The waning sun is like blood, spreading over the wilderness, the time of the scavengers has come.
Cloud Hawk, woke up in a burst of spasmodic pain, this familiar feeling has occupied most of the space of life and memory, scavengers are called it hunger, is said to be the Creator left to all beings an eternal spell!
If we don't find food this time, we won't make it through the night.
As for tomorrow? Cloudhawk never thought about that.
Because tomorrow is too much of a luxury for scavengers.
Cloud Eagle crawled out of the hole in the ground with great difficulty, and when his feet stepped on the hot and barren earth again, he felt a strong dizziness. The ancient ruins around him were remnants of different eras, as well as fragments of remains that had fallen in from other worlds, all of which had once constructed splendor, but had now become worthless garbage, buried and forgotten by the gravel of time in this wilderness.
Teenage thin figure alone in the sky sand is so small, the wind blowing messy black hair cover tender face, a few dirty rags wrapped around the thin body, rough skin covered with wounds, except for a pair of eyes bright and clear, he and the ordinary scavengers are not much different.
Cloud Eagle is only fourteen or fifteen years old.
Scavenger life is very simple, nearly twenty hours a day in the hole in the ground to escape the scorching heat and cold, only a short gap in the morning and dusk to climb out in the ruins to find food. Day after day, year after year, life may seem monotonous, but for the scavengers it is a great blessing, because repetition and monotony, once interrupted, means extinction.
Cloud Hawk could not help but think of the old man.
The old man is an alternative scavenger who has been through the ages, knows old time words, knows things that scavengers don't know, likes to tell stories, collects things, especially old time tools, drawings, and words, the only object that can be shared is Yun Ying, they are the only companions and friends.
The sun rose as usual that day, and the old man didn't crawl out as usual.
The old man was at least lucky to have Cloudhawk to bury him.
Cloudhawk didn't dare to imagine what the scene would be like now that he had collapsed, a skeleton that, despite the fact that there wasn't much meat left in it, was never picked on by hungry, red-eyed scavengers. Those crazy butchers will surely dismantle him, smoke him and hang him on a rusty hook, partly for their own enjoyment and partly to exchange for some drinking water.
This is the wilderness, where you can eat anything and do anything to survive.
Cloud Eagle sometimes quite envious of them, but the old man once said, if even the last human nature are abandoned, the human race is really no hope.
So hungry!
Can't walk fast enough!
Cloud Eagle dragged his weak body to wander among the ruins, like a straw swaying in the wind, he might fall down at any time, the scavengers had long ago rummaged through the ruins, how easy was it to find a bit of food?
Again, nothing?
Will this be the last time we see the sunset?
Cloud eagle powerless to sit down and look far into the sky, the remaining sun like blood, drenched desert, an eagle soaring in the sky between the clouds, his eyes showed a deep envy, when he named himself cloud eagle, is the hope that the eagle in the clouds as free ...... is ultimately a luxury?
It has not yet come to the last moment.
Can not give up! Can not give up!
At that moment a tight and rapid pace reached his ears, causing Cloud Eagle to stand up like a frightened cub, drawing a sharpened piece of iron and staring ahead with a wary face. This turbulent and crazy years, every day there are hungry and crazy scavengers attacking the same kind of people, most of the weak children like Cloud Hawk are the object of infliction.
Sure enough, accompanied by rapid footsteps, three ragged scavengers madly rushed out.
Cloud Eagle's face changed and hastily retreated two steps, he is now so weak that even a gust of wind can blow down, three scavengers launched a simultaneous attack, then there is absolutely no possibility of being spared!
Wait!
No, that's not right!
The three men were not murderous despite their grim faces, not with the aura a predator should have, but instead were filled with terror and despair.
It wasn't an attack, this was running for their lives!
With an unsettling sense of foreboding, a large group of black figures rushed out in hot pursuit of the scavengers, numbering a dozen or so, roughly the size of wild dogs, with scarlet eyes, hideous and frightening.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Cloud Eagle's blood froze in an instant, his brain exploded, leaving only one thought that originated from his soul and came from instinct:
Run!
The threat of death once again inspired the potential of life!
A new force squeezed out of this nearly depleted body, Cloud Eagle didn't recognize it carefully, much less want to recognize it clearly, just understand one thing - this was a mutant beast, a ferocious mutant beast, the most terrifying predator.
Scavengers in this desert, and even in this ruin, were only the lowest predators, how could they possibly fight against the terrifying mutant beasts?
One of the slowest women pounced first.
"Help me!"
"Help me!"
The monster bit down on the neck with its sharp teeth and tore it viciously, and large streams of blood seemed to spill out like a fountain.
The second, the third, black shadows scrambled to gather, in the blink of an eye surrounded the woman all over her body, the blood and flesh were gnawed and torn apart piece by piece, and the abdominal intestines with the internal organs were dragged out together.
So bloody, so cruel, so horrible!
That short but poignant to the extreme screams, as if a life-threatening talisman shot to the three people. There were some mutant beasts that didn't divide the food, and continued to chase over, their speed was too fast, but in three or two seconds, another scavenger was pounced on.
"Ah!"
"No!"
The sound of gnawing bones and tearing flesh and blood made Cloud Eagle's body go cold all over!
When Yun Ying panicked and turned into a corner, making him feel even more desperate scene appeared, the ruins in front of him blocked the road, it was a dead end ac!
What to do?
How to do!
A third mournful scream rang out.
The last scavenger also fell.
Three or two mutant beasts crossed over the scavenger's corpse, resembling black lightning as they scurried towards this helpless, skinny teenager!
Danger!!! Cloud Eagle smelled the strong aura of death, even a second's hesitation would be irreversible!
Turn back and you will die!
We can only fight!
He rushed recklessly into the ruins, burrowing into a deep, small slit.
Adults couldn't get into this place, Cloud Eagle's skinny body was barely able to fit in, and immediately there was a rustling sound in his ears - a mutant beast had followed him in hot pursuit!
The stench of the mutant beast's body was clearly audible, and it was already close at hand!
Cloud Eagle drilled to the end of the slit, no longer able to advance the slightest bit, the monster hissed loudly, this is the precursor to launching an attack.
It's a matter of life and death.
He resolutely held the sharp iron blade in the desperate situation and turned around, at this time the black figure just pounced and bit over, the scarlet eyes blossomed with cruel light, the sharp incomparable teeth, as if razor sharp, just want to tear the delicious prey in front of him into pieces.
Cloud Eagle issued a beast-like low roar and stabbed out, the sharp iron blade just poked into the monster's eyes.
Monster sharp miserable howl, crashed into the cloud eagle body, sharp claws left a few bloody marks, cloud eagle pressed its head, the space inside the ruins is narrow, it has no way to move around.
"Go die! Die!"
Cloud Eagle hideous already more than the mutant beasts, frantically waving the iron blade in the head and neck stabbed a dozen times, a large amount of fishy blood sprayed everywhere, face, hands, clothes, all were dripping all over.
Two monsters in the outside spinning but can not squeeze in, and heard the miserable howls of their own kind, immediately turned around and left the place. Cloud Eagle half paralyzed in the narrow space, panting heavily, the brain a lack of oxygen dizziness, now even move a little finger has become a luxury.
When the madness was over, these exhausting weaknesses made a comeback, probably because they had just been neglected, they were now aggressively trying to double back.
For the first time, he surveyed the creatures in front of him.
It had dark, oily fur, long, sharp claws, scarlet, scary eyes, sort of like a mutated giant rat, but whatever it was, it was a full dozen pounds of flesh.
Food!
The cloud eagle becomes excited again, and uses the iron slice to cut the tough outer skin of the monster, tearing a few pieces of fat meat and stuffing them into his mouth, sour, fishy and rough ...... This has been extremely delicious for the people in the wilderness.
Cloud eagles are all living on ants, beetles, and grass roots, and they have not tasted the taste of meat for a long, long time. When the esophagus slipped into the stomach, the warm feeling spread all over the body, and the spasm and pain inside the stomach weakened, replaced by a feeling of satisfaction that is difficult to describe in words!
He ate until his parched stomach bulged again.
Finally stopping to continue eating, his face was filled with happiness.
The mutant beasts outside had already gone far away, and Cloud Eagle was ready to drag his hand-killed prey back to the hole in the ground, and the dozen or so pounds of meat was enough to enjoy for many days.
Cloud Eagle had just dragged the prey out when a rough beast-like voice came.
"Put the meat down!"
Four or five adult scavengers stood in front of them, the leader of which was a very lean-looking one with a hideous scar on his face, his face full of ferocity filled with hostility.
These people might have heard the commotion over here long ago, so they lurked around and waited, hoping to pick up a few bones, only to run right into this child who was carrying the prey.
The fatty beast meat made them all red-eyed.
Scar roared, "Put the meat down!"
Cloud Eagle's silent expression was as wild and dangerous as a lone wolf, both sides were like wild beasts confronting each other in the wilderness, in fact, in this day and age, the line between man and beast would have been blurred.
Put it down?
Take life in exchange for, you let me put down?
Cloud Eagle did not say half a word of nonsense, like a completely enraged young beast, recklessly pounced on one of them and punched him in the face.
No suspense.
Cloud Eagle is after all a half-grown child, how to defeat several adults? The result of this resistance was to receive a round of beatings, and then watch the prey that he had fought with his life be snatched away.
............
The darkness of the night has fallen.
The teenager fled to the hole in the ground bruised and battered as if he were a defeated stray dog, with no complaint or anger toward the scavengers who had taken his prey; he had long since seen the nature of the wilderness as a child who had grown up in a campground.
The wilderness had no principles; strength was the only law!
The strong could have more food, slaves, and women, the weak were destined to be enslaved, trampled, and plundered, this was the wilderness. This world, this era, this place, there is never any reasoning, weakness itself is a sin!
Moonlight like water sprinkled into the hole in the ground, a blanket could hardly withstand the cold, he was frozen and curled up, all over the body hurt so that he could not sleep peacefully.
Cloud Hawk tossed and turned to sit up, picked up an iron box, blowing off the thick dust, as if holding a treasure in his hand, from which he carefully took out some flowers and green things.
He stared straight at these things with infatuated eyes, it is the old man's life hard work to collect pictures, is the evidence of the existence of the old times, years of time erosion, has been a little mottled.
Every time he saw them, the young heart hidden in his chest would be touched.
Every time I see them, my body is filled with pain, hunger and sickness, all of which are slightly relieved.
Every time I see them, no matter how desperate and dark, I can always see a ray of light flickering.
The old days are far away!
What kind of a dream world are you?
People were clean and handsome back then, cities were prosperous and wealthy back then, there were no dangerous and terrifying mutant beasts, no ferocious mutants, and no scavengers struggling to survive in the wilderness.
Is that good time really over?
Does such a place still exist in this world?
There was a fire burning in Cloudhawk's dark eyes - he was incredibly eager to walk the campsite and the wilderness!
This idea was like a steel mark firmly seared into the depths of his soul, from a very young age, the old man once asked him: why? The camp is dangerous, the ruins are dangerous, the wilderness is even more dangerous, it is a road to certain death!
"Who made me born in this world!"
"Since this world chose me, I have a right to see it well!"
"One day, I will go searching, to find that paradise-like place, and if I can look at it, if I can kiss that land, I will have no regrets even if I die immediately!"
The old man was silent.
From then on he took the child with him, shared his food, and taught him to read. Struggling on the edge of life and death all these years, that thought, instead of disappearing, grew stronger!
The old man said, some people are born to be free eagles, even if they grow up in the chicken nest, there will be a day when they lift their wings and soar ......
Now even the ruins can not walk out, let alone the boundless and ten thousand times more dangerous wilderness.
The old man often put "fate" on his lips, everyone has their own destiny, no matter how to escape can not escape.
Is this my destiny? I don't believe it! The eyes of this young man, who had been tortured by the ravages of the wilderness but was still full of arrogance, were filled with an indescribable heat, and he put the iron box under his head, and finally fell asleep in the midst of physical and mental exhaustion.