Folds of Generations: EQUES THE VALIANT

It was a stormy night, and the street was about to be covered by fog. Henry Līf, 67 years old and a meteorologist at the Weather Station of Harbel town near the port of Lazaro, was driving with his dog, Eques, on the Long Road of Timi, heading toward the Shelter on Gray Hills, twenty kilometers from the port of Lazaro. After thirty minutes of driving, one of the wheels of Mr. Henry's car hit a sharp rock while speeding on the straight part of the Long Road of Timi. Mr. Henry's car crashed into a tree, and Mr. Henry was knocked unconscious and was bleeding from his left leg. Eques, who was in the back seat, was wounded on its right front leg and appeared to have a dislocated limb. Eques bit the cloth that was sticking out of their open luggage and slowly placed it on Mr. Henry's bleeding leg, then leaned on it. Suddenly, the walkie-talkie radio in Mr. Henry's car received a signal. "Hello! Henry!" a male voice that seemed to be an acquaintance of Mr. Henry spoke from the other side of the radio. Eques bit the speaker of the radio and, fortunately, managed to press the reply button. Eques barked continuously and loudly, signaling an emergency bark code taught by Billy, a friend and younger brother of Mr. Henry. Eques continued barking until the man on the other side was confirmed to be Mr. Henry's brother, Billy. Billy and Mr. Henry grew up in an orphanage and became best friends and brothers over the years. Billy was twelve years younger than Henry. When they met, Henry was sixteen, and Billy was four. Before Mr. Henry left the station, he wrote a letter to Billy saying he was going ahead and pinned it on the office board. Mr. Henry also noted his departure time as 7:15 p.m. and the road he would be taking: Long Road of Timi. Billy, at the second station, lost contact with his brother, Mr. Henry, five minutes after leaving at 6:50 p.m. The second station is 10 kilometers from the station where Mr. Henry was. By the time Billy returned to their station near the port of Lazaro, it was already 7:20 p.m. Billy saw Mr. Henry's message and quickly left after noting the road Mr. Henry took. Billy fastened his seatbelt, his mind filled with worry. "Please, God, keep my brother safe!" Billy urged as he stepped on the gas. A paper dropped after Billy left the station near the port of Lazaro. It contained a recent discovery about the Long Road of Timi: it becomes very dangerous when it rains because the so-called rocks on the road are not actually rocks but solidified mud. When it rains, the mud is washed away, exposing very sharp, crystallized unknown rocks. "The Long Road of Timi was an old route for market trading a hundred years ago and later became a tourist spot around 500 A.D.E. (After Dawn Era). It is a very compact road, mostly made of unknown layers of bulky rocks. Around 354 A.D.E., it became a shortcut to the Shelter. Despite being silent, the road has claimed several lives, and recent discoveries have found unusual causes for the accidents." At the shelter, Ms. Eliona Līf, 29 years old, was waiting with her daughter Ceillia for the arrival of her father, Mr. Henry, and her uncle, Billy. Although Eliona was helping other families in the shelter, she could not hide her worry. Ms. Eliona and Mr. Henry had a strained father-daughter relationship, worsened after Mrs. Ellaina, Eliona's mother and Mr. Henry's wife, passed away 20 years ago during the Great Storm, which claimed one hundred thousand lives, including Ms. Ellaina. After helping sort food, clean water, dry clothes, flashlights, whistles, and other emergency supplies, Ms. Eliona looked through the fixed fiberglass window on the ceiling of the shelter. "Be safe… old man…" she whispered, watching the branches of the trees sway violently. "Mama? Are you okay?" The soft, gentle voice of little Ceillia brushed away her mother's worries. "I'm alright, darling," Ms. Eliona replied, smiling and patting her daughter's head. Ms. Eliona is the only child of Mr. Henry and Mrs. Ellaina Līf. Eliona is independent and had quite an attitude, especially towards her father, Mr. Henry, who was often preoccupied with work. After graduating from college, Eliona met her fiancé and had a child. She gave birth to Ceillia when she was twenty-five, and her fiancé left her for another woman, not even bothering to see their child after birth. Little Ceillia idolized her strong and brave mother, who raised her alone. They shared a deep bond of love. Little Ceillia giggled as her mother patted her head. "Don't worry, Mama. Grandpa Henry and Grandpa Billy will be safe because Eques is with them," she said, smiling at her mother. "I hope Eques, Grandpa Henry, and Grandpa Billy arrive soon! I've packed the cards, chess boards, and snacks!" she added excitedly. "Hello there, Eliona." A woman called out and waved at Eliona. "Oh! Hey, Anna, how are you and your family?" Eliona responded. "All good, thank you so much for helping us. If you hadn't helped, we might have been caught in that flash flood," Anna said, laughing and joking about her family's situation when they were stranded in the neighboring town, which had already been flooded. "Ma, that's a really lame joke!" a young boy called out. "What was that, Nikolas? I couldn't hear you clearly," Anna said with a grim smile, looking at her son. Anna Rese is a colleague and best friend of Eliona Līf who lives in Quarter town, west of Lazaro. Anna is a licensed teacher married to her childhood friend Grevor Rese, also a licensed teacher. They have two children, Nikolas, seven, and Aema, two. Eliona laughed at Anna and her son Nikolas while Anna chased him as he taunted her. "Nikolas, knock it off!" a man approached Anna and young Nikolas. The man sighed while holding the little girl who had fallen asleep in his arms. "Nikolas, stop teasing your mother!" the man said, catching Nikolas with one arm. The man was Grevor Rese, Anna's husband. The little girl woke up and said, "Papa… am-zing!" and then giggled. Anna was catching her breath."This is what happens when you spoil this brat." "Mama, you're just getting old, which is why you can't catch me. Look at Papa Grevor, still strong and young," Nikolas said bluntly. Anna was triggered and s*****d her son's head. "You brat!" she said with a furious look, pinching Nikolas's ears and dragging him toward their tent. "I'll teach you some manners!" Anna's face was stern, and Nikolas couldn't escape her grip. "Papa! Help me!" Nikolas cried out to his father in fear. Grevor waved at Nikolas, "Sorry, kid, I can't save you from your mother's 'evil mode level 100'" He continued to wave with a smug expression. "You traitor! I’ll expose your dark secrets!" Nikolas called out. Grevor sighed, "I'll excuse myself, Eliona. Let’s go save your brother Aema." His daughter replies, “Les go Pa!” and then Grevor ran quickly to rescue his son. Eliona smiled and waved goodbye, beginning to ease her tensions and thoughts. Little Ceillia came closer to her mother. "Mama?" she called. "Yes, darling?" Eliona responded, patting her daughter. Ceillia showed her mother the broken locket. "It broke while I was picking it up from our tent," Ceillia said, teary and saddened. Eliona knelt down slowly and smiled, patting her daughter's head. "It's alright, darling, it wasn’t your fault. This locket was already very old, that's why it broke…" Eliona paused as her worries resurfaced. The locket was the last gift she received from her deceased mother. Eliona hugged her daughter tightly. "Old man… father…" Eliona whispered in her mind through her tears while hugging her daughter.