One week later. . .

  I have become slightly accustomed to living alone. I have gotten used to stealing food from small food stalls without getting caught at all. Just yesterday, I also stole some snacks and drinks from a lonely convenience store. I approached the store clerk and stunned him, took everything I needed within the five-minute time frame, and left without a trace.

  I was also aware of CCTV cameras. I learned the patterns of each CCTV camera days prior to attempting this little robbery. I kinda feel bad for the store clerk, as he will be the one to be responsible for all of the missing food, so I made sure I didn’t take too many to make a clear difference.

  I have now learned a few new tricks to secure shelter. Firstly, I slept in the dumpster bin and made sure no dumpster truck would pick it up during the night. I wrapped myself inside a giant trash bag so that nobody would bother me during sleep and camouflaged myself among the trash. I can also find abandoned buildings and spend a night there, unharmed and untouched. I also camouflaged myself accordingly depending on the surroundings.

  As for my everyday activities. . .

  *step step step*

  I find myself currently running across the side of a river in a small forest.

  *Thump thump thump*

  There are bigger sets of footsteps chasing after me.

  “COME HERE, LITTLE GIRL!!”

  “YOU’RE SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME!!”

  “YOUR PAPA IS WAITING AT HOME YOU, NAUGHTY GIRL!!”

  “(Tch! Who do they think they are? Talking like I wronged them in the past! Do they seriously think that they’re gonna scare me?)”

  As always, I have been chased yet again by some random people. My mother’s husband kept hiring new people to bring me home. I genuinely don’t understand his eagerness to bring me back. What benefit would I serve him if I came back? He’ll just abuse me over and over again, never listening to me.

  This time, there are four young adult men chasing me. They all dressed like some type of biker gang. One wears a red bandana, the second one has braided hair and wears sunglasses, the third one has a mohawk hair, and the last one is bald. They all wear similar outfits, including a black T-shirt with some abstract drawing on the front, a sleeveless denim jacket, a pair of ripped long blue jeans, and a pair of dirty running shoes.

  *step step step*

  I am currently five meters away from my pursuers. My running speed has increased quite a bit, but at the same time, not to the point of completely outrunning young adult males. At best, I can keep this distance for a few minutes.

  *pant pant pant*

  “Dammit! That girl is fast!”

  “Tch! This is because *pant pant* we smoke, right?”

  “*pant pant* Yeah! Our lungs aren’t the same anymore.”

  *!*

  I overheard them talking. Seems like they have lung problems because of their habit of smoking. Lucky me!

  *BWOOOSSHH*

  *!!!*

  “W-WHAT?”

  I started running as fast as possible and increased the gap between me and my chasers by a large margin.

  “DAMMIT!! *Pant pant* Are we really gonna lose her because of smoking?”

  “FUCK!! OUR HANDSOME REWARDS!! DAMMIIITTTTTT!!!”

  Slowly but surely, all four young men slow down and stop running. Eventually, I completely left them in the dust and disappeared into the distance.

  This is yet another day I survived the chase.

  Day 30

  Today, I’m being chased again, this time by a Believer. It’s a guy with Fire Elemental Faith power. He can propel himself forward by firing flames from under his feet. He can fly, reaching near the speed of a bullet. My speed is nothing compared to his.

  When I saw him randomly while walking in a city on the sidewalk in broad daylight, he was smiling creepily. The moment I saw his creepy smile, I immediately ran the other way in a hurry.

  I have developed some kinda ‘sensor’ to detect anyone who intends to chase after me. I don’t know if this is an actual sensor or not, but it’s basically just a feeling that makes a certain someone or certain people stand out amongst the crowd. It’s like I can feel their focus and gaze on me most of the time, and I have become sensitive to someone’s attention because of it. And to think it has only been roughly a month since I first left my mother and that place that I can’t even acknowledge as ‘home’.

  The moment he sees me running, he starts running as well, but he doesn’t immediately use his Faith power to not attract any unnecessary attention.

  I run with no clear direction, and I just want to disappear from his vision. But he intentionally led me towards an abandoned industrial area.

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  I entered through a hole in a steel-wired net fence, but he simply flew over the fence with his Faith power.

  *FWOOMMM*

  *THUMP*

  *!!*

  As I was running away from the fence, he suddenly landed safely in front of me with his fiery feet.

  “Well, well, well, we’re here now! This is a secluded area, you can’t run away from me from this place!”

  “TCH!”

  I immediately turn around and run back towards the hole in the fence.

  “Too slow!”

  The man raises his right hand forward, and his entire right hand catches flame. He opens his burning palm and shoots a flamethrower towards me.

  *FWOOOMMM*

  *!!!*

  I jump out of the way to the right and roll once on the ground. I land safely with my two feet, crouched down.

  *!*

  I see the fence in front of me was burnt entirely, and the fire eventually spread and burned the entire long fence that surrounds this entire industrial area. The fire burns the fence, without actually turning it into a crisp or melting it. The fire simply stays there to prevent me from escaping through the fiery hole.

  “TCH!”

  I turn around and stand up towards the man. I finally take a good look at his appearance.

  He has dark brown skin with a bald head. He looks to be in his 30s, but I am not really sure. He has a beard and a very slightly visible thin moustache. He has a pair of black eyes, and there are eye bags around his eyes. His face looked tired all the time, thanks to those eye bags. His body is rather thin and only slightly muscular. He wears an orange sleeveless T-shirt where its entire right side is cut away, leaving his torso open diagonally, a pair of orange fabric trousers, a pair of white socks, and a pair of sandals. He is 165cm tall and weighs around 69kg.

  “(There is no way I can win in a direct combat against an Elemental type Believer!)”

  “. . .”

  “(UNLESS!)”

  I have learned about Faith powers and their typing. Turns out Faith power isn’t just a superpower that works differently according to its user. Well, I mean that is still true, but there is a general category. According to the internet, this guy is an Elemental type, and I believe he has some kinda Source somewhere on his body. If that Source is harmed to a certain extent, he will lose his Faith power for an entire minute.

  . . . . .

  But when I think about it more, I think using my Faith power would give me more time to escape since it also stuns him, preventing him from even seeing where I am escaping to. Plus, I have no way of damaging his Source anyway. My tiny fist and legs wouldn’t do much damage in the first place.

  *!*

  That man walks forward, slowly approaching me. He has his burning right open palm pointing at me the whole time. I am scared to make a move in case he fires another flamethrower at me.

  *step step step*

  He keeps walking towards me and eventually stops when he reaches me. He still points his burning right palm at my face.

  “How old are you again, little girl?”

  “. . .I am ten!”

  “Ten years old? Only ten years old, and multiple other people still haven’t been able to catch you and bring you back? Nah, there has to be something going on with you! Are you a strong Believer, perhaps?”

  “. . .”

  “Not answering means it’s a yes, dumb child! Now I gotta do this carefully! Let me think!”

  The man thinks to himself for a brief moment.

  “Alright, that’s it! I’ll break your hands and legs, but only slightly, just so that you can no longer fight back or run away! Physical strength isn’t really my thing, but the bones of a ten-year-old should be fragile enough for someone with my build!” said the man with a creepy smile.

  I quickly made a move, risking my life the moment I saw him smile. I quickly jump towards his face and stare deeply into his eyes with my transformed eyes.

  “. . .”

  I did it! I stunned him!

  I kinda became familiar with the way people act in certain situations. For this instance, the moment I saw his smile, I immediately moved closer to him, knowing full well he’ll be caught off guard. He could’ve easily reacted after a few seconds, but just one or two seconds are all I need to stun him, thanks to the fact that he was standing so close to me. He must be underestimating me too much, knowing that I am just ten years old. Lucky me!!

  I immediately turn around to escape, but the fence behind is still burning brightly. If I crawl through the burning hole, I’ll be burned to death before I even make it through. I quickly look to my left and right to find a solution.

  *!*

  I see a wet fabric of some sort far away in the distance. I quickly run towards it and grab it. I wrapped the wet fabric, which turned out to be a thrown-out blanket that somebody had thrown here. It was very dirty and full of holes, and it seemed to be drenched from the rain, but I had no choice.

  I ran back towards the hole, and two entire minutes had passed, so I quickly crawled my way through the burning hole. When I made it out, I quickly tossed aside the wet blanket that had dried a little bit from the fiery hole and left the industrial area behind.

  That man completely lost me, and I survived for another day.

  Day 99

  Today I’ve found myself in London. It’s a very long way from my hometown. I’ve sneaked into some cars and ships here and there without getting caught. Though none of the trips were flawless. I almost got caught multiple times, but thankfully, it was always one person who found me hiding. I quickly use my Faith power to stun them and move away to find a new hiding spot. I always ended up being treated as a hallucination or a ghost of some sort.

  I’ve been in this city for a few days already, as I arrived three days ago. This is also the furthest I have been away from my hometown for the first time. It feels so liberating coming here, because I haven’t been chased for two whole days yesterday. I can only hope it lasts for another day or maybe two.

  Ah, who am I kidding? I wish I wouldn’t be chased anymore for the rest of my life. Running away is tiring, and I constantly have to be cautious towards my surroundings. There is no time to relax at all, even during my sleep at night.

  For now, I am just enjoying the view of the city. This city is a lot more beautiful than I thought. My hometown, Valencia, is considered beautiful by the internet, but not to me. That city only brings pain and bad memories for me.

  I am walking joyfully on the sidewalk. The way I walked was so whimsical as I constantly swung my hands up and down, and I also raised my legs high every time I took a step forward. There is a giant smile on my face that I’m wearing without even realizing it. A lot of passersby who pass by me smile at me without fail. They all probably find me adorable from how genuine all of their smiles seemed to me.

  One passerby was carrying a bag of donuts with him, and somehow, he felt like he had to share a donut with me. He openly talked to me and told me his sincere intention. I was happy and accepted his offer. He also allowed me to choose freely among 12 different donuts, each with its own flavors, colors, and frosting.

  I picked the chocolate flavor, and I thank the man. He left happily. I eat the donut happily and mmmmhhhhhh. Chocolate is so good! I love chocolate donuts!

  Aaaahhh!! I’ll find some chocolate donuts for today’s lunch.

  .

  .

  .

  London, 21:17. . .

  It’s nighttime time and I think it’s time to go to sleep. I’ve found an apartment where an entire floor was abandoned and closed off because the floor gave in and fell, creating a 200cm diameter hole in the floor. There are blockades to enter the floor, but I managed to slip through the gaps because of my small body.

  I quickly find an empty bedroom and lie down on the bed. This is the third peaceful day in my life without anyone chasing me. This feels good! I wish days like these stayed forever. I close my eyes, knowing well that my wish is merely a fleeting dream. For now, I’ll end this peaceful day with a peaceful sleep as well. I hope I don’t get chased again tomorrow.