Moving Forward

It has been a week since the village was attacked. Around 70 percent of the village was destroyed during the attack and most of the food reserve was unusable. Even so, there was plenty of food to last for a month or two.

Since food wasn't a problem, most of the villagers began to rebuild. Only a few people like Dave, Zoey, and Ian were busy making sure that everyone was fed.

There was one other group of people who were busy doing something else. Erik, Liam, and most of the guards were huddled together in the center plaza having a meeting.

"So, now that everyone's healed, we should discuss what has to happen moving forward," Erik spoke as he addressed everyone.

"It has been a week since the attack on the village. Thankfully, there have been no signs of the wolf pack. We can assume they've retreated back to their hideout," Liam said.

One of the guards turned to Erik and Liam and said, "So what do you think we should do? If they decide to come back again, we may not be as lucky."

"We won't have to worry about that. Their leader was the only one who was crystal rank. It would take them a couple of years to gain another crystal rank wolf. And even if they did, we would be more prepared for it." Erik took a moment to think before continuing, "No, we are going to strike them before they get a chance to recover."

"Erik and I have already talked about it and we decided to send a group out to locate and destroy the wolf hideout. We brought you all here to see who would like to volunteer. We hope to gather a group of twenty to thirty people to go on this expedition." Liam said

Erik then stepped in and said, "However we need half of you to go along with the group. Though the group is composed of hunters, they will still need trained professionals to help them out. Not only that, but most of our hunters are gold rank or below."

"We know for a fact that the wolf pack has at least seven gold-rank fighters. But we don't know if they have more at their hideout. Because of this Erik has already chosen to go on the expedition. Roy, Klev, you two will stay to protect the village in Erik's absence." Liam added.

Finally, Erik finished by saying, "So, who here will volunteer to go along with me?"

All of the guards looked at each other unsure of what to say. After the attack, most of them didn't want to deal with the wolves again. However, one of the guards spoke up and asked, "What do we get for participating in the expedition?"

"For those who choose to tag along, you will be allowed to keep one-third of what you kill. The rest will be placed in the food reserve," Erik said.

A lot of the guards thought about the offer but no one seemed to like it. They were expected to risk their lives for a portion of what they kill. 

Erik saw all of the hesitating faces and went on to say, "Anyone who volunteers won't have to participate in the daily training drills for two weeks."

Upon hearing this, almost all of the guards raised their hands to volunteer. Their eyes were filled with a desire to get that reward. But they knew that only half of them would be able to go.

Erik saw all of the guards raise their hands and thought to himself, "Anyone who volunteers may get out of the drills for a while, but when they return, I'll make them do double the work."

Even though it seemed like all of the guards raised their hands at the same time, Erik was able to see who raised it first. Slowly he picked each guard who would participate in this trip, making sure it was suspenseful for them. After a couple of minutes, Erik finished picking the guards.

"Okay. Now that I've selected those who will join me, you are all dismissed. Go home to your friends and families and do what you need to. We'll be leaving in a week." Erik stood up and left the meeting.

After Erik left, everyone else left to continue helping with the reconstruction of the village.

…

Back in the village plaza, Ian was having a break after serving everyone some lunch. He sat down at a picnic table with Emmett and Ellie to enjoy his food as well.

"So, how's the reconstruction going?" Ian asked the other two.

"It's going well. Most of the buildings were destroyed but we were able to salvage some of the ones that were barely standing. All of the ones that were completely destroyed had to be removed and rebuilt from scratch," Emmett said as he took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Thankfully, it's very easy to remove the debris. And since we have access to plenty of materials, it won't take too long to finish rebuilding. I heard it would take us about two months to finish so I have no complaints," Ellie said.

"Yeah. You have it easy though, Ian. All you have to do is cook for everyone." Emmett said while pointing his sandwich at Ian.

"It's not as easy as you think. We have limited ingredients which makes it difficult to make some food. Thankfully we have enough to make simple foods." Ian said as he ate some of his cheese and broccoli soup.

The three of them didn't say anything for a moment after that. They just ate in silence.

After a few seconds, Ian said, "So. Have any of you heard from Kevin? He's been in his house for an entire week."

Emmett nodded and said no. Ellie however, paused for a moment and said, "I went to visit him yesterday. He didn't seem sad but he also didn't seem happy. He looked to be in deep thought."

"I see. I just hoped he would come out and join us," Ian said as he looked down at his food.

All three of them stopped eating and began to feel bad for Kevin. However, as they did this, someone walked by their table. It took them a moment, but at the same time, they all turned to look at them, only to see that it was Kevin who walked by them.

All three of them stood up and said, "Kevin!"

Kevin stopped walking and turned to face them. "Oh. Hi guys." Kevin waved at them as if he hadn't been gone for a week.

"Kevin, you're out. Why didn't you tell us?" Ian asked what everyone was thinking.

"Well, you see, I did come out here to see you guys, but then I smelled something delicious," Kevin said while rubbing his neck.

"How do you feel?" Emmett asked.

"I feel fine. After going home, I took some time to think." Kevin took a deep breath before continuing, "My whole life I felt sad about losing my parents. And all I wanted to do was get revenge for them. But after killing the wolf, I just felt empty. Like I had just lost a part of me. The pain and sadness I felt were one of the few things that kept me going. But after losing that, I didn't know what to do."

Kevin stopped himself for a moment and said, "Before I continue, can I get something to eat? I'm starving."

All three of them nodded at Kevin and waited for him to get back. After a few minutes, Kevin finally came back to their table with a large plate of food.

"Okay, where was I? Oh, right, after losing the biggest purpose of my life, I didn't know what to do. But then, last night I had a dream." Kevin paused to eat some of his food. "I had a very unusual dream. In the dream, I was standing under a tree on top of a hill. I stared off into the distance as if I were waiting for something. And then it happened." Kevin took another big bite out of his food.

Ian, Emmett, and Ellie were eagerly waiting for Kevin to continue. They watched him silently as he ate. Not one of them took a bite from their food.

"I saw them. They were there," Kevin said.

"Who was there?" Ian asked, a bit confused.

"My parents." Kevin stopped eating the moment those words left his mouth.

"You saw your parents?" Ellie asked. She didn't know what to think about after what Kevin just said.

Kevin went on to say, "While I was standing under that tree, I had a feeling that someone was there with me. So I turned around and saw both my parents standing there." Kevin suddenly started to tear up.

"They had the biggest smiles on their faces. When I saw them, I immediately started to tear up. My legs almost wanted to give up on me. But I mustered all of my strength and ran up to them." A tear finally ran down Kevin's face.

"The two of them caught me in their arms and gave me a big hug." More tears started to fall down Kevin's face. "After a few seconds, the two of them let go of me and gave me another smile." Kevin's voice started to get a bit shaky at this point.

"My mom looked at me and said, "My sweet boy, look how big you've grown. To believe you'd grow up so strong." Her words hurt a bit so I told her, "I'm not strong. I'm weak. Ever since I lost you two, I haven't been myself. The number of sleepless nights, the constant nightmares, and the hole in my chest was too much to bear." Before I could say anything else, my dad grabbed onto my shoulders and said, "But you still kept moving forward. It may have been a tough road, but you pressed on. And that's why you're strong." I wanted to say something to him but I couldn't."

Ian, Emmett, and Ellie were amazed by what they were hearing. They didn't know how to process what they were hearing.

"I guess my parents could tell what I was feeling so my mom said, "Kevin, my dear boy, you don't have to worry anymore. Your father and I are in a better place. You've done everything you needed to. Now it's time to let go and move on." I didn't know what to say. I was so confused and angry to the point I screamed, "How can I move on without you!? I can't do this without you two," before collapsing to my knees."

"Eventually, my mom said, "Kevin, you are stronger than you think. You will find your way, even without us. You will grow into someone great. Greater than you think. My only regret is that I won't be able to see you become this great man." At that point, I started crying more. Almost like I knew what was about to happen."

Ian, Emmett, and Ellie all started to tear up as they heard Kevin's story. It was almost like they were feeling what Kevin was feeling.

"After a few seconds of tears, my parents both said, "We believe in you. We know you will pull through." I wanted to say something, but before I could my mom said, "It's almost time to go. Kevin, just know that even though you've lost so many things, you have also gained many more in return. And with this chapter of your life complete, a new one will open up for you. So promise me that you will never stop moving forward, and that you will always fight for what you believe in." Even with tears in my eyes, I managed to say yes."

Before I knew it, a thick fog started to roll in. My parents and I knew what that meant, so we gave each other one last hug. As we hugged, my mom said, "We'll miss you, son." Then I said, "I'll miss you too." Before I knew it, I woke up. The dream felt so real, but I knew it was real. They came to say their final goodbyes. And so, I will do as they asked me to, and keep moving forward."

Everyone looked at Kevin in amazement. They didn't know what to say. All they could do was cry tears of joy for Kevin.

Kevin, in return, also gave a few tears of joy before saying, "I don't know what I'm meant to do now, but I know that I'll find it out eventually. And I hope that you guys will be there with me when it happens."

There was a moment of silence. No one said a thing. Then Ian grabbed Kevin's shoulder and said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Both Emmett and Ellie also agreed with Ian. They would all be there to support Kevin when the time came.

After a few happy smiles, Kevin said, "So, should we finish eating?" before taking another bite out of his food.