Awaken

A day had passed and the sun rose. They have set camps before the mountain. The loud noise from the yesterdays are so peaceful today, it figures all of them are sleeping.

It was still dawn, and movements near the camp rustled. The silhouettes in the forest were in a hurry although they were heavily injured, if there are people who saw them, they would run away terrified because their bodies were filled with blood.

"Will they be alright?"

"I guarantee they will, one of them is my student alright."

"What about him?"

"Let's see when the time comes."

"I hope he won't disappoint us." The silhouette then followed.

The two of them jumped to the other side of the forest, opposite of the direction where the camp with Maxon had set and lived temporarily. The other people behind them followed, like inconspicuous shadows.

The other side of the forest revealed a silent and dark camp. It had small buildings and concrete houses. The strange thing here is that this location is not recorded in local maps. Only a hundreds of settlers live here. All of them are divided into three groups: Traders, mercenaries, and soldiers.

**

The sun rose above the mountain. Morning came and flashed amongst the people in camp. Most people woke up and did their things. The town chief assigned people to hunt animals for food. Those people are experienced hunters who have hunted animals years even before the village's destruction. The women tend for their home, and cooked the animals hunted recently in the wild.

It was 10 in the morning when Maxon woke up. He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and and a weird wall made of fabric. He lied on the mattress and his back aches from the lack of comfort. He heard loud noises outside, far more louder than an ordinary day in the village. He then was awoken from his stupor and yelled.

"Mom! Dad! I'm awake now." He maybe had a messy memory of what happened yesterday, but knew that his parents can do the best for him, even for unusual times.

But what happened next surprised him greatly. The zippers opened but it wasn't his mom or dad who entered. It was instead Samantha's mother, Daisy.

"Little guy, you have woken up." Daisy flashed a smile before him.

"Auntie, where is my mom?" Maxon's eyes opened wide and slightly tilted his neck, an action showing that he is confused.

Daisy was patient and explained to him well. "Your mother has a very important work to do, same goes for your father." Maxon eyes dimmed as he was saddened that his parents aren't here to be with him.

"Really..." Maxon spoke in a light voice, until his voice turned very soft and became inaudible.

Seeing Maxon being downcast, Daisy sighed. "They will be back soon, don't worry, little guy."

Hearing this, Maxon's eyes became brighter once again. "Really? Do you know when?"

Daisy's eyes almost turned wet when she saw the expectation in his eyes. She wants Maxon to be happy not only for his sake but also for his parents. "They said its one month at best. We can't visit them right now since they have important business. Having you there only spells trouble."

Maxon's emotions have recently been in a roller coaster lately. He went from happy, then sad, and vice versa. But this time, he somehow mustered his courage and said in resolve. "Ok, I will wait for them."

Daisy's smile was brilliant but forced at the same time. She is not a person who tell lies to anyone especially to the son of her acquaintance, but she felt that lying is the best to comfort him. Telling the naked truth hurts more than a beautiful lie.

She then looked at the watch on her hand and figured it was time for breakfast. She kindly told him. "Let's go now, little guy. Eat with us."

"Okay."

Maxon nodded his head as a sign to say yes. He then stood up together with Daisy and followed her outside the tent. In which he saw wooden chairs and table.

He felt an urge to ask what they are doing, even as to go as far as camping with the town's people at that. "Why are we here?" So he asked.

"All of us are going to live in an another place, a fantastic place with large buildings and many amazing things to see." Daisy patiently explained to him.

Maxon's curiosity was piqued to the max, he looked forward for his future experiences in the 'fantastic place' she was talking about. "Wow really? Is the place fun to go as well?"

Daisy smiled before his questions. She then told him to sit down, and he followed.

A minute later, Samantha and his father, David, came to them with a bunch of food and plates with utensils. They prepared and readied the meals.

All of them sat down and said, "Let's dine in!"

In the middle of the breakfast, Maxon asked questions to the person beside her, Samantha. Even while eating.

"What were you doing earlier, Samantha?" Maxon asked with his mouth full.

"I was helping my father cook our food." Samantha spoke with her mouth full as well.

Her mother waited for them to end their conversation and retorted them. "Watch your manners, kids." Both of the kids swallowed their food in their mouth.

"But mom, he talked first."

"No, I swear I didn't have anything in my mouth earlier."

"You liar. I saw you talking with your mouth full."

"No U."

Maxon, Samantha and her parents happily ended the meal with all of their tummies full. Samantha teased, "Was my cooking good?"

"Yes, but I think your dad made the whole food." Maxon joked--although it's actually all true.

"How dare you. Dad, I helped right?" Samantha was angry and her face produced smokes out of nowhere, she turned to her father and nodded forcefully. She then gave a proud expression to Maxon and made a face expressing "I made the food taste good, alright."

Samantha then changed the subject spoke what's in her head for sometime now. "Oh by the way, our friends are waiting for us. Do you want to meet them with me?"

Maxon was ecstatic and showed an innocent smile, "Sure, let's go."