It had been two weeks since Entro had decided to stay in the village and help out while he waited for his cruise to come back.
Starting as an outcast, he slowly became more deeply rooted in the village customs and traditions, a gesture for which he was eternally grateful.
They barely had the food to sustain themselves but eagerly took Entro in, providing him with a place to sleep and eat.
Closely knit community was a new one for him. He never grew up with so many people to share in the sorrow. The strength that each member provided to each other, whether through borrowed fire wood or a shoulder to break down on, it uplifted Entro.
Showed him there was something worth saving in the world.
In return, he helped out where he could. Ranging from teaching them techniques to better construct houses and tools, ways to preserve their food and not deal with as much spoiled meat, to manual labor.
Entro worked as a one man team, turning days worth of work into a morning and afternoon chore.
With Agri working as an ox with a hide of shadows, their small village really transformed.
Houses were much more stable, people were better fed and started to show more color in their skin.
Watching the vibrancy and vigor slowly procure in a people that only had each other inspired Entro.
Agri loved leading hunts, teaching the men how to tape into their naturalistic instincts, becoming a lethal weapon in the wilderness.
Entro volunteered in the school, leading a class of fifteen kids.
On his first day, the children were clearly lacking; their previous teacher was a lady of the older generation with dementia.
While she did her best, it was clear it wasn't working.
They were merely two weeks in and they showed incredible progress. Entro separated his classes into rows based on aptitude.
Since he saw it better to teach entire subjects by day instead of the period schedule most American schools taught in, depending on your aptitude in the subject that day, dictated where you sat.
He wasn't bullying the children, but he instructed and assigned work on a group-to-group basis, meaning, that not only was no one being held back by another, but none of the children were being left behind.
The trick; he didn't tell them how the groups were separated.
Entro's talents both physical and mental along with Agri's words on the first day they arrived had everyone believing he might actually be a god.
Walking through the village, he could already hear murmurs of "The wolf king" or simply "god."
He didn't bother correcting them. Entro loved it here and he knew his abilities couldn't be explained by any reasonable human means, so there was no point in attempting to refute their titles.
Agri, however, was eating it up.
Entro suspected that most of those nicknames originated from Agri himself, but he couldn't prove it because every time he confronted the wolf, he received the same answer.
"I did no such thing, Father, however, they are very accurate titles, you mustn't hurt the villagers' feelings by rejecting them"
They were happy; that was their first mistake.
Their second? Being weak.
Benjamín was waiting outside of his classroom after Entro's morning classes.
"Benji, what brings you here?"
Over the last two weeks, him and Benjamín developed a sort of brotherly bond.
He didn't fully understand the man, especially when he erupted into rapid fire Spanish when angry, but there was something there.
"One of our hunter spotted choppers a few miles down the coast, he said they're searching for something."
Entro's face darkened.
He knew he would have to leave this place eventually, he still had a cruise to catch.
But something inside of him wished it would've been peacefully and on his own terms. For once, he wouldn't have to feel like a hunted outlaw.
Of course, the world was not fair.
"Okay, I'll tell Agri, he's on a hunt now."
Benjamín nodded.
"Are you leaving?"
"I have no choice."
Silence hung between the two for a few moments.
"Can you wait a few days?"
Entro sighed.
"You know they're looking for me wh-"
"I have to run to Gallegos for supplies," Benjamín interrupted, "I can take you."
Entro knew why he was doing this. It was well known that he could run faster than a car; Benjamín wasn't ready to see him go, the feeling was mutual.
"You've got three days."
"That's plenty."
When Agri returned from his hunt, Entro explained the situation.
"We shall return when we can," he said to comfort Entro.
Nodding, he didn't respond, still deep in thought.
The next few days were more depressing than usual, it was clear the entire village knew he was leaving.
How they felt about it, no one bothered to tell him.
On the day he was set to leave, a beating knock came at the door of his house. The villagers helped him build one after his first week.
"Yes?"
The beating resumed. Odd since usually, the villagers didn't bother him in his house.
"Yes??"
He made sure to make his voice audible, but the beating started once more.
Standing quietly, Entro slicked his way towards the door silently.
Swinging the door open, he was greeted by Benjamín mid about to beat his door again, and the entire village body him.
"Surprise!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd.
Entro was thoroughly confused.
"What is all of this?"
Benjamín beamed.
"It's a going away celebration, Gallegos is a long journey, if we want to get you there before night, we have to leave soon."
Entro's heart warmed; it was clear this was well thought out.
Everyone was holding party poppers with a few eager kids holding fireworks.
They must've used a lot of their resources to put this together.
"We packed you a bag for your trip, it has everything you need to get situated onto your ship."
Benjamín handed him a wilderness bag stocked full with necessities.
Looking around, Entro could see the sincerity of their gesture in their smiling faces.
"Thank you guys so much, you have no idea how much this means to me."
Benjamín snickered with a mischievous smile before handing Entro a folded up slip of paper.
"Prepare, because this is your real gift."
Confused, Entro started to unravel the paper, feeling everyone in the crowd hold their breath.
Whatever it was, it must be important.
"Villa... del... dios... perdido," Entro read out loud, confused.
The villagers chuckled at him butchering the words.
"Villa del dios perdido," Benjamín corrected, "It means Village of the Lost God."
Entro's eyes widened as he realized, "You..."
"We gave ourselves a name. That's why we're going to Gallegos, we have to register it with the state, but the capitol is too far."
Not knowing what else to do, Entro pulled his friend into a big hug.
"Thank you guys, thank you so much."
"It's nothing my friend, now let us get going."
They partied and ate until noon, when it was time for Entro to leave.
Once the truck was properly packed, they drove away with the villager waving goodbye behind them.
Agri was much too large to fit and had to take his own path through the woods, something he preferred either way.
Entro and Benjamín talked about his time at the village the entire time, savoring the last time they would see each other for a while.
The drive was 3 hours.
Once they arrived, Benjamín and Entro said their goodbyes.
"You guys take care of yourselves for me."
"There will always be a home for you in our village."
Nodding, Entro pulled him into one last hug.
Seeing his truck depart towards the inside of the city caused Entro a pain he couldn't quite place.
It was his idea for them to separate before getting inside. Being seen with him was akin to a death wish.
It hurt to do, but it had to be done; he turned around and walked into the city, hoping to find a map to their next stop, Ushuaia.
It didn't take long for Entro to realize he would need to ask a local for directions if he wanted to accomplish his goal.
Nothing was in English, nor suggesting anything in relation to buying a simple map of a neighboring country.
But trying to approach the locals proved just as difficult; everyone was wary of him.
The feeling of looking at a superior and potentially predatory species created a feeling of unease and discomfort in people. Locals weren't sure why, but something told them they should stay away from the foreigner running around trying to stop people walking.
Giving up, Entro decided to try again tomorrow, it might have just been a rough day.
He found Agri lying in a field of grass, sleeping peacefully.
"None of the locals were much help today, I didn't get anything."
"There's always tomorrow."
"Yeah, I know."
Entro decided to just enjoy lying with Agri, letting the day's frustration wash off of him.
The chilly wind blowing across his skin, warm fur beneath his head, and the grass beneath his back lulled him into a slumber.
---
Benjamín was getting closer to his village, the name certificate framed and placed on his dashboard; he was excited to show everyone.
Coming within a few hundred yards of the village edge, Benjamín noticed black hawk helicopters, off-road vehicles, and military-suited men running around yelling orders.
The entire village was gathered in the center, surrounded by men with guns.
Jumping out of his truck, Benjamín grabbed the frame and stomped over.
"What is the meaning of this!"
Noticing his arrival, a plump-shaped man in a suit walked over, accompanied by soldiers.
"Where is he?"
Speeding past introductions or explanations, the man opened with a question.
"Where is who? Are you looking for someone; why do you need to have my entire village at gunpoint."
"The rest of your village also played dumb. Congratulations, you guys are skilled actors."
Benjamín felt his blood boiling.
"Listen, I don't know why you're here, but you're going to tell me why my entire village is under gun barrels."
As if no longer interested in this conversation, the man pulled a phone out, typing a message to someone.
"I'm here because something was stolen from me, if you're not willing to help me retrieve, I have no use for you."
Turning to the soldier on his left, he nodded his head.
"Erase this place."
"What do you mean erase this place! Hey, I'm talking to you!"
It was clear the man wasn't listening anymore as he turned to walk away.
Benjamín was baffled by this guys' blatant disregard for anything he said.
Lunging forward, he planned to grab him by the collar, only to be cut short by a punch to the chin, knocking him to the ground.
The frame hit the ground, the glass cracking.
A gunshot resounded as blood splattered on the certificate inside.
Gunshots and screams erupted in the distance as fires burned down buildings.
Silence followed soon after.