Seeds of Chaos: Chapter 1 (Escape Pt. 1)

Chapter 1

In darkness of the night, a small figure could be seen running. Every time she breathes out, white vapor would come out of her mouth due to the cold weather.

She was exhausted. If she could she would stop running but the words of a small, white, and mysterious creature keeps egging her to run.

She had no choice but to run in order to escape.

Yes, escape…

She was being pursued. Some people, no, they’re not just some random people – her pursuers where the men from her village. Don’t be mistaken though. The word ‘pursue’ here didn’t have the same context as courtship or being very popular as to be pursued by countless admirers.

Nay, there’s absolutely nothing romantic about it. The men pursuing her have no romantic feeling for her whatsoever. They were pursuing her so that they could return her to the village.

Rennel, the ordinary village girl who coincidentally met the mysterious creature, Chaos ran away from her village, but was quickly found out and is now being pursued by the village men.

Why had the girl, Rennel ran away from her village, you ask? We need to go back to the day Rennel brought Chaos back with her.

****

After agreeing to take Chaos back with her, Rennel quickly went to the river to fetch water. While the girl was fetching water, Chaos walked towards the edge of the river. Chaos stared at the river water for several seconds before lifting its right front leg and smashing it into the water!

Bang!

Rennel was greatly startled by the loud noise and almost dropped the wooden bucket in shock. Putting down the wooden bucket, she quickly ran towards the mysterious creature, looking rather nervous.

“What just happened?!” She asked in a slightly panicked voice.

Chaos gave the worried girl a nonchalant look and answered. ”Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just preparing my rent.” It said.

“Rent? What rent?” Rennel asked in confusion.

The mysterious Chaos did not directly answer and simply pointed at a nearby tree. “Look over there.” It ordered.

The village girl unconsciously followed and looks at the direction where Chaos was pointing. Below the tree she saw a big fish jumping about.

“It’s a fish! What’s a fish doing there?!” Rennel asked in shock.

Chaos gave the village girl the side-eye and spoke. “Why else? I’ve caught it of course.” It said.

“You caught it?!”

Rennel’s confusion was understandable. Earlier she only saw Chaos just standing at the edge of the river while staring at the water. Moments later she heard a loud ‘bang’, and quickly rushed over to the mysterious creature out of worry.

Who would have guessed that Chaos was actually fishing!

Actually, scooping might be the right word to use here as Chaos did not use a fishing pole, a net, or a spear. It simply raised one of its forelegs and scooped a large fish out of the chilly water.

“Um! I can’t just stay at your place without paying rent, can’t I? I might not be human but I’m familiar with your race’s custom.” Chaos explained while looking slightly proud.

The village girl stared at the mysterious creature in shock. Despite looking like a pet, Chaos was surprisingly conscientious!

There was silence in the area as both the girl and mysterious creature stared at each other for half a day.

“Aren’t you going to capture it? It’s jumping around trying to get back to the water. It might escape, you know?” Chaos said, instantly breaking the silence.

Rennel woke up from her reverie and quickly pounced at the large fish, catching it in her embrace. The fish struggled and thrash around in an attempt to escape the girl’s escape. But no matter how much it struggled, and thrashes, the girl simply refuses to let go and instead used more strength, literary strangling the poor fish to the point that bubbles started coming out of its mouth!

A deadly embrace!

Chaos stared at the scene speechlessly and could not help but be reminded of its own situation earlier. Like the fish, it too suffered from the girl’s powerful “embrace.” Although it didn’t use its strength in fear of hurting the girl, Rennel was surprisingly strong even with those skinny arms of hers.

Looking at the now dead fish (probably), Chaos silently prayed (to no one in particular) that the fish won’t meet the girl named Rennel in its next life.

Rennel returned to Chaos’ side while carrying the dead fish (probably) in her arms. The girl’s clothes was disheveled and wet after wrestling with the fish but Rennel doesn’t seem to notice. Instead there was a huge smile on her innocent-looking face.

“You look quite happy.” Chaos started.

“Hehe… Of course I am. I rarely have the chance to eat fish and meat, you know? It’s either hard black bread or porridge.” Rennel answered cheerfully.

Chaos stared at the still smiling girl for a few seconds. Many thoughts are running on its mind. From the girl’s unhealthy looking appearance, and clean but faded dress, it could tell that Rennel came from an impoverished household.

No, maybe it’s not just Rennel’s household. The village itself might be poor.

“I think we should go. Your clothes are wet. You need to change clothes before you catch a cold.” Chaos reminded.

“Ah, you’re right! I’ve been here longer than I should. My aunt would definitely scold me because of it. Thankfully, I have this fish so I have an excuse.”

Rennel looked for a sturdy branch and swiftly put the end of the branch through the fish’s gills. She put the branch on her left shoulder while carrying the wooden bucket with her right hand.

Chaos quickly jumped on the girl’s right shoulder without saying anything. The girl didn’t mind and started walking energetically.

Half-way to their destination, Rennel slowed down and spoke. “Uh, Chaos, we might need to think of an excuse for you. It might be dangerous for you if my aunt, uncle, or any of villagers saw you. There’s a high chance that they will catch and kill you for food.” Rennel explained while looking rather awkward.

Hearing Rennel’s words, Chaos was left speechless. “Could it be that this girl and the people of her village would eat anything as long as it moves? Just how poor is that village anyway?” Chaos pondered inside its head.

“Don’t worry, I can't be seen by just anyone.” Chaos answered.

One of the reasons why Chaos decided to go with the village girl aside from the reason it gave earlier (needing a place to recuperate) was because Rennel could actually see it.

Yes, Chaos is a mythical creature that came out from a crack in the sky. It has strange powers besides its ability to speak and the power it used to scoop out the fish from the river. Despite its appearance, Chaos is a higher being and could not be easily seen by other creatures.

The fact that Rennel could see it despite being human was strange enough. Chaos doubted that anyone else in Rennel’s village could see it.

“Is that true? If so, then it’s okay!”

Knowing that Chaos could not be seen by the villagers, Rennel become more confident. Her footsteps hastened and before long she could see the silhouette of her village.

****

The girl and the mysterious creature arrived at the village and were greeted by gloomy sight. Rennel didn’t show much reaction to it as she’s already used to the scenery. Chaos on the other hand was different.

“Such negative energy…” Chaos thought after seeing the rundown village.

Rennel keeps on walking towards her house without saying anything. Those who see her stared at her, no, stared at the large fish she was carrying. Greed could be seen on the villager’s eyes but Rennel simply ignored it. Not long after, the two reached Rennel’s house.

In front of the house, a skinny middle-aged woman was waiting with stern expression on her face. Rennel greeted her but the woman did not even look at the girl. Instead she stared at the fish that Rennel was carrying.

“Where did you get that?” The woman asked, obviously referring to the fish.

“I accidentally caught it while fetching water. It was trapped in the shallows. I’m not really sure how it gets there.” Rennel lied.

Chaos, which was still on the girl’s shoulder, was surprised that Rennel’s could lie so easily but since it didn’t understand the whole situation, it decided to just stay quiet and listen.

“Oh? That’s quite lucky of you. Bring the fish to the kitchen; I’ll take care of it. You also need to go back a few more times to the river; a single bucket won’t be enough”

The stern-looking woman, Rennel’s aunt didn’t ask anymore but instead ordered her niece to bring the fish and the bucket inside the house.

Rennel simply nods her head in affirmation and went inside the house. After that she went back to the river to fetch more water. It took her about two hours of going back and forth to the river before her aunt was satisfied.

After a long day of doing chores, Rennel was physically exhausted and returned to her room after eating dinner.

“Ah, that fish sure was delicious.” Rennel exclaimed cheerfully.

Even though the girl was dead tired after being overworked, she was still rather cheerful. She was especially happy that she was able to eat fish today.

“What are you so happy about? It’s just fish. Besides, you were only given a small slice and a piece of hard bread despite being overworked.” Chaos grumpily reprimands. “No wonder you’re so skinny.”

“Hehehe. Its fine, I’m already used to it. Besides, it can’t be helped. Foods are scarce during this season. It’s already good that I have something to eat.” Rennel answered with a cheerful voice.

Chaos snorted in displeasure but did not say anything else. Instead it went towards the small window and slightly opened it.

Seeing this, Rennel could not help but ask: “What are you doing?”

“I want to go out for a bit and look around. You should rest. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” After saying that, Chaos jumped off the window without saying anything else. It didn’t even look at Rennel and left the slightly disappointed girl.

Sigh. “I want to talk to you more and you left just like that. Fine you can do whatever you want!”

With a pouting face, the girl went to bed and covered herself with a coarse blanket in order to sleep. She didn’t know when Chaos would be back so she didn't close the window despite the night being especially chilly. She was worry that the mysterious creature won't be able to enter the house if she closed the window.

Chaos heard the girl’s complain but chooses to ignore it. Instead, it quickly went towards a one of the houses. It stare at the old house made of stones in front of it and jumped at the slightly open window. Inside the house it saw an old couple chatting.

“I’ve asked the girl’s uncle. He said that the girl Rennel coincidentally caught the big fish while fetching water at the river. It was stuck in the shallows or something.” The old man informed.

The old woman sitting near the fire nodded and spoke slowly: “That’s her luck. Nothing we can do about it.”

“Why couldn’t I have some of her luck? I often go to the river too but I have never been so lucky.” The old man grumbled.

“Is luck something anyone could have just because they wished for it?” The old woman lectured. “Besides… that girl is going to be…”

The old woman’s voice trembled slightly as she recalled something. From her trembling voice and regretful expression, one could tell that she’s clearly unhappy about something. The old man sighed and quickly soothe the old woman.

“Don’t think too much about it. It’s something that has been decided since a long time ago.” He said in a slightly regretful tone. “Besides, she’s not the first one…”

“It’s for the survival of this village, right?” The old woman asked in small voice.

The old man was contemplates for several seconds before answering: “Yes, it’s for the sake of the village.”

“Once she’s gone, the village will no longer have a future. No, after the villagers started selling their own children, the village had already forsaken its future. So what if we survive another winter? Without the young ones to replace us old folks, will this village still exist in a few years?”

The atmosphere in the house became gloomier as the old couple stopped talking. Even the fire in the fireplace seemed to have become less warm because of it.

Chaos who was listening quietly to the conversation of the old couple quietly leaved the house. He then went to the other houses and heard similar conversations. Thanks to that, Chaos was able to gather a lot of information. The information he gathered from the village chief’s house was especially plenty.

The reason why Chaos went to the house of the old couple first was because when Rennel returned from the river carrying a large fish, the only person that didn’t show greed was the old woman.

“Selling the young folks of the village to slavery in order to survive the winter?  Should I say as expected of a technologically undeveloped world?” Chaos pondered.

“That old woman was quite smart. She knew that by selling the young folks, the villager pretty much forfeited the future of the whole village. Sadly, not everyone in the village thinks like her.”

Chaos looked at the gloomy night sky and noticed some white objects falling. It was snow

“It started snowing huh…”

Lowering its head, Chaos let out a sigh. After being silent for several second, it started walking towards Rennel’s house. It had made a decision.

To be continued...