Savant

A single word is all that could be uttered after that shock: "FUCK." It cracked like a whip across the air.

After such an outburst, such pain, I had come to the conclusion that rest would benefit my weary, aching muscles. My exhausted body could take the waking world no longer. I was in pain, so much pain... I lay my head down on the ground, not noticing that the blood, that previously occupied the area my head lay in, did not exist any longer.

I woke up, near well rested as my sweaty body reeked of sweat and blood. My tired eyes groggily opened, expecting to see my window and all my items on the shelf adjacent to it.

The realization hit me all too soon. A branch fell and landed on my weary body, telling my instinct to get up and switch me to full survival mode. I jumped upwards, stood my ground and unsheathed both of my weapons in manic fear. My legs were spaced and my weapons were held close. My eyes darted left and right, my head spun around within the blink of an eye. I was a terrified cat backed into a corner. Still in proper combat position, I investigated my surroundings to confirm that I was near the cave and boulder. No such objects were in the vicinity.

I focused my eyes upon my environment to confirm that even one object of familiarity still existed. My house is gone... I'm not home. Oh, I'm not home at all... Nowhere even close. I was in a dark forest that carried the foul aroma of rot and death. The constant, nagging feeling that I was being watched was ever present. No sunlight could be seen. In fact, no light at all... besides the 2 yellow rays that lay within a stone's throw away from me. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the spheres. I took a bold step forwards, weapons still drawn.

It blinked. It flinched. It barked. A growl behind me confirmed that I needed to get out. Fast. Whipping around at inhuman, near spine snapping speed, I swung the back end of my hatchet and turned my head in time to see lumber and twigs explode outwards from the impact. A plethora of barking and yelping in vengeful response alerted me that my presence was no longer welcomed. It never was. I did the sensible thing to do when dealing with an unknown assailant. Flee.

I bounded in a full sprint to my right. Left, right, left, right, left, right. My breathing was getting erratic and raggedy as I ran for my life, eyes wide open in panic as I heard 12 feet follow me in near pitch black forest. I was sweating from every area in my body imaginable and weak at the knees. A tree rapidly approached me as my feet developed a mind of their own, jumped and kicked to the right, leading 2 of my pursuers to slam into the tree as I flew to the left, unharmed. Catching my balance as I kept running, I steadied my body and returned to my painful mantra. Right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left, jump, right. Arms and legs swinging as fast a humanly possible, I picked up the pace faster and faster than I would've thought I was capable of as I ran towards the light at the edge of the wooden columns. I was hyperventilating in relief as I sprinted towards the beautiful glow, looking more and more glorious as it grew larger and larger.

And then it went dark. The light wasn't there. It was just gone. GONE. Only a blink of an eye. The forest was playing tricks on me. I stopped dead in my tracks and caught my breath. Eyes wide in insane rage, I turned to face my attackers, once and for all. 6 glowing eyes approached me as I drew both of my weapons wearily. Gritting my teeth, I ran towards them, knife in my left, hatchet in my right, held above my head. I left forth the largest war cry this world has ever seen as I let them see what the hell I was capable of. The roar was deafening, it was primal. It was terrifying.

They stopped in fear as I sprinted toward them in pure, white-hot fury. Savagely frenzied, I swung my right arm as brutally as possible and cracked one of their skulls as I violently kicked another. Two yelps accompanied my show of bloody strength. Yanking my hatchet out of the toughened skull, I stabbed one of the vile creatures in the eye and butchered its his neck with my hatchet as I grabbed the third and final wolf's throat in my hands. I held him in front of my face, as I let forth another cry of anger, and swung it to the ground. It whimpered and whined and attempted to flee in vain as it sorrowfully stared at it's broken legs and murdered brothers. I lifted my right foot above it's head and stomped.

SNAP! I broke it's skull.

My chest heaved between breaths as I stared at my murderous accomplishment.

I squatted down, looking down at the brainless act of a kill that I had committed. Killing with little to no remorse; the curse of a human. But I began to doubt that they were ever alive. They were lumber canines, not living beings. Right? They were a pun, a bastard child of a joke. Timberwolves. Right? I began to doubt my baseless reasoning. Distant barks echoed through the forest as I realized my presence and the lack of living wolves had not gone unnoticed. I stood up and began to stomp away.

I walked on, tired legs abusing me, constantly nagging reminders that rest was needed. I didn't trust this forest to rest in, I stepped and stepped knowing that if I decided that respite from walking in the forest could mean certain death. My motivation was survival. Until my eyes caught a glint of light. I stopped, mid-stride as the plates on my armor jingled. My eyes widened in surprise, as I jogged towards the shine. The leaves and brush rustled under my feet and I picked up in pace with each footfall until I reached a full sprint.

It was different this time. This light was different. It was genuine. It was real. I paid no attention to the fact that I was walking upon a path now, I hadn't noticed. I was enraptured in the thought of escape from this hell.

Sunlight. I sprinted towards the sweet relief of sunlight, forgetting the horrible ache and pain in my chest and legs. It didn't matter. I ran and ran and ran, smiling from ear to ear as my manic, relieved laughter filled the air. I once more returned to that painful mantra; right, left, right, left, right, left... left? My foot snagged a heavy object as adrenaline filled my mind. Time was slowing, and I seemed to be getting shorter as I was no longer touching the ground. Once again, I was denied something I dearly wanted.

The ground rapidly approached my eyes and time slowed down. My eyes drifted downwards to shoot one last look of hatred to the object that dare deny my freedom. I looked down to see a yellow and red blur. A shrill scream rang across the air like a bell, I don't know if it was mine. And then I saw black. It seems the world wants me dead.

"Zecora-a-a!!!" Applebloom shrilly screamed.

"Fear not little one, heed these wise words, 'basically, run!'" The zebra shouted in the distance.

Applebloom, fearing for her life in the dark, picked up her lantern and ran towards the safety of the zebra as fast as her little legs could take her.

"My dear, you've had a quite a fright, are you sure you're alright?" Zecora worriedly mused to the filly under her legs.

"There was a... a... a monster! It just came up outta nowhere an' tripped over me! It kicked me real hard!"

"Fear not, for such an occasion, gaze upon what I've brought!" The zebra pulled a bundled up net out of her saddlebag as she set down her lantern.

"We're gonna catch it?!" Applebloom exclaimed in a mix of surprise and fear.

"Why child, of course! Now, please escort me to the source!" Zecora bowed in mock honor.

Applebloom trudged on in fear as her legs quaked. She knew that they were getting close. She could... smell it. It didn't smell good. It smelled as if Winona's mother had been dug out of the ground. Death. Applebloom stifled a sob, remembering that painful day. They approached the sleeping husk of a massive, hairless ape as Applebloom yelped and dashed behind her guardian, Zecora.

The zebra skillfully tossed the net over the creature as she gazed upon her catch in horror. The being barely fit in the net.

"Applebloom, I need you to stand away from such a beast, for upon us, it may feast!" Zecora exclaimed in genuine terror. She hesitantly tied the ends of the net together with her teeth as her hooves violently shook. "A carnivorous beast is a dangerous thing, but I am afraid that no beast can craft a string!"

"Well, what does that mean?" Applebloom inquired, unsure whether or not it was a bad thing.

"Little one, do not fear, but look how it dons its spear..." She gestured to the long, wrought iron dagger in the sheath on the right foreleg's sleeve. it was easily the two-thirds the length of Applebloom herself.

"It can think?!" Applebloom shrieked. "What do we do?" She panicked.

"We need my dear friend, Twilight; a helping hoof, she may lend."

The strong zebra grabbed the net and began dragging it away to the edge of the forest, a mere 8 minutes away.

I woke up again, my head feeling worse than ever. I remember what happened last time I went to sleep and I was not about to make the same mistake again. I jumped upwards only to hit a rope. Two yelps accompanied my attempt at escape. My captors let go of the net as I fell to the ground. I let out an angry, but pained grunt. Looking around from my prone position, I realized that they had led me out of the forest. I seized the opportunity as I unsheathed my knife within a second and began cutting through the rope. I heard... hooves? They were backing away. Why...?

I remembered; cat backed into a corner. They must have had no clue what I was to do next. Ah. It must scared them half to death. I finished sawing through the rope as I crawled out and stood to my full height in a display of power. I looked around me, as a predator would before going in for the kill. I looked to my left and...

Well... drew my hatchet along with my knife and stared at it. I flinched back in surprise. I was staring at a... zebra. A zebra. On the edge of a forest. There was so much wrong with this situation. So much. I turned to my body to the right, to locate that second pair of hooves.

"What the FUCK?!" I barked. I was staring at a smaller, yellow and red horse. It was hardly the height of the distance of my knee to the ground. I walked toward it, trying to get a close look as it tried to scramble away. And it started screaming. As far as I could tell, it wasn't speaking English, but the call for help in any animal was universal. Right behind me, I heard hooves rapidly approach me as I jumped. A zebra just tried to ram me to protect a child that wasn't even the same species as far as I could tell. They both sported gigantic eyes and comically thick legs, but as I learned earlier, they were heavy enough to knock me down. The zebra face planted into the dirt.

I decided to treat them as hostile as I drew the one thing that I created and never used. I reached into my quiver-shaped backpack and undid 2 straps. The zebra got back up from it's tumble. The large eyes made it easy for me to see emotions. And it was very clear indeed that it wanted to maim me and murder me. No remorse. I pulled my crossbow pistol out and loaded it with a bolt. It began to run toward me as I stood my ground. I fired right into the neck. A sickening plop! indicated that it had indeed penetrated. The yellow horse sprinted to it, chirping something I couldn't understand. I ran up to the zebra faster than the child and kicked it in the ribs.

I looked at child next and contemplated killing it too. But nothing could have justified what I had done and what happened in return. I stared into the child's eyes once more. They were clouded, foggy. They were wet. She was crying. "Oh god. Oh god..." I dropped all three of my weapons. I backed away. The blood was pooling up around the zebra as it coughed and cried along with the child. It began to call for help again, each time, the chirping voice cracked more and more. I walked towards them and kneeled down with my head in my hands, hoping it would get the message across that I was sorry. Because I was. "I fucked up. I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." I whispered. I lifted my head up as the calls for help ceased. It was staring at me now. All I could do was nod my head left and right. I reached into my bag once more, not to draw a weapon, but to pull out a makeshift parchment and a quill. I stabbed myself in the wrist for blood ink as it watched in horror. I wrote as large as I could: "I am sorry." I handed the paper to her as her damp eyes looked upon me in disgust.

I retrieved my weapons and trudged further into the plains, regretting what I had done today. I told myself "no remorse." What a load of shit. I have seen the impossible today, and I have killed it. Maybe I'm a monster. Maybe they are not the animals.