Everyone froze in the middle of their attacks. They looked on in disbelief as Zaundra, the person who Oculus was trying to protect in the first place, stood before them with her hands out. She looked down at the floor, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. If she did, then she’d surely fall out of shame.

“What are you talking about?” Oculus whispered, eyes wide and confused. “Why would you want to go back to that cage? You want to go home, right? So why?”

Zaundra never raised her head. She kept it down, avoiding eye contact with him. Her hat was pulled down so not even they could lock eyes with her and know what she felt.

Ont sighed and put back on his glasses. He pressed the rim, positioning them so they wouldn’t fall down. Taking a step toward Zaundra, he was going to lead her to the cage, but Oculus and a few other villagers stood in his way.

“We’re tired of being on the sideline!” One villager yelled.

“You’re not stepping closer.” Another one shouted.

Oculus crossed his arms and stood his ground against the man of steel. Ont did nothing but watch as they imitated him, creating an arm of muscley men and women that separated him from his target. He grumbled and continued stepping forward.

Oculus grit his teeth, preparing for the tank that was about to crash into them. As strong as he and the villagers were, there was no way they could fight against him. But they could at least try, and isn’t trying something rather than letting fear rule them the meaning of existence itself. As a wannabe adventurer, that’s something Oculus embraced ever since he was small, and nothing could shake that ripe fruit from his hearty limbs.

Suddenly, Ont stopped. He didn’t take a single step forward after some time. Oculus didn’t understand why he had done that, but a shout from another one of the villagers satisfied his curiosity. Just not in a good way.

“Hey, the jump guy is gone.”

Oculus swerved toward where Yelm’s body last was, and sure enough, it wasn’t there anymore. The sound of Zaundra struggling behind them reached Oculus’ ears, and he turned back, only to see Yelm grabbing Zaundra in a headlock. Even with all the injuries on him, he continued to smile.

“That was a nice job you did of trying to stop me, kid.” Yelm said, looking straight at Oculus. “Suffice to say, it didn’t work as well as you thought it did. All I had to do was pretend to be unconscious, and get back up when the time was right. With all of you focused on Ont, this was just the perfect time to strike.”

“Let her go!” Oculus yelled.

Yelm squeezed harder, causing Zaundra to gag. Oculus froze before he squeezed her any harder.

“You step closer, and I can’t guarantee she’ll leave here uninjured. We can’t kill her, as per orders, but we can sure as hell hurt her. You wouldn’t want that.”

Oculus felt like he was stuck in between so many decisions at once. What would his father do at this point? Would Moerchknel tell him to go after Zaundra, anyway? If he had the powers of a Dragon God, could he save her? Why didn’t he just press Moerchknel to keep her at the cave while all of this went down?

It wasn’t the time to worry about the ifs right now. What he needed to worry about was what to do to get everyone to safety. The thought of sacrificing her to be put in a cage wasn’t number one, number two, or even number one-thousand of his options. She’s a human being. She deserves to explore the world, and if she’s cuffed, then that would be the worst thing ever imaginable.

“Ont, knock the kid out.” Yelm ordered. “He’s probably going to do something.”

“Wait-”

Before Oculus could protest, Ont knocked him in the head, causing him to pass out. The villagers tried to retaliate, but once Zaundra began crying again, everyone froze, not wanting the girl to get hurt any more than she already was.

“I know you guys are smarter than the kid.” Yelm said.

The villagers had no idea what to do. They didn’t want her to suffer anymore, but at the same time, they didn’t want her to be caged, either. Zaundra peeked one eye open and looked at the villagers, and they back at her.

“Just let me go. There’s no need for you guys to get involved in my mess.” Zaundra squeaked out.

Yelm chuckled. “You heard the lady. You getting involved wouldn’t be the best for anyone. More of you will remain alive, and we don’t have to waste anymore time.” Yelm looked at Ont, then at Liam and Harold, who had just been watching the fight from the carriage the whole time. “Everyone, get in the carriage. We’ll grab some of their horses and get out of here.”

“Yes, sir!” Liam and Harold shouted and began making preparations to head out.

Yelm dragged Zaundra toward the carriage, and a few of the villagers tried to help her out, only to be stopped by Ont. When someone moved even a step forward, Ont would knock them to the ground, dissuading any more people from trying to act like a hero. Eventually, no one moved forward to help.

Tears fell from Zaundra’s eyes. She tried her best, but it turned out her best was so pathetic she couldn’t save anybody. Once again, she found herself in the clutches of evil people, and taken farther and farther away from home. She wondered how her father was doing. Was her teacher alright? What’s going on at home? All those thoughts whirled in her mind, and all she was left with was her horrid imagination.

Zaundra’s felt her hat lean a bit, and when she tried to reposition it, Yelm would smack her hand away. The hat slowly tilted even further, scaring Zaundra to the point she nearly collapsed. She prayed to Ymyl for her hat to remain on her head once she made it to the cage. That prayer wasn’t met, much less heard. The hat fell off her head, and when she tried to bend down to pick it up, Yelm grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and dragged her away from it and to the carriage.

“Hey, wait a second. Let me get my hat back.” Zaundra asked, her tears choking her voice.

“Just leave it. We don’t want to give these people anymore hope that they could possibly rescue you.” Yelm said.

“I won’t run. Just let me grab it!” Zaundra begged, her tears flowing out faster.

Yelm didn’t answer her. As they rounded toward the cage, Zaundra burst into tears. She unleashed her stones again, but Yelm pushed her inside the cage and shut the door before he could get hit with any rocks. He locked the door before in just the knick of time as she slammed against it, trying to escape.

It’s just a hat, Yelm thought.

Yelm went back to the front of the carriage and spotted Ont bringing three different horses with him. They all had muzzles on and a device clamped to their necks. When one of the horses tried to kick Ont, he pressed a button he had in hand and the horse neighed in pain before falling back into position.

“I feel bad for them.” Harold said as Yelm clamped the reins on the horses.

“Don’t. If it weren’t for those precautions, we’d be dead. This is the Exxen Rings, a place where the mentality of weak-minded animals breaks upon entering.” Liam said, taking the role of driver.

Once all the horses were in place, Harold, Ont, and Yelm climbed into the carriage tent. Once everyone took their seats, Liam pressed a button and ordered the horses to move. The carriage rolled forward as the horses trotted out of the village.

Once the carriage disappeared behind the trees, a kid ran forward and grabbed the hat that had fallen off Zaundra’s head. The villagers burst into action, checking up on their leader and Oculus. They had both been knocked out, but their chests palpitated with each breath.

Everyone was alive.