Moving to the Forest

The man waited for some kind of acknowledgement and received nothing. "Even after being a cripple you're still shameless!" the man groaned inwardly.

Jacob said nothing because he was not the person he was waiting for. "Is there something that my grandfather is doing?".

Kane sat with Jacob, he then waited a long time before responding "If you're here to curse your grandfather because he didn't support your family. I suggest you forget it. The patriarch doesn't need to explain himself"

"So I guess it's normal for him to watch his grandson get crippled, I forgot everything was so upside down in this family or was it because you blame my father for my mother's disappearance, does he hold a grudge against me?"

"Enough nonsense! Don't bad mouth the patriarch" Kane blew down and continued "You never came here before, Only when you were in trouble. It doesn't make you any better."

Kane was acting as if he was superior to Jacob now.

He started to look through his documents and said "Patriarch feels for your predicament but he forbids you from living here, he doesn't want to start a needless conflict with the Urcens. All I can suggest is living off-grid and live your best life"

"So you're telling me to go into the woods and die alone?" Jacob coldly rebutted.

"Do you want the patriarch to take on the Urcens for you? It's not our fault that you offended someone and can't deal with the consequences" Kane spoke.

Jacob chuckled "You guys knew didn't you?"

"You're starting to talk nonsense, what are you talking about?" Kane returned.

"You guys knew what was going to happen to the Shepherd family and did nothing, does seeing me like this make your Patriarch feel accomplished? Was he afraid of me?" Jacob found it sad they changed in attitude, he never witnessed people acting as shamelessly as his grandfather.

"Patriarch says that you can occupy our forest and we will do our best to protect you".

He then went on to say "This is all we can do?"

"So what, I just stay in your neck of the woods?" Jacob looked at him coldly, he then passed him a piece of paper, which was a map.

The man said nothing but Jacob knew what it was, the man had a face of sheer arrogance.

"Families are more dangerous than my enemies" Jacob stood up from his seat and walked away, the guard at the door gave him odd looks. Especially the male, he looked like he had one, she never addressed him as he left.

"You wouldn't stop until you were really crippled" Jacob walked outside and was greeted by a snarky comment. It was one of his cousins, he looked like he was listening from afar.

He leaned on a pillar with a smug look on his face. He was taller than Jacob and older, his hair was red, which was the norm for most people in the Maynard family.

Jacob ignored him and just grunted, he had no time for foolishness. "How can you still be so arrogant!." He ran and kicked Jacob in his back, he sent him flying across the floor. He went over to stand above Jacob, hoping to see the shock on his face.

Jacob was coughing blood from the kick "Nice to meet you too, Timo". Jacob got up and made to walk away again, this made his cousin even worse and he started shouting, "Do you think you get to act like this? You're a cripple. You are not the grandfather's strongest grandson anymore, How does it feel?! You're nothing now, everyone with a Gene foundation can kill you, Tell me! "

Timo waited for an answer but Joey just sat blood on his face, Jacob never wanted him to feel like he won. He raised his arm to punch him but someone grabbed him "Timo, It is below you". The person was a girl, Jacob didn't really know who she was, but she got Timo to stop his fit.

She looked at Jacob and introduced herself "I am Ciana Maynard, we're cousins". Jacob smacked her hands, he didn't care for any of it. This made Timo angry when she calmed him again.

"I didn't cause any of this, but taking that we are related you can have this" She handed Jacob a long knife. It was a Super Rare long knife, there was no denying its authenticity but Jacob smacked Ciana's hand. He disregarded her offer and left.

Timo and Ciana looked at him callously as he walked away, "Tina, why did you save that idiot? Do you forget how he threw away our family?" Timo looked at Ciana with anger.

Ciana ignored him then said "He has done nothing to you, You just hate him because everything else does", she looked at Jacob limping through the gate and feel somewhat sad, He was the strongest at his age for a long time, now he was limping, not sure if he would live to see tomorrow.

"How the mighty have fallen", She sighed.

Jacob walked out of the Maynard property and threw away the map out of annoyance for their changed attitudes. He charged off into a forest, he fed up with them all. He no longer had a place in society.

He walked through the thick crenonian forest toward the deepest places where he would never be found, Jacob walked until he developed calluses in his undeveloped legs. He walked for hours until the sun started to set. He felt like this was far enough, no one would find him.

He walked into an eerie cold cave that dripped periodically with water from the stalactite hanging from the ceiling. He tied together leaves and used them for bedding for the night. Jacob still had more time to think to himself, before he slept.

"Should I try and find some way to regain my gene foundation?... Even then my gene foundation will have no potential, is there a way to get stronger without gene potential?" As he was thinking with his head in his hands, he heard some footsteps coming from the outer part of the cave, it took him a while to hear it properly but when he finally did he reacted quickly.

His eyes widened.