I, Sir Branke of Netherdawn, is doing yoga at the highest peak of mount Averets. The wind ruffles my hair and I close my eyes to enjoy the sensation. My feet rest on the warm, rocky ground beneath me as I try to bring peace to my soul by breathing slowly. There are times, when stress gets too much to bear or just when everything is weighing me down, that it becomes so hard to breathe at all. The way I feel now has only increased this feeling over time until I am left with no other choice but to go to a retreat center. It's not that I don't love my life or what I do for a living, but right now I would like nothing more than to spend some time alone.

The sun warms my face as it rises above the horizon, casting an orange glow onto the mountains surrounding me. I take deep breaths and then release them slowly before repeating the process again. This goes on until I reach three hundred seconds. When I open my eyes, there is a young man sitting cross legged beside me with a large smile on his face. His bright blue eyes look at me curiously. "Sir!" he says excitedly, "What you doing? Are you meditating? Do you need help? What meditations are you doing today?"

The kid is far younger than me but seems to know a lot about yoga already. He doesn't know anything about meditation though. I shake my head quickly and say, "No thanks, kid. I think I can manage myself. If you wouldn't mind," I point towards the path behind him, "I would appreciate it if you could find your own place somewhere else to hang out."

The kid looks confused but shrugs and moves off in the direction I pointed. As soon as he walks past me I begin doing a few more stretches. I'm still thinking about the kid's question. Do I want someone else around right now? Is that even possible? It feels like everyone thinks they have the right to pry into what I do and tell me what to do. But I guess most people are just afraid of getting hurt because I am a famous martial artist who fights monsters on a daily basis and also a prostitute in my free time. Most people would probably consider me terrifying.

But then again most people are stupid and I've seen things that would scare anyone. I know what's good for me and for others too but...

I shake my head, hoping to clear my thoughts. No use getting upset. What I want isn't something anyone can control or force me into doing anyway, so I should be able to live with myself either way. And really... what did I expect from having a teenager around?

The sky is now completely light and the sun is warming up my skin, giving me goosebumps. Even though I know the sun will eventually dry up, I don't want it to go anywhere yet, especially not now. So I continue stretching and letting the sunlight soak through my body and mind.

A while later, the kid returns with a handful of leaves and small twigs. He sits next to me and begins weaving some of the twigs together, making a basket. He hums softly while working and when he finishes he hands me the basket. "Here you go, Sir," he says cheerfully, "I made this a little bit earlier so it won't get all damp when you sit on it."

'Thank you, Kid.' I say mentally before smiling brightly. "You know you didn't need to make this for me? Just give it to somebody else for their meditation."

The boy shakes his head quickly. "Nope," he chirps. "Your meditation needs to be done here. You were looking really stressed out yesterday and it was my idea to make the meditation thing so I wanted to make sure we had it first."

Before I can say anything else the boy gets up and runs back the way he came. I look after him with surprise. I hadn't realised I was that loud. Then again... sometimes silence speaks louder than any words ever could.

With his words ringing in my ears I take a seat on one of the boulders. For now, I let my gaze fall upon a distant mountain range. I watch the clouds drift slowly by as I attempt to clear my mind. As always it's easier said than done and I find myself wishing that I wasn't so tired. Every day is different and every day is harder. I've tried so hard these last months just to keep my family alive, keeping my dreams alive even when they're shattered by reality. Now the nightmare continues with each new night and all I can do is fight. Fight to survive against the odds. And now my luck is starting to run out.

For years I've struggled to keep myself safe. It was hard enough before I began the business. All the money and contacts and power that came with that meant I could afford the best protection money could buy, but I knew that my mind didn't change. It never had and maybe that's why all I needed was that one person to break down my walls. That one person who saw everything in me, my weaknesses, my fears. He knew who I was and loved me anyways. I was grateful for those simple moments but they ended too quickly and without warning.

After the first disaster, I stopped fighting my demons and became complacent. I stopped trying and stopped caring. All I could do was focus on survival. I spent every moment away from my home searching for another target. After all, it's better to have no enemy than to have too many. I never stayed in the same city for more than a week, never staying in one city for longer than a day. Sometimes I would stay in one place for several weeks before deciding to move on again. In those times I didn't sleep; I just focused solely on finding fresh meat. I never once asked for the help of my friends but I didn't care either. They didn't matter. They were replaceable and they never gave me anything useful anyway.

When the news of a hedgehog attack hit I had just been traveling to meet a giant stone in a place called a "lake". I wasn't expecting anything from it. At best there would be a water spirit. At worst it would be a demon that looked like a giant frog and attacked without mercy. The only problem was that I didn't know how I was going to find it. How was I supposed to get to that lake if it wasn't nearby? If there was even anything to find. I mean, it's not like they kept a record of where those giant stones were located. They probably just sat there waiting patiently for someone to come along.

Then again, what choice did I have? It seemed like I'd be stuck with this crazy journey till death claimed me and I couldn't risk dying alone and unavenged.

So I found myself walking down a dirt track, following a stream that led me closer to the lake. At least I hoped it was still the river. Everything smelled like rotting wood and moss and I didn't want to think of whatever kind of creature might lurk under the shadows. I'm not afraid. I'm a killer. I've killed thousands of monsters, millions even. I'm strong, faster than almost anyone alive and even I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to avoid being caught. If I stumble across a monster, I'm not planning on running from them. I'm a killer and murderers don't run, they kill.

And suddenly the smell changes. It wasn't there a minute ago and I certainly didn't notice it until now. The smell is different. Stronger. Like a thousand rotting bodies have been shoved in my face all at once. Or worse; like the smell of decaying flesh. My stomach lurches and I stop in my tracks. The sound of my footsteps echoes off the rocks and through my mind. I feel nauseous and dizzy. The ground starts to tilt and sway beneath me.

Suddenly I hear something growl in front of me and my heart stops. I stand frozen in fear and wait for its inevitable death sentence to come crashing towards me.

Then a huge paw comes slamming down in front of me, startling me out of my stupor. I stare wide eyed at the beast staring directly into my eye as it snarls with a mouth full of sharp fangs. A giant beast, easily three times my size. But I'm stronger, braver and smarter than this monster. So why does it look like I'm the one cornered by an angry wild animal instead?

I stare at it for a short moment, unable to believe what I'm seeing.

"This is my friend Archibaldes," exclaims the young man in front of me, waking me back into a temporal reality.

I blink a few times and nod at the creature before turning back to the boy in front of me.

"Nice to meet you Archibaldes," I reply quietly. I smile lightly and gesture at the boy in front of me. "Now I suppose I owe you an apology." He nods slightly and raises an eyebrow. "It looks like there aren't many things left to apologize for though."

"That's true," he agrees, nodding once again. "I understand that you have your reasons for doing what you did, but... I just want you to remember that no matter how hard you try you will always fail. There is no other choice but to accept the fact that no matter how much you strive to succeed or become great, your life will always end here. You have always been surrounded by the monsters who would kill you if they could. Your parents and friends, your brothers and sister, everyone you've known. People like you don't succeed. Not by a long shot. Even the strongest of us have to give up sometime." He turns and looks at me. His dark eyes are solemn, sad even. I guess he can see straight through me and sees all my flaws. I'm sure he's seen right through my mask and knows that I'm actually quite broken, but still... I stare at him uncomprehendingly but before I can say anything he continues. "Don't worry though! There's still time to change!"

He gives me a bright grin before continuing. "In fact, we should start practising immediately! Let's go get some sticks then!" He grabs my hand and drags me back down the path that I had walked before he started telling me about what he had been doing and where he had taken me. Before long we're standing in a small clearing filled with old tree stumps. On top of each stump are tiny branches.

"What are those for?" I ask curiously. I didn't remember ever coming across this sort of stuff before. It's completely random. I thought we'd be meeting with the big stones.

"Well... you see, we were wondering if you could show us how to use them. We are trying to learn the spell that lets you control them but... we haven't exactly made very good progress lately," explains the boy. "You see... we are having trouble getting the right combination of ingredients. You see, most people are not very keen on making spells that contain their emotions so we had to work extra hard to make them compatible with our magic. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work on animals or plants so we need some sort of tool to control ourselves."

"Oh!" I reply dumbly. I'm confused now. Why does my spell have to involve emotions? Does it have to be emotional at all? How could it possibly affect animals? And even if it did, then wouldn't that make the effect weaker? Wouldn't it be easier to just turn the emotions on and off like a switch? And besides, the magic that is created with these spells isn't very powerful so it shouldn't have any lasting effects.

My mind races with questions but before I can ask anymore questions I notice that we have finally reached our destination. The foot of mount Averets. Up ahead is a thick, dense forest and in the distance sits what appears to be a large rock. I squint a little to try and catch a glimpse of what lies beyond it but all I can see are shadowed trees and tall grass.

As I walk closer I realize that the rocks aren't stones at all. I can tell because they are made of strange symbols carved into them. I reach out a finger to touch the first one and I feel as if I am touching a piece of paper and yet it feels like metal underneath my skin.

The boy looks over at his dog. "Hey Archibaldes, is there something wrong?"

His voice sounds faraway and muffled. I don't want to seem rude but I can't explain what's happening. This place... it's too quiet. Too peaceful. I don't like it here. I don't like that I can't hear any sound around me and there's something about the way that everything has stopped moving, the way that everything has changed and the way that the air itself seems deader than the usual dead calm silence. Suddenly I want to leave. I just want to leave and leave quickly. I don' know why I want to leave but I do. I just can't bring myself to move.

"What's wrong Archibaldes?" asks the boy as he kneels in front of his dog, placing a hand on its forehead. "Archibaldes, why isn't your nose working?"

My head snaps up, my body freezing as the boy begins rubbing circles onto Archibaldes' muzzle. He's not just saying that Archibaldes' nose isn't working. That means that something else is affecting it too. Something bad. Whatever this thing is... it's affecting Something evil that's hurting him. Maybe it's trying to get rid of him.

No! No. No no no no. Please don't let this be what it is! I don't want this! Please let me get the fuck outta here!

"Beep beep beep"

I wake up from my sleepless and restless slumber to the sound of a beeping alarm clock somewhere beside me. Groaning loudly, I sit bolt upright in bed, looking blearily around the room. As my vision adjusts and I take in the sights and smells of the room I slowly become more awake.

I stretch and rub my eyes in annoyance. Everything aches like hell and I think that's going to stay with me for the rest of the morning. It's almost noon and although I'm certain that I'm not hungry, I decide to get up anyway. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, stretching one leg out and wincing when the pain flares in my calf. Stretching it for a few minutes is enough to make me wince again. I lean forward, resting my head against my knees while I listen for the sound of any other movements in the house. After hearing nothing, I begin to crawl towards the closet which sits just beside the door. I push open the doors and stare at my clothes. My clothes were thrown carelessly into the corner of the room. The last thing I remember is throwing on my hoodie. After that it was mostly a blur.

I grab a handful of clean shirts and pants and throw them on. I pick out a white shirt and black jeans to put on. Next I pull a pair of blue converse sneakers off a nearby shelf. I don't wear any socks so I slip my feet into them, sighing loudly.

"Good Morning Archibaldes," I mutter, smiling a bit at my own joke. I grab an apple from the fruit bowl on the desk and pop it in my mouth. I finish chewing the apple quickly and begin to search for something to eat. Nothing comes to mind. I groan softly and roll my eyes. Of course not. Everything that I want to eat, is in the fridge downstairs. I grab my phone off the counter and shove it into my pocket before walking downstairs and grabbing a glass of water from the fridge. As I stand drinking I look over at the living room. Sitting on the coffee table is my bag, my backpack. I glance over at the clock. It read 1:35pm. Fuck, I'm late! Grabbing my bag from the coffee table I sling it over my shoulder before heading back upstairs to finish dressing Once I'm dressed I run out the door and head towards mountain Averets. I can feel the raindrops patter down on my face as they fall and splatter everywhere around me. I run faster and jump the gate separating the pathway from the forest. At this rate I'll never make it to Mountain Averets before sunset!

I hurry along the narrow path, ducking under the huge stone pillars that line both sides of the road until I finally reach the clearing. All I can see is a thin layer of fog drifting around the forest and the tops of the huge trees. I stop for a moment to catch my breath, taking a swig from my water bottle. Taking another deep breath I continue running along the narrow path through the mist. I continue for a couple more minutes before suddenly I hear a loud roar behind me. I jump violently before turning around to face whatever animal was making that noise.

But there's nothing there. Just the same grey sky and trees.

Sighing loudly, I suddenly arrive at the top of mount Averets.

How did I... It doesn't matter... It's time for Yoga.

The End