Everchanging Days

Meetings and Ambushes, Oh Joy

Cold snow crushed under the light feet of a blonde boy, the cold air whipping at his bruised skin. His leg screamed out in pain as he moved it, the heavy gashes along it leaving a trail of blood in its wake. On the bright side, his feet weren't cold despite not having any shoes, his fur was good enough to keep the frostbite away. However, the boy still felt a shiver up his spine, and not from the cold. The snow poured down from the dreary grey sky in sheets, and the blonde's thoughts were centered wholly on where to go.

He had to find shelter soon. He knew that. But there was the chance. The small, tiniest off chance that they were chasing him. He couldn't risk stopping.

The boy tried to will himself to move faster and faster, the bruises and cuts along his body screaming at him to stop. It hurt, it really did, but the youthful blonde refused to listen to his body. It was like he was on autopilot, moving as his mind dragged behind.

The weather only became more enraged as the boy's body pushed on, searching for somewhere safe through the thundering snowstorm. It had been days since he found himself in the tundra, far away from the warm tropical lands of that place. He knew he had been running for at least a week, only stopping when his body screamed for food and water.

The teen managed to catch a small rabbit on the third day, but the tiny rations he had for himself were close to none at that point. All he had left was a tiny rabbit leg, barely just enough to keep him alive.

Pain. It gnawed at the boy's stomach and body like a ravenous animal, threatening to swallow him alive if he didn't do something. He shakily reached for the ripped up bag made from the torn apart pieces of his clothes. The rabbit foot was safely inside, so he quickly took it out and- against better judgement- ate the whole thing.

The boy found the small amount of fight in him was dying. The once raging flame of his heart reduced to pitiful embers. Somehow, any of his self preservation extinguished just like those sad, ash-filled embers. What did it matter if he died from starvation later on or not?

He just wanted to feel safe, to be happy. He wanted the incessant hunger pains to stop. The horribly skinny kid's mind and body screamed for something- someone to make the pain stop.

The boy had heard of death, how it might feel nice after the initial pain. That it brought peace and a warm light, that it ended the pain. He wondered for a second if maybe- just- just maybe - death wasn't so bad. In that moment he considered it, to stop moving and let himself freeze to death.

Would it hurt? Would he feel the pain he saw on their faces as the light faded from their eyes? They always had a certain look of peace on their faces when that glimmer was snuffed out. Perhaps he could just-

To his slight surprise, the small embers hollered in sudden protest. Tricking themselves into tiny sparks and forcing air back into the malnourished body it possessed. The sudden reminder of life shook him from his suicidal stupor. Not now. The blonde shook his head as he continued on, trying to move faster and faster.

Hidden panic swept through the teen's veins as he heard a sudden garbled growl behind him. He knew he could kill it, that it wouldn't be that hard if he did, but he just couldn't will himself to turn around.

"Faster, faster, faster" his mind went round and round in a mantra to hasten his pace. To get away from the monster rather than fight it. Why was he running though? He knew he could kill it, why not just be done with it? Some strange part of him wanted to turn around and rip the thing to absolute shreds, but the boy knew that if he did then he wouldn't be able to walk away. The animalistic part of him screamed for more food, it would try to devour the thing, and from past experience the boy knew that he'd lose control. He always did when he tasted the blood of the demons.