ARIS'S SIN : slave path

The kid trailed a few steps behind Heinrich, struggling to keep up. Unlike him, Heinrich didn't seem bothered by the scorching heat that made the wasteland feel like a frying pan.

The boy glanced up. A lone bird flapped awkwardly, using one wing to fly while shielding its head from the sun with the other. It was so hot, even the sun seemed like it needed shade… but there was none to be found.

Heinrich barely acknowledged the boy's presence, yet he allowed him to follow. The kid fought through his bruises, fatigue, thirst, and hunger, but hunger eventually won.

"Hey, you old rat... got anything to eat?"

Heinrich didn't turn. "I don't suppose you'd like pickled fingers."

"No! I want real food!" the boy snapped. "Who the hell would eat that?"

Heinrich remained calm. "Knowledge is an amusing meal."

The boy groaned. "How about some water, then?"

Suddenly, Heinrich spun around, his face twisted with hysteria. "You can't have my water! It's mine!"

Before the kid could react, Heinrich kicked him. Too exhausted to fight back, the boy hit the ground hard.

"I'll kill you, you rat!" he shouted.

Heinrich ignored him. "No one will have water!" he declared, yanking out his flask and hurling it into the air.

The boy watched in horror as Heinrich fired a shot, shattering the flask mid-air. Water sprayed into nothingness, wasted.

Then, the ground trembled. The place where the flask would have landed erupted in a storm of sand as something massive burst forth.

A monstrous form emerged, its roar splitting the air.

Heinrich grinned wildly and charged toward it, screaming, "We will eat! We will drink! We will sing!"

The kid sat up, dazed, unable to comprehend the madness unfolding before him.

he just said "what the actual f…"

*** "excuse me" ***

Otto was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Young man… what's that?" The woman's voice was tense as she pointed ahead. A damaged wooden sign stood crooked in the middle of the empty, dusty road.

Otto stepped closer, brushing away the layers of dirt with his palm. Faded letters etched into the wood slowly revealed themselves…

"KEEP QUIET. IT MAY HEAR YOU."

A chill crept up his spine. The silence around them suddenly felt heavier.

"Come on. We better keep moving," Otto muttered.

But before he could take a step, the woman stiffened. Her breath hitched… panic slide into her voice… "Jackson… where's Jackson?!"

She turned toward Otto, eyes wide, her voice breaking…"My boy… where is my boy?!"

******

Near the truck, the air itself was heavy. Salingo shot a glance at his partner. "What's your power?"

"Huh?" The other raven blinked, caught off guard.

Salingo sighed. " we need to know each other's abilities. So… what can you do?"

The raven hesitated before muttering, "I can see in the dark."

Salingo frowned. "And?"

"That's it." said the other raven

Salingo stared. "That's it??"

The other raven scowled. "What do you mean 'that's it'? It's a useful power!"

Salingo scoffed. "Oh, sure. You can see in the dark. Bravo! I can replace you with a flashlight."

"Oh, f* off!" the other raven rolled his eyes "What's your amazing power then?"

"Well…" Salingo hesitated. His usual smugness wavered for a second. "it's… kinda hard to explain. I can…"

Before he could finish, a low, unusual sound interrupted them.

Both men stiffened, hands tightening around their guns. They turned toward the source of the noise… on the other side of the truck.

The back door was open… the compartment where the severed heads were stored… something was inside.

The two ravens exchanged a glance, then raised their guns… They rushed forward…

"Aahh!! Don't kill me!"Jackson's panicked scream nearly made them pull the trigger.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Salingo barked, grabbing the boy by the ear.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts! Let go!" Jackson squirmed.

"I said, why the hell are you here?!" Salingo repeated himself

Jackson hesitated, rubbing his ear. "Okay, okay… I just wanted to…"

*** "to grab my teddy bear" ***

"Come again?" The woman froze, her face drained of color.

Little Lucy repeated herself, "Jackson went back to the car to get my teddy bear."

For a moment, the mother didn't react. She was too stunned, too caught between fear and anger to decide which emotion should take over.

Then, finally, she exhaled sharply. "I'm going to kill him when I find him."

"But, Mom… I asked him to go," Lucy murmured, guilt creeping into her voice.

"Oh, my…! I can't deal with this right now." The mother pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to steady her breath.

She crouched in front of her daughter, gripping Lucy's face gently but firmly. "Sweetheart, listen to me. I need you to tell me…when did your brother leave?"

Lucy thought hard, but her mind was foggy. She hesitated, her lower lip trembling. Seeing her mother's eyes well up with tears made her own tears threaten to spill.

Then, suddenly… "I could still see the car when he left."lucy remembered

Relief washed over the mother, but only for a moment. She struggled to stand, her pregnancy making her movements slow, but she managed.

She turned to Otto, eyes pleading. "Please… please, young man… we need to go back. I'm begging you."

Otto stiffened, embarrassed. He didn't want to say no, but he had to.

For a long moment, he stood silent.

Then, in a low, hesitant voice, he forced the words out. "W-we… need to k-keep g-going… He'll be fine."

Lucky for him, the woman didn't fight him on it. She just swallowed hard… and nodded. And like that, they kept going, but with one question on otto's mind...

*** "How the hell she didn't see you leaving?!!" ***

Salingo stared at Jackson, waiting for an answer.

Casually, Jackson shrugged. "From her left. She can't really see from her left side."

"Oh yeah… one eye. Forgot about that," Salingo muttered, then caught Jackson sneaking away. "And where do you think you're going?"

Before the boy could answer, Salingo cut him off. "I'm not letting you wander in the dark. That's dangerous,. You stay here with us until the car is fixed, got it?"

There was no room for argument. Jackson sighed and nodded.

They sat in the truck. It was quiet. Too quiet. Jackson got bored…"So… how old are you?" he asked.

Salingo shot him a glare. "Are you gonna start talking too much?"

"I do have a lot of questions." Jackson shrugged

Salingo groaned. "Oh, hell nah." He turned to the other raven. "Hey, Flashlight. Gimme a rope and duct tape."

Flashlight -annoyed- tossed him the supplies. "You know you're a jerk, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, just hand 'em over."

Salingo started taping Jackson's mouth shut, but as Flashlight sat back down and looked through the window, his expression suddenly shifted. His face went pale. His hands trembled.

Then…A sharp, ear-piercing scream for help tore through the night.

Everyone froze.

Salingo barely had time to react before Flashlight clamped a shaking hand over his mouth, silencing him mid-sentence.

Flashlight slowly shook his head with terror in his eyes… Salingo understood.

Whatever was out there…It heard them.

******

Badro and Jasper were running, but as a smoker, Jasper needed a break… so they walked instead.

Badro glanced at him. "You know, I just realized somethin', mate."

Jasper took a deep breath. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"It's night… and you're still wearin' your sunglasses."

Jasper smirked. "Well… the moon is too shiny for me."

Badro narrowed his eyes. "And I just realized, I've been workin' with ya for years, and I ain't never seen you without 'em."

Jasper adjusted his sunglass. "I got real pretty eyes, mate. Don't wanna distract nobody mid-mission, y'know?"

Badro raised an eyebrow. "You sleep with 'em on."

"I need 'em to hear." Jasper glanced back.

Badro blinked. "…You need 'em to hear?"

"Yeah, can't hear a thing without 'em." Jasper was holding back a grin.

Badro stopped walking. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

Jasper clapped a hand on Badro's shoulder. "Can't lie to you, partner"

Badro shook his head. " Whatever "

Jasper grinned. "Look at us, we're bondin'"

Badro rolled his eyes as he walked "Oh, f* off"

Jasper chuckled. "And you're a big asshole"

Badro turned. "The hell you just say to me?"

Jasper pointed at the ground. "I said it's a big-ass hole. Look, right there."

They both looked down…Silence… Jasper smirked. "…What's wrong with you, jackass?"

Badro almost got mad. "What the…"

"I said, what's wrong with that jackass?" jasper pointed again

A dead donkey lay sprawled in the dirt.

Badro gave him a glare. "How the hell do you keep gettin' lucky with these?"

Jasper smirked. "Guess we'll never know, dumbass."

Badro squinted. "Oh, I heard ya this time."

Jasper shrugged. "Yeah, well I said…" Silence.

"I couldn't think of one this time. Anyhow…" Jasper gestured ahead. "We're here. Junkyard's just up ahead."

Badro cracked his knuckles. "Alright… let's get this done an' get the hell outta here."

Suddenly, a distant screech tore through the air. Both men froze for a second before they turned toward the sound, exchanging a quick, knowing glance.

"Yeah… we better hurry," Jasper muttered.

Badro cracked his knuckles. "No shit."

Without another word, they took off toward the junkyard.

******

The abandoned wooden cabin loomed ahead, barely visible in the dim light. Otto, the woman, and her daughter hurried toward it, their nerves burned by the distant howling of wolves.

As they reached the the door, Otto lifted a hand, signaling the woman to stop..

He pressed his palm against the door handle and gently open it... Darkness swallowed the interior. It was quiet… too quiet.

Stepping in, the wooden floor beneath him creaked. Otto moved slowly, his every step careful, his eyes scanning the shadows.

Then… movement.

Something shifted behind him.

He spun just in time to see a silhouette lunging from the dark…an axe raised high.

Reacting instantly, Otto caught the attacker's wrist, twisting it.The axe clattered to the floor as the man's body crashed forward, but Otto braced himself, blocked his opponent's momentum with his shoulder and pushed him against the wall.

Without hesitation, Otto drew his gun and fired.

The gunshot shattered the cabin's eerie silence, its echo carrying far into the night.

The woman rushed inside, her face pale with shock. The darkness concealed most of the details, She couldn't see the dead man clearly but Otto wasted no time. moving with cold efficiency He dragged the body outside

Inside, the woman sat in the corner, clutching her daughter tightly. Otto shut the door, locking them in the darkness.

Otto sat beneath the cabin's small window, its glass streaked with dust, his gun still in hand. He exhaled slowly, ears straining against the renewed silence.

Outside, the howls had stopped.

And that, felt even worse

******

Flashlight kept his eyes on the distance, staring into the darkness. A gunshot echoed far away.

A few moments later, he turned to Salingo and whispered, "Alright, that thing finally left."

Salingo whispered back, "I didn't see shit, man. It's dark as hell."

"I swear it looked our way when we made noise, but it's gone now," Flashlight muttered, adjusting himself.

Salingo frowned. "And what the hell was that thing?"

Flashlight hesitated. "I don't know. First time I've ever seen it. But… the way it mimicked a human crying for help, and its twisted form… I think it's a Pale Siren."

Salingo scoffed. "Jeez. I bet we could take it down, though."

Flashlight shot him a look. "You think people haven't tried before?"

Before Salingo could answer, a voice joined in."Why are we whispering?" Jackson said with a grin

Both men jumped out of their skin.

"What the…?! I taped your mouth shut!" Salingo hissed, barely containing his panic.

Jackson casually shrugged. "man, it was just duct tape. What did you expect?"

Salingo groaned, rubbing his temples. "Where the hell did those two go? I can't take this for long..."

******

The abandoned junkyard, rusty cars piled high, scraps of metal and dirt scattered everywhere.

Badro and Jasper had been searching for a decent tire, and finally, they found one… intact, sturdy... a good one...

As they approached to inspect it, Badro suddenly felt something. A shift in the air. A presence.

He straightened up, his eyes scanning the dark maze of metal.

Then, an owl whistled… soft, distant… But It wasn't an owl. Not really.

Another whistle joined in. Then another. And another.

Silhouettes appeared on top of the wreckage, barely visible against the night sky.

Badro's jaw clenched. "Damn owls," he muttered under his breath, biting his tongue.

Then, the whistles turned into sharp, piercing shrieks.

Gunfire erupted…

Reacting fast, Badro grabbed Jasper by the collar and yanked him down, diving behind a wrecked car as bullets hit the metal.

Two Ravens were surrounded by Owls.

******

 "I mean... she scolds me for everything, it's like she just prefers my sister over me, everyone does" Jackson muttered

Salingo glanced at him. "Do you hate her?"

"What? Of course, not" Jackson shook his head immediately "I just want her to love me too"

Before Salingo could respond, Flashlight gave him a sharp nod

Movement outside.

A pack of wolves had gathered around the truck, circling the Raven's corpse (the one Badro had killed.)

Salingo sighed, pulling out his shotgun. "Hold that thought, kid."

Then, without another word, he stepped out of the truck, Flashlight right behind him.

******

"It's not that I hate him," the woman whispered, her voice laced with worry. "He's my little boy. He's just… a horrid kid. But a good one."

Otto didn't know what to say. He felt it would be awful telling her to stay quiet, but at the same time, something about her words made him feel warm. Like he needed to hear them.

So, he stayed silent.

Then... A sick, twisted cry for help cut through the night.

The woman froze. Otto's heart pounded as he looked through the window.

And he saw it.

It moved on four powerful, feline-like limbs… but instead of paws, it had hooves. Its pale, hairless skin stretched over a muscular body, marked with thin black taints. A long, a squirming tail lashed the ground like a whip.

Then there were the arms… long, expanded extra arms sprouting from its shoulders, ending in clawed, pincer-like hands.

And the face…a sunken, gaunt horror with a braided beard, teary, unfocused eyes, and a mouth full of scattered, jagged teeth.

It was out there. Looming and Otto saw it.

The Pale Siren had come, calling out in the stolen voices of its last victims… luring its next.

It moved slowly toward the cabin.

Inside, they crouched low, frozen in place, feeling its breath rumble through the wooden walls like the growl of a semi-truck engine.

No one dared to breathe.

Otto's fingers tightened around his gun as he silently pulled a magazine, the words "Kraujo Ašaros" engraved on its side. He waited.

The mother trembled as she clamped a hand over her daughter's mouth.

Then… a twisted laugh.

Otto peered through a crack in the wall. The creature loomed over the corpse of the man he had killed. With a sickening crack, it tore the body apart, shoveling flesh into its gaping maw.

Otto watched through the window as it turned and began to leave.

Relief flooded him.

Then… a moan.

His stomach dropped.

Otto's eyes darted to the Pale Siren. Its black taints twitched. It stopped.

The mother… her face twisted in agony, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Then, ever so slowly, it turned back toward the cabin.

Otto looked back at the woman...

The mother clutched her stomach… her labor started.