Ren felt the forceful flow of blood to his head as his legs were dragged by Lynx toward Zarek by the side of the water well.
His back scraped against rough stones and coarse, dry leaves, a sensation he'd grown used to. It was even better this time, Zarek usually had more supporters, people who strangely found it fun to bully him because his father was a former commander.
"Get up, Ren, help your friend draw some water," Zarek sneered as Ren threw his bucket at him.
The heavy, metal bucket landed straight on Ren's stomach, forcefully hitting the remainder of air out of his lungs.
Lynx chuckled in entertainment, and carelessly threw Ren's legs to the floor, kicking his side.
"Ugh!' Ren groaned in pain, squeezing his face as he felt his bile pushing up his throat.
"Get up, Ren. Now, you've seen how it feels to be a nobody, no privileges... just hardship after hardship," Zarek went over and pulled Ren up by his hair.
Ren bit his teeth as he allowed Zarek to pull him up by his hair, his hand tightening around the bucket.
His face was contorted in pain, his scalp almost peeling from Zarek's pulling, "It's not my fault your father was my father's driver. Even at that, I took you as my best friend, and it turns out your poverty also affected your mentality - Argh!" Ren staggered back as Zarek's fist slammed into his nose, everywhere instantly turning black as his ears once again rang.
Lynx's evil laughter filled the air, his entertainment was reaching its climax, and he patiently waited for Ren to get knocked out.
It's been two days without food, and his strength was no match for Zarek's. He was part of the army and had a ticket to two meals a day, while he, on the other hand, had only one, and most of the time, he would give his food to his sister who was sick.
Now, his hunger was catching up with him. He felt so tired and weightless, and any other hit to his body might as well knock the life out of him.
But he wasn't going to let that happen.
Ren placed his hand on the well to hold himself up. He forced his eyes open and pinned his weak, but angry gaze on Zarek's figure in front of him.
"Fuck you..." he croaked out.
The smile vanished from Zarek's and Lynx's faces.
"What did you say?" Zarek approached him with calculated steps, anger raging within him.
"I said... fuck you!" Ren suddenly used his last strength to swing the heavy metal bucket at Zarek's head, hitting him square on the forehead.
Zarek wasn't expecting a retaliation. He was frozen in shock as the bucket collided with his face, knocking the daylight out of him without delay.
As Zarek lost his footing and fell to the ground, blood instantly spurted out from the deep cut at the centre of his forehead, staining across his face as it gushed out from his wound.
"You son of a bitch - fucking bastard!" Lynx shouted in pain as he met the same fate as Zarek, but his was worse.
Ren had purposely used the edged bottom of the bucket to hit his nose bridge, leaving a huge dent that almost chopped his nose off.
Lynx instantly forfeited his attempt to harm Ren and rather held his nose to stop it from bleeding as he made a run for it, heading straight to the clinic to seek aid for himself and his unconscious friend, too.
Ren was breathing hard as he let the bucket fall from his hands. He didn't even look at Zarek as he walked over to him to retrieve his bucket that had fallen from his hand as Lynx attacked him.
He still needed to fetch the water for his sister.
Everything he did was for his sister, even fighting Zarek and Lynxk was for Mira.
He couldn't just die and leave her. His efforts over the years would be defeated. He needed her to survive, and if he died, there would be no one else to take care of her, and all his years of depriving himself of all those little comforts would go to waste because she would also die from lack of care. He couldn't let that happen.
He forced one foot in front of the other as he went over to the water well to draw his water.
It was a struggle to walk back to the clinic, his arms were trembling from fatigue, and he fought greatly with himself not to spill the contents of his bucket on the ground with every shaky step he took.
He sighed in relief when he finally stepped through the clinic's door, but the moment he walked through the door, he let his bucket fall from his hand, the water pouring freely; three armed men stood around Mira's bunk, pointing a gun at her head as she slept.
With a sudden refill of energy, he ran over to Mira's bed and knelt in front of the soldiers, "Please, what has she done? I will take responsibility for whatever it is. P-please, j-just take your guns away from her." He pleaded with the soldiers, his hand holding onto his sister's for a semblance of reassurance.
"It's not what she did, but what you have done," Reed's voice spoke coldly behind him.
Ren instantly froze, his hands falling away from his sister's. Slowly, he turned to face the commander. He knew his sin without being told.
Zarek and Lynx.
"Commander, I'm sorry -"
"You're not permitted to speak, yet," Reed shunned.
Ren bit his lips, his head lowered in front of him.
He hadn't thought of the aftermath of his actions, but there had been little to no time to think. Their world was a jungle, you either kill or be killed. For now, Ren was in killing mode, and he wasn't sorry about it.
"You've injured two of my men. You know the rules; anyone who harms my soldiers shall be banished... unconditionally. Tell me, Ren, would it be wrong if I sent you and your dying sister out of those tall gates?" Reed questioned, stepping closer to Ren, his shoes appearing in front of Ren's lowered face.
Ren gritted his teeth, everything was wrong; these days, there were no longer laws that protected the rights of humans... who was he kidding? There were no more humans, he is the last of that species.
With a swallowed anger and grief, he cleared his throat and looked into Reed's brown eyes.
"You're not wrong, Commander. But I was just defending myself; if not, I would have been killed," Ren replied quietly.
Reed slowly nodded, "I know that. Still, you could have called for help -"
Ren chuckled humourlessly, "I've tried that for many years, Commander: calling out for help. I never got any. Today, I saw that they had planned to end me; for my sister's sake, I had to survive." He stated with a deep frown etched on his face.
Reed squatted in front of Ren, staring into Ren's green eyes.
"You're at fault, yet you speak so firmly. Do you not fear for what might happen to your sister?" Reed questioned.
Ren balled his fists, "I'm sorry, commanded. It won't happen again." He apologized.
For Mira's sake, he had to be sensible; being strong-headed would only lead them out of the base's gates.
"I will not send you or your sister away," Reed offered Ren his hand, offering to help him stand.
Reluctantly, with a heart full of distrust, Ren gave Reed his hand and let the commander help him to his feet.
"Thank you, Commander. It will not happen again," Ren bowed his head.
"Unfortunately, your sister cannot receive any more serums," Reed mentioned.
Ren paused. He knew Reed couldn't forgive him so easily. "Please, Commander, punish me, instead. It was I who broke the law." He pleaded desperately.
Reed chuckled, "I'm not even trying to punish you." He gave a signal to his men and they removed their guns from Mira's head, marching over to stand behind him.
"You have injured the two soldiers whom I sent to infiltrate the Faction12 gates as spies. How do you think we get all these serums? You think the captain gives it for free?" Reed chuckled.
"You should know this by now, Captain Axton Conan purges bead-bounds, not treats them. The serum he produces is strictly for strong allies, which we are not. The ones we got? We bought them from a weak link in his Base." Reed explained the situation.
Ren was starting to understand the severity of the situation. It wasn't that Reed didn't want to administer the serum to his sister; it was just that there was no longer available serum, and the means of getting it had been destroyed by no one else but him.
"But, don't lose hope, all hope is not completely gone," Reed tapped Ren's shoulder.
Ren's eyes glowed with hope, "There's hope?" He asked, a little bit excited than he thought he'd be.
Reed nodded, "Yes. You, Ren. You are the only hope of our people. For your sister." His voice bore a tone of foreboding in it, sending a cold, dangerous shiver down Ren's spine.
"W-what d-do you m-mean, commander?" Ren stammered, hoping that the thought in his head wasn't what Reed was about to say.
"You will go in place of my injured soldiers to Faction 12, you only have two days to return with those serums or you already know what happens, not just to your sister, but to every beast-bound in this clinic," Reed stated.
"Renault. .." Mira's weak voice was heard from behind.
Ren instantly turned and ran over to her, sitting on her thin bed, "It's alright, Mira. I told you I'd do anything for you; after all, I'm at fault this time. I injured Zarek and Lynx; it was supposed to be them going on this mission, but I have to take responsibility for my actions, Mira. For you I'd do anything, as long as it's humanely possible," He gently spoke to his sister.
"Your brother is sensible, Mira. You should be glad you have him by your side," Reed stepped closer to Mira's bunk as he spoke.
Mira shook her head, "No... don't go. I'm already dying..." She paused and coughed, "You've heard of the captain's ruthless tales, do not deliver yourself into his arms, Renault, please." Mira pleaded, her breath was ragged, rough, and her hands were trembling in Ren's.
"They say Axton never blinks when he shoots a child. Mercy is a word he erased from his dictionary." Mira whispered weakly.
Ren shut his eyes and shook his head. He was scared, too. Scared he might never get to see his sister again. However, not going is just as dangerous and life-threatening as going.
Mira would die if he stayed back: he had to try, he had to.
"Follow me, Reed; it's just a few hours till the guards shift posts in Faction 12 gates," Reed said and walked away, leaving Ren to decide his sister's and many others' future.
With a bittersweet kiss on his sister's forehead, he stood and gently removed her weak hands from his, "I will be back in two days, Mira. I promise." His voice shook in the end but he straightened his back and turned away from Mira.
Sometimes, some goodbyes are for the best. One had to step out of their comfort zone to find more comfort, staying too long in a place stunts growth and productivity.
He was doing it.
He was going to Faction 12, to Captain Axton's base. The most powerful and resourceful base among the twelve Factions. Theirs was Faction 7, but they were more recognized as Base7. They were the third strongest Faction, yet, they had nothing compared to Faction 12.
Axton had it all. He was that ruler: ruthless, fiercely loyal to order, and as rumor might have it... he was also a killer.
That was the man Ren was about to enter his territory, a devil.
"This way, Ren. The commander needs you now," one of the commander's men used his gun to point Ren to the commander's tent.
"Okay," Ren nodded and gulped before he followed the soldier's direction and headed to Reed's tent.
This was the beginning of Ren's unexpected adventure.
He was walking into the lion's den, into the eye of a storm.
Into Captain Axton Conan's world. And the devil was waiting.