Turmoil in the Village

The sky was calm and birds came chirping. The land filled with vast forest so many that it encompasses around a large village. Some come to the woods for sightseeing, others came for hunting, and many kids in groups.

Coincidentally, a group of kids are playing on the trees near the waterfalls. A kid with blonde hair closed his eyes with his arms positioned on his face against the bark of the tree. He is counting while his eyes are closed. The other kids came running and hiding in places that are hard to find. They were playing Hide and Seek.

For a while, the blonde-haired kid turned around with his arms on rest. There he shouted. "Were are you guys?" The yell echoed and no one replied. He smiled unbothered while running through the forest.

Amidst of his running, the blonde-haired kid stopped and looked over to a spot with large grasses. A head popped above and both of their gazes met.

"Aha, I found you!" Yelled the blonde-haired kid.

The brown-haired kid attempted to run but went to a sudden stop when he heard the yell. "That's not fair, Maxon." He was sad, "of all the spots of the forest you just had to bump into me."

"You're quite unlucky, then." Maxon laughed and showed a grin.

"Let's find the other ones then."

"Sure, I'll be right behind you."

Maxon Miller, the youth with pale face and blonde hair. His appearance is always messy and dirty especially from his clothes and feet. Maxon's clothes always have dusts and small pieces of wood on his shoulder. His feet stepped in mud recently but he didn't mind.

His parents are like your everyday neighbor, they are polite and kind. They work in the inn as the owners. Running the inn is their source of income: There are many visitors that check-in and stayed in the inn for days, as the distance between two urban cities are really wide, the village only sat in between them.

The brown-haired kid is that Maxon found was Oliver. He is the son of a noble and had a proper appearance. Their family lived in the village for more than 3 years. Oliver is 8 years old now, 1 year younger than Maxon. The latter was the first person Oliver saw when he sneaked out of his house and became great friends after that.

The duo traveled for a few minutes but haven't found their peers. Oliver was impatient and bellowed, "I can't see them at all!" He continued, "Are they really this great at hiding?"

"They are really amazing, huh." Mason joked.

"Are you saying I'm not?" Oliver retorted. He is also wondering where they are, they might be hiding in groups.

The duo stopped before a tree with large grasses, they were tired and bored. They rested below the shade of the tree and wanted to call for their companions.

Maxon head wandered around the area and stopped before an unfamilliar scene. He saw a group of adults with masks holding guns. Maxon didn't know of this and was confused. The group of adults strode forward to the road with heavy steps. Seemingly but surprisingly united.

"What are they holding? It looks cool." Oliver followed Maxon's gaze and was interested of the gun. Although he is the son of the noble, he is still an innocent child with a jolly lifestyle, he was never spoiled by his parents. It's not a surprise he had never seen it before.

"I don't know, maybe we should ask." Maxon replied. Both of them stood up and walked to the people with masks, but was interrupted by a sudden yell.

"Everyone, evacuate!"

The yell came near the village. After that, those unknown people with masks suddenly speed forward while not noticing the duo. The kids tried to yell and run after them but was futile.

"What should we do now? I hoped they would let me borrow but unfortunately they never heard me." Oliver lamented. Both of them rested from exhaustion before standing back up.

"Let's go back and find the ones that are hiding." Maxon persuaded.

"They want us back though, maybe our friends are coming back to the village."

"Maybe you are right. Let's go."

While they were on their way, a cold breeze swept past them. It was chilling cold like winter flashed by them. The duo was startled. They tried to run away against the breeze and met their acquaintance.

"Samantha! Where were you?" Oliver was surprised they stumbled their friend after the long time of searching.

"All of us searched for you two everywhere, we were going back to the village after they gave the notice." She was worried for the two of them. Not only her but everyone in the group are.

Samantha Bailey, she is a girl with curly hair and also has a pale face. Unlike the other girls in their circle, she is not energetic. She can't run long enough and gets tired easily. She is also thin, a bit thinner than Maxon.

Her family are farmers of their own land. They get lots of money after their harvest. Since they have trouble planting crops on winter, they have to save their money starting from spring.

"Where are the others?" Maxon then interrupted, "They should be with you right?"

"They should be on their way, they ran faster than me, I can't catch up." Samantha sighed.

"We should go back to our parents first." Oliver implied.

Suddenly, loud gunshots can be heard in the vast forest. Birds flew away to the horizon but crows stayed. The three of them were shocked and horrified.

"Ahhh!" All of them shouted at the same time. The gunshots came too suddenly and too loud for their ears.

"All villagers should evacuate, Follow me everyone!"

"Chris! Where are you?"

"Did you bring our important stuff? Documents?"

The three heard noises at the side near their spot, it was chaotic but they heard familiar voices from their parents.

"Wait don't go yet, we have to find our child." The voice came from Oliver's parents.

The three--Maxon, Oliver, and Samantha looked at each other and ran towards the direction their parents are in.

"Mom! Dad!" Samantha shouted. The same goes for Oliver and Maxon.

Samantha, Oliver and their parents reunited with each other, but Maxon's parents where nowhere to be found.

"Why are they leave-leaving our home, where--where is my mu-mum, where is m-my dad?" Maxon stuttered and hurriedly ran to the side of the road in attempt to find his parents.

Seeing his struggle, Samantha's mom, Daisy kindly told him, "They will be coming back soon."

"Why?" Maxon was in panic and can't find his parents.

"They told me to let you live at my house for the time being." Daisy was entrusted to leave their child to her for special reasons.

"But I wanna see my mom! My dad!" Maxon rebelled and his eyes were wet.

"Now, now. Don't cry, they surely will be fine." She comforted him.

"Wahhh!!" Samantha's dad, David held his arms and pulled him onto his back.

David's back was wet from Maxon's crying. Samantha glanced at Maxon and was worried. Oliver's dad, Ivan whispered at David. "Our final task is to bring them there safety. We should not be worried about them. Knowing them, they are always sure to be fine, right?

"I know, but there are only twenty of them. The other side has hundreds of trained men, armed at that. How can that be possible?" David rudely retorted.

Ivan was silent for a long time, as he shared the same sentiment. They may have a chance to escape into the forest, but if those armed men are stationed around the village, it's near impossible to escape unscathed.

Maxon, behind David, was sleeping peacefully. His innocent face lacks worries in contrast to the earlier moments. All of them will have a tough and arduous journey ahead, only for a matter of time.