Chapter 2:
Xavier had just finished reading a history book on Planet-E, also known as Earth, which was humanity's habitat planet before the great cataclysm. Well, the book didn't really talk about the planet itself but rather humanity's history on the planet and how humans weren't the first to inhabit it. Before humans, there were these massive creatures called dinosaurs. They were like the first-generation dragons; some could even breathe fire and turn things they didn't like into stones. Thinking of all of this, Xavier walked over to the window, watching the make-believe clouds gently move as if they were guided by a supernatural force. Just as he was going into a trance, he heard hurried footsteps coming up the stairs. Knowing who it was, he didn't bother to look behind until he heard the door swing open with a loud bang.
Elara opened the door and found her brother staring out the window. She slowly walked up to him, moving like a snake trying to do a surprise attack on its prey. She finally crept to him, attempting to hit him on the back of his head with her ultimate move, the onion slice (karate chop) to his neck. Before her move could reach his neck, a hand came out of nowhere and pushed her so hard she flew out of the room. Xavier, who had reacted quickly to her move, evaded her and moved to the side, using all his effort to push her out of the room. Almost out of breath, he slowly walked over to Elara, who was still on the wooden floor, kicking her left arm and yelling at her to stand up and stop acting dead.
Elara, seeing her trick had been found out, quickly stood up from the floor, with her left leg high in the air going for Xavier's neck. She had it all planned out from the very beginning, knowing her brother also had a weak body, although not as bad as Lyra. He was still weak compared to boys his age. With her leg about to make contact with his head, Xavier quickly took a stance with both hands above his head to block the incoming head kick. He was weak, but that didn't mean he was too weak to take a kick from an 11-year-old.
Running up the stairs with all her might, Lyra, who had always been the one to break the fights between her two siblings, hoped none of them would get injured, leading to them going to a healer since most health equipment was not provided and could not be gotten down at the 7th compartment. The only option left was healers, people who had studied ancient ways of healing simple sicknesses and fractures. Though this was not advisable or even considered a worthy practice of health, it was all that was available in the 7th compartment, thus making them very expensive. A visit to one of these healers might not only put stress on the family's already tight budget but might lead them into starvation for the whole month. Finally, up the stairs, she was stunned by the position she found her troublesome siblings in. Elara looked like she was about to send Xavier to Jesus (one of the Gods of the old world), and Xavier was on one knee, with both hands trying to protect his skull from getting crushed. If this wasn't a life-and-income-threatening situation, she would've been laughing her head off. With all her might, she shouted out her other half's names, a voice so loud it shook the whole building, overshadowing hers. A room at the end of the hallway; a loud voice like the roar of a lion was heard coming from it. The voice yelled out, "ELARA!!!! XAVIER!!! BOTH OF YOU CUT IT OUT!!"
Hearing this, all three siblings froze. Elara, trying to avoid Xavier's head, lost her footing and fell down. Xavier, seeing this, burst out laughing. Not long after, Lyra also started laughing. Elara, seeing and hearing her siblings' laughter, stood up and ran into the room where the scream had come from, with tears in her eyes and puffing her cheeks.
Inside the room was a bed, nothing fancy but the room could still be considered luxury in the 7th compartment. A window on the left with a study table and a candle on top of it. Lying on this bed was a man with a good build for his age. Although he looked very powerful, he was very sick with an incurable disease. He couldn't stand without burning three times the energy the average human spends just standing, meaning he could die from just standing for long. The shout alone made his head spin and his whole body shake as if his body was going to give up on him at any moment. This man was Heimric, He was Xavier and the girls father. He was once a soldier of the Ashford family branch on the 5th compartment before the incident that left him bedridden for almost a decade now. How he lost his position and had to relocate to the 7th compartment was a story he wasn't ready to tell, at least not now. Obstructing his thoughts and his attempt to catch his breath was the door swinging open with a bang and a little shadow dashing into the room. Within a split second, the shadow was basically bawling its eyes out on his left arm, trying to hide the pain. He looked at the figure, who was none other than Elara, who was complaining how Xavier had pushed her over 10 meters just because she had come to him about mum coming home soon. With a smile on his face, Julian asked if she was sure. Elara, forgetting her act immediately, responded with a nod. Xavier rushing into the room to try and defend himself from the allegations Elara had laid on him
But soon forgot about it after hearing what Elara said
Their mother was coming back after 5 months of working
Julian thinking called out to his three kids, Xavier you have to clean up the house and set up the table, Elara go to the store in the town and get us some meat, Taking out some coins from his pocket he handed them to Elara, staring at Lyra who was standing at the door he put on a soft smile and told her to make her mum's favourite meal
All the kids feeling excited nodded and went on to the their chores.
THREE DAYS LATER.
Xavier was in the living room waiting for the twins to come downstairs, so they could all go wait for their mother at the village entrance. Just 6 hours ago, they heard the giant gates open up indicating they had entered the 7th compartment. And it might take 5 hours for their mother to get to the village since their village was the closest to the gates.
Not long after this, Xavier heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He saw his two beautiful sisters, although one was a maniac, this didn't stop him from admiring them both dressed in bright dresses which their mother bought them the last time she came over. The girls have outgrown the dresses a bit, but they still wore them on special occasions.
All three of them left the house hoping to get there before their mum. Approaching the village entrance, they could feel the fear in the air. Basically all men, both young and old, were nowhere to be found. Some ladies even dressed in black to signify they were widows, even though their husbands were at home or in hiding.
Walking further, they finally saw the entrance. Elara rushed to the entrance, Xavier being the second while Lyra, who was out of breath, immediately looked for a place to rest a bit. She didn't want her siblings seeing her in such a condition. Xavier spoke how he felt like he was passing through a graveyard when they were at the village. Elara looked at him before reminding him how so many women were going to lose their husbands, brothers, and lovers in the next month. Xavier wasn't shocked at this information since he had known about it for years and how he was once taken as a kid when he was just 9. But fortunately for him, the commander in charge was once his father's commander way back when he was a soldier in the Ashford family. He returned Xavier back home and had given his father some gold as an apology.
Looking back at it now, Xavier was sure he would've probably been sold into slavery since his body was too weak to handle the atmosphere of some planets even with the suit given to the miners by the Winslow family scientist. Snapping him out of his thoughts was Lyra who had gestured towards a carriage in the distance. The carriage wasn't fancy, nor was it even worth mentioning because they were only used in the 7th compartment. His mother had told them about these weird creatures people in the 5th compartment used for transportation. They came in different shapes and sizes.
There were some that kids used to go to this thing called school where they were taught the history of humanity in depth, not just the book which his mother had managed to steal from a library. They were somewhere where all types of books were placed. Well back to these monsters. There were some that were so long and extremely fast they could go from city to city in just a few hours. This might not be impressive, but compared to the chariots they used and how long it took for them to go from one village to another (three days to be specific).
Looking back at the carriage, he saw the Ashford family's emblem. The carriage finally came to a halt in front of them, soon the doors were opened and three people slowly descended from it. First was a man who looked 50 years of age but had a matured demeanor unlike the others; he looked out of place. Standing next to him was a lady with black hair, sky-blue eyes, and a very beautiful clear white skin. One could say she was born for royalty, but alas, fate was cruel; she was nothing but a maid.
She glanced quickly at a group of three children standing several meters away. One of the girls was her exact copy, and the other was so beautiful she would stand out even in a crowd of models. Standing next to them was a boy who looked nothing over 14 years old. His brown hair coupled with his blue eyes made him stand out; his pale white skin made him even more elegant. All the lady did was cry tears of joy seeing her kids after months of working in a cruel place where love and trust were nonexistent... towards her at least. Seeing the lady come out of the carriage, the girls ran towards her, while Xavier walked towards them. As he got closer, he saw the lady bend down with her arms stretched out. Elara and Lyra ran into her arms, tears rolling down her face.
She quickly composed herself when she saw her son coming closer. She stood up and kissed him on his forehead. Looking at all her kids, she smiled and looked at Xavier, "I see you took good care of your sisters." "I did my best, Mum," Xavier smiled back at her. Elara made a noise with her nose and told their mum how he almost killed her earlier. Before she could continue, Xavier interrupted her, trying to tell his mum what actually happened. Emilia, who was trying to understand what they were saying with a faint smile on her face, looked at Lyra for help. Lyra, who understood her mother's look, decided to help out and called out her siblings who were about to start another fight. She told them they should get going; it was getting late.
Xavier, looking back at Lyra, nodded. "Yes, Lyra was right about it being dark, and we're outside the village in the open. That's like begging to be robbed," Xavier walked beside his mother and picked up her bag. As they walked back into the village, the streets were basically empty with only them and the two men from the chariot. Soon, the two men went their separate ways, with one heading to the south side of the village, while the other was with them until they got to a store. He went up to the door, Xavier looked back wanting to see who would open the door. After a few more knocks, the door slowly opened, making a creak sound.
Xavier looked at the figure whose body was blocking the entrance while the only visible part of its head was its red eyes, which were looking directly at the man, indicating they were having a discussion or he was telling him something. The eyes slowly moved towards him as if noticing his gaze. The eyes looked back at him, and Xavier quickly looked forward as if nothing had happened. But that's when he felt something, it felt like a million eyes were looking at his back, each with a gaze so sharp it could cut deep into his flesh. He hurried to catch up with his mum and sisters, but it wasn't easy. All his body felt like he had been stabbed in multiple places a hundred times each. Everything and everywhere felt like it was spinning at an alarming rate.
Trying to catch his breath, he stopped, looking at his siblings who were still telling their mum stories of events that had happened in the village and at home. Xavier couldn't stand the pain any longer as he felt his consciousness slip away. With a thud, he was on the ground.