The next day, Bhryan was contemplating the limits of his "new family" farm. He walked along the stone wall, looking at the symbols engraved on the stones.

  "What did they talked about?"

  Bhryan remembered Turak talking to the elder in their old tongue. But he didn't understand a single word. But Turak said that everything would be fine. He didn't trusted those words at all.

  "I still have a few days left . . . . but no one gave me a specific date."

  He keept thinking.

  "When talking about the subject with everybody else . . . . they never spoke in common. It's . . . weird."

  A cold wind reminded him of the approaching night.

  "Shit . . . . another day passed . . . ."

  Every single day, he felt like he was wasting time around the farm. He couldn't hunt, he couldn't hold tools to farm or help around. He felt useless.

  "Why . . . . this place . . . . all this time to waste. Why me? What is my purpose here?"

  As the sun left, the young man approached the house.

  "What?"

  Strangely, the house was all closed, and no light coming out of any window.

  "Really? You couldn't make a more obvious trap?"

  He stood there, thinking on how to approach the house, and then he felt, a pair of feral eyes looking at him from inside the house.

Bhryan: - Well well . . . . hello Atri . . . . long time no see, sister!

  He hard the floor squeak for a moment from inside the house.

  "This is bad . . . . my sword in the training area behind the house must be gone . . . . if i get in, she gets me . . . . if i run . . . . hummm"

  Once more he heard someone walking inside the house.

  "Where is everybody? The people that work in the farm . . . . they're gone too. Is this related to the RITUAL?"

  Afraid of what those people planned for him, he turned around and started running.

  One of the only good things about his new body was that he had plenty of energy to spare. Besides, Turak made him train ever since he was able to stand up when he was two years old.

  While he ran near the cliff, he was able to hear another sound of footsteps running at him.

  "It's Atri. I know it's her . . . . and if i'm right, then . . . ."

  Bhryan jumped in to the cliff. And for a moment he hear the sweet and soft voice of his sister.

Atri: - What the . . . .

  But her voice got muffled by the sound of his body rolling in to the dirt, and falling in to the water.

  He got up without a breath. Looking up, he saw a grey scarf for a second.

  "Oh shit . . . . it IS her! I've got little time then."

  He started to walk across the small lake all the way to the crops.

  "I need to find it"

  A few weeks ago, he saw a few kids playing hide and seek around the fields of weet. But one of them used to hide inside a hole on the ground. He assumed the hole was safe from creatures.

  "Where . . . . is . . . . the . . . . stupid hole?"

  Once more, he heard his sister getting closer.

  "Oh God . . . please"

  By luck or just chance of the destiny, he found the hole just in time. He crawled inside.

  The hole was small, wet and cold. But he staid inside.

  A young girl showed up, following his track. The girl was blonde and strong. She was wearing a leather armor full of cuts and dents.

  "Get lost Atri. I know there is SOMETHING to do with the ritual. You wouldn't be back so soon from your stupid travels if it wasn't for it."

  The girl lost his track and headed back.

Atri: - Stupid boy . . . .

  Bhryan knew how persistent those people could be, so he staid hidden until the moon showed up.

  Slowly, he crawled out of the hole. Shaking because of the cold night, he exited the fields.

Bhryan: - Stupid girl. What did she . . . .

  Looking around, he saw the mountain where the elders lived full of light.

Bhryan: - Oh . . . a week, uh? They arranged a hole "ritual" just for me?

  The boy walked to the nearest road.

Bhryan: - Lest crash this party then.

  As he walked, his body started to heat up once more.

  "Why . . . . Why am i going to the place where they WANT me to be?"

  He stopped.

Bhryan: - The mountain is the worst place to go . . . . but the house is also bad . . . . . hummm, how about . . . .

  The boy knew where to go. An old abandoned house in the middle of the town.

  He cutted his path trough the field of rice, soaking his feet.

  "I'm already wet and cold, this won't make a difference, after all . . . . i think i can't get sick in this world anyway."

  As time passed, and the moon was sky high, Bhryan managed to get in to town, but a strange mist surrounded the place.

  "The hell is this?"

  The town always had a putrid smell of mud and old blood, but that smell was different, it was something sintetic that made his head spin around.

  As he got in to the middle of the town, he noticed what was happening.

Bhryan: - Oh . . . . shit . . . . i fell for it.

  Quickly, all the people  surrounded him with torches.

Bhryan: - Oh . . . . hey guys!

  In the middle of town, now surrounded, his sister showed up.

Atri: - Well . . . . who do we have here? If it isn't for my little . . . .

Bhryan: - Yeah yeah, i know, you got me. Good for you! You're gone for weeks and that's how you greet your brother? Hunting him down?

  Bhryan started to fell worst and worst every second. He could hear his heart beat pounding on his head.

Atri: - You never was the easy time, brother. Why can't you just accept things as we all do? Why are you afraid of the ritual?

Bhryan: - Well . . . . have ANY of you tried to do ANYTHING like a normal person and not like barbarians?

  Atri rolled her eyes.

Atri: - You always complain abou everything. For such a young boy, you talk like and elder, i must say!

  All around them started to smile and laugh.

Bhryan: - How about . . . . you don't set a trap for me at home? How about someone tell me what REALLY is this stupid ritual?

  His ears started to play games on him. He could hear the growls of animals around him.

Bhryan: - And what the fuck is this? Why i feel like i'm about to pass out?

  Big torches got lit around him, and he saw. His ears were not playing games on him. Everyone around him were completely disfigured, like they got fused with animals. Then he noticed.

Bhryan: - Oh . . . Yeah . . . Berserks! The ritual, the "spiritual guide", all of that . . . .

  Atri came out of the shadows looking like some kind of werewolf.

Atri: - You'll . . . .

Bhryan: - So Turak is a bear? And you're . . . . a wolf?

  Atri seemed surprised.

Atri: - Well . . . you got things pretty fast.

Bhryan: - Are you sure we are related?

  Atri got mad.

Atri: - The blood of the gray wolfs runs in our mother's side, you stupid kid!

Bhryan: - KID? I'm five and you're nine!

  Atri growled at him.

Bhryan: - And . . . let me guess what is obvious here. I need to fight someone around my age, in a mist made out of God knows what, that somehow force everyone to turn "berserk". ALL THAT, just to find what animal i am?

Atri: - Well brother, you're very clever. But if i were to guess . . . . i think your "animal" could be something more useless, like a mule.

Bhryan: - Well big sis . . . . i'm surprised that you didn't turn in to a whale!

  Atri jumped at him and kicked his chest. Bhryan felt like he was shotted by a cannon ball while he was tossed all the way to the other side of that improvised arena.

  He coughed a little bit of blood.

Bhryan: - Oh . . . God. What the fuck is wrong with you!

Atri: - With ME? No no no . . . . what is wrong with YOU, brother! 

  Bhryan tried to get up, but with no success.

Atri: - You can't hunt.

  Atri grabbed him by the neck and threw him around again. The people around started to cheer for her.

Atri: - You can't do spells!

  Bhryan rised to his knees.

Atri: - And you can't help in the farm!

  She stopped in front of him.

Bhryan: - Let me finish for you . . . . "AnD yOu CaN't FiGhT", did i get it right?

  Atri slammed her fist on his face.

Atri: - YES!

  She crawled up on him and started punching.

  Every punch felt like a tree fell down on him.

Atri: - You're a shame to me . . . 

  Bhryan Started to have flashes once more.

Atri: - A shame to our people!

  The bomb, the pile of corpses witch he came out, his dead friends, all came back to him.

Atri: - A shame to father . . . . a shame to mother . . . 

Bhryan: - M-Mother . . . .

  In a flash, the image of a tall woman, with a tired face from overworking herself but with a big smile looked at him while melting dow from an atomic blast.

  Once more, Bhryan felt his body burning up. His heart beating faster and faster on his chest, and his veins started to swell up.

  He swang his fist, hitting Atri and sending her away in the ground.

  Bhryan carved his feet on the ground and got um straight without using his hand, like a someone possessed by a demon.

  Atri, getting up from the ground, shook on her boots.

Atri: - What the fuck?

  In front of her, her little brother didn't turned in to a normal berserk. There was no animal trace on him, no fur, no reptilian eyes, no claws. The young boy's muscles only swelled up and his face turned red with anger.

Atri: - What . . .  what are you?

  Bhryan gunned down on her direction.

  Atri, in a reflex, user her claws against the boy's face, but it was like scratching a stone wall. She barely dented his skin.

  Before she could think, her little brother punched her in her belly. She could fell her guts being squachd with a loud bang from the impact.

  The punch didn't toss her back. Her body took all the impact, and her sight started to blurr.

Atri: - Syrak . . . . Wait!

  But it was already too late.