The Legend of Perseus: The Labors

Ch. 1

Ch. 1

An eerie silence had descended on the forest.

Only the light of the moon and stars illuminated the woods, their rays snaking between the branches and limbs and giving just the faintest trace of visibility on the forest floor which seemed devoid of life.

No creature moved and nothing stirred. Even the winds seemed to have gone silent as if the entire forest were holding its breath, waiting for something that had yet to arrive.

An outsider could only describe the scene as serene. It was as if the entire forest was a snapshot, a moment frozen in time that could not be disturbed.

If only that were the case.

The serenity of the night was destroyed when a young boy, no older than ten, burst through the trees, his torn and tattered sandals slapping the forest floor as he sprinted as if his very life depended on. His raven black hair was long and unkempt and his clothes, perhaps once a chiton and cloak, hung torn and tattered from his slender limbs as he tried to avoid the dense coppice and all its branches and obstacles threatening to slow him in his desperate attempt for escape.

In the distance behind him, a much louder thudding of footsteps could be heard. Branches snapped and the smaller trees were simply run over as a monstrous dark figure chased its prey. The sheer mass of the it moving through the forest nearly shook the trees down to their roots.

The boy weaved through the trees at speeds that seemed impossible. His endurance was starting to fail him though. Only adrenaline and the primal instinct of self-preservation kept him moving. He could feel the figure closing in on him. It's superior size allowing it to close the distance on him at an alarming rate. Only the dense foliage slowed it down and kept him alive though he knew he was already on borrowed time.

As he jumped over some underbrush, the boy's heart seemed to stop completely.

Ahead of him, maybe twenty yards away, the forest cleared for a stretch. He could faintly make out some source of light on the other side of the clearing.

Not that he would ever be able to reach it.

He was at the end of his rope. Without the woods to slow the monstrous creature down, it would catch him within seconds. He couldn't change course either. On either side, the woods thickened to the point that not even his small form would be able to navigate them without running into something or tripping over the many branches, roots, and rocks on the forest floor.

Accepting whatever fate would befall him, he burst out of the tree line and made a mad dash towards the light. He couldn't even pick his head up to find the source of the illumination in the darkness, forced to keep his focus on putting one foot in front of the other in fear of stumbling and losing what slim chance of survival he had.

He hadn't even made it a quarter of the way through the clearing when he heard, or more like felt, his attacker hit the clearing, its monstrous paws pounding the ground in pursuit. Knowing he wouldn't make it even half way across, his pace slowed just enough to slide his hand into his belt line.

There he found the dagger his mother had given him.

The thought of his mother almost distracted him, though he knew better than to let himself get caught up in bitter memories. For all her struggles, the only worthwhile thing she had been able to give him was this one blade, an old and rusty bronze dagger that barely looked worthy of cleaning the bottom of a sandal, let alone for self-defense.

But she had been right. The blade was the only reason he was alive at that moment. The creatures, or better yet, the monsters that seemed to find him at increasing rates seemed almost afraid of the blade. The few that had been brave enough to attack him had ended up as a pile of dust when the blade broke their scaly skins.