Kasi (2) Past

 

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Story Snippet (2) (PAST) POV: Kasi.

“Good, you’re awake.”

A few small coughs shook the small boy, and Kasi slowly pulled himself up from his previous position on the cold ground, a big improvement from where he previously remembered being. Where was that again? He didn’t recall much except for the blazing heat on his skin, his parched lips, and the large weight on his back that had pulled him down; he must’ve collapsed onto the sand, but beyond that he couldn’t remember.

“You passed out in the dessert,” a rusty voice recalled.

Kasi looked over to the Adaptor who was sitting next to him on a stone, he had a toughened body and seemed quite old, maybe on his twenty-forth Mark, but his large hands seemed gentle as he clasped a crudely carved cup.

He handed Kasi the cup, “drink it, slowly.”

Kasi swiped the cup and started gulping down the water, quickly shifting to small sips when the man glared at him.

It wasn’t until he was finished that he realized what was missing, and the man seemed to guess what it was when Kasi started desperately looking around.

“Mindless Loners,” he said, “took whatever was easy to take, I fought them off but they already made off with your pack.”

“This is what was left.”

He handed over Kasi’s coat, pants and hat, all that now remained of his Claims.

“It’s dangerous for someone like you to be wandering around like that, didn’t your parents teach you your capabilities as an Adaptor?”

Kasi looked down, fiddling with his coat.

“Never mind that, but you don’t seem to gain very strong resistance to the heat, so it’d be better for you to travel at night.”

“It’ll be dark in a couple hours, I’ll allow you to stay here until then.”

“Can’t I stay longer?” Kasi decided to ask.

The man shook his head sadly, “I’m one man with only two claims on this land son, it won’t be long for me, so you’d be better off leaving while you can.”

. . .

Kasi looked behind at the silhouette of the man, now a small mark fading into the dusty background, he shifted his gaze down at the piece of orange fabric now clasped in his hands, the last words from the large stranger echoing in his mind.

“Take this, it’s better you have it than whatever greedy group decides to come along to add it to their pile.”

“This is how Loners like us survive in this world; we live with what we have, and move when we are told to move.”