Chapter 1 - Marco Fuantos is always in the wrong place in the wrong moment.

*Note: The narrator is the MC from some years in the future, don’t mistake him for his younger self.

Part 1

My nose scrunched up as a foul odor invaded my nostrils as I remained hidden. Tears flowed down through my checks, moistening my dry lips, and falling on my trembling hand. The barrel was tight, and I was hungry, thirsty and tired, but I was paying attention to every little detail around me.

- Hurry up! That brat can't have run far -

A deep voice sounded to my right and my heart skipped a beat. Cold sweat flowed through my back, and my legs shook the circular wooden space where I was hiding. In my short eight years of life, I have heard a voice like that a couple of times. It was a sound you would hear when an innocent was being hunted, and a hint of pity could be heard from it. He was sorry for the criminal, but it was a job he had to do. Even though, you couldn’t blame a man for doing his job, I was scared, for I was the one being pursued. I didn’t know what they would do with me once they had captured me, but I knew it wouldn’t be something good. That’s why I hide and prayed for them not to find where I was.

Hundreds of footsteps echoed as the barrel is full of dust, coming into my throat and my eyes.

- Damn it! That leather wristband was something reserved for the governor's son. - The man let out a long sigh. - We will lose our heads if the brat escapes.

Hearing those words, my heart trembled. How couldn’t I know what those words mean? I had seen many men die in the little world I lived. Good men, evil men, lovely ladies, all this meant nothing before the word “death”. I didn’t understand what happened when one died, but I have seen the family of those who had died. People waiting for someone who wouldn't return. Even so, I was afraid of coming out and face my punishment. I valued my own life above everything else!

- Hey, check out that barrel. - Oh God! Never in my life I had heard such demoniac words.

“Please, don’t come this way, please.” My mind had came up with a few ways to escape, but my body wouldn’t move and my legs and arms went numb.

I could hear the steps getting near me as my I heart was beating like carnival drum. Then, there was utter silence, and I felt my weight being pressed against the bottom of the wooden barrel. A resounding crack seared across the top as the barrel, revealing two grinning figures.

A hand reached out my shoulder and pulled me into a strong hug. There was nothing I could attempt to do while they’re carrying me. I was too weak and hungry to try something. In a closer look, I discerned the two figures as a pair of men wearing black suits, and heavy bulletproof vests. Scars were visible on their faces, and their hair was messy.

- He’s a strong boy, be careful. – The one who warned the others was a man dressed in a black tuxedo, but he was so fat that the tuxedo made him look like a pig trapped in a net before pooping and the odor emanating from him would kill the flies around him.

I didn’t like how this guy was lecherously looking at me.

- My meat doesn't taste good, sir. I swear it – I was (fucking) afraid - and I’m hardworking, I should be useful for something for you in the future.

I tried to appeal to him with my most horrible face possible, but he didn’t react at all, nothing! The suffocated pig just ordered his guards to take me with his lecherous eyes.

I’m going to be fine, right? It’ll be like that story where a hero comes to save me after some torture, right? I asked myself as I was terrified.

I didn’t know what was going to be of me from today onwards. They had injected me something in my left arm. At least they knew how to inject it properly. I felt heavy and sleepy as if I were a baby crying for his mommy to be fed. Which reminded me, I hadn’t eaten anything in all the day!

Those guys should have given me a burrito or something. Seriously! If it weren’t for the guys dragging me, I would have run to that stand where they were selling that exotic juice and purple barbeque.

My eyelids and jaw got heavy. That stuff they had injected me must have been a strong one. It must have been a muscle relaxant to cause my well trained muscles to be as lax as they are right now.

We passed beside a group of men, and I saw my lazy father afar from me. He was discussing with an office man something about a reward while eyeing at the burly soldier carrying me.

- Hey, what are you doing!? That’s my sla….. Child!

- This kid is coming with us. He took something he shouldn’t have, and he’s paying the price. Mister, you should know what that means, right?

- What! What the hell did that damn brat do! Wait, Will I get a compensation for this?

- Take it up to the office! Head out!

I was free from my father’s dirty hands, and my new owners weren’t half bad too. Perhaps, they would bring me to a place with better reception than my home, I said to myself as I wanted to play some games. I cast a glance to the object in front of me; there was an armored vehicle, like the one used by the Empire’s soldiers to attack enemy’s small villages. It had a thick window with two soldiers on the top of it and that huge plasma cannon. Was I that important to them? The answer should be clear, according to this vehicle’s presence in a place like this.

After opening the rear door, the guard I tossed me inside it. This guy didn’t take into account that I was just a little boy!

Within the vehicle, 15 smiling children stared at me, and put their forefinger on their lips as a signal for me not to cause noise.

I nodded and sat in a seat next to the window.

Part 2

I’d have liked to experience the life of a normal elementary school student, singing songs and brawling with others brats. Yes, it would have been fun. Evidently, if that little dream were to turn true, I wouldn’t have been traveling with a bunch of brats who hadn't stopped crying for their mommies in two hours while I was drugged and drooling all over the place.

What could I say? I didn’t even have a mother that would come to save me, so it was pointless for me to cry. Perhaps my father would come if he were to know the true value of the wristband tied in my hand. When I thought about it, I realized it was weird that no one took it when they captured me. Because of this, I had the feeling this wristband would only bring me problems.

I looked at the leather wristband. A horned humanoid was carved on the it. After looking at it for awhile, I thought about throwing away this wristband. It was the cause of all my problems, so I didn't wish to keep it.

I tried to pull it off from my arm, but I was unable to untie it. Then, I tried to scratch it with my fingernails, and it began to glow. Blue sparks came out from the wristband and I felt my arm go numb. This thing had attacked me!

It was then that I realized why they had captured me alive. The wristband was one of those weird accessories that formed a symbiotic relationship with its owner. It granted the owner a special ability in exchange for it to continue providing it with energy. It was a useful thing, but it couldn’t turn into a loli as in the TV shows I had seen so far. Things like this wristband were nothing more than devices a rich man or woman would use to protect his or her life.

During some minutes, I tried to unlock the ability it should have had, but I couldn’t understand any word it tried to project in my mind. Those words seemed to be from an ancient language, and the pictures explaining it were blurry.

After that failed attempt to control it, my head throbbed and my sight was blurry. I tried to move my numb arm to no avail. After having given up on it, I glanced at the guards in charge of “protecting us”, and saw the sadistic smiles plastered on their faces. The suffocated pig was kicking a guard curled on the floor, he was drowning instead of wearing a smile on his face like the guards. Well, I did understand that one didn’t have to be a Sadist to do the job after all.

Then, I tried to focus my sight on the guard curling on the floor. I could make out tears coming out of the man’s eyes as he begged for mercy, but the suffocated pig continued to ignore his pleas and kicking him.

The Empire’s soldiers laughed and shared some drinks as they were watching the spectacle. I doubted they would have the opportunity to see such thing so often, given that they seemed to be enjoying it like the pigs eating crap.

A group soldiers whispered something about a guard killing a valuable weapon. I thought you couldn’t kill a weapon because it wasn’t alive. Even so, it’s not like someone would waste his precious time to explain such things to an eight year old brat such as myself anyway.

At this point, my mind seemed a web made by a drunken spider. I couldn’t understand anything of what is happening around me, I just wanted to lie down and take a good nap. In such situation, analyzing the information around me was too bothersome. So, I decide to act like the brat I was and glare at the soldiers. As I was doing so, the surrounding children were having a heated discussion, if you can call it a discussion. According to this, I concluded that I was the only one who was sold by his cheap father.

- The Empire’s soldiers are so cool! Did you see that soldier’s blazing sword? -A drooling boy said as he was looking at me.

His anxious stare was so annoying!

- What is so exciting about it? Men carrying weapons like that came every day to get money from my dad.

- Eh!.... Your dad must be a high rank in the Empire then. So cool!

- Sure. If you consider a drunk man who sells drugs to the Empire’s soldiers a high rank. And, you shouldn’t forget that he sold my older sister for a sport car plus a free of charge night in the red district. Ah! And don’t forget that he just sold me to the Empire’s soldiers!

I was getting really frustrated. I tried to contain my own anger, but this damn little boy had to keep saying such nonsense! Yes, I had learned to speak like that from my father!

-Sorry…. I didn't know that.

Excellent! I had scared the only little boy who was willing to have a chat with me. Because of that, I became the isolated guy.

- It was my bad… Don’t worry.

I wore a smile as I tried to fix this mess. I didn’t want to be alone in the place where we are going to be transported, but my tongue wasn’t working properly and I got a weird stare from the boy when I tried to speak. Thanks to the heavens, this awkward situation was broken when a soldier walked up to us, sat next to us and closed the back doors of the armored vehicle.

The soldier seemed relieved for some reason. His mustache made him look funny, but at a first glance, you could understand that this man wasn’t some small fry. He was observing us, not opening his mouth. His gaze evaluating each of us as if we were animals in captivity. I lowered my head to avoid eye contact, you never know when a person is as perverted as our neighbor who used to kidnap little girls.

- Oliver, the harvest this time is better than usual. The higher ups will be pleased with this. You think that we’ll get some free days if we complete this job?

- I don’t know, we’ll have to wait for the boss’ response.

The mustached soldier walked to the front of the vehicle where the driver is getting ready. They talked about something I couldn’t hear because of the distance between us and the children next to me. All I could hear were sobbings, screams and prays from the children, but at least I was able to take a glance at the mustached soldier and the driver.

The driver didn’t look as experienced as the mustached soldier. He was a middle aged man and had a pale skin. Obviously, he wasn’t from this country where the most of the people have brown skin. I doubt that he works in a secluded place, given that he’s a driver. So, he must have been a foreign or some men who came from another world controlled by the Empire. What more can I say than that? He was not fat or thin. He was lean and you could see his well-developed muscles under his shirt. His face was that of a disciplined man, the same as the mustached soldier. His way of speaking seemed bold and clear. Two cold hearted soldiers escorting a group of sobbing children. All of this only made me reach a conclusion, we are doomed. There was nothing I could do, I had to wait for a hero to come and save us.

I wanted to cry, I missed my sister, and I had resolved myself to kick my father the next time I met him.

I should have run away from my father as soon as he had sold my sister. Then, I would have bought her back and we could have lived happily, but I had believed him when he said that he would bring her back.

However, I was stuck there because of him, and the worst of all this mess was that I haven’t eaten.

Part 3

Books, tools created to register and teach the knowledge of a society. A tool that allows the next generations to learn from the past generation. But why is it that I can’t read a book which only I should be able to read? I really hate this world!

At some point during our childhood, most of us have been tempted to use a book as a blunt weapon. Using one of those thick books about science to hit my teacher’s nape has always been my fantasy in my boring school days. I know that everyone has felt the need to do the same as it’s something everyone must carry in their veins. Now you can understand my frustration when I discovered I couldn't use the book within my wristband to hit people!

This vehicle was full of people who deserved to be hit with an encyclopedia until they couldn’t breathe anymore. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed each time I saw their smiles, frowns, and red eyes caused from crying too much. I especially wanted to hit that little boy who was saying “so cool” with sparking eyes each time he saw something new through the window. I decided to bestow him with the nickname “Mr. Uncool” for now. I wasn’t allowed to move from my seat, so I couldn’t beat the crap out of him for now.

-Stop looking at my face, do you want to receive the mustached punishment?

I wasn’t even looking at his mustache, but the mustached soldier seems to be annoyed because of it. Perhaps he got some kind of complex with his mustache, not that I care anyway. I guess I should avoid looking in his direction from now on and everyone will be happy. Another mustached soldier happy means more food for me. I’m starving!

- No, Sir. I’m sorry, I’ll be more careful – I tried to appeal to him with my most innocent smile.

He gave me a nod with his head and began to ignore me once again. Although I’m just a child who couldn’t have harmed him, I’m sure that he wouldn’t have minded to give me one or two good kicks. It’s better to avoid unfortunate accidents for the time being.

With that said, I turned my head to look through the window behind me. I could see a woman carrying a baby in her arms, and a group of men looking at her with lustful eyes. The driver seemed to want to stop the armored vehicle to help the woman. But the guy who was sitting in the front passenger seat, slapped his hand before he could touch the emergency breaker, and shouted - This is not our job. Ignore it or you will be punished by the higher ups!-

The driver frowned, but he didn’t complain and resumed our “little trip”.

According to what we have just seen, we were in the outer part of the city, the so-called “Red Zones”. In those zones, a woman being tailed by a group of men was a daily occurrence, so I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for her. Everyone knew that a woman shouldn’t go around those zones alone. But she was really lucky, having a baby with her had saved her. “No touching a mother with her baby” is a rule that every man follows in this city, unless you want to take revenge against her husband. Although father said that he would teach me about that when I was an adult, I didn’t understand why they would want to touch her.

-Kids, look on that side! That's what happens to the bad kids who bothers us. -The mustached soldier pointed to the other side of the street where a little girl was being beaten by an Empire’ soldier.

Evidently, the mustached soldier wanted to scare us, but I’ve seen far worse things while I was living with my father. A little girl wouldn’t receive strong kicks or punches as she would sell nicely in the black market, so there was nothing to worry about.

- He will kill her! – the voice came from a boy who is sitting to my right. Just across the aisle of the back seats. - You have to stop him, I’ll ask my dad to buy her if it’s necessary.-

I gave him a glare as response and the mustached soldier did the same. This boy seated in front of me looked about four years older than me. His black hair that shined in the sunlight, and his brown, arabian like, skin gave the sensation that he was a spoiled child, one that I’ve met somewhere in the past. His black eyes were filled with powerlessness as he looked at the silhouette of the little girl becoming smaller as our vehicle continued advancing.

In a moment like this, my father would have slapped the little boy and asked him how many coins would cost to save the little girl, and how many more of his coins would it cost to feed her. Even my father had some moments of prudence, but that had been mostly thanks to my sister. Thus he is a bastard without her by his side to scold him.

- Calm down! He is just giving her some light slaps, it won’t be anything serious. – I tried to calm him, because having a hysterical child next to you is not fun. I don’t want to hear his whining throughout the trip. - He will not dare to cause a wound to a little girl who can be sold for a high amount of coins in the black market.-

That didn’t sound as good as when I said it in my mind. I could see the boy’s head boiling as his face turned red from anger.

- As if I would allow them to sell her! – He shouted, his right hand trembling as he points to me. - You don’t know anything about the hell a slave has to endure to survive every day.-

- Just what I needed, another self-proclaimed gentleman.-

- You! – He exclaims with a voice as thick as an old man’s. - Are you even a human? You’re much younger than me and yet you are already acting like all those corrupted adults.-

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- And what do you know about? I just met you an hour ago.-

I tried to retort with this. But I had to admit that it sounded pathetic with my little childlike voice.

- Save the innocent and you will be saved, that's what Mr. Jack said – He cried out with his eyes turning red - Mr. Jack gave us that single task and you all dare to ignore it. Disappointing! You people, who belong to the Empire, are all disappointing. – His voice turns childlike again. - You’ll die a dog’s life if you continue with that kind of thought, you know! -

I looked at him for a while, not knowing what to do with my eyes wide open. Although the mustached soldier was stunned like me at first, he reacted some seconds after and smacked the boy’s head with his palm. I can’t believe someone who believes in the heroes, like that Jack guy, is here with me. I mean, I stopped believing in the heroes since they haven’t come to save me after a full day of waiting.

Part 4

My heart was aching, I wanted to punch this “Justice boy” in front of me. The heroes he was talking about are nothing more than a figure the Empire created to gain popularity among the masses. Using violence to save the day? Even a monkey can do that and be praised. This justice boy was only another of the many who had been deceived.

For some reason, I could sense that the justice boy’s life was nearing its end, as if I were some kind of foreseer. But before I could have more visions, we reached the gate to the inner wall of the city, known as the “Wall of the Moans” by the common folk. A 30 meter wall designed to be slippery due to its height, and the materials from which it was made. Different kinds of weapons are mounted on the top of it, from there the guards would shoot anyone that was not a part of the Empire, and was attempting to enter the city. Something ideal, if your goal was to stop an enemy army during an invasion. But it was useless when you were trying to stop a group of smugglers from doing their job. I knew this because I had used the sewers to get into city once, when my father asked me to pick up a package of money from the guards.

While I was remembering my adventures in the sewers, one guard walked up to the window on the front passenger. The guy, who I named "Grumpy" because he’s always frowning, opened his window and greeted the guard. The guard pointed his assault rifle at Grumpy and asked him something I couldn’t understand. The assault rifle seemed to be an ordinary one, one of those you get out of the black market of Russia, nothing too amazing. It was obvious that the Empire wouldn’t hand their awesome weapons to normal guards, they preferred to lose some men in an attack than losing their precious technology to the enemies.

After seeing the documents, which I supposed to be Grumpy’s, the guard called to another guard to come and take a look at it. The new guard, with his hairy body, seemed to be an orangutan wearing guard’s clothes. Perhaps he had killed one and was using an illusion spell to conceal his identity from the adults. Then, only the children could notice his true form and he would try to kill me if he were to discover me looking at him!

Within my limited sight, I was able to count more than 15 guards before the gate. Ten of them didn’t look like experienced guards, they must have been some new recruits in the middle of their training. Yet, every guard was heavily armed, and their eyes showed a tiny flame that hinted to a desire for slaughter.

How was I able to discern that with a glance? When you have to get your own food at the age of eight, sooner or later you will encounter scum like them.

I didn’t see any hope of escaping from this place, so I continued to observe the guards who were reading the documents. Waiting for the guards to do their revision was boring, even Grumpy was moving his left foot from one place to another as if he had an ant in it. After ten long minutes of pondering how the mustached soldier could endure his mustache while the weather outside was so hot, the guards returned the documents to Grumpy. Finally, the guard gave the signal to his fellow comrades and allowed us to advance.

The mustached soldier, with a sadistic smile, glared at the justice boy. It was quite terrifying, I even saw the justice boy piss his pants due to the fear he was feeling. Mustached soldiers are scary!

I looked to my right, where the driver and Grumpy were, hoping that one of them would notice our current predicament. But they appeared to be scared about something else and were not paying attention to us.

The guard, after hearing some inaudible shout from his fellow guards, waved his hand in signal for us to wait a bit longer. What? In a second, it felt like the ground had rumbled. Immediately I recognised this as an explosion, like those produced when a propane tank explodes due to overheating.

I was so shocked after realizing this that I didn’t notice what was happening within the vehicle, and that was a big mistake.

- I’m sick of you, you damn brat!... I don’t care anymore, I’ll kill you.-

This only added more confusion to my mind. I couldn’t jump from one event to the next like some madman did. I was a scared little boy after all. Instead of being at home, eating a good dinner, I was stuck in this vehicle in a situation that I did not understand. I would have loved to eat a well browned steak and drink some juice. But it was opposite, I was here, drugged with a bunch of crying boys and a mad mustached soldier. Furthermore, I hadn’t eaten anything all day and I was beginning to imagine random explosions.

- My little tigers! I’ve come to save you!-

- What the hell?!-

Suddenly, a loud voice coming from above us echoed inside the vehicle. The armored roof began to crackle with a terrible sound as ten fingers pierced it until a pair of hands could be seen. The pair of hands began to tear the roof of the armored vehicle off, creating a large hole. Everyone present stopped breathing, their eyes widened before such terrifying scene. Then, a blond man fell from the hole and smiled.

- I’ve come to save you. - The blond haired man waved his hand and looked at the mustached soldier - I’m Jack.-

Part 5

When you’re a child, watching TV is one of the greatest pleasures you can get in your short life, at least it was for me. Even to the point where you would ask your friends to come over to your place and watch it with them. One of the TV shows that every child would wait to watch everyday was the hero’s show. In this show, the most amazing thing would be the hero’s super abilities, which he would use to defeat the bad guys. This was the reason every child loved those shows, and they would seek the person who was more akin to that hero.

- …. I’m Jack. - The blond man in front of me said these words, and I felt as if my mind throbbed.

In this world, the Empire had many people who would deal with the most troublesome power. These people were known as the “Heroes”, men and women who have the most influence within this world. Among these heroes, there was one that everyone respected, “Jack”. A man with an incomparable influence, making the world tremble with every action he committed. His words saved millions and condemned hundreds. And, this frightening figure was standing in front of me. How could I remain calm in such situation?

- You’re nothing more than a pretty face. - The mustached soldier said, his face red with overflowing fury in each of his pulsating veins.

The mustached man’s declaration made the smiling Jack frown, and look at him with fiery eyes. But the mustached man did not stop there and continued provoking him.

- These brats belong to the Empire. If you cause problems to us, you will have to face the higher ups!-

Everyone remained silent as Jack’s killing intent started to suppress our breathing. Even though the mustached man’s legs were shaking, he continued angering Jack.

- And you who the hell you think you are? You’re just a tool created by the Empire to follow their orders, you’re nothing more than a speck of dust in the wind!

Jack’s face, like a bull in the middle of a crowd, it changed into that of a terrifying demon. His white skin turned as red as a tomato. His blue eyes flashed with frightening light. I was about to piss my pants after only taking a glance at him. His oppressive aura made my heart ache with every heartbeat.

- How dare you disrespect me?-

His rage overflowed out from every pore of his body, causing several of the children to faint. He walked a step closer to the mustached man, and the vehicle rumbled. I tried to get away from him as quickly as possible, but my legs didn’t work.

- It’s time for you to die!-

Jack grinned, enjoying the expression of the frightened mustached man, as if he was playing with a new toy.

- Please, spare me. I am a stupid recruit, I said things I shouldn’t have said! - Knowing that his end was near, the mustached man tried to save his own ass with pleas.

My mind was confused, I knew that Jack was too powerful for me to do anything. But in my eyes, a man was as strong as the other. I have seen fights between men, and the only factor determining the winner was a strategy to overwhelm the opponent or the use of weapons. How can a single man be so terrifying? I expected the mustached man to have a fight with Jack, but instead of that, he was asking to be spared!

Jack, however, looked like a man who had won the lottery, with his large and terrifying grin. My body felt heavier and heavier as he continued to slowly walk towards the sweating mustached.

It has been only a few seconds since Jack had appeared to torment us. But my mind had raced as fast as it could, to the point where I felt like I had lived in this scene for an entire month. Although Jack had only walked ten steps, the mustached looked like a man who had been waiting for the moment of his death for months.

I wanted my sister to embrace me in her warm bosom!

- It seems you know how to behave when it’s necessary – Jack’s voice echoed within the armored vehicle. - Did your mommy scold you because of your foolishness? – A golden light appeared in Jack’s hand. - Let me tell you something. This world is unfair.-

The mustached man trembled, tears streaming out of his eyes. He stepped back until he ran into the window of the vehicle. His despaired face told the whole story.

- Please, sir... – The poor man tried to speak as tears and snot came into his mouth. - I have a family waiting for me at home, no one would feed them if I die.-

When you’re trying to save your own life, you have to use every method available at the moment. However, there are methods that are just useless, like the one the mustached was trying to use. It was the oldest method in the book, and the most stupid of them, as no one in this world cares about your family.

- You’re a worm – Jack declared with a voice as thick as the hell, and the glow in his hand intensified even more. - And worms need to be buried deep into the dirt.-

Suddenly, Jack’s glowing hand moved like a blur and half of the mustached man’s arm was torn off. The blood gushed everywhere, soaking those who were less than a meter away. I screamed like a little girl as the blood spread across my shirt and face. It was the first time I had seen so much blood, and it was horrible scene. The odor of iron caused me to want to puke, but my little stomach had little to lose after a day without eating anything. The mustached man’s skin turned pale as the blood continued to flow out.

- Please... – Pleaded the soldier.

Most of the children who hadn’t fainted before, began to throw up all the food they had eaten. Not matter how you looked at it, this development was just too much for a group of children such as ourselves. Even so, Jack was grinning like a madman, enjoying the bloody scene.

- You should learn to behave in your next life.-

Jack lifted the bloody man with his right hand. Then, he grinned - Die!-

With a claw like glowing hand, Jack crushed his head. The mustached man’s head exploded into pieces of bloody meat and brain matter spread out within the vehicle. Blood splashed my face and my mind, creating a trauma.

It was the first time I’ve seen someone die in such a dreadful way. My mind went blank and my body collapsed due to my overwhelming thoughts and fear.

Part 6

Kill/Murder, the act of depriving of life. One of the most hated acts humanity can commit, and one of our innate instincts when facing a dangerous situation.

In my short life, I had seen people die a few of times. My life at that time was harsh and I didn’t know about the existence of places where people could be peaceful. But it was nothing compared to the bloody scene in front of me. My heart was beating like crazy, to the point where I could hear an echo with each heartbeat. My lungs burned each time I breathed out and every fiber of my being begged me to escape from there.

The children around me, who had woken up for some strange reason, seemed to be in the same predicament as me. Our minds wanted to run away, and survive from this madness, but our bodies weren’t responding, as if we were paralyzed. We could only wait for our end to come as the blood continued to flow into the floor.

Thud!

The mustached soldier’s lifeless body fell on the floor with a loud “thud” sound, resounding like an echo sound in our minds, and awakened us from our daze.

Among us, the first that snapped out of confusion was the justice boy. With a creepy smile and bloody clothes, he walked up to “The butcher Jack” and looked at his face. He hesitated a bit before making a declaration I would never forget in my whole life.

- Can I be your disciple, Mr. Jack?-

- No. - Jack said with his diabolical, thick, voice and his hand turned into a blur.

The smiling look on the justice boy distorted as streams of blood began to flow from his neck. I could see how his head slid slowly down of his neck, until it fell onto the floor. The headless body stood there for a second, blood flowing out of its neck, and then fell onto the floor as well.

For a moment, I froze again. Although my mind was trying to figure out a way to escape from this death trap, my chances of survival were becoming thinner and thinner as the seconds passed. Or that was what I thought at that moment.

After that, Jack walked over a few steps. With his right hand, he searched for something inside the mustached man’s jacket. His face seemed to brighten and his grin became more playful as he took out some documents from the jacket. From where I was standing, I couldn’t see the document's information. In my desperation, I had moved away from Jack and this “vehicle” was as large as a fire truck. Unless you had an extremely good eyesight, I doubt someone could have seen it. But I knew that it had something to do with us. What other conclusion can an eight year old child reach?

The children, who could not understand the situation, trembled every time Jack glanced at us and returned to read. No one screamed or cried, but the fear was present in every action we executed. It was an unbearable sensation, as if we were the cattle waiting for our pitiful end.

The stench of blood and piss was nauseating. And after smelling it for awhile, I stopped feeling hungry. But it was a minor problem at that moment. Even if I were to have the opportunity to eat a great steak, it would be useless if I had to die because of it.

- Fine. Everything is ready!-

Jack threw the book on the floor and started to observe us carefully, as if he were reading our very souls.

- Who are Marco and Erwin? – his voice was friendlier than before, but with a hint of boredom. - Did a mouse eat your tongues? Speak now or die!-

The uncool boy raised his trembling hand. Another boy, the crybaby liar, raised his hand as well. He was trying to deceive everyone to believe he was me! I couldn’t believe it, the crybaby liar dared to lie to a man such a Jack!

Good job, lying to Jack only led him to his death. He wasn’t a great actor and Jack didn’t eat his lies, like hell I would call my father “daddy”. Seriously, at least you should know the one you’re trying to act like. The poor liar didn’t even have more than 10 minutes to explain his lies before Jack sent him flying through a window. Seeing this, I knew I didn’t have any option, so I raised my hand and said, “I’m Marco”.

Jack approached to me with an evil smile and put his hand on my forehead. Cold sweat began to flow from every pore on my body. I forced a smile, but I knew it was a weird one because I felt like my life was going to end soon. I could imagine my sister crying while my father was wasting the money he got from selling us.

- You’re a lucky one, you get to survive today. – said the golden devil in front of me.

I thanked God inwardly. I didn’t want to die here without having done anything worthy of mention. I had to save my sister from her master, and kick my father’s ass after all.

- Thanks Sir.-

I lowered my head and a great sigh escaped from my mouth. Now I was very relieved, and at the same time, I was grateful to this man. My young mind needed a way to escape from the reality, so it created one different story where Jack had saved me from my kidnappers. But it was useless as seconds after saying so, Jack turned into a demon again.

- What a waste! – Jack sighed and looked at the other little boys.

The children were startled. It was a weird development. Just a moment ago, Jack was smiling, but now, he was looking at them with cold and merciless eyes. Something was wrong, and they couldn’t understand why.

- I’m sorry children, you all have excellent talents – he said with a wry smile. - But I don’t need these talents apart from Marco’s and Erwin’s, and I can’t allow the Empire have you either.-

I could only hear a small “Eh” coming from the children before my sight was filled with that warm red. Then, I collapsed, my mind had had enough for the day and it was better for it to turn off for a time.