Chapter 17:

Chapter 17

FORCES


Mason was now walking across a desert ridden area in Texas only miles from Zex. His feet sank a little with every step he took forward. The heat was another problem for him entirely. Every twenty-seven or so steps he found himself taking a drink of water. If he had kept that up then he knew that he would be out of water in no time. He consciously made sure that he was lessening the amount of water he drank with each sip he took. He didn’t want to run out of water before he even exited Texas.

“Phew! It is so hot!” Mason said gasping.

All through Mason’s life he had never found himself to be the athletic type. Sports was one of the things his father tried to distract him with from his pyromania with but to no avail. Mason had never been too athletic despite having tried to stay in shape all these years. Despite the small emergency training session with Sylvia it wasn’t quite enough to truly prepare him for the walk he must currently endure.

He thought back to the training with Sylvia. He thought back to when he met her, and he thought back to when she kissed him. When it comes to love life or even death it would seem Sylvia always stands strong no matter what happens, and thought of his own weakness. Mason feared that he would succumb to the loneliness before too long, and on top of that of all the things he just encountered his long lost friend.

“He certainly was foolish. He wanted to play god, and look what happened. Somebody who wanted to be god even more came along, and ended him.” Mason said as he continued walking into distant emptiness in front of him. He was starting to feel numb in the legs as he walked onward.

“Oh no! This isn’t good!” Mason thought as he looked around for a place with cover to rest in. He spotted a few large boulders with a crevice in them. He then heard squeals in the distance toppled with vibrating stomps he could feel surging through the ground.

“Uh!” Mason started running despite the numbness of his legs, and had a resurgence of adrenaline as he ducked into the cover.

A passing iron noticed a small smoky cloud of sand resonating off the ground next to the boulders. Mason dropped his bag as he attempted to fit himself into the smallest possible crack he could. He squeezed in as much as he could, and had his face in the sand making it hard for him to breath. The creature made haste toward the boulder as it then started to circle around it. It was walking sideways with its face, and hands aimed forward like a spider, and looked for the slightest hint of movement.

It noticed the backpack but thought nothing of it. Mason was choking in the little crack that he forced himself into. He could feel sweat welling up from the intense heat as it was almost so hot that he had to start gasping for air. He knew that he had to stick it out a bit longer. If he didn’t then he would be food in no time at all. He was starting to gasp very slowly as not to give away his position. Though he wasn’t very visible himself, and he was too far away for the creature to hear, he wasn’t however too far away to see as the sand flying up, and out from his breath caught the monsters attention.

The creature hoisted itself atop the boulder, and peaked its head inside. The moment its shadow loomed overhead, and could be seen by Mason then Mason froze as he swooshed his hands over his mouth to stop the breathing as he tried so very hard to not let off a squeak. The monsters head peered over, and as Mason couldn’t hold in his breath any longer a large continual gust of wind came in as sand started moving, and lifting from the ground all over the place. The creature could no longer see the lone spot with rising sand, and gave up his search in the process.

“Huh?” Mason looked up, and out, and he didn’t see the iron. In fact he didn’t see the iron at all. “Where the hell did it go? It is too big to hide so where did it go?” Mason whispered.

Then it hit Mason. He stood trembling. He noticed the only way it could still be out of sight in such a large area was if it was still hiding somewhere on the other side of the boulder. He paused completely, and refrained from breathing at all. He looked as much as he could in two of the three openings to the hiding spot. He heard some small, quiet movement behind him, and he knew if he didn’t jump forward now that he was going to die. Mason leaped forward as the iron too leaped forward. Mason felt the tremor as the giant beast tried to squeeze its way at him as he fled out. He fled out as he saw the tall boulders towering shake as rock, and dust fell from the top, and into his face and eyes.

He fell to the ground rubbing his eyes as the monster was stuck behind him. The beast was clawing, and clawing to get Mason. Mason turned, and in fear was backing up while on his ass by pushing himself back repeatedly using his hands to propel as he stared at the beast. Mason soon calmed himself down as he stared at the creature trying its best to get out. He looked at it while it was stuck between the rocks.

Mason saw the backpack of his with his rifle strapped to the side underneath the struggling creature, and slowly crawled forward for it keeping his chest to the ground as the beast roared. Mason looked up, and in his amazement the iron had given up. “Wow.” Mason spoke softly as the beast had been sitting still. The iron was wedged into the rock formation stuck with fallen rocks having gotten piled on top of him in the charge. He edged for his bag a little more as he then swiftly pulled it toward himself.

He felt down towards his legs, and could still feel the numbness but with the creature sitting in the rocks Mason decided it was still time to move on. Mason stood looking for another minute, and found himself reminded of the pale eyed iron he’d seen in Columbus, and seeing almost the same here. The creature had completely given up on it all. Mason had to make sure he didn’t do the same.

Mason started to walk north-east once again as the creature falls farther behind his mobile body. Mason looked over his shoulder back at the creature, and also his bag, and felt immense relief. And with dawn at his back he pulled a match from his backpack, and fiercely dragged it across a rough surface as the flame ignited. He walked for several seconds just staring into the match until the flame went out. And as he kept walking he looked at the charred used match in his hand with contentment.

A single flame was his reward for surviving the day. His first day. A day that would mark the rest of his experience on the outside. He was preparing himself for one last treacherous time outside much like the last in Clive’s so called “Final Mission” to end what Clive believed to be “Evil”. Mason was prepared to take these steps to see if he will simply live or die. Or maybe, just maybe find himself in the process.

This Novel Contains Mature Content

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