tap tap... tap tap...

  I woke up to the sound of the basement door knocking. It was weird. From the moment I have been in this basement to gain my swirl and ability, food arrives like clockwork. No sounds, no knocking. Then why is there knocking today? Did Leo sneak into the basement? Guess I should open it.

  I opened the basement slit. Before I could react, a plate was pushed through. It had a cake on it with my name written in cursive, "Alyss Moreau." It was in blue and pink colored flowers, followed by the date, "2045 Month Of Selune 3rd." My face lit up instantly. Today was none other than my birthday, and I turned nine, so I had been here for six months, and today must be the 3rd month of Selune, 2054, which means sooner or later I will be let out of this cramped basement.

  I lifted up my shirt. Still no swirls. Well, that sucks. I turned nine, but why don't I still have any? Guess I am a legendary hero after all. I took a bite of the cake. It tasted amazing. It was one of the best I ever had. Wait… can I eat all of it? Mom usually gives me a slice, and this is in a circular shape, so will I get a beating if I eat it all in one go? Maybe I should store it and eat it tomorrow. Right, I should store it. Right as I turned, I saw a line of ants crawling. Guess storing is a bad option, so eating it is the best case, or it will be eaten by those ants. Will say sorry to Mom later.

  It took me a while to finish the cake. I always thought I could eat an entire cake, but little did I know eating a cake was this difficult.

  ~burp~

  I feel like throwing up. I should get back to sleep. I lay down on the makeshift mattress, the pitch-black room illuminated by the small bulb. Sooner or later Mom and Dad will open the door, and I can escape. And before I knew it, I dozed off.

  *****

  thud!thud!thud!

  What time is it? What's that sound?

  I woke up and saw the line of ants still crawling, the sound continuing.

  thud! thud! thud!

  What is happening upstairs? It feels like it is night. Are they preparing something for my return from the basement? It's so loud. Feels like someone is moving heavy furniture above.

  Right as I turned around, something broke through the ceiling of the basement and went past me way faster than I could react and pierced through the flooring, leaving a gaping hole with a ray of light falling through from the ceiling.

  crack!

  Gosh, what was that? I stumbled, momentarily shocked. And what was that sound? It sounded like a gun. What is happening? "Mom, Dad," I shouted from the slit, and I heard muffled yelling.

  AAAHHH!!!

  It sounded like my mom's and my dad's voices joined right after.

  "Please stop it. I swear he isn't here my son has run away. Please stop it."

  I could hear dragging sounds, Leo crying,my mom whimpering, and sounds of heavy boots walking right above the basement, along with a hoarse voice.

  "You think I am daft to believe in your feeble lies."

  "Sir, we are telling the truth; our son has run off."

  "Look at your nerve expecting me to believe a nine-year-old frail boy could possibly run away."

  "..."

  "And even if he did, he would have died and been eaten by strays right now."

  I could hear my mom shriek, shouting and weeping, begging them to stop, but the guy with the hoarse voice continued.

  "Corporals, I give you the command to fire."

  As soon as his words left his mouth, I saw right before my eyes lots of bullets raining from the ceiling, leaving loads and loads of sawdust. The sound was loud and deafening, and thank goodness I was near the slit because the bullets barely went past me.

  crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!crack!

  I panted. I could hear my own heartbeat. What is happening upstairs? Before I could think any longer, there was a huge crashing sound above. I started to bang at the door in fear and panic.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  "Mom, Dad, what is happening? I am scared."

  I started to cry out of fear. I could hear Leo crying too, my dad shouting, and my mom whimpering. The sound of the loud boots stomping could deafen my ear at any moment. I continued to cry, yelled in fear.

  "MOM, DAD, LET ME OUT. WHAT IS HAPPENING? I AM SCARED. DON'T DO THIS TO ME. PLEASE LET ME OUT, MOM."

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  I didn't know how long I was crying for help, but soon enough the place went dead silent. No sound from the boots or my mom and dad, just the faint cry of Leo. I looked around; the place full of sawdust made me cough, yet I still called for help, which caused more trouble than help.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  I could hear footsteps coming towards me. I listened quietly, wiping my tears. The footsteps didn't sound like Mom or Dad. It was quite different and menacing. I felt an immense fear for the first time in my life. I never felt anything like that. Suddenly, as I was listening to the footsteps, I could hear someone running and yelling. The voice sounded like my mom when she was sick, and there were lots of grunts in multiple voices, most of them authoritative and harsh. And I heard my mom's cry.

  "Please leave him, my son will soon develop a swirl. Please don't kill him."

  My dad also joined the commotion, which made the guy with the hoarse voice yell at him.

  "Stop dragging my feet, you b*stards. Rules are the rules. No buts in it. Your son is a sinner, and we have to hand him over to the ministry. It will be the best for you and him."

  My mom cried, echoed, and the sound of walking continued.

  "Please, sir, I beg you, don't harm him. Please don't use him as some experiment. I will offer myself to you. Please cast a blind eye, sir you can have me, just don't touch my son."

  "Do you really think I would turn a blind eye because of your carnal offer, you wh*re? And even if I did, it won't be with a lowlife, hearth sc*m like you. We got standards, unlike you and your useless husband."

  "Please, sir, just listen to me. I will offer everything we have just don't take him away. Please, sir, just this one time. He will soon develop a swirl."

  "You've got nothing to offer to me, you filthy fagg*t. The only thing you could offer is being a mere wh*re for these corporals, though they are quite disciplined to indulge in carnal debauchery with you."

  As I heard the last word, I could grasp bits of it. Something was wrong, and since I am nine and I still have no swirl, they are taking me away, probably to execute me. Panic started to fall on me. I should stay calm, right? I should stay calm. Mom and Dad are there. They will take care of it. I am fine. I should be calm. Do not panic.

  KRAK!

  A small crack formed on the door, a ray of light shining through it.

  Boom!

  The door exploded, the shards blasting away, cutting bits of my skin. I saw my mom in her frenzy state, her amber eyes, her hair all disheveled, and her navel glowing with nineteen swirls. My mom pulled me closer and pushed me and yelled at me to run. Two guards in silver were dragging her, my mom was resisting them, and my dad pushed them off. Leo at the other end was crying. The hoarse voice, the same guy my mom spoke to the day I was shut in the basement, his crimson eyes glaring at me with anger as he slipped due to my dad's advances, yelled,

  "There is that little pr*ck catch that son of a b*tch."

  I ran. Due to my small appearance and my parent's interference, I could slip out of their grips with ease. The house immediately was in a frenzy. The guy with the hoarse voice yelled,

  "Catch that little pr*ck, you useless pieces of sh*t. Is the ministry paying y'all asses for this horsesh*t?"

  Right before I ran out, I looked at her face. It was my mom. Her face was quite odd, not angry, not sad. I couldn't grasp it at that moment, but it looked like she felt relieved.

  *****

  I didn't know how long I ran, but I ran, ran, and ran. I was crying. I don't know what to do. What happened to Mom and Dad? Are they okay? What about Leo? Thousands of questions flooded my mind. But I knew one thing. I should just keep running. Something bad is happening, but Mom and Dad will help. If not, I will ask the twelve Luminaries. They are gods, aren't they? They will protect me. I will even pray wholeheartedly to Noctis.

  pant! pant! pant!

  I stood in an alleyway miles away from Block A Street. It started to rain.

  Ouch, ouch, ouch.

  The boiling water from the sky was so hot that my hands were burning from the droplets. In Kingdom Everheat, rain comes once in a while, but it will be burning hot. We have to wear those special suits, but now all I have is ragged clothes. I saw an empty bin. It was pretty dirty and disgusting, but that was the only thing that could protect me from this boiling hot water. I hopped into the bin. The disgusting smell almost made me puke. The stickiness and filth were indescribable, yet I was in no position to complain, and I partially shut the lid. I should just wait.

  *****

  I waited for a whole night. I was hungry. Maybe I should go back and check what happened, but should I? Mom said, "Don't come back."

  Klang!!!

  The trash can lid was pulled over, and I saw an old man wearing an orange suit.

  Oh no, it is the cleaner. They caught me. The old guy had gray hair with dark brown eyes and said in a frail tone,

  "Son, what are you doing in here? Inside a trash can?"

  "Uh, mh, I."

  "Don't you have a home to go to? Where are your parents?"

  I hesitated. What should I say to this guy? That there are officers out there searching for me and I am hiding?

  "Son, you look hungry; want to eat something?"

  "Umm, no, I am fine."

  I got out of the trash can, moving away.

  grrrllll~~

  My stomach grumbled. The guy held my shoulders with a warming smile.

  "You really are hungry, son. Have some food; I got plenty."

  "No, it is alright, sir."

  "Ashamed to eat with a cleaner like me? Everybody is, but I must say in your current condition you don't have that luxury, so come on, have some."

  "No, it isn't like that. I am not hungry."

  grrrllll~~

  "Well, I will have some because you insist."

  We sat down near the wet pavement. The old man gave me his sandwich, which was surprisingly good.

  "This tastes good. Did you make it, sir?"

  "Oh no haha, my daughter made it for me."

  "Oh, it's delicious."

  "I will pass it to her."

  "..."

  "Did you run away from your house?"

  My face distorted. How am I going to answer him? I can't tell him I escaped an execution.

  "No need to spell it out, I can see it."

  "..."

  "What are you,son?"

  "Are you going to swat me away if I am a blight?"

  "Who knows, I might."

  Elian was right. For my condition, there should be a new caste for me, the swirless caste, but I can't tell that to this man. He probably will hand me over to those officers.

  "I am a hearth."

  "Oh, a hearth? I myself am a grime."

  My heart dropped. What a grime? Why did I eat his sandwich? I shouldn't even sit next to this sinner. Should I spit it out? But my hunger took over me, and I continued eating the sandwich.

  "Not going to move away from me? I am lower than you."

  "You said it yourself I don't have that luxury."

  "When will you return home, son? Kids like you shouldn't stay in the street. If you got in an argument with your parents, talk it out. I always had tons of arguments and ran away, but my parents accepted me with open arms, though they will whack me later," he laughed.

  "I don't know when I will go back, probably never."

  Reality probably sank in at that time. I knew for a fact there is no going back since I have no idea what happened to Mom, Dad, and Leo.

  "Don't say that, son. You will regret it."

  I finished eating the sandwich, wiping the crumbs off.

  "Take my coat you would need it. We are getting a lot of rain frequently."

  He handed me the coat. It was pretty big, almost big enough to cover me. The green coat was not even a tad bit comfortable but better than this ragged one.

  "Thank you, sir."

  "Don't mention it, son. I just did what I had to; I can't let another kid go down the drain like me."

  "I will leave then. Thank you once again."

  The old guy waved back as I exited the alleyway to the main street, and a boy around sixteen passed me, throwing a newspaper to doorsteps. The headline in bold letters,

  "Mr. Theo Moreau and Mrs. Lina Moreau are scheduled executed tomorrow at the Golden Estate Bishop's Chambers for the crime of aiding and abetting Alyss Moreau, the. Tomorrow, at 19:00 2054 Month Selune 6th."