Chapter 10: The Past-Pt. 6: The Children

"Nooooo!" Wang Ming shouted as Qing Chen entered the portal and disappeared. The portal, just as quickly as it had formed, disappeared without a trace. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared blinding everyone's eyes.

"Roar!" now, a dark red dragon appeared, taking the place of Wang Ming. With ultimate speed, the dragon's claws reached for Hua Huo's neck, pushing her to the ground.

"You'll regret letting Qing Chen go."

"This is what I owe her, Wang Ming. It's too late anyway. Qing Chen left. The portal is closed." Hua Huo answered as she struggled under Wang Ming's grasp. Hua Huo quickly gave a side glance to one her fighting comrade. "Give out the signal." Eyes meeting each other, her comrade understood her glance and quickly got rid of her current opponent.

"Boom!"

"Look, there's a signal. Hua Huo is in trouble." Bai Qiu exclaimed to his wife on the mountain.

"How about this, we leave Huo Lei with one other adult with the other children, then we take the rest of the adults to the battlefield. We can't let children fight." Mi Mi quickly proposed.

"Sure. Everyone, come here!" Bai Qiu called out. Creatures who had been laying down, chatting, etc. hurriedly to form a small group. "We have just received a signal. Huo Lei, you and another adult will stay here with the children while everyone else, follow Mi Mi and me to the battlefield. Hua Huo needs help."

"What happened to my mother! How come I don't get to come!"

"Children shouldn't have to fight on a battlefield. Just do as I say! We don't have much time. How about you, Hong Yan, you will stay with the children." Hong Yan gave a nod. Huo Lei just stared back fiercely.

"What batt-"

"Okay. Let's set out now!" Mi Mi interrupted. All the winged creatures carried ones without wings and set out, leaving the children plus one adult on the mountain. Huo Lei tried following, but after being pushed back a few times, she stayed put. With most of the adults suddenly leaving, the children were left in a mixture of emotions, some annoyed, others confused. Huo Lei, at the point, was feeling both.

"What's going on?" she wondered. "Is there something I'm missing?" She looked around. The other children were a combination of all sorts of emotions. Some were excited. Some were confused. There was even one that was already balling his eyes out. "It seems that the other children don't seem to know what's going on. There's something the adults are keeping from us." Huo Lei sighed. "Like always."

The children waited and waited for someone to come to fetch them, but, they never came. The sun began to set. Hungry and upset, the gloomy children continued to wait. Most, already crying.

"We can't go on like this. I've got to check this out. Hey you, you stay behind to take care of the kids. I'll check out what's going on."

"Hmm?" came the reply. But before he could object, Huo Lei already took off for the horizon.

Huo Lei flew high and far, scanning for movements of any creature. Suddenly, a lump of many colors was spotted. "Huh?! What's that?" Giving a deep dive followed by a swoop, Huo Lei gave a neat landing on a nearby tree. Looking closely, the bodies were those of creatures...and some humans. Huo Lei's eyes widened. There, in the middle of the pile, was her mother.

In shock, a tear left Huo Lei's eyes. "What on earth happened, my mother isn't defeated that easily. How come I know nothing of this? Why Mama." Tears continued to drip from her eyes, creating a tiny stream flowing down her cheeks. The area was a massacre. Bodies of all sorts were piled into one huge pile. There were humans. There were creatures. There were old. There were young. Gathering herself again, she thought. "No, I can't focus on this. The number of creatures here is nothing compared to the whole forest. There's got to be others. They're waiting for me to find them! I've got to revenge my mother." "Bright orange eyes gleaming with malice, she took off once again, marking this area in her head.

Before long, Huo Lei found signs of other creatures. Surprisingly to her, the smell came from the edge of the forest. To her big disappointment, there was another smell. A strong smell of the death of multiple creatures.

"I'm hungry, sir. When can we get food?" a little bunny whined to panther.

"But I can't leave the rest of the group just to get you food." came the reply.

"But all of us are hungry. I'm sure you're also hungry. If you're hungry, you might eat us."

"Who told you that?!"

"My mommy and daddy."

"Well, they're wrong. I was given the duty to protect and take care of you children. And, I've already failed because one already left for the forest on her own. Don't be like her."

"Okay, Mr. Leopard. Can we go get food now?"

"Alright. Let's take everyone else. As for Huo Lei, she'll have to protect herself."

"Fwooosh." Huo Lei gently landed on a tree. "So tired." Huo Lei heaved in and out. What's going on?! There's got to be someone whose alive! I need to know what happened."

"Rustle, rustle." Huo Lei immediately brought up her guard. "Ru-" Huo Lei dived.

"It's me it's me!" an elderly creature quickly shouted.

"Oh, it's you, Qiu Hong the Elder."

"Yes, it's me." Huo Lei jumped off. Silence filled the air. "Uhh, are you hungry?"

"Oh, of course." the elder looked right into Huo Lei's eyes. She quickly looked away.

"Uhh, I'll go get something for you to eat."

"Remember to get something for yourself as well." Huo Lei scampered off without looking back.

When Huo Lei returned, Qiu Hong stuffed her face. Huo Lei on the other hand, though hungry as well, seemed to have her thoughts elsewhere.

You're wondering what happened." the old leopard with red eyes wisely inferred.

Huo Lei gave a sad sigh. "You bet."

"Oh, " the old leopard sat herself up. "Much like your mother, eh?"

"Yeah, right."

"You want to revenge your mother." Qiu Hong stared deeply into Huo Lei. Huo Lei didn't reply.

"There's nothing wrong with admitting you love your mother. Since you want to revenge your mother so badly, I'll tell you one by one."

"Really?!" Huo Lei perked up.

"Right, so listen carefully, youngster. I'll tell you everything one by one."