Tom tinkered away on the back with expertly defined motions.

 

“Raise your arms,” he commanded. I did so. He felt along my arm until my armpit.

 

“Lower them,” he said.

 

I lowered them. He went over to a table. I rolled my shoulders.

“Oh,” I said

 

“Oh I was wondering do you have any weapons for me, I realised maybe a bit too late that it would make the job a lot easier,”

 

“Hmm,” Went Tom. He went to some shelves. I heard some clanking and banging. He came back and placed a sheathed knife on the table. It was the length of a hand with a dark wooden handle and polished wooden sheath.

 

“I was thinking something a little bigger,” I said weakly.

 

“Weapons aren’t cheap,” said Tom firmly.

 

“Right …” I didn’t really think how I was going to pay him back. I assumed that since it was for training it was for the cause…. Or something like that.

 

“Besides,” continued Tom, “ If you’re fighting anything where you need a bigger weapon you’re better off running. You shouldn’t underestimate the forest,”

 

“I’m not underestimating it,” I replied.

 

“Walk a bit away following the outline of the forest. If you do you’ll find some weak monsters in the grasslands. They are essentially harmless your average ten-year-old would be able to defeat them, although they can be fast. They stay away from the parts where we enter,”

 

“Thank you!” I said. This made things easier, I needed something more on my level. If I start off too high then I won’t be able to improve at all.

I heard the scribbling of pen against paper.

“There seems to be some improvement,”

 

“Are you keeping a record of me,”

 

“It’s for the carapace, one hasn’t been used in a very long time,”

 

“There was this guy by the forest that seemed especially angry with me, I think his name was Garn, I have no idea why he dislikes me so much,”

 

Tom scratched his beard. “Garn is special, you could say that he was affected the most by your arrival. You might have guessed by now but he’s the son of Gilgamesh”

 

“He is! I had no idea!” I exclaimed. “Although it does sort of make sense, they do look similar,”

 

“When you were found you were praised as our savior with an Otherworlders might, we would be able to fight against the holy empire, we had been losing ground, and aid stations for the past several months, and we didn’t have a lot of forces left after we lost the battle against one of the demon king’s generals When we found out you didn’t have your magical powers it put even more pressure on Garn,”

 

Tom paused for a moment.

 

“But I don’t think that’s why he hates you so much. What you have to understand is that Garn is a good kid he has the ability and the leadership skills to one day lead the resistance it’s merely that his foul mouth often gets him into trouble. First I must ask, how much do you remember from before you came to meet us?”

 

“Hmm … everything is a bit of a blur, to be honest. I remember bits and pieces but it all feels more like a dream I had years ago,”

 

Tom nodded. “ To put it bluntly, when you were under the spell the kingdom you attacked was one of our biggest supporters, on that same day several members from the resistance went into the capital to negotiate supplies and minor collaborations, They were people of very importance to the resistance not only because they were intelligent and capable, they were deeply cared for as well. Among those people were Lula’s sister and Garn.”

 

“Oh no,”

 

“Your attacks killed hundreds of people and injured thousands. Among those people, were those that we knew, Lula’s sister for one”

“I never knew,” I whispered hoarsly, This went far beyond what I imagined. How could I almost forget the untold harm and suffering I had caused people? My hands are stained with blood. Yes, I was being controlled but if I hadn’t let myself get tricked then this never would have happened.

It wasn’t long before I found myself back at the forest entrance. I did the exercises that I had built up. The entire time I couldn’t keep what I had learned the entire time. What I had done, the people I had killed.

 

“Hello,” said a voice behind me.

 

“” Hello Lula,” I replied. My mouth felt dry.

 

“I brought you a special lunch today, The cadet core were able to kill a Tuna Lord, Their flesh is a delicacy and very nutritious.”

 

“Lula!” I burst out. “Why are you helping me?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

I looked down. “Everything I’ve done! Your sister …”

Lula took a deep breath. The silence felt deafening. I had to ask I couldn’t for the life of me understand her motives.

 

“You were mind-controlled, it wasn’t your fault,”

 

“You have every right to hate me why don’t you?”

 

“Ok, I’ll tell you why,” she said.

 

“In the beginning when I found out I was angry but that changed. I was one of the ones to find you. I was picking berries by the river when you washed up. When I saw you there I realised who you were. I saw how beat up you were, your clothes were scorched, your face was gashed bruises covered your body. I realised that you were manipulated, you suffered too and you didn’t deserve to be punished for that.”

 

I wiped away tears.

 

“Thank you Lula, I needed that. It means the world to me.”

 

She smiled warmly.

 

I ate the meal while talking to her. The meal was delicious, the rich fatty flesh filled up my stomach. I don’t think I had a single enjoyable moment before this since I got here. This was truly peaceful sitting there enjoying conversation and eating good food. When it was done I said goodbye and continued my training.

I felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I felt a spring in my step. I hadn’t been able to get the thought out of my mind. I tightened my fist. Although it may not have been my fault for the damage I caused. If I was stronger, if I was smarter I still could have prevented it. I can never let anything like that happen ever again. I’ll become stronger, stronger than anyone. So strong that no one will be able to control me or manipulate me to hurt innocent people.

 

I took a deep breath clearing my thoughts. Right now I need to focus on the task at hand. I checked that I had all my equipment.

 

Instead of through the forest entrance, I followed Tom’s advice. I walked along the edge never venturing past the grassy fields. I walked until I couldn’t see the trail that led to the entrance of the forest. There in the distance, a few strides ahead were figures hopping around. These were furry and long-eared. Giant rabbits?

 

I stooped low to the ground there was one ten paces in front of me nibbling on some grass. The dagger Tom had given me unsheathed with a low hiss. If I unsheathed it closer it would probably alert it. I crept forward sliding my feet over the grass. My feet crunched softly on some dry grass. It’s ears perked up. Crap! It lifted its head its ears swiveling in all directions. It paused its head in the air for a moment. I held my breath. It went back to gnawing on the grass. I clutched the dagger tightly. I was no more than an arm's distance from it. I could have petted its soft grey fur. I could see the small ridge of its spine moving under its skin. I ever so slowly raised my blade in the air. I darted forward, In the split second that I dashed forward, its ears perked and it ran away so fast all I could see was a grey streak. It disappeared somewhere in the grass.

 

“Damn these rabbits are fast,” I muttered under my breath. There’s no way I’ll be able to catch up with them. I’ll need something other than speed to catch them or rather speed alone won’t be enough to let me catch them.

 

I walked for a bit looking at the ground. There! I felt along the ground with my foot. There were trails in the ground. With all the rabbits that seemed to go around here, there must be trails left in the ground, especially considering the speed at which they can travel. I followed the trail for a bit until it led to taller grass. I then hid myself. I gathered loose handfuls of grass and crept into a large bundle of grass. I took the loose grass and covered most of my exposed parts. I didn’t have to wait long. The ground vibrated loosely. A rabbit appeared hopping casually. I took a deep breath. It let out a high-pitched cry at the sight of me. The dagger only grazed it snipping at its fur. As it moved it kicked me. Its powerful legs knocked the wind out of me. I tasted blood in my mouth. That must have at least bruised if not fractured a few ribs. It reared at me moving its mouth and letting out chirps. Why wasn’t it running away? It let out another cry. Before running at me. It tackled me once again knocking the wind out of me. I rolled onto the floor. I braced myself for another attack but it never came. It was standing there slowly walking towards me. Was it toying with me? Anger welled up inside me. Did it think I was harmless? I raised my guard holding the dagger between us. I ran at it. It tried to bite me but I ducked to the side simultaneously I slashed across its chest using my momentum to slice deeper into it. It cried out in pain. Blood welled out of the wound. It’s eyes turned to slits. Not so funny now is it? It charged at me, I ducked again its feet slid over themselves as it scrambled furiously to turn around. It ended up rolling over itself several times. It reared its head and cried out. Rabbit heads started sticking up from the grass. Rabbits came out from the grass until they were twenty or thirty. All of their ears were flat to their heads.

 

“Come on, I’ll take all of you,” I shouted.

 

They prowled towards me. This wasn’t prey behaviour this was predatory. Suddenly they all raised their heads in unison. Then they turned tail and ran. They scampered over themselves in an attempt to run away from me.

 

“That’s right run away,” I shouted. I heard heavy breathing behind me.

 

A roar reverberated through the air. The sound rippled through my body. I didn’t bother looking back. I bolted in the same direction as the rabbits. I didn’t know what it was behind me but I sure as hell didn’t want to find out. I was close on the heels of one of them, I could have stabbed it if I wanted to. There was no conflict between me and the rabbits now.

 

The forest rushed forward to meet me. It had untold dangers but considering the danger that was chasing me I didn’t hesitate to plunge in. Adrenaline pumped through my body. I jumped over stream, rocks, and logs and the foliage whipped against my face. I could still hear the thumping footsteps behind me. A sheer cliff face loomed above me I looked up, it stretched many body-lengths above me and was covered in moss and jagged rocks. There was no way I would be able to climb it especially not fast enough. I glanced at either side of the rock wall. I spotted rabbits running into an opening on its side. I sprinted in that direction. I rushed in without a second thought. Eerie green crystals illuminated the passages. Powerful thumping neared me. It somehow managed to fit through the entrance of the tunnel. The tunnel separated into several ones. Rabbits ran through all of them, somehow I was now alone after passing through several openings. I could a glimpse of green fur behind me. Why was it following me? The tunnel stopped at a smooth wall. A dead end. I turned to face the beast. It leaped at me, I darted to the side. It landed where I would have been. The ground opened up beneath us. The crumbling ground reached me as well and I fell with it. We tumbled down, hitting against rock and freefalling for some time. Even falling the beast tried to bite me. I kicked against its snout stopping its massive canines from ripping my torso in half. It dashed against a rock face and fell into a different hole. I crashed through a rock layer on the ground. Light flooded my vision. I landed in something soft. Greenery surrounded me. I was still in the forest.

 

The rock wall I had come from next to me rumbled. It came from the hole I had come through. The same beast burst through widening the hole my body had caused.

It arose from its fall growling. It instantly noticed me and raised its hackles. It began walking towards me.

 

“Dammit!” I cursed.

 

I raised my guard. I guess this wasn’t over yet. There was nowhere to run. It would catch up to me as easily as it would be for me to catch up to a turtle. There was only one way out and my life depended on it.

 

“Come on,” I growled.