After making sure Lydecker was gone, I began to hike again. There had to be a town nearby. Or, at least I hoped there was. Perhaps I could pick up some food. Eating plants wasn't exactly my idea of food, but it satisfied if necessary. I hoped that I wouldn't have to lower myself to eating plants. Yuck.
I started off at a fair walking pace, more or less trying to clear my head. Seeing Lydecker again would make anyone nauseous. The urge to hurl my last meal into the bushes seemed rather tempting. Yet, I really didn't like the feel of goshy food particles erupting out of my stomach. Food was meant to go into your body one way. It was also meant to come out of your body one way. Probably better keep it that way.
After fighting off the sickness, I began to jog, heading away from the road. Running was one of the few things that could take my mind off my wretched past. Just feeling the ground give beneath my feet, the wind blowing my hair, and the overall powerfulness that I had still amazed me. Lydecker had done a better job on me than I would have hoped. Still, "his" children were all eventually going to come around and bite him in the ass. Well, I didn't know about the others, but I sure was. Not literally bite him of course, but the jerk deserved to be punished in some way.
The forests became humid rather quickly and sweat soon began to drip off my face. At first I ignored it, but when it began to get into my eyes and sting, I paused to wipe it off my forehead. During my brief pause, I surveyed the area. Still no city nearby. Damn.
Again, I began to run, dodging trees and occasionally jumping over a ditch or two. The animals in the forest would only look up at me briefly, not really caring. I wondered briskly if they really understood that I shared some DNA with them. Hmm, interesting enough thought, but not at the moment.
The trees began to thin out, causing more sun to come falling down on me. This only led to more obsessive sweating. I slowed down just long enough to strip off my shirt and clutch it in my right hand. There, much cooler. Feeling better, I picked up the pace greatly and bounded through the forest, free of worries.
Finally, after awhile of running, I arrived at what appeared to be the edge of a town. There were a couple buildings scattered about. I firmly paused and wiped off my dripping face with the shirt. Well, time to make a good appearance.