-Break-

  Four weeks ter

  In front of me stands my father as the entire camp around us burns. He cuts down okin after another, with the strength of a hundred men, but then they all e at him at ond even he is uo stop them.

  Being held down by the beastkin, my father screams, “NERO HELP ME, FIGHT WITH ME.”

  But in my fright, I run and run far, far away to a pce where I couldn’t see the violehat was unfolding anymore.

  Through the forest where I ran, I feel something drip right down onto my head, and looking up towards the top of the trees I see it is blood; from the trees, tless dead bodies hand dripping their blood directly onto me and the surrounding area.

  Then with their mouths, they all say, “NERO, YOU RAN. YOU ABANDONED US, YOU COWARD. YOU GET TO LIVE WHILE WE DIED, YOU’RE NOTHING BUT SCUM.”

  From my bed, I jump up with a fright, and feel like I am about to puke, but the tents of my stomach are too empty to even do that. #

  Uo hold back my emotions I cover my face with my hands and just cry as quietly as I .

  -Break-

  With my potato in hand, I take small bites of it, then chew and digest it slowly; it is the only way I eat with my body in its current dition.

  Charles beside me asks, “Nero are you ok?”

  With the best smile I muster, I say, “OK COURSE I AM YOU FOOL!” Rubbing my hand against his head, I say, “So no reason to worry about me at all you got that.”

  Charles looks away as back to eating his bountiful feast, then says, “Charles your eyes are sunken, your skin shows a lot of your bone, and you struggle to eat and walk well. Are you sure you’re okay, because every single one of those traits are things shared by the dead.”

  Flig him on the forehead, I say, “Instead of using that big head of yours to break down my body, use it to smile idiot.”

  “Nero you’re sg me.”

  Stunned for a minute, I pause and look at Charles; did he just say he was scared? I guess I really have messed up, rubbing his head I say, “Samhain is tomorrow, and we don’t have to do any work after we burn the bonfire so I will make sure to get a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry, and just focus on yourself

  L his head back to his food, Charles says “Ok.”

  -Break-

  Plunging my spade into the ground, I try to pull up the dirt, but as I do I start to feel woozy as if my head isn’t fully attached to my neck. All my muscles throughout my body feel weak, and my eyes are losing focus by the sed.

  I don’t uand why I feel like this. My energy level felt great this m but the more I move the worse I feel, like my body has given up on me.

  Digging my spade into the ground again, I tio feel weaker and weaker, right until I start to feel my body sway from side to side.

  Getting in front of me Charles says something, but I am pletely uo uand it, my brain ’t make sense of them.

  Feeling my focus drop even more I start to get angry. I ’t give up, I ’t fail, I o keep going, if not how am I ever going to face everyone if I ’t survive? Don’t drop, don’t drop, don’t drop, don’t drop, don’t drop, don’t drop, don’t drop; YOU OT FALL!

  Despite my anger, despite the words I say to myself, I am uo stay on my feet and after swaying, I fall to the floor and colpse.

  -Break-

  I remember that day as clear as the sun in the sky, the day of my tenth birthday.

  My celebrates all birthdays once a year, the day that my people first took root in Terrafide. On that day everyone in the vilge ages one year, so we have a grand celebration for everyone.

  I remember how my father danced with my mother. They were both such free people that they had no sense of shame, yet despite this, no one ever looked at them with disrespect because they were both strong. My dad in body, my mother in mind.

  Cudia was the opposite she used to stantly get frighted by all of the festivities, and then climb up orees. So, her parents had to always vince her to e down.

  But she never listened, but strangely enough, when I asked, she would jump down instantly and hold on to me. Then for the rest of the party, she walked around attached to me with a smile on her face, like she was a baby which was weird sidering we are the same age.

  But being weird was normal for Cudia. I always wao ask her why she acted like this, but she had a really bright smile so I decided to leave it be.

  Though she was normal pared to Aurelius. Every single year, no every month, he would ask Lillian without fail to marry him, and she would always say something mean iurn to him.

  Like you're too annoying, ive him a near-impossible take like being the vilge chief. Though despite how she acted I could tell she cared for him just as much because she would frown whenever he wasn’t around.

  Both of them were three years older thahey were strong smart and would always be there for me. And when Cudia was attached to me, Aurelius would always improve the mood around us, while Cudia would take the time to make fun of us saying we looked like a husband and wife.

  Those days were annoying but so much fun. Seeing everyone dand py with all their hearts.

  Suddenly all of them stop and stare at me, then Lillian says, “Yet you were uo protect this.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  Walking up beside me, my mother says, “Don’t deny it, son.”

  My father then says, “You ran a me behind.”

  Cudia gripping me from the side says, “And you let me die for your mistakes.”

  Aurelius gripping me by my colr says, “After all the times I have saved you the one instance I asked for that favour back I was denied. You let us get dragged away.”

  “No, I wao fight.”

  “BUT YOU DIDN’T. Your wants and words are pointless in the face of your as.”

  My mother says, “You’re a failure true and true. I am sure you will even fail the child as well.”

  Lillian stepping into my other ear, says, “You must have tried to use him as a way to earn fiveness for us. You don’t even care about him you fool.”

  “I care about Charles and would never let anything happen to him.”

  Cudia says, “Your past speaks otherwise. You feel it, Nero, even now the boy is carrying on his back right to the campsite.”

  “No, he ’t be doing that.”

  Lillian in my ear, says, “Your weakness so far has only affected you, but now even Charles will be affected. Because you're nothing more than a burden to him.”

  “You're wrong!”

  Aurelius says, “You act like an older brother towards him, copying how I acted towards you. But it is a fruitless effort because you are too weak to protect him or yourself. When those men e back to harass you after Samhain how will you defend Charles, will you do it with your weak body?”

  “NO!”

  Grabbing me and lifting me up by the neck, my father says, “You run from us and now you run from the truth, you're truly a cowardly existehat isn’t even worth the dirt beh our feet.”

  Throwio the ground, I see a line appear in front of all of them, and then my father says, “You're nothing more the a useless existeaking up spa that side, so just cross over to a pd leave the people there before you curse them with your existence.”

  Aurelius says, “Die shitty brother.”

  Lillian says, “Die bedwetter.”

  Cudia says, “Die fool.”

  Mother says, “Die failure.”

  Father says, “Die you, coward. The very faeone like you tio breathe is an affront to my family, SO JUST DIE!”

  As they scream at me, I tio cower my ears, as they shout, and shout insults at me for a time that feels like it would never end.

  -Break-

  The day

  Jumping up from my bed with fright, I scream and scream and scream. But then holding me Charles says, “Nero what’s wrong.”

  But I tio scream until I lose breath, then shaking I look towards Charles at my left, and see he has bruises on his face.

  Grabbing it, I say, “What happened.”

  “They got angry when I tried to take you back early, so they hit me again and again until they finally let me go.”

  “ARE YOU FUG STUPID!”

  Charles moved back slightly as the words Nero said caused a fearful rea within him.

  With his head, hanging low Charles says, “No I just wao make sure you were okay, that’s why I stayed up all night.”

  Nero with his hands on his head, rubs his hair chaotically, then says, “’t you just think for yourself even once? You won’t be able to eat a full meal tomorrow.”

  “I will be fine.”

  “No one asked you to be ok, I needed you to be full. After everything I have done and said to you why couldn’t you follow these simple instrus, it isn’t that hard.”

  tinuing to scream like a maniero says, “Why won’t you ever just listen to me, it is like I am surrounded by a fug moron.”

  Taking a moment to stare at Charles's faero screams, “YOU ’T SMILE BUT NOW YOU FROWN LIKE THAT.”

  Smming his head into the ground, Nero says, “Why do all these bad things keep fug happening to me, first being put in a room with only you, then my father dies, then I start getti every night because of you, and now I don’t even have food to eat. THIS IS TOO FUG MUCH!”

  Charles in that moment freezes uo piy decision to e to, so he grabs Nero, sticks up his thumb while trying his best to smile and says, “Good job.”

  But hearing this makes Nero’s fury surpass its limit as Charles in the face making him fall to his butt.

  Raising his head from the ground, Nero says, “DON’T MESS WITH M-.” But he stops mid-sentence as he sees something that shocks him to his very core.

  This ’t be happening, it ’t be happening right.

  Charles with a tear falling from his right eye, says, “Nero, I am sorry.”

  Seeing this tless expressions run through my face, and my body aches, so with all the strength I could muster, I ran straight out of the room to a er far away from our hut.

  Losing energy, I fall to the floor, and as I do I sm my fist against the ground. “DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!”

  -Break-

  Everythi by like a fsh. I somehow did prayer that m but I don’t remember how, I somehow ate something that m but I don’t remember what, I walked all the way to the to the tre pin for Samhain, but I don’t remember why.

  And in front of me, as all the pyres were lit as the sun fell down, I felt absolutely nothing.

  But in the bay ear, I hear someone say, “e here.”

  Looking in the dire where it came from, I see my members standing in the distance, makiures as if they are being me over. Isn’t Samhain the day when the dead and living worlds are ected, if so that is good for me si means I finally die. I was too much of a coward to do it myself, but now it should be possible.