PROLOGUE~
The sky is full of dark clouds, bone chilling rain pours down through the trees. What little light is able to shine through only gives an eerie shadow to the dead and decaying trees of the once luscious and beautiful forest, now black and forgotten. No matter how hard the boy tries he is unable to see who it is heaving him around, all he knows is that fear has filled him to the brim and that he has no idea what is happening. Doing his best to look around him, all that can be made out is the shadow of the man gripping the small child in his arms charging through the forest, he is easily held by the man’s strong arms and though he knows not who the strange man is, a strange since of trust in him fills the boy. Though even with the trust the boy felt, fear still runs rampant through him. The icy burn of the cold rain striking his face is offset by the warm tears streaming down his cheeks, making the sting that much worse.
An echo of people screaming in rage and anger chased after the two in the forest. The boy couldn’t understand why they were mad at him, why were they so mad? There is a lurch as the man suddenly stopped. Looking at what he guessed to be ahead, the sound of rushing water assaulted the small child's ears, as his gaze drifted toward the noise he is able to make out an angry rushing river, flowing with the full fierce force of mother earth, it seemed even she is out to stop their escape. The man carrying the boy is shaking from exhaustion but even soaked and tired he refused to surrender the boy he clung to. In a final effort to save the boys life, the man looked for safety anywhere it could be found. When all seemed lost, he spotted it, a log rushing down the river towards them. The man lifted the boy up to his shoulder and pointed to the log. Confusion filled the young one but it is soon replaced by terror, without warning he is flying through the air straight for the raging river.
With a core shattering impact the ice cold water rushed over the boy, he had missed the log by mere inches, erupting from the water and now fighting a new enemy for survival the child managed to reach the log. With one last look over his shoulder he caught a glimpse of his savior, the silhouette of a man pulling a blade from his belt and turning to face the pursuers in order to buy the boy some more time. There is a sudden drop and the child soon remembered the new danger he is in, the freezing waters of a rushing river, now turned into treacherous rapids, sharp rocks jutted out of the water spelling certain death for the young boy. As his lifeline smashed into a dagger-like bolder the log is shattered into pieces sending the child's small body flying into the air. As the boy fell back towards the water the rumble of the river is replaced by a pounding in his ears, before the icy sting of the water could assault his skin a final time, white light flashed in his eyes and the now teen youth awoke.~
