"Brother, from over there!"
Liam was running after the prey while Mike was on the other side to catch it.
"It'll escape from there!"
The animal disappeared into the trees and bushes.
"Damn it, we're losing it… Keili, now!"
Keili jumped and grabbed the animal, throwing a jacket over it and trapping it underneath.
"Good job, Keili."
Liam ran forward, wanting to see the animal up close.
All three of them gathered around it. Keili carefully opened the improvised trap, and inside was… a rabbit.
A while ago, they had learned how to hunt. The first time, they had been quite lucky and managed to catch a deer. Since then, they had started going into the forest on their own to hunt. Sometimes they were lucky and found deer—and even luckier if they caught them. Other times, they fished from the river, and sometimes they hunted smaller animals.
"Come on, let's go see what the others caught too."
When they returned to the place they had chosen to sleep for the night, Mike saw that the others hadn't caught anything interesting either. Some had caught squirrels, while others had been fishing in the river.
Mike gave the rabbit to the Gut-Remover—that's what they called him because he never hunted. Instead, he took others' prey and cooked it after cleaning it first. In exchange, he took a small portion of food from everyone.
When the food was ready, Mike and the others ate what each group had hunted for themselves.
Mike looked at the piece of meat in his hand and remembered the rabbit that, just a few hours earlier, had looked him in the eyes as if begging him to save it.
"Sorry… but I have to survive."
Mike took a bite and ate it. He had never eaten rabbit before, but every time he ate meat, it felt like the first time.
Any guilt he had felt disappeared, replaced by a sense of satisfaction. The meat was dry, since it had no spices—only cleaned and cooked by the Gut-Remover—but it was still tasty.
After they ate, they slept and continued their journey the next morning.
They always traveled the same way: hunt, eat, rest. Until they reached their final destination—though they didn't know where that was. Mike didn't know either. He was simply searching for a safe place in the forest.
Until one day, they arrived near a mountain.
It was huge.
Mike stared at it, wondering what it was. All this time, they had been traveling across flat land. Even inside the forest, the ground had been mostly the same—just small uneven parts here and there. But this… was something completely different.
"Mike… what are we going to do?"
"We'll keep going this way."
Keili's expression showed concern, but she didn't speak. And that was strange. Whenever Mike made a dangerous decision, Keili would usually stop him and show him a safer path.
But this time, she was silent.
And her silence felt like an answer: this was the right path.
Yet, Mike noticed something in her gaze—like she wasn't completely sure.
Mike took a deep breath.
"Let's go."
The climb up the mountain was difficult, but they kept going. They followed the same routine: hunt, eat, rest.
They found shelter under trees, and when it rained, they started hiding in caves.
Days passed, and the climb became even harder. But in the end, they made it to the top.
When they reached the summit, they saw a beautiful landscape.
In the middle was a vast green meadow, covered with small yellow flowers. Further away, there were waterfalls and lakes. Surrounding it were rock formations that hid the entire area.
The mountain was hollow—and inside it was this hidden meadow.
Mike and the others stood there, admiring the view.
After they finally found a place to rest, Keili came and sat next to Mike.
"Hey, Mike…"
"What is it?"
"Maybe it's better if we stop here."
"What?"
"Look… everyone is exhausted. They can't keep going anymore… and neither can you."
Mike turned and looked at the others. They were all quiet. Their faces looked tired, and their bodies were worn out—not only from the abuse they had suffered their entire lives, but also from the journey.
As he watched them, Mike realized that all of them had scars. Some on their hands, others on their faces. Each of them carried their own piece of pain, and all of them looked older than they really were.
Mike touched the scar on his own face. He was only twenty years old, yet the first wrinkles had already begun to appear. Then he looked at his ribs—the pain was getting worse.
Keili was right.They were all exhausted.
And Mike couldn't keep going either.
"Listen, everyone… we've reached our new home."
***
Eighty years had passed since Miria was founded.
Small wooden houses stood scattered around, while others were still being built.
A little boy ran between the people.
"Aisa! Aisa! I'm here! Sorry I'm late!"
A small, beautiful girl turned and looked at him.
"Finally! There you are! Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
"Sorry...Hey, Aisa?"
"What is it?"
"Let's go play in the haunted cave."