Kevin Vol. 1

A Boy and His Horse

Chapter VI: Lost in the World

2 Weeks Later

Kevin awoke from his sleep in the alleyway. In the two weeks since his home had burned down, all Kevin had to help him get through was his horse and the things stored on it. In this time, he had managed to find a small town for him to spend his days in. Finding a roof to stay under was difficult, though Kevin made do. Kevin worked where he could, earning money to be able to afford food at the town's market.

Kevin found himself thinking about his family. He thought mostly about his siblings and where they could be in this world now. He missed Max, though he hoped some of the others didn't make it out of the fire. Each time Kevin remembered the fire he cried. Could things have gone differently had he been there? What started the fire on an evening such as that?

Kevin's thoughts were cut short as someone bumped into him along the way. "Out of the way, twerp," snarled the man.

Regaining his thoughts, Kevin got back to his work for the day. A nice old shop keep had allowed Kevin to work in exchange for a meal each day and food for the horse. As Kevin gathered apples, motion in his peripheral caught his attention. Much to Kevin's surprise, whatever caused the motion wasn't there when he looked up. Shrugging it off, Kevin got back to work for the day. Once the day was over, the shop keeper granted Kevin his pay. Some bread, an apple, and beans for Kevin, and a carrot for the horse. Thanking them for the food, Kevin went back to the alley he had slept in the night before to eat his food.

As Kevin was eating, a hooded figure approached from within the alley. "You there," the figure said, grabbing Kevin's attention. This person was not very tall, though their presence was commanding. "Who are you?" They asked.

Swallowing what he was eating, Kevin replied, "well who are you?" Kevin looked the figure up and down. He didn't trust this person, especially since he couldn't see their face. Kevin thought about the possibility that it was one of his siblings and set his plate to the side. Kevin stood up and approached the hooded figure, trying to see their face.

"I..." the figure started to remove their hood. With the hood completely off now, Kevin could see it was not one of his siblings, but a woman, "am Agatha. Though people around here know me as the binder."

Kevin looked in shock, he hadn't known anyone to introduce themselves to him in this town. "I- I," he stuttered, "I'm Kevin."

"It's lovely to meet you, Kevin," Agatha smiled. Her gaze turned towards Kevin's horse, who was standing in the alley with them. "Who's this here?" Agatha asked, pointing towards the horse.

"That is my horse," replied Kevin. A wave of confusion washed over him. He wasn't sure why this strange woman was suddenly so interested in his horse.

"Does he have a name?" Agatha asked, walking over towards the horse.

"No, I never named him," answered Kevin

"Well how long have you had him for?" questioned Agatha, now petting the horse.

"Two weeks," Kevin began to reply, "I had a different horse but that one died two weeks ago, so now I've got this one."

"Two weeks, huh?" said Agatha, feeding the horse something Kevin couldn't see. "How about you name him," Agatha pondered for a moment, "Fortnight?"

"Fortnite?" thought Kevin.

"Yeah, Fortnight," Agatha affirmed, "he needs a name, anyways."

Kevin thought on it for some time, he was never one to name his horse, though he thought that this could maybe be just a small pick me up in Kevin's new world. "Fortnite," Kevin began, "I like it." Kevin walked up to his horse and began patting him. "From now on, you're Fortnite." For the first time in two weeks, Kevin smiled.