Caleb stepped into the cabin behind Laila. Though there were windows, with twilight approaching, the room was fairly dark. He could just make out the table to their left, cabinets and drawers lining the walls. Laila whispered to her son as she set him down, and he toddled off towards the right.

  “Take a seat,” Laila said, walking towards the cabinets and rummaging inside. Caleb did as asked before Laila returned and sparked a flame in a ceramic bowl in the middle of the table. She came and stood behind him, putting some cloth and bandages by his hands.

  He felt her place one hand around the wound in his shoulder, felt the pressure as she held the arrow. He grunted as she pulled it out then placed the arrow on the table, blood gleaming in the light of the flame. She grabbed some cloth, pressed it against the wound and told him to hold it in place.

  “Let me go check on my mum and put Aron to bed,” Laila said as she walked towards the other side of the room. Caleb noticed the two doors there beside each other, the one on the right open. “You’ll want to take your tunic off and get the potion.”

  As Laila opened the door to the left and went inside, Caleb put the cloth down and pulled his tunic and shirt off, dropping them onto the chair at his side. His shoulder was caked in dried blood from the earlier wounds, with fresh blood streaming from where Laila had removed the arrow.

  “Minor health potion.”

  A vial of the light pink liquid appeared in his hand and he set it on the table. As he grabbed the cloth again and held it to the wound, he heard voices from the room Laila had entered.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you had already gone,” a croaky voice said.

  “I came back,” Laila replied.

  “Why? I told you to leave me. Take Aron and go.”

  “I couldn’t do that, mother.”

  “I’m not long for this world. I can feel it. I’ll only slow you down.”

  “No need to be so melodramatic. You’re going to watch Aron grow up, okay? I’ve brought help. We’re going to leave in the morning for Fishervale,” Laila replied.

  “Help? Has Kailan come?”

  “No,” Laila replied.

  There was a brief moment of silence.

  “Have you heard from him?” the croaky voice asked.

  More silence.

  “Get some rest, mother. We need to leave at dawn.”

  A moment later, Laila left the room, closing the door behind her. Her eyes met Caleb’s before she turned and checked on Aron in the other room. Caleb kept his eyes on the health potion in front of him and the flame from the ceramic bowl ahead as he kept the cloth pressed to his shoulder.

  Laila returned a short while later, grabbing a bowl of water and putting it on the table.

  “Let me see,” she said, removing his hand from his shoulder and grabbing the cloth. She wiped around the area, using another cloth with the water to clean the wounds and the dried blood.

  “Who’s Kailan?” Caleb asked quietly.

  Laila remained silent as she focused on cleaning the wounds.

  “My husband,” she finally answered. “Aron’s father. He’s part of the Island Guard. He was called to the border a month ago. It’s been two weeks since we’ve heard from him.”

  Caleb didn’t press it further. He could guess what it meant that her husband hadn’t sent word in two weeks, especially with the evacuation. Laila dropped the bloodied cloths next to him, then picked up the health potion.

  “Did you know a Kingsley Doman?” he asked instead.

  “No. Was he a villager?” She uncorked the vial of health potion and let a few drops hit the wounds on his shoulder. He heard the liquid sizzle but he only felt a faint warmth and a tickle across the skin as Laila dabbed the area with a clean cloth.

  “He was a trainer. For Tamers. He has a home a few miles southeast of the village.”

  “There are various families or individuals with homes nearby. The village acted as a hub for us, but not everyone knew everyone else.”

  “You asked who I was earlier,” Caleb said. “I’m a low-level Awakened Tamer. When the Rupture happened, I fell asleep. I woke up earlier today at Kingsley’s home. That’s why it seems like I don’t know anything.”

  She stopped dabbing. “You’ve been asleep for sixteen months?”

  “Since the Rupture happened, yes.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  She poured more of the health potion on his wounds, continued dabbing and wiping his shoulder.

  “I can’t really tell you much more than I have, if that’s what you were hoping for. We’re quite isolated here from events in the world. When the Rupture happened, the island shook violently. Which was odd as we don’t get earthquakes here. It took a while for word to reach us. The outside world had changed. There were rumours here and there that reached the village, but I’ve told you most of it.”

  “Kingsley left me a note. Told me to get a boat from Fishervale and head to Riven. Would you know anything about that?”

  “Harenal has two routes to the rest of the mainland. A narrow land bridge to the south and the port town of Fishervale to the north. The crossing to the south is cut off. We were meant to seek passage to the Kingdom of Aleria across the lake to the north. Riven is the capital, far away from the borders.”

  She poured the last of the health potion on his shoulder and put the bloodied cloth and empty vial on the table in front of him. As the warmth around the wounds increased, she grabbed some bandages, gently wrapping them around his shoulder as if to trap the heat. He took a brief glance and couldn’t even see a hint of the wounds earlier.

  “From what I’ve heard, there’s war everywhere. Aleria is one of the nations taking in refugees,” she said as she tucked the end of the bandage under the rest of the wrapping. “There. Done.”

  She moved to sit across from him at the table. He rotated the shoulder, felt it move freely without any pain or stiffness.

  “Thank you,” he said, as he retrieved one of the two linen shirts in his inventory and put it on, pulling the damaged tunic on over it. He’d need to get the tears repaired when he could.

  He looked across the table at Laila. Her hair was still a tangled mess, and he could see unshed tears in her green eyes. He couldn’t help but think back to Claire and Jasper. This is how it must have been for them, though Caleb went missing for far less honourable reasons than protecting those he loved. Instead, he had abandoned them for his own selfish desires, addiction or not.

  “I’ll help you get to safety. You should leave your husband a note.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Help him find you.”

  She remained silent. Caleb glanced back to the room Aron was sleeping in. “I’m a father,” he said, turning back to her. “I came here to find my son. Whatever happened with the Rupture, my son is trapped here somewhere and I’ll do everything I can to find him. No matter the cost. Aron’s father will be the same.”

  “You and I both know the likelihood of him being alive.”

  “Maybe. Maybe he’s survived whatever he faced. Maybe he’s injured, waiting until he can come back to you. Leave him a note. Tell him where you’re going. Leave it somewhere safe, where only he can find it.”

  She dropped her gaze to the table, hands clasped in front of her, a look on her face as if hope was something she was in short supply of. He let the silence linger, until she looked up and smiled at him.

  “You’re right. It’s just easier sometimes to give up hope.”

  “I know. I’ve been there.”

  “What about your son? Do you have an idea of where he could be?”

  Caleb shook his head. “I sent a message to a friend to see if she knows anything.”

  “What will you do in the meantime?”

  “Right now, I’ll be going to Riven. Kingsley is there and I’ll look for information on the way. It gives me a chance to get stronger too.” His eyes flickered towards the burning flame in the ceramic pot.

  “I’ll give you some blankets. You can sl—” she cut off, tilting her head and looking out of the window. He’d heard it too. He turned around, strained his ears.

  Again, a faint snap like a twig being stepped on in the undergrowth nearby. Laila blew out the candle and they kept their eyes on the windows. As they watched, shadows appeared, barely discernible in the dim light outside but there was no mistake. The silhouettes of two snouts and the outline of curved horns.

  Caleb put a finger to his lips as he quietly shuffled away from the chair, crawling to the wall beside the door, his eyes on the two kobolds as they got closer. His HUD came into view, muted health bars appearing above the two kobolds—level two scouts. Within moments, they were at the door, the knob quietly turning as they opened it and it creaked slowly open, a snout appearing in the door frame.

  Caleb lunged for the kobold, taking it out quickly right there on the doorstep.

  +78 XP

  The other one turned and ran. Caleb followed, barely able to see its shadow in the fading light.

  [Sprint]

  He slammed into the back of the kobold, sending it hurtling towards a tree as he continued past it. When the ability ended, he turned and ran back to the creature as it struggled to its feet. Caleb jammed his dagger into the kobold’s head.

  +77 XP

  He wiped his blade down, sheathed it again, before returning to the front of the cabin and dragging the dead kobold on the doorstep into the woods next to the other one. He dragged both further away and left them there for the animals, far enough from the cabin.

  [Quest Updated: Kobold Trouble]

  The kobold village nearby will soon know where you are with the elimination of their scouts!

  You will be hunted.

  You have eight hours to eliminate them before they come for you.

  A small timer appeared in the top right of his vision counting down from eight hours. He ran back to the cabin and pushed the door open, when something thwacked against his arm.

  He shouted out, pulling his arm back and shaking the pain away as he wrapped his other hand around the tender spot on his right forearm.

  “Oh my,” Laila said. “I’m sorry!”

  He could hear her moving away and a moment later, the wick in the ceramic bowl caught alight, the small flickering flame casting dancing shadows across the room. Laila stood by the table, a rolling pin in her hands.

  “It’s okay. I’ll live with it.” Caleb gave her a wry smile.

  “I’m sorry still. I should have listened to you,” she licked her lips, looked to the bedrooms. “I guess I should get them up. We should leave before more get here.”

  “Is it suddenly going to be safer out there now?” Caleb asked, as he stepped further inside. “Or any easier for us? Let them rest. We have time.”

  His eyes fell on the ceramic bowl. He’d planned to ignore the quest but now that it had a timer—one which would be ended before dawn—he had another idea.

  “Would you have more of that oil?”

  Laila frowned, as she put the rolling pin down. “Yes. Why?”

  Caleb withdrew the other two empty health potion vials from his inventory and put them on the table beside the third.

  “Have you ever heard of a Molotov cocktail?” he asked, then smiled at the confused look on her face. “It’s like a fire weapon. You fill a breakable container with flammable liquid, stuff a rag into it and light it. Then you can throw it.”

  Realisation dawned upon Laila’s face. “You’re going to kill them?”

  Caleb pressed his lips together. It was exactly what he was going to do. It was necessary, but that didn’t mean he needed to like it. He hoped he never did. He nodded at her and was slightly taken aback by the response.

  Laila’s eyes had brightened, a grim smile on her face.

  “Tell me what you need.”