Chapter 2

Jasper

“Jasper, c’mon, wake up! It’s been 5 days already, you need to get up!” Noah says as she jumps onto my chest.

“Ouch! Noah, please, I’m still injured,” I say as I jump up from the weight of her body.

“No, you’re not, stop being such a big crybaby. Miss Sarah says you’ve had enough rest and that the healing oil should have finished its job already. Now get up!” Noah grabs the blanket and yanks it off the bed as she takes it and darts out into the hallway.

“Dang it, Noah, get back here!” I yell. Too late, she was already out of earshot. Good thing Meesh is nothing like her. I don’t know what I would do if she had a twin running around. I slowly get up and put on my tunic. The room is a lot different now that there’s some daylight. The mud walls show their age with cracks webbing throughout the entire surface. The straw roof has some holes that seem to have been neglected for some time. Maybe I’ll patch them up as a thank you for all she’s done. I walk down the hall and am greeted with a strong aroma of savory smells that tickle my nostrils. Garlic, onion, cumin. My mouth begins to water as I get closer to the kitchen. I walk into the kitchen, and I’m bombarded with a mess of seasonings on the floor. In the corner is a big pot over an open flame, cooking with whatever Sarah appears to be making. The children are running around playing on the floor with some toy-like structures in their hands.

“Evening, Sarah, would you like some help with that?” I say with some urgency.

“Oh, don’t you worry about a thing, I’ve got this covered. In the meantime, could you tell the little ones to take their playing outside? It’s getting a little crowded in here.”

“Alright, you two out, out, you all are getting in the way of Miss Sarah’s genius.” Noah sticks her tongue out at me as she walks out the back door with Mishael following right on her heels. “And don’t go too far!” I exclaim as they slam the door behind them. I sit down on one of the chairs and lean back slowly so my back can relieve the stress it has been carrying these last few years.

“See, this is why I never wanted children.”

“Oh, come now, they’re just kids, besides, they have been cooped up in that stronghold for their whole lives. It would make sense for them to be as rowdy as they are.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Shifting in my seat, I say, “Hey, Sarah, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“Do you think you could take these kids and have them live with you? I really don’t have the time or the skills to take care of some random kids,” She hesitates as she continues to stir the pot.

“Yes, I’ll take care of the kids.”

My eyes rose in excitement, “Wait for real! Oh wow, you’re amazing,” I say as I go in and kiss her on the cheek.

“Yeah, yeah, calm down, I say yes now, but you never know what the future may hold,” she says with a pained look on her face. Almost like she has been here before.

“Pshhh, whatever, all I know is that I’m a freeman again, Woohoo!!!!” I yell

“Hey, what’s all that yelling about?” Noah says as she barges through the door with her hands on her hips. Mishael is standing behind her quietly.

“Oh, Nothing, just some good news. Hey! Want me to show you a cool trick?” Noah and Mishael’s eyes light up.

“Ohh show us, show us, show us!”

“Alright, but c’mon, I gotta be outside to show you.” I usher the children outside as I frantically look around for something to entertain them with. Immediately, I see a large stick lying on the ground by the side of the house. I pick it up and hold it in my hands, balancing it. I toss it back and forth between my hands, feeling the weight of the stick. “Yeah, this’ll do. Alright, you two, I’m about to show you something super cool, so pay attention.” I begin by twirling the stick above my head, bringing it down my back, and stopping it in a striking position. I thrust the stick forward, then swing it down quickly from my head. As I continue that same momentum, I turn 180 degrees, outstretched the stick from my right arm.

“Woohoo! Alright, that was totally awesome!” Noah yelled as she clapped her hands in excitement. Standing there beside her, Mishael was stunned, his face in awe of complete wonder.

“Mr. Jasper, that was so cool. Can you teach me how to do that?” Mishael exclaims.

“Haha, yeah kid, of course, one day,” I say as I pat his head. He gave me a smile, the first smile I have ever seen from him. A warmth filled my heart, and I couldn’t stop thinking that I would do anything to see that smile again. But then I remembered I was telling him a lie. After tonight, I was gonna leave and head back to my original life, never to see him again. I shook off the guilt as Sarah called,

“Hey, Jasper, could you and the children go into town for me and pick up some ingredients for dinner. Here is a list and some money. Oh, and there is a little something extra if you all want to treat yourself.” She hands me a pouch with some gold coins in it and a piece of paper with a list of stuff written on it.

“Yeah, no problem, we will be back real soon.” I turn to the two kids, "Hey, you two, when we go into town, try not to get distracted and run off, ok? We’re still technically on the run, and we don’t want to get caught. Got it?” They nod their heads in agreement. “Good, stick close to me.”

We head down one of the dirt roads as we enter town. Modos is a city that runs on power. The more powerful you are, the higher your status. That’s why this town is run by the slave traders. If you get in their way, they either eliminate you or enslave you. The slave traders also make it their mission to try to snuff out any light keepers as well. All residents are encouraged to snitch out anyone they think is suspicious.

The city is an older city with some of the dirt buildings crumbling away. The roads are not filled in with stone like some other cities, and the fact that this town is located smack in the middle of the desert doesn’t help its economy either.

We head towards the main square where all of the merchants set up shop.  About a mile out from the square, you could hear the voices of people bargaining and swindling their way into acquiring new goods. The familiar smells of the spices from the spice carts filled the air with their tantalizing aroma. We quickly breeze through the list that Sarah gave us as we pick up the items that she asked for. Some of the items stood out to me, however, because you couldn’t use them right away. I pushed the nagging thought from my mind as we continued our shopping spree.