The cave opened up to the night and the rapids transformed into a raging phantom. My boat cut through the frothing fury and it was a struggle to barely avoid those sneaky outcroppings.

“Turn the bloody boat!”

I heard screaming but couldn’t glance back. Yet, following the scream was the sound of a boat scrapping a rock. Followed by more incoherent screaming.

My arms began to burn but if I remember correctly, two bends and the water will slow down. Plus there is a bank of white sand that I can stop and rest for the night. If I were to continue, I might end up worse for the wear, come first light.

I dug the oar into the water and whipped it furiously. The boat curved with the bend and water jumped up to attack me. Blinking out the spit, I focused on the next turn. It came a lot faster than I remember but I managed to make it. My arms screamed at me but I forced the boat to turn to the shore and it almost--almost missed the turn.

The boat slammed into the shore and I stumbled off the bench onto my knee, nearly banging my head on the other bench. Someone else's boat decided to pitch into mine and I bump my head into that darn bench.

I jerked up, snatched up my things, and jumped out of the boat. Luckily, I thought ahead because three more boats smashed into mine and sent it sprawling back into the river. Growling, I marched off while wiping my face of the river’s spit. Normally, I would make the decision to wait and move with the others but I feared they would want to move with the flatlanders. I could not stomach the foolish arrogance.

My fingers gripped on the bark of a tree and I crawled my way up. Quickly pulling myself onto a branch, and dashing through the gloomy forest without a real destination in mind. I could feel that I was in a lower plane. The air was a lot denser and my lungs didn’t have to struggle as hard as before to devour it. With plenty of air came plenty of essences that my body naturally refined.

I went to an area besotted with trees and made a nest in the high branches. With my back against the tree, my hand on a dagger, I closed my eyes to the half-moon.

***

Sounds of footfalls trying to be silent in a forest full of twigs, vines, and those annoying brushes with thorns was impossible. And that--woke me out of my exhausted sleep. Chi covered my eyes and I quickly spotted the anomaly. Five men in plated armor were spread out, surrounding the encampment in a clearing. It was obvious that the night watcher was sleeping or something.

Shaking my head, I lowered my body temperature and withdrew my presence. I sat still as the tree itself.

The enemies notched an arrow and released it. The arrows punched into the night watchers chest, knocking them spinning. One even began to crawl away once he hit the ground but didn’t shout or anything. Just coughing blood and continuing to move silently, yet, another arrow punched through his back.

It was good enough that the hunters were trained to sleep half-awake in the wild. The thud of the bodies hitting the ground and that second arrow forced them to get up. White glows roasted over their bodies and then they spirited away.

“Enemies!” One of them shouted.

The flatlanders crawled up, well, some of them never got the chance. Arrows punched through their bodies and the only good thing they did was yelled.

‘This is why I didn’t want to hang around them. Failure as night watchers, sleep too deep. Just too much wrong with them and they want to be the equivalent of hunters? Laughable’ I couldn’t help thinking.

The five enemies shot out of the forest, blades reflecting the moon only seconds before they are painted red. The rest of the flatlanders not taken down decided to flee, including two females.

I got to my knee and unhook my bow, slipping off an arrow. My chi slid over my arrow and string, a dull, lifeless glow that flickered as if it was a candle about to be blown out. Just as one of the enemies caught up with one of the malas, I released my arrow. It soared through the windless night and slammed into the eye of the man with his sword raised, pommel ready to knock down the mala.

Another arrow slipped on and I took aim before the man’s feet came to a stop. An enemy just sliced his sword through the back of one of the flatlanders when my second arrow took him like a silent phantom.

“Archer,” the leader who was walking among the ones shot with arrows, yelled. He turned to my direction but my hideout was covered by leaves and it was dark. “Up in the trees.”

I gathered my things and let chi circulate around my feet. I dashed to a new branch and launched an arrow at the third target. He was more alert but his back was to my new position and his body was facing the direction where they assumed I was still.

He turned to the arrow, sadly, only when it was right at the back of his head. It punched through the side of his face.

“Retreat!” The leader was the first to flee.

My heart urged me to hunt them down like they did us but my rationale sent a cold wave through my body. The leader's retreat was a little too slow compared to the way he saw those guys run during the day. As if he was baiting me--

‘Boli me kurac! Interesting guy, very interesting! Not going to fall for it.’ I laughed and fled.

Little branches and leaves slapped at me but I didn’t mind them one bit. Nor the little stinging cuts that began to accumulate on my flesh. Though I did sigh in relief on breaking through the forest and landed in a plain of high grass as far as the eye could see. I sank low and fled through it like a small animal. It was at this point that I realized, maybe I wasn’t being as smart as I should.

My body stopped and I notched an arrow. I turned around and studied the forest, waiting. It didn’t take the malas long to come running through the forest and straight into the high grass swaying on that breeze that didn’t exist deeper into the forest.

Behind them came running one of the enemies. One of the two is still living. Guess they were baiting me. I waited until he closed in on that traitorous mala before sending my arrow flying through the grass. It slammed into his thigh and he stopped and focused on me with an eeriness. He broke out into a smile and I launched three more arrows but the longsword in his hand easily blocked them.

I cursed. ‘I guess he was waiting for me.’

He shouted something after me but I didn’t know what he was saying. I just fled towards a point in the horizon that was opposite of the falling moon. I glanced back and the fool was falling on me, as if I was prey.

‘How dare he!’

I snatched up an arrow and my eyes linger on an upslope with signs of foot traffic. Roads cut through the otherwise flatlands and disappeared around the bend of this slope. I glance back to see this guy a lot more focused than I expected him to be. He probably will be alert to any ambush tactics I can come up with.

Cursing, I wiped the sweat from my brow and threw down my bow and backpack. I unsheathed my sword and rushed towards him. His hazel eyes widened and he smirked, slowing down to take a defensive posture. It was already clear he treated me as a worthy adversary.

When I was ten paces away, I launched my best sword technique and four illusory wolves shot towards him from three sides. My opposition eyes shrunk and he punched out, sending the frontal wolf flying. His sword danced to the left where his body moved to, to dodge the other two.

Snickering inwardly, I came in with a slash at his waist. He huffed and slapped my sword aside with his and ducked under one of my wolves. I spun with the counterforce and swatted at his kneecap with my scabbard. His mind must have been like mine when my father used this same tactic on me. He just coated his knee with chi and braced for impact.

A sickening crunched elicited a low groan out of him. He threw himself back to avoid the followed up attacks of two wolves who attacked high and low from the side.

I stabbed my sword at his throat the moment he rolled to his knee. Fear began to line his features and he grabbed my sword with his free hand. Thrusting his own sword at me but I twisted my body and slammed down towards his arm with my scabbard. He no longer tried to be bold and released my sword which I pulled back. I spun on my toe and brought the sword down with full intentions to open his chest to the world.

Yet, he blasted me away with an outbursts of chi.

But--

I wasn’t the biggest threat. That silent fourth wolf latched onto his throat from behind and tore flesh out. Dissolving under his retaliation but the joy of succeeding in a death blow made me turn to flee.

“K-kill y-ou!” The roar didn’t slow me down as I fled.

I was already ahead of him thanks to him pushing me away. My surviving wolves fended him off in the midst of his rage. My fingers hooked my bag and quiver and I fled towards the road.

It wasn’t until I felt my last wolf die that I looked back to see the man standing on his destroyed leg, the light in his eyes already at the dimmest. His chi was no longer a threat to me as I disappeared around the bend, leaving behind a dirty smirk.