As the years drifted by, the Bug crisis had only grown worse. People were being killed by the hundreds every day, and the government wasn’t doing anything about it. In the yard of St. Snowsburry Orphanage, four teenagers sat around each other. One of them, Lumi, was fiddling with a switchblade. Alba was sitting in the shade under the tree with his sunglasses on to protect his fragile eyes. Eryi was listening to Andri talk attentively without muttering a single word unless he was asked.

“I say we do it. I say we kill the Bugs ourselves!”

There was silence.

Alba asked, “What? You’re kidding right?”

“I am not.”

Lumi asked with a little smile, “Are you an idiot? If the Bugs could kill all our family, how could we, four scrawny sixteen year olds, stand a chance?”

Andri crossed his arms and argued, “But the government is doing nothing. They say these insects are human and put them in homes, when they are truly bloodthirsty monsters. What sense does it make where the ones who stole our families get comforted? They should be purged, just as they purged our futures!”

Alba waved his hand dismissively and said, “Now, now, stop preaching Andri boy. I get what you mean, and I understand your passion for vengeance. I often dream of it too, but I just can’t see how we can do this. What are we going to do? Poke them to death?”

Lumi paused, held her breath for a second, then said, “Actually… I know how to make weapons.”

“We know,” Andri and Alba stated.

“I could make the weapons to help us kill the Bugs.”

Lumi’s eyes shone and her body buzzed with excitement.

“I really could! Look!”

Lumi flicked the switch on her knife, and the blade flew up into the tree, and it came back down with a bird cut through. The group reacted in surprise and Lumi said, “Whoops. Why was there a bird there?”

Alba asked, “It’s a fucking tree. Why wouldn’t a bird be there?”

Normally, during the winter they wouldn’t be able to miss seeing a bird sitting above them, but it was spring, and the world was green. These trees had grown used to only having leaves for a few months, so they grew quickly and were far more tough than they used to be when the winters weren’t so long.

“Lumi, if we do this you can build the weapons. Where else would you find this opportunity?”

“Right!”

Andri met Alba’s gaze and Alba faltered. He asked, “Well, what does Eryi say?”

Eryi without a beat said, “I don’t care. If Andri wants me to join, I will join. If he doesn’t want me to join, then I won’t join.”

Alba rolled his eyes and Andri smiled.

“I do want you to join, Eryi.”

Lumi finished covering her arms with marked drawings and mocked, “There’s no reason to ask Eryi for his opinion because he’ll be on Andri’s side no matter what.”

Andri ignored this and turned to Alba. Alba shrugged and said, “I guess I can help.”

Andri leapt toward Alba and toppled him over in an embrace.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Alba tried to push Andri away.

“Get off!”

Eryi felt his heart sting as he stared at the two goof around. Eryi felt something on his arm and looked down. He saw Lumi drawing a frowny face. She met his gaze through his black bangs and smiled sillily. Lumi was a small girl, short and skinny. Her puberty, despite being sixteen, had only just started, but she wasn’t insecure about it. In fact, she’d prefer it never had started at all. She often wore her black hair in buns, braids, or pigtails, and she always had stars and hearts drawn on her face with black marker. She whispered in Eryi’s ear, “Are you jealous?”

Eryi subconsciously whispered back. “Huh?”

“Of Andri paying more attention to Alba than you.”

“No,” Eryi said slowly.

“I know a way to make him pay attention to you, you just have to change something about yourself. Like getting a piercing or something. He’ll probably check it out and give you a compliment.”

Eryi felt himself swayed by her idea and began thinking quietly as Lumi drew on his arm. Alba successfully pushed Andri off of him and said, “If you’re gonna hug someone, go hug Eryi.”

“Stingy,” Andri complained.

Then, suddenly Eryi’s sweet laughter entered the air and sent both Andri and Alba looking his way.

Eryi cried through laughter, “Wait! Stop, that tickles!”

Lumi was tickling Eryi by drawing on his forearm. Alba watched in disbelief as Andri’s eyes grew dark and he stood up and walked toward Eryi and Lumi.