Where'd All The Time Go?

Numero Uno

...Livonius...

It was in a small village where his parents had grown up. His father was killed by a bandit over a piece of bread, leaving his poor mother to live alone. Times were hard as there was little work. Some winters the two stayed outside, homeless and starving. As the years passed, Livonius grew to be a strong young man. Yet the good times would not come. As the kingdom of Draconum entered war, Livonius was conscripted into the army. Limited rations would make any man sick, but not Livonius, who had grown to withstand the hunger pains. His company marched through marshes and deserts. Before any enemy shots were fired, almost half the army had died of disease. When he had reached the border, the famous horse-back archers of the Hyrions brought hell on the already exhausted group.

After two days of camping, Livonius knew that he would die and the Imperial government did not care. And so, Livonius would go on to commit his first true crime: desertion. The young man ran from the camp at midnight and stole the black stallion belonging to the legionary commander and 54 Imperial Crowns. It appeared that fate was finally on his side after all the years. Carrying little supplies, he ran back through the deserts and the marches with astonishing speed. At last he was able to return to his home city to greet his mother. However the grim knife of reality had to stab him in the back once more. His city was destroyed. By Hyrion tradition, all the men were killed and the women and children enslaved. Livonius walked along his old world, now all burnt and destroyed. There was nothing he could do except live in cruel moments.

He had been in prison for three years now. Livonius's disappearance and his valuable theft had certainly raised alarms in the empire. Now, Livonius was back at work in the mines. A foreman carried a whip with nails piercing the leather. The young man looked at least double his age. Bushy hair and sore skin covered Livonius. Yet today would be like any other day. From the sunrise, Livonius would have to enter the mines and bring out as much gold as possible. If he had nothing to show for his efforts, the foreman would spare no sympathy. And such were the conditions of Draconum. For the government and anyone really, he didn't matter. He was just a prisoner, a slave, a disposable. Yet in him, Livonius had something that could never be destroyed.

In him, he held a burning flame for revenge that sparkled his brown eyes with a red-hot flame. And despite all of his hardships, he would overcome and turn the tides. When coming out of the mines and into the deposits, he handed off his gold into the greedy hands of the foreman. More than double the usual amount, Livonius got an extra hour of sleep. Yet Livonius would not take part in this system anymore. The time was late after. The summer had begun to die as the world bleed magnificent colors. A purple sunset illuminated the scene. Outside the gray monotony of the quarry, the world exploded in brilliant hues. Livonius looked around. All the guards had left for their shift. He then looked to his feet. Scratches filled his toes. Now he eyed his pickaxe. In just this moment, all the world stopped for a second. Livonius knew what needed to be done.

"Prisoner 8, do you have anything else?" The foreman croaked, jangling his keys as if to taunt Livonius . At lightning speed, the man picked up his pickaxe and drove it straight into the head of the foreman. As chunks of brain and flesh came out, Livonius took the keys from the body and unchained himself. Now, Livonius had to run. He had just reached the red forest when the guards were alerted. Dogs and horses lead men holding heavy iron armor and crossbows. Livonius had experience though.

He knew he had to lose his scent, but his wounds made it impossible in any river, but there were no other choices. If he was caught the punishment would certainly be torture. Livonius covered himself in mud near a lake, and stood still in hope to distract his pursuers. Desperate, he looked around him for anything else that he could use. Livonius found bear feces, which he quickly rubbed on himself to mask his scent. The men made their way to him and the dogs sniffed all around him. In the mud, Livonius lay as stationary as he could, yet his heart jumped around in his ribcage like a bird trapped in a cage. But after what seemed to be an eternity, the men passed. As the sun set, Livonius was at last a free man.