As the forest began to become background, I finally rethought the interaction. I pocketed my trade reward, and threw up my axe, catching it elegantly. My hands gripped it and a finger repeatedly stroked and scratched the handle.
Occasionally I threw my head over my shoulder to check if I'm being followed. As plains grew ahead of me, I recognized there'd be nowhere to hide...for either party.
I could die here...that would be sad and pathetic. I'd have plenty of space to run, yes, but I'd be competing with the group on stamina, that's it. If a single one of them could last longer than me, not considering if they are faster too, I'd be done for. I had pretty good endurance, and obviously could run pretty well, but I had no doubt they had professional training from people who know what they are doing. I would not lie and say that they aren't smarter than me.
I remembered my upper hand, and thought of how even that wouldn't work. We'd have to fight his friends to death, while being outnumbered with no advantage, and most likely would need to permanently kill them. Im sure he would at the very least be wary of that idea.
My keen eyes patrolled the lands in front of me, my fast pace not stopping. I urged myself to quicken my pace and find more height. A suitable hill rolled up in front of a smaller hill I had climbed, and I leaped across the gap, hands outreached. Like a cat, I gripped on and swiftly flung my body forward.
I looked around at the plains ahead. I'd bet 16 minutes of walking. But I wasn't going to be walking. I don't think you could even consider this running.
My body blended with the wind as I let it lead me further, my time on the ground little and used for the benefit of air. I glided periodically, pushing farther; my training was serving me well. I needed not to know where ground was, for I could even feel it and sense it. Somehow I just knew where gravity would pull me away from my synchronization, and my body knew how to get back.
It felt so focused, so powerful, so controlled. As if nothing else existed, blissful. I was so centered on myself and the pure idea of getting to where I needed to get. If they had immerged, I hadn't noticed. I hadn't noticed anything in a while.
My track was so pulled, strong and sturdy. Like a rope it lead me on with it's stiff pull, urging no pause. Like a rope, higher powers can destroy it quickly as well.
Suddenly, I was plunged into a crack that was hidden behind a hanging patch of . The tip of my foot slipped in, and my ankle snapped with a fall forward. I quickly stabbed my elbows into the ground, and let my hands take most of the fall. The pressure wasn't much of a discomfort, yet I hissed in anger at my situation.
I was blinded by anger to my injury and couldn't even feel it as I trudged slowly into the forest, falling beside a pond with overhanging trees. I was enraged at my carelessness, and even more at my change of plans. I had forgotten to listen for them since I first entered the plains. My hopes were set on distraction.
I started grabbing at branches, my mind leaving the blind power and now on creating. I needed a split, badly. I wondered if the pond was clean at all, so I put a tester in while I tested sticks. Most were small but weak, and a few were strong but big. I had to keep it in place, so I scavenged for more ideas as previous ones disintegrated in my mind.
I finally reached a solid idea, and unluckily I still had to find wood. Sturdy wood. My eyes were back to scanning and I hobbled over to a tree that was shedding, hard. The tree didn't look bad, but it sure didn't look totally okay. The trunk was healthy and new sprouts were plentiful on one side of it. The other looked torn off, and below lay have of the tree, inevitably doomed by something like a storm.
I got down and crawled around it, searching for the suitable pieces. My body screamed in pain and I finally gave up and laid down, under a bush. They were definitely in the field by now if not making their way deeper in the forest. Though I didn't care, I was done with caring for today.
My stomach twisted in hate, pain, exhaustion, and frustration, making such a mixture that I was left with practically no choice but to vomit. I silently made my way back, grabbing an apple to drown the taste, but popping in gum first as it seemed smarter.
I ran my hands gently along a wood piece, and then slammed my axe swiftly into it. It wasn't the best cut, but I just needed the size. I traced groves as my mind drifted, focus becoming difficult like normal. This routine was horrible, a bad habit. I would never make it in any union with my ease of distraction.
I made my contraption and slowly crawled back to the water. It was tested to be fine, so I dunked my ankle in. The water was cold, for the time was late in the season. It numbed my paining foot entirely and I enjoyed the coldness that spread throughout. The heat was exhausting, the cold was exhilarating.
I let myself fall onto the ground, hands bracing my head, staring at the sky. It was mostly covered, but it was so beautiful. I saw some lampyridaes flying in the darker parts, and stuck my hand out for them to land on it. One crawled up onto a piece of grass, clung to the top and over the edge like it was on the edge of a cliff, overseeing everything. I admired the little guy's bravery, and put a finger closer.
Slowly it inched up, and began to explore the new wonders of the land it had just discovered. I blinked as water lightly made itself present on my eyes, trying not to tear up. This, in a way, was magnificent. So much grace and power and potential. I couldn't help but feel emotions crashing into each other as I watched the beetle.
I was smiling, so stupidly. People were hunting me down, but I was watching a bug crawl on me. I don't know how I'm alive, maybe people pity me and think I'm too stupid to ever do harm. They're probably right, but me having this self recognition...it feels...
I sat up. My hand immediately went to...a knife. The creature flew away, and I took the knife in the hand it had been in and stabbed it into the ground. Suddenly the tears turned to anger, and I sat there mindlessly stabbing it in and out of the dirt, sobbing and drowning in my emotions.
There was probably nothing sane or harmless about that...I'm in too much pain to think. I should sleep, I should relax, I should do anything but stay here and awake. I know it's not good I'm awake. My state of mind has deteriorated, but my existence will follow if I let myself be unprotected. Nothing will save me if I'm in defenseless slumber.
I slowly pulled away from everything. The water, the indents in the ground, the place I before sat in peace, and stumbled up. I leaned on a tree, trying to use my foot. Slowly I turned around and with one foot used the tree as support, and slowly got out some plant. I'd like to save useful plants, and luckily I had a numbing one. I moved my leg up so I could take some and rub it on, and took a different bit and ate it.
It would take a bit to kick in, but what I lacked was time and should've been gone long ago. I hovered for a moment in blind stupidity, half thinking the extra moment would let the medicine work. Surely I eased the foot down, blinking back the waves of pain, and pushed myself forward.
The physically inability to run as well undoubtedly was a huge disadvantage, but luckily I still could move. I was going as fast as I now could, the idea of passing out from the overwhelming pain just now crossing my mind. My chest felt heavy as I continued, and my whole body was feeling numb.
I was at a huge disadvantage. I was terribly injured and under geared, and needed to get away. Wait...get away? There's no way. My advantage was gone, surely I couldn't keep in front. They were all most likely elite-trained hunters in phenomenal physical condition, and since they were chosen I'd bet they have some impressive and remarkable talent that got them here. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if at least one was...gifted, in being a noteworthy runner.
Still, I don't want to only hide. They've probably hacked in and started tracking me, and it'd be horrible if they all found me at once, while I'm at a disadvantage... What a perplexing issue. Maybe I should...set a trap?
I moved on a little more, feeling dreadful, but knowing my life was on the line if I stopped. I needed a hiding spot, I needed a cave. The mobility of a cave and the resources one contained. It'd give them a nightmare going after me in it with my sneaky ambitions. I'm pretty confident this should be my next move...
I kept a steady pace, the numbness working, but getting to me a bit. I made a few more footing mistakes than I normally would, and I can only think of blaming my lack of feeling which makes my guidance need to be visual. Luckily the bit I had eaten wasn't too strong, and I was able to still go with a constant rate.
After about 15 minutes, give or take, I was peeking past the opposing forest to see, to my surprise, a pathetically small mountain, and below at its base, a cave. I smiled and was undoubtedly looking moronic, and I hoped to death that nobody was watching. I spun around at the thought of it, alarm vanishing after seeing I was alone.
I quickly did a awkward trot-like walk to the caves, ignoring the persistent urge to pass out. The plant's medicine was settling in, and clearly making itself at home. There was no pain, but I just couldn't shake a looming tiredness that was pushing me to close my eyes.
Even though the rhythm of walking was getting more normal, I felt like it was getting harder. It was already really difficult to put any pressure on my foot, and not being able to feel the ground was a huge pain. As I neared closer and closer, I realized my foot was almost rejecting pressure I'd put on it, and that really threw me off.
My feeble attempts at walking became more and more pathetic as I finally reached the cave, collapsing as soon as I was lenient about my legs playing their part in my plan. My hand quickly went to fiddle with my climbing gear, and the mess of it fell to my side as soon as the hooks collapsed away from my grasp.
With such exceptional haste that one might question how I can rightfully say I'm injured, I hooked myself up to a mount I created, and begun to lower myself down into the cave, boosting down with my good foot, feeling lucky I had such power in them to make it single footedly.
I was filled with a twinge more ego, which is nothing but a good thing; always. My immense training was paying off as the cave took less than 5 minutes for me to easily float down (reminder for my ego, it was one-footedly), and I was able to quickly gather my gear and scan my surroundings.
All the training I had done had well prepared me for this mission, undoubtedly. The cave was odd, and I hoped with everything I had that the hunters would not have this climb and investigating as easy. I walked briskly along the walls, making my way steadily to the parting. I stopped right before the land crept over the sun, the glow of the warm passing day waving goodbye.
The cave was unlike any I personally had seen, the entrance cavern having a chunk of land that shot up through it, making the clearly one cavern appear split. I had carefully peered and crossed the land, ecstatic to see all the evidence of me being wonderfully correct.
The ecosystems and biome of both were identical, and the andesite and stone combination for the cave remained fluid. Although I couldn't figure out why the water hadn't touched the center, it was quite clear they were not different. There were practically no differences in anything but size and depth of the two caves, and if they were once separate I doubt the ecosystems would come together as one indistinguishable landmark.
The cave I had entered from was blindingly bright, as it had no overhang and the stars above bore their fiery eyes straight through the stone, casting mean glares that were unavoidable in all crevices. The part beyond the separating chunk was undoubtedly quite bright, but there was darkness in the places that began to descend, and that was where my mind lingered.
Well, my mind also dwelled on the fact there was andesite here. The cave was covered in it, and I'm sure as any common idiot would know, andesite forms thanks to volcanoes. Though it is true I hadn't done a archeological dig here, I hadn't really seen, well, a volcano. There was indeed a mountain encompassing the northeastern edge of the land, directly beside the cavern, it had no traces of being one.
I had studied hard on my geography and science and such things commonly needed desperately by people such as I, and it was something I was confident in saying. Why, if my knowledge had proven me wrong, I was quite certain I had nothing more to live for, and if I was so stupid to be mistaken, I feared I'd die before I found out. Quite possibly the volcano may be hidden by this mountain, but the molten would have to go through the sides, and if they spread north-western and south-eastern, how would they get to the south-western angle?
It made no good sense, but to quell my anxiety I pushed my subconscious alarms away with a swig of distilled spirit which I drank as religiously as some prayed. After feeling as though I could make the excuse I'm just queasy from the drink and believe it, I slowly crept down into the depths of the smaller cavern.
The tunnels twisted into a mess of diminutive tunnels, yet some where still walkable. I choose those that allowed me to comfortably do so, as I felt getting trapped in a small crawling tunnel would be much more threatening to my survival than one I can hide and plot in. After traveling farther and farther down the winding tunnels, a cavern that was a suitable height and length, being rectangular, appeared in front of me, and I took it as a camp.
Situating was easy, I quickly mined iron and set up an empty canister of bottled gas, or called by me, a full canister of bottled gases. I smiled to myself and bit my lip at an attempt to hide it, feeling guilty for letting my guard down, in a strange way. I also felt a different feeling. It felt distant, but the air filled with my uncertain mood, making it unbreathable to any more pleasant feelings.
My canister's lid made a small noise as it hit the back, and I quickly made sure the transport route of the water be clear, and the fastest. Water tasted delicious, and some of the uncertain feelings turned to regret and nostalgia from a time where I took water and sleep for granted, and barely did either how much I was recommended to, especially the latter.
In the old days I didn't have to worry if my doom would be to a lack of food, water, or sleep. Then I only worried about the more experimental things, like blood loss, diseases, and lava. There was no need to worry about other things, as I slept like all others, massive bodies of fresh water surrounded us, and the places I lived were prosperous.
Thoughts ran through my head and blazed dangerous trails, the plans of action carefully laid in front. Out of other options, I decided the best I could do to distract myself was explore the land of electronic technology one that required the manual work of setting a hub, and I as always was desperate to put my hands up to a fleeting task. With chips reminiscent of the efforts I had just done to create a divot in the ground which would comfortably house the electronic device. Now as long as I don’t create a new one, a hub I mean, I should be connected to anyone who enters, and figure out what people could possibly be saying in the future, if I came back here and checked the logs.
Static-like sound began to emit from my device, growing louder and more obnoxious as the seconds ticked by. I felt at peace with it, but at the same time the striking contrasts felt like pieces in a puzzle that fit together, but had images that could never flow together. My ears began to feel as if they too were buzzing as loudly as the device, but finally as it reached a pitch of ear-bleeding horrors, it paused.
With the quietness feeling returned yet filled, I let down my guard and enjoyed the presence of noise. All of a sudden clarity in the form of humanity's call rang through the empty room, surprising me with how sudden it was.
The words came out in a strong connection, saying, "'And after I've waited out the darkest hours of the night, I'll get moving-'" rang out momentarily in my cavern, and I shuddered in fear. Fuck. These guys are...dangerous. Power radiated off the voice even as it rang in my head. Suddenly the pain of my ankle flooded my vision and I stumbled into the wall. I was terrified, petrified, like never before. My eyes flooded with tears of misery, and I couldn't see anything.
All of a sudden, the sound of stone crumbling loudly sang to the northwestern side which I had turned my back to in search of stability from the walls. Some noise I barely recognized echoed back, but I was blind. I couldn't see past my tears, and the world was gone. I was moving based on nothing but instinct, and my instinct was stop whatever it was that moved from ever doing that again.
Launching into an attack, I grabbed the creature that had made the noise, by the neck. It struggled back and I twisted and put my knee behind the attacker's, and quickly forced it to collapse against a rock, leaving the creature screaming in pain. A pocket knife flew into my fingertips, and I stabbed them in a pressure point. Immediately after I rushed forward and flung my fist straight into the creature's philtrum, pushing it over.
The creature cowered and brought its knee close and boosted itself backward by huddling up and pushing with its not shattered leg. It was useless, I quickly regained the space, the creature underestimating me in all ways. Words of plead seeped from its mouth, but it might as well have been an unknown language for not a drop registered.
It gasped and struggled to breathe as blood filled its mouth, and I felt no pity or sorrow for having caused its inevitable death. There was no way it could recover, it would bleed and suffocate from the very blood that it lost. With precision, I intimidated it to go back towards the corner, and after not too long, I heard the knife in its hand clammer to the ground. It no longer had the power to keep it.
Numbly, I watched the body get eaten away by magic, it leaving the things it did not want. Odd wires and devices, wool, and the knife that it clearly intended to sink into my throat. That wouldn't happen, but it was...honorable and human-like to feel the ever familiar presence of someone thinking you aren't untouchable. No matter how far and obviously incorrect that may be from any remainder of truth.
I had relied on my ankle too much, and it showed itself with no restraints to the now returning and careful side of me. Without any asking, my ankle decided to take me to the floor, and I clumsily followed its orders. The gear remained next to me, and blood was messily everywhere. There were easy ways to make it silent and clean, but I was just focused on killing, and I've personally never seen a killing machine intentionally try to make pretty kills.
I let out my own ragged breaths, shaking, not out of fear, out of pain. It was nasty, and there was no way to overstate it. Although the attacker laid not even a finger on me, scars still formed and pain only grew. My head ached, and the buzzing from my device now seemed annoying. I threw it across the room, happy to remember it wouldn't break, but shocked I'd do it without checking. I know I didn't drink talk much, only a quick sip, and that had never gotten me even close to drunk before, and I wouldn't say I drank solely spirits, but it was a distinguishable part of my messed up diet.
My head felt like it was lit ablaze, rivaling the temperature of the cave in its entirety. I was in pain everywhere, but if I didn't move, that pain would become that of dying, which must be stopped. After gasping and struggling to breathe, I finally concentrated hard enough and got onto my knees. The knife lay before me, and I hesitated on picking it up.
It was true I couldn't waste leaving a weapon here, but it was dripping in blood and looked so…special. As if it was a cherished gift, hand crafted for the user. In a way it reminded me of a ceremonial centerpiece, but although the blade looked perfect, it was sharp. I scooped it up into the palm of my hand, admiring its beauty. Could I really take that away, not only from te owner, but from the world? It didn't deserve to be dented, the blade bent, the hilt dirtied.
I paused and ran my fingers along the side, confused as odd engravings led me along. Should I write it down? Should I pay attention to it? It only made me feel more guilty that there was a message here, though I had no idea what it meant. It could be someone’s goals in life, a promise to a loved one, a message of love, a date, a location, it could be next to anything, I was torn between keeping myself alive and doing the obviously right thing of returning the item.
Soon enough I had to go, but I had an idea. I took out a small glass bottle that contained “paint”, but obviously not the synthetic kind. I instead used only those made from spices and plants. It was a brilliant colour blessed to me by some Isatis tinctoria, I crouched down and carefully applied it, then pressed it onto a page. The idea was that the engraving would be white, while the page, was blue. “櫼 ㅁㄱ걒ㄷㄴ 阿龙四大饿 toi.” appeared on the paper, and I tucked it into my tool belt.
Now I had to run. Too much time was wasted, and I took a second “dose” of the pain reducers and stuffed the knife away as well, in a lovely little hand crafted holder. I struggled up and down the winding tunnels of the caves as if they were of a mansion, and sighed in relief when fresh air whipped around me, the sunlight glowing faintly on my outreached hand. This was beauty, how could I harm it? It needed to be protected, and maybe when I finished this quest, I would bring this beauty to everyone. It would be perfect. I ignored the blood on my hands.
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Lil Fun Fact: This draft was called 7l. No reason, just felt like it.