Chapter 1 – The Boy in the Woods

As the moon cast its serene light in the darkness of the night, the boy’s firm steps made no sounds as he trotted towards his goal. A well-worn shirt and slightly torn pants barely concealed his lean figure which showed signs of a rough nomadic life wandering the forest. This was in stark contrast to the sharp eyes that seemed to take in every minute detail as he swiftly navigated the brambles and rocks strewn about the forest floor.

He was angry, incredibly so. Some unwelcome guests had intruded into his territory and raided his food stash. He did not care much about the loss as there were many pests in the forest and he was used to it. He could always gather more. What angered him was the group of bipedal footprints he had found near his cave, his home for the last six months. All the pesky raiders he was accustomed to, either slithered or crawled on all fours. Animals and insects, he could take care of. Humans on the other hand….

Snap

His footsteps halted with the anomalous sound in the deathly silence of the night. Carefully observing his surroundings while straining his ears, he waited. His past experiences had taught him the importance of patience, and the cost of losing it.

He could faintly smell the alluring aroma of roasted meat. He cautiously made a beeline for the smell. With well-practiced movements he made his way up a tree near the light source, now visible through the bushes. His muddy figure blended well with the surroundings as he observed his prey for the night.

A party of 2 men and a woman sat around a crudely set up campfire. They were dressed differently compared to the townsfolk who lived a few dozen miles from his current cave. Each wore camouflaged attire and had heavy hiking backpacks resting next to them. They seemed to be in deep conversation with little regard for their surroundings. It appeared the snapping sound he heard earlier was from the campfire that was currently being used to cook a rabbit on a stick. Next to it were some fruits and herbs. All the things were from his stash that these guests seem to have partaken from.

“Man, talk about a lucky break. I was thinking we would have to hunt our own game tonight,” the first man said jovially. He was a portly man of average height, with short dark hair. His pockmarked skin did not do him any favors in the looks department either. “I just wish the cave was slightly bigger. It could hardly fit a full-grown man, let alone the three of us. I wonder who stashed all these things in there.”

“Perhaps it was left by our course instructor to help us survive. Or some other team stored their supplies there, who cares. In any case, it at least solves our immediate food needs. I have been starving for a well-cooked juicy piece of meat for what feels like forever. I feel choked with just these dry rations. Although, this smoke is killing me,” added the second man.

Every inch of his 6’4” body was designed to make the ladies swoon. From his wavy shoulder length blonde hair to his steroid infused gym body looked like a work of art. He was the tallest of the three and had a prominent jawline that would have made him quite handsome, had it not been for the annoying smirk that seemed to be plastered on his face.

The woman, a bespectacled redhead with a frown, seemed annoyed by the discussion. “I doubt our survival training instructor would appreciate us getting a free meal like this. He sure as hell didn’t hide it there. We are supposed to be completing this training on our own skill and merit, not stealing other people’s supplies. As for the smoke, you used too much lighter fluid, which was not supposed to be in our supplies anyway. Don’t know how you smuggled that in,” she squeaked in a high-pitched voice.

She seemed to be the only person amongst the group who wasn’t enjoying the meal, even if she was still munching on it. She hugged herself as a chilly breeze made the fire blaze away from their huddle. As he kept observing this gang of thieves, the redhead’s gaze moved in his direction, and for a brief instant he thought their eyes met.

The boy didn’t move a muscle, waiting for her to turn away instead. He had learned that most creatures were attracted by motion and would often just look away given enough time. Especially in the dark with such poor lighting.

“Oh please, I wouldn’t be here if not for my father pushing me into …,” started the shorter man. But before he could finish, the woman yelped.

“Who’s there?” the woman suddenly jumped to her feet. Her 2 companions looked at each other, visibly concerned. They too stood up and formed a standard three-man formation with backs against each other to cover all directions. They each drew a spray can and were holding it straight ahead.

For an excruciatingly long moment, there was absolute silence except for the occasional cricket or wind howling through the trees. The boy still didn’t move a muscle. He kept his vigil, still as a statue.

“What is it, Jenny? What did you see?” the taller man asked.

“I don’t know Mike. I think I saw a pair of eyes and a humanoid shadow by the trees there,” she pointed straight ahead from where she was standing. But she did turn to her companion for a moment.

That’s when the boy moved. He slowly slinked back into the branches and got away from their line of sight. With practiced ease he climbed down from his perch and crawled away to a different vantage point. Within minutes he was in a location to the woman’s right. The trio had broken formation and were now looking straight ahead at his earlier location.

They were whispering something amongst themselves and by the looks of it, it was a heated debate. This made his next move much easier. He kept circling around till he was behind them and continued stalking.

………………..

Erwin

Erwin was having a very bad day. First his control-freak of a father had sent him to this cursed survival training camp in the middle of nowhere. Then, due to some cruel twist of fate, he got paired with the most obnoxious and irritating duo he had ever met. And now he was in a situation he had never wanted to ever experience in his life. He really wished his father was with him at that moment. Just so he could strangle the old man.

This was supposed to be a big party for his 18th birthday. When he heard his father had planned something special for his big day, he didn’t have any high expectations. But this. This missed his guesses by a mile. And hearing the current discussion, his mood continued to sour further.

“Erwin, you should go check it out,” miss goody two shoes said in her high and mighty tone.

If he had a penny for every good idea, she supposedly had on their trek together he would have at least a hundred bucks by now. He was pretty sure it was her incessant whining and complaining about every single aspect of their group that kept the other animals at bay. Her judgmental tirades could put a bear in a coma.

“And why would I do that?” he whispered as loudly as he dared. “If you want a meat shield, you have a much bigger and better option right there.” He said while pointing at his other companion, Michael. The guy was infuriating, but also scary. He was everything that Erwin could never be, and what his father always wanted. However he had the same air of superiority his childhood bullies had.

“Dude, we decided the roles before we started. She is the brain, and I am the brawn. And you are…,” the jerk looked him over once and scoffed. “Let’s just say the walk would be good for ya. Just go check it out and shamble your way back to us. Easy peasy.”

The moron briefly glanced at their companion with a creepy gaze. The oblivious bimbo didn’t even notice as she was too busy looking down at him. This situation had been repeating all day. Between her constant bombardment of sage advice, and his subtle innuendos and sleazy looks (which she never noticed), Erwin was going insane.

Everything that went wrong was somehow his fault, and everything that went well was due to her oh-so-mighty intellect and his hard-to-achieve physical perfection. Erwin glared at his companions but moved in the pointed direction, nonetheless. It was easier to get this over with than argue unsuccessfully for another 15 minutes.

As he moved a few steps away, Mike moved slightly closer to Jenny before taunting further, “Be careful, the waitress in town said this area has some bear activity occasionally.”

Please don’t be a bear, please don’t be a bear, Erwin whispered to himself as he crept forward while drawing a knife from his belt and holding it in the other hand.

He reached the tree line and looked around with squinted eyes. “I don’t see anything here. You sure you saw someth…,” he cut off before finishing as he tripped and fell face forward.

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Inches away from his face was a carcass of a small animal. It seemed to be stuck in some sort of improvised trap using sharpened wooden sticks. It was skewered right through the abdomen and had died with its eyes open.

He swiftly got up and called out, “It’s just a dead buck. I would watch your step if I were you. Looks like it triggered a hunter’s trap sometime during the day today.”

He moved backwards with his back to his colleagues, still on the lookout for any movement. As he almost made his way back, he suddenly tripped and fell over again.

“What the blazes are you two doing?” he got up and started dusting his hands and clothes.

As he turned to see what tripped him, he froze. It was Jenny’s unmoving figure that made him fall over, and Mike was nowhere around. He felt a chill run down his spine and immediately did a full 360. Nothing.

He was alone in the clearing with no movement at all. He hated this. He didn’t even want to come on this cursed wilderness survival thing his father loved for some damn reason. He preferred spending time either upgrading his gaming rig or yelling into the mic as he played online games with his nerd squad. Those adventures he could get behind.

What was going on? He was here just for a two-day one-night training exercise. He wasn’t supposed to be facing a bear, or silent invisible assailants.

“She is not dead,” a calm juvenile voice spoke from behind him making him jump and turn towards the fire.

A young boy was sitting by the fire where Mike used to. He looked at ease with a blank facial expression and seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the fire with his palms facing outward.

“You can have a seat. Your other friend is safe as well.” The kid didn’t even look towards him as he declared, and cryptically added, “For now at least.”

Looking closer Erwin thought the boy looked malnourished but saw no signs of weakness or discomfort. On the contrary, he seemed to be indifferent to the man who was more than four times his body weight.

“Poor choice of wood for your fire. It holds too much water, hence the smoke.” The boy continued without looking away from the fire.

“Where is Mike and what have you done to Jenny?” Erwin barely managed to squeak. His terror was obvious from his shaky legs and quivery voice.

“She is just taking a nap, a hit to the back of your head does that. Your friend, Mike, on the other hand, is not very comfortable. You answer my questions, and he might be. Deal?”

He thought about it for a moment before replying, “Alright. But I have some questions too.”

“Sure. We will take turns. One question per turn. You can go first.”

“Why did you attack us?” Erwin asked while taking his earlier seat, albeit at the very edge of it.

“I was just responding in kind. You did borrow my food, you know,” the boy pointed at the meat roasting on the campfire. “My turn, why are you here?”

“Why are you here? And where are your parents?”

“You didn’t answer and asked 2 questions instead. Thought we had a deal.” For the first time the boy looked at him. The icy gaze seems to penetrate his very soul, making him shudder.

“Ah…yes… yes, of course. My bad. We are part of a survival training exercise that our university conducts once a year. We must find our way to the marked location on the map.”

Silence

Seeing that boy was not going to say anything else Erwin blurted out, “What are you doing here anyway?”

The boy seemed to be just staring at him with the same blank expression, but his eyes seemed to have narrowed a bit.

“To answer your question, I live here. However, I suggest you choose your words very wisely as you answer my next. Depending on whether I like the answer or not, you may or may not be able to ask the next question. Ever again.”

The not-so-subtle hint of threat in the boy’s voice, and the creepy nature of the current situation would have been enough to give pause to a seasoned warrior. Erwin, however, was no warrior. He was practically shaking like a leaf in a hurricane by this point. The sweat droplets flowing down his temple could be clearly seen in the eerie illumination. The boy stood up.

“Why. Did. You. Raid. My. Stash?” The boy emphasized every word with a step towards him. As Erwin tripped and fell a third time that night, the kid bent forward till their noses were inches away and fixatedly stared into his eyes.

“I … ummm …, I mean we…were trying to … ummm … I am sorry kid. We were just hungry. Didn’t think anyone would need the food. I swear it on my momma,” his face was deathly pale, and he wished he could just dissolve into the air right now.

For a full minute the strange boy didn’t move and kept staring unblinkingly into his eyes. He then casually walked back to his seat and calmly sat down without a word, grabbed a piece of the rabbit, and started eating with indifference.

Erwin kept waiting in silence for what felt like an eternity before gathering what courage he had left and asked, “Are we done here?”

“Yes, we are,” the boy replied.

Something was off about this whole encounter. Still, Erwin closed his eyes and took a deep breath of relief. He then looked at the motionless body next to him and the empty seats next to the boy. He wanted to ask but he had run out of all the courage he had and just stared helplessly at the boy.

The boy saw this and quickly added, “Oh of course, your friends. Like I said, she’s fine. She should be waking up in a couple of hours even if you do nothing.” He pointed at Jenny. “As for Mike, you might want to cut him down. Hanging upside down is not good for you.” He pointed right above their heads.

When Erwin looked up, he was stunned. Mike was dangling by one of his feet. He looked unconscious but had no visible injuries.

“Wha…How…How’d you do that?”

“Honestly, I didn’t. It was you all who walked into my hunting traps. He knocked her out while he was being catapulted up. Still, these two are lucky they tripped a non-lethal trap. And you are lucky that baby deer came before you.” He pointed in the direction Erwin was previously searching.

Erwin’s eyes widened in shock at the revelation of how close he came to being turned into a skewered kabob. Recalling the buck’s open eyes sent a shudder down his spine. He quickly found the hidden rope tied to a tree nearby and lowered his companion slowly.

He checked Mike and Jenny’s heads and could see a bump on them both. It seemed when the trap activated, Mike was flung up and hit his head on Jenny’s before being launched into the air.

“I didn’t hear him hitting his head,” Erwin pointed out.

“Hard to hear stuff when you yourself are tripping on your feet,” the boy said with an amused smile.

Embarrassed, Erwin quickly removed a small vial from his standard issue hiking bag and held it near Mike’s nose. Almost instantly, the unconscious man sat up and started sneezing and coughing profusely.

“Smelling salt,” Erwin explained as he moved over to Jenny. The boy was still sitting comfortably, although a little amused at the scene. His gaze briefly fixed on Mike’s bag which was next to him, before going back to the fire.

“Ah choo … Ah choo …what the hell man? Did you … Ah choo …pour it down my … Ah choo … nose?”

Mike’s eyes were red by this point. He was feverishly rubbing his nose and eyes to get rid of the nauseous smell. “Ughh, my head hurts. What happened?”

He turned towards Erwin who was trying to make Jenny lie down more comfortably before waking her up.

The idiot quickly walked over to his side and started a barrage of questions in a whisper, “How is she? Who attacked us? Did you fight … never mind. What happened?”

“Relax. You got done in by the kid,” Erwin froze suddenly as he realized something. The situation was still very suspicious. A kid in the middle of nowhere, living alone by himself (if the boy was to be believed). No matter how hard he thought, he just couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“What?” Mike was dumbstruck and confused. He started looking around and saw the kid sitting by the fire and observing the group. It took a few seconds for his brain to register what he was seeing. The smack on his head must have been hard.

“Who the hell is this squirt?”, he dropped his guard and moved towards the boy slowly.

“I am Aenon,” the boy replied plainly.

“Who cares who you are you dumb shit. Once I am done with you, you are going to be sorry your parents let you wander around on your own,” Mike took two steps towards the kid while flexing his biceps.

But before he could take a third, the kid threw something at Mike’s face which exploded in a puffy cloud of dust. Mike was instantly blinded and started having a coughing fit. The well-built man hunched over.

“I don’t do well with threats. This is your first and last warning. Next time you will suffer more than just pain,” the boy, Aenon, said curtly.

Erwin was surprised by the sudden attack but kept it to himself. There was something about the boy that unnerved him. Why was he here all by himself? Where were the kids’ parents or guardians? Why was he so calm despite the situation? Most kids his age would be pissing their pants in this scenario. Not provoking a group of adults so brazenly.

“Anyway, you three owe me for the food you borrowed from me. I always settle my debts. So, you better have something to offer.”

“Of course, Of course. We are sorry about that. How about you come with us to town where we can treat you to a nice hot meal, and cozy bed to rest in?” Erwin said nervously, trying to use the most pleasing and flattering voice.

Mike was slowly recovering from his violent fit. “What the hell dude…cough… Just slap the …cough…little piece of …”

Before Mike could finish there was a bone chilling snapping sound as the kid deftly stepped on Mike’s ankle from the side, cleanly breaking it.

“Aaaaargh,” Mike collapsed screaming to the ground holding his knee as his ankle bent at an unnatural angle.

“I only give warnings once,” the boy said darkly before turning towards Erwin.

“What the f… You broke his leg. Why did you do that? We are in the middle of a forest. How do we get out of here?” Erwin was aghast. The remorselessness with which the kid had broken Mike’s foot was horrifying. But the bigger concern was their survival. Getting any kind of help was going to take time.

“I always stay true to what I say. It is not my concern who believes me and who doesn’t,” saying that the kid picked the knife placed by the fire and bent over the now weeping man. “Next time you threaten me, I will end your life.”

He then stabbed the knife into the ground next to Mike’s head. The action immediately shut the man up despite the obvious pain he must be experiencing.

“We are even now,” the boy said to Erwin as he got up. He noticed the kid pocketing the knife before turning away.

“What?” Erwin asked confused. His mind was not able to keep up with the events of the night. He didn’t know what to feel towards the boy now. But one thing he did learn, this was no boy. This was a demon that should not be crossed.

“I am taking the knife; he won’t be using it in that condition. That makes us even for the food,” saying his piece the kid started walking away from their camp.

Leaving Erwin to take care of an unconscious woman and a sniveling grown man with a broken foot.

But just as the boy was about to leave the clearing, the sky suddenly turned bright. Looking up, the three conscious humans saw a strange sight. A sight billions of people were witnessing this half of the planet. A sight no one would forget for years to come.

image [https://1drv.ms/i/s!Aviy3RdNwwXJhe1s6Pt_rh6_196OpQ?embed=1&width=1280&height=1280]

The moon. It was breaking into a thousand pieces. And they were heading for earth.