Work Text:
Sounds of tinkering filled the cramped yet homey room. The walls were bare, the bed took up much of the small space, and a single window was thrown open above the table where Berken worked. The table was the most decorated out of the room, littered with different tools and parts. Currently he was working on a prosthetic arm just to clear his head. It wasn’t as if he needed it, but he enjoyed the work. He’d felt uneasy tonight due to the strange silence surrounding the house. The usual crickets and cicadas were nowhere to be heard.
A prickling alerted him to his patrol creation, and the panic it was sending off almost overwhelmed him. Usually his creation just helped him ward off pests and keep alert to anyone who came by, so its panic was unusual. It was clear whatever was here wasn’t good. Standing up, Berken navigated through his room and dug out another of his creations. This creation was small and allowed for easy spying.
A rough knock sounded at the door as soon as Berken had ‘activated’ his creation, and he carefully opened his door to set it out. He commanded it to position right before the turn that lead to the door and waited. It wasn’t long till he heard his mom stumbling from her room to answer the door, and he tuned into his creation.
From where he was tuned in, he could clearly hear the conversation going on between his mom and the stranger. Immediately he knew something wasn’t right.
“Is this the residence of Ilya and Berken Zarth?” A light, clear voice asked. Despite the unassuming nature of the question there was a clear hint of threat. “Who’s asking?” Berken’s mom responded suspiciously. “We apologize for this intrusion!” The stranger answered, sounding much too cheery for what followed.
Berken’s creation picked up the sound of his mom hitting the wall and clear marching inside before his creation was abruptly destroyed. Blinking back to his own senses, he scrambled to barricade his door as the intruder marched closer, banging through whichever room they came across.
His heightened hearing picked up his mother’s indignant screams, but he had no time to waste. Sticking his chair against his door he scrambled to gather anything he owned. He shoved all he had on his desk into his pack as well as the little money he had accrued over the years. In no time he was climbing through the open window in his room.
By the time he had scrambled out he could hear the mysterious intruder banging on his door but by then he had made it to the tree line near his house. The only time he slowed was to feel the marked trees laid out.
These marked trees led to the only place Berken knew to go now that he had apparently been found out. His only friend Wendy. Tears pricked his murky grey eyes as he realized he may never see his mother again now that he was on the run. He knew she’d be safe as she wasn’t gifted, but who knows what they might do now that they know her son is?
He rubbed at his eyes in frustration. He couldn’t think of things like that right now. He had to focus on getting to Wendy’s house. Everything else could come later.