Tor ripped apart the charred rabbit devouring it with almost no chewing. He barely noticed how disturbingly bland it was. He coughed a little as he choked on a hunk but it was just a brief pause in is ravenous frenzy. He quickly cleaned it down to the bones. He tossed the carcass onto the forest floor then wiped his face in the back of his hand then transferred it all onto his dirty pants.

Dy had caught two small rabbits while they were all gone, they weren’t much between the five of them but it would have to suffice for now. The deer that got away was still heavy on Tor’s mind. Now that would have been a fucking feast to celebrate. He looked over at Alex who was silently picking at his portion of the catch with his head slouched down. Tor rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at his feet.

Alex had been all fixed up at least the best they could. Dy had to use the last of the clotting serum from Tor’s first aid kit on Alex’s face to stop the bleeding. Alex’s left eye was bruised and swollen, his nose looked like he had gotten plastic surgery on a street corner in Tijuana and he had a large gash down his right, which made him look like less of a pussy so win win, I guess.

Tor looked at his knuckles, they looked nearly perfect as if the fight had happened two weeks ago.

Finally Dy’s strong voice broke the silence, “So Wyn, that’s a lovely name by the way, how did you find yourself all alone in these scary woods. It isn’t very safe to travel by yourself.”

“I wasn’t alone as the beginning,” Wyn said trying to hold back tears, “they … they shot my brother and they stole me.” She started to sob. Maizy inched closer towards her and stared rubbing her back.

“Who is they?” asked Dy.

“The Lantix Army,” Wyn said.

“There there, you’re safe with us now,” Maizy said as she smiled up at Wyn.

“Thanks,” said Wyn as she used her sleeve to wipe all the snot and tears off her face.

Wyn looked at the back of Tor’s hands.

“You’re a Mod aren’t you?” Wyn asked.

Tor hid his hands. Silence fell on the group. Dy looked at Tor then at Wyn. Tor hesitantly nodded his head.

“My father said that Mods are an abominations to The Great Player’s plan and that they brought the Earth to their knees and destroyed it… but why would someone so evil save a girl like me?” Wyn said.

“Your dad knows shit,” Alex said still looking down. Wyn glared at Alex.

“Who is this great player you keep mentioning?” Dy asked.

“You haven’t heard of the Manual,” Wyn said.

“No,” Tor said as he looked at Dy.

“The Player is truly great for blessing me with such a test,” Wyn whispered to herself.

“The Great Player is the one who created the world and the sun and everything. He is just and loving. He gives points for good deeds and takes them away from those who do bad.”

“Holy Jesus Fucking Christ,” Alex said as he rubbed his forehead which brought a sting of pain.

“You must be very lucky Tor, I thought all of the Mods had been destroyed,” Wyn said.

“No way, they can’t be all dead,” Tor said as a look of shock spread across his face.

“The leader of Lantix slaughtered them all before they were awoken from their great sleeps,” Wyn said.

“Something went terribly wrong. Who is this leader?” Tor asked.

“He is a giant, his head is like a pumpkin and one of his calves weighs as much as me. He is ruthless. He has crushed the skulls of countless men with one hand. everything that is belongs to him. He is called …” Wyn said.

“Kane,” said Tor.

“How did you know?” Wyn asked.

“Where is this city?” Tor asked.

“That direction near the ocean,” Wyn said pointing north.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3