Alpha In The Mountain

The first thing Kael felt was pain.

Not the kind of pain that came from a cut or a broken bone. It was everywhere.

His head hurt. His chest felt tight. Even breathing seemed like hard work.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt too heavy.

Where am I?

He couldn't remember.

The last thing he remembered was rain.

He remembered standing beside the road, staring at the headlights of a car coming toward him. He remembered someone shouting.

Then-

Nothing.

Kael tried to move his hand.

His fingers trembled.

That was when he heard a voice.

"He's awake!"

The voice sounded young. A girl's voice.

Kael forced his eyes open.

The ceiling above him was made of rough wooden planks.

He stared at it for several seconds.

This wasn't his room.

He slowly turned his head.

A girl was standing beside a small wooden table, staring at him with wide eyes. She looked about twelve or thirteen. Her clothes were strange too-a simple, faded dress that looked like something from another century.

When she noticed that Kael was looking at her, she froze.

"Mother!"

She ran out of the room.

Kael frowned.

"Mother?"

His voice sounded strange.

Too young.

He tried to sit up.

Pain shot through his body.

"Ah!"

He fell back onto the thin mattress.

Footsteps rushed toward the room.

An older woman entered, followed by the girl.

The woman looked tired. Her hair was tied behind her head, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.

She hurried toward Kael and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Thank goodness."

Her voice shook.

"Kael, can you hear me?"

Kael stared at her.

She knew his name.

But he had never seen her before.

"Who are you?"

The woman's expression changed.

The girl behind her covered her mouth.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Then the woman slowly sat beside him.

"I'm your mother."

Kael's stomach dropped.

"My... what?"

The woman looked as if she was about to cry.

"Your mother, Kael."

He stared at her.

No.

That wasn't possible.

He looked around the small room again.

The wooden walls.

The clay pot in the corner.

The old blanket covering his body.

None of it made sense.

"Where am I?"

His mother exchanged a worried glance with the girl.

"You've been sick for three days."

"Three days?"

"Yes."

Kael swallowed.

"What place is this?"

The woman hesitated.

Then she answered.

"Ravenhill Village."

The name meant nothing to him.

He closed his eyes.

Maybe he was dreaming.

Maybe the accident had left him unconscious, and this was some strange hallucination.

He waited.

Nothing changed.

He opened his eyes again.

The same wooden ceiling.

The same woman.

The same frightened girl.

His heart began beating faster.

"Can I have a mirror?"

His mother frowned.

"A mirror?"

"Yes."

She didn't understand, but the girl quickly brought him a small metal plate from the table.

Kael looked into its dull surface.

His blood went cold.

The face staring back at him wasn't his.

It belonged to a boy.

A very young boy, perhaps fourteen years old.

His face was thinner than he remembered. His black hair was messy, and there was a faint scar above his left eyebrow.

Kael touched his face.

The boy in the reflection did the same.

He dropped the metal plate.

It hit the floor with a loud clang.

His mother jumped.

"Kael?"

He didn't answer.

His breathing became faster.

"No..."

He looked at his hands.

Small hands.

Young hands.

He pulled the blanket away and looked down at his body.