"Noah! get the dishes ready, it's almost time for dinner!"
Head Maid seemed even more strung up than usual.
"The master will be down for dinner soon and the food has to be served. We'll be in huge trouble if the food isn't served by then." She added.
"Lazy slug, Work faster!" She yelled again.
The boy named Noah worked harder to try as much as possible to finish his work but with the head Maid hovering over him, he found it difficult to concentrate.
Dinner time had moved to an earlier time today leaving the entire kitchen a mess. All the workers were panicking and rushing to get the seven course meal ready because the gods forbid that they left their masters waiting.
He could understand their train of thought.
In this world where they had to rely on their masters protection to survive, they had to work hard to please them and treat them like they were the center of the universe because there were tons of people hoping to take their place.
The world wasn't always like this. Noah had heard stories of a time when the monsters didn't roam the lands but for some reasons one day, the monsters suddenly appeared. The only safe places where humans could survive were the divine pocket. Like the one Noah was in now. Not everyone had the qualification to live in a divine pocket.
Only the nobility and the elites could live there. the noble families all had a limited quota for the number of people they could bring along with them because resources were limited, even in the divine pocket.
Of course, it wasn't just the nobles and their servants in the divine pocket. If a person could be very outstanding, strong enough to get a personal invite from the city lord, then they could come with their own family and friends depending on their quota. The nobles and the elites generally didn't have the same social circle so Noah had never seen such a person.
After the great change, humans gained abilities. special abilities that put them above regular people.
All humans could awaken an ability but doing so required resources and special opportunities which only the noble families could afford. The elites generally didn't have a noble background but they managed to awaken powerful abilities.
Noah always wondered how they did it.
The head Maid smacked him on the head for ignoring her and allowing his mind to wander.
After drying the last dish he headed to the cook to receive his meal and as he sat down to eat, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen his sister all day.
"Where could that girl be?" he thought aloud to himself. If she didn't complete her tasks then she wouldn't be given any food. He decided to keep his meal and go look for his sister.
He went to the maid's quarters to look for her but she wasn't there.
He asked all the maids whom he came across but they didn't know where she was.
He was already getting worried by now and felt a pit in his stomach as his heart began fast. Ever since he could remember, It had been just the two of them. They had both matured early because they had to take care of each other. She never went anywhere without telling him.
The Benard House which he served was a small noble family but despite that, their grounds were massive and it took him a few hours to search the grounds. He decided to give up and try looking inside again when he suddenly thought of something.
He turned and ran towards the back of the gardens. He made many twists and turns before finally arriving at his destination. He took deep breaths while trying to figure out his way back.
He finally smiled as he saw a corner of her dress. She was crouching in a corner.
Wait! something is wrong. Her shoulders were moving slightly as though she was shivering or crying.
"What's wrong, Li?" he asked softly as he approched her. As soon as she heard his voice, she stiffened. He finally came in front of her but when he saw her face, he got furious.
Lilian was a pretty girl with long black hair and big bright blue eyes. Noah had the same features. It was obvious that the both of them had won the genetic jackpot. But right now, her pretty features were marred by big bruises on her face. there was an obvious slap mark on her right cheek. Her eyes were swollen and her lips cracked. He could see other bruises that extended into her clothes.
"Who did this to you?" he asked again.
She didn't say anything and burst into loud tears again as he held her in his arms. She was clearly very aggrieved. When she finally calmed down a little, she wiped her eyes and wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong but Noah insisted she told him what happened to her. She finally caved and told him everything.
Earlier in the morning, she had been assigned to collect the dirty laundry from the young master's room. The young master was known to be a womanizer however, he never lay hands on the servants as that would make his family look bad in high society. This morning however, he had forced himself on her.
She sobbed harder as she finished her story.
Noah was furious and immediately stormed off in the direction of the main house. Lilian tried to stop him but he was too angry to listen.
After reaching the study, he was stopped by the two guards.
"Let me in!" he yelled furiously.
"Who do you think you are?" The guard asked disdainfully.
"Do you think you'll say something and we'll do it?" The other guard asked in annoyance.
Both guards were adamant about letting him in. The commotion must've reached the master inside because his indifferent voice called out to let him in.
"What's the matter boy?" The master asked.
"Your precious son raped my sister!"
"Your precious son raped my sister!" Noah said angrily.Master Bernard blinked his wolfish eyes. He seemed amused. "Is that why you're disturbing my work?" he asked playfully.Noah could not believe his ears.This man was making fun of the situation. This made him even angrier and his muscles tensed as he fought the urge to charge at the master."You should be happy that my son fancied your sister." It's her honour to serve our noble bloodline. Noah clenched his fists as his teeth clattered in rage, while Lilian tried her best to hold him back. "It's okay, it's okay" she recited as though it was a mantra. Noah wasn't sure if she was telling him or if she was trying to convince herself."Please let's just leave..." Her voice cracked as she said the words. Something about her tone made Noah to calm down."If you have nothing to say then leave my office. You should be punished for bringing this kind of trivial issue before me. the servants these days are so bold." Master Bernard said.
He ran towards the direction of the voice and there laid his sister on the floor. She looked terrible. Her face was bruised and her dirty clothes were drenched in blood. He almost didn't recognize his own sister and tried to control his tears as he fell to his knees and held her in his arms. She smiled at him weakly with her bruised face and thanked him for always having her back because even though she was just his half sister, he cared greatly for her and always protected her as though she had always been a part of his life. They only had the same mother, but different fathers. Noah's father had died years ago, so Noah's mother remarried. She had Lillian after her second marriage."P-Please, Noah. Promise me you're going to try your best to stay alive," she stuttered weakly."Come on, Li. We're both going to stay alive" he replied with a broken expression."No, brother. My time is up and..." She replied weakly."No! Lillian please, he cut in. You can't leave me" His voice broke as
Noah took to his heels as the monsters chased after him. He didn't want to end up like that person they were just feeding on. Besides, he still had to avenge his sister's death, so he kept running even though it felt as if the mobsters were already catching up with him. He couldn't see very clearly because of the fog and didn't notice the log on the floor and ended up tripping on it. He hit his head hard on a nearby stone as he landed on the floor.He lay on the floor as he felt dizzy and watched as the monsters caught up with himHe held his head as he groaned in pain. He was already feeling very dizzy by now and could not continue running again. He saw the monsters staring curiously at him as he felt his eyes close and finally gave in to the darkness.**********************Noah let out a groan as he sat up. He opened his eyes and saw a strange girl around his age sitting next to him. He had no idea who this person was and was startled, so he instinctively threw a punch immediately
Noah and Gemma continued their journey in silence. They'd been traveling for hours and were already getting tired. Gemma slowed down and relaxed."We're almost there." She said excitedly. "It's mostly safe here since it's so close to camp. It's been so long, I really miss my bed...a lot..and maybe a bath would be nice too. Speaking of which, you really need to take a bath. You stink really bad." She added. The closer they got, the more talkative Gemma became.They gradually moved further away from the city while avoiding the monsters. "We're here!" She finally said."Where's here?" Noah asked. He looked around but couldn't see anything special. They were in front of an old farm. The farm was protected by a tall brick fence. "This is the camp?" He asked again. Gemma glanced at him again. "Does your brain still hurt?" She asked sweetly. Come on in. The both of them went around the fence till they came across a thick iron gate that was covered in rust. Gemma paused in front of the
The sun woke Noah up the next morning. The others were nowhere to be seen but Gemma seemed to be packing up her stuff. "Rise and shine sleeping beauty" she said jokingly. The others will be back soon. "We'll soon set off but before that, how about I give you a tour." She said with a smile.The two left the camp and headed to the nearby woods. The woods seemed scary because it was too quiet. There were no singing birds or rustling leaves and there were no sounds from small animals either. It was dead silent. The both of them headed deeper before finally arriving at a river. The river was crystal clear and cool. Gemma pulled off her boots and socks and then put her feet in the water. Noah followed her lead and did the same."This is my favorite place in the world. It's so beautiful even though there isn't much beauty in what the world has become." Gemma said.Looking at the river brought back memories of his sister. They often played in the water together when they were younger. Lili
They resumed their journey the next day with Noah feeling happy that he wasn't limping anymore and that the pain in his leg was gone.Gemma was telling him about how she had learned how to fight when Nicholas came to join the conversation. He asked Noah how he was able to survive out there without any powers. Noah smiled"I'm a very lucky guy, i guess" and they all laughed."How do the monsters not attack you?" Crane suddenly asked"I'm also as surprised as you all are, Crane. I also want to know why they don't attack me" He answered"Hmm...Maybe they're allergic to your blood" Crane replied, trying to think of a good reason why the monsters don't attack him."Monsters don't get allergies, Crane" Gemma said, rolling her eyes.Mathew cleared his throat."Maybe he's a vampire and they know they can't mess with him" He said dramatically but they all laughed at him and asked him to keep quiet."Or maybe that's his superpower" Nicholas said, pushing Mathew out of the way."Not cool, Nick!
The man appeared in front of Noah as soon as he ran."Stay away from me!" He yelled and ran in another direction but the man appeared in front of him again. Noah was already getting annoyed by now and wished the man would stop appearing and disappearing in front of him."Can you stop doing that?" Noah said to the man in annoyance."Calm down" He said to Noah calmly but Noah wasn't ready to listen and ran in another direction again."I can help you, Noah. Just come with me and I'll teach you how to use your abilities." He said to Noah as he appeared in front of him again.Noah was shocked when he heard this because he didn't know he had an ability. All he knew was that he had this strange mark on his neck. He didn't know why or how he got the mark. All he knew was that he had a strange mark on his neck."What's my ability?" He asked the man as he suddenly calmed down to hear the man out.The man laughed as soon as the words left Noah's mouth. Noah just stared at him in confusion becaus
As soon as Noah turned away from Gemma, he regretted it. She was just trying to help and yet he was lashing out at her for no reason.The two suddenly heard a rustling in the bushes and they both turned towards the direction of the sound. They were both on guard. They were ready to either fight or flee if what was in the bushes turned out to be a monster."Why do the two of you insist on being total idiots?" It was Nicholas and he looked pissed. He turned to Noah and spoke in a very arrogant manner. "Ever since you came along, Gemma has been acting like her brain was eaten by a dog. You. are. weak." He said with an air of superiority. "You'll drag us down. The least you can do is to not cause any problems." Nicholas added."That's not fair Nicholas. I asked Noah to accompany me for a stroll. He said yes because he was being nice to me." Gemma immediately said to Nicholas. Upon hearing her words Nicholas finally seemed to calm down a bit. He then turned to Gemma and scolded her a b