Chapter 16 — Our Train Arrived Late

Our train arrived late due to "maintenance."

The sliding doors opened, allowing Ren, Tenka, Fubuki, and Aries to run out and hop around.

They started having a big binky-and-zoomie surge. They continued to run around in a huge circle.

Exe came out of the train, stretching his arms and back.

"Man, that was a long trip."

I got off the train last, and then the doors closed behind me.

The speakers crackled alive.

NEXT STOP — THE BEAST KINGDOM —

The train left the station, heading to its next destination.

"Hmm."

I thought to myself for a moment while I stretched my arms and legs.

"Who made these trains anyway?"

As I looked over the train tracks, Exe called me over.

"We're losing daylight."

He started to walk to the main entrance of the station.

"Let's find some food."

We started to walk down the road. We wanted to see if there was anywhere in town where we could eat.

Aries followed behind me until he spotted a paper with my face on it lying on the ground.

Aries called me over as he carried it with his ears.

"Luna."

I instantly turned around and looked at Aries as he called for me.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

Aries hopped toward me and handed me the paper.

I looked at it.

It was a bounty on my head.

WANTED — LUNA BLACKWOOD — 10,000 GOLD —

I crumbled the paper in my hands.

"Drago already made contact with the king."

I tossed it into a trash bin on the sidewalk.

Aries and I started going down the road as Exe disappeared.

"Where is that boy?"

Aries and I looked around for Exe and the girls, but they were nowhere to be found.

A group of humans walked up toward Aries and me.

"We honestly thought someone worth ten thousand gold would usually be uglier."

One guy laughed while unsheathing his sword.

"But I guess we can have a little fun with you before we bring you into the guild."

Aries looked at me as if they were crazy.

"Kill?"

I put my hand on Aries's head.

"Wait here, darling."

I stepped in front of Aries and stared at all of them with killing intent.

"I am here to retrieve someone who doesn't belong to the Human Kingdom."

I pointed to a wanted poster with my face on it.

"All of this is just fabricated nonsense, and you all are being fooled."

They didn't say anything to me.

They just stared while sizing me up.

One big, burly man started to walk toward me as if he had a plan.

"Girl, you are coming with us right now."

His hand reached out toward me.

Before he grabbed me, Aries grabbed his arm with his long ears.

"Hey, you big rodent, let go of me."

The burly man tried to pull his arm away.

Aries's grip was too strong for a regular human.

The other humans began raising their weapons.

Aries looked at me and asked me.

"Kill?"

I hesitated for a moment after Aries said that one word.

We can't kill humans, and that goes for demons too.

The only way humans can harm demons is when they are wanted.

The same thing goes for us demons.

I remembered what my mother told me before all of this happened.

The Neutral Ground is ruled by Dragonkin and enforced by the Prince of the Neutral Ground.

They are the ones who made it possible for demons and humans to live together.

The long hours and days my father spent within the Neutral Ground were to give his people a chance at peace.

But did anyone listen to it?

We demons do.

But humans believe they are the superior race.

Shoot first.

Ask questions later.

"Aries, let go of him."

Aries looked at me, then released his grip.

"Please, humans," I pleaded for peace. "Don't do this."

The burly human spoke.

"That money will take care of my family, little lady."

Family.

Hearing that word made me remember the times Drago and I trained in the backyard back home.

The days in my youth when everything made sense.

How I wished for those days to return.

But the truth is…

I don't think we can go back to those days anymore.

Exe is on a warpath to take down his older brother, Drago.

I heard Exe running down the street, holding a big red bag.

"LUNA!"

He jumped over the humans while slamming the big bag across the group.

Exe landed on the ground in front of me and started to head toward the slum section.

"RUN!"

Aries didn't hesitate.

He got into his big form, then scooped me up in his arms.

"ARIES?!"

Aries didn't just hop.

He leaped while his ears were carrying me.

The human males started to chase us.

They really wanted that bounty.

They tried to keep up, but Aries's hops made a greater distance compared to the number of steps humans needed to catch up.

"GET HER!"

They kept running with all their might.

"Make sure she doesn't get away!"

Aries followed Exe as we hopped over fences.

We found a park with no lights, broken swings, and a playground structure.

Exe ran into the iron box connected to the playground structure.

He waved me over from the hole of the iron box.

"C'mon. They are coming!"

Aries helped me stand up.

I sighed while speed walking to the iron box.

"I can't believe that I have to resort to hiding."

I sat in the corner of the box, looking around as if I didn't want to be here.

I really don't.

Exe pulled a piece of paper from his jumper.

"You gotta see this, Luna."

He unfolded it and started to make it look nice.

"I saw my bounty poster already."

Exe looked at me as he finished fixing the paper.

"Did you see mine?"

He turned the paper.

I was flabbergasted when I saw it.

WANTED — EXE BLACKWOOD — 30,000 GOLD — DEAD OR ALIVE

Exe crumbled the paper while staring at me.

"You know we can't go against the Neutral Kingdom, right?"

I was still stunned from seeing how much Exe was worth.

For a moment, I felt a little insulted because Exe was worth more than I…

I cleared my throat as Aries sat in my lap.

He finally returned to his hare form.

I looked around the park from a hole in one of the walls.

The adventurers were getting closer and closer.

Tenka, Ren, Fubuki, and Aries started to hold their bellies.

I looked at them while thinking of food.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too."

Exe whispered as he handed out food for Aries and the girls.

"So what's the plan?"

Exe sat next to me.

"You already know what will happen if we just go and attack random humans."

I stared at Aries as he ate his food with the girls.

"If we spill human blood without reason, we will be labeled as terrorists."

I looked outside.

"The amount of effort that our father and his father put in, just to be a part of that meeting…"

Exe laughed quietly.

"I remember one meeting that our father brought me along to."

Exe petted Ren as she ate.

"Dad never liked the human king."

"I think his name is King Alfred?"

A human overheard Exe and yelled.

"They're over here!"

Exe and I ran out of the park structure, then we ran down a random street.

Tenka, Ren, Fubuki, and Aries followed right behind us.

Exe shouted.

"I wish we could just kill them!"

I shouted while we turned into an intersection.

"I'm starting to rethink my standing within the Neutral Ground!"

The humans didn't stop chasing us.

They shouted, screamed, and gave orders to circle us.

Exe and I hit a dead end.

There was graffiti on the wall saying:

DOWN WITH DEMONS — THE NEUTRAL TABLE IS A DEMON SANCTUARY.

Exe turned around and pulled out his Blood Scythe.

"Luna, they are forcing my hand."

I couldn't say anything because I was also getting tired of running away from humans.

Before I could take out my moon blade, two demons were watching from the roofs.

Jane spoke quietly to Soren.

"Do you think this is wise?"

Soren examined a key with a tag.

[HOUSE 13]

"They are our ticket to reach Daniel, Jane."

Soren jumped down and stood between the humans and us.

Exe looked at Soren's back.

"You show up a lot."

Soren didn't speak.

He turned around and tossed the key to Exe.

Jane came down from the roof and handed me a piece of paper.

"Follow the directions on this paper. It's a safe house."

Soren used an aura ability that made Exe look at him in shock.

[IRON HOWLING]

Soren screeched his lungs out, forcing the humans to cover their ears and kneel.

"You two better get going."

I gripped the paper in my hand, then looked at Soren.

"Who are you?"

The humans' eyes glowed bright purple, as if they were under someone's control.

Soren and Jane ran toward the other section of the slums.

The humans chased them as if they were provoked.

Exe grabbed my hand and started to pull me in the opposite direction.

"I think they can handle themselves."

We started walking down a sidewalk with no streetlights.

"Do you think Father will recognize them?"

Exe snorted.

"I honestly hope he does."

Exe kicked a can.

"But knowing Father, I doubt he will even look at them."

I wore a slight frown until Aries and the girls started having zoomies.

Exe found the house that we would be staying in.

"There it is."

I looked at the run-down house.

"I refuse."

I said it bluntly.

"I will not set foot in that slum house."

Exe opened the gate.

"Let's just look inside."

I tried to protest, but my stomach started to growl in pain.

As we reached the front door, Exe unlocked it with the key.

He pushed the door open, and from the look inside, it wasn't what I expected.

My mouth opened wide in shock.

"What is this place?"

I closed my mouth.

From the outside, it looked like a straight dump, but the inside looked like nothing belonged in this world.

There was a huge silver box in the kitchen with a handle.

I opened it, and it had fresh food inside.

Exe and the girls started to raid the pantries.

"They may not look like much."

Exe started to munch on the chocolate chip cookies.

"But it seems like they can take care of themselves."