(Ben’s POV)

“Ben! Let’s go see the birds on the nest!” Jenny insisted that I come to the secret tree we found in the forest. The forest was located at the front of the shelter. That’s why this big forest is safe. 

Actually, the tree is not literally a ‘secret’ tree. It’s the same for the other trees outside but the difference is, it has a big hole into it and is too tall than the others. That big tree is perfect for hiding. No one knows about this tree aside from me and Jenny, even Ms. Joan doesn’t know about it. That’s why, this is our little hideout.

I’m Ben and I have lived here for 10 years. I have been here in the shelter since I was an infant. When the war broke out in this place, all of the people here faced a terrible life. But I was an infant when it happened. According to Ms. Joan, when the war ended, the officers incharge of the place saw a horrible state of Amana. The people who affected the war have suffered from impoverishment, hunger, homelessness and disease. That’s why the empire sent supplies to the rural area of Amana but it came too late. Many people die and many pregnant women have miscarriage due to hunger and die of malnourishment. I was one of the lucky babies that was born in that survival life. The same goes for Jenny too. I arrived 3 months earlier than Jenny. Only Jenny and I are the ones with the same age. The other kids are younger than us. So, it’s easier for us to get close than the others.

We were happy living here together with the adults. They said it’s up to us if we want to live here forever or go to a place where we want to. But for me and Jenny, this place was enough for us.

The adults here were kind and good at taking care of us especially Ms. Joan. She is one of the staff that the empire sent to take care of us. She was one of the empire’s soldiers who battled against the neighboring country. It’s an honor to us that the soldiers who won the war were the ones who took care of us. At first, I thought they were scary but not. All of them were good people, especially Ms. Joan. We didn’t see her getting angry aside from the adults here. That's why the adults always nag at us kids and told us not to be too naughty to her because we don’t find someone as kind as her. 

*****

Dinner time was about to be ready but Jenny hasn’t come back yet. She told me earlier that she wants to harvest the cherries we planted in the forest but until now she hasn't come back. 

I’m worried about her.

It’s my fault that I didn’t accompany her through the forest. She said that she wants us to pick the cherries but I refused. 

I went to Ms. Joan in the kitchen to tell her about Jenny.

“Oh~ Ben, dinner was about to be done. You should call the others and get ready the table.” Mrs. Abby said

Mrs. Abby was one of the people who survived the war. She was helping the kitchen staff to prepare the food for us.

“You’re here Ben. Are you hungry? Hm?” Ms. Joan appeared while preparing the food in the bowl.

I hesitate to talk but I need to inform them that Jenny was outside.

“Umm… Ms. Joan, Jenny was still outside and until now she hasn’t come back yet.” I said 

The sound of the spoon putting down was heard and everyone at the kitchen got a serious face.

According to the rules of these shelters, everyone who lives here must be inside the house when 6pm arrives. That’s our curfew here and if you break that, you will no longer have a right to live in the shelter. 

Many of the adults and teenagers who live here break the rules. And those people were nowhere to be found. We thought that the higher ups saw them while they were outside and they chased out of this place.

But Jenny is still a kid. She can’t do anything by herself and doesn’t have a family. She doesn’t have any money to live outside. Only this shelter can provide what we need.

“When did she leave?” Ms. Joan coldly asked me.

“Around 4pm. She said that she wants to harvest the cherries we planted in the forest. I’m worried that she might be hurt in the forest and don’t have the strength to come back here.” I said worriedly

“Oh my, I think we should let others know and find the kid.” Mrs. Abby said

Ms. Joan sighed and she facepalmed herself.

“No. We don’t need to.” Ms. Joan replied

“Why?!” I asked while tearing my eyes up.

“It’s dangerous to go outside now. The rules were simple, you kids should now your limits. Now, prepare the food on the table and we are having dinner.” Ms. Joan said.

I was sad about her decision and it made me cry. Mrs. Abby hugged me and wiped my tears.

“Don’t worry Ben, let’s find her tomorrow. Right now it was not good for us to go outside. Don’t worry, I will help you find her.” Mrs. Abby said while comforting me.

The next day has come and we start searching for Jenny. Only Mrs. Abby and I are searching for her. Ms. Joan didn’t help us because she was busy taking care of the little ones. I understand that but I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t care about what happened to Jenny.

We searched the forest where we usually played but we saw nothing. The forest was too big for us to search for Jenny. Mrs. Abby said it will be night time if we searched the entire forest so we need to go home before the curfew starts. She said that we will come back again tomorrow. 

I panicked when she said that.

“No Mrs. Abby! We need to find her now or we're never gonna find her anymore!” I said anxiously

“But Ben, it’s 5pm now. 1 hour to go before our curfew starts.” Mrs. Abby said

“But Mrs. Abby… Jenny was my only friend and I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t find her.” I said while crying

“Oh Ben.. I know how it hurts you but I think we should stop looking for her. Maybe the higher ups took her and she’s not here nor there. I think it’s best that we need to accept that Jenny is no longer here anymore.” Mrs. Abby said sadly

I cried and cried at what she said. 

After I calmed down, Mrs. Abby left me in the tree at the front of the shelter. I was sitting there quietly until I remembered the secret tree we used to play.

I got up and ran faster towards there. 

When I reached it, I saw something. 

Blood.

I followed the blood traces on the ground and it reached the tree we used as a secret base.

I went into the secret tree and there's blood on the wood that we used to sit on. Inside of that wood, we placed our treasure box there and I saw a blood of handprints on the treasure box we put there. Only Jenny and I can open the treasure box. So my guts saying that this blood all over was from Jenny. I nervously opened it and I saw blood on the things we put there and blood on a paper too. But aside from the blood, there are words written on the paper. I read it and said…

‘RUNAWAY FROM THE SHELTER!’

The handwritten were kinda sloppy but I know that this is Jenny’s handwritten. 

I got chills from the letter that I saw.

What I saw and read was hard to believe. 

I’m having a hard time breathing too. 

When I got out of the tree, I saw blood traces again in a different way. I followed those traces again and it led me to a place….

A place where I saw Jenny’s body scattered everywhere.