INFINITES: Unchained Beasts

The Kindness of Strangers

    The dawn sun began to rise from over the horizon. The creature crept out from the seclusion of the caves and back into the crunching leaves and open air of the forest. The drakes had all been scared off after he had slain their ruler.
    Although the threat of the drakes was gone, a new question arose in the creature's mind. Where do I go now? He scanned his surroundings, looking for any clues as to what his next task could be. He was left with only the feeling of purposelessness. He decided the best thing to do now was just to walk and see where his feet led him.
    "The only way to go is forward."
    He chose a direction and began his trip to an unknown land. The birds began to return to the trees. Most of the birds had been far too afraid of the great roar they heard from the caverns, so they had migrated off to safer distances.
    The sky was gray and cloudy like a haze of uncertainty that hung above his head. As he strode through the forest the air got colder and colder. The leaves on the trees began to feel farther between each other, and there were patches of white along the ground. Snow.
    He could now see his breath in front of him, but he himself did not feel as cold as he should. His body was bare and open to the elements, but he did not show any signs of wavering. He was lost deep in his thoughts. He had only gained a form of higher intelligence but a few hours ago, and he already was having memories thrust upon him.
    He could now speak the common tongue and he possessed experience from events all unknown to him. He remembered green lights shining on him, then great pain followed by a death of thought. The last thing he could remember before that moment was the word Reid.
    He searched over his knowledge and vocabulary, but could associate no definition to the word. Was it a place, a person, or was it his name? He clenched his fist in frustration.
    "Damn it. I can finally think and I still can't answer questions."
     Then it was a sudden noise that broke his daydreaming.
     "AAAAAGHH!"
     It was a scream of pain coming from further down in the forest. He could tell where the noise came from, but not what made it.
     "AAAAAGHH!"
     There it was again. The creature now was more than just curious. He ran over the stones and fallen logs to get closer to the noise.
     "AAAAAGHH! Please I'm begging you, I just want to- AAAAAGHH!"
    He reached a large cropping of stones and boulders. He shapeshifted his arms into tentacles and pulled himself up onto the top of the rocks to get a better view of who was screaming.
    He knelt down and surveyed the scene. Below him was a group of armed men gathering around something, no someone. The men were ok wearing skins and animal pelts as armor. Each of them carried a weapon. There was a skinny man with a crossbow, a rotund man with a mace, and a mid sized man with a broadsword.
    The mid sized man was hunched over. He had his boot pressed against the chest of a strange humanoid. It was a raggedy clothed teenage boy with the ears and tail of a snow leopard. He was a Tytenian.
     "To what, be free?"
    The man grinded his boot into the Tytenian's stomach. His voice was mocking and prideful.
    "How many of you do we have to kill for you to finally get it through your skull? You will never be free no matter how hard you fight. You escape, we hunt you. You fight back, we strike you down. You beg and plead, we end your sniveling."
    The creature changed the shape of his feet to have longer talons and his legs to have stronger knees. He jumped from the top of the stone cropping and landed silently on the ground without the men noticing.
    "Hahaha! Though I do gotta say signing up to be a bounty hunter was one of the best things I've ever done."
    The man sneered, but the creature kept up behind him with the quiet movement of a snake.
    "It's a job where I get to look on the faces of sorry half breeds like you, and watch the life leave your eyes."
    The man raised his sword but now the creature stood tall behind him. Before the man could swing the weapon down he caught the blade with his fingers and held it in place. The man realized that something had stopped the blade. He slowly turned his head to see the animalistic eyes of the creature staring back.
    "Yo."
    He smacked the side of the man's head with the hilt of the blade, and while he was off balance he slammed the back of his fist into his gut. The man coughed up blood then flew several yards off and smacked into a tree with a crack and then fell limp to the ground.
    The other two men were surprised but they got back their wits. The rotund man came at him swinging his mace right for the creature's head. He ducked not a moment too soon then he grabbed the man by the forearm with one hand and used his other hand to strike the man's elbow.
    There was a snapping noise as the man's arm bent up and he screeched in pain. The creature hit him square in the face with a heavy handed punch that toppled him to the ground and his screaming stopped.
    The third and final man had loaded the crossbow. He took aim at the creature and the string twanged as a bola was loosed from the crossbow. It connected and wound around the creature's neck, but he did not flinch. He only stared the man dead in the eye as he ripped the string of the bola from his neck like it was no stronger than thread.
    The man tried to run off in panic, but the creature grabbed him with a tentacle. He pulled the man back and up smashing his head into the trunk of an oak tree. He let go and the body fell to the floor with a thud.
    "Ttt they didn't even last more than ten seconds."
     The tytenian was in full and total shock. He managed to stammer out some words.
    "T-thank you."
    The creature looked down at the boy.
    "For what?"
    "You just took out those bounty hunters like they were nothing."
    "That's because they were nothing."
    The creature began to walk away, but the tytenian only got up and followed him.
    "W-wait I have to find some way to thank you."
    "Not interested."
    "But aren't you cold out here?"
    "No."
    "But you aren' wearing any clothes."
    He looked down at himself. He just now realized that he was indeed naked in a winter forest and that it would seem strange if he should meet any other people this way. He turned to the tytenian.
    "You got any clothes."
    The tytenian showed a small smile at the chance to thank him.
    "Yes I have a stash of supplies and clothes just behind the rocks over there."
    He nodded to a boulder and a stack of logs to his right.
    "Just the clothes will work."
    "Ok follow me."
    He led him to the boulder and a pile of small rocks. He moved over the rocks to reveal two packs of food, one water skin, and a set of worn clothes.
    "Here put these on, they may be a bit small but they're better than nothing."
    The creature pulled up a pair of stitched cloth pants, then he pulled a sleeveless shirt on over his head. The shirt was a small fit and it had two scratched holes in the chest.
    Finally the tytenian held out a leather coat to the creature.
    "Here you can have this, I'm immune to the cold so I don't need it."
    He took the coat and slung it over his shoulders.
    "Tell me where is the nearest town."
    "Well that would be the town Iron Bar, but you don't want to go there. I barely escaped from there with my life. It's a slaving town that captures and sells tytenians and humanoids."
    "I didn't ask for your opinion, I asked where the nearest town was."
    The tytenian sighed.
    "Ok it looks like you can handle yourself. Head north and you'll find a trail that leads into the mountains. Follow it and you should see the lights of the town from a distance."
    "K."
    The creature began to leave but the tytenian stopped him.
    "Wait, before you go, I have to know your name."
    "I'm..."
    The creature paused for a moment.
    "I'm Reid."
    "Well I wish you as much luck as I can Reid. Be careful in Iron Bar, humanoids aren't too welcome if they're not brought in a cage."
    Reid pushed past him and started his journey.
    "Catch ya later."
    "Y-yeah."
    So Reid set off to Iron Bar, the town of chains.