The Man Everyone Abandoned

The Man the World Condemned

The smell of smoke was still on his skin. It was a sad reminder of the life he just saw turn to ash.

Rain poured down hard as Elias ran through the empty streets. His wet clothes stuck to his shaking body. He didn't know how long he had been running or where he was going. All he knew was that every time he slowed down, he saw his dad's last smile in his mind.

"I'm proud of you," his dad had said. The words hurt Elias more than the cold rain. He hit a streetlight and wished this was just a bad dream. But the loud thunder told him his dad was gone, and he was all alone.

Nearly thirty minutes later, he reached the big bus station. The station was very crowded even with the storm. People hurried with their umbrellas while buses drove every way.

Elias put his head down. He did not want anyone to see him. His dad told him that scared people get noticed. So, he swallowed his fear and walked into a small cafe next to the bus station.

It was nice and warm inside, but he couldn't stay calm for long. The TV on the wall suddenly showed a news report.

BREAKING NEWS

The cafe went quiet. A reporter came on the screen to talk about the sad fire in Westbridge Heights.

Elias froze when he saw his burning house on the screen. The reporter said his dad, David Kane, had hurt three people before starting the fire.

The mood in the cafe changed fast. A man at the table behind Elias laughed. It was a mean, sharp sound. "David Kane? I knew that snake was bad," he said, throwing his napkin on the table. "Three people dead? He probably just did it to hide what he did."

A woman near him nodded. She kept her eyes on the TV. "He always acted suspicious. You could tell he was greedy. People like that should burn."

Elias felt so angry. He made fists under the table until his hands hurt. They didn't know his dad. They knew nothing. They are wrong, he thought. His chest hurt. My dad was a good man. He wanted to stand up and yell at them to stop, but he felt stuck in his seat. He had to stay still and listen to strangers say mean things about his dad.

Elias stood up and walked back out into the rain. He got on the last bus leaving the city just as the driver said it was time to leave for Ashvale District.

After giving the driver his last few wet bills, he got on the bus. He found the only empty seat next to an old man who looked like a preacher. A worn Bible sat on the man's lap.

The bus started to move, leaving the rainy station. Elias sat in the only empty seat. His breath caught in his throat. Next to him was an old man with his hands on a worn Bible. He didn't look at Elias, but he spoke as if he had been waiting for him.

"The river doesn't ask the mountain for permission to flow," the old man said. His voice sounded like dry leaves. "And sadness doesn't ask for permission to come."

Elias looked at the window. His chest hurt. "I don't want any trouble."

"Trouble is like a shadow, son. It follows the light," the man said. He turned his head. His eyes were milky but sharp. "You carry a weight that is heavy enough to sink a ship. I can see the soot of the grave in your eyes."

Elias pulled back. "Who are you?"

"Just a messenger. And a messenger doesn't need a name," the man said with a wave of his hand. "Truth is often buried where shadows are longest. When the world screams a lie, it hopes the truth will just stop breathing."

Elias felt cold sweat. "My father was a good man."

"Good men are often the first to be burned by the fires they try to put out," the man said softly. He looked at Elias’s chest. "Did he leave you a map? Or just a key to a door you aren't ready to open?"

Elias touched the pendant under his shirt. His knuckles turned white. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Hold it close. You will need it soon," the man warned. As the bus slowed down, the man grabbed Elias’s arm firmly. "Listen to me. No matter what happens next, do not leave this seat. The night is hungry, and it is looking for you."

Suddenly, a loud explosion hit the station they just left. The bus shook, glass broke, and people screamed.

Elias realized he would be dead if he had walked outside. He turned to thank the preacher, but the seat next to him was empty. He was confused. He asked the driver about the old man, but the driver said nobody had been sitting there. A cold chill went down Elias's spine. He gripped his pendant. He knew he was being watched by people he didn't understand.

Far behind the bus, a black SUV came from the shadows.

Inside, four men watched the burning station on a screen. They saw the boy had lived. The man in the middle fixed his gloves. He decided not to hurt him yet. He knew Elias would take them to the answers they wanted.

As the bus drove into the dark, the SUV followed quietly. Elias sat frozen. He finally understood that his dad didn't just die in a fire. He died to protect a secret that was now in Elias's hands. The hunt had just begun.