As long as we are talking about the current earth, the boy named Eiron lived an almost completely average life: filled with survival and lacking dreams.

Since the world was colonized by the Beyonders one could think humans would at least be used at servants but no…they were completely insignificant and were forced to live as indigenes without being allowed to use even the basic technologies such as phones, medicines, vehicles, complex socio-politic, educational and economic systems etc.

Being hidden was useless because they were drones everywhere ready to kill any outlaw on the spot.

Eiron’s journey routine consisted of looking for some fruits while plowing his little farm and looking after his hens in hopes no thieves will come after them.

His mother was said to have died the day of his birth but it seemed from the pictures that he has inherited her tanned skin and dazzling but dependable smile.

Eiron’s father ‘old’ Michael was a man in his late thirties who could be considered one of the elders of their little community.

He tried his best to organize their little community while setting some rules and was thus a much respected man… well almost.

It may seem weird but aside from community work, Michael’s occupations consisted mostly of house chores such as cleaning the house, brooming the yard, cooking and washing the dishes.

Well he was what one may call a perfect “houseman”, dream of every economically self-sufficient woman.

Actually, it was not his fault since with only plants as medicine, firewood to cook food and constant manual labor it would be a miracle reaching that age while staying young.

The result? Eiron had to early become the man of the house by doing physically heavy tasks such as cutting wood, fighting against the beasts trying to eat from the farm (aka birds and rodents) and fetching water from the well.

Because of his completely white eyes resembling those of the Beyonders, Eiron was most of the time marginalize, got into useless arguments with other children and was sometimes beaten.

On his first day in the children circle when he was only four, he scared away all the other kids because of his eyes that looked like those of the monsters their parents used to talk them about to scare them.

“Monster!” ”Please don’t kill me!” “Will you eat me?” were words he soon got familiarized with.

Most of the parents requested his father to take him out of the children circle and no matter how much he pledged for the mental wellbeing and socialization of his one and only child, they were firm on that one request.

Eiron passed most of his younger years in silence in the farm far away from the other kids with nature and the farm animals as his only friends.

Sadly even he didn’t know that those will be the most peaceful years of his life.

Shortly after turning fourteen, the boys’ gang usually harassing him gathered in front of his farm while throwing stones at him.

“You jerk is this really one of those almighty Beyonders who can supposedly use a vessel to kill us all in the blink of an eye? Looks more like he is looking for his mother’s skirts” said the apparent leader.

“His mother? Isn’t she dead?”

“Nah! Don’t cha know the rumors? She is a Beyonder. After having fun raping his father, she left the child behind some time later” another boy retorted.

“You…you!!! What did you say?!”

“Ha-ha bring it on man” the leader said.

Some minutes and some ‘bam’’bam’’puhak’ [1] later…

Eiron saw himself being crushed by the weight of unending punches.

“What the hell is happening here?” Hopefully, his father soon came and after a lengthy explanation, he didn’t waste time to whip those kids’ asses … Really a true hero.

Back at home

“Da*n it Eiron what did I tell you about responding to provocations!” his father yelled.

“I know you told me to think calmly and respond accordingly to the situation while using violence as the last resort but they said that you…mom…” Eiron cried.

‘Poor kid, I may not be able to understand how he feels’ thought Michael.

“I won’t keep on shouting but remember this young man you should never act rashly because every action leads to a consequence.”

“Understood dad” Eiron nodded.

Michael’s face softened and he finally said: “My poor child, I’m not saying this because I don’t understand you but what if you wounded one of them and they came back for retaliation… your life will become a constant nightmare and you may even get beaten to death one day… Neither my heart nor your mother’s soul would be able to endure that.”

“…”

Eiron went early to bed while constantly muttering ‘think think think fighting against many equals to being beaten, just fighting equals to deceiving father while not fighting equals to getting harassed… but what if…’

Eiron slept that night with a smile and had his first nice dream all those boys particularly the leader got goose bumps during their sleep.

The next day, the first thing Eiron did after waking up was taking a sheet of paper with him to his favorite tree in the farm.

There, he elaborated his plan and wrote minutely his plan while taking in count all the variables and providing himself a suitable alibi.

After memorizing most of his plan, he boiled water for his father and threw the sheet of paper in the fire.

The same morning while bathing, his father thought ‘What a dependable child he has already forgotten everything and thinks above all about his old father.’

Later that day, Eiron dressed himself completely in leather without leaving a single open spot and went into the forest.

There, he harvested some berries and other fruits while looking around the forest and did the same for the next three days.

Eiron then observed secretively the coming and goings of the rascals’ boss named Bob and soon memorized after a few days his hunting schedule and all his traps spots.

The next day early in the morning, Eiron dressed in leather, uprooted some of the tread-softly he once spotted in the forest and planted them after cutting off their flowers around one of the traps Bob use the least and is less familiar with.

He then did several pastes with other plants and placed them in a pouch.

Eiron wounded deeply the legs of a wild hare he caught the previous day with metallic claws he once found in an old workshop.

He brought the almost completely exhausted hare near where he planted the tread-softly while doing his best to leave the least footprints and left some blood trails around before going.

He didn’t even have to wait twenty minutes to find the greedy Bob scratching vigorously his whole body and groaning near the hare.

Eiron waited sometime before deciding to make his move.

“Does someone needs help?” Eiron asked casually while walking slowly but surely closer to Bob with his leather pouch in hand.

“Please help! …” said Bob before realizing who came.

“Sh*t you’re mocking me right.” Bob said in pain.

[1]: punching onomatopoeias