The Versati were worshipped as Gods. Noone dared to challenge their rule exept for one race, the Ismarels. Unable to control them, the Gods cursed them making it impossible to use any form of violence. Centuries later the descendants of the great wa...
Using the wooden fence for support the boy carefully attempted to put some pressure on his injured leg to check its condition. Since he didn't feel pain he transferred more of his weight and took a hesitant step. He took a couple more and realised that, other than a small pinch, it seemed to be in perfect condition. It could have been the mud that helped or, maybe, the injury wasn't that serious to begin with, he thought. The important thing was that he could now run.
The night had passed very slowly since his growling stomach made it hard to fall asleep but, at least for now, he had some protection. He only had to reach the table before the last packs run out.
When the door opened the Elites were the first to leave the pen followed by the Grabbers. The Keepers didn't try to stop them and didn't waste energy trying to compete with them but no one else dared to go past them.
As the bulky kid was exiting the pen, he nodded slightly towards the boy. Most of the others tried to keep up but the hunger had already started taking its toll. A few of the kids were even walking instead of running.
The boy easily went around them. The next people on his way were the aggressive ones including a large group of Bullies. This was tricky since some of them tried to grab him, trip him or even punch him to stop his pace. Many hands appeared in front of him, ready to block him.
For some reason this reminded him of the times he was running through the thick forest with Aston, trying to avoid the branches, roots and bushes full of thorns. When they were younger they were constantly tripping and getting hit in the face by the many obstacles. After the countless times they played in those woods, they could react instantly to anything that stood in their way. By the time he was taken from his family they could run at almost the same speed as when they were on the road.
After the event on the first day, he was on guard, so, when an elbow was about to land in his face, he quickly tilted his head and felt the air brush his cheek as he barely avoided it. With the corner of his eye he noticed a sudden movement and jumped at the last second over the leg that was about to trip him. A hand grabbed his shoulder and he forcefully pulled away. From the burning sensation he knew that his arm was full of scratches but they weren't any worse than the thorns in the forest so he just ignored them.
Another kid tried to tackle him and as he saw his body leaping towards him, he immediately jumped to the right. He tightened his teeth as he felt an intense pinch form his ankle but kept running. With the corner of his eyes he saw the tackler dropping on the place where he previously was. It wasn't smart to fall down during the race since those that were on his tail tripped over the kid that fell creating a pile of screams. This allowed him to quickly avoid the last couple of aggressive kids before they recovered and sprinted away. Soon enough he was too far for them to bother him further.
He kept running until he reached the back row of the Keeper's group. There were a few other kids close by, but they didn't pay any mind to the boy, since any interruption would cause them to fall behind. They all kept some distance from the Keepers and tried to preserve energy for the final rush.
As the long table still filled with food packs appeared in their line of sight, the Keepers spread out completely filling the gaps of their formation. Discreetly the boy changed his direction towards the group of the bulky kid and remained just two steps behind, almost running amongst them. No one else tried to get that close and the moment the Keepers took their food packs, the boy sprinted, grabbed two packs and disappeared into the crowd.
He had just started eating happily when a group of kids stood before him. Amongst them was the kid that had almost broken his leg three days ago.
"Give me this" the Bully demanded pointing at the food.
The boy glared at him but unconsciously he also stepped back.
'If someone threatens you, step away' his father always instructed him. This was their way of life. It felt strange having to hold his ground and to not submit immediately. "You almost broke my leg and now you want my food? I'm not giving you anything" he said but his voice was trembling and the bully barely heard it.
"Maybe you want some beating first" the bully took a step forward and clenched his fists but, before he got a chance to attack, someone grabbed his shoulder.
"The same goes for you, buddy" the bulky kid said menacingly. Behind him a few others surrounded the Bully's group.
The Bully looked around him startled and then cursed and backed away. Without exchanging any words, the boy threw the extra pack at the bulky kid, which he caught in the air, nodded and walked away. Noone bothered him for the rest of the day.
Ups! Tento obrázek porušuje naše pokyny k obsahu. Před publikováním ho, prosím, buď odstraň, nebo nahraď jiným.
