Chapter 1:
As the birds started to chirp, Kano opened his eyes. The sun shines directly into it causing him to close his eyes shut again immediately. The world was against him, he was sure. Kano was very tired, very, very tired. But he needed to keep moving or else the monsters will be on to him again. Lord knows how he'll escape out of that encounter alive if that were to happen. Kano slowly sat up from the hard soil of the ground. The trees surrounding him were softly blowing with the slight breeze. The sun was out shining brightly at Kano today, it looked like a beautiful day. If only he could appreciate it.
Kano quickly ate the berries he gathered from the bushes nearby last night. Thank the gods' none of the animals had eaten it when he was sleeping. Kano contemplates what to do next. He can't go back to that blasted orphanage after what had happened. But he had nowhere to go, no destination in mind. He was only 12, he couldn't keep running around looking lost, or else people will wonder. It wasn't that uncommon for parents to leave their kids to their independence. So at least Kano has that excuse.
He still needed some sort of plan if he were to survive on his own in the wild without any police or locals reporting him and sending him back to that blasted orphanage. It was clear that his staying meant danger for others. While he didn't have the best relationship with the kids there, it still didn't seem right to take advantage of that safety when the cost was another's life. He still had his backpack with his water bottle, a few candies left with extra spare clothing, and some cash he stole from the counter.
Kano needed more money to get more items for survival, but a 12-year-old can't work due to the laws. He could somehow find some lake nearby to wash and look more presentable. It was unlikely that he would survive the winter on his own with the knowledge he has currently. Perhaps he should visit a library and research all the plants that he can eat and what he can't. The monsters are still a problem that he didn't know how to solve.
As he was trying to manage how he was going to survive on his own without experience, a growl was heard from deep within the forest. Kano whipped his head towards the origin of the sound. Suddenly the forest seemed too quiet. Things felt too still, danger was near.
The hair on the back of his neck stood up. A blur of black and red rushed towards him, knocking him over. His body hit the ground with a loud thud. Kuno was pinned by the beast. It was a huge dog. Bigger than any dog he had ever seen, and Kano had seen an English mastiff before. The beast had its jaw open, sharp razor teeth dripping with saliva, a foul odor making Kano gag. Somehow, Kano managed to pull his legs to his chest, kicking the beast off of him. It didn't go very far.
It was enough for Kano to spring up, gather his bag and run the other way. He could hear it following him, knocking down trees one by one. Kano didn't know where to go. He didn't have any sort of weapon on hand. Normal knives and guns don't work on the monsters as he came to learn. The only option was to run as far and fast as possible. It had worked with the other monsters.
Clearly, it wouldn't work with this one. As the beast came pounding after him. Kano could feel the tiny tremors of the ground. Like the beast was causing mini earthquakes every time one of its paws hit the ground. It was fast. Kano jumped over tree roots and stones. He tried not to trip on anything, falling down now would mean death.
But the beast was gaining speed on him. Kano was a fast runner even for a 12-year-old, always beating others racing him. Even then, the beast was clearly a faster runner.
A sharp pain burst from his back and Kano screamed in pain. Kano fell as the beast's claws got his back. Kano tried to crawl away even when he knew that it was useless. The beast slammed its paw on his back to stop him from moving. Kano cried out in pain as his wounds were aggravated. There was nothing he could do. Kano cried in pain and sobbed at his coming death. Kano shut his eyes as he felt a tug of fear in his gut. A burst of pain came from his shoulder but a pained whimpering was heard and suddenly the weight from his back was gone.
Kano opened his eyes only to see gold dust on the ground all over him. Blood was pooling from his back and left shoulder. Kano took a look. The wound on his left shoulder was in the shape of a bite mark, clearly, the beast was going to eat him. But it suddenly disappeared.
Somehow he gathered enough strength to stand up and continued walking. Kano ripped a piece from his ruined shirt and wrapped it around his shoulder and arm. He bit his lips to muffle the scream of pain as he tightened the fabric to cut the blood circulation.
How he has enough mental capacity to think about doing it, he didn't know. Kano didn't have anything to wrap his back with. So he just tightened the front of his shirt into a knot. Hoping that was enough to stop the bleeding, he continued to walk. Kano needed help. But he couldn't go walking into a hospital, alone, bleeding from a bite wound and slash marks on his back, covered in gold dust and dirt, and not expect questions.
Kano was very tired and lightheaded. But if he were to sleep now he might not wake up ever again. Kano continued to walk with no destination. At this point, he knew that he was just waiting on death. He wondered if his body would ever be found. He was deep in some part of the forest he didn't know. So he sincerely doubts it. Maybe this was the universe's way of saying, you don't deserve to be here, you were a mistake, go to rest now. Maybe he was hallucinating monsters when really it was something else. If he were hallucinating, it's incredibly realistic.
Kano climbed up a hill with a big pine tree on the top. Odd, he thought, just one lone pine tree on top of a hill. Maybe I'll sit down there and sleep. It's obviously useless to keep on walking. Kano collapsed on top of the hill beside the big pine tree painting. His blurry vision registered some people rushing towards him, behind them was what looked to be a camp of some sort. A bunch of buildings, a big building next to a volleyball court.
His vision focused on the faces of a bearded kind-looking man and a young girl with curly blonde hair. They were both looking at me. The girl looked back at the man and said something. My head flopped to the side, my vision now only focused on the roots of the pine tree but I couldn't move my head to look at the pair again. My ears caught some of their conversations.
"He's... one… must be." "Silence… still conscious… inside."
Then everything went black.
A/N: Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and tell me what you think. :)