“How are things looking on that side?” The tall, burly man asks.
“Not good, master. The landslide is too severe, we can’t push forward any further.” A man answers. The rain keeps on pouring, mocking them as they try to search for survivors amidst the sudden squall.
“Damn!” He screams, punching one of the nearby trees. “Is there really nothing we can do?”
“I’m afraid not, master. If we go any further, we might end up dying ourselves.”
The one called “master” grinds his teeth begrudgingly. He is often called to help settle disputes and fights, and he has often felt proud to be a “peacekeeper”, as people often call him. But now, against the flurry of nature, he can only stand there helplessly as he knows that there is no saving the families whose house are by the river. As he starts to despair,
“Master! Come Quick!” Someone shouts from below the cliff edge on his left side.
“What is it?” He replies quickly.
“I need your help! I found a survivor, but there’s not much time! Their house is already flooded, and it will be carried off any second now!”
“I’m coming! Hans, wait here and notify me if the condition worsens. I’m going down there.” Master says as he quickly ties a rope on the trunk of one of the still-standing trees. The man named Hans nods, as he helps secure the rope. The master then quickly descends upon the cliffside, tied on his waist, rushing as he knows they may have not much time. After fighting against the slippery rock after a while, he finally reaches the bottom, where the man that shouted earlier meets him. He quickly undoes the rope.
“Which way, Mark? And be quick!” Master barks.
“Right this way, master! Follow me!” The man called Mark said, rushing towards where the riverbed is.
“Not good,” He thought. He rushes along towards where Mark went, and after a minute of running, he arrives on the riverbank, where a single house is already on the verge of getting swept away by the current. He can see a single woman trembling in fear through where the front wall used to be, and instinctively he rushed there.
“Mam! Hold on, we’re going to save you!” He shouts.
“No! It’s too late! I beg of you, take him!” The woman says, showing a baby that is in her cradle.
“Stay calm! We’re going to save the both of you!” He shouts although he knows it’s probably too late; the foundation of the house is already getting swept away; only a few seconds are left before the both of them are completely gone.
“Master…” She says while crying, knowing the end is nigh. “Please…” As she stands and runs towards him.
“NO!” He can only shout as the house is swept away, but not before she does one final, desperate act: she threw the baby she was holding towards the master, and then resigns to her fate as she is swept along with the house she once shared with her family. The master, seeing this happens before his very eyes, can only watch as she sinks under the flood.
“No… There’s one more thing I have to do!” He runs towards the riverbed, diving forward, catching the baby moments before he falls to the river. His clothes now dirty with mud, and he can only kneel as he holds in his arms a baby; The sole survivor of maybe his whole family. The master is lost in a trance for a bit, before being forcefully shaken by Mark.
“Master! We have to go, NOW!” Mark shouts in front of him. He then snaps, returning to reality, and he stands up, still holding the baby in his arms. He and Mark run back towards the cliff where they came from. As he started running, he noticed a rumbling from the mountains, from where the river flows.
“Definitely not good.” He speeds up, and in no time reaches the cliff from where he descends.
“Hans! Lower another rope! Quick!” He shouts. Before long, another rope is thrown down, and he quickly ties that rope to the baby, and the other one to his waist.
“Go!” He says to Mark. “And watch so that this kid doesn’t get any bumps on his way up!”
“Yes, master!” He replies and starts to climb the cliff-face.
“Hans! Pull the second rope slowly! A baby boy is coming up!” Master shouts again.
“Yes, master!” As soon as Hans replies, the baby slowly ascends. He, too, starts to climb, although it’s noticeably slower rather when he descended. Meanwhile, he can feel the rumble getting stronger. It seems that Mark realized it as well, for his face has turned pale.
“Climb!” Master shouts to him, and he jerks before resuming his climb. After a short while, the three of them reached the top, and not long after, the water rushes through the cliff with a deafening roar. Master and Mark breathe raggedly, as Hans unties the ropes and tidies up.
“That was too close,” Mark says, still panting wildly. But the words fail to reach Master. He doesn’t hear anything; the rain, the rumbling of the flood, the sound of trees snapping under the cliff–nothing. His attention is fully on the baby in his cradle, as the boy suddenly cries and shows signs of life. And, for the first time in many years, he sheds a tear.
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Leonhart Translations 