journey to south

The Robbers

“Drop your sword,” the man said. Caius dropped it. “Come with me,” the man commanded, and Caius involuntarily followed him to where his teammates were tied up.

“Master, we caught this one. He tried to run,” the man said, pushing Caius forward toward their leader.

“Just kill him immediately,” the leader ordered, and Caius shivered in fear as he looked at the huge man in front of him.

A scar ran across his face, making him all the more frightening.

“I could do anything you want — just please don’t kill me,” Caius begged, dropping to his knees at once.

“Hmph. Not kill you? Pathetic,” another man scoffed, walking toward their leader.

“Master, they’re from the North Camp,” the man said, glancing at Caius before facing the scar-faced leader. “They have nothing of value with them. Just a bunch of young adults making their way to the South Camp.”

“If they have nothing of value, why not kill them all?” the leader said angrily.

Oh, Father — from one killer to another, Caius almost cried out.

“What’s the use of killing us? Just let the monsters do it themselves,” Caius cried, negotiating how he was going to die with the gang.

“Negotiating with us? Hmph. Not worth it,” another man said, looking at Caius as if he were a fool.

“Please don’t kill us. We can be your slaves,” Caius begged, turning to look at his team.

Henry frowned at Caius’s statement. He would rather die than be a slave to these robbers.

All he wished now was to stab that frightening man to death — if Caius wasn’t part of the team. Maybe Caius included.

Caius swallowed hard as he eyed Henry, but Henry, stubborn as ever, turned his face away.

“I would never be a slave to them,” he said firmly.

Kim looked at Henry, then at the rest of his teammates. He caught Caius’s wink and got the gist: as their slaves, they would at least have the chance to live — and they might even get the chance to fight these robbers.

“Yes, my brother is right. Let us be your slaves,” Kim begged alongside Caius, cold sweat running down his forehead.

Sonia and Kain turned to look at Kim. He winked at them to play along.

Kain folded the side of her clothing and bowed toward the robbers. They wore something that restricted their powers — that was what made them so vulnerable to this attack.

“I can do anything, please don’t kill me,” she begged — and beneath the folds of her clothing, she quietly called on the plants to tie the leader’s legs.

It was working. Henry, noticing the movement, was very pleased. At least there’s one reasonable person on this team, he thought.

Caius looked at Kain, begging her with his eyes to stop. This wasn’t the right time for her to use her powers.

The leader, still unaware, looked at Caius and his crew, feeling something like pity for them. After all, they were only young adults in their late teens and early twenties.

“Let them—” He paused and looked down at his legs. They were entangled in plant roots.

“An earth commander.” He laughed angrily. Here he was, thinking of sparing them, and they had actually tried to launch an attack on him. “Kill them all!” he commanded, drawing his sword and cutting through the roots at his feet.

“Wait.” The scar-faced man stared at Sonia and Kain — stared improperly, appraising them.

“How about you have some fun with them before sending them off?” he suggested, looking at Sonia and Kain, and his men grinned at the idea.

After all, ever since the outbreak of the monsters, the number of girls in the world had fallen by seventy percent. The ones who managed to survive were the strong ones, or those who lived behind camp walls.

Sonia and Kain were dragged out into an open space.

The leader looked between them.

Sonia, with her long hair and fearless face, looked tough — like someone who would not be easily exploited. But Kain, with her wavy hair and round face, gave herself away: pitiful, timid, naive.

The leader chose Kain. She would break more easily than Sonia, who looked ready to fight anything.

He rubbed his palms together as he walked toward her. “I’ll have this one all to myself,” he said, then pointed at Sonia. “You can all have your turns with her. She’s quite the tough one — make sure you break her.” And he dragged Kain into a lonely corner.

With the robbers all distracted, this is the best chance, Caius thought, crawling toward Henry. Henry was the strongest among them; he would handle them better than anyone.

“Henry, you go after Kain. Kim and I will save Sonia,” Caius suggested, already untying Henry before moving to untie Kim.

Henry frowned at Caius’s words. How dare he tell me what to do? He stood there, reluctant — but the moment Kim was freed, he ran after Kain, toward where the leader had taken her.

Caius used his sword to s***h the back of one of the robbers, making the man cry out in pain. It was the first time he had ever used a weapon against a person.

The man’s pained cry alerted the rest, making them turn — and Caius immediately dropped the sword. Henry used the opportunity to untie Sonia.

Only one thought came to Caius’s mind: run. He took to his heels, the men chasing after him.

“Help!” he shouted as he ran — but his legs caught on a root, and he fell.

In no time, two men stood over him, their swords aimed at his chest.

“You dare attack us?” one of the robbers said with a frown, as the injured one limped toward them.

Caius looked at them wide-eyed with fear. Trembling, he crawled backward.

“Spare my life,” he begged.

“Spare your life? Useless!” one of them shouted. The injured man reached them, angrily snatched a sword from one of his companions, and raised it over Caius.