The cold night wind blew from the north causing Drack to shiver. He was cold, but he reckoned he would’ve been colder if not for the new coat and cloak he was wearing. Strange how the downfall of others could uplift another person. It didn’t make Drack feel any better about what had happened not too long ago.

He was sat on an old collapsed wooden log. The teenagers he was in charge of were sat around him. A giant campfire flickered in the middle, and the smelling of smoke, cooking food, and burning wood filled the air. Everyone had a bowl of their own, and were currently eating in silence. Only the sound of the flickering fire, spoons and forks smacking against bowls, and sounds of chewing were audible. 

The fire warmed Drack, but it couldn’t overcome the cold he felt inside, the cold that really mattered. 

He glanced around, Arnfried was nowhere to be seen. He was probably still with the company’s healer, receiving treatment. Losing an arm was bad enough already, but Drack had to go and slam him in the temples too. Damn temper of his. It only ever showed itself against those who were incapable it seemed. The true moniker of a coward, Holy Fools liked to say. 

Aoife was to the side, all the way in the back, blocked by lines of teenagers sat on stretched out logs. Drack couldn’t bring himself to face her, or anyone for that matter. He felt like a complete and utter failure but he’d always been one. So why did it bother him so much now? 

Drack stuffed the last of his food into his mouth, stood up, and stalked to his tent. 

“Where are you going Captain?” Someone asked.

“To sleep.” Drack replied. His voice was still hoarse due to being nearly strangled to death two hours ago. 

He wanted to sleep so badly. The day had felt like a week. When he reached his tent, he stumbled in, found his sleeping bag and slipped right in. He hadn’t cleaned himself in nearly a week now but he found that he didn’t care all that much. Drack closed his eyes, and sleep came to him easily.

-

Drack woke up to the sound of snoring. He’d had a dreamless and nightmare less sleep. There was a time he used to have nightmares about what he did, but it seemed that his brain was used to it now that it didn’t bother..

The snoring sound seemed to intensify for a moment before it returned to its regular crescendo. There was a boy sleeping opposite Drack in his very own sleeping bag. Everyone had to share a tent, even Captains. They simply didn’t have enough tents for roles to decide who got to sleep in his own tent.

Drack got up on his ass, and was just sat there for what felt like a very long time. Eventually he came to a decision, rose to his feet, grabbed his waist bag and with quiet hands packed the things he needed, and excited the tent. It was dark outside but he could see better than most despite the conditions. The stars shone bright in the heavens but there was no moon in sight. 

He could hear the distinct sounds of people sleeping. Most were asleep but there were sentries placed to watch over during the night in case of any threats, from people or animals. Drack knew where the sentries were stationed. Avoiding them would be easy. 

He walked past scattered logs, and dark bushes. Drack stopped, looking back at the dozens of tents behind him. Would they all die once he left? Still, Drack turned around and took his real first step towards his new journey. This step should’ve been difficult like Holy Fools liked to say, but it wasn’t. In fact it was the easiest step he’d ever taken in his entire life. After all, a heavy burden had been lifted from him. The burden of responsibility.

As Drack rounded past a giant tree, he couldn’t help but feel that leaving in the night felt almost too easy. The Grand Capitan never really cared about the company’s men deserting, until the amount of men reached a certain point where it was too low. Though Altair did find Captains deserting to be unacceptable for some reason. Most of them were loyal so he never stressed much about it, but did Altair think that Drack was loyal? 

Or maybe he thinks I'm too much of a coward to even bother running away. Drack guessed inwardly. The thought should’ve ignited a fire of rebellion inside of him, should’ve encouraged him to be more dogged about his desertion, but he found no such fiery will. Instead, he found all his instincts telling him he was making the wrong decision. 

He should’ve listened to them like he always did, but again, his father had always said that a man needed a little bit of everything, even stupidity. Besides, he’d already made a terrible decision not too long ago, but that was less than a little stupid, he needed more he reckoned, but not as much as stupidity as staying with the company. That would be a lot more than just a little. 

Drack’s cat-like ear caught the footsteps of a sentry, but he was very far away. Still, Drack started walking at a brisk pace. He nearly tripped on a nearby tree root. Drack paused. that let him know that he was actually nervous, it was unlike him to not keep his environment in mind. He decided to take a few quick breaths. His ears heard no sound, his nose caught no unwarranted scent, and his skin felt that the wind moved as it should. Only the Grand Capitan could avoid his senses. 

And if he's after me, then this whole thing was over before it started. No point in stressing over it. 

Drack continued forward. The company’s camp becoming smaller and smaller. He didn’t move with resolve, or courage, or hope for that matter. He just continued forward. 

***

The thought of death is what occupied Drack’s head, blood thumping through his skull. It was the thought of death, the now smell of the thing chasing him, and of the thorns pricking his bare feet, as trees rushed by as he ran, gasping for air, his throat raw and dry. All of a sudden the world around him spun, his entire body twisting. He’d tripped on god knows what. 

His first insect was to reprimand himself for not keeping focus on his environment, but he figured that was no easy feat, especially in situations like this. Strange how easy it was to trip without someone looking out for you. Drack landed on his stomach. He felt something graze his stomach enough to draw blood. He ignored it, rapidly crawling to his feet. Instinctively he looked back in the process.

The first thing he saw was the tip of something round coming right at his face. Fast. He instinctively let himself fall to the ground, and rolled away. With each roll he heard a thud slam into his previous position. Although he could not see what hunted him, he could still visualize it. A thing that stood on both feet with a scaly body and tail that had some sort of carapace ball at the end of it. Good for crushing things. 

Drack heard its ugly face with protruding teeth snarl. He rolled to his feet and positioned himself behind a tree as he continued running. Drack instinctively reached for his short sword but it wasn’t there. I dropped it, He realized in horror. But that wasn’t the only thing he’d dropped. His bag was gone too, and he’d left his boots behind in haste to run. The fucking thing chasing him had snuck up on him somehow while he trimmed his foot callouses, bare footed. 

The wind shifted, and Drack fell to the ground once again, the cold foliage and dirt creasing his skin. The things' tail wooshed above him. Drack Tried to roll to the side but it refused to give him a chance. It stood over him now. Its clawed hand descended, but Drack used both his hands to redirect its momentum to the side. It struck the ground instead. Drack crawled between its legs, slithering behind it. The creature twisted its body but Drack slammed his fist into one of its big eyeballs.

It screeched. Drack wanted to give it another good slamming but he retreated instead. There was nothing worse than engaging an enemy you knew nothing about. Drack ran frantically, never staying in a straight circle. 

The creature behind him realized its prey was getting away. It roared, a reedy high pitched sound, its tongue flailing about. The scales on its body twisted in rage, as if they would peel off at any moment. It leaped forward. The distance between it and Drack was great but in four seconds it had caught up right behind him, its scales making an unsettling rattling noise. 

Drack felt the creature's presence like a searing inferno. He stepped to the side, but the creature predicted his movement. It follows Drack. Problem was, it was moving too fast, too hastily, too doggedly. Instead of ramming its claws into Drack, the thing tripped, and fell onto Drack. Slamming right into his back. The two of them were sent tumbling in the forest. 

Drack tried to stop his momentum with his hand, but nearly twisted his pinky and nails right off. His efforts were futile. He was about to give it another try but he felt himself fall. Fall.

I’m fucking falling… Why? I was already on the ground, wasn’t I? Drack’s spinning vision finally came to a stop. His senses returning to him. Far off, he heard the sound of rushing water, and his eyes caught the sight of his predicament. He was in the air, a valley below him, and he was falling towards that valley. There was nothing to hold onto. There was nothing to cushion his fall below except for rocks. And rocks weren’t great cushions he figured, not really. 

The scaly creature that had gotten him into all this was right next to him. It's one eyeball that still worked fine locked onto the Drack. It reached for him. Drack let it happen. The moment its clawed hand reached his position, Drack’s own hand shot out. He wrapped his fingers tightly around its wrist and pulled it towards him. The Creatures tail came round, slammed drack in his stomach. He coughed up bile, but the creature’s strike was weak since it had no footing. He shook the hut off. 

Drack’s grip on the creature's hand stayed firm. They would hit the rocks in mere seconds. They made contact with the stones. Drack’s head and ribs collided with the creatures' loose scales and backbone beneath him. He felt the creature's bones crunch, smelled its blood, but the impact had also been transferred to him, knocking the breath out of his lungs, and rattling his skull and jaw. He heard bones all over his body make unsavory sounds. Drack wanted to gasp for air but his vision quickly went black, and all the strength seeped out of his body.