《Dantian: The Unforgettable》


 Prologue: The Visible Invisible

    Entrance: The Visible Invisible


    *Wahh, wahh* A baby was crying in the distance, the little baby was looking to his mom and dad wailing trying to get their attention. He was in no way quiet yet his parents had not heard him, or rather they had not noticed him. The baby boy was starving because he had not eaten since yesterday, and it was already noon. Reaching out and wailing louder and louder, the parents finally noticed something, a noise that was crying out in the back of their heads. They looked over to see their baby on the ground crying out in pain. Suddenly the mother dropped the knife she was using to make food for her husband, and ran too her baby. She could not believe it, how could she have forgotten her only baby. Her child. The husband was looking at his baby, eyes devoid of a emotion, and mouth agape, he was just to shocked to comprehend what was happening. They had been doing stuff around the house for quite some time now, how had they not noticed their child?


    Crying while stroking their baby¡¯s head the mom was griefing. How could she go out and enjoy herself at the movies and leave her baby behind. Again! Carol had already done this once, along with her husband John. They had gone out on a date to a restaurant and had completely forgotten their child. They found him crying in his cradle wailing, reaching out for someone. They had vowed to never, ever do this again, but she went back on that. She broke her promise.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Daniel, I¡¯m sorry my little baby. Mommy is no-good, she forgot again.¡±


    Carol was trying to console poor baby Daniel, while John quickly woke up from his stupor and ran into the kitchen to get some baby food. He knew the baby must be hungry, what did the doctor say? An average 6-month old baby eats 3-4 times to day? Thinking about this made John¡¯s face cringe in pain at his failure as a parent.


    Carol and John were in no way bad people, in fact they were both really good people by others standards. They run multiple charities for cancer, and they both are acclaimed doctors. They are people that would never forget about their child, it really just wasn¡¯t a possibility for them. Even if they were busy they always had space for family. At least that is what they thought, until they met me.


    ¡°Yes me, Daniel L. Roberts.¡±


    ///Five ? Years Later///


    ¡°Come lets play some football, Yeah!¡±


    Watching the other kids play Dan tried to intervene and ask them if he could join in on their game, he wanted them to notice him. This was Dan¡¯s huge problem, his dilemma, his quest. He had a huge field, a massive playground, but never anyone to play with, they always just walked past him leaving him totally unnoticed. Not just kids either, it was everyone. Even his parents. His loving caring parents only ever noticed him if he begged them for their attention. This causes Dan great sadness every waking day of his life, but even as a young child his age he refuses to put his head down. In his eyes sadness is the same as defeat, and the only thing he hates more than defeat is not winning. Watching his fellow classmates play he decided to move on, just like every other day.


    Mumbling to himself Dan move to his favorite oak wood tree, it was very old and rickety, but it was also home to a lot of life and energy. Dan had always been a great observer because of his lack of attention, so he especially liked this spot. He always noticed the creaking of the tree, the birds chirping, and even the insects moving up and down the bark. All these things caused Dan to love this field and tree. But Dan would be lying to himself if he said he didn¡¯t like this spot also because he gets to see his crush Samantha easily. Samantha was a tall athletic girl with blond hair and blue eyes. Not only that she was smart too, all this traits of Samantha collided together to make Dan¡¯s ideal girlfriend.


    Sitting with his back against the bark of the tree Daniel calmly observed, he was constantly looking across the massive field. Hoping someone would look back. Daniel was waiting for the moment in which he would finally shine. Dan had been doing this for the past four years of his early childhood and the closest thing to attention he has gotten was when he punched his teacher because he was about to pee himself and he needed him to notice himself. Dan always wondered why he was so invisible, he once even questioned if he was real...he still has that question in mind.


    Looking out to the field he sighed he wasn¡¯t that much of a bland person was he? Dan thought to himself, he had dark brown messy hair, big round hazel eyes, and a big smile. He was also pretty tall for his age and fit at that! So why? Why?!?! Dan started to feel hot tears boiling up in his eyes, but he quickly wiped the tears away. He really hated weakness, he hated his weakness, his blatant inability to be noticed.


    Dan was strong for a six year old, wethered by the constant trials of being alone, and raised by his will to get smarter and stronger. But his weakness was too great and often broke him.


    As Dan started to doze off a loud whistle blew signaling it was time for recess to end and for everyone to stop their games. However Dan had been asleep and had missed the whistle. He had not gotten any sleep the prior night because his parents had been arguing the entire span of the night. As he was sleeping a faint tear streaked down his face.


    While everyone was rushing out of the recess field a young girl by accidently kicked her red ball in the direction of a certain oak tree and quickly rushed over to get it. The girl got to the ball and her hands fell on her knees as she was panting, her face was bright red from running so much but she still had a giant toothy smile on her face. The very same one Dan tried to imitate, the one he knew if he got right everyone would be bound to notice him. It was Dan¡¯s favorite smile in the entire world. It was Samantha¡¯s smile. Unknown to him Samantha was currently right in front of him, not even noticing his sleepless figure.


    Moving forward Sam went to get her red ball that she had by accidentally kicked over while playing with her friends. Eyes totally focused on the ball she did not notice the person laying right in front of herself. She slowly reached out to the ball, but suddenly she had gotten a deep premotion of danger. A chill ran down her spine, she felt she had disturbed something she shouldn¡¯t have. Suddenly a hand shot out and caught her arm that was currently in mid reach. Grasping her forearm as hard as he could Dan woke up staring straight at his attacker. Only to find it was his crush Samantha the one he has always admired from a distance. Now that she was so close his face turned beat red and he retracted his hand with his mouth opening and closing looking for the right words to tell her.


    Samantha burst into tears and ran away as fast as she could. She was scared, very scared. Not even because the boy¡¯s grip was so strong that it had left marks on her arm. No it was his eyes. They were so focused, so zoned in as if he was a predator and she was his prey. Like he saw nothing in the entire world except her, his target. But even then there was more to it, an indescribable factor, an emptiness. Samantha a young girl had a hard time comprehending this and quickly ran away, as her basic instincts had told her to do so. This was her first time experiencing true fear.


    As Samantha ran away Dan tried to reach out to her and tell her what happened but found he could not. Looking at the ground in shame Daniel sighed once more. It was not Dan¡¯s fault he was so attentive to everything around him, but he felt he should say sorry for hurting her as that is what a good kid always does. In the end he couldn¡¯t even do that.


    ¡®It sure is hard to keep my head up when things like this happen to me.¡¯ Dan thought as he looked at the field for one last time before he left to go to class. Not that the teacher would even notice he was gone. He has attended every single day of school but he has never been marked for attendance in his life. He always does his best in class anyways because he wants to be a good person even if he doesn¡¯t get any recognition because of it. Daniel tries to be a good kid because he knows that even though he is so lonely and forgotten it does not mean he should forget himself. Thinking these thoughts Daniel proceeded through his first grade school day like any other until it was finally time to go home.


    Today his Mom had decided she would drive him home. This may seem like a normal thing for a mother to do, but it was actually a very bold move on her part. Carol really wanted her son to know she still remembered him, but even after all these years she still finds it hard to remember to pack him a lunch. This causes Carol no small amount of trouble when she sees her son. She knows that even though he is always smiling he must be crying on the inside. She so desperately wants to comfort him but never succeeds. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Even though these acts of parenthood were meant to be nice Dan really hated them. Not because they were mean, but because they often didn¡¯t work leaving him deserted. Not only does he feel stranded and lonely after mom doesn¡¯t show up to pick him up but he also has to walk home! It is not a short walk for a six year old either it is at least a mile and a half! Dan waited for another half hour before he knew for sure his mom wasn¡¯t coming. Dan still liked to hope even though he inevitably knew what was going to happen. Dan slumped his shoulders and started his journey home.


    It took Daniel an hour before he got home, and the journey was very straining on his legs leaving him very exhausted. Luckily the road home only had one intersection and was scarcely populated. Dan was a very mature child for his age and did his best to get home without any problems, but he had gotten lost along the way and it took him much longer than usual to get home. When he entered the house the first thing he heard was the T.V. blaring throughout the house and two people laughing at some crappy T.V. show. As Dan rounded the corner of the entrance his face started to crumple up and snot started to dribble down his nose. Just barely not crying Daniel creeped over to his room as silent as he possibly could go. Finally making it to his room door he slowly opened it and entered his room. Dan felt a deep regret lingering as he closed the door, he regretted not wanting to make a scene when he got home, he regretted not begging for his parents attention. But even with this regret lingering he knew that even if he begged for their attention now, they would still forget about their grievances later. As such was the life of Daniel the six year old.


    Daniel plopped down on his bed burying his head in his pillow and cried for as long as his little body could possibly handle. Finally when his face was red from tears he looked up at his nightstand where his favorite superhero action figure rested and said ¡°At least you won¡¯t forget me ¡®Super-SS Average Joe¡¯. Right?.¡± Feeling slightly uncertain if he would Daniel put his qualms to rest and fell asleep.


    Just like every other night¡­


    Waking up the next morning to his alarm clock Daniel slowly groaned while getting up to change into his other clothes. He never had actually took off the ones from yesterday because he had been too depressed.


    Daniel has a method for getting clothes every single day, and it is extremely self reliant. Every weekend he has his mom wash all his clothes at one time, and after that he dries them because his mom always forgets. Then he puts them all in a bucket like mommy does and he throws them in a corner where he later searches for all the stuff he needs. If the mess is too big and he can¡¯t find the clothes he needs he just goes to school in his old clothes, but that is a very rare occasion. As a good person is always clean, or at least that¡¯s how it is in Daniel¡¯s eyes. If you are wondering why Daniel does not use the washing machine by himself it is simply because he is too afraid of it. When Dan was three his cat Snuffles jumped in and died in it because his mom had realized too late. This left him severely traumatized towards all washing machines. He can just barely handle the drier as is.


    Daniel after getting dressed went downstairs and saw that no one was there as usual. This is because his parents are very busy people and work most of the day starting from 6am to 5pm. Being a doctor is truly straining on them. Dan looked in the cabinet and found no bread to make toast with, so he started on a yogurt in the fridge. Then he laid down for twenty minutes before it was time to go to his bus stop.


    Dan waited alone at his stop today because it was raining out and all the kids were with their parents. Looking down the road gloomily Daniel wish he had brought his umbrella. It stayed like this for ten minutes before the bus finally showed up. Coming to creaky stop Dan entered and he went to school.


    It was mid morning and school was picking up pace. Today they were learning the difference from ¡®there, their, and they¡¯re¡¯ and Daniel was paying his full attention because this had been confusing him for ever. However mid-sentence the school phone had started beeping and the teacher started talking.¡±No Daniel Roberts isn¡¯t here today...yes...I¡¯ll check anyways¡­Listen up class! Daniel Roberts, is Daniel here today.¡±


    ¡®How stressful¡¯ Daniel thought while raising his hand. ¡°Oh, so you are here Daniel. Daniel go down to the office Mr. Davidson wants to see you.¡± said Mr. Coo looking slightly surprised that Daniel was in fact in school.


    Looking down Daniel got up and he started hearing whispers from around the class. ¡°Have you seen that kid?...Was he in our class?...I swear on my heart I¡¯ve never seen him before, have you?¡± Hearing this Daniel grimaced and continued to the door looking down in shame. How had these people not noticed him? He had been in their class for more than half a school year already. Looking back at his classmates he wasn¡¯t mad just very, very sad. In his heart he knew it wasn¡¯t their fault. This is how it has always been, the world must simply not have enough attention for Daniel.


    Making his way to the principal''s office Daniel saw that no one was currently in the office so he went in and took a seat. Daniel is a very independent person so he did not even hesitate when going inside like a normal child would. Also he saw Samantha coming down the hallway and he was too embarrassed to talk as is so he had rushed in. He had been brooding so much that he had forgotten what he had done to Samantha. Sitting in a chair in the office now Daniel was praying to the God¡¯s that Samantha would not enter with her parents. Looking to the door anxiously he had forgotten the principal, fortunately Mr. Davidson the principal had not even noticed Daniel.


    Looking at the door for a long time now Daniel¡¯s eyes were strained to the maximum limit until finally he saw the door creak open. Time turned slow then for Daniel, he saw the foot enter first then soon following after he saw a face...his father¡¯s face. Daniel let out a sigh of relief and his tiny muscles relaxed after being tense for so long. But then suddenly another trio of feet entered the room¡­¡¯SHIT!!!¡¯


    ¡°Mister Davidson, we would like to talk about the fact that our daughter came home yesterday with bruises on her arm!¡± Samantha¡¯s parents exclaimed loudly. Daniel¡¯s face twisted ¡®Oh no, was it really that bad.¡¯ Daniel had already felt really guilty just from scaring Samantha but now he learned he actually hurt her and it only added to his pain. Now he didn¡¯t even have a single chance of getting with her. Not that he necessarily knew what that meant. ¡°Mrs. Anderson, I understand where you are coming from. But could you tell me what happened to cause those bruises, we can¡¯t take action without reason.¡± said Mr. Davidson with his usual placid face. Mrs. Anderson, Samantha¡¯s mother the spitting image of her daughter answered ¡°This man¡¯s boy grabbed my daughter¡¯s arm ruthlessly and hurt her! Isn¡¯t that a reason? Take action Mr. Davidson!¡± Screamed Mrs. Anderson while pointing at Daniel¡¯s Dad. Daniel¡¯s Dad was taken aback, his son as far as he knew was always a good child. At least as far as he knew. He sadly realized he didn¡¯t know much. Why? Why does he always forget? Why would he injure this little girl? Was Daniel angry because He was such a bad father? At the thought of this John cringed, he certainly wouldn¡¯t put it passed Daniel. Not because Daniel is bad, but because he is such a bad parent.


    ¡°John where is Daniel? Certainly he should be here for his own questioning.¡± said Mr. Anderson who was a long time friend of Daniel¡¯s father, personally he had thought all of this situation was an accident because in his eye John could never raise a bad child. He was simply too good of a person. One would be astonished at all the charity work this man could do. To that John answered ¡°He¡¯s right here Tim, didn¡¯t you see him when you came in.¡± John bluntly said, but in reality the only reason he noticed Dan was because he had tugged on his sleeve. Daniel really was unnoticeable. Everyone in the room was in shock that they had missed Daniel when they came in. They all vaguely remembered his blurry figure in the corner, but they had assumed it was just some blurry blob in the corner of their eyes. How could they have missed him in such a small room?


    Samantha looked over to Daniel eyes afraid and quivering. When she finally saw them she tuned out all other noises and sat still. It was those eyes again. They weren¡¯t so focused this time but she still remembered them. That emptiness, suddenly she felt afraid. She didn¡¯t know why but she was very afraid. It was that same feeling she felt yesterday the one that made her run away. She suddenly started shivering but then broke eye contact with Daniel and looked down breaking into a cold sweat. ¡®Why did we have to come here today! I should have never told mommy about my boo-boo.¡¯ Still looking down at the ground she started to cry. Tim, Sam¡¯s dad, had noticed and looked down at Sam and asked what was wrong but he got no answer. Sam simply bit her lip and tried to hold back the welling tears. Tim looked at his daughter aghast and tapped his wife¡¯s shoulder because he did not know how to handle this situation.


    Sam¡¯s mom, Angela looked down at her daughter and screamed louder than ever. ¡°What happened to my daughter?!¡± Sam¡¯s face had turned completely ashen and wrought with tears one could only guess what she had experienced. Suddenly she looked over to Daniel ¡°You! What have you done to my daughter! I have known you were no good since I laid my eyes on you! Did you hurt her again just like yesterday. You probably could¡¯ve considering you¡¯re so sneaky and forgettable. You¡¯re a beast!¡± Thereafter she became incomprehensible she truly over reacted to the extreme, but what could you expect from a protective mother. Finally Mr. Davidson stepped in ¡°Mrs. Anderson you are talking to a six year old get a bearing on yourself!¡± Mr. Davidson had lost his usual demeanor of calm and quiet and had turned also into a beast. Suddenly everyone in the room started going crazy except two people.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Samantha...I-I¡¯m sorry everyone...I didn¡¯t mean to be a bad person. I...I really want to be good. But it¡¯s so hard.¡± Said Daniel while choking all but for naught, they had not even noticed him. All except for one girl, one person had listened to his apology. Sam had heard his apology and was brought out of her stupor.


    ¡°I...I don¡¯t know your name, I don¡¯t know who you are, but my head tells me you are wrong, so wrong that you should not exist. Please....please just disappear. You are scarey.¡±


    ¡°Okay I¡¯ll leave, I won¡¯t come back but could you do me a favor. Please try to remember me, that would be nice.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡± Samantha nodded her head and Daniel left the room.


    Hopefully this time Daniel really would be unforgotten.

 Chapter 1: The Hobo

    Chapter One: The Hobo


    A/N - POV Change


    Walking home after a long journey through the city I finally get to sit down and rest...okay enough resting time to train. Leaving the stolen goods on the table, I go outside to my makeshift training area. Surrounded by forest on all sides it was the perfect place for ten year old Daniel to exercise and practice his moves.


    Laying flat on the ground back in the air I started doing pushups. I had no set number of pushups I had to do I just kept on going until my arms gave in. When I was done with those I did suicides till I dropped, and when I was done with those I did sit ups. I did all the basic things I learned throughout the past four years I spent alone. All the things I learned to survive after running away.


    I had decided to run away that day at the principal¡¯s office, not because I wanted, but because I felt I had too. I felt that every second I was in that school was only one more second to add to myself and my acquaintances pain. I felt since I¡¯m already so forgettable it would not be difficult to just to disappear. And so I did, disappearing out of nowhere I started travelling and living like a nomad. Moving from place to place, city to city, living off the junk food I stole from convenience stores. Often going on long periods of starvation causing me to steal a lot...it was not so much that I wanted to steal it was just I had to in order to survive. I needed the clothes, the food, the shoes, and everything else. In short, I needed a lot.


    Honestly speaking to myself, now that I am living like a nomad for the first time in my life I have been recognized...just not in a good way. I am currently one of the most wanted thieves in the entirety of the city-state Hellen, the city Urr, and the town of Slomber. I¡¯m actually pretty famous if I do say so myself, my photo is plastered on almost every street corner light post. You wouldn¡¯t believe how long it took for the police to figure out it was I who was stealing all the merchandise. The only reason they actually discovered me was because they use a fingerprint scan instead of normal cameras. I most definitely would have been arrested already if not for the fact no one pays too much attention to anything with my face on it.


    Finally finishing my daily routine of working out till I drop and could not handle anymore, I pick up an over-priced stolen towel and rub my face wiping off some of the sweat on my face. Luckily I¡¯m ten, so there wasn¡¯t much sweat to get rid of in the first place. I here when you get older shit really hits the fan. Shivering at the thought, I start going towards my favorite view in the forest. Climbing through the shrubbery and bracken I make my way through while hitting away the thorns with a walking stick. I never needed bug-spray, mostly because the bugs all seemed to ignore me. Finally seeing a clearing behind the massive trees and bushes I rush forward grinning like a buffoon. When I finally get through I feel a gust of wind that blows my hair back immediately refreshing me. Opening my eyes my smile only got wider and I rushed forward. Climbing to the top of a huge boulder I look out across the forest. It was truly an awe inspiring view, decorated with the Starry River which spanned hundreds of miles it was amazing. Even the huge trees and occasional forest clearing made it look all the more amazing.


    Here even the greatest curse seemed to become a gift bestowed from the heavens. Here Daniel would not mind staying forever. Daniel slowly thought about the past years and how hard he had been training. How much effort he put into getting stronger even though he was only a six year old. How he had often collapsed on the streets only to be walked over and kicked. Smiling wryly Dan thought as to why he began to train oh so long ago, but he kept on forgetting as to why.


    ¡®Well it doesn¡¯t really matter now does it Dan. Yes, yes I agree Daniel very true.¡¯ he thought holding a miniature conversation in his head. ¡®Dear god I am going crazy, I hope I don¡¯t look weird to anyone...haha¡¯ he thought slightly worried as he drifted into a deep undisturbed sleep.


    ///Morning///


    ¡°Daniel come back to us. You belong at home with us your parents.¡±


    ¡°NO! Never! Just stay away!¡± A figure said with tears streaming down his eyes


    ¡°Come to us Daniel.¡±


    ¡°COME...TO...US!¡±


    ¡°ARHH!¡± A cold sweat running down the side of my forehead, I shook with my hands clutching both sides of my head. ¡®It¡¯s always that dream...those couldn¡¯t be...no...they are not my parents. Not those beasts.¡¯ Wiping tears from my wet cheek I stood up and sighed. Looking out to the forest I slapped my cheeks and yelled ¡°Goooood Mooorning Forest!¡± at the top of my lungs.


    Placing both hands on my hips I smiled even though I didn¡¯t want to. I smiled because I knew somewhere out there someone was having a worse day than I was...Probably. I hate Mondays.


    Unzipping my pants I started pissing over the boulder cliff with a long sigh of relief. Yawning really loud I closed my eyes and they started watering. Zipping up my pants I rubbed my eyes with my arm and I turned around facing my only exit. *Zhoooo* Suddenly and object suddenly flew across my head at high velocity. Standing rigid my body was frozen in place. *Zhooo Zhooo Zhooo* All of the sudden more arrows started heading for my head. With no time to think I ducked as fast as I could. Looking back at the forest I saw a bunch of...is that a skeleton. ¡®Dear God, What the F*ck!¡¯


    Looking forward I saw a bunch of skeletal figures holding bows slowly making there way forward when a skeleton who looked like the boss suddenly stopped and said in a loud booming voice


    ¡°Human heed our warning, we are the ¡®Skeletonic Archery Brigade¡¯ and we were sent here to kill any, and all humans that enter this forest! Please stand still as we do our best to kill you! Do not make things difficult! Otherwise it will be hard for me!¡± Feeling another cold sweat make its way down my back I turned so rigid that my body was robot like and it had to operate on commands. ¡®Mouth! Move!¡¯


    ¡°Umm yes, Mister S-Skeleton, is there p-perhaps a way in which I could not die.¡± I said in the politest, most straight forward manner I could muster up at the time.


    ¡°Absolutely not! If you do not die! How do you expect to join my Skeletonic Archery Brigade!¡± Said the Boss Skeleton in a deep military general like voice.


    ¡°Hey boss, why don¡¯t we just kill him now instead of talking to him. Yeah. I agree. Same¡± Said all the skeletons in unison. They always enjoyed killing humans as their eyes were screaming full of terror. Chuckling the boss answered


    ¡°Boys, boys don¡¯t you understand? This is all part of my plan! I¡¯ll get him to agree to join our amazing Skeletonic Archery Brigade, and then kill him! That way when he turns full skeleton he won¡¯t just kill himself like all the other humans we killed!¡± Said the boss in satisfactory tone.


    ¡°Oh Boss amazing plan. Couldn¡¯t done better myself! That¡¯s why you¡¯re our boss.¡± The Skeleton Boss suddenly turned bashful and was some how now blushing.


    ¡°Oh you guys! This is why our crew is better than those damn Hobgoblin trash!¡± The Boss Yelled out while he thought about how amazing his brigade was.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Yeah! God damn right ¡®bout that boss.¡±


    ¡°Ah...guys we let him get away.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ///A few minutes ago///


    While all these skeletons were talking amongst themselves I decided to make my great escape. Looking around everywhere I could only find one way that I could possibly escape through. Unfortunately that was the cliff I was currently standing on. Looking back over the ledge and I saw a pond that streamed off from the Starry River tapering off like a snake until it filled a huge reservoir. Biting my lip I swore, and cursed my luck. Of course it was I who had to meet the walking and talking skeletons. Couldn¡¯t some amazing hero meet them in my stead? Like seriously! Looking at the skeletons I knew in my heart, at least I had a chance this way. A very slim one at that. Laughing to myself I realized just how ironic the situation was, most people who decide to jump off two hundred foot cliffs are usually looking to kill themselves. I¡¯m looking to survive. Sighing one last time I looked over the ledge.


    ¡°Fuck this shit! LEGS JUMP!¡± I commanded my legs which propelled me into the air as they launched me over the edge. Fortunately no one had noticed until the last second. Screaming I fell at full speed with mouth open and skin rippling. Flipping multiple times trying to get into position I saw the pond getting closer and closer, I did my best to make a pencil out of my legs and my arms.


    ¡®Three! Two! One!¡¯ *BOOM!*


    Suddenly there was a large explosion of water in the middle of the pond and then silence and stillness was all that some one could see. A cold breeze came through and if one looked up they could see a fuming skeleton looking over the edge. Having seen the whole thing, he was very mad. They needed the boy dead, but they also needed his body to do the Skeletonification Ceremony. Their boss would be extremely mad if he did not retrieve the boy for their purposes. Suddenly one could see ripples and then a boy emerge from the water gasping for air. Seemingly coming out of nowhere the boy swam for shore.


    ¡®Holy shit biscuits I survived the fall! I fucking lived!¡¯ Laughing to myself I swam to shore as fast as I could. Even through all the pain I felt I still knew I was being chased and needed to escape. Finally making it to shore I stood up and ran. Thank God for daily exercise because I am not sure I would have been able to move after such an event if not for it. Feeling grateful I ran at full speed only to trip. *Zhooo* An arrow landed right at the spot I was about to run to and I looked back only to see the Skeletonic Archery Brigade lined up in position on the cliff with their bows held steady. I also had found a very mad boss that somehow managed to fundamentally change his skulls bone structure to look like an angry face. You could practically feel the anger radiating off of him. Looking down at me with the signature angry face he stared for a good ten seconds until he said


    ¡°You¡¯re boned you little shit!¡±


    ¡°Bahahaha!¡± Quickly covering my mouth I laughed. I always had knack for liking terrible puns and I have no idea why. Running again at full speed this time I ran to the woods for cover. Hearing arrows land behind me boosted me forward at speeds I didn¡¯t know I could accomplish. Now only ten meters away from the forest I heard an arrow coming for my head and everything turned slow. Turning around I saw the arrow coming for my head in slow motion. I moved to turn my body, but unfortunately my body was also stuck in slow motion and I only had time to move my head. Slowly turning my head into a safe position time sped up and the arrow zoomed past me at full speed grazing the skin on my right cheek.


    Zig zagging this time I finally made it into the forest but I did not stop and continued running. Hoping the skeletons had something better to do then chase a ten year old I ran as fast as I could for a good thirty minutes. However, the skeletons really didn¡¯t have anything better to do than chase young Daniel and just as he started to rest he heard their marching. ¡®Fuck, these guys are persistent.¡¯ Thought Daniel aghastly because he knew he had to run more or find a hiding spot quick. Daniel creeped away as silent as he possibly could and then ran in opposite direction of the Brigade. Running for another good hour this time Daniel finally found a cave. Dead tired Daniel entered the cave, but the entrance had accumulated a lot of water so he went deeper in until he finally found a dry spot. Feeling the calming warmth from the earth beneath him. A tired Daniel once again fell into a deep sleep.


    ///Tomorrow Afternoon///


    ¡°Daniel, we want you home.¡±


    ¡°No, Never! Just stay away!¡±


    ¡°COME...TO...US...DANIEL!¡±


    ¡°Hey kid!, wake up!¡±


    I look up to see a skeleton holding a torch accentuating his most scary parts. ¡°Shiiiiiit!¡± I screamed while moving back only to find my body pressed against the cave wall.


    ¡°Hey kid no need to be so rude, I ain¡¯t like those lousy Skeletonic Fartchery Brigade. Not all skeletons¡¯ are evil ya¡¯know.¡± Said a relaxed skeleton.


    ¡°You m-mean there¡¯s more o-of you, s-skeletons that is.¡± I said while more afraid than I ever have been in my entire lifetime.


    ¡°First of all kid, haven¡¯t you heard of monsters? And second of all, there are so many skeletons you¡¯d lose track before you started counting! Boy look at me. Look familiar? Yeah I know I¡¯m all bones. That¡¯s because a large portion of the human species is dead. And because all those dead people leave behind a skeleton it makes a perfect breeding ground for necromancer experiments. When a skeleton necromancer finds a skeleton of a human he resurrects it, often at a very convenient place called a cemetery, but they can reanimate dead bodies on the battlefield. Though less preferable because they leave behind disease and rot.¡± Said the Skeleton giving me a brief history on skeletons.


    ¡°Umm what are monsters?¡± I said genuinely confused momentarily forgetting I was in the presence of an inanimate object that moved and talked.


    ¡°Kid how old are you?¡± Said the skeleton questionly


    ¡°Ten.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, you should know about us monsters. The government makes schools teach every kid in the third grade? And didn¡¯t you noticed all the M.O.B propaganda and sign up sheets.


    ¡®Now that I think about it...oh I thought those M.O.B commercials were just cartoon shorts. I never really paid much attention to the sign up sheets either. I was really busy these past years, and I never even attended second grade much less third. Thinking about this I answered.¡¯


    ¡°I haven¡¯t gone to school since first grade sir.¡± I said shyly. I didn¡¯t like telling people something so personal and embarrassing.


    ¡°What?! Why?! Kid do you know what you''re missing. Only the fundamentals for the basic living of your life. Can you even do math?!¡± Said the Skeleton rather vigorously.


    ¡°What does it matter to you! You stupid skeleton!¡± I said now heating up with anger.


    ¡°Boy. Right now along with my wife I have my three beloved children living with me in a tribe of skeletons. I watched them die right in front of me. But even after death, I would never let one of my children skip school. Not even a single minute, no, not even a single second. So tell me. Why?!¡± Said the Skeleton furiously. Clearly he was passionate about school.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like anyone will notice I¡¯m gone anyways! I ran away four years ago and my parents couldn¡¯t even remember me enough to call the cops. And even if they had they wouldn¡¯t have a photo or description to give them¡± I said while tearing up and looking at the ground in hate. My eyes started to turn blurry and I looked up to see a skeleton like figure with a mouth opening and closing. I looked down in shame as I felt another wave of emotion hit me. Burying my crumpled up tear ridden face in my hands I cried.


    ¡°...Sorry, I¡¯m kid. I kinda get heated when talking about things I like. And It¡¯s just...well...I used to be a school teacher. I had taught my triplets in an old rural village on the outskirts of the country. We lived peacefully on our little mountain without a care in the world. Living up on those mountains with my family were the best days if my life. Until, those disgusting things came and killed everyone I had loved and cared for. Those impossibly disgusting things were our fellow villagers, our friends, our family. A famous necromancer skeleton had reanimated them after killing them with his Skeleton Brigade. They had brutally killed everyone not leaving a single person spared. Not even the children. The necromancer preferring skeletons over zombies brutally melted our corpses flesh off over a bonfire and turned us into living skeletons. Now we see in heat signatures and hear through vibrations we feel inside our skull.¡± The skeleton feeling guilty explained himself.


    ¡°...I¡¯m sorry too. I¡¯m just tired.¡±


    ¡°Me too kid, me too...hey just saying, but if you don¡¯t have anywhere to go. I always got room for one more in my family household.¡±


    ¡°*sigh*I don¡¯t got anywhere else to go.¡±


    ¡°Than that settles it. Let''s go home and eat kid. Your all bones for christ sake!¡±


    ¡°Ha, you¡¯re one to talk, you old fart!¡±


    ¡°Also we can¡¯t go home yet.¡±


    ¡°Huh, why?¡±


    ¡°The Skeletonic Archery Brigade is after me.¡±


    ¡°Well shit. This is a really comfy cave anyways.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Little did I know at the time, but this encounter would change my life forever. For the better or worse I do not know. I did know however, was that I gained my first friend. Even if he is an old fart.

 Chapter Two: Finding Home

    Chapter 2: Finding Home


    ¡°So uhhh, I never did get your name kid.¡±


    ¡°Wow¡­¡±


    ¡°What? I didn¡¯t mean to not ask sooner! No need to be so mad.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s not that. Sorry it¡¯s just people don¡¯t usually ask me that. I¡¯m not really used to it yet. So if you really want to know, my name is Daniel.¡±


    ¡°Okay, well my name is Xinli, and I need to warn you now that we¡¯re getting close to my house. My three children are more monsters than I am by a long shot and don¡¯t even mention my wife. Honestly sometimes I wonder if my children. One time I caught them eati-...Oh I shouldn¡¯t tell a little kid like you that. Hey look my house is just up this trail!¡±


    Xinli started chuckling while he and Daniel forged a path through a thick piece of brush until they finally made their way onto a path that had clearly been used a lot.


    ¡°Hey Old man what did you mean by that? Really. They can¡¯t be that scary right?¡± Said Daniel slowly becoming more and more afraid of what was to come. Xinli¡¯s face only became darker.


    ¡°Oh yeah, you don¡¯t have to be afraid. Not yet at least.¡± Said Xinli as his chuckle becoming scarier. Suddenly Daniel felt a deep shiver travel down his back and cold sweat forming on his forehead.


    After walking on the trail for a good thirty minutes I finally started hearing sounds coming from the distance.


    ¡°MOM HE¡¯S EATING ME! HE¡¯S EATING ME! HELP!!!!¡± I heard one voice screaming. Looking over to the Old Fart slowly while I slowly started backing up. I turned around and was about to stop but then a boney hand grabbed my shoulder. Creeking my head back I saw a smiling skeletal face that looked to be made up of pure evil. Oh god what did I get into when I agreed to come with this monster. I should have gone home.


    ///A Few Minutes Later...///


    Sitting in a chair I looked to the floor downcast. I am currently in a cozy looking two story log house, and it is absolute torture. For the past ten minutes these strange skeleton kids have been looking at me with wide eyes. Well I guess they didn¡¯t have an option other than staring but it was still creepy. As they looked at me I only stared back, I tried smiling but my face started hurting after so long.


    ¡°Hey kid, you know we can¡¯t see expressions right? We don¡¯t got any eyes remember. Commonsense kid.¡± Xinli shouted across the the room from where he was talking with his wife by the hearth.


    ¡°Wait, how¡¯d ya know I was making a facial expression if you don¡¯t have any eyes either?¡± I said questionly.


    ¡°Kid, you wouldn¡¯t be able to imagine how much times this exact situation happened. You should¡¯ve seen them when that transvestite ca-*SMACK*.¡± Xinli¡¯s wife smacked him so hard he was launched through the wall on the other side of the room. Glaring at him she started swearing a lot. Something about me only being a child or something and how I¡¯m their precious guest. I don¡¯t know. But boy was she scary, I honestly thought I was looking at some sort of wild orc demon empress mix for a second. Honestly the title monster fits her more than her counterpart Xinli.


    Finally after yelling at her husband for a long time the crazed mad woman looked over to me with a bright smile. To this day I wonder how she could possibly change her facial expressions like that so fast, especially since she is a skeleton!


    ¡°Okay kids let''s have some dinner, shall we?¡±


    ///Dinner Time///


    ¡°Okay everyone sit down, I¡¯ll go get the food so don¡¯t mess around while i¡¯m in the kitchen. I mean you Xin by the way.¡± Said the mother in a loud unabashed voice.


    ¡°Honey, please don¡¯t worry I wouldn¡¯t feel safe causing trouble on the same continent as you much less the same house. But the kids, those little demons are a different case.¡± Said the husband Xinli while pointing a thumb over to the kids. They were sitting on one side of the table leaving one side with only one chair.


    ¡°Hey! No fair Dad!¡± They all yelled in unison all bunched together.


    Looking over to them I laughed quietly while sitting against the wall thinking about how happy they seemed, and to a certain point I envied them. I envied the fact that they had something I would never truly have. Family. But only to a certain degree because I understand that one should not envy the dead. I also thought back to when I was first entering the house just after I heard a feral scream coming from the log cabin I was just about to go into. And how one of the kids was practically biting his sister¡¯s arm off, the mom literally had to tug him until he let go because of some crazy jaw strength. Just who were these people?This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡®Now that I think about this, how the hell do these skeletons expect to eat human food?¡¯ I thought you need a stomach to do that. I was about to call over to the bickering Dad and his children but then the mom burst through the kitchen door with a huge bang making us all jump a good six inches into the air. The old man almost hit his head on the ceiling he had jumped so high.


    ¡°Okay everyone ready for another delicious dinner prepared by your fantastic mother? If you¡¯re wondering I have prepared a turkey dinner today for the human, and milk for the kids. Oh, Xinli you get nothing for going to the caves again. You know what I said about that obnoxious hobby of yours.¡± Exclaimed the mother while putting the platter on the table and sitting down. She quickly handed out milk to the children leaving one for herself and none for Xinli, but then she looked around until a crease formed on her skull.


    ¡°Honey, where is that child you brought with you?¡±


    ¡°He shou-Sorry! I¡¯m over here, I didn¡¯t mean to hide it kind of just happens.¡±


    ¡°Little boy we see in a thermal lense how could I possibly not see you before? I must seriously be getting old.¡± The mother said in a tone while pondering a little.


    ¡°Well, anyway come take a seat.¡± The old man said with a big smile.


    ¡°There¡¯s um, only five seats so I thought I¡¯d just eat while sitting on the floor as usual.¡± For some reason both parents grimaced when I said this but quickly turned back to their usual faces. ¡®I hope I didn¡¯t cause them any trouble by coming here, even if they are scary skeletons.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s okay kid we don¡¯t have any spares but you can use Ki¡¯s seat for now Kid. Ain¡¯t that right Ki?¡± ¡°Yessir.¡± Said Ki who appeared to be the oldest responding to his father. Looking over to Ki felt bad, so I tried multiple times to say no but all my attempts were for naught and I ended up in the seat while Ki was sitting criss cross on the floor.


    After a little while we got settled in and we started eating...kinda. It was more of a milk rub for the family, well except for the old man of course. The mom was constantly nagging the kids telling them to get in all the creaks and notches. Until she finally looked at me and asked me the question of all questions.


    ¡°So kid, just who are you¡±


    ¡°Ah well I¡¯m Daniel, Daniel Roberts¡­¡± I looked down a little shy, I wasn¡¯t used to talking this much. Plus I was still a little exhausted thinking about all that precious food I stole that was left at my wood shack on the edge of the woods.¡¯Now all that food is going to be wasted.¡¯


    Where was I even at the moment, I was starting panic now. How do I even get home I¡¯ve never been this deep in the forest. Just ho-


    ¡°Daniel, hey Daniel you in there?¡± I looked up to a bunch of faces


    ¡°Mom says it¡¯s rude to ignore people when you talk to them. Yup. Mmm.¡± Three voices mirrored the first kid skeleton who appeared to be the youngest.


    ¡°Well children it¡¯s also rude to not introduce yourself to your guest. I¡¯m sorry about them Daniel it¡¯s just you spaced out a little there, here let me start again. Hello Daniel I¡¯m Wuli Shenghuo please call me Wu, and these are my three children Ki Shenghuo, Ken Shenghuo, and Ko Shenghuo along with my idiot husband Xinli Shenghuo. Hey, heya, hi, hey kid.¡±


    ¡°Ah um, ah it¡¯s nice to meet you all.¡± ¡®Oh god i¡¯m scared I hope I said that right it¡¯s really hard when your only practice is on yourself.¡¯ ¡°See kids he is even more polite than you are even at such a young age.¡± ¡®Phew...thank god I thought I botched the greetings.¡±


    ¡°So Daniel what were you doing in the forest in the first place? Why were the Skeletonic Archery Brigade chasing you?¡± This time the father spoke up in place of the mother with a questioning face. Everyone went silent clearly they were waiting for this question to be asked. Feeling their non-existent eyes on me I started to crack a little.


    ¡°It um, kinda all started after I left my shack in the woods to go to sleep on this huge boulder near the cliff¡­¡± I explained everything to them, but for some reason Xinli and Wu looked bothered.


    ¡°Kid why were you living in a shack in the first place? If you don¡¯t mind me asking.¡± The old man really had a way of getting straight to the point. Starting to feel a strange little pressure on my heart, but I still answered to the best of my ability because I had finally found someone to talk to.


    ¡°I ran away when I was six because no one cared.¡±


    ¡°Kid no offense but that doesn¡¯t make much sense to me. Even if no one cared they still should have done something, the police I mean. how have you not been found yet, and don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been living entirely in the forest forest for four years because I know my wife is the only one who can actually capture a damn thing to eat out here. I mean with their being cameras practically everywhere in the cities it would be impossible to hide if someone was looking for you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just it old man, no one was looking. They have never looked before why would they start now?¡± I felt the pressure on my heart tug more and more until it started hurting and my breathing started coming out in small puffs.


    ¡°Kid you¡¯re confusing me even more now. What the hell do you mean?¡± Said Xinli losing his politeness


    ¡°Let me spell it out for you Old Fart, I C-A-N-N-O-T B-E N-O-T-I-C-E-D, literally. As in people avoid, and can¡¯t see me without me clawing at their feet, as in I can¡¯t talk to the girl I like because I scared her because she didn¡¯t notice me sleeping in her line of sight, as in almost dying because I haven¡¯t been fed. Did I spell it out clear enough for you ya damn Old Fuck.¡± Suddenly the strange pressure on my heart tightened and the puffs stopped leaving me without breathe. Everything around me was turning into black dots that slowly formed into a giant abyss. And as I was falling into the abyss I heard two people arguing about someone going too far. I was much more stressed than I had thought.


    ¡®Oh jeez, I must of sounded like a huge ass¡­¡¯


    ¡°COME...TO...US...DANIEL! YOU...ARE...NEEDED¡­¡±