Only Human

Viers was stalking the woods; he moved from cover to cover. He kept his head down, eyes and ears open. The boy made some effort to be hidden from view, or at least to not be in the open. He didn't want to make it easy for his pursuers to hunt him.

He also kept an eye out for potential food or danger. He ate a few apple-like fruits he found earlier, it didn't satisfy his hunger but it would have to do. In the woods he saw bugs and animals and recognized some of them. They were mostly alike of their counterpart from Earth. They were few and far between but he found two strange animals. A bird with four wings, its head was made of stone, and a doe surrounded with blue mists that followed it like a cloak.

'Monsters, different kind from normal animals… fortunately, they showed no interest in me. I was quite far but they seemed to notice me, they fucking looked at me! Maybe because I have no hostility? Or because they are not carnivores? If I meet one I'm doomed... but what else can I do? I need to get to that hill, I need a vantage point.'

From the river cave exit, Viers couldn't see past the tree line. He didn't know where he was and couldn't see where he should go. After fighting the helplessness in his heart, he decided to go to higher ground. He hoped he could find some clue to where he should go.

The woods were thick enough with greenery to make Viers's wayfinding difficult. The trees were around ten meters tall with only single trunk straight up and no low branches. This made Viers's idea to tree climb like an AC game protagonist, short-lived.

'C'mon Viers think positive, getting lost in the woods full of the unknown with possible robbers wanting to gut you, is an excellent motivator to lose weight! I must be three kilos thinner by now, I only need to lose seventeen more.' Viers was feeding his motivation with the unwanted fat in his body as he kept on walking to the hill.

When the sun shined from the crown of his head, Viers arrived at his destination. He didn't climb to the top, the midway had enough elevation for Viers to had visual past the tree line.

'Reached it at last, what a day... and it's not even done. So thirsty, the water from the fruit helps but it's not enough. I nipped fruits and quite a lot of berries, I hope they are not poisonous... God, I miss civilization, even the medieval ones are fine...'

'Oh Viers, stop whining man. You are a big guy, right? What happened to your resolution this morning? This is nothing compared to the hardships that awaits you! How do you expect to become strong with a whiner attitude? C'mon, get those chin up, be a man and move forward, one step at a time.'

The better part of himself gave a voice of reason in his mind. 'Alright, back to business, time to scout and get the hell out of these woods.' Thought Viers as he slapped his cheeks with his hands to psyched himself out of his negative mindset.

The landscape before him unfurled before his eyes.

'That's the river, the only one in the woods. The river is coming from the direction of sunrise, east. The caravan's journey was already more than half finished, Luxore town should be in the general direction of north-west from here... is that a hut? Good, in the same direction to Luxore! Hunter's hut or an outpost? Whatever, I will visit it along the way... Wow, my eyesight really is getting better, it's like I don't need glasses anymore. Is it because of the flower?'

With a clear sight to his destination, Viers's spirit went up. 'Based on the distance, can I reach it before nightfall? Should I- Hm!!?'

Viers sensed something; a chill behind the nape of his neck, a sharp feeling of immediate danger. Viers moved his body instinctively, leaped to the left unconcerned by the fact he would hug the dirt by doing so. He was startled when a red ball of fiery plasma passed the place he was standing just moments ago.

The fiery projectile missed him and hit a tree trunk with the thickness of his body not far behind him. The blast from the impact had minimal damage to Viers because he was facing down to the ground with his hands protecting his head.

After two seconds, he looked at the direction of his attacker. Three figures, one wore a mage garb, another with a bow and arrow aimed at him, the last one Viers recognized, the one who lunged at him at the encampment. The distance between them and Viers was about thirty meters.

'They found me, shit! Did they manage to track me? I can't outrun them... have to fight, fight dirty and savagely! I must not die here! I will not DIE!'

He steeled his heart for the coming battle then rose up.

An arrow came at him, he managed to dodge to the side. With the distance between them Viers could see the timing when the arrow was released. The third man took out his knife and came running at him. Viers made preparations to receive him.

'He's only human, only human... humans are full of vulnerabilities and can be killed! Kill him! Kill him! Kill or be killed!'

Viers ran to the side, to stay stationary wouldn't be good he thought. The bowman let loose another arrow but Viers managed to dodge it just barely as it flew past his head. He looked at the mage and he seemed to be readying another spell. The charging man was upon him now, three meters in front. The thin man's face was stern and fierce like a charging tiger.

Viers crouched his body, grabbed a fistful of dirt and scattered them in from of the knife man. His plan worked. The aggressor yelped with an alarming sound. Viers knew he had to capitalize on this chance because a three-on-one was a bad thing for him. His next action was to sidestep; his hands took a boxer's guard stance as a precaution against his knife and use his leg to trip the attacking man. The man fell face-first to the ground.

'Got him! Must be vicious, must be quick, kill! Viers thought as his head filled with bloodlust.'

The knife man lay on the ground dazed for a few seconds because of the fall, Viers used this opportunity to end a threat to his life. He grabbed his knife and plunged it to his neck with his body weight behind his thrust. A gurgling sound escaped the man's mouth, followed with a mouthful of blood. His eyes were wide open, full of fear and disbelief.

Viers wasn't thinking of remorse or guilt; he was thinking that he must move his body before the bowman and the mage hit him with their long-range attacks. He yanked the knife from the fatally injured man and looked at the situation.

The bowman had gotten much closer. The bowman shortened the distance to increase the accuracy of his arrows while the mage remained stationary but his spell was almost complete.

"Jason!! You little bastard gonna pay for that!" Roared the bowman with fury.

'Have to get closer to them… moving away from them will only giving them free shots at me! The bowman first! I can't just charge straight at him, I must make a little window to push through…'

Viers picked up a rock to throw at the bowman, but as he threw, he created an opening for the bowman to shoot an arrow. The projectile hit his right shoulder, while Viers's stone missed its target.

The wound made him let out a painful grunt, yet he ran straight at his attacker, Viers was not willing to give him a chance to reload. 'That stone throw was a bad move, thankfully the arrow wound isn't fatal. I have to get to him no matter what!' Viers ran as fast as he could.

During the run, Viers used his arms as a shield, ready to be sacrificed if the need arises. Because of his anger, the bowman only targeted Viers's head. The first he managed to dodge. For the second arrow, he had to receive it using his right arm or his head would suffer a puncture wound. The arrowhead could be seen coming out the other side of his arm.

When Viers reached him, the bowman already prepared to shoot his next arrow. In that heated moment, Viers targeted his crotch. With a kick Viers hit his target, a painful scream went out from the bowman. His arm lost strength thus failed to shoot his arrow.

Before Viers could think, a fireball was coming. Viers, without having the time to dodge, human-shield choked the bowman so he received the fiery wrath first. The explosion just in front of him made Viers black out for a split second. He managed to weather the majority of the damage while the bowman's chest became a mangled flesh and organs. The archer's face suffered severe burns, he was no longer alive.

Viers left arm suffered the most damage. Because of the chokehold, his left arm was exposed to the fire. His face singed, body sore all over, clothes charred. The fireball threw Viers back and rolling on the ground for two meters before he stopped. In the process, the knife fell from his grasp and the arrow embedded to his arm broke its shaft.

'It hurts… it hurts, but I am still breathing… I've to get the last one... He must DIE!'

Still disoriented but Viers slowly rose up. Viers' form resembled a burned undead rising from the grave. His eyes unfocused, but still managed to find his target. The mage had a fearful look on his face but he calmed himself and started to prepare another spell.

At first, Viers moved like a zombie towards the mage, limping with some faint groan came out from his mouth. Viers slowly picked up his speed and reached the mage soon after; his dash seemed unaffected by his injury. With the momentum, he pounced at the man and knocked down the panicked mage. Viers moved his hands to the mage face and with a jerk, violently pushed his thumbs at both eye sockets.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! WAIT, PLEASE STOP!!!"

The screams of agony traveled through the woods. Viers continued his assault, with his thumbs still buried on the man's face, he bashed his head to the ground. Viers didn't know how many times he repeated such action. It was as if his head was pumped with all the blood in his body. He couldn't think, he didn't feel pain, his sight was covered with blood-red color.

Viers pulled his thumbs out and let go of the head, he clenched both of his fists and started to beat down the mage who was lingering on the border of life and death. Viers roared with the fury and desperation of a wounded beast fighting for its life.

"RRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Sounds of fists pummeling flesh repeatedly resound on the woods and then it stopped.

Slowly, Viers moved away from the mangled corpse, slowly the sense of pain returned. His body ached all over as he sat down looking at the corpses in silence.

"Haah… haah… haah…" only the sounds of his breathing filled the silence.

After a while, he muttered softly.

"Only human..."