The town the boy was headed towards was not too big, as it only housed about a thousand households, yet it was bustling with life. Each pearly white house was large enough to accommodate a relatively large family, with the smallest being one composed of four people. And that was the case despite the town being located in one of the least hospitable places within the planet.
As the boy walked into the town’s outskirts, more and more people started to appear. They sat alone or in couples, perched above holes in the flat expanse of ice from which they too tried to fish for their dinner.
“That bucket looks heavy, caught a big one, Johan?” A healthy looking middle-aged man with a short grizzled beard yelled from a few feet away. As he spoke, he removed his gloves, slipped his hands under his gray-colored sweater, and started to rub his chest in an attempt to increase his body’s heat.
The kid turned towards the jovial man, and with a half smile, he responded, “Nopers, just a few small ones!” The boy was not bothered by the sudden question, for he knew the man did not mean anything negative by it, and was just making idle conversation. In fact, the thought that the man could have aimed for his catch had not even formed in his mind.
“Better than nothing, ahah!” the man said before slipping his gloves back on, and folding his arms against his chest. His attention was now once again focused on the fishing hole, underneath which he could see a few shadows dash past in a feral hurry.
“Would ya shut yer traps? You are scaring the damn fish!” An old woman yelled from a few dozen meters in the distance. She had lowered her thick scarf just so that her voice would not be muffled. She then added, “Loud brats..”
The middle aged man laughed quietly, gave the boy a complicit wink, and turned to look back at the fishing hole.
Amused, the boy jogged past the ice field, and past a hundred more fishermen, until finally, he entered the town.
As they saw him approach, a group of little boys and girls who appeared to be his age tried to call him over, but he was getting tired, and time for dinner was approaching, so he kept going. Unfortunately for him, the group of kids, unwilling to give up, ran towards him instead.
One of them, a shaved boy with rosy cheeks and two gaping teeth in between which a train could pass, said, “Johan, my dad’s gonna light some fireworks later. You in?” The rest of the kids stood next to their shaved friend, and looked at Johan with various degrees of interest. Especially one, a little girl who, waiting for his response, grasped her hands in front of her chest in a hopeful manner.
“If my mom says it’s okay, of course!” The boy responded before tightening his hold onto the bucket. Then, after a quick nod of his head, he walked away, using his fishing cane as a walking stick of sorts.
A few minutes later, after incurring no more interruptions, the boy finally reached a large white house. This house was only one floor, but its size was large enough to contain several rooms. Its door was composed of a single large gray pelt that covered all the way down to a few inches above ground.
The boy pushed the pelt to the side, revealing a small corridor that extended a few feet from the bottom of two descending steps. By the side, were a few metallic coat hangers that had been dug into the snowy wall, and from them, hung coats and pelts of different colors and sizes.
With haste the boy put the fishing cane to the side, and took his coat off. He then walked through the corridor, which led to a large room that contained tables, chairs and couches all dug out of snow and covered in even more pelts. In the middle of the room, and underneath a large hole in the roof, was a just as big bonfire, that crackled under a small bubbling pot.
By one of the tables sat a young man, older than the boy by only a few years, yet extremely similar to the latter in appearance. He was reading off of a binder made of dried up and tanned animal skins, on which were words written in their planet’s universal language. His head was resting on his palm, and as the boy arrived, he welcomed him with a faint nod before going back to studying.
Near the large bonfire, stood a large man. He was tall and muscular, dressed in a green large sweater, black boots and tight leather pants. He had been periodically stoking the fire with a long iron prod for the past hour, but the moment the boy entered the room, he immediately moved a hand against his mouth, and zipped his mouth closed with a hand gesture.
The man explained by pointing at the other rooms, then placing his palm against his rough cheek. “Be quiet, your mom is sleeping.” He meant.
“I am not sleeping anymore.” Said a feminine voice that had been peering through the pelts that formed her bedroom’s door. She then slowly walked out, revealing her impressive appearance.
Extremely beautiful, almost ethereal, this woman had long white hair that, had it not been for the wall’s slight discoloration, would have merged into the surroundings. Her features were delicate, just like her physique, which was neither too thin, nor too large. As she walked out of her room, with her crystal clear blue eyes aimed at the boy, she kept her slender hands on top of her belly, whose swelling indicated that she was at a late stage of pregnancy.
As she noticed the boy’s appearance, the woman approached one of the pelt covered chairs, and sat on it with great difficulty. “Derrik, you can stop studying now, clean the fish your brother bought in, and Johan, you go wash your hands and set the table.” She directed as the time for supper approached. Then, as she finished, she turned towards her husband, who’s attention was now solely focused on her. “You stay handsome.” She said before blowing him a kiss. A simple gesture that seemed to brighten his entire day.
A few minutes later, Johan came back from the bathroom to find the fish he had caught on the fire. As his mother asked him to, he set the table, and together with the rest of his family, he ate dinner.
The couple and two kids seemed to be having a great time eating together. They talked about school, goals, and daily events, until finally, by the end of dinner, the topic of girls came up. “So Johan, what about that little girl.. Huh, Eevi was her name? She always follows you around. What is that about?” The father asked as his lips curved into a faint smirk.
Johan seemed to have been caught by surprise, for he had seen the girl his father had mentioned just a few minutes ago. She was the one who had asked the rest of the kids to invite him to the firework show, as well as the one most hopeful about his attendance. She clearly had a crush on him, and both parents had noticed it.
Naturally, the father was only teasing his son.. After all, the boy was only eleven years old, and still far from being at the age where he would be fit for a relationship. Yet he had managed to get his youngest flustered.
Luckily, Johan was used to his father’s teasing, so he quickly regained his composure. He then turned towards his mother, who was sipping a spoonful of soup while looking at her family with an enamored look, and asked, “Gunner’s dad is going to set off some fireworks. Can I go watch it?”
“Homework?” the mother asked with narrowed eyes.
“Done.”
“Alright then. But be back by ten, I don’t want to have to struggle to wake you up tomorrow morning.” She then added before bringing another spoonful of warm soup up to her pale lips.
Johan sprung up on his feet, and ran around the table. He gave his mother a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before saying, “You are the best mom, love you.” He then walked towards the entrance, only stopping to give his father, who had just tried to tease him for his own amusement, a scowl.
With his mother’s permission secured, the boy ran across the town until he reached a house slightly separated from the others. The house was similar to his, but slightly bigger, as it contained more rooms for a larger family. It also had a backyard, where several metallic benches were positioned to face the clearing of ice that extended past the yard’s edges.
Sitting on the benches were dozens of kids, all facing a stubby middle-aged man tinker with a few mortars a few dozen feet away from them. Johan immediately took a seat in the only free spot left, which happened to be right next to little Eevi. The spot was clear of snow, and its space had forced the other kids to squeeze together on the rest of the bench. It was clear that she had saved the seat for him.
As he sat down, Johan felt a sweet scent that came from beside him. It was the little girl’s perfume, which he quite liked, but never had the chance to tell her. He suddenly had a mind to do so now, but before he could, a rocket shot out of one of the mortars, and flew high up in the sky.
Then, as it reached several hundred meters in height, it exploded in a dazzling spectacle of colors that came in waves, constantly shattering into thousands of sparks that flew in all directions.
The show continued, and new and bigger fireworks were ignited, creating a flamboyant spectacle for the kids to witness. And so they did, until finally, the biggest and most impressive ones, purposely left for last, exploded into a shocking sea of bright red lights that lingered in the darkening sky like confetti before dropping like rain.
“YEAAHH!” the kids screamed happily, not at all saddened by the end of the show.. All but Johan, whose gaze were still directed at the sky, where a few red lights had yet to disappear. Then, almost as if acknowledging the boy’s attention, the lights started to move. A movement that did not fit the remnants of a firework.
These sparks approached the ground, separating themselves from the rest, and as they came closer, the glow they carried disappeared, revealing the figures of several individuals clad in bright red robes.
More kids noticed the presence of these individuals, and were shocked by their ability to fly.. But before any of them could cheer, one of the figures stretched his arms outwards. From his fingertips, strands of blood-red power emerged, then shot towards the children with a mind of its own.
These ten red threads soon came in contact with just as many shocked children, attaching themselves to the part of their chest where their heart would be. One of these ten kids was little Eevi, who was now looking at Johan with a mixture of confusion and fear.
Just as worried, Johan looked back at her.. But then, the little girl started to change. Her smooth and rosy skin lost its luster, replaced by a sickly gray rougher version. The same was happening to the other kids, who soon fell on the ground, too weak to stand. They all looked as if they had aged a hundred years in just a few moments.
But, unfortunately, that was not all, for a few moments later, their aged bodies dried up completely, and they died.
“Mhhh..” the hooded figure in the sky moaned with satisfaction. “This world will make for a fine sacrifice.” He then added.
