Ok, ok, so here's what's happening.

I haven't been working on A Burden in over a year and it sucked anyway so I'm rewriting it! ALL of it!

I wanted to publish a little bit of the first chapter so I can get the story started and feel that I've accomplished something :P

I'm going to gradually add more to the first chapter over time, but all other chapters will not be released in parts.

- VA


~Asami's POV~

The only reason I'm at all afraid is his knife. That thing is huge. Hell, it's about as big as my head.

I get it, his panties are in a knot 'cuz I stole a fish, but his shop is one of the few places I can find food that's not filthy or molded.

He's been chasing me for almost a mile now and even though it's not obvious, I'm getting worn out.

I've been looking for a way out of this mess but I can't seem to outrun this guy. He has better endurance than I thought he would, even though he looks like 200 pounds of gelatin.

My thoughts are interrupted by a cyclist who wasn't paying attention and almost hit a pedestrian. Lucky for the lady walking her rat of a dog, the biker veered away. Oh, but of course, they find their way right in my path of travel! I jump to the side and stumble into the terra cotta wall of an incredibly overpriced pastry shop. The biker, who had lost all control of his bike, crashes into the butcher, knocking both of them down.

I smirk, and the butcher glares at me as he struggles to pull himself out from under the big, twisted bike. I stop laughing abruptly as I realized how much trouble I would be in if he catches me.

I try to think of a way to escape, but I'm trapped and forced to back into a slim, dark alley. There's no where to go, so I shove the fish in my hoodie and lean against the wall, weak with the sudden feeling of defeat. I look at the wall desperately and notice that some of the bricks are protruding from the wall. A lot of them are, actually. I smile thankfully as not many buildings in the city are built like this.

I gasp as the butcher finds me in the alley and starts to make his way towards me. I scale the wall with ease, a skill I've acquired through my years of experience. Even so, if I was a second slower the butcher would have caught my foot and I would have been done for.

I crouch on the roof, looking down at him as he struggles to climb a single foot. I laugh through my mask, which covers the lower half of my face. I have my hood on, too, so all he can see is my eyes. I hear sirens and stand to see two cop cars pull up to the alley. I give them a little wave before I jump onto a neighboring roof and abscond the hell out of there.

I see one of them try to climb the wall before they decide to hop in their car and chase me, sirens blaring.

I dash from house to house and in a few minutes, I can hardly hear the sirens in the distance.

Honestly, I'm surprised the cops never catch up, I'm sure their cars are at least twice as fast as me. I suppose it can be difficult to catch somebody when you can't really keep track of where they're going. Besides, I've gotten pretty good at running away because I've been doing it for just over two years now. Three weeks ago was the anniversary of my parents' death, actually...

No one really understands how or why it happened, all anyone know is they're dead. Problem is, everyone thinks I am, too.

I arrive at my home a few minutes later, a shallow cave on the coast hidden behind tall plants and bushes. Rarely anyone ventures over here, but when they do, it's typically some kids or a couple watching the sun set.

At my return, my cat greets me with an affectionate brush against my leg. I clean the fish and eat 3/4 of it, then giver her the rest.

I ponder on what I should do now. Sometimes I take a nap, sometimes I sneak into someone's house and take a shower. When I'm not mucking around, I'm sneaking around the market, gathering food. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, so I might take a nap.

I sit atop the cave and watch the sun rise above the city. The autumn wind kicks up and I take my mask and hood off so I can feel it blow through my hair. Closing my eyes, I relax and breath in the fresh air. I smile and put my hood back on to shield my face from the sun as I lay down and slowly fall asleep.


~Kai's POV~

"Ow, fuck!"

Jay groans, still asleep, regardless of the fact that he just fell from his bunk and landed on top of me.

I wish Lloyd hadn't destroyed the alarm clock, I would be fine with one of those because alarm clocks can't pull you out of bed. Sensei won't let us get a new one because he believes that it's our responsibility and that we need to learn for our mistakes or some bullshit like that.

Sensei Garmadon tips the entire bunk bed, or Sensei Wu whacks you in the head with his bamboo staff-rod-stick or whatever.

"Get off Jay!"

"Hmm, *Yawns* what?"

"DUDE, OFF!"

I throw Jay off my back in frustration.

"OWW! Ok, I'm sorry! I'm up!"

I stood up slowly and hastily pulled off the shirt I had slept in. I look over at Zane's bed, which is empty with the sheets neatly tucked into the sides. Of course.

I get ready for sunrise exercise and head out onto the deck.


After a joyous hour of sunrise exercise, I run to the kitchen to eat breakfast because food is bae. I grab a plate and pile it high with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I join everyone else at the long table and don't even wait for myself to sit down before I shove food in my mouth.

I'm one of the first to finish, so I get up to wash my plate before I sit back down.

As soon as everyone else finishes, I jump out of my chair and race to the game room only to skid to a halt to avoid running into Sensei's staff, which he had swung out to cover the doorway.

"I must go run a very important errand. Garmadon will be in charge while I am absent. I should be back before noon. Understood?"

"Yes, Sensei" we all said in unison.

"Good. Now all of you go, I must speak to Garmadon in private."

Jay, Zane, Cole, Lloyd, Nya and I run to the gaming room at alarming speeds, clumsily falling over each other in the narrow corridor. I dive for a controller, only to have it taken right out from under me by Lloyd. Unfortunately, the three other remotes have already been claimed.

I sit, bored as fuck, and observe as Jay crushes the others.