20 June 2012
Rax dashed through the rain as lightning shattered the sky and thunder boomed through the forest. He ran and ran and ran. They were coming, he could sense it. They were getting closer. The trees whispered his fate, teasing and taunting him. "Why me?" he whispered back to them, the tracks of his tears mixing with the rain splattered across his face. He hadn't done anything wrong! All he wanted was to save his tribe. Was that too much to ask?
He heard them now, the Gisni, official guards and police officers of Prison Six. He hated them for all they stood for. They grunted as they chased him, slashing their way through the dense vegetation sprawling across the forest floor. He grew frantic, searching for a sturdy tree to climb. Then, he saw one. A great big oak with lots of strong branches bursting from all sides of a thick trunk. He scrambled up and waited, panting.
"Where is the little thief?" a guard growled "If I knew," snapped a second, "I wouldn't be out here searching for him would I?" They continued to grumble as they searched for him, not knowing he was a mere two meters above their heads. They sliced the vegetation beneath them with long, curved swords, designed for making a quick, clean cut.
Rax thought about what would happen if they caught him. About what would happen to the tribe. He knew they could survive without him but for how long? He knew Indie could raise the baby without him but for how long? He was their best hunter and provided many ways to gain food and money for them. Like the cure.
He had heard information about it but didn't let the others know in case it was all a wild goose chase. He remembered the day he set out was a glorious summers day, as if the sun wanted him to prevail with his quest. He felt guilty leaving Indie and his first and only son, Racko without a proper explanation. All they knew was that he was going. He set off, tramping through the Kullsakka swamp. It was full of marsh fires that lead poor, unsuspecting creatures to the deep depths of the swamp. No one knew what happened once the fires lead you down, they just knew you never came back.
He travelled across swamps, forests, mountains, valleys and everything in between to get to the other side. The 'City'. He did not know what mysteries this city had bar one; the cure. The legends said that it would save all humanity from the disease, the life claiming, soul wrenching monster; Cancer.
The Cure - Chpt. 1 • Opuss № I