FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6

All he was hearing was the voice of the motorcycle under him, the roaring of his engine, the exhaust pipe vibrating. He was speeding through the forest, barely giving any attentions to the surroundings. He passed over hills, shallow streams, as fast as he could go without killing himself in the process.

The bike was hard to handle in that terrain, a couple of times he had to dismount and push it out of the snow. Snow that was coming down the sky again, at first gently like a delicate touch, but as he went north and time passed by it became stronger and stronger.

At least, Lewis thought, it was going to hide the trail of the tires, even though it made it harder to move.

At least I'm no longer on foot.

He had to thank his creature for that, and for saving his life. The darkness that he felt from the beginning was a force he could use, ready right there everywhere around him. It was only a matter of sapping into that power.

The creature that lead him to run away and jump of a bridge, that transformed him, was staying quiet, resting. Lewis didn't know why he was calling it darkness, even though it was a destructive power, it was something so peaceful to look at, like small petals slowly drifting in the air without touching or be touched by anything, particles of darkness floating matter-less.

And with that power he killed three men, but he didn't feel bad for that, he had no regrets.

Strange I would have never thought I was so cold-blooded.

That moment he reached an opening in the forest. He was at the top of a slope, looking down north-west. The sun was setting behind the dark clouds and the storm was raging, he couldn't see a thing and the only thing he heard now was the howling of the wind.

He could not go on, there was a chance for him to fall down to his death if he didn't stop until the storm was gone.

Lewis dismounted the bike and put it against a tree just so it was not going to be completely covered in snow. Then he walked back into the forest looking for a shelter, anything in fact that could somewhat protect him from the storm.

He began to feel the cold when strong gusts of wind took all the heat from him. His fur was thick, but not enough to completely protect him, and the temperature was still going down; it wasn't even night yet.

He moved the snow at the base of a tree out of the way, then he curled up against it hugging his own legs and covering his paws with his tail. Everything in order to protect himself from the cold.

After a few moments his stomach grumbled.

Good, now I'm even hungry... and there is nothing I can do about it...

He moaned his desperation another time. Why in the entire world it was him to be hit by every misfortune? Alone, lost, hungry and hunted, nothing more than an animal. It seemed that maintaining his humanity intact was too hard in that violent, hateful world called Radha.

An advanced and civilized world...

He almost laughed, but instantly it was stopped by pain. He completely forgot that he was shot on the side; even though it was just a superficial wound the contractions cause by the laugh were pretty painful.

I'm not in a good shape, am I? Drowned, frozen, shot twice, and now starving... I'm tougher than I though. He realized with a smile.

I'll survive even this, I've gone too far to die now...

As he was closing his eyes he felt the darkness embracing him with its wings, as a mother would have done with his son. He could have stopped it, he had the power to do it, but he let it take care of him.

He fell asleep with his guardian looking after him.

When Lewis re-opened his eyes he was no longer in the forest of Arka, there was no snow and the wind was merely a breeze. The sun shined upon him and the grass.

He was in a plain, short grass and large flat stones covered the ground. It was just a narrow strip of land just a couple of miles in width, after which there was nothing, literally nothing. There was not a sea or a lake on the sides, the ground just ended abruptly leaving just nothing, a dark abyss. It was not the same on the other two directions though, there was still land.

Lewis realized he was onto a natural bridge miles in length, connecting two different landmasses floating themselves into nothingness.

«Where the hell am I?» he whispered to himself, looking around for anything. Then he saw what was going on.

Not so far from him there was a battle raging. The ground was already painted red from the soldiers killed, swords and shields of steel were scattered on the grass along with the corpses of their former owner.

It was not all the free death that captured his eyes though, the real battle was just within two opponents. Lewis was paralyzed by fear.

There was a dragon on the battlefield fighting against a creature that looked exactly like Lewis.

It was a massive beast: black scales on his body, the smallest ones as big as hands, the largest along his back. There were sharp thorns on his spine and tail, but nothing was more fearful than its claws and fangs. It had its wings closed, but those were probably massive too considering its size.

With its purple eyes full of rage it was watching the other creature and trying in any way to kill him. But he was escaping death.

He moved fast and gracefully, evading every attack of the dragon while attacking back with his sword. It went on for a minute or so, then the dragon opened his mouth and freed his fire on the plain. Many men burned alive in seconds, and the creature was right in the middle of the blast.

Lewis thought him dead, but when the flames withered away he was still there standing without a single scratch. He lifted his left hand towards the dragon. A moment later a beam of black and white energy came out of his hand and stroke the dragon full; a roar of pain filled the air.

The dragon did not wait a single moment. His tail moved fast as a whip towards the creature, but before hitting him a ring of energy appeared as a shield, stopping the attack.

The creature had a grin on his face, he knew he was not going to be hurt by such physical attacks. He lifted again his hand, this time to the sky, and a series of lightings began striking the dragon and the ground around it.

That didn't have the expected result: the dragon was not hurt by it, but it stood up still. Then the two of them were captured by a whirlwind of fire the dragon created out of its magic. The flames were so hot and bright that Lewis had to cover his eyes, the ground around them burned to ashes and the stone itself almost melted; the magic was strong in that beast.

Lewis waited for something to happened. It was futile to try to run away, if the dragon won that battle nothing else would have stood in his way.

He couldn't see what was going on inside the whirlwind, but for what it seemed like a long time nothing happened. Then the flames were placated by the creature's magic, but something wasn't right. He was keeling on the ground, not moving, then he suddenly screamed.

The ground was shaken, rocks were shattered. The entire plain began to crumble, then it broke apart and everything fell in the abyss.

With a scream Lewis fell along the rest of the plain. The endless void below swallowing it all. In a few moments solid ground was already too far away, quickly getting out of sight. Alas even the sun disappeared, the light itself was worthless down there. Lewis was falling in the dark.

There was nothing there, nothing that could end his fall, nothing to see or feel on his fur. It was a strange way to die. Stuck in the void he had no way to say if he was still falling, where up and down were. It was like being in space, without gravity, but in complete darkness.

Damned to rot in this hell... No way to escape...

A flash of light. He saw the outlines of the dragon and the creature still fighting in the distance, falling with him, then he saw them no more.

I'm dying.

«Just take my hand...»

Lewis looked above himself, the voice came from there.

«Don't you want to see a dawn again?»

A creature of light was above him, his hand reaching down for him. He could not see his face nor the rest, he didn't have a shape of matter, it was just light.

«You will lose yourself, you'll lose this fight...»

Lewis lifted his hand, but it was too slow. He came so close to take his hand, but his fingers slipped away from his reach. The terror was in his eyes as he fell.

He looked down, there was something approaching fast. In the end there was a floor to that pit of darkness. At first it looked like loose soil of a dark shade, but as he got closer and closer it became obvious it was not solid. It was a lake.

Lewis fell right into it. He hit hard on its surface of black water, but he did survive, and gasping for air he swam back up. He brought out his head from the water and stayed afloat. A strange and disgusting smell filled the air, birds squawking not far above him, only then he noticed the water was somewhat warm and sticky.

He realized - he would have never forgot the fear he felt that moment - when he saw the inhuman corpses of his brethrens rotting in the water and blood, their flesh and fur putrefying eaten by the crows, half sunk in that hellish lake, around him. They were too many to bear.

«NOOOO!!»

His cry of terror was real, when he opened his eyes he found himself back in the forest, still screaming, his whole body shivering without control.

He cried.

It was just a nightmare, just an horrible dream. It didn't look like one, it was so real...

He had stopped crying in a while, but after that he just stood there lying on the snow, like a hurt animal. The tree he was leaning against before falling asleep was now broken in two, the top part fell on the ground.

He used his magic while he was sleeping, unconsciously, as a natural reflex to his fear. The signs of it were all over the place, from the many black shards stuck in the wood to the striped snow. It was all like the first time, except this time he had no chance to stop his power.

If this is what happens when I'm having a bad dream, then my power is far greater, far more destructive than I ever thought.

He got up on his feet, shaking off the snow from his clothes. The storm was gone, that morning the sky was blue again, but it didn't matter a lot to Lewis. Bat weather it meant it was harder to run, instead a good one it meant it was easier for his pursuers to find him.

At least yesterday I went a long way... They'll have a hard time finding me now...

His belly growled again, now he was even more hungry than the evening before. His stomach was in pain, he was feeling weak. He needed to eat soon if he wanted to continue with his travel to the north.

He pulled out the knife from his pocket, watching it closely enough to see his own eye reflected on the blade. The red shape of it reminded him what he truly was. At this point trying to maintain his humanity intact it was just a selfless matter, what was the point in negating that? He was an animal in the end; a hungry animal hunts.

Lewis readied his body, it was not going to be an easy task, but he was sure he would have done it.

He smelled the air in search for anything, lifting his ears to the faintest sound that could reveal the presence of an animal nearby. He walked a little bit back into the forest, as quiet as he could, sneaking between the trees. He remember he saw a couple of animals the days before, roaming the wood: some small ones like foxes and white rabbits, even a deer at once. They all run away to his presence though, and at the time he wasn't hungry so he had no intention to harm them.

Now he was hunting for them. Even though Lewis never hunt anything before in his life, he was answering the his instincts. He could feel the right way to move not to be spotted by his prey, he was using all the animal features of his new body to help him in his needs.

He spent twenty minutes looking around without finding anything, moving slowly, at some point even on all fours when he thought he had a lead on something.

Then he saw it out of the corner of his eye: a small glimpse of a movement, but he caught it nonetheless. It was a rabbit; almost impossible to see in the snow with his long white fur, but Lewis saw his ear moving. Now he was watching the animal intently, without moving a muscle. It didn't saw him yet.

Now, slowly and steady...

He sneaked towards it, readying his jaws, it was just a few meters away. Once he was close enough he would have jumped on it, he was already devouring it with his eyes.

He waited the right moment, then he leaped.

The rabbit heard him the last moment and it jumped out of his reach, Lewis was almost able to grab it, but it moved too fast and he couldn't catch it. Now it was running away.

«Oh NO!» Lewis growled in anger, going after him. «You're not going to run away!»

It was fast, jumping and running from his predator, it knew it was a matter of life. Lewis knew that too, for that he was not giving in; the chase was exciting in a way he never felt before. But he was going to lose that, he wasn't fast enough to catch him: every second it put more space between them.

Lewis didn't think twice what to do. The power he needed was there ready to be used.

He used his magic again, this time only to catch that animal, reaching with his hand forward. A shadow came out of it, stretching like a fiber or a tentacle, moving like a snake jumping to catch his prey. It stretched instantly towards his target, piercing through it sharp as a knife.

Lewis then used the tentacle of darkness to lift up the rabbit and bring it to him. When he grabbed it he ended his magic and the darkness disappeared in smoke. Now he had his prey captured, bleeding on his black fur, already dead.

The darkness helps me again...

He was looking at that little animal thinking, but his belly remembered him why he was hunting in the first place.

Right... I have to eat...

His stomach was caught in a vice of disgust. How was he supposed to eat that? He had no way to cook the meat, he could not just eat it raw either. He was disgusted by the idea. To chew the flesh still warm ripped by the little corpse it seemed too much to him.

He had no other choice. He was hungry and there was food right in his hands.

He used his knife to skin it of the fur. Then he bit and ripped the flesh, swallowing it in a few moments in order not to taste it. He was disgusted beyond every limit, but he eat it all. He left only the bones half chewed and those bit he couldn't have eaten without throwing up.

When he finished his snout was soaked in blood and he used the snow to clean it.

Never again... I'd rather starve than to this again...

With his belly full he returned to where he left the motorbike, right near the slope. Now that the weather was clear he could see the entire view around him.

Behind him there was the mountain range of Narsa, a few hundred kilometers away, large and massive with his grey peaks. There was nothing for him that way, it was dangerous and hard to cross the mountains, and on the other side there were just more mountains and nothingness.

In front of him the forest stretched itself until the horizon north and south, but right on the west he could see the dark blue ocean. North-west he could see a grey stain that interrupted the forest, a city without any doubt.

A place to stay away from... Although...

He saw something that could have proved to be useful to him. The bike he stole was not going to work for much long, at some point the it would have run out of fuel.

But a train could help me get to the northern wasteland in no time at all. And it seems like the railway it's just a few kilometers away from here.

That was his next objective. His road to safety.