, "or it could mean that magic is unpredictable; it always has been; it’s like it has a mind of its own,” he says, only to be met with sighs and frowns from the girls. “But I mean, if you want better and more accurate results, you should expend your pool of date tests more and over the span of months, not just a couple of days,” he says, only to be met this time with annoyance clear on their faces. Lyan: "How much patience do you think we have?!”. “Before you answer, it's more than you think, just not for this."

Lara says before she starts making her way towards him and says as she’s walking, “But in the meantime, when the shard stops, we should...?” She flares her hands at Vernon, putting the spotlight on him to answer, “Ahh, we should ask the nearby villagers if they know anything…?”.“ Great!” She says but only finds an apposing opinion in response. “Nooooo, you saw what happened last time,” Lyan cries out, while Maya shakes her head in disapproval of moving forward with such plans. "Oh, don’t worry, you two we’ll just stay away from the forest, and I mean it, now out” she ushers for them to make their way, and as they do, an annoyed look follows on their faces. In response, she pinches their cheeks and looks off at them with an enormous cheeky smile on her face. When they’re finally outside, she doesn’t move an inch. “Come on, you too, goggles,” she says to Vernon. “What?!,no!. I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to go,” he answers tensely and with clear discomfort.

Lara only gives a calm giggle in response and slowly places her hand on his shoulder, then tightens her grip. "Listen, if there is even the slightest chance of a danger being present, then you will be there to face it,” she says, looking him dead in the eyes. “I-”. “And if you think there is a chance you could run from the wolves, then I’m leading them right to you.” She lets go of his shoulder, puts on the biggest sweetest smile there is, and asks, "So?" With a high-pitched voice.

Her voice only rang in confusion in Vernon’s head as to what extreme and sudden shift just occurred right before his eyes, but he does not ask; in fact, he does not utter a word; he only grabs his dark cloak and out the door he goes. Standing next to the entrance of the village , another much bigger carriage. It seemed that they weren’t the only travellers around, but with no signs of anyone around, they continued walking, Entering the village with nothing but a sliver of hope that the past has left them with, but hope is of no use against old village folk and unfamiliar-looking attire. "How the hell do these people have magic, but they can't fathom jeans?! “ Lara says it in utter frustration. “Maybe we could try to wear some of the clothes Vernon’s dad packed for us?” Lyan suggests. “No, it wouldn’t work; they’re all Vernon’s clothes and would look like the three amigos and the grim reaper,” Lara snakily responds. Although her comment seemed to be only closing doors, it opened one for Maya, and in an instant, her eyes lit up as if a bulb just lit up in her, and she said to her hopeless sisters

Maya: “Maybe the solution is death.”

Lara: “Don’t be silly, Maya; we can’t get out of this by dying,…right?”

In response to such a comment, Maya speaks; she only steers Lara’s attention to the fidgety, cloaked boy who covers his face with the hood each time someone does as much as throw a glance in his direction. Truly no words were needed as the realisation falls easily upon Lara, and with this new found enlightenment, she begins to take her first step towards death.

“Yo, grim,” Lara says, standing a few feet away from Vernon, but nonetheless, she manages to startle him. “Ah!”. Unsurprised by such a reaction, she doesn’t comment; she holds herself and does not even chuckle, which proves to be harder than she thought it would be. “Stay away from my shoulders,” Vernon says in all seriousness. A chuckle breaks out of her “I don’t want your shoulder”. Lara responds, trying to hold in the rest of her laughter, and continues, “But on that note of what I want, actually, what we want is for you to talk to the people of your own world. We think you’d really have a special effect on them. Get more info or any info."

V: “not happening!” He responds immediately, with not a second of delay, and covers his face with the hood once again.

"Come on, I’m sure your dazzling beauty won’t scare them off,” she says as she pulls his hood off, which at once shifts his demeanour, and a certain fear wears him as if his shield had been broken. Instantly, he pulls the hood back up. And with some irritation and annoyance accompanying his face, he turns to Lara and says, "Hey, stop it. If you want them to listen so badly, why don’t you try leading the wolves to them? I’m sure that will get them real well" .“Even if I did, dark jeans would still be the weirdest thing they’d ever seen” Lara answers with a familiar, stubborn look on her face. Despite not knowing her for very long, Vernon knew that look all too well, and backing down from this for her was in the small realm of the impossible. In sight of such in-disagreeable facts, Vernon takes a step back, takes a deep breath, and calmly yet sternly says, "Lara, even if I wanted to help you, I couldn't. Trust me when I say that talking to these people is a bad idea”. “Really?” She asks. "Yes” he responds with the same serious attitude. "Will you trust me when I say that all you need is a little nudge?" She says before bushing him out into people.

“Dame you!," he says, trying to stop in his tracks, but before he could, an old man suddenly appears in front of him. Now with the hood down and nothing to cover his face, or more so, his identity. Vernon stands horrified, shaking and sweating, while the man takes a deep look into his eyes, as if he’s trying to find something or someone. "Where have I seen your eyes before, kid?” The man asks with an expression so peculiar that he can't tell whether he is concentrated or about to kill whoever is in front of him. "No!—nowhere!—you haven’t seen me—ever—before!” Vernon answers with a trembling voice and rainy sweat. “No, I know I’ve seen those eyes before." Such simple words shatter Vernon's world right before him; frozen in place he was, and without a clue of what to do next, he get’s down, burying his face in his knees. if all eyes weren’t on him, now they were."Just please don’t say anything,” he begs, his hands pressed against each other in the air.

“Your eyes are the same colour as my granddaughter’s!” The old man calls out cheerfully and sticks his hand out. Vernon slowly raises his head, but he does not move much else; the shock was enough to keep him stunned in place. The old man, now with a kind smile on his face, holds Vernon's arm and guides him back up on his feet. “Hey, I know boys don’t like to be compared to girls, but those eyes could work for anybody, boy or girl." The old man says; trying to relieve Vernon of what he thought upset him but didn’t matter. Vernon barely listened to a word the man said; it felt like there were a million things for him to process, but only one thing broke him out, a

familiar sound of frantic mumbling.

"هو مالو؟!، عامل كده ليه؟!"

"معرفش!"

"هو كويس ؟!"

"معرفش!"

"طيب-"

"معرفش! ، بجاد معارف، أنا زاي زيكم"

Vernon turns his head in the direction of the mumbling to see the worried eyes of the girls, and as they notice he has shifted his attention on them, the only thing that comes to their mind is, “Are you okay?” Lara mouths out. Vernon takes a glance at his state and with a monotone expression, nods his head slowly in response. Just as he does, the worried looks falls off the girls faces, and a collective relieved sigh is given out in unison.

And as he begins to get out of such shock, he remembers the man who is holding his arm and smiling at him. He glances at the man and back at the girls, unsure of what to do next. But the frenzy still had its effects on the girls; they began to look at each other, unsure of what to do for themselves. Lara gives out the first thing that came to her mind: “Ask...” She mouths out.

In response, Vernon does not give out any expression; he only turns back to the old man and with slight hesitanetness, asks, “Uhh... Have you heard anything recent about the sun-gem?”. “Oh, no, I don’t know anything." A clear sound of disappointment echoes in the background. “But I know who does." As soon as such words leave his mouth, the girls rush behind Vernon, shocked yet excited expressions upon their faces. “You do?!” They call out, with their anticipation for his answer growing stronger with each passing second. “Oh yes! My granddaughter got a crazy story from her friend who claims that she saw it falling out of the sky." “Where?” The girls ask. “Shes right there," points out the man, but before he could turn, he just heard a faint thanks, and they were gone.

Just like the man said, the granddaughter did in fact have a crazy, information-filled story, that brought back that once-lost spark in their eyes, and with Vernon as the new face of the questionnaire, getting answers was never easier, and their information sheets have never been fuller.

"Alright, let’s see what we got,” Lara calls out, gathering the rest.

M: “Well we know that there has been stories circling around claiming that some folks saw the sun gem falling from the sky and landing in the woods. Many described that it resembled a shooting star.”

Lyan: “But no one here has actually seen it themselves.”

M: “And it doesn’t look like anybody from the capital has seen it, right Vernon?”. V: “definitely.”

Lara then pulls a small sheet of paper and hands it to Vernon. “Here, these are a few names I have caught of villages that the alleged stories came from.”

With the list of names in hand, Vernon pulls out his map, spreads it out on the ground for everyone to see, and begins to highlight the aforementioned villages. And with the dots not falling too far from one another, a clearer path begins to form. "Most of these fall near the West Coast." Lyan: “It couldn’t have fallen in the water, right?”. V: "No, not according to the stories,” and with that in mind, Vernon takes his pencil and beings to follow the border of the west coast, and he finally lands on point and says, "Here! This is the closest forest to the west coast. Which would mean it must have fallen close to the north-west border.”.

"If that’s true, then it must have come from the east, and that would explain why no one in the capital saw it!” As Lara finishes her sentence, she jumps up in excitement. “Yesssss!, we’ve finally got a lead!”. A high-pitched collective squeal follows. “Good work, team,” Maya says with a calm smile on her face and enthusiasm in her voice. Then rises her hand, signalling for a 'high-five', and to no surprise, she gets her signal answered immediately by everyone but Vernon. He only stood and watched, his eyes locked on their grouped hands, his fingers fidgeting between each other, his lips slightly parted as if he wanted to say something, but nonetheless he remained silent and slowly his eyes shifted and began to hover the floor.

“Hey, come on, dude, you too!” Lyan calls out, bringing his head up and his eyes right back onto them. He stands still, hesitants in his face. "Yeah, man, you're part of the team,” Maya follows. With the utterance of what would seem to be just some minuscule words, the hesitance fades off of Vernon's face. As suggested, he moves closer and raises his arm, calm yet ecstatic in his demeanour. *clap* they all put their arms back down, Lara sees the opportunity and goes, “Also sorry about pushing you..." with another great big smile on her face, but unlike the others, this one was fulled with guilt and begged profusely for forgiveness. “No problem…team” Vernon replies with plain hesitance building back up, the irrational question remind in his mind of weather this was a opportunity for him to seize. “Yeah!” Lyan shouts out, full of joy and begins to make her way back her sisters following behind her ,but unbenounced to her she had shattered all and every absurd thought on Vernon's mind.

To say that only Vernon found Lara apology to be a pure opportunity for him to seize would be untrue, for sure it was directed at him doesn’t mean he’s the only one to give out a reaction, as no longer could mayas expressions be described as joyful, a monotone, steady, but now with hint of…curiosity wears her face, and with this new found curiosity she moves Lara closer to her and whispers “I need to talk to you in the carriage” after all such curiosity, cannot be kept to one’s self. “Sure” Lara responds, not a second thought given to her request, but in that moment one thought occurred in her mind “where’s Vernon?”

As she turns to check where he is, she stops, and finds herself to have caught a priceless, gem of a moment. Vernon staring into the palm of his hand with merry eyes and a faint smile so warm it could melt the most frozen of hearts. And With such radiance she couldn’t help but crack a grin of her own.

Vernon then began to make his way forward, still with no idea of who didn’t and who did see him, as two find themselves beside each other Lara knew now this is a chance she couldn’t pass. “Well if that wasn’t the most sunshine filled smile ever!” She teases with excitement. “Oh no, you saw that” he responds his attitude free from any real annoyance or irritation. “Damn straight I did”. Vernon gives out a slight giggle in response, which would prove to be more than enough to sustain that cheeky excited smile on Lara face “you really should use it more on people, now that smile would give you a special effect” she says. “Really?” Vernon responds back while in a sarcastic tone. “ *giggles*-yeah, would get better results for the team” and as soon that distinctive word existed her mouth another bonny smile couldn’t help but find its way back his face. “There you go again!, team?, really?, that’s what does it?!”. “I’ve never done the whole team thing, before it’s exciting!” He says the same smile accompanying his face. To Which Lara gives pure cheerful chuckle for and continues “sure is!”.

In midst of their chatter a unrecognisable voice calls out for them stopping them in their tracks. “ *panting*-*panting* are you the guy asking about the gem?” The guy asks with wide eyes. “Yes…” Vernon answers, and without a miss of a beat the man shouts out at the top of his lungs “it’s him!!!!” And as If it’s a battle call, in an instant a hoard of men swarm all around them each one different in size and shape. They find themselves in the middle of circle, their backs pressed against one another “umm…your friends?” Lara asks nervously. “I don’t have friends” he answers, the nervousness even more clear in his voice. And beyond the babbling and whispering of the crowd they hear footsteps, but they were no ordinary footsteps, the ground would shake with each individual one. As they treaded closer to them the eyes of the men began to shift and so does Lara’s focus, trying to read their expressions hoping to get an idea of what’s happening but to her surprise the men do not seem afraid or intimidated, only a constant look of anticipation traveling between the direction of the sound of the foot steps and Vernon, and as her view of observation expends she notices that the men didn’t try to come any closer to them, they stood still in their places and neither did they hold any weapons. “Not like they need it but still- maybe they’re not so dangerous after all.” She thought to herself.

But it’s made clear that she only came to that conclusion. As Vernon’s face full of terror and horror and his vision laser focused on the moving sound of footsteps. As the sound reaches its peak, the men began to make way, he nervously reaches to the small pouch on his belt. Having seen this before Lara knew of the exact catastrophes about to occur. As his hand leaves the pouch and begins to moves his arm forward to attack, Lara reaches her arm out hoping to catch his hand before its too late. As the crowds veer their attention and the man reveals himself…

And sure enough the man , the biggest of them allremains conscious standing on his two legs.

But his face wasn't the first thing to meet their eyes, no their heads were directed at each other. They both stood silently for moment, Vernon was at such a loss for words that it didn't occur to him to move his precious powder that he has just spilt half of. Now, All that he felt is the blood rushing through to his cheeks, turning them scarlet red.

As for Lara she only looks at him and smiles and ushers for him to follow suit and so he does and as they turn to finally face whoever is in front of them they hear “you still got the same smile!”. “What?!” They both said then in an instant Vernon is lifted off the ground into the tightest embrace of his short life. The crowd face lit up in joy, “it’s him!” The entire crowd cheered.

While Vernon felt as if he was being crushed to death, Lara saw the whole situation as a live circus performance and as hard as she tried she couldn’t keep in her giggles and chuckles at sight of Vernon’s expressions changing so rapidly between one another in response to all of what’s happening around him, from the men shaking his hand and greeting him to those hovering over his head with their abundance of questions, which most can be described as one from or another of ‘do you remember me?’. And with each struggle of his, Lara’s amusement only grows. “Would you stop laughing?” Vernon shots at Lara, struggle clear in his voice. Using all her might, she tried to gather herself. “I’m sorry-I… What’s happening? I thought you said you didn’t know 'em." “I don’t!!"

With two simple words, Vernon sends the entire crowd into shock, and a collective gasp is let out, as he is released from the man’s tight arms. “He doesn’t know us?!”. “The kid doesn’t know us?!”. “How could this be?!” Such questions rotate across the crowd. "Wait, your dad never told you about us?” The biggest of the men asks in pure shock. “No…” Vernon answers, sending the crowd into yet another earth-shattering crisis with another collective gasp following it with the addition of Lara’s loud and hearty laughter.

“That bastard, how could he?! I mean, I know we’ve haven’t heard from him in years, but not telling his son about us—that's unbelievable!!” The man says, thinking to himself out loud.

“Back up a little. How do you know Cor?” Lara says as she’s gathering herself once more. “Please, how do we know Cor?” The man responds condescendingly and continues, "How do we know coral spring, everyone?!” The man yells out into the crowd. And as if a yet another signal was fired, the other men began to answer. "We're the ones who traveled and protected the secret grounds of the crescent moon” .“We’re the forceful, unstoppable...” a

“Moon conquerors”, the men say in unions, ending what seemed to be a premeditated show. "Wow, did you practice this?” Lara asks with a giant smile on her face. “For longer than you’d think,” the man says and continues, "cor even had a part, but I guess it doesn’t matter.” His words immediately defuse all and any energy the crowd had; it plummeted with no sign of light ever making its way back until one of the bravest, most kind souls among them steps up and asks, “Will how have you been, kid?” Such questions immediately raise the men’s heads, and they turn to Vernon, pulling in him in for yet another Q&A.

"Ohhhh,” Lara says as one of the men offers her a glass fresh strawberry juice, which she accepts with great pleasure. "Oh, alright, who’s this girl with you?" One of the men asks. “Well she was holding his hand a minute ago, She must be his girlfriend,” and with a self-fabricated statement, the crowd began to cheer and congratulate Vernon. Those men truly had a way of getting themselves up and hyped then beating themselves down to the ground, with little to no crossover in between. Their ways didn’t stop at them; no, they extended to turn Vernon into a blazing hot mess of embarrassment.

"Pfttt, please, he wishes,” Lara says, turning their proud cheers into awes of pity, and the interrogation of how, and begging of please, commences. "Why would you do our little man like that?”. “He’s a great guy, and he likes you!” One of them states, Lara meets him with a doubtful look, and in the background of this auction, Vernon’s voice can be heard pleading for them to stop, but his screams are but a note in a symphony of incongruous voices. “How do you know? You haven’t seen him in years,” Lara asks. “I can read a man’s eyes," the man answers before he’s cut by Vernon jumping in between them, finally escaping their hold. "No! Stop it, everyone. I don’t like her!, and I don’t want her to be my girlfriend she's...” Although his stance was stern and concrete at first, when it came to giving a reason as to why, his mind couldn’t answer him. He’d look her up and' down, unable to come up with a justification No one demanded but himself

“She’s…not…my type” he says only to be met with the disapproving sighs from the men and a surprised yet offended expression on Lara's face. He's unable to let out a word before he's pulled in once more by the men. “Havin’ a type is an illusion”. “If she’s willing-” . “Don’t stand in your own way, boy!” The men say trying to shake what seemed to them as foolish ideals out Vernons head. “Stop it, everyone!” Lara yells out as she pulls him near her. “you’re being disrespectful to Vernon's wife”she says. “He’s married?!”. “Mhm” Lara answers with her head held high as if she couldn’t be sure more . “I am?” Vernon asks in concern. “Yeah!. He’s married to science an’ tools and they have beautiful children called heaters. Where do you think you get your water from, people?”. Such a satirical answer gets the chuckles going and takes their mind off any unwanted topics of discussion.

In midst of the innocent laughter of the bunch, Vernon’s paranoid eyes couldn’t help but catch a face so familiar to him, one that wears a person once a dreadful realisation dawns upon them. Too bad for Vernon's unfortunate self, the man runs off immediately. Leaving Vernon with but a thousand head-aching questions. Although conversations were occurring all around him his head couldn’t find anywhere to fit them, as it was occupied with countless scenarios each one with a different idea of what could’ve that man thought and what to do in case of each individual one. But his attention isn’t pulled back into reality until he hears a call out from far. “Hey boss, need ya here” that was the man with the peculiar expression, and just as he called, the largest of the men makes his way to him. Vernon eyes following each and every step the man takes. The expression-man whispers into the other guys ear and as if Vernon's worst nightmare has just manifested in reality. The man’s eyes widen in disbelief and his jaw drops, an oh so familiar sight for his eyes. And what to do in such scenario?, you run.

“You should try to add some mint and a forth spoon sugar. It’ll still have a natural taste but with little some-ahh hey!”. “We’ve got to go” Vernon says in a panic, as he grabs Lara by the arm. “Hey, HEY!” She shouts pulling her arm back. “Come on I know they were a little bit… rough with you but they’re not that bad”. “Oh, they will be if we don’t go!” He speaks, the terror devouring him with every passing second. But a vague statement does not satisfy an once of Lara’s confusion, but no time was given to questions. As a call out for them to wait is heard from behind, and as if a threat has just been shot at them, he grabs her arm once more, now with grip so fixed, not even blood could escape it.

In a flash they were back at the carriage. Lara almost lands on her face as Vernon lets go and jumps on the coachman seat in an instant. With a fear of impending doom as his driving motive he gives a spiking whip, transforming them to the highest of speeds. Now all tumbling around, there was once again no time to wonder, and only a moment to check on each other, the girls with what little balance they could muster rush over to Vernon,

maya being the first one to make it.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“This is insane!. You’ve got to slow down!” She shouts.

“No!, we’ve to get as far away as possible!!!” He cries out. Lyan makes it second. “This is not where the shard is leading!!!” She shouts out as well.

“To hell with that!!!” he cries out in anguish. Instantly a rogue shard shots from the ground, sending one of their tires flying, causing a balance shift to the right. Lara stands and lunges her entire body wight to left, slightly shifting the imbalance but landing with her head out of a window, just to see a trail of vicious shards running after them, demanding for them to stop. Their growing temper clear in the increase in speed and size with every new one. As their path begins to curve, a crash was clear to happen. But with all wishes to avoid it Lara rushes to the rest. She makes it last. “Pull!!!” She howls. Lara, Maya and Lyan tug as hard as their soft hands could, slowing down the carriage and stopping it an inch before an accident.

A sigh of relief and second of silent realisation is given before. Lyan:“AHHH- the carriage!!!” a total freak out ensues. They all run to check on the wheel but Vernon, he remains as he is on his seat. He slowly calms himself and makes his way inside.

Lyan: “ look at this, it’s awful!”,

maya: “we’ll need to find someone to fix this”.

Lyan: “ and to fix him, what was that?!”.

Maya: “Yeah, what was that, Lara?”

“ I don’t know!” Lara answers in frustration. “Nothing happened!, at least nothing deserving of all this!”, Lara’s answer’s only fuels the vexed fire in herself and her sisters and now the candle of curiosity in maya illuminates even stronger. “Then let him hear it!” lyan yells out. “Oh, he’ll hear it alright!”, Lara declares, marching her way inside the carriage with the burning anger of a thousand suns only to stop at the sight of a pain filled Vernon, staring down with yearning eyes at a locket with a picture of his father. He started ever-so intently as if he was waiting to be guided. Lara stands still and does not dare utter a word. Her fierce eyes turn gentle almost sympathetic. Her arched eyebrows relax washing away the wrinkles of annoyance. As she gathers what she can of her now forgotten speech, she can not manage to ignite the flame that once gave her so much power.

“We need to go and…find someone to fix this, all of us”

A slight stern attitude shines through. Just what she wanted, she needed to be strong, stubborn and unmoved just as she always is.

“Yeah…”

Vernon answers with a soft voice not a hint of grievance or even just a twitch of the lips to convey even the slightest of displeasure. No, he was lenient,

withdrawn almost defeated but most importantly there was no fight to be put against and that what made Lara even more unsure, what she had gathered she had lost.

“Y-you’ll have to talk”

She says now hesitant and startled.

“I know…”

He replies with the same soft, lenient voice. Pulls up his hood and passes Lara but his eyes keep to the ground even when he’s out the door. In a last attempt. As if guilt didn’t swallow her hole. she notices the money pouch that he had forgotten, and yells out…

“And the money is gonna…”

She’s unable to finish her own words. As if there was not enough energy to supply her. No, guilt was the only thing she could feel towards him, and with it she fishes her sentence in a similar soft voice.

“…be with me”.

Dismay wore her sister’s faces as they watched Vernon make his way past her and how she stood there with nothing but a pathetic attempt. “ ‘The money is gonna be with me’ ,really that’s the best you could do?!. Come on, you’re Lara act like it!” Lyan says and immediately followed by maya “Lyan is right. You’re acting weird, And we cannot let him think that doing this is okay. And if you can’t make that clear, than I will”. “No, no…” Lara says in hopes of taming down their rage. “You guys, I think…we should go easy on him with this one” Lara spoke. Only to be meet with even more rage “EASY!!, his one job is to keep us alive, and he almost ended us” Lyan ranted in frustration. “I know but…he’s away from his parents as well” Lara’s last words before making her way behind Vernon. Leaving them standing on their own. Lyan now filled with even more confusion, turns her gaze to her sister, hoping to find solidarity; instead, it was obvious that much more was occupying Maya's mind. "*sigh* Do we also get a turn to try and kill everyone?” Lyan asks sarcastically.

Maya only gives a slight chuckle and makes her way behind the rest. “Hey, we’re also away from our parents!” Lyan adds before running behind them.

As they separate and scatter around the village looking for someone to help them, the girls do not speak a word to Vernon. In fact, a clear distance is kept, at least clear to him. His gaze couldn’t help but wonder between the girls and notice each mistake of his and its imprint on them. From the scratches on their palms to the red stain on Lara’s shirt, which, in its colour, perfectly matched the mark left on her wrist, His eyes couldn’t bear such sight and began to shamefully roam the ground. Only to stumble upon a fruit stand, one full of many colourful and delicious-looking goods, and a small money pouch set on the corner of the counter. "One way to make things better” he thought as he made his way over to the stand.

Standing in front of the stand, the options seem endless, especially with how little he actually knew about the girls. “hello!,hello!” The sales guy greets, and oh, so jolly he was. Although he looked to be about the same age as Vernon, he was the complete opposite. And despite the startled and weirded-out look on Vernon's face, he continues nonetheless. “What can I get ya’ today?” He asks with the same jolly attitude. Vernon does not answer; he only scans the fruit once more. “Unsure?” The boy asks. “Yeah…, I don’t really know what they like and don’t know the quality of your fruit." "Excuse me,” the boy says, cutting him off with nothing less than a wrathful glare. “We have the best quality of fruit there is," the boy adds, with the same tone accompanying his words. Only one thought crosses Vernon's mind, "It couldn’t be better than ours”. The boy responds to his silence with an even more tense glare.

“Just give me your finest” Vernon orders. In an instant, the boy's eyes light up, and Ginormous grin appears on his face. “Right up!” The boy, back with his jolly, excited demeanour, begins to show the best and most expensive.

"See, here we got tower watermelon, black grapes, flower mangos, blue citrus, and the finest of all sunset strawberries.”

Vernon's eyes widen, and he stands still in awe of the "sunset strawberries." "Wow, I haven’t seen sunset strawberries in so long,” Vernon says. “It’s a dawn specialty,” the boy responds in a snarky tone. “I know; I am from dawn." As soon as those words hit the boys ears, “Your from here?!” He screams in pure shock. his mouth moving faster than his brain. “Yes! I’m from ‘Sol’”, Vernon replies, slightly raising his voice. The boy immediately throws his upper body over the counter and squints his eyes to focus as much as humanly possible on Vernon’s face, with only an inch between them.

“Stop it!” Vernon demands of the boy in annoyance. Surely, the boy slowly backs away, but his eyes remain in the same squinted state. With a slight hint of suspicion accompanying his voice, the boy goes, "will you look nothing like someone from Sol if I ever seen one, and that hair strap..." “It’s nothing! Nothing!" Vernon yells out at the boy. And he takes a step back, with the same nervous and agitated demeanour of before. His voice is so roaring that it echoes across the village and hits Lara’s ears as a siren of catastrophe.

“What’s wrong with you?!” The boy grunted. “NOTHING! Nothing is wrong with me!” Vernon yells back, taking a step forward this time. “Hey!” Lara pops between them with an awkward smile. Trying to diffuse the tension before it explodes all over them. “What are we doing? Why are we yelling?, huh?" as she turns her attention and scans the shop. Fruit Boy scans her up and' down. “What are you buying?” She turns to Vernon and asks. But before he could answer, “You know him?” The boy asks. To which Lara responds with no hesitation, "yes." "Will could you tell him that being grumpy like this all the time will give him bad wrinkles” he says as he begins to bag the fruit. “That’s what I’m thinking, and it would be such a shame too". "I'm glad you’re not like that; your face is way too pretty to be worn by a frown all the time," the fruit boy says to Lara as he f swiftly inishes bagging and hands the first bag. A polite smile appears on Lara's face. While a glare only worsens on Vernon's face, With the an unusually polite manner, Lara responds, “Aww, that’s nice of you." A smirk appears on the boy’s face. "Will, since you like nice~,what about fifty percent discount off of everything," he says, giving over the second bag. “Oh, well you’re really nice then~" Lara responds with a cheeky smile.

Vernon glares at both of them.

A strange sound heading in the direction of the road quickly steals Vernon’s attention. The brisk rumble of heavy wheels breaking the rubble on the dirt road shot fear into his shaking heart. “Could it be them?" he thought to himself, his breath getting heavier with each inhale. The spiral of madness and worry was so close he felt it was a clear he would fall, but a voice broke through: "Vernon..." Lara called out. Getting his eyes to shift to them, but with the same foggy mind and trembling manner, it was clear that he only gave her his eyes not his attention.“He finished; do you want anything else?” She asks. A worried look grows farther on her face the more she stares into his eyes. “What do you want?"asks fruit boy leaning forward with a rather flirtatious smile on his face. Lara waits a moment to answer before she throws a quick glance at Vernon, and an idea comes rushing to her. “I want what he wants,” she says confidently, then gives him a cheeky smile and playful wink. She was sure it would get Vernon flustered or catch him off guard. Anything that would divert his attention.

But barely any reaction is given. He only gives a brief look and utters, “I-l don’t want anything.” She feels stress in his voice. “Let me get you the money," he adds. He begins to frantically rummage in his pockets. “It’s with me, take”, Lara hands him the various fruit bags and gets the pouch out. Vernon turns his head in a panic as for the sound of the wheels had stop it. It was now the sound of footsteps—heavy footsteps. And although he could hear it, he could not see it. Many were walking around, which made it almost impossible for him to tell the direction. All he knew was that it couldn’t be from behind him, as all he heard was the sound of coins hitting each other as the pouch was placed on the counter. A few mumbled sentences were exchanged between fruit boy and Lara.

“You’re really not going to donate?” He asks her with a playful pout on his face. And the donation pouch is right next to hers in the centre of the counter.

“No, sorry,” she responds with a light voice, yet with an air of sadness accompanying it. Before he could answer, a call out from far away: “Lara!!!” It was Maya. She was calling and asking her sister to hurry, and so Lara did. She grabs her pouch, leaving only the donations in the centre.

“I’m going,” she says to Vernon as she leaves, but he does not hear it. In fact, his focus and attention were so narrow that it seemed like the entire world had stopped; it was only him and the hidden sound in this nerve-wracking game of hide and seek.

At the height of his paranoia comes another voice breaking through, or rather, a scream chattering through. “Sol!!” Roars, the fruit boy, directly into Vernon’s ear. Shocking him back into reality. “Ahhh!, what’s with screaming?!” Vernon grunts. “She left," the fruit boy notes. Which was truly what brought Vernon back. He looks around to see that she is, in fact, no longer next to him. He looks at at the many bags in his arms and remembers the fruit he bought, and on the countertop, he sees a pouch straightened and centred on the counter, and he thinks to himself.

“She must have forgotten it.”.“I gave you the best pick; ‘hope she likes them,” fruit boy says, smiling to himself, turning his back, and beginning to tidy up the shop. “Oh, don’t get too attached; she's just playing,” Vernon responds, still giving a slight attitude. It was as if Fruit Boy's smiles and heart eyes bugged him. “Playing or not, those ‘Fatan’ girls are really something else,” he responds, with the same smile on his face and back still turned, and as he tidies, a cut out of a newspaper falls right at his feet, and with it came back memories. All of a sudden, it seemed clear why Vernon's hair strip was so familiar.

“Well, she’s not from there either!” Vernon replies, his attitude only worsening. He grabs the pouch, fixes his hood, and on his way he goes before Fruit Boy could even turn to face him, but when he does...

“THIEF!!!” A shout is shot into the air, bringing all eyes to it. Vernon turns to check, only to find an accusatory, shaming finger pointing straight at him; it was Fruit Boy. All eyes have fallen upon him. He stands dumbfounded by such claims. Until a certain call out has been made, the name hits his ears: “Vernon!" It was the men standing right beside them. All upon their faces that look he despised and feared. The shock, the disappointment, and the anger. He couldn’t take it; he wasn’t going to take it. "No…” he mumbles to himself as he shakes his head frantically and yells out in terror, “No!” And he runs, runs as fast as he can. “Get him!” Vernon heard from behind as the escape turns into a chase. The screams and callouts of the people only increase as he makes his way farther, but no matter who told him to stop or who tried to reassure him, he only kept on running. As if his legs wouldn’t listen to him, as if his brain had shut down. The best prodigy in dawn, now ridden by fear, couldn’t do jack but run.

Left, right. Or Wherever he could fit, he ran through it, until it was near impossible to find a nook or cranny to flee into. He climbed up, up barrels which weren’t in arms reach. Jumping from one to the other . But with time, the crowds only grew more aggressive, shaking the barrels on which he stood, trying to grab him, and many rocks were thrown. Until he ended up on rooftops, but that is no haven, as it was susceptible to all. Finding people in every corner he looks, he only does what he can; he runs. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He knew that eventually it would reach its climax, and there won’t be anywhere left to run , so did Fruit Boy.

All that it took from him was a good glimpse of Vernon’s undirected route to figure out the end. He embarks away from the crowd on his own road. Vernon finds himself near the edge; the last rooftop clear on the horizon was also a pack of many barrels stacked on top of one another. He reaches for them, dropping every single one on top of the innocent, from which their screams and cries can be heard. “I’m sorry!!” He yells out, his voice trembling and shaking. Finally making it to the last roof, he jumped down to the ground. Ready to make his escape, but then, Fruit Boy jumps out in an attempt to capture him, and in moments of chaos, Vernon reaches for his buckle and fires... Both end up on the floor.

.

.

.

.

“HE KILLED HIM!!!” cries out an old man at the sight of Vernon holding fruit boy in his arms. The people begin to make their way and gather, their eyes full of rage and resentment. “He’s not dead; he’s just passed out!” Explains Lara to the men and the crowds. And surely Fruit Boy begins to regain consciousness, but the folks still hold on to the rage, and as they begin reaching in for Vernon, the travellers clear them out and help Fruit Boy back up. Now only stands the old man in front of them, demanding the money, and before Vernon could get a word in, Lara marches forward, ripping the pouch out of his pocket, and hands it to the him.

“Why did you give him our money?” Vernon grants, displeasure clear in his face”. “our money?" She questions him as she slowly turns to face him. “You mean this money?!” She yells, dangling their money pouch in front of his astounded gaze. "I…-l didn’t know,” he murmurs. "Will, if you had focused, you would have known!; if you had just stopped and not ran, you would have known!” Lara yells, standing over him with her face contorted with rage, her fist clenched and curled lips. But before her lips move, her eyes do, catching a glimpse of her sisters faces, their worried and disappointed faces. She takes a breath in, hoping to stabilise herself, and goes...

“Dude, I don’t know what’s happening with you, but I do know what’s happening here, right here!. We’re lost; we’ve got no map or compass. We’re following urban legends for god's sake, and our fate hinges on a few rumours nobody is sure of!. And you-you are supposed to be the one guide us!, to help us!, but you’ve brought nothing but trouble. Vernon I wanted you with us ‘cause I thought you were a smart, capable guy, and I’m sorry you’ve feel like this was forced upon you, but you’ve accepted it; you said yes!, so you either pull yourself together! Or…” She hesitates; her lips twitch, but nothing is said. Her eyes strayed far; no longer was there the passion to look into anybody’s face, and her fists relaxed in defeat, but nonetheless, she continued. "...or we’ll just have to go back." “What!!” Both Maya and Lyan scream in disbelief as they rush to their sister's side. “Let’s just think about this for a second”. Maya says. “We just got a lead; we can’t go back now!” Lyan pleads. “You guys…, it’s up to him. If he doesn’t think he’s up for this, then we won’t drag him with us anymore,will just find someone else ” Lara says, shutting down her sisters. She turns around and begins to make her way, only stopping for a moment. “Which is such a shame, I really- really thought we could be friends…”, she says to Vernon and continues on her way. Maya and Lyan give him a glance, desperation clear in their eyes, but he cannot answer; he only remains silent. "طيب استني لحظة!” They call out to Lara as they try to catch up. Leaving Vernon on his own, he’s left to lay on the ground in despair.

Now finally done wallowing on the ground, Vernon moves himself to a bench to continue there. In the midst of his pity party, Maya joins, sitting calmly next to him. “If you’re here to tell me I screwed up, then save it, I know,” Vernon says. "Good,” she responds with as steady a voice as ever. "I never wanted to get this bad,” he adds. "You better, I would’ve killed you if you didn’t” Maya replies with the same steady voice.

“It’s just—do you think Lara would have actually been my friend?” He asks. Looking over at her, “ Absolutely. Lara would become friends with a wall if it gave her someone to talk to,” she answers with the utmost certainty and turns over to look at Vernon, only to find him melting on the bench with his hands covering his face. “I’m worse than a wall!!” He cries out in self-pity. But his cries are cut short by a slap on the head from Maya. “Quite being pathetic!" she says as he pulls his back straight on the bench. “I know it might feel like everyone hates you right now... because they do." Vernon lets out a heavy sigh.

“But…”Maya continues,

“It’s not over. You can still make it right." Vernon turns his gaze to the ground with a glum attitude. “Would it even matter?” He asks with a faint voice. Maya, with her gaze remaining on him, answers, “I don’t know if it would be to them, but trust me when I say that if you do at least try to make it right, that I’ll be the first to forgive you." Her words immediately bring his eyes back to her, and in surprise, he asks, "Would you?, really?”. She nods slowly. A grateful smile appears ear-to-ear on his face. He slowly begins to extend his arms out and say, “Thank you." “Don’t hug me,” Maya says sternly. Vernon quickly throws his arms behind his head. “Wasn’t going, wasn’t going to..." he mumbles as he gets up.

He begins to scan the village to see who he has to make things well with. “oh, lord..." His scan is cut short as his eyes fall on the fruit stand once again. Suddenly, an idea came rushing to his mind. “Two birds with one stone,” he thought to himself. “You got any ideas?” Maya inquired. "One, but I think I’ll need some money,” he says, and he immediately finds a pouch flying his way, one darker in colour than the last. “Dads pouch?, what happened to Ruby's?”he questioned. “It finished after we paid for the damages. You didn’t think they left after ‘sorry' did you?” She says this as she makes her way away from the bench and back to Lyan. Leaving Vernon on his own with the money and an idea.

*knock* *knock* “who?” Fruit Boy asks. “It’s me," answers Vernon. now standing in front of his covered stand. “Help!!!!” Fruit Boy shouts out. “No, no Stop yelling, I’m not going to do anything." Vernon pleads, Fruit Boy answers and shuts his siren. “Go away,” he demands. “Please remove the cover; I need to talk to you,” Vernon pleads once more. “I don’t talk to criminals,” he firmly states.

“pleeeeeeeeease”

“No!!!”

Fruit Boy had made it clear that straight-forward talking had no effect. Vernon knew he had to find another approach. “Well anyway, I just came to tell you that Lara came to talk to you. She’s right next to me, actually; she’s just not talking in my presence;So, I’ll leave you two now, all alone,” Vernon says. “Risky, for sure," he thought to himself. And although Fruit Boy didn’t say a single word to him, he slowly raised the covers just enough to poke his head out. “But effective,” he finishes his thought as he jumps in front of the counter, shoving his head through the cover. Fruit Boy steps back, dumbfounded and full of rage. “I’m going to scream,” he threatens. “No, no, please. I’m here to apologise." Fruit Boy stands silently, allowing him to continue.

“Thanks, I’m really sorry; I didn’t mean to steal your money or cause such a ruckus, and I really- really didn’t mean to assault you, and hey, luckily for you, it was the very last of the bottle; if it was any more than that, you’d probably open your eyes again at least three days later. "Vernon stops his rant as he notices the growing glare on his face. “Oh, I know see that’s not something that would make it better—ahm—is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” Vernon asks. “One thing," the fruit boy answers, bringing light to Vernon's eyes. “Anything!” He says it with excitement and determination. “Can you explain why you did all this, why you ran, and why you've been so paranoid and fidgety ever since I’ve mentioned how familiar you are?" He asks. Vernon looks down, unable to answer. “No, I can't.".

"Will, I can," the fruit boy claims with confidence, turns his back, and begins to rummage between the shelves. Fear and terror begin to wear on Vernon once again, but he does not let them overtake him. He takes a big breath, and with all his might, he berries his feet in the ground and goes, "Alright, give it to me, but please be gentle and remember that’s was a long time ago ."

*slap* Fruit has slammed something onto the counter. Vernon braces himself, but to his surprise, it was

Nothing of what he suspected. Vernon stands silently, staring at the piece of paper. He squints in slight confusion, but Fruit Boy does not notice, too engulfed in his master theory.

"This! Look, it's you. I know I saw that strip somewhere. I wanted one like it when I was younger, but now I see that it’s ugly and faded, and that’s why you freaked when I asked about it. You were afraid that I’d bring up this embarrassing photo, and that’s not how you want to be seen or be remembered, especially in front of that cute girl, right?” Fruit Boy rants.

Vernon, in return, smiles as if he had just been rescued. He profusely nods his head as he goes, “Yes, yes. Definitely. You understood me so well!."

“Well, that’s not a good enough of a reason for all of this!!!” Fruit boy shots. “So no, there is nothing you can do to atone,” he adds.

“What if I buy everything in your shop?” Vernon asks. Fruit boys eyes light up once again. “Coming right up!!!” He cheers in his old, jolly manner. Just like that, the second part of the plan was in motion. “Maya!!!!” Calls out Vernon, ushering for her to come. "Oh, also, I’m buying this,” he adds, pointing to the cutout.

And so it goes: Maya, Vernon, and Lyan go from person to person, giving away free bags of fruit. While he desperately apologises and explains his story or more like fruit boys masterful theory, which was met by a rather wide range of reactions. Some found it idiotic and unreasonable, even childish. But there were those who understood and forgave with no hesitation, and there were those who refused an explanation and just took the fruit.

Now, after they have gone around to all, stands the last and most important. Vernon stands sweating, fidgeting with his hands. Slowly, Maya creeps up next to him. “I really want her to forgive me,” says Vernon in a soft voice.

"*chuckles* . You can do this." Maya responds with a gentle smile on her face.” Vernon takes a deep breath and he makes his way to Lara.

He silently sits next to her on the bench. Lara does not turn her head or give any sort of acknowledgment. “Umm… Would you like an apple?"Vernon says, handing her one. She slowly reaches out and takes it without even a single glance at him. “ alright…” Vernon lets out a nervous sigh and continues. “I’m sorry! I’m really-really -really sorry, Lara. I never wanted to drag youngirls into any trouble.

And I know nothing could make up for it, but if you want an explanation, I can explain." “Save it; I know the hair story,” Lara interrupts. “It’s been all over town how much of an insecure idiot you are but a rich idiot, I wouldn’t blame them for thinking that. How much did all this fruit cost?” She adds, with a lighthearted tone. “A lot” Vernon answers. "But—but that’s not our point,” Vernon quickly manoeuvres. “Lara, do you hate me?."

Lara chuckles at such a remark: “Hate you? You haven’t done nearly enough for me to hate you; you were close but not enough." A smile creeps onto Vernon’s face.

And bounces off his and onto Lara’s. “There you go again,” Lara says, grinning. “So, you still want to be a team." Lara nods. Vernon now full of happiness, but it doesn’t last before he hears, “But Vernon, if we really want to be a team, then we have to be honest with each other, so is there anything else you want to say?” Lara asks, looking him dead in the eyes. As he goes to answer, his eyes stray to the ground, and as much as he wanted, he couldn't; he couldn’t look her in the eye. “Yeah, that’s all”. "*sigh*…if that’s what you say,” Lara says as she stands, Vernon following suit. To find Maya and Lyan running towards them.

“So, are we going back or not?” Lyan asks, raging through her bones. With all their eyes locked on Lara, She gives a slight smile as she turns to Vernon and says, “It’s his choice." Their eyes immediately lock onto him. “Let’s get you girls home,” he says cheerfully. In an instant, the cheers of Lyan echo through the village, all the way until they make it back to the carriage.

"Hey, it looks like you’re continuing on your journey after all,” says the man greeting the kids.

"Yes!” responds Lara with a smile.

“Wore him down?"

"Have you ever had a doubt?”

"*chuckles* not for a second.”

“Are you done?” She asks, looking over the man’s shoulder at the place of the lost tier, to find a brand new one, and the rest of the men bag their things. “I’m assuming that’s it?” Lara asks.

"Yeah, I just need a word with the boy. AYO VERNON!” He calls out. The smile immediately fades from her face as it turns to a stern look. “What’s with the eyes, kid?” the man asks. “I think you and your men have taken more than enough money, now,” Lara states. "Kid, I’d be damed if I tried to rob Coral’s son. ohhh, I’d never see the light of day again,” the man says. Lara stands as skeptical as she is. On his way, Vernon stops beside her and whispers, “Don’t worry; even if they ask, we can’t pay,” he says. Catching Lara off guard, “What?, what makes you say that?” Maya pulls Lara by the arm. “Why did he say that? What did you do?” Lara asks.

The man takes Vernon into a corner and asks, in a warm tone, “How are you? Are you good now?" "Maybe I’ll be,” Vernon answers. Throwing a glance at the girls. Such a sight only fuels Maya’s curiosity further.

“ No way!, did he actually spent all of our money on fruit?"Lara asks in disbelief. She nods. “You little!!!!-”.

As night turns, so do the wheels of their carriage. The kids find themselves on the road once more. The night won’t be complete without a night talk.

“Say, Vernon, what is your type?” Lara asks as she lays her arms on the window next to the coachman's seat. God, why are you still thinking of that?”.

“Honestly, because I can’t stop imagining you with a robot."

V: “What’s-”

L: “Moving metal”

V: “Oh my, The truth is, Lara, I don’t have a type." Lara's scoffs in disbelief, and she adds, “No way", “Yes!”, “No, all guys say that, but everyone has a type. Even if it were the most general thing ever, it’s still a type”. “Well, I don’t know..." “Think!” Lara persists. “Well…umm… a girl with… hair." "Oh, come on, Vernon,” she says. “No, you come on. I told you." “But, how?!?” She is dumbfounded. “I just never looked at anyone in that way before." “You’ve never liked anyone before?!?!” Lara asks, even more shocked by every word said. “No!. I didn’t see a point to it; I mean, everybody hated me, and come on, it’s not like everyone knows their type right off the top of their head, like, What’s your type?” He asks in hopes of proving a point.

“Oh my god! soilikedarkfluffyhair,coloredeyesOHMyGODILOVECOLOREDEYES!!!,andbofyillikethemslimbutnottoslimandobviouslylovemeanicejawlineandyouknowwhatifhelookslikedeanfromgilmoregirls GIVEHIMTOME!!!. You know, and that’s it.” Lara ends her light rant with a bright smile. Vernon sits with his mouth open but silent; the only thing he could muster is "wow." "Yeah,” Lara responds in a proud tone. “And you know what? You’re not too far off that type." Lara remarks, a cheeky look on her face. He turns away from her as he begins to feel his cheeks burning up. "Is it not time for you to go to bed?” He asks, his face on fire. “Mine or yours?” Lara mumbles., then runs back in. “What?!?” Vernon asks, astonished. His face was red and hot like the sun. Lara's mischievous laugh fills the carriage.

As she jumps on her bed, she lays her arm crossed behind her head. “His face is so funny when it’s all red." She giggles to herself some more before containing herself. In that moment, “Are you done?” Maya asks. Lara, letting out her last giggle, says, “Yes, what do you want to talk about?"

“Lara, that Vernon has done something, something heinous."

Maya claims, and as those words leave her mouth, the atmosphere thickens. No longer does a smile rest on Lara’s face. No, a dreadful look now sits in its place.

"I know"

Lara responds with a heavy heart.

“So what are we going to do?"

“Nothing”

Lara replies calmly.

“Nothing?!”

Such an answer shocks Maya to her bones. Such a mindless response, and to say it so calmly as if this were a matter of no weight. Maya rose from her bed, needing to see her sister’s expression. “She can’t be serious,” she thought to herself.

“Lara, this will definitely come and bite us in the back later.”

Maya says, trying to stress how dangerous this could be.

“Still, we should not pry. It doesn’t concern us.”

Lara says it in the same calm tone.

“If it will affect us-"

"Maya"

Lara calls out, interrupting her sister. And she adds, “It will effect us more if we pry; we’ve got enough to worry about,” she says. A slight irritation now accompanies her voice. “And if something happens?” Maya inquires, worried in her own right. “…we’ll live. "We’ll worry about it then” Lara says, ending the discussion. Maya buries herself under the covers and shuts her eyes.

And although Lara was the one to end it, she couldn’t help but shift her gaze towards the window; he was just on the other side. Her fingers fidget between each other, her lips tightly press together, and her eyes give a blank stare. With no more to do now, She lets out a heavy sigh and slowly closes her eyes. Leaving the worry for another days problem.