Whumptober+ Short Stories - Volume 1

Prompt 27 - "I can't walk."

"Is that everyone?" Quest asked as the end of the refugee line appeared. Jasir shrugged. "It certainly looks like it." He turned to look at his wrist-projected holoscreen, then frowned. "Or not."

"We're missing someone?"

Jasir nodded. "A little girl. Name's Keva Ariatla. She and her family lived near the far edge of the area." His friend gave him a thumbs-up. "Guess I'll go find her, then." He said before turning and jogging back into the settlement.

As he made his way through the abandoned streets, Quest couldn't help but wonder how anyone could leave their child during an evacuation. Sure, they might have a moment of forgetfulness, but to forget a child? He shook his head. It didn't sit well with him.

Eventually, he arrived on the far side of the village. There were less buildings here, and the few that were here didn't look like anyone should have been living in them in the first place. He grimaced, hoping that he wouldn't have to go inside any of them.

A quiet sound drew his attention at that moment, and Quest glanced around. Not seeing anyone, he sighed. Looks like I'll have to explore some more, he thought to himself. Ironically, at that moment his brain managed to pinpoint the location of the noise. It was a child's voice.

Found her.

Jogging around to the back of one of the houses, he found what he was looking for. Keva looked up when he approached her, and he paused. Her face was a picture of uncanny calmness, almost like she knew what was going on and didn't care. That, and she was playing. He frowned. "Um, excuse me?" He said in a concerned but utterly confused tone. "Shouldn't you be with your family?"

"No." The girl answered, turning back to her stuffed animals. Quest tried not to look more surprised than he had already been feeling, then tried another question.

"Why not?"

Keva picked up a plush lion and began to make it walk across the ground in front of her. "Because then all of us would be dead." She replied simply. Quest's frown increased. "What?!" He exclaimed incredulously as he looked around. "That's ridiculous! How could you possibly..."

Then he stopped.

Keva looked up again after a moment, nodding when she saw the look on his face. "Now you know." She said quietly. "They couldn't take me with them because I would only slow them down." A shaky sigh escaped her as she spoke, and Quest noticed for the first time the hint of tears in the girl's eyes as she put down her lion and brushed at her face with one hand. "Why?" He asked quietly, still trying to comprehend the situation he was now faced with. Keva looked away.

"I can't walk."