Chapter 5 - The Woods
To say that the first three days out in the open were severe was an understatement. The two hardest parts for Axel were the lack of food and water as well as no shelter. Whilst being out in the elements had its perks, he was exposed and more vulnerable than ever without a roof over his head. His feet were worn out and his skin was already coarse and cut from the blocks of wood that he carried for miles. Sure, Axel was physically strong but now he was being tested to his own limits.
He trod carefully through the forest, having carved out a spear from one of the blocks using his knife. Axel relied on the self-made weapon to walk for long hours as well as to hunt for anything he could get hold of once a day. This included deer, fish, rabbit and even buffalo. Due to hunger, his sense of taste adapted fairly quickly to cooked meat and fish without the luxuries of seasoning such as salt or spices.
He had kept a steady pace on the move for miles every day through open and rough terrain until Axel reached a higher ground. The climb up the next set of mountains lasted for weeks and was punishing as the oxygen levels were thin. His 5th week out in the wilderness was the ultimate test. Axel was either going to survive or die. The sky around him was a clear, thin blue and the rocks beneath his feet were chalky. The heat from the sun had dehydrated him badly to the point where Axel felt faint and nauseous. 'Just over this mountain…. Keep going….' he pushed himself, sensing in the air that water had to be nearby. If only his legs hadn't given way at that point.
Suddenly, Axel found himself collapsing on the hard ground where he was unable to move. All of the energy from his body had quickly depleted. Most others in his position would never have survived this punishing terrain in a week, let alone for five. He laid still with the side of his face resting against the floor. Only a day ago, Axel had suffered from an unexpected snake bite whilst he was asleep against a rock. He quickly had to burn out the poison from his own skin using the chi he had inside of him that he was willing to master. This however, weakened Axel for several hours. And he still felt it, deep in his arm.
The vultures around could smell the blood tickling down from the wound. They circled the skies above near to where Axel was laying. He could also hear a pack of wolves in the far distance lower down the terrain. He understood that if he stayed here right now, he would be a dead man. If anything had tested what 'True Strength' was so far, it could have well been this. Axel stared out into the sunlight, barely even able to blink. He was on the verge of giving up as his breath became fainter by the second. How could he have carried on from this point? Then Axel had his first vision, almost like a flashback scene that played along across his eyes.
It was a flashback of a fight he had previously stepped up to with the hardest opponent he had faced so far, a man called Leon Shiva. They had battled twice. Once inside the confinements of Mr X's old office then once inside of City Hall. Axel's old foe was a pain in the neck as an enemy but he sure as hell was a talented fighter. Shiva certainly gave the whole team a run for their money and Axel had witnessed a strength and a power in this man like none other before. It was almost the same power that he had already discovered inside himself, so the two of them ended up facing a harsh battle against each other the first time they battled.
It was a power that he had also seen in Blaze from time to time, even during the moment she killed Mr X. Axel suspected that she had kept it hidden or hadn't been able to unlock her strengths as of yet. Adam could have also potentially have had this power or something similar if he had chosen to focus deep within himself.
During the fight, Axel was about to die and Shiva had the upper hand at one very crucial moment. The Kempo master had dashed forward as fast as lightning whilst Axel was breathless on the ground. He could see a bright white fire that was vibrant within Shiva's palms. The purpose of the energy burst was to end his life. But Axel suddenly found strength out of nowhere to survive, even whilst on the verge of giving up and submitting to his enemy. Fire had instantly radiated from his body that counteracted Shiva's chi during the attack. Axel can hardly remember how or where his own energy came from, but that day it saved his life.
Suddenly the same outburst of flames flared from Axel's back and arms once again as the vision of Shiva's face in front of his eyes immediately turned into the face of a wolf. The animal also leapt forward at lightning speed with razor sharp teeth, but Axel's fire caught it in mid air. The wolf gave a painful yelp as it burned then fell off the edge of the cliff. It rolled rapidly down the empty terrain. More of the pack also dived in head first to attack Axel. The MMA fighter wrestled with two wolves that landed onto his chest and close to his legs, whilst the rest of the pack was circling him.
Now heavily bleeding, the adrenaline rush caused Axel to leap up to standing, violently throwing back the two wolves that held their jaws tightly onto his skin. Axel then crouched down towards the ground with his fist burning high. He then punched a deep crack in the soil that shuddered the floor around him, almost like a seismic wave. The five remaining wolves bowed their heads as the fire started to spread towards them. They yapped and yelped until they eventually backed off then ran for the hills and forest below. It was clear at this point that Axel and his power had finally scared off the pack. If he was going to survive in their environment, he would have to become the king to their kingdom, and he did. His outburst of strength and fire from deep with had saved Axel's life once again.
Unfortunately by now, he was more wounded than he was yesterday. The bite marks they left on his abdomen and leg were heavily bleeding and the bandages remaining in Axel's backpack were not enough. What Axel didn't realize was that an old man had been watching the fight further up the terrain from a distance since it began. As the fighter tried to catch his breath, he noticed the old man's deep brown eyes observing him carefully from above. He second guessed that the man was either a farmer or a member of a local tribe.
He stood a mere 5ft 5 with a dark complexion, bald and wrinkled in his face. The man held a wooden staff and wore a gold chain around his neck which glistened in the sun. Looped onto it was a large pendant that Axel could not make out the shape of. Then suddenly, the pain of his wounds kicked in again and it was all too much. Axel's legs gave way once more. He stumbled backwards until he vigorously fell hard on the rocky ground. This time he ended up unconscious, blacking out under the hot sun.
"Would you please stop making weird faces? I'm tryna get a good one here!" Blaze stretched her arm out, standing in front of Axel whilst holding her phone. The two of them huddled together with the ocean behind them.
"If you stop making strange pouty poses, I'll stop making funny faces!" Axel joked with his arms around her waist. "How many photos are you planning on taking?" He raised one eyebrow.
"Aaa I don't like that one, that angle doesn't look good on me" Blaze frowned, examining the shot.
"Trust me babe, you look good from every angle!" He smirked.
"Is that so?" She teased. Suddenly Blaze unexpectedly pulled a cheeky move, back sweeping him down onto the sand whilst showing off her fighting skills.
"Not bad, I'll give you some credit for that" Axel grinned with his back now on the floor.
"What do you mean not bad? My kicks are much better than yours sunshine!" Just as she finished her sentence, he had already replicated the same move on her, catching Blaze by surprise whilst she was in the middle of bragging. Luckily, she landed on her front right on top of his torso.
"I know all your moves…" Axel boasted back, grinning at her as she rested the front of her body on his. He held tightly onto her frame before the waves had the chance to sweep Blaze off of him. The pair now had sand and water all over their faces, but they didn't care. They just laid there on the shore, intertwined whilst passionately kissing each other.
"I love being with you…" Blaze gazed down into his eyes, giving him the sweetest smile.
Her words suddenly echoed out into a vacuum then her pretty face started to disappear away from his vision as the bright ray of sunlight over her hair blinded Axel's eyes….
Suddenly, Axel woke up abruptly from a distant dream. It didn't take him long to figure out that he was now back in the present. He felt alarmed for a moment as soon as he scanned his surroundings. He was laying on his back against a hard wooden floor, staring up at a shanty roof made of different stacks of broken metal. There were several holes amongst it and gaps where the sunlight beamed through, causing his eyes to squint.
"That was a hell of a fight you managed to pull off back there against that pack of wolves…"
Axel immediately leapt up to a seated position, almost jumping out of his skin when he noticed a man in his early 60s, casually sitting by a wooden desk as he sharpened a knife.
"Who the hell are you?" Axel's body language instantly went into defence mode.
"Calm down son, if I wanted to kill you I would have already done it!" The man gazed back at him, cocking his head to one side in amusement. He had messy dark grey hair that covered his ears and the guy had spoken with a strong Scottish accent.
Axel took a deep sigh then began to relax. The man had made a valid point after all.
"My names John," he nodded, slightly tipping the front of his black cowboy hat down to greet him.
"I thought there was nobody around these woods," Axel shrugged with disappointment.
"Ay, not at least for 100 miles" he replied.
"So why are you here then? And why did you bring me back to your cabin?"
The rugged man laughed for a moment to himself as he opened a dusty glass bottle. "Wanna try some of this, boy? It's the real deal. I like to venture back to the low ground every year or so to collect these babies from my friends." He proudly smirked, holding up a bottle of scotch before he took a large gulp.
"Alright…" Axel answered as he reached out one hand. John passed him the bottle, which he didn't hesitate to knock back.
"The question you should have asked is what is a young boggin like yourself doing in a shit hole like this? Havn't you got the rest of yer life ahead of you?"
"Boggin?" Axel frowned distastefully as he lowered the bottle from his mouth.
"You Americans. You canny be bothered to speak English properly with all yer slang…"
"And you call that English?" Axel laughed in disbelief, shaking his head. "How long have you been here then?" He enquired, starting to appreciate a real conversation again with someone other than himself, even if it was a little different.
"30 years kid…"
"What?!" Axel almost spat out another gulp of the scotch.
"See I'm on the run. And I'd rather live out the rest of ma pathetic days free in this shit hole than in a cell… but I have learnt to regret and live with ma actions…" he sighed with guilt.
"Well, whoever you are, thanks for patching me up and bringing me back to your place!" Axel nodded as he noticed the bandages over the flesh wounds on his body. He rose up to his feet, handing the bottle back to John.
"I'd best be on my way," Axel shook his hand.
"Oh, by the way it wasn't lil old me who saved ya. You'd better thank Eru before you leave. This is his gaff" the Scotsman replied.
"Was that the farmer guy?"
"If you meant the Shaman, then yes. I often come and go from this place, but he lives out his days up here all the time. The man is almost 90 for Christ's sake! Can ya believe it? He's ben livin' on this terrain since birth…. And not a single fuckin illness. The man's a legend, true strength n all!"
"Wait, what did you just say?" Axel eagerly asked, pausing in his tracks.
"Look kid, I'm goin' to go once the Winter gets here and it's started already, believe me. You can ask him yourself, he's usually back every four days."
"Well where is he then?" Axel questioned, pleading in his tone as he was now curious.
"He travels up to the top of the volcano to meditate."
"What volcano? I don't see any volcano!" Axel impatiently huffed as he glanced out of the doorway.
"The choice is yours kid. You can either grow some patience and stay in this relatively safe cabin until all yer wounds heal, or you can head back out there straight to the wolves….I know what I'd do!"
"Fine," Axel bit his tongue, annoyed. He then crossed his arms as he laid back down on the ground to rest a little more. He knew he was in no position to venture back out for at least the next few hours or so. Axel had already proven to himself that he could physically survive out there in the wilderness, and that this was just a single pit stop along a brand new journey. He felt his eyes closing once again as he drifted back off to sleep.
The next day, the Shaman who saved him had returned. When Axel first looked at the old man, he had no idea what to say or where to start. He was desperate for the answers. Answers he knew Eru could provide. Although he had barely just met the old Shaman, Axel could tell that he had discovered what True Strength really was. He could see it in his eyes.
After weeks of having travelled by himself to several areas of the woods that Axel couldn't settle in, this place high up on the terrain wasn't that bad after all. The energy of the trees, the earth, the low sky and even the breeze that surrounded it felt spiritual and was now the perfect spot for his training that he was ready to dive into.
Axel had thanked the Shaman for saving him and for his hospitality. But he knew that it was either time for him to move on and find another spot to train in, one as good as here, if it had even existed. Or maybe, it was a wise idea to stay. Eru's life was simple. He hunted and he meditated extensively. He was once a fighter born into this wilderness. John explained that Eru's family tribe were wiped out by bandits over 70 years ago. He had fled then returned to fight for his land years after, but that was a long time ago and Eru had remained here ever since. The old man spoke little to no English, but luckily John had figured out a few words and phrases that he had written down in a journal over the years.
By sundown that evening, Axel had made an important decision. One that was going to change his life forever.
Eru had been eating his share of the wild boar on the ground whilst John sat by the table scoffing down his own.
"This was a good catch, kid, I must admit" John happily remarked, chomping down on the meat loudly.
"Hey, can you tell him something for me please?" Axel requested.
"Wha?" John frowned.
"Tell him that I want to stay… and I want him to let me train here and guide me. In return, I'll build him a new roof up there and I'll carry out all of the hunts and water collection for as long as I'm here."
John glanced back at Axel with one eyebrow raised, feeling pleasantly surprised. It took him a minute or two to attempt to translate his sentence, but Eru had already understood what was on Axel's mind.
The petite old man stood in front of Axel then starred up into his eyes. He held his coarse palm up to rest on the fighter's forehead. Then Eru mumbled under his breath something that Axel couldn't understand.
"What did he say?" Axel turned his gaze back towards John.
"He reckons you'll find the answers yer looking for. But you have to be prepared to wait and let go of anything holding you back. Listen to his advice and follow if you want to learn…."
Eru then mumbled another sentence, lifting Axel's wrists towards the sunlight with his frail hands.
"He said that you have a pure soul that possesses all the fire you need inside of you. But you still haven't unleashed it yet. It will take time, maybe even years so you will learn to be patient. That is the only way…"
Axel stared back at Eru, giving him a determined nod as he became ready to open his mind and his heart like never before.