"Hey! You were supposed to be here half an hour ago!" Kane grumbled in annoyance and mild anger as he glared at the fellow guard. A sturdy man, a head taller than Kane.
"Sorry, man. I—I was just helping an old lady on the way!" He mumbled, adjusting his pants.
Kane's eyes narrowed, his fists clenching. 'Do I look like I'm blind?!'
He could clearly see the lip marks on the man's neck; surely, no old grandma in the village would give a kiss on the neck for helping! "Did the old woman kiss—"
He was going to point it out, but
"Darling! You forgot your spear!"
It was a woman; her hair was in disarray and her clothes messy. It seemed to be put on in a hurry. She dragged a long spear behind her, similar to what Kane held in his hand.
"H-Haha," the man laughed nervously as he took a step back, glancing at Kane, who was giving him a death glare.
"Tsk! Whatever, I'll be an hour late! This is for coming late and ... having a woman!" Kane muttered irritably before he strode away into the dead forest.
The woman watched Kane's back in a daze, a little confused. "Darling, is that…?"
"Yes," the man nodded, a small smile of pity blooming, "He's a good guy… just a little lonely."
He then turned towards the woman, his sympathy turning to a smirk. "You know, for the next five hours, I'll be the only one guarding this post."
"Oh?" The woman raised an eyebrow, her eyes lighting up. "Then…"
…..
"Hah! Even that guy got himself a woman! When will I ever get one!" He exclaimed out loud, his frustrations echoing around the dead trees.
He bit his inner lips as he cursed his fate, each step louder and snappier as twigs broke beneath his feet.
'I'm already twenty-two moon cycles old! Everyone else has a partner, except me!' He mumbled inwardly as the village walls disappeared into the horizon.
But Kane walked confidently, his body moving on his own. He has roamed this forest for years now. And no living creature called this place home, except for himself.
Reaching the end of the forest, he looked up into the night sky, a sigh escaping his lips while a cool breeze brushed past him. Staring at the two large moons in the sky. One was a large red moon, darker than blood, and another, a smaller one, was bright yellow.
'Oh Mother…why am I alone in this world? Why was I abandoned in this village in the middle of nowhere…?' He asked in his mind, looking at the golden moon, his hands trembling as they clasped together.
He went onto his knees, his eyes moistening, "I don't want to be alone, Mother. Please don't abandon your child…don't let me die, alone."
But silence was his answer.
"Haha," Kane let out a defeated laugh, "What was I thinking…?" He mumbled as he fell on his back, the dried leaves cushioning his fall, "Why would a mother who abandoned her child listen to me…?"
Kane was an orphan. According to the villagers, he was found at the entrance in the middle of the night, crying.
He wasn't taken in by any family. With the village head's wife giving him goat milk until he was able to walk.
He was then taught to scavenge for berries and was left on his own. And that's how he made the dead forest his home.
He had a hut in the village, but he barely stayed there. He grew up listening to stories from the older generation about how the moons were goddesses protecting them.
And since he didn't have a family, he created one. The large red moon is his grandmother, and the bright yellow one, his mother.
The grandmas of the village also whispered about a third moon, but he couldn't find it in the night sky in all their years. So this third moon became his…
"Hm? What's that?" Kane mumbled suddenly as he fell out of his daze, his eyes focusing on the golden moon at the fringes.
It was a speck, a speck of blue light, shining brightly.
Kane narrowed his eyes, his brows creasing together as he slowly sat up. "Is it…growing?" He muttered out loud.
BADUMP
His heart thumped as he stared at the blue light, now as big as his little finger's nail.
Kane slowly rose to his feet, his hands trembling in trepidation; the blue light was now covering half the moon.
'...A meteor?' He wondered, dread creeping up in his heart. If it's a meteor, then he's in danger. The whole village is in danger.
He needs to warn them. He needs to escape and warm them!
But he never moved. The thought never entered his mind. His trembling stopped. His heart calmed down.
His eyes widened in fascination, yes, fascination, as he stared at the blue light, now covering the whole golden moon, growing to rival the red moon. "Mother…" he mumbled.
'I-It's beautiful…!' Kane exclaimed inwardly as his lips widened into a big smile, his whole body now illuminated in the bright blue light.
First him, then the forest, then the whole sky. The stars vanished and the moons disappeared in the blue light's shadow as it got bigger and bigger as it fell, and then,
BOOM
It fell on earth.
It was a powerful explosion that stumbled Kane a few feet back. A few dead trees fell from the shock wave, dried leaves thrown into the violent air as it pushed back Kane.
His ears rang, his vision blurry due to the bright light. Yet, he moved. No, his feet moved on their own. Towards the center of the explosion, a few kilometers from him.
His heart drummed against his chest, while his feet almost jumped as he ran as fast as he could. It was there. The answers for the questions he had. The solutions for the problems he had. He could feel it. No, he knew it!
Reaching the center of the explosion, Kane stood at the edge of a large crater, almost a hundred feet in diameter.
Everything around the crater was turned into rubble; the large stones that were littered around the area were now nothing but dust floating in the air.
The crater itself was blazing hot. Steam rose while a few spots glowed red. He could feel the heat searing his skin.
BADUMP
Yet, the man didn't care. His heart banged against his chest as he stared at the center of the crater, his chest heaving in astonishment, "N-No way!!" He was shocked.
After all, lying in the middle of the crater, perhaps sleeping peacefully…was a woman!