The worker's faces flickered in the night against the flaming torch and though two of them stood steadfast, one of the workers didn't seem like he wished to be there at all, evident by the beads of sweat that dripped down his brow and his quivering lip.

"Who are you and state your business here!" The first worker's sharp voice pierced through the empty night and I shivered, partly because of the cold but mostly in fear. Ken had shown that he was capable against one man, but reinforcements could arrive at any moment and strength in numbers was something to be reckoned with.

Ken seemed to not hear the worker's command and stared ahead, his feet forming a steady stance. His hands radiated a faint glow and at that moment, I knew that a wrong decision could mean life or death.

"Was I not clear enough?" The worker was visibly struggling to shout but persisted despite the slight raspiness in his voice—perhaps his tiring days as a warehouse manager had left him with a sore throat. "Who are you and state your business here!"

Ken remained unwavering besides his clothes that flapped in the gentle breeze, and it seemed the thread on which everything hung was on the verge of tearing apart.

The worker's eye twitched frantically and he took a dangerous step forward, his feet planting a firm stance on the ground as well. Ken's arms tightened and he straightened his figure, shifting his stance until he was parallel to the man ten or so paces away. One wrong move and the thread would tear apart, though it was clear that neither of them intended to preserve it.

I must have blinked or looked away for such a brief time that when I looked back, I was instantly blinded by a searing light surrounding a powerful flame that radiated heat and energy, illuminating the night sky. At that moment, I almost laughed at myself for thinking that a group of three workers could take on Ken. Surely they would be instantly vaporized by the blast.

But when the light subsided to a more moderate degree, I found myself staring in awe, not at the continuous stream of flame that shot straight at the enemy, but at the magical shield the enemy had miraculously constructed and blocked the otherwise fatal attack.

Ken struggled to speak coherently, his words getting jumbled up with sounds of pure shock and amazement. "W-what? But how?"

The first worker just smiled a mysterious smile, showing all his perfectly polished white teeth. "I would advise you to yield as you are under violation of Article 2, Section 1—"

"—Harboring a fugitive's relative. I know what the regulations say."

The worker threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. "Yet here you are."

His expression tightened, his eyes snapped to where I still sat, and they seemed to freeze me in place. "Give up the boy now."

"What?!" Ken spun around with such speed I had never known to be possible, and his features told of shock and frustration.

"Why are you here?" He cried, as if almost on his knees begging me. "You—"

He stopped mid-sentence, not because he was struggling to explain, but because a fist of concentrated air had struck square in his stomach, sending him flying into the train. He crumpled on the ground like an old house being struck down, lifeless.

"No!" I heard someone scream painfully as if a wolf had sunk its teeth into a bleating sheep, and I realized it was me. I limped over to where Ken's stiff body lay and anxiously grabbed his wrist, checking for a heartbeat.

Ohmygodohmygod. I felt the faint thump on his wrist and almost jumped out of my trousers when his hand grabbed onto mine.

"Go..." His voice scraped against his throat like an old rake dragging across the pavement, and his eyes darted around wildly before landing on mine. "I'll hold them off long enough for you to run."

"No, you can't leave me—"

Another blast of air came barreling towards us and would have smashed my head off if not for the shield Ken hastily conjured. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow, and his hands shook violently, causing the shield to waver slightly.

"Sorry to ruin this sappy moment, but we don't have all day. All night, I suppose." The worker cackled at his joke and wiggled his eyebrows at his fellow workers, who stared blankly at him.

"Fine, I can't help it if some of you don't have a sense of humor." He turned his attention back to us and strolled towards us like he had no care for the world. The shield that hovered in front of them previously had dissipated, mocking us that we couldn't do a thing against them.

Pit pat. Pit pat. A raindrop plummeted from the sky and soon many others followed its lead, falling in scattered patterns and bombarding the dirt. Was this how it would all end? The workers inched forward, each step a muffled thump against the ground. All that kept us from them was the flickering shield Ken was struggling to maintain, and with every moment that passed, they were closer, and the shield was waning.

I looked at Ken worriedly, hoping he would have an answer, but he only gave me a sad smile and closed his eyes.

"Sorry," His voice was barely audible, and his hands slumped down against the train, his head lolling back. The shield fell with him as he was ready to die...

But I wasn't. I grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him back and forth, but he was limp like a ragdoll. "Don't you understand? My pool is empty, I'm wounded, and we're about to die. What can I do? Nothing." He slumped back against the train and muttered a prayer.

No. I thought angrily, You're forgetting about me. I extended my hands and closed my eyes, concentrating on the imaginary flame in my hands. C'mon.

But my hands remained ice-cold, frosted by the wind and soaked by the drizzle that tapped against the back of my palm.

"Hah! Look at the boy, trying to fight us." I peeked through my eyelids, trying not to break my concentration. The worker was bent over laughing his head off and the woman next to him had joined in his jesting. Only the young man who stood meekly to their side was staring wide-eyed at my hands, which to my surprise, had started to take on a pinkish color.

"Nor, don't you think we should just take care of the boy right now? While we still have the chance..." His hushed voice was lost in the wind as the two simply shoved him playfully.

"C'mon now," the woman, Nor, said. "What's he gonna do, light a cake with his hands?"

"B-but—"

"Look at him," the man sneered, "I bet he doesn't even know what a mana pool is."

Another blast came with a flick of his wrist and struck Ken with such force that even I could feel his pain. Before I could even react, the man stepped forward, lowering his voice to a deadly whisper. "Resist, and that's what he gets."

Then it started, just like before. First the shaking, then my blood started boiling, and I almost forgot to take a few deep breaths before my face got all purple. A searing pain jolted through my hands and within a second, I had lost all feeling to them. My eyes burst open, and a mixture of red and orange flames danced on the palms of my hands, flickering wildly in the night.

The man and woman had ceased their laughter, taken aback by my sudden outburst, and the young man's eyes had widened more and locked on mine as if looking away would mean his demise. I was the mama bear, protecting its cub, and the three of them were an unlucky group that had stumbled upon my territory.

The young man, eyes still locked on me, took a cautious step back, as if sprinting away would prompt a rash retaliation from me.

The other man struggled to make coherent noises as his eyes trailed the flame, entranced by it. The flame was only a fraction of a candle light, like it had just been birthed, but it carried the same intensity as a wildfire. It yearned to be set free.

For a moment I froze, stricken with the dawning dilemma of how I would actually use the flame. Would I throw it somehow, or extend my hands and pray it landed on target? Then a sense of calm washed over me, cooling my fiery head. I just needed to do what I did best.

I flooded my mind with the vivid images of the workers ridiculing me, and humiliating Ken, and then with a hint of hesitation, searched in the recesses of my mind to find Dave. His actions weren't unfounded, nor were they untrue, and my heart throbbed and thumped rapidly because of that, leaving me with a burning sensation I couldn't quite describe.

And then, I let it all out.

It was as if someone had lit a firework display hastily without the necessary precautions and when the flame subsided, all I could see was the darkened ground and tiny sparks prancing on the ash, slowly dying one by one.

The display of raw power had sent the three hurtling into the night where they landed a few paces away. Under the moonlight, I could faintly see their darkened faces; the man had an incomprehensible look on his face as he shouted angrily at the others. "Come on you idiots, get the boy!"

The young man sprawled across the ground next to him just sighed and laid his head back, igniting a few remaining sparks on his singed hair. "What did I tell you..."

The train whistle split my ears in two as I hurriedly shook Ken by the shoulders, trying to wake him from death.

"Ken! Wake up, we have to leave!" Funny how that was coming from me of all times, but the situation desperately called for it.

Ken's eyelids sprung open and he reached out to me for support, hacking on a cloud of smoke that had drifted by.

"Is this hell?" His speech was slurred and his eyes rolled back for a moment then slid uncomfortably back into their sockets.

I couldn't resist a chuckle as I grabbed him by the arm, instructing him to run. "No, though it will be if we don't get on the train right away."

Slinging the backpack over one shoulder, I stumbled after Ken who had miraculously found an open cargo car, saving us some heavy lifting in opening the door. My feet splashed against the mud, which threatened to grab hold of them if I stayed in one place for too long, and streaks of rainwater flowed freely down my cheeks as if I was crying.

A great rumbling nearly knocked me off balance as I grabbed onto Ken's outstretched hand, helping me onto the cargo car. The train wheels screeched painfully against the tracks as they accelerated, and I sighed a breath of relief before slumping against the wooden wall, gazing at the night sky.