Excerpt: Forgotten Mystic Chronicles: Krys's Destiny

The sun raises its sleepy head up against the darkness of the night sky. A slow light rises giving the single truck that's on the highway heading northbound a sort of a glow look. There's a little rust on its side from many years of use in a salty air. It could be moving no faster than sixty-five miles an hour. Due to the early hour and since it is a weekend, no others travel nearby them. They have the road to themselves.

Today is the first day of open season and Thomas has been planning to take his son out for his very first hunt. He has been counting down the day and now that today is the day, he just couldn't sleep. He got up earlier than he set out to do. In fact, Thomas has been so excited that he made his son jump up in fear that something was happening to their home. When Johnny calmed down, he had been a bit upset with his father. He wanted to sleep a little more. Why ruin such a great Saturday morning by getting up when you don't really have to is what he stated as he lies back down on his pillow.

Thomas says as he shakes Johnny a little to wake him, "C'mon, son. You're going to love it. The cool fresh air of the earlier morning breeze beats against your cheeks. The sun rises as we sit and wait for the first buck of the year to pass by our hiding place. I promise you'll love it."

Johnny rolls his eyes as he sits up groggily. His head hangs down as he tries hard to wake himself. He mumbles to himself that it should be a crime for anyone to wake this early on the weekend.

Thomas is driving that truck and Johnny sits in the passenger seat. Still Johnny sleeps as they drive down the lonely highway. He's not anxious about hunting as his father seems to live for it. Of course, he doesn't dare to let Thomas know his true feelings of such things. Maybe that's why he keeps it to himself that he'd rather be a vegetarian. Would that break up a father and son relationship? It's almost as bad as telling his father that he's in love with his best friend, Timmy. Of course, the world wouldn't be bothered with such things, but his father on the other hand might take it harsh.

Thomas looks over at his sleeping son and smiles to himself as his eyes go back to the road. He turns off on Exit 21A which leads to a small dirt road.

Dust kicks up as the truck speeds up the road. Soon the road leads to a deep wooded area. If anyone were to stop their car just outside the woods, they might say this land is an enchanted forest that will take you to a different land that's magical. It has been said that few have been lost and to never have been seen from again. Search parties stop after no success a few days later. It mainly is whispers and no hunters listens to such ramblings of the locals.

Thomas often says, "It's meant to keep folks like us out. What foolishness it all is."

There's a clearing just up ahead that would allow a good three SUVs to park without it giving a feel of being over crowded. He pulls over and parks the car. Again his smile that spreads wide across his from ear to ear comes back.

Thomas takes a moment and looks out at the wild. It is as though this is his private world. The one place that isn't insane with greed of money or folks who have to tell you what to do since it is their job or even a nagging woman who needs money for another pair of shoes (she already has over 103 pairs now). It's a place he can find peace and quiet to think about life or things that men often dream and wish about. It's his place and now his son will be apart of it.

He looks over at his sleeping child and just watches Johnny take a soft breath in and then seconds later release it. Thomas shrugs his shoulders to say he doesn't care if he is peacefully asleep.

He then gently shakes Johnny's shoulder.

"What? Let me sleep for God's sake. Please," Johnny demands with both of his eyes still tightly shut.

"No I won't. You need this as much as I do. Remember that pretty little redhead that ripped your heart in two? Didn't you say that you need to kill something? Well here's your chance. I'm giving you a gun to do just that. Now get up and put that orange vest on," Thomas demands as frustration crosses his worn face.

"Ok. Ok already. I'm waking," Johnny says as he opens his eyes and sits up straighter.

Johnny looks around the area as if a bit concerned and then says, "Where the hell are we?"

Thomas laughs and says, "I didn't realize I'd a reaction like that, son. We're in my domain. It's where men can be men without worries of what the world thinks. Isn't it great?"

A slight glint in Johnny's eyes shows Thomas that his son has some interest. It couldn't be that Johnny is a science geek and he's been trying to find a certain bug that is rare. He's been looking for this creature ever since he heard about it in his third grade class several years back. He's going to prove that it isn't extinct. They do exist. It couldn't be that, could it?

"Great. I'll get the gun."

Thomas jumps out and slams the door shut since this is the only way that old door will shut these days. The truck definitely has seen much better days. Hey it still works so what's the reason to rid a vehicle for its looks. It isn't right now is it to throw away a perfectly well truck for a few cancer spots and sticking doors. Let's not hate the truck because its not beautiful.

Johnny slowly opens his door and rubs his arms as soon as the cold fall air hits his bare arms. Goose pimples develop and he quickly shuts the door again.

Thomas laughs as he watches his son who didn't heed to his advice on taking at least a wind breaker.

"I told you. I should know about this place as I have done just that myself on several occasions. Now get out and help me carry the guns."

Johnny again rolls his eyes as he bares with the chill and walks around the truck. Thomas hands him a nice size shotgun. He almost drops it and Thomas immediately catches it before it hits the ground.

"I know it is heavy, but you really have to be careful. There's bullets in there."

"And?" Johnny says with a sort of annoyed manner.

"You kidding me. You don't know that when you drop a gun with bullets that this kind of gun goes off? Of all the TV you watch, not one explained this?" Thomas asks as if confused by what he sees his son watch and the reaction he just saw with how Johnny just watching the gun fall.

"Dad, you know nothing. What's on TV is how to kill things, but never as deep as how to handle the things," Johnny laughs as he pats his father on the shoulder.

"Ok then. Do you think you can handle it now so I can get our gear together?"

Thomas hands the gun back to Johnny without giving him a chance to answer. He then goes about putting his orange vest on and as he puts it on, he looks over at Johnny.

"Where's your vest?"

"Oh that thing. I don't need it. I'm sure the deer will see me coming in it. I'm surprised you can get anything with that color blaring into their eyes. I bet they are blinded by it, right?

Thomas takes a deep breath in and closes his eyes. He counts to ten and then says, "If you want to live, you will wear it. It's not for the animals. It's for other hunters to see you so you're killed. Now put the damn thing on. You're pushing my patience."

Johnny shrugs his shoulders as he goes around and grabs the thing from the back behind the seat where he threw it when his father wasn't looking.

Thomas speaks a bit muffled, "It's almost as if you didn't want to be here with your father. I'm not too old to be part of my teenage son's life, am I?"

Johnny doesn't acknowledge that Thomas is asking him a simple question. You see, Johnny knows that this subject is very testy and whatever he says will be the wrong answer. He's often getting into deep, dark, never ending lectures from Thomas on how he takes good care of Johnny and that a little bit of respect goes a long way, as well as, sharing a little bit of his teenage life wouldn't harm him in any way. Thomas always wants to know why he's never in the loop with him.

Johnny gulps in a good amount of air as he shuts the door behind him and meets up with his father at the back of the truck again.

"I guess once again, there is no answer to this. Thanks for being apart of the conversation so I don't look like I'm losing my mind, son. Now let's have some fun hunting down some unsuspecting wild animals."

Johnny mumbles that whom ever came up with the whole idea of hunting is stupid. He doesn't even like meat any ways.

Thomas instantly turns to face him. Anger is written throughout his face and in his eyes. For a brief second, the two just peer at each other.

"Excuse me, son. What did you just say?"

Johnny tries to cover up his words with a smile as he says, "I don't see why anyone would love the act of killing a helpless animal. That's all I said."

"I'm sure that's all you said. Now let's go before it becomes night again," a sarcastic manner Thomas speaks.

"It's..."

Before Johnny could say another word, Thomas just glares back at him without taking any steps back towards him. He's going to hunt whether his son wants to or not. That little whelp can go back to the truck and play his PSP or whatever it is these. Johnny is almost as bad as his nagging wife. Maybe she is in him more than Thomas likes. It's possible this kid will never learn to like the things his father loves and wishes to have more time for. He remembers how hard it was to get him to hook a worm to go fishing. Something that should only take less than a minute took over ten. Johnny always had questions about why things had to be killed and even then Thomas should have realized what Johnny really is. He's always been vegetarian, just didn't know it and possible will never exclaim this until he's under his own roof.

"You can do whatever you want, son. I'm hunting. This is my time. I'm tired of fighting and pulling you along. So do whatever you will," Thomas says as he takes off alone as he waves at Johnny without looking back.

At first Johnny's thoughts were how the hell did he know I brought his PSP and then it went into I could get to the next level while he kills many. It was the strange shadows that keep moving behind the trees near the truck that changed his mind.

"Hey wait up."

Johnny runs after Thomas with the gun over one shoulder and his vest still in one hand.

Thomas is a hold hundred feet in front of Johnny who is running after him as fast as he can. However fast Johnny goes, his father seems to be at a faster pace. He doesn't seem to be gaining any ground towards him.

Johnny stops running and looks back towards the truck to see if he's even moving. The truck is a bit a distance away. He then turns back to see his father quite a distance away now.

"Dad, hold up," Johnny scream out only to get the feeling that his voice didn't carry his words far. In fact, the way the dense eerie air feels that nothing he'd say within inches from Thomas would be heard.

The question of the conversation between the two is questionable as to if the two really didn't hear each other's words to the full extent. Something is in the air this morning and it is starting to give off a pretty gnarly smell, as well.

Johnny runs again. This time it is as if time itself has stopped and Johnny ends up running past his father a little ways. When he realizes what just happened he turns to go back to his father to see that Thomas is so far behind him that he can't even see him.

A soft laughter is heard off to the sides. The sound almost seems as if it is in stereo. Johnny becomes jumpy as horrific things flash in his mind of what happens to people in the woods. Serial killers and children rapist and so many more keep flashing through his cowardly teenage mind.

"Go away. I have a gun."

Johnny goes to point the gun at the strangers who hide behind the trees to see that the gun he holds is only a toy. Anger flares across his face as he thinks about his father not trusting him enough to have a real gun.

"God damn trust issues. Don't I deserve to have a real gun? I'm not ten anymore," he growls.

The dark figures start to crowd around him. He screams out as he gets on his knees. If he were to have a white flag, he would be waving it at this very moment.

Ide stands just before him in her perfect form of beauty in the human's eye. Others stand around him which are of Sylvan faerie clans who also look exquisite in beauty. All of them look hungry at him as he tries to beg for his life.

"Mystic, nothing is worth saving you. You have not one thing any of us want," she says as she jerks his chin free her hand.

"How can such beauty as you are want to kill? What happened to you that made you this way," Johnny says in between sobs.

Ide looks at the other as she smiles back at him, "I said there isn't anything you can do to save yourself. Born of the mystic race is a crime in my eyes, luv. That's jus' how it is."

Before Johnny knows it, the stranger start to close in on him. His fear allowed him to transition better into how bad the situation really is. His mind broke and his eerie laughter echoes through the woods.

A creature that could only be described as a half man and half goat who loves to play his flute is interrupted. He whose name is Conn. He's a robin goodfellow faerie or should it be said that one and only of his clan that is left. The last war took his kind out. When the war was done, he knew they fought for the right cause and he still fights for the cause of human life.

He drops his flute and takes off like a bat out of hell towards the human child's cry. He jumps over fallen trees and enters the world of Reality through the small tear that must have been how others have come through. Within seconds he's just outside the circle of sylvans.

"Step away now before anyone should be harmed," he says with his chest outstretched in a proud and intimidating manner.

The sylvans turn to look at him and Ide steps out over Johnny who is now shaking from fear. She walks over to Conn and then around him as if checking to see an easy way to take him down. Does he have a weakness in his armor?

"Why risk your rare life for a creature and harmful as a mystic is?" She snarls at him as she continues to walk around him slowly.

"Run, child, run," Conn screams.

Johnny at first doesn't realize what's happening. Then before he knows what he's body knows, he takes off towards the car.

Ide watches this and makes eye contact with two of the sylvans. She tells them to catch him with her thoughts as she goes about to fight Conn.

Johnny just about reaches the truck when one of them manages to meet him there before him. Another meets up with them from the back end. Johnny has no where to run. They look ugly when they are angry and possibly hungry.

He starts to slowly back up. They get closer to him closing in on him. He screams once again as they pounce on him.

Johnny feels a sort of shaking on his shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Get up, son. We are here," Thomas states with excitement.

Johnny immediately opens his eyes. He looks around and sees he's in the truck. A smile crosses his face as he hugs his dad only to immediately act as though it never happened like men do.

"What's that for? You're happy like me to be here."

Johnny's smile fades once he realizes again where they are at. His face pales as he looks over at his father.

"Let's not be here today. Can't we go another time say like another week? Please don't go," Johnny says as his grip becomes like a piece of steel around his father's arm.

"What's gotten into you? You have been talking about this trip all week and now we're here you don't want to be here. What happened?" Thomas states with great frustration.

"I'd like to leave now please. Please. Please."

Thomas turns his key and speeds out of there like a bat out of hell.

Conn is seen waving in the background.

Ide growls as she watches in the shadow and says, "Your time will come, child. It will."