***Garv***
Garv shifted uncomfortably in the slightly damp grass. The smell of morning dew filling his nostrils. The blackened heap of the fire from the night before was beside them, long since cold.
It was a brand-new day.
Magar snoozed quietly beside him. Garv didn't want to disturb his slumber, so he got to his feet quietly. His body ached for a morning stretch.
As he got to his feet and extended his arms above his chest. His body reminded him of his damaged ribs with a sharp pain.
"A-ah" Garv let out an unintentional gasp. The pain was not as bad as yesterday, but still served as a nasty reminder of his fight the night before.
'Brrrrp!' A low grumble emanated from his belly, betraying his bodies desire for food. Garv eyed the basket subconsciously, but it was long since devoid of eggs. They'd really gone to town on it the night before.
Magar rolled over, disturbed by the sound, "I suppose it's time we get moving." he said in a sleepy tone.
"Sure-thing Boss." Garv said eagerly. Keen to get underway.
It didn't take them long to get going, they had almost nothing to pack up after all.
Before long they were on the road, heading north along the road from the junction.
The track was long and winding, the moisture on the ground made the mud slightly slippery. But overall; the going was good, and they made decent time.
On their journey northward they didn't see a soul, the roads and tracks that meandered between the fields and farm holds remained empty.
It wasn't long before they could just make out the walls of Fenniton in the distance. Over their left shoulders, poking out above the trees of the Drakewoods.
The small farming village of Bandlehurst, or what was left of it, sat to their front. It had all but been burned to cinders.
Garv felt a pang of guilt at the sight of the place. Although he'd not been directly involved in the destruction of the town. He still played his role in the war machine that was Raxia's army.
Magar too, seemed displeased at the sight of the place.
"Best not to linger here, Garv, let's just go around."
"There could be some food left, we haven't eaten yet, besides," Garv looked over his shoulder to ascertain the distance to the town. They were still a reasonable distance from Fenniton, around a kilometre, Garv surmised. "We're plenty far away from the army, they're surely done with this place."
"Hmm," Magar grumbled, "let's be quick then at the very least. I do not wish to remain here."
"Right-you-are Boss!" Garv said, licking his lips.
They pressed forward into the village.
The blackened posts of the perimeter fence betrayed the ferocity of the fires that had raged here, in the village's recent past.
The state of the town gave Garv a slightly ominous feeling. Like they were treading on hallowed ground.
It was spooky, and unnerving.
Reaching the entrance to one of the few still standing buildings. He reached for the door handle and hesitated momentarily. He gulped back his concerns and allowed the allure of breakfast to give him the courage to open the door.
The door creaked open ominously, his silhouette in the doorway stretching all the way to the far wall as he allowed the sunlight in behind him.
The room was mostly intact, although some of the house had partially collapsed. He was stood in what appeared to be a living room, there was an empty fireplace set into the side of the room with a flint and steel on the floor beside it. The plaster and paint were cracked and peeling off the walls. There lay a small rug across the floor. The corridor that led out from the opposite wall was full of rubble, there was another door on the left-hand side that appeared relatively intact. The whole room stank of charcoal and death.
Garv walked across the room, his boots creaking on the floorboards as he did so.
If he was lucky there would be a kitchen with some bread in it, from the looks of the place that would be the best he could hope for under the circumstances.
Magar lingered in the doorway, not keen to come in.
Garv tried the handle to the door on the left wall, but it was jammed shut. There was probably a mound of rubble pressed up against it from the other side.
With a sigh he headed into the corridor on the back wall. The roof had collapsed, and no rooms appeared accessible, but that's not what caught Garv's eye.
His attention was locked on the sombre sight of two pairs of blackened feet, poking out from the rubble a small ankle bracelet lay snapped on the floor. By their proximity to one another, it was clear that the owners of the limbs had died in one another's arms, underneath the destruction.
"How awful." Garv heard himself say. His hand instinctively covering his heart.
Who would burn a building down with people still inside?
What a horrible thing to do.
That's when he heard it; the shuffling sounds of somebody trying to be quiet. Small, loose stones scraping against dirt.
"Boss! Did you hear that?" Garv said over his shoulder.
"Hear what?" Magar replied absentmindedly, still leaning in the doorway.
Garv looked back into the room. Now that he was listening for it, he was certain he could hear dirt and earth being disturbed.
Judging by his reaction, Magar could hear something too. He suddenly perked up in the doorway, his ears searching for the sound.
But where was it coming from?
Garv closed his eyes and cleared his mind, which admittedly didn't take long.
There it was again!
Garv looked down at his feet.
Was the sound, coming from below him?
He laid prone and pressed his ear to the floorboards. He listened for a while and then he heard it. Breathing! But not the laboured breaths of an adult. These lungs sounded much smaller, like a child's.
"We know you're down there!" Garv said to the floor, in his least threatening voice, "There's no need to be alarmed, we won't hurt you!"
A sudden burst of scrabbling came from below the floor.
There must be a cellar!
Garv stood up and looked around for any sign of a door. Magar stepped in; his interest piqued. Garv fumbled around the small living area, there was nothing obvious.
'Where could it be?' he thought to himself as he stood on the shabby rug looking around the room. Then it hit him.
'The rug!' he quickly hefted the rug up, sending dust billowing everywhere, and sure enough; there was a small trapdoor set into the floor underneath it.
"Ok, I'm coming down now!" Garv said cheerfully.
Surely the person below would be pleased to see a friendly face. They must have been quite scared to remain in a cellar all night.
He twisted the iron ring set into the trapdoor and pulled it open. A second tsunami of dust filled the air as he yanked it free of the floorboards and allowed it to clunk to the floor.
In the small opening, there were a few steps leading down. The cellar was not very deep, it was more of a crawlspace really, Garv would have to stoop significantly if he were to climb inside.
"I'm coming down." Garv said cautiously.
"No!" a little voice cried out. "Stay away from me!"
It was definitely a child, Garv thought with a hint of sadness, looking at the two pairs of feet again. They must have been the parents.
'How tragic.' Garv thought to himself.
Magar followed his gaze and saw the bodies in the rubble. Coming to some internal decision himself he strode over and collected the rug, before placing it over the rubble.
Garv nodded in silence. It was a good call; they couldn't let the child see the bodies. That would just be heartbreaking.
"We are not here to hurt you, we're here to help you."
Garv slowly descended the steps. There was a sudden rush of movement below. Garv crouched down and poked his head into the dark cellar.
There was a small girl, covered in so much filth and soot that you couldn't tell what colour her fur was originally. She was huddled in the corner, wielding a thick iron nail shakily in Garv's direction. There were streaks of cleaner fur down her cheeks, marking the passage of many tears. She couldn't have been older than eight or nine.
"Stay back…" she choked quietly, her eyes glistening.
Garv calmly sat down on the floor under the hatch, putting his hands up non-threateningly.
"I'm Garv, what's your name?" Garv said with his best winning smile.
"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers…"
Garv placed his hand on his chest and gave a little bow, "Hello not-supposed-to-talk-to-strangers, nice to meet you. What a lovely name."
The little girl giggled despite herself, "No silly! My names Cassandra."
"Oh, sorry!" Garv said with faked surprise, "Cassandra, do you want to come outside? It's damp and dusty down here, you'll catch a cold if you stay."
There was a pause, the smile faded from her face, "Where's my mum and dad?"
Garv felt a piece of himself die inside as he looked at her innocent little face. What could he do? How could he tell her that they lay not ten metres away, crushed by the roof of their family home.
"Well…they ah, they weren't in the house, me and my friend looked, and we ah… well, we couldn't find them."
God's he hated himself, lying to a little girl like that. He just couldn't bring himself to tell her straight. He couldn't watch her little heart break.
He could see tears welling up in her bright blue eyes.
"I tell you what, how about we get you outside, wash some of that muck off you and have a look together? How does that sound?"
Cassandra considered for a moment, before nodding her head and wiping her eyes.
"Ok great!" Garv said with enthusiasm, beckoning her over.
She slowly made her way over to him and took his outstretched hand. He led her gingerly up the stairs where she took one look at Magar and leaped behind Garv's back with a squeak!
"Oh, that's just Magar, he only looks scary. He's going to help us find your mum and dad too! He's actually really nice!" Garv looked pleadingly at him.
Magar's face said it all, he did not approve of this deception. But after looking at Garv's pleading eyes, he decided to go along with it anyway. Attempting to smile in a non-threatening way, and not doing a particularly good job of it.
Magar's face was simply not made for such contortions.
"Ok," Garv started with a nervous laugh, "let's get you outside, do you know where the well is? Can you show me?"
Cassandra nodded nervously from his side and led him by the hand, out of the house. The well was not far, just a couple dozen steps away. Magar joined them on the walk over, rubbing his temples.
They set about hauling up a bucket of water and Magar went and found them a bedsheet from a washing line that had survived the fires.
Garv scrubbed the layer of filth off of Cassandra's face and was surprised to find a totally white coat of fur under all that muck.
"You're looking better already!" he said with a chuckle as he scrubbed away at her hair.
Magar pulled him to one side, out of earshot as she carried on washing herself, "What are you thinking? We can't bring her along you know!"
"Boss, we can't leave her… you saw…"
Magar sighed, rubbing his temples again, "I know, damn, I know." he looked sadly at the young girl as she washed her face.
"Garv…" Cassandra said quietly, "I want my mum and dad. Where are they? When can I see them?"
Garv looked back at the young girl who had lost everything.
What could he do?
He had to think of something.
"Ok, wait here, I'll take one more look in the house, maybe they left something behind!"
"Ok, I'll co-"
"No no! You wait here, it's dangerous, the roof could fall down. Stay here with Magar, he'll look after you, I'll be right back!"
Garv quickly trotted back to the house.
Sure-enough it was the same as they'd left it. Garv racked his brain for a way out of this. He couldn't stand to hurt the poor girl, she'd already been through so much.
Then he had an idea.
He pulled back the rug and saw the lifeless limbs. The bracelet on the floor was his target, it would add some credence to his story.
He grabbed the bracelet then broke off a piece of charred wood from the doorframe. Reaching into his pocket he produced his military credentials, a small piece of parchment that was proof he was a Snatcher. He supposed he wouldn't need it anymore, flipping it over he scratched a message on the back of it.
Then, he rushed over to the fireplace and picked up the flint and steel. Striking them together and showering sparks onto the edge of his document. A small flame took hold and he let it run its course for a moment before blowing it out.
He hoped this would be enough.
He headed back outside to see Cassandra hiding on the opposite side of the well to Magar. Who was doing his best to look non-threatening but failing hideously.
"Cassandra, look what I found!" Garv said, waving the parchment and bracelet, "Your parent's left a note for you!"
Cassandra's eyes lit up, "What does it say, what does it say?!"
"Ahem," Garv cleared his throat, "It says, To our beloved Cassandra.
The house is burning down, we can't get to you and the Snatchers are coming!
We will lead them away, so you don't get caught!
We need you to be brave for Mummy and Daddy and we want you to know how much we love you!
And how hard it is for us to leave you behind!
We need you to be strong for us, we know it's going to be hard. But we know that you can do it.
Nothing in the world can compare to how much we love you. We are so, so sorry that we can't take you with us.
Please forgive us Cassandra.
We will be thinking of you always.
Love Mum and Dad.
P.S. It's a long way away but we will meet you in-"
Garv gasps, "The last bit of the note is burned away, I'm sorry but, we don't know where they went.."
Tears were welling up in the eyes of Cassandra, quiet sobs turned into cries as she fell to her knees weeping.
Garv went over to her and softly placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry little one. We will find them, if we have to move heaven and earth or spend our whole lives searching. We will find them with you." He pulled her in for a big hug as she sobbed on and on into his shoulder.
Magar looked away, a small glisten in his eye.
As Garv listened to the sobs of the young girl, kneeling there in the dirt. He swore an oath to himself; He would gather every fragment of this broken heart, and piece it back together.
Even if it took him the rest of his life.