Emerging from a sleep that felt like an eternity, I struggled to open my eyes. A bright, relentless light pierced through the haze, turning the world into a gray blur.

  Gradually, the haze lifted. My eyes adjusted to the light, and my other senses slowly returned, as if it were natural, not just the constant tingling I had grown used to. I became aware of something wrapped around my body, pinning me in place, or so it felt. Looking down, I reached out and touched the unfamiliar, soft fabric of a green poncho draped over me.

  Blinking against the harsh sunlight, I slowly raised my eyes, squinting at something. There was a figure standing before me, clad in black-plated armor accented with purple cloth. A sallet helm obscured his eyes, making his intentions unreadable

  At his side hung an ornate black axe, its golden edge catching the eye. A purple gem sat at its center, casting a faint glow, whether from the sun or from its own. His sheathed sword had a handle carved in the likeness of a bat, its wings forming the handguard, the blade emerging menacingly from its mouth with its legs being the grip, its feet the pommel.

  Strapped to his back was a massive kite shield. Painted deep purple, adorned with a black bat whose red eyes glared fiercely. Seeing a man like that makes you want to hide. All I could do was pressing myself against the tree as I tried to crawl away from his sight. There was nothing that could change my mind. After being finally outside. Why was someone like him here?

  Looking at him longer, it became more noticeable how wrong he looked.That armor of his looked more like a prison than something for protection, the helmet seamlessly fused with the plated ensemble, leaving no trace of humanity visible. With his arms crossed and his stance unreadable, I still felt his unseen gaze bore into me, striking something deep within my core, even without visible eyes. Why does he keep standing so still it’s as if he is a part of the land.

  Then, unexpectedly, he extended a hand toward me. I braced myself, certain he would drag me back. But his gesture was... welcoming. I could only look at his hand. My entire body was frozen. What could I do in that moment? I had almost escaped. What will happen now?

  His voice broke through all of my thoughts. It was cheerful and incongruous even with his imposing presence. ’Well, my dear boy, no handshake?’ His tone disarmingly warm. Almost unnatural for how he looked. Yet it did its trick. It felt warm even with my body trying to cool down. My mind should be dead then why did it warm up with some sort of hope.

  I hesitated, my hand inching slowly toward his. When I was close, he reached out, grabbing my hand with his cold armored glove that was unexpectedly supple, his grip firm yet gentle. Despite the tension between us a small, disbelieving smile tugged at my lips, was it a reaction to the sheer absurdity of the moment?

  I rasped, my throat dry, my voice barely more than a whisper. ’What’s happening?’ Wait did it come out clearly, how?

  The man paused his handshake, tilting his head slightly as though considering my question. After an uncomfortable pause, he resumed the handshake. Silence stretched between us. Then, with a sudden burst of cheer, he broke it. ’What’s happening you say, well my dear boy? Well, why of course I’m giving you a handshake, can’t you tell my boy.’

  His voice brimmed with enthusiasm, an incongruous warmth radiating from his imposing figure like an oven using its heat to warm people in the winter, rooted like a statue. Yet when his body was still his arms moved different. It was almost as he was wailing his arms around. Am I still dreaming, am I still in the tunnels? That was the only thing that I could get through my head.

  ’But... why?’ I ventured, trying to make my voice strong, I tried, I failed at it. As I looked at him.

  His voice rang out with a startling brightness. It was as if his words themselves had a life of their own, words that bounced around in his armor waiting to get out of the narrow slits from his helm. ’I came here for a contract. A Fiend, it should have been somewhere around here?’

  His words were just strange to listen to as if something tried to be what he was not. He kept looking around as if trying to find the thing he was talking about.

  He released my hand after looking around. continuing without hesitation as if he had never broken the silence to begin with almost forgetting that there was any silence to begin with. ″Well, my dear boy, as I am stuck to you know since I don’t see any fiend or other people. Then I guess I am obliged to help you. I am Albaras. With a little bow to introduce himself keeping his hand at his chest. ’And who might you be and what brings you here in this field of hunt?’

  My stomach rumbled, the hunger growing louder than my desire to remain silent in the presence of his massive, unknown frame. ’I am just hungry.’ I admitted softly, unable to ignore the gnawing ache anymore. How long was it that I got some real food.

  Albaras took a small step back as if shocked with this reveal, then spoke with casual assurance. ’I see my boy, don’t you worry. I’ve already placed some things beside you for if you woke up and I was away defeating the fiend of these lands.’

  He didn’t seem offended by my lack of response to his question. Instead, he brushed it off, as if my hesitation was of no consequence to him. His focus was already on something else but what it could be, only he himself would now with that hidden body.

  I quickly devoured the simple meal of bread smeared with crushed fruit. Even something this simple was already a dream meal. Its red color made it look like blood, but it tasted sweet. There were also handful of assorted nuts. A little bit disappointed in it. There was no meat as well, something my mind wouldn’t get away from. As I ate, I realized that the food went down smoothly, a welcome relief though I wondered how it could go down so easily. I washed it down with a flask of water already half empty. The cool liquid easing the food stream down my throat. As the hunger subsided, I had the feeling I could talk normal again, no rasp in my throat, no hunger clinging to my words: ’Thank you for the food, sir.’ I paused, unsure whether to reveal my name, ’I’m Kian, sir.’

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  At the mention of my name, Albaras paused, his attention shifting to the sea. He’s hunting me. He must have been. His gaze lingered for a moment; it felt like ages. ’You don’t need to call me ′sir′ that’s for knights, and I’m no knight, haven’t been for gods how long. I’m a hunter, my boy just call me Albaras.’ His cheer in his voice softened yet it still lingered in it. It was almost impossible to sound something different than cheerful.

  As he moved past me, I turned to see what he was going to do. What is going to... I found myself nearly face-to-face with a horse, its large, inquisitive eyes staring back at me. I jolted back, falling into the sand next to the tree. I kept my eyes on the horse. Forgetting Albaras as the only image that was now in my mind was the horse, how it crept up on me. this massive horse looked like it had enough room to carry two riders. Its black coat shimmered with streaks of red, and its stark white mane and tail made it even more striking. I crawled back, catching sand everywhere into the poncho. It felt more like digging than escaping. My breath quickened, and I glanced up at Albaras, who stood calmly, completely unfazed by the imposing animal. I tried to think of something happy to calm down, but my mind went blank. Nothing. ’Calm down, boy.’ Albaras put his hand on the horse.

  I wanted to stay quiet, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking, ‘Is that... your horse?’ My voice carried more strength than before, a subtle effect of the food and water, the shock of the horse seemed somehow to help with it as well. Albaras′ easygoing demeanor had slowly worn down my unease and with a small surge of adrenaline, it felt like I could finally speak normally again.

  ’Of course, he is my boy.’ Albaras started to pet his horse, his cheer returning to full force. ’he has been with me for as long as I can remember. He meant more to me than most people ever did. He’s a friend. What do you think, my dear boy? That there was just a wild horse standing behind you just waiting to scare you?’ He chuckled, his tone light andreassuring.

  With a sweeping gesture, he pointed at the animal. The horse looked at his finger before turning its gaze back to me. ″This is Emachigo. A special breed, though I don’t quite remember on how I earned it.

  Albaras tossed a canteen to me, which I caught awkwardly, the weight surprising me. ’It’s filled with water. You’ll need it for your journey.’ he added while tucking some food into a small pouch. ’Here are some rations. It’s a long road ahead, so don’t eat it all at once, my dearest boy.’

  As I examined the canteen and pouch of food, anxiety gnawed at me. How am I supposed to survive in the wild when I know nothing about it? I wondered, my grip tightening around the canteen.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Albaras muttering to himself. I couldn’t make out what he said, his gaze fixed on the tunnel leading to the sea. Suddenly, he spoke, his words cutting through my spiraling thoughts as if he’d read my mind. 'You’re a natural survivor, my dear boy. Trust me, you’ll learn quickly.'

  He took a seat beside me, his gaze steady on the horizon where the sea met the sky. I watched him warily, feeling the weight of my uncertainty pressing down. Before leaving, I had to know. Swallowing hard, I steadied myself, my voice trembled. Everything felt just right enough to ask, but asking it felt... horrible. He already helped me, given me provisions for a small journey. ″Can I come with you for a little while? ″

  Albaras stood up, walking into the sunshine his outlines glowing a light yellow from the sun. Looking down at me, his voice bright as if he had absorbed the sun now hidden behind him. ’My boy, you want to follow a hunter back to his lodge. Weak-minded folk cannot survive such a journey, and I have other contracts that I need to finish quick like the sea breeze once we are gone from this place.’

  I could only look up at him, his presence blocking every other view. ’I just said I want to travel with you for a little while, not permanently.’

  He ignored me, continuing: ’Don’t fret, my dear boy I will protect you from the dangers of our contract. I’ll teach you how to hunt, how to survive, and how to live off the land without the aid of civilization.’

  I wanted to refuse, to walk my own path and disappear. I couldn’t. If there was one hunter here, more would follow for the contract, and they might be not as friendly as this man. As I thought of the best possible way. I realized that there was one choice I could make, just one desperate choice. I could either take my chances with this block of iron or hope to see no one again for a long time. ’When will we go.’

  The only thing that came out of him was a laugh. As he walked away, the sun shined directly into my eye before I could close them put put my hand in front of it instead. ’Wise choice.’ Laughing while saying it. ’Who knows what would’ve happened if you tried to go out alone. if I hadn’t saved you from the tunnels. If I didn’t try to heal you back up. Who knows if someone else found a child like you out here.’ He scooped me up from behind and placed me on Emachigo. The horse’s powerful frame beneath me felt steady, almost grounding.

  ’All right then.’ He concluded, a determined edge to his voice. ’No point in waiting around. Let’s get you to your new home.’

  Albaras mounted up. I sat in the front while he sat in the back. Despite all that armor, it looked like it didn’t hinder his movement one bit almost like a spider crawling over a wall. How can he move like that? Before riding off he did something unexpected. He put another poncho around me. A black color one that now mingled with the dark green one. It was almost as if he tried to hide me on his horse as if I was a giant package. He held the reins—steady—just as he had stood before me.

  I could only nod slowly as the rest was hidden and wrapped in the ponchos, I felt secure, safe. But the thoughts didn’t disappear They whispered that he would betray mesooner or later. I pushed it away and as I did, they start calling me a disappointment, a mistake that doesn’t listen to himself. To silence the doubt, I said one thing: ’Thank you... for doing this.’ It was hard to let it out, but I did. Even if it was just a whisper.

  Albaras shrugged, his tone casual but firm. ’It’s no trouble, boy. Helping strays like you is all part of the job my dear boy. Besides.’ giggling between words. ’Your better company than the fiends I’ve had, now go to sleep, you’ll need it and it will be a long ride.’

  As we left the beach behind, the rhythmic crash of waves faded, replaced by the murmurs of the dense forest ahead. I cast one last glance over my shoulder at the receding shore, where the remnants of my old life dissolved into the place where I had grown up. The memories clung to me like sand, stubborn and inescapable, but I tried to shake them off. Maybe this will be for the best, I thought, forcing myself to grasp at the fragile thread of hope. A new life awaited.

  I tried to steady my breathing, the horse’s rhythmic gait beneath me acting as a subtle anchor. Albaras’ calm presence behind me was oddly reassuring, his steady confidence seeping into my own. As the trees closed in around us, their shadows whispering of untold challenges, a spark within me ignited. I would need to learn quickly, to adapt to the wild and carve out a place in this strange new reality. Learn how to kill.