CRASH! "Oww!" Yelled Jack after Atlas ran into him. "Atlas how many times do I have to tell you not to run into me while playing tag?!"
"Sorry~." Atlas said in a sad tone.
"That sad stuff doesn't work on me! I know you!"
"Hehe. PBBBT!" Atlas blew a raspberry and then punched Jack, running away immediately after.
"Oww! That actually hurt!" Jack yelled as he ran after him.
Enzo then came out the side door. "Guys! Come inside... he's finally here!"
The boys looked over and stopped in their tracks. "Who?!" Jack asked.
"What do you mean who?! We talked about this like yesterday or the day before!"
"Oh! The other kid! He's here?! Come on Atlas, let's go!"
They went through the house, then out the front door, and they saw Soren at the gate helping bring down bags from a carriage they had never seen before.
"Heyyy~. That's not Marty!" Jack said.
"Well no shi-...I mean, no duh. Marty isn't going to go all the way to Flitchiton and back." Enzo replied.
They then saw a boy jump off the side of the carriage and fall face first into the ground. SMACK! The boy instantly got up, with dirt on his face, but he looked as if nothing happened and had a huge determined smile on his face. He went to Soren and began jumping up and down with his hands clasped together.
"Can I help?! Please?! Please?! Please!" The boy asked and begged. "If I help, we can finish faster!"
"There's only two bags~. You didn't even pack much." Soren responded. "I got it. Don't worry."
"Oh ok!" The boy said. He turned and saw Atlas, Jack and Enzo watching from the front porch. He decided to run down to them. "Hi guys! My name's Knox!" He said excitedly.
"Hello Knox. I'm Enzo, this is Jack and Atlas." Enzo said.
Atlas was nervous and stepped behind Jack to hide himself.
"Nice to meet you guys!" Knox said with his attention to Jack and Atlas. "Ah he seems shy." He said about Atlas. "Nothing to fear, I swear! I'm nice~." He then also went around Jack to get to Atlas. Atlas avoided him and they were now going in circles.
"AHH!" Yelled Atlas.
"Hey Knox!" Soren called as he walked down with the bags. "Come inside, let me show you to your room and then you can meet everyone here."
"Oh ok!" Knox replied.
Soren led them to the room where Atlas and Jack were staying. Enzo had left them and it was just the kids with Soren.
"Alright Knox, this is going to be your room that you share with Atlas and Jack. Choose your bed and then I'll put down your things." Soren said.
He went in and started jolting around the room. "Oooo~. This bed looks good!" Knox said, pointing to Jack's bed.
"Nope haha! That's my bed!" Jack said to him.
"Then this one looks good!" He said pointing to Atlas's bed.
"No no. Mine~." Atlas said.
"Dang! You guys took the good ones! I guess I'll get this one." Knox said, choosing the bed next to Atlas.
"Alright very well." Soren said as he put down the two bags next to Knox's new bed. "Now let's go down so that you can meet the other two."
They went down and Knox met Mercy and Elias. Mercy took a liking to the boy's energy, while Elias thought the kid was too energetic.
The next hour went by and they made Atlas and Jack show Knox around. After the tour Enzo found the boys and explained that he wanted to show them something.
"Look here guys." He said taking them to the back of the house. "This backyard will be where you guys will train for the years to come."
The backyard was huge. It had a huge circle field in the middle while the outline was a track made of dirt. The circle was about a mile in length. The backyard was surrounded by the forest and Enzo claimed that there was a river somewhere in there. For the most part that was it, and there was nothing special to it.
"Look here." Enzo said as he turned around. He then pointed to the back porch connected to the house. "This is my area and when you guys train I'll be sitting right here." He stated as he sat down on one of the chairs.
"So you're lazy~." Jack said.
"You're making jokes now but watch you be jealous when I'm sitting and you're running. HAHA!" Enzo replied.
"Haha. Lazy~." Atlas repeated.
"Why you little pieces of-!" Enzo yelled as he got up and chased the boys.
Knox just stood there. "Umm~. Wait! Enzo! So when do we start?"
Enzo stopped. "We can start soon. Like in a day or two."
"Yeah because he's too lazy to start today!" Jack yelled while still running. Enzo turned his head back to Jack and continued to chase. "AHH!"
The two days passed by and it was now their first day of training. Enzo and the boys were outside standing on the dirt track.
"Ugh! Why do we have to do this?!" Jack questioned.
"If you want to be an immortal, then you gotta train like one!" Enzo replied.
"I bet you didn't do this as a kid." Jack said.
"Yes you are correct! But it is more of an advantage to our country's future if you start early. Plus it's not going to be that hard. At Least for now. Hehe." Enzo then stepped off the track. "Now get in line. You guys are going to run the track. Just do it until you can't anymore, so I can see where you guys are at."
The boys then began to run. They all jolted.
"HAHA! You're falling behind Atlas~!" Jack jokingly said while being ahead of Atlas.
Atlas began running harder. "HMPH!" He said determined to pass Jack. He began sweating profusely and his tongue was now out of his mouth. He was huffing and puffing and then... THUD! Atlas fell to the ground. "OWW! I too tired~."
"You okay?!" Yelled Jack in concern.
"Mhm! Keep go! Run Jack, run!" Atlas responded.
Enzo walked over to Atlas. "Atlas... you didn't even make it a quarter way through~."
"Oops~. Hehe."
Poor Atlas. Wait, where's Knox! Jack thought. He looked up and saw that Knox was more than a quarter ahead of him. Damn! Gotta Hurry!
THUD! Jack had now also hit the floor.
"Wow. At Least you made it more than halfway through." Enzo said as he walked up to Jack.
They were now just waiting on Knox to finish. Enzo was seated on one of the chairs that he brought out next to the track, while Jack and Atlas were sitting on the grass.
"Nice one! Two and a half laps!" Enzo said after Knox stopped.
Knox walked up to them. "How about that?! I did good right?"
"Well unlike these other two, you've actually got a good starting point! Haha!" Enzo said.
"We just didn't try! Right Atlas?" Jack stated. Atlas nodded aggressively.
"Even if you did, I believe that you guys wouldn't make it ten more steps!"
Jack bent over to whisper in Atlas's ear. "You think if there were twelve of us, we'd be able to take him out?"
"No." Atlas responded coldly.
"Fair enough."
"Now it's time for some other exercises!" Enzo said.
The training went on for about another two hours. They did some more running, some push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and other types of workouts. By the end of it, Atlas and Jack were completely exhausted and even Knox felt tired. Before heading inside to get some rest, Enzo stood in front of the boys. Atlas and Jack had their hands on their knees, while Knox was standing up straight paying full attention.
"Good job guys. This is how it's going to be for the first two to three years, then it'll get harder. Obviously after a couple weeks your body will become more adjusted to this so I'll make it a little harder but nothing too crazy..." Enzo said. He then turned to Atlas. "And Atlas, we need a way to keep that tongue in your mouth. Nobody wants to see that."
Atlas looked up with an angry expression. "PBBBT! Not nice~." He said.
"I was just joking... kinda~." Enzo replied. "Well, you guys are free to go!"
Two days passed and the boys were told that they would only train twice a week. Jack and Atlas seemed excited about it, while Knox wanted more training. Enzo explained that they were still kids and that overdoing it might hurt instead of help.
The day after their second training, the boys were on break and they were relaxing in the living room. KNOCK! KNOCK! The front door was suddenly knocked on.
"I'll get it!" Yelled Soren to everyone. He then went to the front and opened the door. Finally, he walked into the living room and following him were B and Aurora. "Look guys, their back!"
"Why are you so energetic right now Soren?" Aurora asked. She then looked at one of the couches and saw Knox laying down. "Wow now we definitely are an orphanage~."
Knox sprung up and immediately went to greet them. "Hi! My name's Knox!" He said. He then shook B's hand first. "I know that you're B," then he turned to Aurora, "and you're Rora!"
"Is that so~?" Aurora asked suspiciously.
"Yup!" Knox responded.
"And who told you that~?" She continued.
"Oh! Enzo did!" Knox said excitedly.
"Nice to meet you child. Call me Aurora." She then began to walk out the room. "Don't worry guys, I'll be riiiiight back~."
"So Knox, how do you like it so far?" B asked Knox.
"This is awesome! This is the best opportunity ever! I have a chance to-"
"I'm sorry!" Enzo yelled from upstairs. "It was just a joke~!"
"How's that taste!" Aurora yelled.
"MMPPHH!" Enzo exclaimed, struggling.
"Wait, why does she hate that name?" Jack asked.
"Long story kid." Soren responded. "Anyways! Now that the whole group is back, how bout we go into town?!"
After Aurora got her get back, and things settled down, they all decided to go into town to welcome Knox and show him around. When they arrived there, they showed Knox around, got some snacks, told the boys to go play with some of the other kids, and then got Knox his own leather band.
"Woah this is awesome!" Knox said. "Thank you guys!"
"Hey, how about we go eat to finish this celebration?" Elias asked.
They all agreed, and headed to a very nice restaurant. Before walking in, Jack turned his head and saw someone standing behind a corner of one of the buildings.
"Hey look." Jack said to Atlas. "Isn't that your girl?"
Atlas turned his head. His eyes widened and he hurried inside. "No~!"
Once inside, they were greeted very respectfully, and many people turned their heads. Some even began clapping.
"Oh shucks guys~. You're making me blush~!" Enzo said out loud.
"If anything they're clapping at me!" Aurora said confidently. Enzo opened his mouth. "I swear Enzo, if you tell any jokes right now, I'll publicly kill you." Aurora aggressively said. Enzo shut his mouth real quick.
"Are you nervous now kid?" Soren asked Jack.
"Nope! With you guys, I feel different. I can't tell what it is though~. But don't worry, it's a good thing!" Jack responded.
"That's a good kid~." Soren said, patting Jack's head.
"My favorite part of the day~." Elias said.
"Yeah, because this is the only part of the day where you're conscious." Enzo said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elias questioned.
"You're asleep all day and when you're not, you're eating! Haha!"
"Right this way!" The server said to them as she led them to their seats.
They were seated in the far back at a large table. The waitress came back handing out some menus.
"Don't worry honey, you do way more than just eat and sleep!" Mercy said to Elias. "You make me happy!"
Elias turned his head away. "Umm... umm... I'm not your honey~."
Jack began to look around. This place was even nicer than the tavern he went to with Soren. The walls and floor were made of wood so polished, they almost reflected objects. The tables, very nice and round, covered in new white cloth. There was even a chandelier over the heads of everyone. The guests were in formal wear, and everyone seemed to be of wealth. The menus also seemed fancy and the options even had oysters on them, which at the time, Jack didn't know what they were.
"Why quiet?" Atlas asked Jack.
"Sorry hehe, I tend to observe a lot. It's a habit." Jack responded. "So, what are you getting?"
"Umm... a cookie!" Atlas said.
"You can't just get that Atlas. Try to get something that will get you full!" Knox said.
"He's right, Atlas. I'm going to get some chicken, you should get something like that. Or soup even." Jack said.
"I want chicken too~." Atlas said.
"That's good guys. But I'll get the beef! I know it's good." Knox said.
After they were done ordering, they waited for more than half an hour before their food came. During that time, Jack and Atlas showed Knox how to play odds and evens, Elias was beginning to fall asleep, Mercy was talking to the half asleep Elias, and the others were talking among themselves.
"Here you guys go!" The server said as she began to hand out their food.
"About time!" Elias said in a fully energized voice.
"How do you go from no energy, to completely energized~?" Enzo questioned.
"It's because he smelt the food. Haha!" Aurora replied.
"You know what they say, a big stomach, a big heart!" Mercy added.
"Whatever, you guys just don't know how to enjoy life." Elias said.
"MMMM! This looks so good~." Jack said as he was handed his dish.
"Yes! Yes!" Atlas agreed.
"Woah Knox, that looks awesome!" Jack said, looking at the plate of beef handed to Knox.
"I know!" Knox said. He looked down at his plate and then at Jacks. "I'll tell you what. We can trade! I'll give you some of my food if you give me some of yours! How bout that?!"
"Deal!" Jack answered.
"Me~." Atlas said sadly.
"Yeah of course you too Atlas!" Knox said.
Knox put some of his food onto Jack's plate and then some on Atlas's plate. Then they both gave Knox some of their food. And they all loved it.
Ten minutes passed, and everyone had finished their food. Even the boys finished. In fact, they finished first. Well only after Elias of course.
"It's like they haven't eaten in years." B said, talking about the boys.
"Yeah... it seems like we've got three new Elias's." Enzo stated.
"They take after the best." Elias said.
"Not a good thing." Aurora added.
"Because it's a great thing!" Mercy chimed in.
"You ate two plates and still finished first~." Soren mentioned.
"Well yeah. But I was hungry~." Elias said. "So... how about desert~?"
"Yeah!" Jack and Atlas yelled.
"Great!" Elias said. "Can we get a server over here?!"
"Endless stomachs~." Aurora sighed.
When they arrived back home, everyone was beginning to get ready for bed.
"Going into town made me so tired~." Knox said, exhausted.
"Yeah you're right. Which is weird because even our training doesn't do that." Jack responded as he climbed into his bed.
"Yeahhh~." Atlas said.
The boys were now all in bed and getting ready to sleep.
"So guys, I have a couple of questions." Knox said.
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"Why are you guys here? Why do you want to be an Immortal?"
"Ummm... I'm here by complete luck. I thank Soren for even finding me. Without him I'd be nothing but a lost kid without a memory. Something in my heart tells me that it would have been very bad." Jack said. "The reason I even want to be an Immortal, is to be like Soren and becau-... never mind."
"Me..." Atlas continued. "I-I don't know."
"Oh okay, that's fine Atlas." Knox said. "My next question is do you guys have a family?"
The room fell quiet.
Jack looked up at the ceiling. "I probably do, I just don't have any memory of them. I don't know anything about myself ever since the day Soren saved me."
"Oh. Sorry." Knox responded.
"My mom... is behind the glass~." Atlas said, filled with sadness.
"Umm, can you explain?" Knox asked. Atlas didn't answer. "It's fine if you can't answer." Knox told him. Knox then took a deep breath. "Okay! That was it! No more questions!"
"Well, how about you?" Jack asked.
"Well, I want to be an Immortal for my family. I want to save them from being poor. I have a real chance at it now. I can't mess it up." Knox said.
After settling in, all the boys were now comfortable and ready to sleep.
"Wait~! You guys wanna hear about my friend?! She's awesome!" Knox asked, sitting up on his bed.
"Ooo! Okay!" Jack said. "Don't need to ask twice!"
They all sat up on their beds and then Knox began to talk.