Welcome to Part 2 of 'Life in the Lab'! I want to give a quick thanks to Bouncyball2002 for allowing me to use one of his characters and that he was able to check my story!
Lightning was flashing through the tree tops, rain was pouring on to the pine needles, and darkness was falling over the forest. But he kept going, with a clear purpose in mind. His white cloak, drenched in the stormy rain. His determination, never ending. His soul, as powerful as a giant and his courage, as high as the wings of a dragon. He marched onwards, hoping for shelter, for the storm was growing.
Dextrox was his name. He battled the storm, daring it to challenge him. He stood his ground as he looked for a place to rest. He raised his hands to the heavens and roared at the storm. Even the trees seemed to flinch in Dextrox's anger. He powered on through the storm, daring it to challenge him.
The spruce pines were back, looming over him. Shadows dripping with envy at his courage. The lighting was growling at his footsteps. He lowered his head to shield himself from the rain. He walked around looking for a tree to take a rest. He walked through the drenched pine needles. He soon found a sturdy pine, who was beckoning to him. Dextrox walked under the pine and pulled off his hood. His golden eyes looked forward unfocused at the rain. He pulled off his pack, took off his cloak and sat down. He crossed his arms and nodded off.
He awoke to a snorting nearby him. He slightly opened his eyes. The storm had passed and the bright morning sun had just started creeping up into the sky. The trees looked a lot less menacing in the bright light than they did during the storm. There was a wild boar sniffing near his pack.
"Hey!" Dextrox shouted, shooing the boar away.
The boar squealed and ran at full speed back into the pine trees. Dextrox stood up and sighed. He put on his cloak, and walked out of the protection of the pine tree. He looked up and saw, high up in the top of the pine tree, were pine cones.
'Dang it!' Dextrox thought looking up at the tree, 'Too high for me to climb up…'
Dextrox started looking around for a few stones. There were none.
'How are there no freaking stones here?' he wondered
Dextrox experimented with a bit of soil. It failed. It reached the correct height, but broke on impact when it hit the pine cone. Dextrox went back under the tree and sat in thought.
'No breakfast for me…' he thought, 'That sucks…'
He picked up his bag and slung it over his back. He took one last look at the pinecone and walked away. His stomach was growling like a tiger as he walked through the dense bushes. He hadn't come far when he saw a sign of civilization. It was a dented gold handled and brass plated sword. It wasn't so sharp any more. He inspected it. It looked as if it had been left here quite recently. HE looked around for any sign of travel but he could find none.
"Anyone here?" He shouted
No reply.
'This forest is quite deserted…' he thought before he heard a large rustle in the bushes behind him. Dextrox span around and threw the sword at the cause of the rustle. The sword missed the creature that Dextrox was throwing at by a few centimeters. The creature screamed, "Hey!"
Dextrox halted. The creature could talk? Dextrox realized it was another person. He wore peasant like clothes and had a mop of blonde hair.
"What you is doin' here?" asked the stranger
"I was looking around?" Dextrox answered
"Why you ar' doin' on me land?" asked the man
"I am looking for a new place to live." Dextrox said honestly
"You looks very hungries." the stranger said
"Do you have some food I can eat? I'm starving?" asked Dextrox politely.
"Sure, comes to me house," the stranger invited, beckoning for Dextrox to follow.
Dextrox was a bit suspicious that the man trusted him so easily. He shrugged it off as paranoia but still kept his guard up. They trekked through a bit of undergrowth but yet, there still was more undergrowth. As they walked for a full hour, Dextrox started getting tired. He wondered if the man was leading him in circles. While Dextrox was starting to regret his decision of following the stranger, the man started singing a song,
"We are walking throu' thee woods, we are. We pass dis bush and anoth' bush. Looks at all thee birdees sitings in thee twees."
Dextrox ignored the horrible sounding song. It sounded as if he was using a frog to strum guitar strings. That's how horrible the song was. Dextrox was starving. He tappedthe stranger on the shoulder. The stranger turned with a confused look on his face.
"Whats is it you wants?" asked the stranger.
"When will we arrive?" pleaded Dextrox, "I'm starving."
"Oh!" exclaimed the stranger, "Its right tis way, right tis way."
The stranger beckoned to him to follow through some less dense bushes. After a few minutes of walking, the forest opened up into a clearing. In the clearing was a small cottage like house. There were a few apple trees around too. Dextrox stood in awe at the stranger's house.
"Here's me house!" the stranger said proudly
"May I have something to eat?" Dextrox begged, desperate to get some food.
"Yes, get a apple from one tree ov' der'." the stranger explained, pointing to the trees.
Dextrox went to the apple tree and got a juicy apple. He munched into it. He eagerly ate through the apple and picked another one. He ate the other apple in ten seconds flat. Finally, after eating about three apples, his stomach was satisfied. He was full. He got up and unintentionally burped. The stranger laughed.
"Heh," he said.
"My name is Dextrox." Dextrox introduced.
"Hello Destros!" the stranger said, mispronouncing Dextrox's name, "I am Zach."
"Sir Zach," Dextrox asked, "May I stay at your cottage for the night?"
"Sure, Yes, Sure!" Zach said happily, "Me has not seen strangers for long times."
Dextrox bowed, "Thank you!"
"Come inside," Zach said beckoning to his door. He then walked in but left the door open so that Dextrox could enter. When inside, Zach started preparing dinner.
"Nammy apples and th' nammy beaf!" Zach said happily as he prepared some dinner.
Dextrox politely put his bag by the door with his cloak. He then walked into the kitchen. 'This isn't much of a kitchen' Dextrox thought as he looked at the kitchen of Zach. All that the kitchen had in it was a counter, a small oven and a cabinet. Zach had sparked up the fire with a striker. It was a piece of flint which collided with another piece of flint to create a spark. It was very inefficient as it needed several strikes to create a small spark. Only professionals knew where to strike the flint and how much force was needed to spark it. A small fire had already started by Zach who was more on the 'Experienced' level. Then Zach went into the cabinet where there was a pan. He placed the pan onto the fire and then went back into the cupboard. He pulled out a steak which was covered in mold. Zach scraped of the mold and threw the steak into the pan and then he walked outside to go pick some apples. In Zach's absence, Dextrox went to look around the house. There was a small bedroom the size of a postage stamp. He hoped he didn't have to sleep here. There was also a small dining area though it didn't look like much of a dining area because all there was, was a carpet to eat on. The last room was a tool shed. Inside were hammers, saws and axes. Dextrox decided that Zach might have been a builder some time ago.
"Hello Destros!" Zach said reentering the house.
"Hello Zach!" Dextrox replied.
A 'few' minutes later…
Dextrox thought, 'It must be really well cooked if it is over the open fire for half an hour…'
Suddenly Zach came back into the 'dining room' with a het hot pan in his bare hands. The pan was actually faintly glowing at the bottom because of the heat. Dextrox stood up and peered in. The meat was fully charred. So were the apples which lined the meat.
"You is hungy?" Zach asked.
"Yes please." Dextrox thanked.
Zach gave him some of the steak and a few apples. Dextrox was a bit unsure. The paranoia in his head thought that the food was poisoned. Dextrox pushed the thought away. He touched the meat. He quickly pulled his hand back and shook it. It was really hot! Zach noticed this and quickly walked outside. Then he came back with a small bucket of water.
He then asked, "Yes?"
Dextrox was confused, "Huh?"
"I will pours tis on your beaf!" Zach said as if it was a very normal thing.
"Uhhh…" Dextrox hesitated.
Zach smiled and poured it over Dextrox's food. The water boiled and evaporated instantly. Dextrox gasped. He touched the food after he got over his surprise. It was a regular temperature now.
Dextrox stammered, "Uhhhhh… Thank… You…"
"Welcomes!" Zach said happily and threw some remaining water on his food.
After taking his first bite, Dextrox realized how tasty it actually was besides more than half of the meat being charcoal. The apples helped add flavor to the meal. After Dextrox finished eating, it became dark. Zach brought him to the tiny bedroom.
'Better safe than sorry' Dextox thought as he snuggled up on the ground of the tiny bedroom with Zach next to him. Quite quickly Dextrox slipped into dreams.
Dextrox woke up to a yawn. Zach had yawned and fallen asleep again. Dextrox felt a nagging feeling that something was going on. He heard a growl of pure fury outside. Dextrox quickly stood up. He shook Zach to wake him up.
"Wasts you wants…" Zach said groggily.
"I hear something outside!" Dextrox said urgently.
Zach smiled, "Thasts nothin'."
"What do you mean nothing?" Dextrox said panicking.
"Is just a few random barbarians…" Zach said before drifing back to sleep.
"Bye, I am going to leave…" Dextrox said as he left the room.
'I have a bad feeling about this' Dextrox thought worriedly as he ran down to get his cloak and bag. 'Zach might think that it's nothing but I know the devastation that barbarians can cause…'
He quickly put on his cloak and flung his bag over his shoulder. He opened the door and ran outside. He first ran to the apple trees to get some apples before running away from the house. As he was picking apples he heard a roar! Dextrox turned to see a huge hoard of barbarians approaching the clearing! They brandished their swords as they rushed towards the house.
Dextrox panicked and yelled, "Zach, run!"
Dextrox turned and ran as the barbarians came closer.
"Run, Zach! Go!" Dextrox shouted with anxiety.
Dextrox tripped and fell down a hill. He tumbled down and the house was out of sight. He smashed into a tree. The last thing he heard was a cry of pain and the cracking of wood before he fell into the depths of unconsciousness.
Dextrox awoke with a scream. He sat up panting for breath. His recent memories were a jumble. His vision cleared and he saw a horde of barbarians marching through the forest right in front of him! They turned to the noise. They spotted him. 'Oh oh…' Dextrox thought as he quickly scrambled to his feet. The barbarians were cheering for another kill. Dextrox ran for his life. The barbarians following close behind!
'No!' Dextrox thought, 'I will not die like this!'
He ran downhill as fast as he could with the barbarians only meters away from him. They were catching up. Dextrox instinctively jumped into the branches of a few trees. The barbarians mindlessly passed him until they realized that they were not chasing anyone! They turned and saw Dextrox running into the undergrowth. Dextrox's mind was in turmoil so he wasn't able to do much back to the barbarians. Suddenly he came to a halt. There was a rock wall. Dextrox looked up the rock wall and realized it was too tall to climb up. He turned to see a grinning horde of barbarians. Dextrox gulped. The advanced around him into a semi-circle. They were laughing like maniacs. 'This is the end' Dextrox thought in vain.
"Ho hahaha Hia hahaha!" a stupid sounding voice laughed.
The barbarians' smiles faded as they turned to the voices. There were green creatures laughing like madmen at the barbarians. They were goblins! They were laughing so hard that they needed support of trees.
"HEY!" one of the barbarians said.
The goblins laughed.
"Heeey!" one of the goblins said in a squeaking voice, making the goblins laugh even more.
Eventually, the laughing stopped. The goblins sneered at the barbarians while the barbarians scowled back. Then one of the goblins blew a raspberry at the barbarians. That was the final straw. The barbarians went berserk and charged at the goblins. Unfortunately for the barbarians, the goblins just jumped into the branches of a tree making the barbarians miss their targets. The goblins then charged the exposed backs of the barbarians. Their nails dug into the backs of the barbarians. The barbarians screamed in agony but still turned to face the opponents. They swung their swords at the goblins. The swords made contact killing a few goblins.
A horn sounded in the distance. The barbarians grew scared and retreated! Dextrox was surprised that the ruthless barbarians were actually scared of something. The next thing he noticed was that the goblins were all around him.
"Please don't kill me." Dextrox pleaded raising his hands up in the air.
"Why should we not?" asked the raspy voice of one of the goblins.
"I will pay you." Dextrox said hoping that the goblins were not bright enough to realize that if they killed him they would still get the money.
"Show us the goods." demanded the goblin
Dextrox opened his bag and pulled out 15 gold coins and offered the coins to the goblins. The goblin he handed it to inspected the coin.
"Fair enough." the goblin said after, "Leave!"
Dextrox bowed and ran off and without knowing it, he was running into the direction of the barbarians.
Dextrox struggled up the mountain. It was two days since the incident with the goblins. He was trekking through the forest when he had found a huge mountain blocking Dextrox's path. He had clambered up it for two reasons. It would take too long to go around and Dextrox would have a good view of the landscape. Hopefully like this he could find a village. After grueling hours of climbing, Dextrox finally reached the top. It was hard to breath for Dextrox due to the low oxygen content of the atmosphere. He looked ahead. There was a village! His journey was almost over! Dextrox excitedly, but also carefully, got off the peak of the mountain.
Halfway down the mountain it became night. Dextrox luckily found a cave to rest in. He decided to take a risk and sleep here. He didn't know what creatures lived in this cave. Goblins, bears or maybe even a mythical dragon! Dextrox shuddered at the thought of a dragon being in the cave. After an hour of wondering what was in the cave, he fell asleep with his bag still on and his cloak serving as a blanket.
He woke up in the midmorning sun. The sun was shining brightly and the birds were chirping happily. Dextrox got off the mountain and was finally getting a bit closer to the village. Nothing really interesting happened as Dextrox walked towards the village. Dextrox occasionally had to climb up a few hills to check if he was going in the right direction. Soon after a bit he heard talking! 'I'm here!' Dextrox thought as he approached the voices. But fortune wasn't in his favor. The voices belonged to the barbarians.
Their heads looked in his direction. Their eyes seemed like they were on fire! They were ready to kill him for escaping from their wrath. They quickly deserted camp and ran after Dextrox! Dextrox ran smartly towards the village. The barbarians probably wouldn't attack him there. Dextrox ran for his life. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins and arteries. He weaved past trees while the less bright barbarians who thought that they could bash through trees just smashed themselves and knocked themselves unconscious. Dextrox was thinking, 'Com'n village! Just let your clearing appear!'
A river suddenly came up in front of Dextrox.
"Dang it!" Dextrox swore as he saw the river come up in front of him.
He trusted his instincts and jumped across the raging river. He landed in the water two meters away from the river bank. He carefully waded across. He got on all fours and rested on the bank. The barbarian horde had caught up to him. They were on the other side of the riverbank. One of the barbarians jumped into the river. Barbarians aren't good swimmers. The barbarian started drowning. One of his companions lifted him out of the water by his sword. Dextrox grinned and walked towards the direction of the village.
Dextrox tiredly walked towards the village. He saw a clearing in the distance. He smiled as he stumbled to the clearing. But suddenly, a barbarian knocked him on the floor. The barbarian looked smarter than the average barbarian. He had a bronze sword and the scabbard was attached to a translucent green belt, it looked as if it were made of gems.
The barbarian spoke, "Who are you?"
"D-D-Dextrox…" Dextrox stammered.
"I am Hulk Hogan. I am a barbarian as you might see but the main thing that you need to know is that I am here to warn you." the barbarian said urgently
"O-Of what?" Dextrox asked.
Hulk looked around before talking to Dextrox again.
"The other barbarians of my horde can't swim so they are now chopping down a tree as we speak! They want to build a bridge. Go! I really want you to hurry if you don't want to die! They will be here soon!" Hulk warned.
"O-Ok," Dextrox stammered still confused that a barbarian was not killing him but talking to him.
"Go!" Hulk said, "I don't want to actually have to kill you."
Dextrox scrambled to his feet and ran to the clearing. As he approached the village he heard a voice coming from the village walls.
"Who are you? State your business here!"
"I am Dextrox. I am an alchemist and I have come from a village far from here. It was burnt down by our village's enemies. Please let me work here."
"Come to the village gates. We will talk there." said the voice.
Dextrox walked over to the gate and saw a sturdy looking man. He had an air of leadership around him.
"Tell us your story…" the man said.
Dextrox told him the story of how he arrived at the village…
What did you think? If you enjoyed then please R&R with helpful advise. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. Remember to check out Bouncyball2002's profile and read his CoC stories! A new chapter will come soon.
Untill next time,
T.B.K.