They put handcuffs on her
The fish wasn't too bad. They cooked it on a fire that was in the middle of the interior of the hut.
"My father taught me to fish," said Nahuel, as he took a bite, "at first I thought it was super, super boring, but then I understood that the point of fishing is relaxation. Only when I understood that you have to be patient, was when I understood how to fish. You understand me?"
Yaima nodded, chewing on the toasted meat of the fish.
"My father wanted me to play any sport," continued the boy, "didn't matter which. At first, I thought I'd get on the basketball team, you know, because I'm tall and stuff, but I ended up choosing the taekwondo team. And you will ask yourself, why I chose taekwondo."
The truth is that Yaima was indeed wondering, but because of her stutter...
"I suffered bullying," Nahuel confessed bluntly, "so I thought that… if I practiced any martial art, they would leave me alone."
Yaima looked at him as if asking him if it had been useful to learn taekwondo.
"Yes, it did help," Nahuel said as if he could read her mind. He continued to chew on his fish.
He talked a lot, unlike her, who could barely get a sentence out without stumbling over words. That made her feel calm, with him there would be no awkward silences.
"H…how?" She tried to speak Yaima, "h…how did you…?"
"How did I do the rock thing?" Nahuel completed. Yaima breathed easily because he was able to finish the sentence.
She nodded.
"Oh, I think it's time to explain everything to you," said Nahuel, taking out a small pendant from his pocket, it was like a key ring, with an orange sphere, "it was thanks to this. It's called Treasure. If you are a marked one like me, you must have one too."
'Huh?'
"Check your pockets," the boy instructed.
She felt her skirt and… felt something round and small.
'It just can't be…'
She took out of her pocket the same thing that Nahuel was holding between his fingers, only hers had a blue sphere.
"Wow, it looks like you have water powers," Nahuel commented, "you must also have a mark somewhere on your body. That indicates that you were chosen. That's why they call us 'marked ones'."
Yaima checked her skin, and found a mark, on her chest. It had the symbol of a drop of water.
"You see?" Nahuel said, chewing, "You're marked like me."
"How? H…how do you know this?" She managed to articulate.
"In this Treasure dwells something called 'System'. That's what it's called, don't ask why. It is like a kind of consciousness that lives there. Or is it like an artificial intelligence? It's not very clear to me. He explained everything to me. Well, I call him 'he', even though I think he has no gender. The System explained to me that we, the marked ones, were chosen by these supernatural beings, like gods, called eons, to fulfill a mission. It was the eons that brought us into this world. We must fulfill this mission. If we succeed, everything we want will be ours."
'Everything I want?' Yaima thought of her parents… in the fire… screaming for help.
She shook her head at her, chasing away those memories.
"In order to accomplish the mission," Nahuel continued, "we were given elemental powers. Those powers are stored in our Treasures. Mine are earth powers. And from the color of yours, it looks like your powers are based on water."
"And… who? Wha…Who were the…soldiers?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure," the boy replied, "I just know that they're humans from cities that are part of a federation or something, and they really, really hate the marked ones. They are like our enemies, they will do their best to capture us, so… when you see them, there are two options: fight or flee."
Yaima lowered her head.
"Why…why?"
"Why were we chosen by the eons?" It was as if Nahuel could guess what she meant.
She nodded.
He shrugged.
"No idea. The System doesn't know either. He just told me that we have to accomplish the mission."
"And... if... what if we don't… acco-acco…accomplish?" Yaima asked in a shy voice.
Nahuel's face darkened.
"I… I don't want to say. It's better that you don't know either. Just know that it's not a good thing. Our only option is to fulfill our mission: liberate the shrines of this world."
She nodded slowly.
"The System told me that I would have partners on this mission. That I wouldn't be alone. I've been waiting for a long time. And you finally arrived," he said excitedly, "now we can go together to the first shrine, in a city called Kamsara."
"I... don't... think... I can."
"Hey, don't say that," Nahuel tried to motivate her, "you have no idea how powerful you are. Wait till you see when you transform. It's super cool! I already managed to transform. That was how I defeated a group of soldiers the other day. Although now I can't transform because I ran out of stamina. And according to what the System said, when we liberate a shrine we will become even more powerful."
"W-w-w-powerful?"
"Of course! We will be invincible!" Nahuel raised his fists.
Powerful? Yaima had never considered herself 'powerful', that was something of the heroes of the movies and books. She was a stuttering, orphaned, weak, crying girl...
"No...," she made an effort to speak, "no... is there no way... to... go back?"
"Back home? I wish! No, there is no other way, Yaima. We must fulfill this mission."
Yaima swallowed hard. How was she going to accomplish that mission? Her hands were shaking.
Nahuel put her hands on top of hers.
"Hey, don't worry," he said, with a twinkle in her eyes, "you won't be alone."
She felt a soft, comfortable warmth on her chest.
After eating, Yaima tried to take a nap, but she couldn't. She tossed and turned on the damp sole floor of the hut, yet she couldn't fall asleep. Too many things on her mind.
She took out the Treasure and looked at it.
'Did he just talk to me?'
She did not say anything.
< Do you accept the power of the eon? >
Yama didn't reply. Should she answer yes?
She wanted to ask Nahuel, but he went out to get more food for dinner and water.
< Do you accept the power of the eon?> The System asked again.
Yama was silent.
< What does your heart desire the most? >
'What my heart desires the most?'
Yaima! Help!" She heard Nahuel call her name.
She got up quickly and left the hut. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when she saw that she was surrounded by those Federation soldiers.
"Halt!" one of them yelled.
Nahuel lunged at the man, kicking him in the face. The soldier fell facedown, groaning in pain. The other soldiers threw themselves at Nahuel, but the boy moved with great skill. He evaded them and countered with kicks and punches.
He was indeed an expert in martial arts.
Nahuel tried to throw a rock, but it just shook without getting off the ground.
"Damn," the boy lamented, "I don't have any more stamina left."
A soldier hit Nahuel in the stomach with the blunt end of the spear. The boy bent his knees. He was an expert in martial arts, but the soldiers were in the majority, they had armor, and he couldn't hold them off forever.
"Yaima! Help!" the boy yelled.
But she was paralyzed with fear. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know how to fight. She was weak.
Nahuel tried to flee.
"Run!" He yelled at her.
But… Fush! A strong wind current destabilized her. A flicker and a light, like a spark, and a man brandished a sword. He almost cut Nahuel's neck, the blade was a few centimeters from the boy's Adam's apple.
"Don't move," the man warned.
He was young, in his twenties. His face was delicate and his lips were thin and pink. Yaima thought that he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He had long, straight, shiny, silky hair.
But what surprised her the most, was that the man was not wearing clothes, he wasn't even wearing skin, it was as if his muscles, as if his whole being was made of metal (except for his beautiful face). ). Yaima thought he looked like a cyborg from those sci-fi movies.
He carried two swords, one in each hand. And one of them was dangerously close to Nahuel's neck.
"You're an embarrassment to the Federation," the swordsman scolded the soldiers, "didn't you manage a child? He's not even transformed."
"Yaima!" Nahuel shouted, "You are our hope! Transform!"
The man looked over her shoulder, and his eyes found Yaima.
< user? Do you accept the power of the eon?> The Treasure of her spoke.
"Say yes!" Nahuel exclaimed urgently.
< User? Do you accept the power of the eon>
She was shaking. She wanted to say yes.
'Yes Yes Yes.'
But from her mouth, only moans of pain came out, as if it hurt her to pronounce a single word.
"Go get the girl!" the swordsman yelled.
The soldiers jumped on her.
'Why? Why can't I answer?'
She remembered that night… her parents in the fire…
"Ask for help!" Her father's voice echoed in her mind, "Call for help!"
She froze. A soldier pinned her to the ground.
He put handcuffs on her.