THE TRANSITION: The Lost Maximus

1. DAWN

Sun rays filtered through the trees, birds flew overhead and the muddy track was filled with a sheet of light fog.

A squirrel scurried past while a light breeze blew softly rustling the leaves of the forest. Pine trees were a common site in that particular part of the forest making the place have a natural mint-scented like aroma.

Daryl was still reeling in from the events that had happened in the past few months. He was now an orphan. Being the only child in his family and with no known relatives, his family's bloodline was threatening to come to a staggering end.

He had been travelling for hours on end now, with no clue whatsoever to where he was headed. Nobody had crossed paths with him and it was beginning to unnerve him. He was only a fifteen year old boy living a normal life until his parents left him at Port Ravnacourt, cold hungry and stranded.

When he went back to their mansion which was located at the base of Mount Carpe Diem, he found the federals had flooded the place. Their neighbors had agreed to take him in for sometime till a solution was found. The drunken man of the house literally threw him out after a month, with only a light blanket and a trinket of water to keep him going.

Now here he was, a month later, in the middle of a desolate forest with no clue as to where he was headed. Only his instincts had kept him alive in the jungle. He removed his trinket and took a sip of the cool water to relieve his dry throat and looked around him, he needed something to eat, and fast, otherwise his frail body wouldn't take the hunger anymore.

Luckily for him, a small hare peeped out from the base of a large fallen oak tree covered with moss and algae. This was his only chance. He carefully removed a small knife he had managed to snatch at a local market back in Carpe Diem. He then cut a pine branch and made a projectile point at one end, then sat to wait for the rabbit to come out. After ages of sitting and almost giving up, the rabbit showed up. It slowly came out of the hole, first sniffing around whilst its ears were twitching to capture any sound movements. Due to the light fog, it had a hard time seeing Daryl who was crouched at a strategic angle eagerly waiting for the right moment to strike.

In one swift motion, Daryl threw his improvised arrowhead towards the rabbit. It gave a small squeak and fell to the ground before breathing its last. Without further ado, Daryl started to skin his catch, split it into two halves and hang one half on a moist pine tree branch. He then collected branches, but most of them were dump. Using two stones he tried to light them up to no avail, after a frustratingly long time, the tiniest spark was able to set one of the branches aflame. The small flame caught on after a few minutes. Bitter smoke filled his lungs and he coughed out with a frown etched onto his face.

Using two fork shaped sticks he was able to make a makeshift grill and started to roast his rabbit meat, trying his best to ignore all the smoke his dump firewood was producing. After almost twenty minutes of turning the rabbit over the tiny fire, there was no more dripping blood on the rabbit and Daryl gobbled up the half of the rabbit, whether it was half cooked or not, he didn't care. He felt a little bit relieved as he now had something to keep his digestive system busy. His stomach wouldn't growl angrily at him for a while he thought as he started his preparations to leave.

After the said 'satisfying' meal, Daryl wrapped up his remaining rabbit meat into a small torn piece of his blanket and resumed his walk with renewed energy. But fate had other plans in store for him. First, he heard low purr, then it got louder and louder. Slowly, Daryl turned around only to find a very weird looking animal staring menacingly at him. It had extended fangs with slit eyes and the body of a tiger only that this had what looked like letters embedded in its black stripes. Its tail slashed back and forth, and it had tiny spikes at the end of it.

He was surprised for a minute before his instincts took over. Only one thought entered Daryl's mind, run. And that is what he exactly did. He ran like he had never before, but he could still feel the animal's feet padding behind him and it was getting close. Daryl was becoming weak and he knew it, the small rabbit might have given him some energy but it was not even close enough to help him flee from a primal and hungry jungle cat.

Bit by bit he could feel himself slipping, but he urged himself forward. He could see a cliff in front of him but his vision was becoming hazy. With one last effort, he lurched himself forward. His mind was screaming at him to come to a stop but he wasn't letting an animal have him as an early evening snack.

Daryl threw himself at the edge of the cliff. He could feel himself falling. His mind had entered a state of frenzy and his vision was becoming exceedingly blurry. It looked like all his fifteen years were coming to an end. Then he started to think about swords in his never ending descent. The hard ground was coming closer and closer. He could hear his hammering heart in his chest. Panic set in and his breath was running short making him gasp for air. Then the earth was right in his face followed by total darkness.