Edric was ready. He had prepared himself like his mentor had instructed, by getting a good nights sleep, and he was determined to do things differently this time. He was currently standing in the field that he usually trained in, the dew nestled in the grass as it was every morning, and the breeze of the new day rustling through his hair. His mentor, however, was not on time, which seemed highly unusual for someone so serious about their job. Edric chuckled to himself at his mentor's hipocrisy, since he had urgently told Edric to be on time. It was only until 5 minutes later, when Edric had already considered going home 3 times that Matthew Mill emerged from the forest surrounding the field, wiping black blood off of his face and approaching Edric hurriedly.

"Morning, Edric," he said, "sorry I'm late, I had an encounter with quite a powerful monster!"

Edric frowned. "What was it?", he asked, intrigued.

"I'm not sure, Edric, to be honest," the mentor admitted. "But there's something odd going on in that forest, something dark and dangerous. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm concerned for everyone's safety in this small town."

Edric glanced at the forest. He wasn't sure why, but something DID seem ominous about it on this particular day. He forced himself to look away.

"Alright," began Matthew, "That brings us to our training." Edric nodded. "Twelve laps round this feild, please, Ed."

Edric didn't even try to argue. He knew there was no persuading his mentor. Instead, he let out a little weak groan.

"Go on!" urged Matthew, eyebrows raised, telling him to make haste.

Reluctantly, Edric began. Light work, he thought, at first, but on the 3rd lap, the fatigue began to kick in. His legs ached, as did his stomach, and he was becoming more breathless by each passing second. By the 8th lap, he wanted to collapse.

"Come on Edric," came a distant voice from the other side of the field. "You've come too far to give up now, KEEP GOING!"

Edric turned his head to see Matthew jumping up and down on the spot, waving to him and cheering him on. For a moment, he saw a glimmer of hope in his mentor's eyes; he knew Edric could do it. That ember in Matthew's eyes seemed to light a candle somewhere deep inside Edric's pupil, that exploded into a flame of fiery determination. He completed the next 4 laps with ease thanks to adrenaline and a powerful resolve, yet when he crossed the long awaited finish line he crumpled to the floor and lay there for a while until Matthew became too impatient.

He got up as well as his poor legs would allow him and the thirst hit him like a tidal wave. Matthew seemed to notice this. He sighed and searched his bag before tossing Edric a spare water bottle, which of course Edric guzzled enthusiastically.

The rest of the day passed in a slow and painful haze of gruelling physical exercises and a game Matthew called “Sprint” which was basically an excuse for more running. By the end of the day, Edric had collapsed on the floor. He couldn’t even stand; his legs had gone on strike from all the labour they had been faced with today. He groaned.

“Good work today, Edric,” said Matthew, “Now go home, and relax. You definitely deserve it.”

“I can’t even walk.” Edric responded with an annoyed and muffled voice, face buried in the grass.

“Think of it as your final challenge.” Matthew tried to reason with him. “Thing is, Ed, I need to get home.” He frowned. “As I said, there are dangerous things in that forest, I need to return home soon. If it’s any reassurance, tomorrow will be a lot easier.” Edric sighed and said nothing. “Goodbye Edric, well done for today. Get home safe!”

Edric groaned. Instead of moving, he just lay there for a while, watching Matthew dissapear amongst the trees. He didn’t want to get up; every part of him ached, a pulse of pain that flowed throughout his entire body. Yet it was getting dark. And he didn’t want to imagine what could happen after dark. Groaning, Edric gradually rose from the grass and stretched. He began to limp over the field and back towards the town, longing to climb into his bed as soon as possible.

He took the alley into town, and he felt every crow perched on every rooftop watching him, ready for their evening meeting by the chimney. He stepped out into the street, a depressing stretch of crooked, grimy houses, and a few run-down shops. Only a few lonely souls wondered the streets, homeless and hopeless. A chill evening breeze whistled through the air, sending shivers through Edrics body. He forgot about his pain and began to hurry as his fear grew.

Ever since the apocalypse, the world had begun its downfall. Monsters ravaged the streets, terrorizing civilians and destroying buildings. Civilization had declined into huddled settlements and towns that liked to keep to themselves, possessing heavy defense systems and armed forces perched on looming watchtowers. Edric remembered the day that they came, people from the government. They stained the humble and once peaceful town with the disgusting industrial towers and buzzing fences. They claimed it was for everyone's safety, which, of course was partly true. However, it only increased the terror of the residents of this town, leading them to fear the apocalypse more than before. It caused people to stay hidden inside, plagued by thoughts of dangerous creatures, leaving the streets deserted and bleak. Yet, the inside was a lot worse than the outside, with poverty spreading in each town, destroying the lives of everyone there more than any monster could. It was impressive how the world had flipped like an unfortunate coin, just because on a single drop of a dangerous chemical in some lab somewhere. Life was only a cycle of fear. In short, it was an absolute mess.

Edric shivered and walked down baker’s street, then turned into grim street, where the houses were only identifiable by house number. Each building was ugly and misshaped, as every house on every street was. 64 grim street. That was where he called home. Just another dilapidated shack blending in with the others.

Edric knocked on the door, his knocks echoing through the flimsy frame of the building. His old trainers tapped on the ground impatiently; he was freezing, not to mention that the tiredness had kicked in again.

"Coming!" came a voice from inside. Scraping against the stone floor, the door creaked open, revealing Edric's Mom, Evelyn Ivory standing there, beaming warmly. Edric stumbled inside, shutting the door and leaning slumped on the wall, too tired to stand.

"How was training?" She asked. The words just passed through Edric, or maybe just didn't reach him, as he was sprawled on the sofa, resting and absorbing the warmth of the house contentedly. For a house that could be described as rather rickety, it contained heat very well, which was reassuring after a long day of training.

Evelyn rolled her eyes. That mentor must have put him through a lot today, she thought.

"Ed?"

Edric jolted back to reality. "Huh?" he replied in a mumble.

"I said, how was training?" She repeated.

"Oh, yeah, it was great, thanks..." Edric replied, before his eyes fluttered shut. He had fallen asleep. Evelyn chuckled to herself and put the kettle on, and made herself a cup of nettle tea, using some crushed nettle and herbs from a tin on the counter. She sat on the armchair opposite the sofa where Edric lay and sipped her tea. She knew he had worked hard today. She was proud of Edric.