The Runaway Maverick

Chapter 1 -The Destruction

Beads of a cold sweat began to formulate on my brow as I hid. Cowering under the canvas of dusk's gloom, I held my breath frighted to make a single; meager sound.

All of my thoughts resonated with just one single question, how could something so vile exist?

Despite my grief, a snarling hunger gnawed at my insides starved, bitter and impatient. I had forgotten to eat. Realizing the weight of my foolishness, reality settled in.

I had made a dire mistake that could cost me my life.

Grumble.

My stomach had commenced groaning loudly. Suddenly the world became silent as the panicked thudding of my heart rate rung through my ears. The deafening beating flooded my brain with my own whimpers.

'Stop! Please! They'll find me! ' Biting my lip only slightly tightened my resolve but it held till the moaning subsided.

Did they know where I was? Frigid with despair I continued watching the scene that lay ahead of me.

I soon felt my eyes start dampen with the spilling of tears. They were going to find me and I was helpless to stop it. There was no way they couldn't have noticed!

As if on cue with my jittering, the beast's head raised sniffing in clouds of ash; observing its surroundings, it had definitely heard me! No doubt about it. It was searching.

Sharp, stinging pangs of fear hummed throughout my bones as my once racing heart halted. It was going to find me.

I couldn't repeat it enough in my mind. 'It knew, It knew where I was! '

Quickly my thoughts turned to my imagination: I was tumbling into death's twisted embrace. His icy grip would soon grasp my soul in an oblivion of torture. I could see it all.

The droning of my mindless babbling of fright was startlingly interrupted by an impatient, dry, arid voice rumbling "Where is it?".

A boundless cavern of pooling black aura began swallowing me as it poisoned the air. All the oxygen in my lungs soon dissipated.

My stomach fell at the stench of burning flesh contaminating the skies further with each passing second.

Barely able to hear the hushed whispers from afar I could make out some syllables of the frail creatures words as it taunted Tanno, the leader of the village elders, a man beyond sixty summers old, and a man I had known my entire life.

Biting my lip harder I resisted my urge to scream and cry as I watched the inevitable become apparent.

He was going to die and I would be all alone.

The man who had pried me from my mothers womb, the man who had been with my family in comfort when we mourned her death; the man who guided us through the dark was bound to-

'no. No. No! '

"Liar! Liar!" squealed the venomous minion poised just left of the savage demon. The skeleton slim frame of the withered figure lurched forward towards the elder and hissed something in his ear...

Something I couldn't hear.

Paling I knew whatever had been said had been horrid as Tanno's face twisted into what could only be described as terror.

The beast's gaze had long since stopped its search for me due to the distracting and thickening tension between its companion and the man. Unable to tare my eyes from the beloved elder, my duty was the only thing that gave me the will to remain hidden.

Why did this have to happen?

A deep glow of red tore through the dark allowing me to see the entirety of the scene ahead of me including more detail of the vile beast that I will never be able to forget.

Obsidian fur, onyx talons and plasma red wings dealt the fate of the village elder. It held his bleeding form above a wild; spitting flame, slowly cooking him alive.

His horrifying screams resembled the cry of a raven being plucked of its wings.

Silent sobs wracked my body as I hugged my frame never once moving my eyes from the devastating scene unfolding ahead. I was so useless.

"I don't know!" rasped Tanno as his flesh began to boil and burn above the fire. The blistered skin slowly popped and hissed as the smaller, twisted creature grimaced at the elders response.

Time moved slow for but a moment as the snake-like skeleton waved his gnarled hand upwards. Almost on cue the beast sneered tossing the elder in the air catching him in his mouth with a loud silencing crunch.

Everything became a blur within that single instant and I knew I was going to be sick.

He was gone.

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That was two days ago. The day that everyone in my village perished.

Still shaking at ruins of my destroyed home I had, had to wait till they had left to even move one inch. But when I did I could feel the vile bubbling in my throat.

Vomiting, I gasped in between each onslaught for breath, my joints like jelly. Everyone was gone and I was the only one left.

I alone was abandoned with a duty and a purpose to fulfill.

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It was daybreak by the time the flames had hushed into a small quiet sizzling and the duo of hell had long since departed. Aching, hungry and traumatized I smoothed my thumb over the rock in my pocket and undertook my new life consuming trek.

There was nothing left for me in this world but keeping this sacred stone safely out of reach of the darkness. Instinctively my mind began to click into survival mode just as Fa had taught me.

Nothing in the village was left untouched, my home was now just ashes. Even so there was no way I would have been able return to the graves of my people not without falling prey to my own peril.

I couldn't stomach seeing their corpses, not ever. I would have to hunt for meat and scavenge for water on the way in compensation.

As I began my journey I headed North following the shadow of the sun just as Fa had instructed prior to the destruction.

I still didn't understand how or why he knew it was coming. Did he condemn every else to death? Why was I the only one he prepared?

"f**k it all" was but a raspy mutter under my breath.

I couldn't continue to question him further after all he was dead. All I had to do now was somehow survive and keep this godforsaken oval rock safe.

No matter what I would never allow them to get it!