Horizon: Justice Calling

Chapter 1 - A Gift from the Past I

6 years later...

"Children, come with me."

Jast watched timidly as the group of children was led deeper into the berry patch by a tall woman carrying a basket in her arms. Between the leaves of the shrub where he crouched behind, Jast could see the group of children now picking the berries from the bushes and placing the small blue orbs inside the basket.

He'd been watching them for the past three days, sneaking away from the watchful eyes of Grata every chance he could find. Every morning, once the sun was well and truly up, the tall woman and the children would leave the walled village, cross the river, and pick berries from the bushes that grew there. The children would never collect a huge number of berries, often no more than ten, but the woman would accept their paltry offerings with a warm smile and praise.

Jast could almost feel the excitement churning through his chest as he slowly stepped out from the bushes and got to his feet, slowly making his way towards the group.

Today was the day. For the first time, he was going to talk to them - the tall, kind-eyed woman with the basket in her arms, and the children who followed her. The plan had already been formed in Jast's mind. He knew that many of the children did not gather many berries, preferring instead to play in the grass with the others. Several more children would show up from the village and join the children in the grass every now and then. Some would not bother to pick berries at all but instead chose to simply play with the children who had already been there. The other children never seemed to care where the others came from - they would always accept them all the same.

If they accept them, he reasoned, they'll accept me.

An odd fluttering sensation began to rise inside Jast's stomach as the woman and the children grew closer and closer. Grata had specifically told him not to speak with anyone of the tribe. When asked why she had simply replied in a serious tone of voice: We are outcasts. Jast wasn't sure what the word 'outcast' had meant, but had not asked further, as he had seen the shadow casting over Grata's face whenever he had brought up the topic. He had wanted to ask what being an 'outcast' exactly meant, but it was obviously something that pained Grata and the last thing he wanted was for her to be upset for something he said.

The dark thoughts were wiped away as he slowly made his way towards the group, his mind focusing on what he would do after he talked to the woman and the children. The plan was simple: he would go to the woman with a small handful of berries he had picked while watching the group and hand them over. After that, he'd be able to talk to the other children who were picking the berries, or who were playing in the grass. Perhaps he'd even be able to play with them afterwards.

And, just maybe, for the first time in his life, he could make a friend.

Despite his knees shaking in excitement, Jast took a deep breath and forced his feet to move forwards. It's going to be okay, he told himself and took a deep breath like Grata had taught him to do when he was scared. He was only a few feet from the smiling woman now - with a shy smile, he approached the woman and tapped her arm two times.

Something was terribly wrong.

The smile on the woman's face vanished the moment her eyes found the small boy - the woman wasn't smiling now. Her kind eyes were suddenly filled with something else entirely. She looked scared, no, furious.

"Children, come with me." The woman said quickly, ushering for all the children to follow her. "He is like the girl, an outcast, to be shunned."

Jast stood numbly as the woman and all the children began to quickly leave the berry bushes, too shocked to even speak. Many of the other children shot him a look of pure disgust as they followed the woman out of the field.