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Chapter 19: Chapter 19 "Charlie"

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

"Charlie"

ACT 1

2250

The ten-year-old brown-furred husky pup was staring at the fire, looking like the whole world was weighing on his shoulders. His eyes were tired, and his whole mind restless. He had not slept the whole night. How could he have?

Charlie Winchester sniffed loudly, trying not to cry as the sounds of the night kept him alert. Sitting alone in the woods like this was rather dangerous... But not too far from camp, would wildlife attack him. But at this moment, he wasn't really caring for his safety.

He just stared at the fire burn on the logs, crackling and sending small embers to the night sky. Everything was still... Quiet. Harmonic.

But he was missing the most important person in his life. His own father.

Ethan Winchester had been captured merely twelve hours ago from their tribe by the invading Febris forces. And the small kit felt nothing but hatred. Not only for the enemies that had taken his loved father from his life but also the tribe. They had vouched to protect him. No matter if Ethan had sacrificed himself out of free will to be taken, they should have fought till the last man and woman to keep Ethan safe. That is at least how this furious kit felt. He just wanted to understand, how and why the tribe just allowed to let him go.

As the dark, angry and frustrated thoughts ravished little Charlie's mind, he had not paid enough attention to his surroundings in deep thought. Someone was approaching from behind him.

And it was only the moment when a twig cracked beneath one's step, that the small husky realized he was not alone.

The kit quickly pulled his small stone knife out of his small belt, turning around and yelling cautiously.

"Who's there?!"

"... Put the knife down, little one." The voice spoke calmly.

And when the small husky saw the person appear from the shadows, the angry attitude was gone. The apologizing kneel was given in hesitation, as the robe-wearing ghoul approached the husky slowly and without fear.

"S-Sorry, s-spirit mother."

"... It is alright, little Charlie." Maya said with an understanding voice, walking slowly around the kit and gazing upon the fire.

Charlie slowly put the knife back into his belt, gazing upon Maya like he was gazing upon god himself.

Sure, he had seen Maya a few times... But rarely spoke to her. The time had not been right for them to yet trade words like Maya used to do with Ethan.

So, her presence felt important and unexpected. The kit had figured that anyone that would find him from this secret spot in the woods would be his own mother or even Tesshin. Hell, maybe the whole concerned tribe on a small rescue mission. It was not allowed for people his age to wander around the valley alone. And especially considering what happened the day before.

The silence kept going, the female ghoul staring at the crackling fire and looking at Charlie slowly.

"May I? Old knees." She asked politely.

"I-I, o-of course." Charlie stuttered, a bit confused over such a request, having expected scolding for wandering around woods alone. But maybe it was still to come.

Maya gave a small nod, slowly gathering herself down to sit in a lotus position, next to the fire. Charlie was still standing, a bit scared as he was respecting of this mysterious, protective figure.

Charlie began speaking before Maya, apologizing for his behavior.

"L-look, I know I'm not supposed to wander off like this, a-and I didn't mean to. But I just wanted to-"

"You wanted to get away from everyone because you are angry at them. You expected more from us... And you blame us for what happened to your father." Maya spoke calmly.

"... I-" Charlie began scaredly, wondering if he had already offended Maya by thinking this way because she clearly knew what was going on with him.

"It is understandable, child. The pain that you are feeling. The anger. It would be more concerning if you did not feel it." She said with a comforting tone.

"..." The kit was now quiet, wondering if he should say anything at all anymore.

Maya then took her robe hood off, revealing her whole face to the kit.

Yet, as unexpected it was... Charlie didn't feel fear as much as he thought under the reveal of the monster.

She did look scary, but the smile that she had and the pure intent of worry in her eyes was making it easier to handle the sight itself.

She clearly expected some kind of verbal reaction from the kit, but Charlie was holding it back, wanting to be respectful as he could towards her.

She gave a small sigh, speaking to the kit caringly.

"Your mother has been looking for you. I told her and everyone not to follow me, and that I would find you and bring you back."

Charlie looked around, then slowly sitting down.

He spoke with interested tone, getting Maya off guard a bit.

"... D-did you see where I was with... With a vision? M-magic?" Charlie asked in fascination.

Maya closed her eyes briefly, giving an amused chuckle and spoke.

"... I saw the smoke from your campfire on the sky, child. It is rather easy to notice if you climb on a few cliffs."

"... Oh." Charlie said in confusion, trying to hide his disappointment.

"... Are you scared of me, little Charlie?" Maya then proceeded to ask after a few seconds in interest.

"... A bit." The husky said quietly.

"Everyone was more or less when they first saw me. You should have seen your father. Did your friends ever tell what made me look like this?" She asked.

"I... Heard rumors from them. They say that sky spirits punished you for something." Charlie spoke, just feeling like it was thin ice to talk about such things that could lead to sensitive reactions.

But Maya just kept chuckling, finding it very adorable that Charlie was approaching this conversation with such respect, despite being so angry and emotionally torn. He was really putting his best effort to behave.

"Oh, I have been punished child. Long ago, but never by sky spirits. They would be the last ones to harm me. I am their messenger. No... My injuries came from radiation." She explained.

"... What is... Radiation?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"... It is not important to know right now, child... More important is... What do you feel like we should do?"

"... What?" Charlie asked quietly, not understanding.

"... You want us to get Ethan back." She said with a sad tone, gazing intensively at Charlie and seeing the answer was already there.

"..." Charlie didn't answer, not wanting to release his emotional thoughts on the ghoul.

"You are scared to speak about how you feel. But know this, Charlie... I am the only person in this world you can speak with complete honesty, knowing that the words we share will never be spoken to anyone else."

"If you already know how I feel... And you know what I think... Why are you asking me in the first place?... I-I just mean, what is the point?" Charlie corrected his attitude quickly, not wanting to anger her.

"Giving life to emotions and letting others know them is different than holding them inside, little one." She said like it was a fact everyone should know.

"... So, you won't judge... If... If I just say what I think?" Charlie asked carefully.

"... I would never judge you, Charlie." Maya said with a warm tone.

The husky was restlessly fidgeting around, standing up and starting to think how to be clear on his thoughts, breathing in the fresh night air and letting it out.

"Everyone said... That you had told them over and over about how my father was the chosen one. How he was the... Warrior, given to lead us beside you, by the sky spirits... And... And you just let them take him away. Why?" Charlie asked, trying not to get his eyes watery as the last question made him feel so alone already, missing his father more than anything.

"... You are in pain."

"OF COURSE, I AM!" Charlie let out; a bit louder than he indented.

His eyes widened and the regret hit hard, realizing he had just yelled at the spirit mother of their tribe.

But there was not a hint of anger in the ghoul. Just understanding. She spoke calmly.

"He was the promised one, little Charlie. But so were you." She stated.

"..." The husky slowly sat down, listening carefully but looking just more and more confused.

Maya then began explaining calmly. But before she spoke, she took something out of her pocket. It was a small leather pouch.

Charlie followed with an interested gaze as the ghoul took something in her fleshy, mutated fingers from the pouch, tossing it into the fire.

A small green flame made the fire burst slightly, making Charlie jumpscare a bit as the fire was now green instead of its natural color. He gazed upon Maya in confusion, then looking at the flames again. And as mesmerizing as the flame was... Charlie felt like something was present now... Something... Unspoken and uplifting.

Like an invisible third party.

Maya's sudden voice spook Charlie, making his attention shift from the green fire into the ghoul.

"The blood of your family line... Is special. Winchesters... The sky spirits told in my visions... That one day, a Winchester would lead us to glory... It is promised. The visions led my tribe to Ethan... And Ethan gave us you. The omen keeps ongoing... But there is no telling that which Winchester is promised to lead us into our final purpose. But that end will be one of a higher glory." Maya told carefully, pressing every word heavily.

"... I don't understand." Charlie spoke back quietly.

"Nor I expect you to." Maya nodded.

"... So... Are you saying that... That instead of my father... I am the one to..." Charlie tried to form an understandable answer to all this.

Maya looked upon the sky and the stars, then looking back down on the fire.

She spoke quietly.

"The spirits are vague and their signs are cloudy. They do not speak as we speak to eachother now. They are the mantra. Unspoken word, souls that form visions. They get their life from the stars, and they reveal their intentions to us more than a few ways. There is no knowing if you are the Winchester that was promised... But the truth remains... That every Winchester is special and destined to greatness. This I know."

Charlie soaked in what he had heard, but it still left him with more questions than answers.

"S-so... If my dad was not the... Chosen Winchester to lead the tr... The tribe... You think that I could not be either? That it could be some other Winchester?" Charlie asked, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

"As I said... It is hard to know, little Charlie... Maybe it could even be your future sons... Daughters... Once you find a girl that you like." Maya explained with smile.

"... Eww!" Charlie said with immature tone, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Maya thinking so far head already and expecting him to procreate. An understandable reaction from ten-year-old.

Maya gave a genuinely amused laugh at that, shaking her head and Charlie actually for some reason finding anger from the reaction.

"How is this funny to you? How can you laugh at anything right now?! My dad is gone!"

The smile faded fast from Maya's face as she spoke back.

"My apologies, little one. But for some of us... The only way of moving on, is to find happiness from things around us and from the people, especially... If we are to move on." Maya explained with a kind tone.

But now, Charlie had felt like he heard enough. He now stood back up, forgetting for a moment his respectful manners and letting out how he truly felt.

"Well, I am not feeling happy at all. And you have still not explained, why are you so... Just so... Are you going to do anything to get my father back?! Is anyone from this tribe?! He was here the whole time, he was important, you said it yourself?! And you are over here talking all this weird stuff and acting like nothing bad has happened!!!"

The husky was panting, his eyes glossy as he was about to cry, feeling the rage roar inside him.

Last of Maya's smile was gone, looking at the boy with intense eye gaze and just observing him.

Charlie was waiting for Maya to say anything back to him. Even yell. Or use some magic to make him behave, hell, anything at all.

But Maya kept sitting there, looking slowly back at the fire.

"Sometimes... The fate is beyond our control. It is something we can't fight against. Ethan was like a son to me... You have to forgive me, little Charlie, for feeling this small joy in an otherwise horrible moment... Because I have feeling my future months... Even years... It will be everything but happy. And mostly, because I feel like your mothers' spirit... It will not get through the loss of everything this fast... the loss of her husband... I am afraid that only one that can keep her from hurting herself right now is Tesshin... Or me. We might fail... And I have already lost more daughters than one mother should." She spoke with emotional tone, knowing that her life was going to get heavily occupied with other people's sorrow tending for a long time.

"I... My mother's?" Charlie asked, his aggressive spirit fading as he wondered what Maya had meant, talking so sadly.

"You are still young... So, your feelings for the loss of your father... It is something that gives you strength. But Tisha... Even the faith of sky spirits can't maybe steer her away from her inevitable end. But I will try everything I can to prevent that. She has to move on... And maybe within time... marry someone else. That I wish to live with." She whispered.

The more Charlie listened the less he understood. He began to speak in frustration.

"How does this answer to anything about my father? Why did we not fight more and try to win them?!" Charlie asked like it made no sense.

Maya sighed quietly, feeling painful for even talking about all this. She then changed the subject briefly, talking to Charlie now with an honest tone.

"We couldn't save your father, because if we had tried... We would have all met our end. This valley... Our tribe, our life... It is meant to be separated from the horrors that are held behind those mountains... The cursed land of Texas, as they call it. Their culture... Their way of living... It is not for us. We are in harmony here. One with nature. While the civilizations die behind those lands and beyond... Fighting over false things of value, like savages, tearing eachother apart... We survive. We live on. We are the future of the world. To them... our ways are pathetic and primal. But I've seen and I've known, ever since I stepped in here... that we are the last hope of mammal kind. Here, we... We respect the land we are blessed to have. All of it. And we fight to protect it at any cost. And one day, one of your blood is chosen to grow our tribe... And guide us even further. To make this whole valley a living paradise, not only measure by the strength of its spirit but it's numbers... We won't have hundreds of tribals... We will have thousands. I want to believe that... Whether I am there to witness it... Or returned to the sky spirits to watch down on my children from the next life."

"..."

"Your father was a hero who sacrificed himself to make that happen. He had known that he would be retrieved by the bad people from beyond the mountains one day. He had made his peace with it... And he knew that if we would try to interfere with that fate, we would perish, and sky spirits would have no one to look down upon anymore. None of its people. The outside world is too harsh and violent for us to control. They do not fight with a code of honor, the way it's meant to be. They possess technology, they have guns, they have machines that move on sand. They do not fight fair like us, where the measure of a fighter is done by his skill of melee, the skill of a warrior. They are everything we intent to keep away from here to build our paradise. WE do not need those things in this new world we are destined to build in this valley. Ethan knew it. And he threw himself out back out there, so we could keep living in peace in here. Songs will be sung about him... And he will forever live in our hearts, his rile be thought in our history as the first Winchester to bless us with his presence... But his time with us is gone. And he cannot return. His fate is sealed and his story with us has come to an end... But trust me... Once his time comes to leave this world, which will be soon... His soul will still travel here, to us... And join the sky spirits. Where he shall watch down upon us... And smile proudly." She explained like it was all a plan that was forming itself together slowly.

Charlie spoke slowly, trying to make sense of it.

"... So... Are you just trying to say that... there is nothing to be done? That we should just... keep going on and live with it? They will hurt him, and we just sit here and... Be okay with it?" Charlie asked in defeat like it could not be the case.

Maya gave a sad gaze at the young dog, taking a deep breath and nodding.

"... It is all we can do, young Charlie. I am sorry. It will feel like we are cowards to you... But it is all just the guidance of the sky spirits. Ethan cannot be rescued from his fate. If we would try, they would stop at nothing until they would have destroyed us and this land to get Ethan back."

"... You think that he is just okay for us abandoning him?!" Charlie asked like it was insane.

"... I know that he is. I knew him. You knew him. He would do anything to see us safe. We can't rescue him. We can't leave the valley. I am sorry. But it is the will of-"

"The sky spirits, yeah. You keep saying that. How come I know that these sky spirits are even real? Your visions or your... The whole idea of building some... Some weird paradise where we live happily?"

"Ah... I wondered when you would say I'm just crazy." Maya spoke with a small smile, having expected it to come.

"Maybe you are. How can I know? You barely even talk to anyone. You just wander around all day and spend nights in your cave. All my friends keep telling that you are...Well... They say that our parents are under some spell of yours. Maybe you are under someone's spell too."

"Do you think that, personally?" Maya asked with amused interest.

"What does it matter what I think? All I see is you making excuses not to save my father because sky spirits say so."

"Charlie... Your father will always live inside you. His essence and who he was." Maya stated.

"... That's cool and all, but I'd rather have him here. And I have already decided something." Charlie stated back with a determined and defying tone.

"... What is that, young Charlie?" Maya asked.

The husky was looking hesitant and unsure first, but let his anger speak for him.

"If... If none of you are going to try to save my dad... then I will!"

"..." Maya didn't even flinch from the ambitious promise, just sitting there in silence.

"Yeah, that's right. I will... I-I will go to Texas, and I will save him! I will bring him back!" Charlie stuttered back, trying to believe that he could do it.

"... And if the men that took him will follow you and come back here?" Maya asked.

"I will... Then I will hurt them. I won't let them hurt anyone else." Charlie argued.

Maya then spoke back with a soothing tone.

"... Oh, little Charlie... You are defiant, brave and strong... But deaf to words I speak and blind to things you have seen. Micah, Samun, Toran, Ramin, Lyla, Sinah, Jaime, Talib, Jenna. I have buried already so many of my children today. You know that. You might have not been there when we burned their bodies to lift them to the sky... But you know they are gone. And their children... Your friends... Takheton, Samir, Juno... They are more or less the same as you. Angry. Crying. Feeling like no one is doing anything to revenge them."

"..." Charlie knew it was true. He had not seen any of his friends the whole day, knowing that they were having just as hard time as him, attending the funeral pyres of some of their parents.

"There has been too much death already. My heart is heavy, and it will take a long time for us to recover, to move on... But we have to. And we will." Maya assured, sounding confident on the matter.

"It just can't be like this. It can't. I do not want to just sit here and forget. And forgive them."

"... I know that, little one... I didn't forgive them either." Maya said quietly with an understanding tone.

"... Why does it seem like you have?" Charlie asked in frustration, not understanding the attitude this ghoul was having.

"... I gave the mammals who took your father a worse fate than you can imagine... I cursed them. I cursed their blood, their seed, their soul and essence. I have never... Cast such a hateful thing on someone... But doing it at that moment felt justified... And to be honest, Charlie... It might have been the first moment I've defied the sky spirits. I let my anger overpower my mind." She spoke, partly scared of what would come for her as a result.

"... Y-you did?" Charlie asked, having not expected that, considering how calm she appeared to be now. Charlie had been already been carried to safety by Tesshin before he could see Maya curse the febris soldiers.

"Yes... I... The sky spirits are clear on their will of forgiveness... Of good. They are not hateful spirits. And I can imagine... That might very well find a way to punish me for what I did." Maya said like it was bound to happen.

"... W-was the curse really that bad?" Charlie asked, actually wishing that it was true. That is how much hate he felt for the loss of his father.

"... Trust me, child... I loved your father. Even if his fate to be taken from us was inevitable, I was making sure that they paid for it for the rest of their lives. You want revenge... You wanted them to suffer... And so, did I. Trust me... They will regret for what they did to this tribe, dearly." Maya assured grimly.

"... How are you so sure that your... Curse worked?" Charlie asked.

"... You still have doubts about my magic, young one." Maya chuckled.

"... Why shouldn't I? You can turn fire to green but... What does that prove? How come I know your visions and all of this is even true?" Charlie questioned now, not wanting to insult but genuinely wanting to know what gave this ghoul all this confidence.

"... You don't, child... But you will." She said quietly with a smile.

"... How?" Charlie asked.

"... Because... I may be able to see... And even tell what happens, if you leave this place." She said mysteriously.

"... How come I don't know you will make stuff up and just tell me anything to keep me away from there? To make me rely on your... Curse and just stay here?" Charlie asked like it would be the most convenient thing to do.

"... You are just as sharp as your father, Charlie... And as much as that would be a good idea, to avoid your journey... I am afraid it is not for me to decide. It's the-"

"Sky spirits." Charlie finished, not sounding convinced.

Maya just gave a small smile, nodding and handing out her paw towards Charlie, taking his attention.

"... Come here, little one." She asked tenderly.

"... O-okay." Charlie answered, sounding a bit uncomfortable.

"Do not be afraid... If you don't believe in my magic... Then you shouldn't be afraid either."

"I never said that it wasn't... Real. I just asked how do you know it-"

"Charlie... Take my hand. Sit next to me." She said, the warm smile making Charlie feel a bit more at ease, despite the scary appearance of the ghoul.

The brown-furred husky started to take slow steps next to this mysterious and respected figure, standing about two feet away from her now. She didn't say anything, just waiting for Charlie to grab her paw. Charlie didn't want to feel afraid of the psychical touch, in order to not insult the woman... But staring at the paw that had no fur made one uneasy.

The boy took his time to come just a bit closer until she gave a suggesting nod for Charlie to sit as close as he could.

The husky hesitantly did as hinted, moving his curled tail up a bit and carefully sitting down. He then swallowed a bit anxiously, giving out his paw slowly to the ghoul. She gave a slow nod of gratitude for trust, taking Charlie's paw into her own.

It didn't feel as disgusting as Charlie had expected. He was slowly getting rid of the tension he was feeling, as she hummed a bit and spoke.

"Now... Close your eyes."

"... Why do I have to close my eyes?" Charlie asked like it sounded dumb.

"So you can let me read what is to yet come." She whispered with a mysterious tone.

"That... What does that mean?" Charlie asked with a raise of an eyebrow.

"... Close them." She encouraged with a warm chuckle.

Charlie took a deep breath, trying not to feel frustrated over these weird commands.

He closed his eyes...

And so did she.

Both of their paws tensed up, giving a small squeeze.

Almost like a link of chains was connected.

And Charlie felt like something had taken over his mind.

Maya gave out a long inhale, her expression becoming focused.

She whispered, the words making Charlie's fur spiked up and his mind feeling it was on fire.

"Ishalaaan da vusta... Dealamon vaes serda... Ta... Winchester."

The fire next to them fumed up, the flames rising three times higher than normal, crackling and popping loudly with different colors. Charlie could feel the heat, hear the loud sounds... but he could not react to them by movement. His eyes felt like they could not open and his paw felt heavy.

His heart started to breathe rapidly, as he saw things he could not explain or understand.

Meanwhile, Maya kept breathing... And foreseeing the small husky's road of fate.

(Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 OST-06 Cliffhanger)

And once she began that path, witnessing the images... Living there, smelling the places he would be in, feeling the things he did, seeing the places... hearing the voices...

She felt something she would have never expected in her life when touching these small boys' hands.

Terror.

Clashes of steel.

Gunshots.

Screams.

Blood.

Explosions.

Crying.

He could hear the souls that begged for help, souls that would be lost forever.

Her body started to tremble, and her blood pump, feeling like she was living it. Like she was part of it. And there was no way of stopping it.

She could smell the gunpowder... She could... Feel round metal objects in her paws... She could feel a female paw touch her cheek and a voice whisper Charlie's name gently.

She could hear a man scream at him with broken tone about loving Charlie like a brother, and then a gunshot, making her gasp by the fire.

"-S-spirit mother-" Charlie whispered, disconnected completely of things that Maya was seeing inside his soul right now. To Charlie, everything was just colors, flashes, and lights... Things he did not make sense of.

Maya was reading his life like an open book. Every chapter. Every word. Every deed.

And he felt like he was about to fall asleep to this odd wonderland of colors, but still feeling the warmth of the fire that was present next to them. It was real and alive. He felt... Calm.

But Maya... Maya could just whisper desperate words... begging for the visions to stop.

Charlie could not hear them... And Maya could not even feel as her nose started to bleed slightly from the intimate, holy experience that felt more of a damnation.

A vortex of pain without escape from it.

She felt like she was about to lose her sanity, wanting to cry for the things she knew that were about to happen to this boy that she felt protective for.

But nothing... could stop these events.

There was hacking, slashing, people screaming out for mercy.

They were happening... And in the midst of it all...

She saw two boys on their knees... Crying and screaming... And the scream was something that shivered through her heart like thunder from the roaring sky.

"FATHER!!!!"

"NO!" She screamed in horror right after the two unknown, painful and broken voices, feeling just the same emotions as them.

Her eyes snapped open.

And then... She could finally breathe.

The line of Charlie's life in the visions came to an end.

And it woke her up like a shock, dispersing her body apart like a drop on water.

And the link was broken, Maya's eyesight coming back slowly in the dark.

She let go of Charlie, both waking up from their visions.

The ghoul felt like it had been a long, most terrible nightmare she had ever taken part of.

"WHat what what where?!" Charlie yelled out in confusion, jumping a bit from the scream Maya had shouted out. She took her fair distance from Charlie, crawling a bit away from him and grasping herself by the chest, breathing out of control.

The husky felt woozy, having no idea what he had just felt or seen. It had been rather blissful, a place where he felt safe... Like... Part of him always felt like...

"W-was that the p-place where sky... Sky spirits live?" Charlie asked in total wonder, looking at the fire next to them that was no burning in blue color. He was mesmerized by it once more, as much as he was from the place he had just been.

Maya had no intention to answer that question, been too occupied on not to pass out, staring at the Charlie from the dark, her expression full of nothing but pain.

Charlie himself could not see it, as he was close to the fire still, having barely moved, unlike Maya who had taken a very fair distance in her sudden scare for some reason.

"S-spirit mother?" Charlie asked in confusion, taking his gaze from the fire and seeing the widened eyes stare back at him in the darkness.

She could not form words. She wanted to believe that things that she just went through were not real.

She wanted to believe that with every inch of her soul.

But there was nothing that would make that to be true. The sky spirits had blessed her with a vision... And that vision was something she had not wished upon anyone to witness.

And it was a blessing that Charlie had not seen any of it.

"I-I think it worked... Y-you really know magic! That was... I don't know what that was but it was incredible! I saw so many colors and... I felt... It... C-can we do that again?" Charlie asked excitedly.

Maya quickly stumbled back on her feet, still looking at Charlie with a horrified expression, wondering how to say anything at all. Words would not just come out. Like she was still living it all.

Wishing... that she never took Charlie's hand and read his future.

"I-is... Everything okay?" Charlie asked carefully, not understanding what was going on with her behavior right now.

But as Maya slowly approached from the shadows... Charlie's wonderous and still executed expression faded.

The ghoul who had looked at him the whole time with nothing but kindness... Was clearly feeling something else now towards him.

Like she was staring at a monster.

Her nose had been dropping blood just a bit... And her eyes looked teary and glossy.

Seeing a ghoul cry... It was not a very beautiful sight to witness.

"W-What's wrong?"

"..."

"Wh... What did you see? Did it work? Did you see my future?" Charlie asked, now sounding a bit afraid, taking a nervous step back as Maya walked slowly towards him. Almost cautiously. Like Charlie was about to explode or something.

The behavior made very little sense... But as Maya had reached the fireplace, looking at Charlie cautiously... She let her finger touch under her nose. She then gazed upon the small blood drops, Charlie speaking quietly.

"A-are you... Are you alright? S-spirit mother... Sh-should I get help for you? Wh-what happened to your nose?"

Maya looked at Charlie for a long while, not answering.

Charlie felt awkward, not knowing at all how to feel about the way she was looking at him. It was clear that something was wrong with her.

Finally,... As Maya's breathing had calmed down... She took her eyes back to her paw, almost like making sure that she was still in the land of the living. That she was still present in the real world.

And then... She looked back at Charlie. The husky boy just standing there nervously, waiting for any kind of communication right now.

Finally... She let the words come out.

"Your energy... It is not tied to this place." The voice of pain released into the air.

Charlie nodded his head to the side, giving puzzled look and not understanding the statement.

She then spoke, sounding truly apologizing.

"Your path... It is... it is not tied here. You are not meant to be among us... To live your life here, as I wanted... As... As I thought... That the spirits would. I was... I was wrong. You are the first Winchester... That is not to be a tribal among us."

"... T-the visions told you... That?" Charlie asked in confusion, not having expected that kind of conclusion to come from her at all.

"I... I wanted to... I meant to speak to you... To convince you to stay. I would have done so over and over until the choice would have been only up to you... But now... I have seen... By the spirits, I have seen it... Your future... It is not with us. It is out there... Where you want to go. Where your father is." She spoke, coming closer and Charlie not moving away this time.

"A-are you... Sure?... I... What did you see?" Charlie asked scaredly.

The innocence in the question made Maya feel hurt, feeling horrible for holding back the answer, but knowing it was even worse option to tell Charlie what she had seen.

"... Oh, child... Dear child... I will rather die than inflict the pain to you by telling what I saw." She spoke, her voice cracking a bit and a tear flowing down just from saying it out loud.

To know... What life waited for this innocent, brave and pure soul right in front of her.

"B-but... Sh-shouldn't I have a right to know?" He asked, feeling a bit insulted.

"... I... I don't... No, Charlie... Oh, by the spirits... We should have not done that." Maya whispered.

"Is... W-was it bad?" Charlie now asked in a small panic.

"..." Maya could not answer but her expression spoke enough already, making Charlie walk a bit closer to her.

"You are acting like you saw something bad," Charlie said, knowing that Maya wouldn't act this way if it wasn't the case.

"You have to go. You have to leave this valley." Maya said quietly with heavy pain in her tone.

It was harsh to hear that. There was no way of putting that feeling. But Charlie was just confused as ever, speaking back quietly.

"A-are you... Kicking me out?" Charlie asked unsurely, sounding a bit wounded. He knew that he was going to go anyway, but hearing that he was not wanted was a different feeling.

"... I would never... Ever do that to you. But I know... That no matter what I say... No matter what I do... Nothing can stop it all from happening. Sooner or later... You will leave this valley by your own wish." She assured like there was no stopping it.

"..." Charlie was quiet, then whispering quietly with an unsure tone.

"But... I-if I save my father... A-and we both come back-"

"Charlie... You won't ever return to this valley again. Your fate... It is tied to the land beyond. Your journey... It does not include us. It feels like a stab to the heart and believe me when I mean that I am so sorry for you my child... But you would only bring pain and destruction in your wake, would you ever return. People who would take this land from us." She said with sorrow.

"W-why would bad people follow me? What did I do to make them follow me?" Charlie asked, feeling like it could not be true.

She then whispered.

"It wouldn't be your choice. That is why you do right by us... To protect us and this place. You leave out there... And you will never come back. This... This is not your home. It is always part of you... But it is not your future. I have seen it."

"Then what else have you seen?! I was born here, why can't I return after I rescue my father?!-"

"Charlie... You might try to rescue him... But it cannot be stopped." She spoke, shedding another tear.

"... I... THERE HAS TO BE A WAY! Y-you can use your vision again, right?!" Charlie asked desperately.

She then sniffed, wiping the rest of the blood from her nose against her paw, taking a breath as she spoke somberly.

"I have seen already what is to become... Little one... You cannot save your father from his death... But you will get what you are looking for. What you want."

"And what is that?!" Charlie yelled in small anger.

"Revenge." She said quietly like it was obvious.

"..." Charlie was now quiet, feeling a bit riled up but couldn't deny that I was indeed what he wanted.

Maya walked slowly closer to Charlie, the husky this time not shifting away in fear but looking defying, hearing her speak.

"You will cast a shadow that has never been seen before over the land... And you will know... You will make sure... That the shadow and its storms won't reach here. Ever. They shall hear your roar the loudest... And it will never echo here. You will not return... Because you won't let yourself do so."

Charlie now looked confused, the anger going away slowly.

"... I... Y-you are saying that... I don't want to return, once I have left?"

"... Yes." She whispered.

"... How can you be so sure that I don't want to return?" Charlie asked.

"Because your revenge has consequences... And your fate is one that will end many others. So... So many." She spoke like it was haunting.

"... I don't understand! What does that mean?!" Charlie asked in confusion.

"This is the first... And the last time that we speak, Charlie Winchester. You have to leave tonight." She said like it was something that needed to be done. Sooner the better.

"... I... How does anything you say make this any clearer?!" Charlie asked loudly in frustration.

"It is not for your soul to understand... And it is not my place to tell you these things. I should have not been allowed to witness any of it in the first place. I was in the wrong to prove myself to you like that." She apologized, wishing truly that she would have never dived into the realm of Charlie's future.

"....A... At least tell me if I'm going to survive out there?! Since I for some reason won't come back here!?" Charlie asked in desperation. Despite his braveness, all the words so far had hinted towards the fact that he was not going to be having a great time at all. More like the worst.

Maya then slowly came close as she could. She spoke nothing first, placing her paw carefully on Charlie's shoulder as the glimmering dark green eyes stared back into hers. She then whispered with an intense voice as the last tear fell down her cheek.

"... You are not going to just survive out there... You are going to be something that no soul has ever been... To them... You will be a sun that shall burn the ones that deserve to be burned... And a wind that will guide the ones that are tied to your destiny."

"...." Charlie had no idea what to think about that.

She then kneeled down and spoke to him with apologizing and an endearing tone.

"... You are your father's son... And you are special in more ways than you can imagine, little Charlie. But your time with us... it has come to an end. And once again... We won't have a Winchester amongst us. It will be the greatest pain of all to try and keep my children in this valley in control... Some of them might even tell me that I have lost my mind for sending you away like this... But they don't know... They didn't see..."

She slowly started pulling Charlie into a hug, the small husky feeling weird over the sudden affectionate expression, but not fighting against it.

She whispered quietly with sorrow to the husky.

"You are my child, just as much as them. You are part of me... And we are part of you. But you have to go... And never look back. And one day... A Winchester... Your flesh and blood... Will return here... And that it will remain to be seen... If he is the true promised one to lead this place."

She slowly pulled away from the hug, Charlie looking at her with still confused expression, whispering quietly.

"... But... What if it will be me, after all? A-and if your vision is wrong? If the sky spirits are wrong?" Charlie asked quietly with a hopeful tone, wishing there was a chance for return someday.

"... Oh, little Charlie... For the first time in my life... I wish that the visions I just saw were nothing but lies... And that you would return to us one day. I wish that still, with all my heart."

She then slowly leaned in, Charlie closing his eyes briefly as the ghoul gave a caring and loving smooch on his forehead.

She then rose back on her feet slowly, giving nothing but the look of sorrow at his way as she felt hateful of herself over the fact that she was throwing Charlie out of the tribe like this. But she had to do what sky spirits told her to.

But Charlie spoke to her quickly in hesitation.

"C-can I at least g-go and see my mother one last time b-before I have to go?" The small husky asked like it was something that was going to happen no matter if Maya denied it for any reason.

Maya slowly turned to look at Charlie, her eyes still watery. She put the hood back on to cover her face, gathering enough strength into her voice as she spoke to the small husky with a loving tone.

"I would never deny you of that... Go, little one. You will have time till sunrise. Days, if you feel like it... But sooner or later... You want to leave. I know you do... Because you want to believe that there is still hope for your father... No matter how I try to convince you otherwise." She whispered.

She then sniffed and spoke quietly.

"It is your choice to make. But I will never deny you of embracing your mother and your friends before you begin your journey."

"Th-thank you." Charlie let out in small relief.

"... You have nothing to thank me for, Charlie. All of this gives me more pain than you can ever know." Maya said with a warm tone, sniveling a bit from the sadness of losing the most important tribe member like this.

"S-spirit mother."

Maya waited for whatever Charlie was about to say or ask, as the husky walked right next to her.

"Wh-what if they... What if my M-mom will follow? O-or T-Tesshin?"

".... I know that they will try... But I will... Try my best to talk them out of it. And I know... That they will hate me for what I have done. What I said to you. I have to live with that for the rest of my life... Trying to convince them that it was a vision from the sky spirits, as I have seen." She said quietly, already knowing it was going to be a hell to deal with.

Suddenly the small husky spoke with uncertainty.

"... M- Maya?"

She had never heard anyone besides Ethan use that name of her.

And it froze her on her place to hear someone use her real name.

Ethan had told his son of it. It was the only possible case.

Charlie wondered clearly if it was offending to use her real name, But Maya was looking more surprised and speechless than offended.

"... Yes, Charlie?" She asked quietly.

"... If... If I die out there... W-will... Will I still j-join the sky spirits?"

Maya for a moment was about to break down from hearing such a question but spoke back with honesty and small comforting smile.

"After everything, you will live through... And what you suffer for this tribe and it's future as our Raturu... They damn better welcome you with open arms, or I will be very angry at them."

That made even Charlie smile just a bit, the small husky pressing with another question carefully with a hopeful tone.

"I- I hope I won't be alone in there... T-that all the Suturu tribe will welcome me when I get there."

"... They are dancing and singing there as we speak... Waiting for us all. As well as you." She whispered.

"W-Will my dad go there too, o-once he... I-if I'm too late?" Charlie stopped talking, sadness taking him as he still believed that he could save his father beside what Maya was saying, but wanted to still know in the case of the bad end.

"... Charlie. Know, that he will. And he will hug and embrace you with all his love." She promised with a smile, trying not to cry.

"Y-you believe that?" He asked innocently.

"... I believe that with all my heart." She spoke with the warm smile and nodded.

"... That... hearing that makes me feel better." He said with a small smile.

"... Goodbye... My little Charlie." She said quietly, starting to walk away from the husky with slow steps.

"... G-goodbye, Maya." Charlie whispered back but still making sure she heard it.

Charlie now looked back into the fire, that had turned from blue color into a normal. Like magic had disappeared from his surroundings

The husky gazed back at Maya, seeing as she looked back at him as well from the edge of the palm trees.

She gave one last smile with a respectful nod at his way, disappearing into the night woods.

And she made sure that she could be in a fair distance away from the small husky so he couldn't hear...

Hear the voice of her sorrowful crying, the ghoul falling or her knees and crying her heart out, feeling like the worst person in the world for telling the ten-year-old boy to leave into the most dangerous place ever, with nothing but his courage as his protection... And his grim, violence-filled the future.

For the first time in her life...

Maya cursed the sky spirits for making her do such a heartless decision...

Just expecting her to follow through for the future of her tribe.

ACT 2

(MEMORY CONTINUATION)

(Blood Diamond OST - London [Extended])

The journey of a legend had begun... Even if he didn't know of it yet. All he had as his words for the future... Was the ones Maya gave him.

Charlie had returned to the camp, comforting his crying mother, the emotional moment between them being heart-breaking. Charlie already saw how much it destroyed her, having lost her husband... But soon, he himself would abandon her himself to walk his road of fate, far from the tribe.

But his spirit and calling for it was strong... And he was going to have to break the heart of his mother and leave this blessed, isolated and beautiful valley for good.

He gave Tesshin one big hug, knowing that he would never see his father's best friend again, either. Unless Maya would fail to persuade him to stay. Tesshin vouched that he would revenge Ethan, once he would be able to persuade Maya for their tribe to go to war. But Charlie knew despite the passionate promise, that it would fail. Maya knew that the only chance to change things and world balance...

Started by sending Charlie Winchester to Texas wasteland.

The sun rose in the east... And Charlie woke up, far away from his camp. He knew that it was only a matter of time before everyone would wake up and start looking for him once his absence would be noticed... So, he had prepared.

He woke near the collapsed mountain exit... And his first task to earn his journey... Was to climb all the way up this big mountain. There were no other entrances out.

Charlie had his favorite Yao Gai fur robes to cover himself with, metal hook to climb the mountain, food, two caskets of river water, bow on his back and knife on his scabbard... Along with a piece of wood in his pocket that had only one word written to it, that he could not pronounce.

"Febris".

His only clue to find his father and stop his execution in time, if he could. He knew that Maya had already seen and told it could not be stopped but he just had this feeling...

The feeling he couldn't shake off.

That there was still hope.

Charlie began climbing, fast as he could, full of concentration.

He almost fell a couple of times, but yet he felt as closer as he got to the top of the mountain peak... That, someone, was watching him.

Every breath, every step... Every move.

Maybe it was the sky spirits... But little Charlie felt braver than he ever had, finally reaching the top side of the mountain.

There... he turned around, panting out of breath and his fingers hurting bad.

But he had made it.

And as he gazed down the valley and the sun rising above it... Seeing the waterfalls, the canyons, red rocks, and even their campsites from this height...

The sight of paradise made him soul search even more.

Do I want to leave all this behind? I could have a future here... And Maya could just be wrong... Or maybe sky spirits were angry and caused her to see false visions...

Or maybe...

You love your mother. And you feel homesick already.

And maybe behind all that...

You know that you will never call this place home again.

"... It is beautiful, isn't it?" A Maya's voice suddenly spoke inside his mind.

It felt like cold vibrations, freeing his body under the warm sun.

"M-Maya?" Charlie asked in doubt with a freaked out tone.

"... You might leave... And you might never see me again... but know this child..." The spiritual echo spoke in his head.

"..."

"I will never abandon you. I will always watch for you... And I will always guide my children... No matter how far they are." She spoke with all the love in the world.

Charlie gave a small exhale in amazement from that, closing his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath, finding himself smiling and whispering.

"And to think I doubted your magic so harshly."

And he could feel despite getting no answer... That Maya was smiling too that warmly, giving him the push to keep going, like grandmother's kiss to the forehead.

And with the last gaze over the paradise... Charlie was gone.

Determined to change the world.

(The Book of Eli Soundtrack - The Journey)

As the trees changed around him, just blatantly looking like they were dying... The more his uncomfortable energy started to get its way to win him.

It was very odd... To see the lack of color around him... To see, like the life around him was crusting away with each step.

Charlie finally reached somewhat stale, rocky ground, seeing nothing but desert around them that continued for miles most likely. He was next to some old, very wrecked building, the sign on top saying "Big Bend Resort & Adventures."

He had no idea what the sign actually said in truth, considering that he was not very good at reading. Speaking English was courtesy that he had learned from his father while growing up, along with his mother tongue of the valley. But reading was a bit different. So, it was hard for him to read the whole sign itself.

But in the end, it wasn't important.

He saw nobody around and went inside the wrecked building to look for anything to loot. But there was nothing but burned logs and ash. In the end, he had pretty much expected it. What he could not do, was to read the warning on the wall that said.

"THEY GOT WHAT THEY DESERVED... IN BLOOD WE PAY".

He stared at the words for a while, sighing and starting to walk away from the place in frustration, having not understood what was written on the wall at all.

He began walking down the highway 118, heading north. He kept on walking... And walking... And walking.

It was tedious. He had expected to see at least someone on the first day, but there was no one on the road yet. He camped his first night by the side of the road, having walked for full ten kilometers already. The sun was burning like hell, making Charlie drink around half of his water bottle in the evening.

He woke up the next morning, getting his gear ready and seeing still no one around him. It was just him and the desert, and this damn road.

Charlie kept on walking once again, having traveled around five kilometers on the pavement, until he saw something by the side of the road. He slowly walked up to it, observing the object in interest.

As he kneeled down, he gazed upon an actual weapon.

It was wooden, lever action, and in somewhat good shape as well.

The small husky felt a bit weirded out of someone having left their gun just lie around by the side of the road, looking around with puzzled expression.

There was no one to be seen, among the burning sun, sand dunes and rocks here and there.

Charlie was about to take it from the ground until he saw what was around the handle of the gun.

An arm. An arm of a tiger, cut off completely and still tightly around the grip.

The horrendous and unexpected sight made Charlie hesitate, wondering what could have happened to the owner?

Until he heard something nearby.

Around seven meters from his location, there were huge rocks at the side of the road, enough to take shelter from anything.

He heard groaning... At least he thought he did.

Little Charlie approached slowly with his bow drawn, circling behind the rock.

And there... He saw something that no person should have witnessed at that age.

A man was sitting against the rock, his dead, brown eyes looking towards the sky faintly. The tiger was clearly long gone from the land of the living, the stump of an arm making it clear that he was the owner of the rifle by the side of the road.

But he was not alone.

Someone was doing something to this tiger, making... Such weird, primitive sounds. The tiger's lifeless body was moving around faintly as the person kept on touching him, very harshly. Something was terribly wrong here

It... Its back skin looked like Maya's, faintly. That was the first thing it reminded him of. Tufts of fur only left here and there. Like he had been... Scalped. Maybe this person was just like Maya, capable of communication. Maybe it was kind.

Charlie swallowed hard, raising his voice and keeping his bow ready, even if lowered from pointing at anyone.

"S-sir?"

The person stopped, making one last animalistic grunt and tearing something down from the tiger.

And when it slowly turned around to look at Charlie... The small husky felt like his heart got stuck in his throat.

This person... Was a person no longer. It had once been maybe a wolf, perhaps, looking by its overall characteristics... But... It was something far more monstrous right now.

It had no fur left in its body. It was like turned out, fleshy mass all over. The color of its eyes had faded, like the soul of this creature was gone. It had long claws, full of blood dripping from them, pieces of flesh under. Its fangs were mutated, all around the place without any order. Its tail was gone as well, no sign of it anywhere.

Charlie had no idea that what he was staring right now, was a feral ghoul.

But to him, it was nothing but a blatant monster straight out of nightmares.

It could clearly see him standing in front of him, even as lifeless as its eyes were. The bits of torn flesh and muscle tissue were hanging from its mouth like a savage, the thing having eaten the whole other arm of the dead tiger by the root.

Charlie quickly raised his bow in panic as the thing growled at him, clearly preparing to lunge any second now.

The small husky was hesitating, just way too disturbed by the appearance of this horrendous creature to react. Too scared.

Until the thing let out a loudest grown of bloodthirst, starting to rush towards Charlie, it's maw ready to sink it's shard, deformed teeth to Charlie's flesh.

"STOP!" Charlie let out first as a panicked warning.

It had zero reaction to the monster, now a mere four meters away.

It was the moment when Charlie had to steel himself, remaining brave despite how scary the situation was. He could not fail his father, and getting eaten by some cannibal was not going to be the end of his story.

So he closed his other eye, inhaling...

And releasing.

The arrow was released with average, still sizeable strength and aim.

And it hit the target, making the monster growl out loudly, the sound making Charlie wince so he could not bear to look if he had succeeded in killing it or getting jumped by claws that were now much angrier.

But he then heard the sound of someone falling onto the ground.

And carefully... Charlie opened his scared eyes.

The creature had fallen only two meters away from Charlie, the husky having not realized how deadly his shot had been. It had pierced straight through the monster's heart, the tip poking out from it's back.

A lucky and fatal shot.

But as he stood there, hyperventilating and gazing down on the monster's corpse, he was not sure if it was truly dead. But it surely was not making any sounds anymore.

The husky started to approach cautiously.

Charlie paranoidly kicked the creature with caution on the side of the head, getting no reaction. He circled around the corpse, panting and walking to the dead tiger now. He gave still a paranoid gaze at the ghoul over his shoulder, not seeing it move yet. The danger was most likely over.

He then shifted the attention to the tiger... And it was way too hard to try to see if there was anything to take from the unfortunate soul until Charlie puked. Looking at the fleshy stump bleed and the bits of flesh being all around the ground, was too much for him. He closed his eyes, giving almost apologizing hand signal to the corpse, feeling like it was a disrespectful thing to do by someone's body like this. Charlie gathered his breath some, trying not to look at the carnaged part of the corpse and focusing on trying to check if he had anything on him that could be of use.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Charlie repeated quietly as he kept checking the pockets of the tiger.

He found four bullets. Small leather pouch that had... Twenty... Bottlecaps?

Charlie in confusion just stuck it all in his own pockets, still trying to keep looking for anything useful.

He found a small note that spoke words he didn't understand... And also, he found a small pocket watch. It was rusty, the mechanism not working anymore.

And on the other, last unchecked pocket... There was an ink pen.

Charlie sniffed a bit, holding his arm to cover his mouth in order to hold his urge to puke even just by the smell, closing the open eyes of the corpse and whispering quietly.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you, mister..."

Charlie didn't even bother to see what the rag wearing monster had on him, still laying on the ground nearby. He didn't want to touch such a scary thing; afraid it might still be alive.

The brown-furred husky walked back to the side of the road, taking the rifle from the ground and slowly with grossed out expression, taking the still remaining paw off from the grip.

Charlie kept on going with his journey but feeling way more disturbed and cautious about it.

He had just witnessed very traumatizing sight, not able to brush off the sight of the dead tiger from this mind. It was stuck there... As much as the monster he had killed, was. It was the scariest looking thing he had seen, and if there were others like it...

The homesickness despite the rescue mission was getting stronger.

The third day came. Charlie kept on going, knowing he would run out of water soon. The food situation was still solid, but besides the casket that had about one-third left, he had only one extra bottle of pure water from his valley.

The scenery was so helpless and without life. Only crows and buzzards flying around in the sky, gazing down upon him. Dead, rocky and sandy dynes everywhere that an eye could reach. Only a few rocky and wooden houses here and there fully looted and barely in condition to give shelter at night. It was like having stepped from paradise into something...

Just...

Dead.

The only living soul he had seen yet was the monster he had killed by luck. Now, all his hours went on trying to desperately read the note he had found on the dead tiger traveler. It was a bit too long thing to read, so it was just a guessing game on some of the words.

Having walked another seven kilometers along the road... He was forgetting the hope of seeing someone today, deciding to rest by the nearby rocks and maybe my luck make a campfire from nearby twigs, so he could fry some frog meat he had in his bag. It was hard enough to carry so much stuff on your back at this age, plus the heat. But the constant hunger and thirst due to the warmth and sand were a pain.

Charlie sat down, sighing and studying the rifle in his hands for a moment. The mechanism was very unfamiliar to him. He had no idea how guns worked at all.

He was slightly scared if he would most likely break something soon, but his boredom got the best of him. Along with getting his mind to anywhere else form the memory of the monster eating the dead tiger. It's lifeless, angry eyes staring into his soul.

Charlie was fiddling the gun around, wondering what would happen if he would press-

BAM!!!!

The lever-action gun echoed out, shooting a huge pebble into pieces right next to Charlie, making the husky jump up in a panic and yell out.

"OH NO!"

The blast of the gun echoed faintly around the desert, the voice disappearing and Charlie picking up the gun from the ground, careful not to touch the area that had made the gun go off.

"Stupid... M-maybe someone heard that and will come over so I can ask directions..."

Charlie then went silent, wondering if the worst-case could also be a possible outcome. Maybe there was more than one of those monsters.

The scary idea made him even more paranoid, forcing him to keep walking and forgetting his break for now.

Charlie walked for a fair two more kilometers until his feet began to hurt once again.

"I hate this quiet..." Charlie mumbled, only the wind echoing around him and seeing nothing but rocks, cactuses, and finally... A sign on the side of the road.

His expression turned into an optimistic one, rushing to see what the sign said.

"Okay... Okay, concentrate..." Charlie whispered, trying to read as well as he could.

"A... Alp.. P... Alpine T... Tow... Town? Alpine town?"

Ethan had once told him about saving "a town" full of people long ago. Charlie remembered the story. Town had people... Meaning... That maybe this Alpine town... Had people in there as well?"

All he had to do was trust in that and keep walking. Charlie drank the rest of his water, now only having one last casket of water left.

Charlie had to keep on walking on. He took a rest by ruins of a small house nearby that had a collapsed roof but it's walls still intact. From there, he actually found something. A teddy bear. He had no idea how to react to the small object, staring at it with a puzzled expression. The rest of his night before sleep went on looking at the toy, smiling for some reason while watching it. Despite being in such a lifeless place... The toy was smiling nevertheless.

Maybe it was a sign to keep his positive attitude.

The morning came... And the sun rose once more.

It was the fourth morning without shelter of his camp... And the nightmare he had seen about his mother crying her eyes out was not a nice thing to dwell on. Charlie woke up from the ruins, gasping and panting with sweat. Not only because of the heat but due to the intense nightmare itself.

"Mom..." He whispered quietly, trying to calm himself down. The need to return to his only remaining parent was getting stronger, and it felt like this journey would lead him to nothing after all. There was no life here. Just... Desert.

There is still the town, Charlie thought. Just have to believe in it. I can't be alone in there.

Suddenly... He could hear something from the outside.

A monotone voice was speaking around ten meters away, Charlie wondering if it was the voice of the spirits or something. It didn't... Sound like any human he knew.

"BBZZZ... BROADCAST STATION BAXTON ANNOUNCEMENT..."

Charlie was his back against the wall now very nervously, listening as someone else was speaking now, sounding... Way more human now but still rather odd... Was there someone else on the road?

"As you all know, we have more important news, coming slightly month late, apologies... The news coming right out from the northern Arizona... And new Mexico as well... A man named Caesar has conquered the tribes... BZTZTT... Following bbzt... Roy! How am I supposed to make announcements if the static is too high?!.. Uh... Gztzttzz.. Also the neeews of our loved Febrzzzzz.. Army... Capturing the legendary... Bzt.. Of for fuck's sake, Roy! Just cut the music back on and fix the static or lose your job, thank you! YES! Just play the music for now! God damnit... BZZTtz.."

The aggressive voice stopped talking, Charlie breathing fast and wondering what on earth was going on the road?

Would he have the courage to peek?

And then... He heard it.

The... Music.

(Dave Clark Five : Because)

Charlie first tensed up, his eyes widening and wondering if he was daydreaming now.

This... This sound... This melody... It was... Incredible. He had... Never heard something like this.

He had to look. Even if he would blow his cover. He had to know what was going on on the road.

And then he saw it.

It was... A... Machine? Ball of... Metal?

It was hovering in the air. It was literally flying. It was so odd... To hear this... Tune around this otherwise so quiet place. Like... This machine, whatever it was... it was creating a life around it just by playing this unknown tune.

It was something Charlie had never heard before... The song... It was not like the chants he would have around the tribe by the fire... It was...

Just different. It was mesmerizing. Beautiful. Calming.

He needed to hear more, the child's fascination getting overbearing as he kept on listening for a good while, keeping on peeking at the robot.

Fascinated, Charlie carefully placed the rifle against the wall, wondering if it would ease the ball of metal for Charlie to come in peace without a gun in his hand.

He walked outside from the ruins, his bow still at his back just in case, staring at the hovering ball of metal. It was an eyebot sending transmissions, not that Charlie knew that.

"Uhm..." Charlie began.

There was no answer from the ball, as it was just calmly hovering past Charlie like he was not even there.

"Hey!"

The robot didn't still mind, just playing the music and going to the direction Charlie had come from.

Charlie hesitated for a moment, rushing after the thing and giving it a small knock of a knuckle, just in case to see if it had any reaction this time. It was clear that it was no living thing, but a machine made by a person most likely. Charlie had nothing to lose at this point by trying things.

This time, the machine stopped, budging a bit.

The music stopped playing.

"S-sorry. What... What are you?" Charlie asked with a puzzled tone, a bit sad that the pleasant and odd music had just stopped. He hoped he had not broken this... Whatever thing it was.

The robot didn't even look at his way, keeping on with really odd mechanic noises. Charlie was about to knock it again a bit until he could hear someone speak from behind him.

"EY! What you doing to my damn eyebot?! That was my favorite song! Now it will take the damn machine ages to find it again! I'm tired of listening Ink spots for the third day in the row!-"

Charlie slowly turned around, reacting quickly and drawing his bow ready, the arrow aiming at the person who had approached from behind him.

The small brown-furred husky's eyes widened, as he saw what was in front of him.

Two very mutated, odd-looking things were pulling a literal wooden cart, someone sitting on top of it and holding the leash around the two beasts.

The driver on the cart was a white-furred male mouse, around his thirties maybe. He had a cowboy hat and rancher gear, lasso around his belt and rusty revolver on the other side. He had a piece of hay in his mouth, looking at Charlie with a wide-eyed and equally surprised expression.

"Jesus Christ... Boy... What are you doing all the way out here?" The mouse asked, sounding very concerned.

"... Wh-what?" Charlie asked carefully.

"... Why are you wearing nothing but rags? I mean yeah, it's like thirty degrees of heat but... you are borderline nude, young man. Let me at least give you some clothes... Do you... Mind aiming that bow somewhere else?" The mouse asked with a civil tone.

"I-I'm sorry mister!" Charlie apologized right away, aiming his bow down and relaxing his arm.

"It's fine, I guess. Can't be all too careful with folks around... Now... What are you doing around here?" The mouse pressured again in concern.

"I'm just... Walking?" Charlie asked innocently.

"... Boy, how old are you?" The mouse asked in frustration.

Charlie hesitated for a moment, then telling the truth.

"Ten."

"..... Ten." The mouse repeated, sounding almost insulted by how right he had guessed.

"Is... What does that matter?" Charlie asked, playing stupid. But he had a pretty good idea why the mouse was asking these questions.

The mouse shook his head, speaking angrily.

"Boy, are you out of your mind? You are waaaay too young to wander around Texas wasteland in that age? Where on earth are your parents?-"

Then the mouse stood up, looking around paranoidly.

"Oh shit, please don't tell me that they are behind a rock somewhere and try to rob me! BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TO SHOOT!" The mouse yelled around as a warning, his paw traveling to the grip of his revolver fast.

"Nonono! I'm alone here!" Charlie assured.

"That is what they want you to believe at the moment!" The mouse yelled paranoidly.

"Look! Believe me! I don't lie! I've walked four days now, and my legs really damn hurt... I... I don't know you, and you don't know me... But I just... I just wanted directions! That is all!" Charlie yelled, not wanting to anger the mouse.

The mouse was looking at Charlie for a moment, sitting down and still cautiously gazing around the roadside. But in reality, there was very little places to plan an ambush from.

"Directions? Son... tell me where your parents are." The mouse told again.

"Wh... Why?" Charlie still asked in confusion.

The mouse sighed, trying to control his anger, but it wasn't caused by Charlie directly.

"... Look, kid. These roads... these lands... they are not for ten-year-olds to roam around like a happy land! You could get ripped to shreds by feral ghouls! Slaved by bandits! Freaking... Raped by lunatics, robbed and killed by raiders! I am asking you because unless you were stupid enough to run away from your parents for some reason, I am going to have a talk with them about parenting for a good while!"

Charlie didn't understand the dangers that the mouse was talking about, whispering quietly with an apologizing tone.

"S... So far during these days, all I've seen was desert, pretty much. There is no one around."

"Yeah... It stays that way until it doesn't. This place is the land of death. It only fools you with peaceful moments and it's quietness, until driving your life to hell by sending one wrong person to cross paths with you. Now, kid. I am asking one last time from you... Where are your parents, so I can safely take you to them? I can't live with myself if I let ten-year-old wander around here with a... With a damn bow that you can barely even draw. You will die out here within a few days, and as a father of children myself, I won't have that on my conscience." The mouse promised with a determined tone.

Charlie had a decision to make. To tell the truth... Or lie. Something had to be said, and he was struggling to get the words out. Someone wanted to genuinely help him but wanted also a genuine answer in return. But he had made his promise. Don't ever tell about the valley.

"... It's... It's just me left... I'm... I'm alone."

"... Kid... There is no way that you have survived here ten years since your birth and learned how to use a bow and talk English out of the thin blue. Look I am not trying to insult you here, that would never be my intent, young man. But I feel that I am compelled to at least make sure that you are safe around here. And trust me, these lands are not safe, as I have already told. You are going to have to tell me what is going on. I'd rather not steal someone's kid, so at least tell me who is watching over you around here so I can take you to them." The mouse explained calmingly, making sure that Charlie didn't see him as a bad person.

Charlie then remembered the scary situation he had been in, realizing it was a perfect cover-up story.

"I- I had a man who was taking care of me... H-his name was... T-Tommy. He found me long ago, a-and I don't remember much. I've always owned this bow and these r-robes. My r-real parents died when I was younger. We were traveling together w-with Tommy. He... He got eaten by... B-by a monster. I... I escaped." Charlie spoke, trying to act to his story and sounding a bit heartbroken.

"... When did this... Tommy die?" The mouse asked quietly with a sympathetic tone.

"A-a week ago? I've been walking ever since." Charlie spoke quietly.

The mouse's jaw dropped, making him curse out while shaking his head.

"... Jesus fucking Christ mary and joseph, curse this land..." The mouse breathed out, feeling crushed on Charlie's behalf overhearing such a thing. It was a very believable story to an extent, and the mouse didn't really see why the husky would lie. It was common for this land to span orphans, over parents not being able to protect their children.

The mouse was quiet for a while, just looking at the husky with sympathy in his gaze, sighing and speaking genuinely.

"I can't leave you poor thing out here on your own. I'll... I can take you with me. I guess I have to turn this cart around and return back to the town." The mouse spoke nodding hintingly for Charlie to approach.

"Th-thank you so much! I- I can give you something in return!" Charlie spoke.

"Sheesh, kid. I know it's custom to always ask something in return for favors, but I am not going to dare to ask something from an orphan or god would strike me down where I stand. Just hop on in." He assured.

"I-It's okay! I think you will have more use for the thing anyway, I don't know how to use it!" Charlie said quickly with a tone of gratitude, rushing to the small ruin he had slept in.

He had left the lever-action rifle rest against the wall, taking it now in his grip and jogging back to the cart with the rifle in his hands.

The mouse looked down upon on Charlie as the small husky was handing out the heavy rifle to him with both arms, slowly taking it from him.

He started looking around the weapon, checking it through around, looking somewhat confused and even slightly paranoid.

"I-is something wrong?"

"... No. It is a fine rifle." The mouse spoke, looking like he was in deep thoughts about something, his gaze shifting back to Charlie from time to time.

As the awkward silence continued, Charlie spoke to break the ice.

"... C-cool. I got some... Spare ammo for it. I-I accidentally shot with it. I-I don't know how to use these things at all."

"... You mean guns." The mouse spoke, handing out his paw, hinting that he was fine with taking the bullets too.

"I-I guess." Charlie nodded, starting to dig his pockets.

"How come you don't know what a gun is or how to use one, having been here all this time with... Tommy?" The mouse asked, trying to hide his suspiciousness now.

"Tommy preferred a bow too. That is why he thought me how to use one as well." Charlie lied without an effort.

"... An odd alternative." The mouse said quietly, now taking the bullets from the husky's open paw.

"... H-how is that?" Charlie asked in hesitation.

"... Bow is only valuable on a hand that knows how to use it. Very ineffective and a clumsy weapon for someone who doesn't know how to use one. Guns are easier and far more deadly." The mouse spoke with a knowing tone.

"... I'm not sure that's true." Charlie said with a faint smile.

"... You don't?" The mouse asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I... I killed the monster who killed Tommy... W-with my bow."

"You... Killed a monster with a bow?"

"Y-yeah... I hit it in the... Heart." Charlie said quietly.

"... What monster are we exactly speaking about?" The mouse asked carefully.

"It... It was the most horrible looking thing I've ever seen... I-it... It was... L-like... It was like you and me, b-but... It had no fur..."

The mouse was quiet for a while, then speaking with a sad tone as he gazed upon the horizon, seeing something.

"... Like that one?" He asked carefully.

Charlie turned to look at the distance in confusion as the mouse nodded towards something, standing up on the cart and starting to load the lever-action rifle carefully with the bullets given by Charlie.

CLACK!

The mouse had one in the chamber, ready to go.

The load of the lever made Charlie nervous a bit.

The small husky saw as something was approaching from the west of them... Very, very fast on foot.

Charlie tensed up, starting to load his bow, his eyes squinting to see the thing come closer and closer.

"No, kid. I don't know how lucky you got with the monster that you killed, but... Unless you are a damn robin hood from storybooks, you are not stopping this one. Let me handle it."

Charlie looked at the mouse, seeing him kneel a bit on the cart and placing his arm under the barrel of the rifle, giving it balance. He took a deep breath and kept on concentrating.

Soon enough Charlie saw it. It was just like the one he had seen earlier, more or less.

It was snapping it's maw hungrily, looking rapid as one could. Its skin had turned inside out, this creature most likely having been maybe otter before. Now it was very hard to tell, due to the loss of the tail.

The creature was barely seven meters away, Charlie readying his bow just in case and looking terrified of the monster, feeling like it just wanted to rip anything to pieces, would it get hands on it.

BAM!!!

The gun blasted the high caliber bullet, hitting the feral ghoul right to its left eye.

The impact made half of its head almost explode clean off, the creature stumbling and falling down, face flat onto the hard rocks.

The bits of brain flew a bit onto the sandy ground, making Charlie turn his gaze away and close his eyes in distaste from seeing such a grim death.

The barrel was smoking, the growling noises of the monster fainting away and the wind blowing quietly. Suddenly, they eyebot buzzed loudly, starting to play music again after the static noise.

(The Turtles - Happy Together)

"... Thank god, I love this song... Anything but Ink spots." The mouse whispered, standing back up and laying the rifle next to his seat, looking proud of his shot.

Charlie slowly opened his eyes, looking at the corpse and then at the mouse.

"What are those things?!"

"Feral ghouls. One of the thousand reasons you shouldn't be wandering around here like this. Give me your hand, boy. Get up here." The mouse said with a smile, handing out his paw to the husky.

Charlie gave a look around, then slowly taking the paw and got pulled up onto the seat right next to the mouse.

"TSK TSK! Edi! Run protocol two!" The mouse snapped with his tongue for the eyebots way.

In the middle of the music, the eyebot beeped, starting to follow up to them as the mouse whipped the two fat creatures in front of him.

"MMmhhooo"!" The creatures released in unison, starting to circle around and pulling the cart. They freaked Charlie out a bit, the husky speaking in interest.

"What are these things, then?"

"These? Brahmins. They are domesticated and calm unless provoked enough. I'm sure you have seen a few, or have you?"

"... No."

"I see. You must have lived very civilization avoiding life with this... Tommy, to not having seen brahmin or farmers."

"...." Charlie didn't know what to answer to that. He was quiet for a moment, looking at the eyebot and listening to the music with a small smile.

"I... I really like that." He whispered dreamily.

"... The eyebot?" The mouse asked in confusion.

"No... the.... the music. It's... amazing." Charlie said.

"Well, if you like the 60's hits, then sure... but there is plenty of better ones. I prefer eighty's." The mouse shrugged.

"I've just... N-never heard anything like this before... I could just... Listen to it all day...." Charlie spoke in thought, just feeling himself smile the more he listened to the eyebot.

"... Kid... Are you okay?" The mouse now asked, concerned again.

".... Y-yeah?" Charlie asked back in confusion, looking at the mouse now.

"You act as if you had never heard music before, boy."

"... I haven't." Charlie nodded since it was the truth.

"..." Now the mouse was the one without words, looking at the husky with studying gaze, making Charlie feel a bit uneasy.

"What directions were you in need of?" The mouse asked suddenly in interest.

"O-oh, I umm... I just needed to find a place to rest for a while... I- I saw a sign earlier. It said A-al... Al-"

"Alpine town?"

"Y-yeah! That one!" The dog said excitedly.

The mouse chuckled.

"That is where we are going right now, boy. It has around ten people in it, so I think the whole definition of town might be still too grand to this day, in my opinion. But it is fair to travelers. It has a general store, a very small inn, and a water pump, but it is a very expensive water. Small farm in my back yard too. We do average, mostly surviving only due to trading runs to the capital."

"... That sounds... N-nice?" Charlie asked with uncertainty, not understanding really a lot from his talk.

"... Where did you plan to go after the town?" The mouse asked.

"... It... I need to find someone. I'm on a rescue mission." He said bravely.

"... Come again?"

"Res... L-let's just say that I have something I have to do. And I'm running out of time." Charlie said with a small anxiety.

"... Boy... What is your name?" The mouse then proceeded to ask, as the kid was clearly acting a bit secretive.

"... I'm... My name is Danny." Charlie lied quickly, feeling a bit uneasy as it definitely didn't sound convincing.

"Tommy and Danny. Interesting... Okay then, Danny. My name is Walt."

"... N-nice to meet you, Walt." Charlie said quietly, still gazing upon the dead feral ghoul and seeing as the crows started to slowly gather to feast on the corpse. The sight was disturbing, and as the mouse saw the kid staring at it, he snapped his tongue to get his attention.

"You as well, Danny! So... Anything else you want to ask from me?" The mouse asked positively.

"... H-how long is the way to the town?" Charlie asked right away.

"About two kilometers."

"I-I see. Cool. I umm..." Charlie struggled to ask anything else, trying to just not stare at the corpse as they started to finally move faster due to the brahmin waking up to action.

The mouse gazed upon the secretive husky child, wondering how to drive the conversation further. He then spoke with an optimistic tone.

"... I am going to return this gun to you by the way. Thanks for loaning it. But I am going to be honest with you, kid. You need to learn how to shoot out here. I can teach you the basics of how to handle this rifle that you found. You can stay in the town as long as you like. There is always work to be done, and you are a hell of a lot safer there than out here with only a bow." The mouse said knowingly.

"I have a knife too, Walt." Charlie reminded.

That made the mouse laugh rather loudly, slapping his knee a bit and already starting to like this kid.

"HAHAhaha! Aaah, that makes all the difference in the world, eh? You a warrior? More for hand to hand combat?" The mouse said, giving playful punches to the air.

"... Are you making fun of me?" Charlie asked annoyedly.

"Tsk, nah, kid. But I'm telling you, stay with us for a while, and maybe we can help you in return." He said, giving a small tap on Charlie's shoulder.

The husky then spoke with a determined tone.

"... I can't waste time around town for longer than a day. I already told... I'm on a-"

"Rescue mission? I heard. And I want to hear all about it. I am sure that I can help you in some way."

It was clear all over the tone that the mouse was giving false promises, wanting to just take Charlie under protection and wanting him to settle. It was only normal that he would think that ten-year-old talking about rescue missions would most likely sunburn or dehydration.

"B-but-" The husky tried to stutter back until the mouse grabbed the rifle to cut Charlie off from arguing. He laid it on Charlie's lap and spoke.

"Here, take this, young one."

"... I- I don't know how to use it!" Charlie said right away in a panic.

"That is what we are here to learn, boy. If you are going to use a gun, we start from the beginning and slow. Take that bullet from my pocket and I'll tell how to load that thing." The mouse eagered.

"... N-now?"

"The faster the better. It should be an honor to have that as your first weapon of choice. It is a beauty, that one. Old, but sharp and deadly. Very elegant as well. My personal favorite is the name."

"... The name? How can a... Gun have a name?" Charlie asked in confusion.

"Many people name their guns. But I am talking about rather commonly known name for this gun, as the one who designed it had the honor to name it before it was manufactured into multiple guns." The mouse explained, being very educated on the matter.

"What is the name then that makes it so special?" Charlie asked in confusion.

The mouse chuckled and spoke proudly.

"Danny... You are holding a pristine model gun from the year 1873... The Winchester."

"... W-wait, r-really? The gun's name is... Winchester?" Charlie asked, his eyes snapping open and looking at the mouse-like he had not heard right.

"Yes. Lever action 1873 Winchester rifle. A beautiful gun." The mouse nodded.

"... Winchester..." Charlie whispered with a small fascinated smile, looking down around the gun and paying closer attention now to it.

"The name means something to you?" The mouse asked with a puzzled tone.

"... No." Charlie whispered, sounding convincing due to being so much in thought now, wondering it was a sign from the spirits.

"Alrighty. You want to learn how to use it?" The mouse asked.

The small husky turned to slowly look at the mouse's way with an excited expression, the determined voice speaking the words.

".... Yes."

And so, the two began their journey to the nearby town, Charlie fidgeting around his seat as the eyebot started to play another song, making him hum clumsily along without knowing the words.

But yet, after three days of horrible isolation in the desert...

He finally had hope again.

And maybe even a friend.

ACT 3

(MEMORY CONTINUATION)

(Hell on Wheels Main Title (Extended Version)

"Welcome to Alpine, kid." Walt announced proudly, as they could already see a nearby town faintly. The white marbled own made housing was shining in the sun, along with some old remnant houses half broken. It had a wooden watchtower, around six meters of height. Someone was on top, sitting on a chair. The figure could be seen moving around, having most likely spotted them arriving on the road.

Charlie was still holding the Winchester rifle, staring with excited smile around the town and feeling a bit nervous. Walt was the first person he had seen out there that seemed normal. But he was about to meet actual mammals without knowing of their nature at all. Could they be trusted? Would they try to steal something from him or hurt him?

Walt had vouched for the town's safety, but in the end, the warnings that the mouse had told about the place didn't just go through his ear and out of the other. He had no idea that people out here would be as vile as the mouse had told.

Maybe I was just damn lucky for not having bumped into... Bandits or whatever he was listing.

"Just let me do the talking once we arrive. Don't worry, these people ain't going to bite like the feral ghoul I shot. They friendly, especially towards kids. But I'm going to expect a lot of questions from them, so..."

"... O-okay." Charlie just said hesitantly, having not paid attention fully. He was just mesmerized and a bit anxious about his first experience with so-called civilization.

After around a minute, they had arrived. There was one guy sitting by the edge of the white stone house that was next to the gate. The tired-looking squirrel around the age of fifty was lifting up his hay hat, gazing on Charlie with interest, the curious gaze making Charlie feel a bit uneasy.

The main wooden gates were opened in front of them by someone who was standing by them. It was a rather lean black-furred bear around his thirties, wearing farmers' clothes and an old trucker cap.

He spoke with a strong voice to the mouse who was slowly entering through the gate, sounding confused as one could.

"Why the hell are you back so quickly, Walt? You were meant to be gone for days at least! And who that kid?" The bear asked, spitting on the ground and starting to walk by the cart, patting his paw on the brahmins head.

"You will find out soon, Sulivan. By the way, ain't you supposed to be tending to the damn cabbages right now?" Walt asked with a mocking chuckle, the bear grinning.

"Marianne is tending to that right now. I was just asking questions, damn. You forget water bottles home or something?"

"I would never forget such a thing. So, you out here chewing on tobacco and lazing around the gate when your wife is doing the work?" Walt pointed out, half judging and partly amused.

"Division of labor is a beautiful thing innit?" The bear let out with a laugh, the mouse shaking his head and not able to give a small laugh himself.

"You are an asshole, Sulivan, you know that?"

"You cursing in front of a kid, ease up!" The bear pointed out, having not shifted his attention to Charlie.

"I doubt he minds. His name is Danny. Danny, meet Sulivan." Walt said quickly, Charlie giving an awkward smile at the bear's way and wondering if he should say something.

"Well hello there, Danny! Fancy umm... Appearance you have." The bear tried to compliment, sounding a bit awkward as he clearly thought the tribal rags looked a bit ridiculous.

"Has more style than you. Be nice now, eh? The kids been through hell. I will explain once we get to the Saloon. Rachel already opened the tab, woken up early?" The mouse asked, nodding at the way of the nearby Saloon.

"Yeah, she up. Some strangers came through town while you were gone. Went to get a drink and sold some guns and medicine to Albert at the store. Managed the haggle hell of a deal. Albert gives up too easily. Was watching the whole show."

"That so? What he sell exactly? If it was expensive stuff, I might as well ask the debts later."

"Antibiotics, uhhh... Some painkillers, box of bandages... One rusty Mosin rifle, Woodstock was in a bad shape as well. Been in too much rain. One Glock-17 without a clip, and uhhm... one sawed-off twelve gauge. That one was in pretty fucking good shape as well. Gave a box of ammo to go with it too. Whole 40 of buckrounds." Sulivan listed, counting the stuff with his fingers.

The mouse gave slightly impressed expression at that, giving a slap at his knee and spoke with a determined voice.

"That is at four hundred caps in total, he better pay that twenty back for me or I'll have him scrub the floors!"

"Eeeh, good luck with that. He ain't never going to pay you back."

"We shall see. Rachel, you and I have things to talk about. I will take these brahmins back to the pen, have to sort some things out with the cart as well. You escort Donny here to the Saloon will ya? Introduce him to the lady in charge and do behave. Donny here is a good kid." The mouse said with a snap of a tongue, giving a nod at Charlie's way.

"Hop off, I'll catch up with you."

The small husky was a bit hesitant at first, looking around nervously.

There were actually plenty of mammals to be seen. They were all dressed into some farming clothes more or less, with the exception of two wearing leather armor of some kind. But they were also only ones visibly carrying weapons.

Quite many of them were just staring at him in wonder, and it was pretty overwhelming as he was not used to this kind of attention. He had no idea what was going through in everyone's head.

"Danny, you good?"

"... Why is everyone staring at me?" Charlie asked straight, not able to hold it off anymore.

"Ah... yeah, ummm... let's just say that they are not familiar with seeing clothing that you have... And carrying a bow. It is a rather distinctive outfit. Just let them stare, nothing to be done with it. People stick to small curiosities over being bored around here. Go off now. You in good hands, Sulivan will take care of you for a sec, eh? Trust me, young one. Nobody is going to hurt you here." The mouse chuckled.

The comforting smile made Charlie feel a bit easier, the husky leaving the rifle to stand against the cart passenger seat as he started to slowly climb off. His feet hit the sandy ground, the husky swaying his tail a bit anxiously as he tried to not stare back at the mammals. Everyone was just whispering to eachother and it wasn't something that made one feel very welcome.

Nevertheless, the husky started to walk next to the tall bear, giving a nervous look at him and clearing his throat.

"So, uhhmm... L-lead the way, I guess."

"The boy been in town for barely a minute already giving orders?" The bear asked from the mouse amusedly.

"A born boss man, hahah! You will like him, he has a good spirit!" The mouse laughed back.

"Maybe I will! Alright, follow me, kid." The bear chuckled loudly, waving his paw as a mark for Charlie to follow.

"You in good hands." The mouse spoke, Charlie looking past his shoulder at the mouse before starting to just walk by the bear.

The mouse clicked his tongue, lashing the ropes that held the brahmins together.

"Ton and Bon! Get moving, boys!"

Suddenly someone from the high tower was yelling at the mouse from the heights, sounding curious. It was a twenty-year-old coyote, rubbing his cowboy hat around.

"Walt! Who that kid you brought?!"

"Mikah, you have two jobs in this town! Keeping that scope on the roads like a sniper lookout should, and fixing my god damn eyebot during this year! Right now, you doing neither!" The mouse scolded loudly over his shoulder.

"Stop being like that, at least give a hint!" The coyote moaned in frustration.

"Nope! Eyes on the roads, kid!" The mouse laughed, shaking his head.

".... Asshole." The coyote muttered by himself in the tower and let out a sigh, starting to adjust his six magnifier scope, mounted on his poorly conditioned SVD Dragunov.

IN THE SALOON

(Hell on wheels: 22 Durant Suggests a Race (OST)

"Raaaacheeeel!" Sulivan spoke cheeringly, walking through the wooden double doors.

Charlie walked slowly through them as well, gazing around the place in awe.

It was such a weird, detailed place from the inside. There were pictures framed on the walls, showing places around the world that Charlie had never seen before. There was a slowly spinning fan on the ceiling, catching the curious eye of the husky.

The place had a broken piano in the corner, black of its color and having a lot of knife carvings around it. There were a few round tables with two stools to go with each one. All the windows around the place were in good shape, only one of them fully broken and nailed shut. The place handsome cups laying around the floors, along with a mop resting against one of the tables on the corner. There was a wooden stairway leading to the second floor on the left side of the saloon, having a poor conditioned support railing, someone had stuck a rusty knife in the middle of it. By the widely spread counter desk, there was some mammal working with her back facing them. She was occupied with tending to the shelves on the wall. There was a huge broken mirror, showing part of her reflection to them. The shelves were about half stocked with all kinds of bottles of different colors. By the corner next to some door that had odd markings on it, had a small metallic, blue freezer thingy, pouring some cold steam from its edges.

And on the wall on the right side of the bar... There were a lot of killed... creatures. Their heads were taken as decorations on the high shelves.

It was all just so... Interesting.

There was nobody in the saloon besides the owner herself.

Charlie was just checking around the place with amazement, feeling like there were so many amazing things he wanted to ask about. One of the paintings showing a lighthouse by the sea was something he just couldn't take his eyes off.

Suddenly, the voice of the female behind the counter spoke loudly with a frustrated tone, not even giving the effort to turn around as she was organizing the places of the bottles.

"I am not giving you free drinks, Sulivan. Out of my Saloon. Tshoo." She scolded firmly.

"Aaaaw, where is the love for your favorite bear, Rachie?" The bear asked with a chuckle, approaching the counter.

"Don't call me that." She snapped annoyedly.

"You love me and you know thaaat..." The bear sang.

"Yes, like a mole rat loves a shotgun shot to the face." She spoke out with a roll of eyes.

"Last time I checked; you were rather keen on taking shots to the face from travelers that had a lot of caps to offer-"

"One more word and I'll smack you with a bottle, you damn perverted-OH dead lord!"

The female had finally turned around in her annoyance, her eyes having widened out of confusion as she laid eyes on Charlie, standing there and looking innocent and kind of lost.

Rachel was a forty-year-old fox, her fur a bit ruffled up and dirty. She was wearing an apron over her barkeeping clothes, along with a nice-looking gold necklace. She had eyebags from having slept badly most likely, along with the overall skeptical attitude to her. She was slightly chubby, but not too unhealthily so. Pretty in her own way, and otherwise dignified looking woman.

She was looking straight at Charlie, almost like she didn't know where to begin asking.

"H-hello," Charlie spoke with an awkward grin.

"... Well hello there, handsome young man. Wh-... Who might you be?" She asked with rising interest.

"Name's Danny," Charlie answered quickly.

"Well, Danny... Excuse my language, truly! Sulivan, you could have told that you were not alone! You making me curse in front of a kid!" She spoke, truly sounding apologizing to him, looking at the bear scoldingly.

"I doubt that he minds," Sulivan spoke with a shrug of shoulders.

"... What are you doing around here with... Danny? Where did you find him?" She asked almost hissingly, wondering if the bear was on some ill intent.

The bear grunted, sitting on a seat in front of the bar counter and taking his trucker hat off.

"I didn't find anyone. Walt had traveled on the road barely an hour before he found this kid. I took him back here right away and told me to bring him to the saloon. He will be here shortly, just took the brahmin to the pen. Do you mind making that fan spin harder, darling? Heat is killing me." The bear groaned.

"No. Electricity ain't free, you know that." She sighed.

"Fine... Might as well have something cold to drink. Get me a Nuka cola, I got ten caps. From the freezer, not the crate." The bear asked, the fox turning her curious eyes from Charlie back to the bear briefly.

"Coming right up... H-hey, Sulivan..."

"Yeh, darling?"

"N-no sign of Travis? Walt say anything bout him?" She asked, sounding like she already knew the answer.

"... No... Sorry." The bear apologized with a genuine tone.

"... Okay." She whispered, sounding disappointed but accepting.

There was a brief and odd silence, Charlie not understanding what the two were really talking about. After a moment, the bear turned around on his chair, speaking to Charlie.

"... Well... Sit around anywhere you like, Danny." The bear said, trying to make Charlie feel more comfortable.

"... I... I'd rather stand. Thank you." The husky said awkwardly, just walking around the place and looking at the paintings in awe.

"... May I ask you something, dear?" The fox asked warmly.

"... Y-yes." Charlie spoke, turning to look at the owner.

"Why uhmm... Where did you get those clothes? A-and... Is that a bow?" She asked like Charlie's overall gear was the most random thing she had witnessed.

"... Why is everyone so weirded out by my stuff? They are normal from where I-" The husky stopped talking quickly, after having realized what she almost blurted out.

"... Huh..." She said quietly in interest.

"Rachel. The drink?" The bear reminded.

"Oh, give me time to talk to our adorable guest at least. Ah, fine. Pom!" The fox hollered out.

Charlie wondered who she had just hollered to in such a way until he got an answer.

The door next to the freezer opened up, something strolling in clumsily.

"Wh-what is that?!" Charlie asked in small scare, taking a distance and bringing his nervous paw on his bow as instinct.

It was a robot. Lot bigger than he had seen following Walt around. It was walking mechanically past the counter desk, stopping and being around with sounds.

The bear and the fox both stared at Charlie in confusion, Sulivan speaking in hesitation.

"Eyey, kid! It's all good! It's just a service bot! It's called Pom." The bear explained. It didn't make Charlie feel any less cautious though.

"I-it's a what?" Charlie asked.

"Service bot, honey. You never seen one before?" The fox asked, now even more interested in Charlie.

"... N-no." The small husky said quietly.

"Pom... Introduce yourself to Danny." Rachel spoke to the robot.

The machine was beeping a bit, suddenly speaking out with monotone, yet cheery voice.

"HELLO, DANNY. I AM PROTECTICON... MODEL SIX... I AM DESIGNED... TO UPKEEP THE BAR FOR... GUESTS. WELCOME TO... ALPINE TOWN... MAY I... SERVE YOU A REFRESHING BEVERAGE TODAY... MISTER?"

"... "Charlie was a bit freaked out, not knowing what to say in an answer.

"Don't worry, Pom here is harmless robot. It's been faithfully serving this bar for twenty years. It helps around the place with small tasks." Sulivan explained.

"... I... I-is there a person inside the... Metal?" Charlie asked, taking his paw off the bow and approaching the robot cautiously.

"... No? It is a... Robot? Robots don't have anyone inside them. They don't have emotions or brains. They are machines." Sulivan told, giving a confused look at the female fox's way, both clearly wondering how it was possible for Charlie having not seen a protection before.

"... O-okay?" Charlie asked with uncertain tone, trying to understand how all that would work.

"... MAY I... SERVE? COMMAND... COMMAND..." The robot kept beeping.

"Pom, get Sulivan here an ice-cold Nuka cola from the freezer, please." The fox ordered calmly.

"... ONE... ICE COLD NUKA COLA... COMING." The robot chanted, starting to clumsily turn around and making it's way to the freezer.

Charlie slowly walked next to the robot, wondering if he should poke it. The whole machine just made him uneasy as it did interest.

"Thank you, Pom," Rachel spoke.

Just as the female fox's intent was to ask something else from Charlie, a familiar tone spoke loudly as he came through the saloon's doors.

"Aaaaand I am back! Sorry for the delay, Danny. Damn brahmins stubborn as hell, and Mikah started mouthing off and begging for a break from his shift. It's a town of mental work."

"... I-it's okay." Charlie said quickly, somewhat relieved that Walt had finally arrived.

The white-furred mouse kept walking towards the counter, walking past Charlie and standing next to Sulivan.

Before Walt could speak to Rachel, the robot spoke.

"HELLO, MISTER... WALT... WHAT WOULD YOU-"

"Shut up, not now, Pom." The mouse said quickly, whispering to the female fox.

"Don't get panicked now. I am about to address the kid briefly about something... Now... I don't exactly know what his reaction is, but he might try to escape if he doesn't like what he hears. I told Mikah to wait outside with a rope, in case we end up there." The mouse spoke seriously.

"Wwa-wait, what?" She hissed in a small panic.

"I found the kid walking on the highway, and before I took him in, he told me a story. And that story is something I do not believe; the kid is a bad liar. I don't think his real name is even Danny. Now, I am about to ask him some things and find out the truth about him... Just go with it and don't interfere." Walt ordered, trying to keep his voice down, as Charlie was giving odd looks at their way now.

The fox hissed back angrily.

".. What, You-.. WALT! What the fuck does it matter where is from or why he was there, what business is that yours? Why do you want to scare this kid like that? You sound like you are about to put him in an interrogation chair something!" She whispered, not understanding what was going on.

"I wouldn't normally care, no. But the reason why I need the truth from that kid is because I think he knows about Travis!" The mouse hissed.

"Wha- what makes you think-"

"JUST TRUST ME. LET ME DO THE TALKING." The mouse said firmly, cutting her off before she could argue back.

Walt turned around, looking at Charlie intensively now and the moment he did, Charlie knew that something was not right. This might have been a bad idea.

"... You know what is going on, don't you?" The mouse asked his tone firm but still not too hostile.

"... No." Charlie said quietly, trying to sound convincing.

"Me neither. What is going on? I wanna know?" The bear asked from the side, half-joking.

There was a brief quietness as the smile faded from the bear, the mouse addressing Charlie again.

"... Around five years ago... I was living in Texas capital... Baxton city. I doubt that you even know what that means since you for some reason don't even know what a ghoul, robot or music is." The mouse kept going, seeing as Charlie was clearly getting tense.

"...." The husky didn't answer.

"When I was living there, I did quite a lot of gambling. Not proud of it, but it kept me fed. And once, I risked and a whole lot of caps and I won something in return... It was a rifle called Winchester... From 1873." The mouse explained.

"..." And now Charlie knew that this was not going to end well for him.

"Now, that gun was in my use for years to come. It was a reliable weapon, and it has done its job to protect me over the years... But around one week ago... I was looking out for my friend here. His name was Travis. Everyone in this village knows him. And they knew that despite how important he was to us... he was not a very brave soul. Always wanted to be. He had his whole life prepared to prove himself to this town. I aided that calling. I gave him my Winchester rifle and told... If you are going to scavenge for us a whole week... you better have protection out there. Your life may depend upon it. I gave him my gun... Trusted him with it. Sure, he was not a very good shot. But maybe with a gun good enough, he would still have better chances surviving. It only makes sense." The mouse explained, looking hopeful as he could see from Charlie's eyes that he clearly knew something.

"... Walt, where is this going, exactly?" Sulivan asked, wondering why he was saying all this to the husky.

"... A week has been passed since he starting walking down the highway, alone. We grew worried since it had been over twenty-four hours past the time he was supposed to be back here. So, I go out and look for him. I've made barely a mile... When I meet you. Now, I didn't think that you would know anything that happened to Travis, because I didn't know really had you been just walking the road whole time or from the deserts around us... But then... When I promised to help you... you wanted to give me something in return... And it was the very same Winchester rifle, that I gave to Travis a week ago. Having held the weapon for five years, I know that it is mine, no one else's." The mouse said with a determined tone.

Charlie slowly started to fidget around, clearly ready to make a run for it.

"... Mister... I don't know what you think that I did-" Charlie began.

"Don't... Don't try it." The mouse said strictly, seeing what the boy was about to do.

"... And what if I do?" Charlie asked threateningly, making it clear that he was not going to surrender into captivity or something worse.

But now the mouse took a deep breath, speaking more calmingly.

"... I know that you feel threatened. And I know that situation is scary to you. But I have been nothing but honest with you so far, and I understand you not returning the favor. It is a way of survival in many cases, to lie. But this... This is my friend that we are talking about. A good friend... And if you... have any kind of knowledge of... Where he is... I'm just saying it straight, kid... You owe me enough to tell me the truth."

Charlie wondered if this talk was just a tactic to make him drop off his guard.

"... Maybe I don't still know what you are talking about-"

Now the mouse shook his head, cutting him off with a palm suggestive and now sounding a bit emotional, as he looked at Charlie with a begging gaze.

"Kid... Please. He has a girlfriend in here. He has a... Jesus, he has a god, damn daughter. If he is... If something happened to him... Then don't tell the truth for my sake. Tell it for theirs... Because they deserve to know if... I need to know if I can still go and rescue him."

Charlie now felt his threatening stance calm down, feeling bad over hearing that. It was all over their concerned faces now, not only Walt's. They clearly didn't lie about this. In the end... He couldn't truly know...

But he was faced with a decision now... tell the truth... Or try to lie and suffer whatever comes after.

It was a hard decision to make... but this time...

He just had to admit that didn't have any leverage here. Walt could be someone that would manage to maybe even help him find his father. That's what this was all about in the end. Why give obstacles to that goal, if feel like you would do the right thing just by... giving in. Trusting.

All he could do was to hope that he was doing the right thing.

He closed his eyes and spoke with a sad tone.

"... He was a tiger... b-by species?" Charlie asked just to be certain.

The mouse along with the fox and the bear started to now give looks at eachother, nodding along and Walt speaking quietly as an answer.

"Yes."

Charlie opened his eyes and sighed, completely giving up on the idea to run anymore. He then took a few steps forward, Walt now realizing the kid was going to actually comply, for their luck.

"... You can't... save him. I'm sorry. He's... He's gone." Charlie said quietly.

Everyone was tense now, Walt speaking quietly with a defeat in his tone.

"... He was... he was attacked by the same thing that... The thing that you shot... B-before we came here." Charlie whispered.

Walt closed his eyes and didn't manage to speak a moment, processing the news.

".... Oh... Just... Fucking great..." Sulivan spoke loudly in defeat, giving a firm punch at the side of the table with his fist out of anger.

It made Charlie jumpscare a bit, Walt waving his paw and signaling that it was alright.

The female fox sighed with a frustrated tone, starting to grab a bottle from the shelves.

"... Tequila?" Rachel asked.

"Double. Fuck the Nuka cola. Pom, put it back in the freezer." The bear grunted quickly.

The fox started pouring liquid onto the glass in front of the agitated bear, looking sympathetic and whispering to Charlie.

"This will crush his family... He was just... Travis was important to us all. We have our own way of dealing with sorrow around here. Apologies." Rachel said humbly.

"I-it's okay... I get it." Charlie said quietly.

Walt then opened his eyes, speaking again.

"You saw it happen yourself?"

"... Yes." Charlie said.

"... Jesus... God, I wish you wouldn't have seen such a thing... I... Damn, I'm sorry, kid." Walt said, tapping Charlie's shoulder as he gave a finger signal to the female fox, to get one drink as well.

The mouse sat down on a seat, sighing deeply and watching as the female fox was pouring down a drink to him as well.

He then turned around on his seat, speaking to Charlie again.

"So... Your name is not Danny either, I assume?" The mouse asked.

"... No, it isn't."

"... You want to tell it?"

"... I don't know if that is a good idea. I don't know if I can trust any of you. I'm sorry for your loss... But... I told what you asked." Charlie said with a determined tone.

"... You have... It's okay, kid... you don't have to tell it." Walt waved off.

There was a brief quietness between them all, Walt turning to drink his glass empty, as Charlie spoke from behind them.

"... If... If it is any comfort... I... I killed the monster." He said humbly.

"... Monster?" Walt asked in confusion, not turning around.

"The monster that... That killed Travis." Charlie spoke.

Now, all three turned to look at Charlie, raising an eyebrow at such a claim.

"... You what?" The bear now asked, waking up.

"I shot an arrow through the heart of the monster. Lucky shot but... I had my bow drawn already when I saw how scary the thing looked. So at least... I guess I... Revenged for your friend." Charlie said, feeling somewhat proud.

"... You killed a feral ghoul. With a bow. You. A boy ten of age." Walt spoke in unbelief.

"... I-I said it was a lucky shot. But... yeah, I know how to use my bow." Charlie said quietly.

"Kid... If that whole story of you and... Your protector, Tommy, was a lie... Then... Where do you come from? Do you still have parents alive out here?"

"... If I tell you the truth... will you help me on my rescue mission? To find the person that... That I need to save?" Charlie asked, knowing that this was a gamble. But if he would get aid... he might have had a chance. It was all or nothing. Time was running out.

"Wait... You are actually on a rescue mission?" Walt asked with an amused tone, even if it wasn't really joking matter.

"Yes. If you... Promise that you help me... And that you won't ever tell anyone about me... Any of you... To anyone else... I tell you."

"Kid... As intriguing that the story might be... I... I don't see your life story being as important as me offering you a partnership. It's a serious thing, to give promise like that. You are ten. Who could you possibly want to save-"?

"Do we have a deal or not?" Charlie asked impatiently.

"... Yeah... You are right, Walt... I like this kid." The bear spoke with an intrigued tone.

"What would he exactly have to do in order to aid your mission, young man?" Rachel asked interestedly.

"... Anything at all. I... I just really need help." Charlie said, trying not to sound desperate too much.

"You know what?... Deal. I'll see what I can do. I promise." Walt said with an optimistic tone.

He handed out his paw as a gesture of a handshake.

The husky looked at the mouse with weirded out expression, asking in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"... You never have shaken a paw before with anyone?"

"... No."

"... It is a sign of trust. It closes whatever deal both parties make. In this case, you and me." Walt said with a smile.

Charlie looked a bit surprised, hesitantly giving out his own paw and touching it with Walt's. The mouse gave a firm shake at Charlie, then letting go of his paw and speaking.

"There we go... So... Where do you-"

"I come from a tribe. Far from here. I can't tell you where it is, because I have made a promise. I was born in that place and lived there my whole life. We... We are... Very different compared to mammals around here. We live differently. And well... I guess you noticed that we wear different things. Or use different weapons. But you don't need to know any more than that." Charlie explained, knowing that he would never go as far as telling where one would find the tribe.

"... Okay." Walt said quietly with an unsure voice, but saw still a lot of sense in it, as did Rachel and Sulivan.

Charlie took his time, wondering how to explain what was going on as best as he could.

"Five days ago,... Everything was going normally. I was... hunting with my father. Then... the bad men came. So many of them. They... killed some of my tribe... And we killed some of theirs. Our people... We had to escape. But they took my father. They captured him and... Took him from me. From us."

"I'm... That's a terrible thing to hear." Walt said genuinely, the dog continuing to speak.

"I needed to rescue him. I... I left the tribe. I left home. And I started tracking the bad men down. That is why I don't... Know a lot about this place... because I am not from here. I've never seen... Well... Anything like what I am seeing right now." Charlie said, hinting at the paintings and Rachel speaking.

"Wow... for a ten-year-old, you are very brave." Rachel said genuinely.

"How so?" Charlie asked.

"Because you are... Well... Adapting very fast... To this land... I mean... You killed a feral ghoul with a bow. I know that even if you should not encourage anyone of your age to live with so many risks... You are a very special kid to handle all this all the way you are. You have a special aura about you." She said with an almost amazed tone.

Charlie could not help but to smile a bit at the compliment.

"... Not any ten-year-old would rush to do what you are doing right now. It is a rather insane endeavor; I have to be honest. Way too dangerous for you, even if you are one brave kid."

"I couldn't just sit around and leave my father to them. I am going to get him back." Charlie said like he wasn't going to give up by a near.

"... Well... Can you describe how the men that took your father, looked? To have something to go on with here, if I am to help you." Walt said.

"... They had lots of guns... Dressed in... green and black clothes..."

"That is not a lot to go with. Could be anyone."

"I have their name. What they call themselves."

"... That so? Well, that should help."

"I can't pronounce the word correctly I think... But I have... the name on this piece of wood. So, I could remember." Charlie said, starting to pick something out from his pocket slowly.

"... Alright?" Walt asked with interest.

"... Here. Does the name say something to you?" Charlie asked with a hopeful tone, handing out the piece of wood.

Walt took the piece, the two coming closer from both sides so they could read as well.

And as two seconds had passed, they all turned to look at Charlie at the same time, more than alert.

"... Do you know who they are?" Charlie asked, wishing upon it with all he got.

"... I do." Walt said with a nod, sounding a bit scared.

"... How umm... h-how is the word pronounced?" Charlie asked, having clearly not been sure if he had ever said it right in his life, having heard the name from the camp stories of his father.

".... Febris." Walt said quietly.

"Feb-- Febris... Okay, good. Who are they? Can you take me to them?" Charlie asked impatiently.

Everyone was looking stunned equally, the bear speaking to Charlie with an honest, heavy tone.

"Kid... Febris is the strongest commanding force in the whole Texas. They own half the state we stand on. They are the last remaining protectors of the United States."

"Protectors can be a bit too much these days, to be honest." Rachel said quietly.

"... Yes, their... methods overall are not what they used to be." Walt said, then addressing concerned Charlie.

"So... Your father... Was he... Why did they take him?"

"Wait... It can't be..." The bear suddenly spoke, looking paranoid and thinking if he had come to the realization.

"What? Sulivan? What can't be?" Rachel asked as the mouse turned to look at Charlie as well.

"Look at him... Brown fur... husky... THE... the broadcast! Two days ago!" The bear explained, winded up like he was onto something.

"Sulivan... you are reaching." The female fox told like there was no way.

"Sulivan, you mean-" Walt began, coming up from his stool and looking at Charlie almost cautiously now, wondering could there be a chance.

The bear began waving at Charlie's way, knowing damn well that they both had heard the broadcast all over the wasteland.

"Yes! The... you know, the famous Ethan guy! The one that the febris broadcast talked about! They actually found the so much talked about Ethan-"

"-Winchester." Walt finished, looking at Charlie intensively. Charlie was quiet still, steeling himself and Sulivan speaking.

"... Kid... You said that your father was... taken, by Ferbis forces five days ago?" Walt asked carefully, almost studying Charlie.

"..." Charlie just nodded.

"The ferbis sent a statewide emergency broadcast all over the place two days ago, so everyone could hear... That Ethan Winchester was going to be publicly executed in front of the people of Texas."

Sulivan continued, putting the pieces together and Rachel finally starting to drop her jaw a bit from realizing the possible truth.

"... And everyone from this part of the world knows... Grew up knowing by their bedtime stories... That Ethan Winchester... Was a brown-furred-"

"Husky." Walt finished, standing right now in front of Charlie with a serious gaze and kneeled slowly to be on Charlie's eye level.

"... Son... I know I have no right... But... I need to ask you-"

"My name is Charlie Winchester. I am a proud member of Suturu... And son of the chosen Raturu... My father, Ethan Winchester." Charlie said proudly.

Walt slowly turned to look at the two behind him, wondering if this was actually happening right now.

"Holy shit..." The bear whispered.

"... What are the odds? Child... Are you sure that is your name?" Rachel whispered.

"... I gave you my word to tell you the truth... Are you going to keep your promise, Walt?" Charlie turned to ask from the mouse, after nodding to Rachel humbly as an answer.

The mouse swallowed a bit anxiously, turning back around to face Charlie and speaking quietly with an honest, scared tone.

"... Kid... If what you say... Is true... And you are who you say you are... I am truly... truly sorry... But I don't know if I have guts to help you on this rescue mission. It... When febris takes someone... there is no getting them back. They have all the power here to do as they want, as an excuse for doing the common good."

"If you are a Winchester... You should have never left where you came from... If Febris knows that there is another Winchester... Walking on their soil... You would be in terrible danger." Sulivan added as a fact with a terrified tone.

Charlie was quiet, looking at them all with calculating expression, yet talking determined.

"... I am who I am. If that makes you not want to help me, fine. But you know where they are. Tell where do I have to go and I'll do the rest."

The mouse spoke with a sad tone, trying to make Charlie understand the realism of the situation.

"Son... You are ten years old... There is nothing that you can do against an army of highly trained-"

Charlie quickly before anyone could even react to the motion, grabbed the bow from his back and took an arrow from his back quiver and adjusting it between his knuckles.

And as everyone barely managed to jump scare back from such unexpected movement, Charlie took a quick and deep breath, closing his other left eye, and pulling back the string with all the strength that his ten-year-old muscles could muster.

"WOWOow!" Was the only thing they all managed to yell, just before Charlie aimed quickly up, releasing the arrow.

THOK!

Charlie exhaled, his arm shaking slightly from the strong pull and letting his arm hang with the bow still in his paw, looking at the result. And so did all the three, after staring at Charlie in confusion for a while.

The arrow had pierced the eye of the molerat's head that was hanged on the opposite wall of the bar, easily in fie meter distance from where Charlie was standing firmly.

None of the three could say a word, looking wide-eyed as one could after seeing ten-year-old do such a marksman shot in such a small time with only a mere two seconds of preparation.

As Walt whispered, turning to look at Charlie.

"Did that just hap-Ah!" The mouse yelped, Charlie tossing his bow to Walt.

The mouse barely managed to catch it with his stumbling hands, almost dropping the bow onto the floor.

Charlie started to take off his quiver full of arrows from his back, laying them on the table and all three cautiously watching him, Walt holding the bow still in confusion.

The small husky cleared his throat, speaking with strong and a brave tone, wanting all of the adult mammals in front of him to take him seriously.

"I might be small... And I might be young. But I am a warrior, just like my father is. I am going to rescue him, and no matter what you say or try to talk me out of it, will change that. I am running out of time. You have all been helpful so far by telling who the bad men were... But they are going to learn to fear me if they hurt my father. You think that I don't stand a chance with only a bow? Okay, I trust you. Keep it and my arrows for now. We have a lot to do, and the sun is still up. You won't help me fight the Fe-... Febris. You don't need to. But you still owe me any help you can give. So, let's get to it."

Charlie nodded, taking his leave towards the doors. The mouse now looked at the two, wishing for some kind of back up but they were both still amazed and speechless as him, hearing such determination from this child. There was no fear in him.

"W-wait, little Charlie!" Rachel suddenly woke up, starting to move from behind the counter and the bear lifting up from his seat as well, Walter quickly walking to Charlie.

He laid his hand on his back, making the kit turn around and aiming his attention to him, the mouse wiping sweat from his forehead and speaking with a stutter.

"Ch-... child... How... Wh-what could I possibly help you with, here?" The mouse asked like he had no idea what Charlie had meant.

Now for the first time, little Charlie was smiling confidently and speaking to Walt with a friendly tone.

"You already thought me how to load a rifle... I learned. Now... Teach me how to use it, as you promised... And then maybe... I assume my chances of rescuing my father get better, right? You coming?" Charlie asked excitedly, leaving through the wooden doors before he even got the answer, basking in the burning sun now.

There was a long moment of quiet between the three as they stared at Charlie kicking rocks outside and watching the people around him.

"... Walt... You better do as the young man says." Rachel said, shoving Walt to the shoulder warningly and the mouse taking his cowboy hat off, exhaling nervously.

"This is crazy." Walt exhaled, adjusting his belt as he walked through the saloon doors, the two persistently following after him and Sulivan speaking.

"I don't know if this is a good idea for you to do, Walt... But I gotta tell you... This kid is something special."

"You telling me," Walt whispered, wondering furiously if he had just accidentally bumped into the biggest mess of his life.

But a man has to keep his promises.

We all do.

END