Chapter 2
1259 Words
Donny woke up to sharp pain in his chest.
He coughed hard, and water came out of his mouth. His eyes opened slow. Everything looked blurry. He was lying on a wooden floor, inside a small hut. A fire burned in the corner.
"You are awake," a voice said.
Donny turned his head. An old man sat by the fire, watching him. He had gray hair and a long beard. His eyes were sharp, like a hawk watching its prey.
"Where... where am I?" Donny asked. His voice was weak.
"You are in my home. I pulled you out of the river three days ago. You almost died."
Three days. Donny tried to sit up, but pain shot through his whole body. He fell back down.
"Don't move too fast, boy," the old man said. "Your body is still healing."
Memories came back to Donny like a flood. The fire. His father's sword. Grandfather Fen's cold smile. His mother's scream. The guard telling him to run. The cold water pulling him under.
Tears filled his eyes.
"My father... my mother..." he whispered.
The old man did not say anything kind. He just watched Donny cry, his face still and hard.
"Your family is gone," the old man said. "Crying will not bring them back. If you want to live in this world, you must be strong. Tears will not save you next time."
Donny wiped his face with his dirty sleeve. Anger started to burn inside him, mixing with the sadness.
"Why did you save me?" Donny asked.
The old man stood up slowly. "That is a good question. I am still asking myself the same thing."
He walked over and looked down at Donny with sharp eyes.
"What is your name, boy?"
Donny hesitated. If people knew he was from the Fen Clan, would they hurt him too? But he was too tired to think of a lie.
"Donny," he said quietly. "Donny Fen."
The old man's eyes narrowed for a moment. He said nothing about it, but Donny saw something change in his face. Like he already guessed the answer before Donny said it.
"My name is Old Bo," the man said. "You will call me that. Nothing else."
******
Two days later, Donny could finally stand on his own. His legs were weak, but he pushed himself up, holding the wall for support.
Old Bo watched him from across the room, arms crossed.
"Good. Now walk outside."
Donny took slow steps toward the door. Every step hurt, but he did not complain. He remembered what Old Bo said. Crying will not save you. He needed to be strong now.
Outside the hut, the forest stretched in every direction. Tall trees. Thick bushes. The sound of birds and wind. It looked peaceful, but Donny felt like danger was hiding somewhere close.
"This place is called the Shattered Wilds," Old Bo said, following behind him. "No kingdom rules here. No laws. Only the strong survive. The weak die fast."
"Why do you live here?" Donny asked.
Old Bo's face turned hard for a second. "That is not your business."
They walked in silence for a while. Then Old Bo stopped near a clearing.
"Before I decide to help you further, I need to know something," Old Bo said. "I need to know if you have the will to survive. Words mean nothing. I need to see it."
"See what?"
Old Bo pointed to the trees. "There are beasts in this forest. Small ones, but dangerous to a boy like you. Tonight, you will stay outside, alone, until sunrise. If you survive, I will train you. If you run back inside my hut, I will know you are not worth my time."
Donny's stomach turned cold. "Alone? But I have no weapon. I don't know how to fight."
"That is your problem to solve," Old Bo said. "Figure it out, or don't survive."
He turned and walked back to the hut, leaving Donny standing alone in the clearing as the sun began to set.
Night came fast. The forest turned dark and quiet, except for strange sounds in the distance. Growls. Snapping branches. Donny sat with his back against a tree, holding a broken branch like a weapon. His hands shook.
He thought about running back to the hut. It would be easy. Old Bo said he would know if Donny gave up. But something inside Donny refused to move.
He thought about his father, fighting until the very end, even when he knew he could not win.
*I will not give up like a coward,* Donny thought. *Father did not give up. I won't either.*
A growl came from the bushes nearby. Donny froze. Two yellow eyes appeared in the darkness, low to the ground. A wild dog, thin and hungry, stepped out slowly, teeth showing.
Donny's heart pounded fast. He gripped the branch tighter.
The dog lunged at him.
Donny swung the branch hard, hitting the dog's side. It yelped and jumped back, but it did not run away. It circled him, looking for another chance to attack.
Donny remembered something. Back home, before the attack, his father used to show him simple sword moves, just for fun, just father and son playing in the yard. Donny never thought he would need to use them for real.
He held the branch like his father held his sword. When the dog jumped again, Donny stepped to the side and hit it across the back. The dog fell down, whimpering, then ran off into the dark forest.
Donny stood alone, breathing hard, his whole body shaking. But he was alive.
He did not sleep that night. He stayed awake, watching the shadows, ready for the next attack. More sounds came throughout the night, but nothing else attacked him directly. Maybe they sensed he was ready to fight back.
When the sun finally rose, Donny was still standing, tired, dirty, but alive.
Old Bo walked out of the hut and found Donny sitting by the tree, eyes red from lack of sleep, but alert.
"You survived," Old Bo said, sounding almost surprised.
"I told you I would," Donny said, though his voice was shaky and weak.
Old Bo studied him closely, then looked at the branch still in Donny's hand. He noticed the way Donny held it. The stance. It reminded him of something from a long time ago.
"That fighting stance," Old Bo said slowly. "Where did you learn that?"
"My father taught me. Just simple moves. Nothing special."
Old Bo's eyes narrowed sharply. "Your father's name. What was it?"
Donny looked up at him. "Fen Wei. He was the leader of Cloudreach City, before... before it happened."
Old Bo went completely still. His face turned pale, like he had seen a ghost.
"Fen Wei," he whispered to himself. "That cannot be. I thought that bloodline died out generations ago."
"What do you mean?" Donny asked, confused.
Old Bo did not answer right away. He stared at Donny for a long moment, like he was seeing him for the first time.
"Boy," Old Bo said slowly, "you have no idea what family you come from. And if certain people ever learn the truth about your blood, they will not stop hunting you until you are dead."
Donny's chest tightened. "What truth? What are you talking about?"
Before Old Bo could answer, a sharp whistle echoed through the trees. Old Bo's head snapped up fast, his body suddenly tense.
"Someone is coming," he said quietly. "And they are not friendly."
- Writer
