Lost Sunflower 2

Kah Mal watched through the window, watching the snow that fell to the ground. He watched children that played in the open field, throwing snowballs at each other and using old cars as shields.

Even in this snowy dystopia, people still found some joy out of this. He watched the couple that walked down the street in each other's arms, in hurry to head home but still happy. It brought this feeling of envy over him. It wasn't like he didn't have anywhere to go but…

He turned back to Tigre, who was busy banging her fists on the table. He watched her for a while. What was the previous leader of the Orca thinking when he decided to enlist her in the Pillars. Of all the old Pillars, Ms. Watson seemed the only one that was… sane. But she was also the one who was hardest to approach. She was cold, colder than the snow, her gaze could cut down anyone who didn't have a strong enough will to challenge her. And yet, she was much closer to the deranged Torn Wyrn.

Not that he was envious of them, but… it didn't settle well with him.

Tigre had stopped banging the table. She wasn't sitting down anymore either. She was right behind him, banging the window frames – and thank God they were made of metal.

Kah Mal shrugged and walked out of the room. He was too stressed to deal with someone like her right now.

He noticed Jenny by the window, humming a tune.

"Why are you alone, Jenny?" Kah Mal asked her.

Jenny turned to him, surprised. "Oh, it's you Mal." He turned back to the window, "I'm just thinking."

"Where's Jenna?" He asked.

"She fell asleep." He said. He turned to Kah Mal, as if to ask a question.

"Ask away." Kah Mal said.

"Do you like to hurt people?" He asked.

Kah Mal looked at him, surprised at the question. He smiled, still realizing that he was just a child deep down.

"No, I don't." Kah Mal said, "I don't enjoy hurting people. I only do so when I'm told to. I don't believe in hurting someone unless they deserve to be hurt."

"Well I don't believe in hurting people, whether they deserve to be hurt or not."

Kah Mal looked at him. Jenny continued. "No one needs to get hurt, as long as they learn to tolerate each other."

"This is coming from someone who has hurt people before."

Jenny remained silent. He only stared out the window.

"Why did you join the Orca, boy?" Kah Mal asked.

"To protect my sister."

"And because of that, you have done any and everything to protect her, even if it meant that you'd do the things that you hate the most. People are the same. They fight to protect something, even if fighting is something they have no interest in."

"But people like Torn."

"Even people like Torn fight for something. You are here to fight for something. Just make sure to fight for it."

"And what are you fighting for?" Jenny asked.

"Me?" Kah Mal said with a smile. "Who knows?"

Kah Mal walked away, leaving the boy to stand by the window, humming his tune.

The two children rushed into an alley, panting. Leo peeked out, checking to see if there was anyone in sight. Satisfied, he slumped down on the wall, letting out a sigh of relief. Meimei, however, was still scared. Her legs looked like they were about to give way, and the snow and ice around her were melting.

Leo stood up. They couldn't stand around for long. Luckily, they didn't know about Meimei's fire gift. If they did, they'd be with them. Having a gift was one thing, having a fire gift was another. In this blistering cold, being able to literally have a monopoly on fire was every gangs dream.

The problem was Meimei bright aura. Even by being close to the thing was dangerous. Her aura was both hot, and surprisingly calming. But it was too much for a girl her age. She was too powerful, and didn't even know what to do with that much power. Or how to control it for that matter.

The old man would have some idea of how to use it. Hopefully.

"Let's go."

"But what about the two guys chasing us?"

"They're gone."

The two continued to press on. Being near Meimei had its perks. For one, her aura was already hot, meaning that the cold wasn't a bother. If only she wasn't such a crybaby. He could still see the tears in her eyes as she clung to him.

They reached a frozen fountain. The fountain had a statue in the middle of it; it was the state of a woman who wore an outfit with an 'x' on its back. This was the divide between Upper and Lower Half. Zero Ground was a few meters from there, marked by the orphanage and only spreading over a few miles. Its main attraction was its all night market, and the bonfire that they did on weekly basis. It was also where…

Leo should have paid attention.

The two men had already grabbed hold of him, and a third was in front of Meimei.

"Let me go!" Leo cried, struggling to break free from their grasp. But it was all to no avail. The man in front of Meimei bent down in front of him. They were from the White wolf, their signature white fur winter coats gave them out.

"Well, well," the man said, "look here! She's a big catch."

"Yeah" one of the guys holding Leo said, "Surprised that the Orca didn't notice someone like that was roaming their streets without a care in the world."

The man laid a hand on Meimei's shoulder. The little girl took a step back, but the hand was firm. Leo still struggled, rewarded with an elbow to the stomach. Leo cried out in pain.

"Don't hurt Leo."

"'Don't hurt Leo'," the man mimicked, "Ha! Makes me want to cry." The man hit her with the back of his hand. Meimei fell to the ground.

"What do we do about this runt?"

"The boy?" the man looked at Leo. Leo looked straight at him with a glare. The man walked up to him, staring straight into his fiery eyes.

"Kid, still has some fight left in him." The man said.

Leo spat on the man's face, infuriating the man. The man kicked Leo, breaking him free from the grasp of the two men. Leo tried to stand, but the pain prevented him. The man cleaned the spit with the back of his hand.

"Damn brat!" the man said in rage, kicking Leo in the stomach. Leo cried out again.

"Leo!" Meimei cried, rushing to his side. She was tripped by one of the two men, falling to the ground. She stood up, going to Leo side.

"Leave us alone."

"Shut up!" the man yelled. He motioned to one of the guys. He held Meimei's arm, pulling her back. Meimei tried prying his arm off, only to receive a slap to the face.

The man turned to Leo, an annoyed expression on his face. The boy looked at him back, glaring.

"Oh?" the man exclaimed, "Still want a go at it?"

"Leave us ALONE!" Meimei screamed. Flames sprouted from her body, spreading around them, turning the snow to water in mere milliseconds. The three men were pushed back, surprised by her gift. Even the fountain unfroze, shocking the people who were watching the event.

Leo stood up, looking round. "Meimei, run!" He said, "Go towards the junction and turn left."

"But…"

"Go, Meimei."

Meimei looked at Leo, hesitant to leave. Leo rushed up to her, pushing to go. She obeyed reluctantly, watching back as Leo stood there.

Sure that Meimei was gone, Leo turned around only to be hit on the head with the end of a knife, blacking him out.

"Shit!" The man cried out, kicking the unconscious body of Leo.

"We gotta go after her, Gary."

"Yeah." The other one said, "If we lose her, Karver's going to kill us."

Gary clenched his fist, his face showing rage. He looked at Leo one last time, spitting on his face, before heading in the direction of where Meimei had went in.

The people rushed to the fountain, with buckets to fetch some of the warm water. A man carried the boy out of harm's way to take him inside. He'd barely reached his abode, when he ran into a woman. The woman, after talking to the man, took the boy from his arms. She then walked away, in the direction of where Meimei had gone.