Krovane stood still in his heavy white knight armor, the pale metal almost swallowing his frame. The weight pressed down on his twelve-year-old body, making the armor look far too large for him.

  He stood at the edge of a high cliff, and from that height he could see the open land below where the desert stretched wide, and far in the distance a long line of soldiers was already moving toward his position.

  He drew in a sharp breath. “We will finish the war today!” he shouted with all the strength he had.

  Right after his voice rang out, a thunderous roar answered him, shaking the ground around him. Behind Krovane stood a massive black dragon, its wide wings spread open, its shadow covering him completely.

  Another deep roar followed as several more figures stepped forward from behind.

  “KROVANE!”

  A shaking like an earthquake rose around him, but no, whatever it was felt even stranger.

  “KROVANE!”

  Krovane was thrown, or maybe he fell, whatever it was. The world around him suddenly turned blurry.

  “You lazy boy, stop being a burden. Get up and go do your work already!” the voice shouted again, coming from a man who looked like he was in his forties.

  Krovane fell out of his bed and slammed into the wall, hitting his head. He rubbed his forehead.

  “A dream…” he muttered. “Why does that dream come every single day?”

  He opened his eyes while lying on his back in a small room that only had space for a narrow bed and a cupboard on one side. What else could he expect, this place was really just a storage room, and only because of his uncle’s small bit of kindness was Krovane allowed to stay in this house.

  **

  “You caused trouble again, you will live on the streets!”

  The sound of a door being slammed filled the air as Krovane dashed out of the house, shutting out the yelling from inside.

  He was wearing short pants and a simple shirt, his black hair messy, and his body looking far from healthy. For a twelve-year-old, he was easily the shortest among his peers.

  It was late morning, around ten. It was Saturday and there was no school.

  He ran down the street where grass grew on both sides and small, modest one-floor houses lined the neighborhood.

  He kept running in his worn-out white shoes, the fabric already torn in spots, and he slowed a little when shouting rose behind him.

  He glanced back and saw four kids his age pedaling their bikes straight toward him.

  “Loser, weak, skinny.”

  “Krovane, watch out, your legs might snap!”

  The last boy even pushed his bike closer on purpose, forcing Krovane to step down onto the grassy edge to avoid being hit.

  “You bunch of bullies!” he shouted once the kids had already sped off away from him.

  Krovane checked the watch on his wrist again. “Oh, five more minutes.”

  He had to hurry, because if he did not, he would be late and he would fail the job. That was everything he could do to stay allowed in the place his uncle called home.

  Delivering newspapers or flyers, cleaning yards, cutting small patches of grass, sweeping leaves, helping tidy up neighbors’ gardens. Washing the neighbors’ cars, walking their dogs, watching over a small shop, helping with other people’s house chores.

  Anything… anything legal that a twelve-year-old kid could do. After all, his uncle only let him stay in the small storage room of the house, and they even charged him rent. He had no other choice.

  After his parents were gone, he stayed with his uncle, at least because he was still a child. So, besides school on weekdays, he was used to doing part-time work like this. And he had slowly learned to live that way.

  So do not blame him if he looked dry and hungry! He had no other choice! Bullies! Just wait until he grew bigger and stronger than them, he would bully them back!

  Until finally… Krovane stopped running in front of a girl, a girl with shoulder-length curly blonde hair, her arms crossed, her eyes fixed on him.

  “Krovane! You are late!” she said.

  “Emily, it is exactly ten.”

  “You are twenty seconds late!” she added.

  This girl was Krovane’s employer for today.

  Emily stood in front of the gate of a house that… Had a rather high front gate, and everyone knew this was an old abandoned house that had been empty for maybe decades.

  “Now, what is with this house? You are not planning to break in, are you?”

  “I am your employer this time, you do not get to complain,” Emily said. “Remember how you bumped into me a few days ago, how you broke my bike, and how I had to be treated for two days. You owe me a lot.”

  Krovane let out a breath and gave up. “Okay, now tell me, what should I do?” he said after that.

  Emily then gave a gesture for him to follow her as they walked toward the tall wall of the gate, a wall as high as a two-floor house. Why did this house even have a gate that tall?

  “Now, Krov, you climb up there, and your job is only to unlock the front gate from the inside. It is an easy task.”

  “You are crazy, Emily!” Krovane thought for a moment after hearing that request. “You know we are not supposed to do this.”

  “I will show you something once we are inside.”

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  “Is this about your imagination again?”

  “That is not imagination if you can capture it with a phone camera!”

  “You crazy, it could have been a stray cat or anything else. You really go too far for a twelve-year-old girl, you need to grow up.”

  “Do it!” she repeated firmly.

  This all started a few weeks ago when Emily told him about something. She said she had taken a picture of a magical beast, that was what she called it, a cat with wings that could fly, and she caught its picture through a gap in the gate, inside this very property.

  “Your flying Pikachu imagination is going to bring trouble for us.”

  “Do it, Krovane,” she insisted. “I will take responsibility, and I will also pay you. You only need to climb, you are good at climbing. And after you unlock the gate, you can leave.”

  Krovane took a breath, having no other choice, and made sure no one was on the street who might see them. He started reaching for a grip and began to climb. It would not be easy, but he was already used to climbing, until…

  “Krovane!”

  A shout came from someone again.

  He turned back and saw a boy his age with brown hair, almost one and a half times his height, with an excited look on his face.

  “What are you doing here, Hugo?” Emily said, clearly not pleased.

  “Krov said there is something fun he will do today, so I came,” the boy answered.

  “Krovane?” Emily said and turned her eyes to Krovane again.

  “That is something we will do after this job, so it has nothing to do with this.”

  Emily let out a breath, still crossing her arms. “Okay, continue.”

  Krovane continued climbing. He reached for another grip. The hold was a bit difficult because it was too thin. He climbed again, pushing himself upward.

  Until he reached the top and finally saw the house more clearly from that height. He swallowed hard.

  It was a normal three-floor house, painted in a dull white. Wild grass covered the yard, and it was obvious the place had not been cared for. Who knew what was inside. He was not worried about a magical beast, he was more worried about snakes or anything dangerous.

  Then… once he stepped down onto the inner area, he felt the silence inside that yard. He walked toward the gate and checked the lock there. It was not locked, he only needed to slide the latch and it opened easily from the inside.

  Emily walked in, and Hugo forced his way in right behind her.

  “What are you doing, Hugo?”

  “Let me come. You two are not going to leave me outside alone, right?”

  Emily let out a breath and closed the gate. “We are not taking anything, we are only looking around. One hour at most, after that we leave and nothing happens.” she said.

  Krovane and Hugo both gave a small nod.

  But… Krovane stayed still for a moment while Emily and Hugo had already started walking, until they turned back to look at him.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Did you two hear that drum sound? Repeating… like the beat of war drums.”

  “You are imagining things,” Emily said.

  “Hugo?” Krovane continued.

  “Nothing, maybe birds?” Hugo answered.

  Krovane nodded and followed while Emily kept repeating warnings to Hugo about many things, but Krovane only tried to focus his ears on the faint sound he thought he heard.

  “The door is not locked,” Hugo said after pushing it open with a loud bang.

  “You just damaged the door,” Emily said.

  “This makes it easier for us to get inside,” Hugo replied.

  “We are not breaking anything, remember that.”

  “We are already breaking into this house because of your idea,” Hugo added.

  “But I am serious, we are not breaking anything.”

  They continued arguing as the three of them stepped deeper into the house.

  Soon… the smell of dust and damp air filled their noses, and only the light from a cracked window shone into the empty, clearly dusty room.

  They walked toward the center area while looking around in every direction.

  “Do not touch anything, okay,” Emily said as she walked to one side.

  Hugo also looked around with a curious face. “Let us see if we can find something fun in this house,” he said as he walked off.

  Krovane stayed still there, trying to listen to the faint sound in his ears. It did not fade, not even after he lightly tapped his ear.

  He looked in one direction, where a staircase led to the second floor. In another direction there was a hallway to another room, and on one side there seemed to be a closed bedroom door.

  He started walking, without thinking about anything else. He picked up his pace, moving behind the staircase. He turned and saw a kitchen area, then kept going through another empty room, until he stood before a staircase leading down.

  “A basement?” he whispered, and there was no door or lock blocking it.

  The space below was very dark, with only a little light slipping inside. But he did not think too much about it and walked slowly down the stairs, the silence heavy and the darkness thick.

  For a few moments… Krovane moved carefully, trying to let his eyes adjust to the dark.

  He kept listening for anything, the sound of rats, the sound of anything, worried that something dangerous might be hiding.

  Until… he reached the bottom, standing inside a room that looked like it had once been used as a storage space.

  He heard the booming drumbeat grow louder. Or maybe it was his own heartbeat. Whatever it was, the sound felt like it came from this place.

  He walked slowly again as his eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Piles of boxes sat on one side, old items, furniture, a sewing machine, all sorts of things were stacked here. Until he stood before a tall mirror with a wooden carved frame.

  He tilted his head slightly as he looked at the mirror.

  His eyes widened when he saw a figure reflected in it. He quickly turned around and jumped in shock.

  Two people stood behind him, Emily and Hugo.

  “What are you doing here, Krov, you little weirdo,” Hugo said.

  Krovane tried to calm his heartbeat and looked back at the mirror.

  “I heard the sound of war drums, getting louder and louder. I am sure it came from this mirror,” he explained as Emily walked closer to it.

  “Emily!” Hugo warned.

  But Emily had already touched the surface of the mirror, and she froze right after.

  She turned back with a terrified face. “Help… me…” she said.

  Then her hand twisted and was pulled as her body began to be dragged into the mirror. Half of her was already inside. Hugo grabbed Emily’s right hand, but he was pulled too.

  Krovane caught Hugo’s left hand, and all of them were dragged together into the mirror, their screams fading as they disappeared.

  **

  Thrown, thrown again, a burst of blinding light. Krovane was hurled across the rocky ground, rolling as his body, almost nothing but bone without flesh, struck the earth over and over.

  He stayed still for a moment, trying to steady himself and slowly forcing his eyes open, the light around him far too bright.

  A fresh scent filled the air, mixed with the smell of trees, grass, and moss. He opened his eyes fully, and they widened in shock.

  Trees rose on both sides of him, and long hills stretched far ahead.

  Where is this! He jerked in surprise.

  Then he heard several sniffing sounds coming from behind.

  Krovane turned around and froze when he saw… two creatures… but what were they?

  They looked like squirrels, yet each one was the size of a grown cat. Their fur was green and soft-looking.

  One unique thing about them was their tails, shaped like glowing leaves… wow! They looked unreal. They sniffed the air while watching him with their round eyes.

  “What are you,” he muttered as he reached out a hand. “Hey, these squirrels look so cute.”

  Both creatures then opened their mouths, showing rows of sharp fangs, and let out a loud, echoing scream.

  Krovane flinched back in shock, but the overgrown squirrels, with their sharp teeth, lunged toward him.

  He tried to block them with his arm, but their jaws clamped tight around his wrist.

  “No! No!”