----- Sebastian POV -----
I burst through the back door into the backyard, lungs stinging from the smoke. The sky had turned pitch black. The fire roared louder than before, but the screams… they were fading. Not gone, just quieter.
"Woof! Woof!"
Tied to the fence, a shaggy mixed-breed dog strained against his leash with sharp eyes.
"Charles!"
I rushed to untie him, fumbling with the knot.
"We must hurry! Come on!"
"Woof!" An affirmative bark.
We sprinted toward the woods. A place that even bandits hesitated to explore. But our village had learned how to walk through the forest while avoiding territorial and dangerous monsters alike.
As we neared the back gate, I heard strange voices so I slowed, crouching low and hid behind a bush.
Through the leaves, I saw it: a wooden cart, loaded with imprisoned children. Right next to it, four grown men knelt with faces filled of defeat. Towering over them, the bandit 'leader' shouted.
"OI, IDIOT! THIS ISN'T EVEN HALF OF WHAT OUR CLIENTS HIRED US FOR!"
One of the bandits flinched.
"B-but boss, this is all we could find… The others must've fled when we caused the ruckus…"
"HUH? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
"E-eh! N-nothing! We'll find the rest! I swear!"
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? THEY CAN'T HAVE GONE FAR! BRING ME THE REST OR YOU'LL BE THE ONE WE SELL OFF NEXT!"
"R-right, boss! You heard him! Expand the search!"
I froze.
It's only a matter of time before they find me… They are faster than me... What do I do…?
"Woof!"
Charles barked, his gaze locked on the tall grass fields beyond the clearing.
Of course the tall grass! Me and the other kids used to play hide-and-seek there. Even the bandits wouldn't be able to track me easily.
"Good thinking, Charles! Let's go!"
"Woof! Woof!" he barked while his tail swung with enthusiasm.
I bolted toward the grass, heart hammering. But just as I reached the edge.
"OI, KID! STAY THERE!"
A bandit had spotted me.
I plunged into the tall grass, blades whipping past as I ran.
"OI, IDIOTS! HE'S IN THE TALL GRASS! AFTER HIM!"
The bandits gave chase.
I had a head start. But unease clung to me, heavy and suffocating, as if my very weight had doubled. Then I could hear the subtle noises behind me, the tall grass hissing and heavy boots hammering the earth.
The hunt wasn't over.
Anxiety clawed at my chest. I pushed harder, faster.
But my lungs burned. Every breath tasted like fire. Hands and face were scrapped with cuts and bruises from forcing my way through the tall grass.
Still, I ran.
Then I heard a child's cry to my right.
"Waaaah!"
"Brother!"
"M-my leg! It hurts!"
I instinctively went towards the voices. Parting the tall grass with trembling hands, I peered through and there were two identical five years old children covered in dirt.
The twins.
"Alo! Aro!"
They froze at the sound of my voice. Then, slowly, their expressions cracked in relief.
"Sebas!" Alo gasped.
But the clamor of pursuit was growing louder. No time to think.
I dropped to one knee, heart pounding, and gently slid my arms beneath Aro's trembling frame. His leg was swollen, but he didn't cry just teeth clenched. I cradled the injury with one arm and hoisted him onto my back.
"Hold on tight" I whispered.
His fingers curled into my shirt, desperate and firm. That grip made me realize the cruelty of this situation.
"Alo, we have to move. Now."
Alo blinked, swallowed his fear, and nodded. Then he turned and began to lead towards the woods, the only chance we had left.
Often when someone got injured in our friend group, I would be the one to carry them on my back. I was relatively stronger than everyone but this was different. Running, carrying, navigating through a field of blades… Even I wasn't sure I could pull it off.
We tore through the tall grass, but exhaustion started to pull me with every step. Our pace slowed and the muscles on my legs started to scream in pain. The field that was once our shield has now stretched endlessly as if it turned against us.
And as a constant reminder to never stop, we could hear the pursues grow louder.
The weight on my back grew heavier, not because of Aro, but because of fear.
Argh… I'm so tired.
I wanted to collapse. To dive into a hot tub. To eat something warm and crawl up to my bed. I could feel myself faltering, my pace slipping.
This is too hard... Should I drop Aro…?
Realizing what my thoughts truly meant, I gritted my teeth and my arms tightened around him.
Never.
Stay focused!
"I see the woods!" Alo cried, voice ragged with exhaustion, eyes wide with hope. "Just a little more, Sebas!"
His words cut through the chaos like a lifeline. The treelined shimmered ahead, safety is possible. And in that moment, possibility was everything.
JUST A LITTLE MORE!
Those words lit a fire in me I didn't know I had. I surged forward, tunneling my vision on Alo's back cutting through the grass ahead.
I began counting my steps, one… two… one… two… A rhythm to drown out the pain and hold my focus.
Then the tall grass parted.
A sudden clearing, ten meters of open ground between the field and the forest's edge. A final stretch. A promise of safety.
The sight filled me with relief, a false sense of achievement within the sight of hope. I did not know back then that I'd regret this moment for the rest of my life.
The momentary relief made my muscles relax, and my concentration shattered so did my balance.
I stumbled.
Aro slipped from my back, his small body tumbling into the grass with a thud that echoed louder than any shout behind us.
I reached for him, but my arms felt like stone. My breath caught.
And in that moment, I knew.
I fell.
"SEBAS! ARO!" Alo's desperate voice rang out from the forest's edge.
It snapped me out of my daze. Panic surged through my chest, cold and electric. While desperately recovering from the fall, a primal fear that tells you something's about to grab you from behind warned me in the back of my head, as I turned...
"GOTCHA KID!"
A rough hand clamped around my neck, yanking me down with crushing force. My body hit the ground hard, breath knocked from my lungs.
A side of my face landed in the flat ground while my eyes were facing Aro.
He was curled beside me, eyes wide, face streaked with tears. Terrified. Helpless.
The bandit loomed over us, grinning with rotten teeth.
"TWO FOR ONE! AIN'T I A LUCKY ONE…?!"
Then Charles came charging and biting the bandit's arm.
"ARRRGH! STUPID MUTT! LET ME GO!"
The grip on my neck was let go. I gasped for air, then readied myself to punch the bandit.
Knowing the difference of our strengths, I knew striking his 'weak' point is the best chance I have.
So my fist drove into the bandit's junk with all my strength.
A fatal blow.
He crumpled, hands clutching the spot I'd struck, knees hitting the ground. No scream, just pain.
I turned to grab Aro.
But another bandit was already there. Seizing him.
I froze.
My breath caught. My thoughts overflow.
What do I do? Do I fight? Do I run? Can I even save him?
Then my eyes locked onto the forest ahead, my eyes lit up as if it was calling for me.
But before I could move, the bandit rose groaning with eyes burning with rage.
"YOU'RE DONE, KID! I WON'T BE SPARING YOU!"
He drew his sword, and the air was thicken with bloodlust.
I felt it before I saw it.
That killing intent. My body froze.
Then he lunged.
The blade sent towards my neck. I could feel the cold radiating off the metal, like death itself reaching for me.
But before the blade could reach.
Charles launched himself at the bandit once again, fiercely sinking his teeth deep into the man's arm.
In response, the bandit seized Charles by the neck and wrenched him free, tearing the dog's jaws from his arm with brute force.
Then without hesitation, he drove the sword straight into the dog's chest.
The blade sank deep.
Blood splattered across the grass.
Time slowed.
I watched, frozen.
His eyes once bright with warmth, now stared at me dim and distant.
Whimpers
And then… The light that used to dance in his eyes was gone.
"CHARLES! NOOOO!"
As if the bandit found filth on his blade, he yanked it free with a sneer of disgust, then flung Charles's body aside like garbage.
I watched, numb, as my friend's lifeless form hit the ground with a hollow thud. No reverence. No weight. Just discarded.
The world around me warped, distorted by the sheer wrongness of it all. The moment felt unreal, like I'd stepped outside time and into a nightmare.
"Tch… a filthy mutt dares to bloody my sword" he spat.
Then something shattered deep inside me.
I dug my fingernails deep in the earth. Clenched my teeth and widened my eyes burning every facial feature of the man before me in my memories.
In my village, we treat life with reverence. We kill to eat. We kill to protect.
Death walks beside us, but never like this.
Never like this.
For the first time in my life, I felt it.
Pure. Undiluted. Hatred.
As if words were spoken through my soul rather through my body.
I will slaughter you.