"ARE YOU CRAZY, CRAIG!!" Clyde yelled after hearing what Craig had said.
"I'm not, Clyde" — Craig answered, very removed of pity.
"BUT IT'S HORRIBLE!! You won't be able to stand it" — Clyde said — "You're going to die" — He said and then hugged Craig's chest.
"It's just a training, Clyde, it's not a big deal" — Tolkien stressed.
"Tolkien is right Clyde, it's just training and he will help me learn to defend myself" — Said Craig, trying to push Clyde away.
"NOOOOO!! I refuse to see one of my friends suffer" — Clyde said, clinging closer to Craig.
"Come on Clyde, let him go! He has to go or they won't admit him" — Tolkien said, pulling of Clyde to let go of Craig — "FAST, RUN!!" — Tolkien said.
Craig broke free of Clyde's grip and ran to trainer PC's house to take the weapons and strength training, this training is for young people to learn to defend themselves in case they needed it, most do not sign up, but Craig went for a specific reason.
"I'm here, Mr. PC" — Said Craig, entering the house.
"You're late, Tucker" — Mr. PC said.
"I had a setback" — Craig said as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway... Are you sure you want to take this training?" — Mr. PC questioned.
"If I'm here it's because I'm sure" — Craig replied.
"Okay kid, we'll start tomorrow in the morning when the roads are lit" — Mr. PC said.
Craig was determined to take that training, he needed to know how to defend himself, to face anything that came his way in the forest, because yes, he was going to enter in that forest.
The training with Mr. PC was harder than he imagined. He had to get up early every morning, run through all the streets and paths of the village, lift huge stones, hit trees and a lot of other things but in the end it was worth it because the result was what he wanted so much. He knew how to punch, he could carry large amounts of weight, he moved agilely and he ran very fast. He would definitely survive that stupid forest.
"Look at you, what a change" — Mr. PC said.
"Heh, I think that was enough training, thanks for the help Mr. PC" — Craig thanked.
"It was nothing, brat" — Mr. PC said, hiding his pride for Craig — "Just don't kill anyone" — He said as a joke.
Craig said goodbye to Mr. PC and went to his house, tomorrow would be the big day, he would enter in the forest, that somehow excited Craig, he was rarely seen excited about something.
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°------------ [ 4:24 am ] ------------°
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With the sound of the first birdsong, Craig woke up.
"It's time" — He said to himself.
He changed his clothes and took out a backpack. He took two changes of clothes, a blanket, a notebook and a pencil, a pot, a canteen with water, some food for the road and of course Stripe, he didn't plan to leave his chum alone. He put on his hood and quietly left his house, began to walk towards the forest, the path from his house to the forest was long so when he reached there, it was already 6:00 am, Craig carried an axe to defend himself, he approached to a tree that gave way to the forest.
"Okay... Here I go" — Said Craig to take the first step towards that place.
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°------------ [ 8:43 am ] ----------°
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Laura Tucker was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her husband and children, suddenly she heard the door of the house open, Thomas had arrived carrying two logs for the oven of his house, he left the wood on the ground and went to sat down in one of the dining room chairs.
"And our childrens?" Thomas asked his wife.
"Tricia is taking a bath" — Laura answered, still cooking.
"And Craig?" Thomas asked.
Laura was silent for a couple of seconds and then asked her husband.
"Didn't he went with you for the firewood?" Laura asked.
"No, I thought he was asleep" Thomas replied.
"Thomas...Craig's not in his room!" Laura said.
"What?! Are you sure?" — Thomas questioned his wife, they both looked at each other for a moment before running to their eldest son's room.
"Craig?!" — Laura asked entering the room, realizing that Craig was not there — "Oh God. Thomas, Craig is not here!" Laura yelled at her husband.
"NO NO NO!!" Thomas said altered.
"What is happening?" Tricia asked.
"Your brother has disappeared" — Thomas said.
"WHAT?" Tricia asked shocked.
Laura left the house at full speed.
"HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!?" Thomas asked his wife from the house.
"TO THE BLACK'S!! TAKE CARE OF TRICIA!!" Laura yelled at her spouse and then ran to the Black residence.
When Laura arrived, she desperately knocked on the door until it was opened by the youngest of the Black's.
"Mrs. Tucker? What are you doing here?" Tolkien asked.
"TOLKIEN! Dear; Have you seen Craig?! He's with you!?" —
"Er, no, I haven't seen him since yesterday and he isn't with me. Why?" — Asked the brunette.
"Listen Tolkien, Craig is missing" — Laura said anguished.
"WHAT?! YOUR SON IS MISSING!?" Asked Mrs. Black, who had witnessed the scene.
"Yes, please help me" — Laura begged.
"Of course we'll help!" — Mr. Black said — "Tolkien, get dressed, you will help us" — He ordered his son.
Tolkien obeyed his father's order and changed as quickly as possible, so much so that he almost forgot to put on his underpants, when he finished he ran out of his house in the direction of Clyde's.
"Where are you going?!" His father asked.
"TO CLYDE'S HOUSE, MAYBE HE KNOWS SOMETHING!!" Tolkien yelled as he ran.
When he got there he knocked on the door several times until it was opened by the one with brown hair and white skin who was still in his pajamas.
"What the fuck do you want, Tolkien?" — Clyde said, while he rubbed his eyes.
"Clyde! Craig is missing! I need you to find him" — Tolkien said.
— "..." —
— "Clyde?" —
Clyde entered his house and slammed the door shut, leaving Tolkien in the doorway.
"What the fuck? CLYDE, ARE YOU NOT GOING TO HELP ME?! YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU'RE A SON OF..."
Before Tolkien finished cursing Clyde, he left the house already dressed and prepared.
"Quick Tolkien! We have to find Craig!" The brown-haired man said, pulling the dark-haired man by the arm.
"But I thought you... Forget it, you're right. We have to find Craig!" Tolkien said as he followed Clyde.
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"Wow, the forest floor is so different from the village" — Craig said in wonder as he walked through the forest — "It's amazing, isn't it, Stripe?" — He asked his little friend who was on top of his hat.
Craig was amazed by everything he saw in that forest, it was so beautiful, calm and peaceful. He could clearly hear the song of the birds, the waterfalls that were a few kilometers from him, he could even hear the crunch of the leaves that he stepped on.
"Fantastic" — Said Craig to himself.
Out of nowhere a sound quite different from the others was heard, a "whistle" sounded, happy and sweet, it was like a melody, Craig was very struck by it so he decided to see where it came from. He began to walk and discovered that the sound came from the top of a tree a few meters from him, he decided to stay and spy on whoever caused it.
On one of the branches of that tree sat a small harp with blue feathers, blonde hair, white skin, the body and face with symbols and doodles made with paint, the little harp whistled that happy tune, on the ground a blond boy, a cape made of wolf skin, his neck was adorned with a necklace and he wore a wolf skull on his head, he used it as a helmet. The older blond was enjoying the whistle the little harp made.
"Mmm, you know? I really like when you whistle" — Said the taller blonde.
"Thanks Kenny, I'm glad you like it" — Said the harp.
"Yes, it sounds like a bird, HAHAHA" — Kenny said jokingly.
"Ha Ha, very funny. You know what? I better shut up" — Said the harp with some anger at Kenny's joke.
"Oh, come on Butters, don't be bitter" — Kenny said.
"We should be watching the north wing, not loafing around" Butters said, getting up from the branch.
"Easy pigeon, there haven't been any human sightings since..." — Kenny began to feel a peculiar smell around him.
"Kenny?" —
"Butters; do you smell that?" Kenny asked.
"I don't smell anything; what do you smell?" Butters asked.
"Smells like... Sweat, mint and... Guinea pig?" — Kenny said sniffing carefully.
When Craig heard that, he realized that they were smelling him and Stripe.
"Shit, we better get out of here" — He said quietly to his guinea pig as he secured it in his backpack.
He silently started to take steps in another direction but accidentally stepped on a branch that broke and made a small sound that reached Kenny's ears.
"There!!" — Kenny said, who suddenly took his wolf form and began to run quickly towards where he had heard the sound.
"Kenny wait!!" Butters said, taking flight to follow him.
"Shit, SHIT!!" Craig cursed as he began to run quickly in search of a place to hide.
He now had a Nahual and a Harp following him, in his mind only one question appeared.
"WHAT DO I DO NOW?!" —
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To be continue...