The sunlight shone through the foliage as it landed interspersed on the forest floor. Madlenkosi slowly stalked across the forest floor using trees, shrubbery, and tall grasses as cover as he hunted a dog-sized, sparrow-looking bird on a thick branch.
As the light shone on parts of his face through the grass he took off his longbow and placed one of the chiseled arrows in the bow. As he drew back the bowstring as far back as he could, he aimed for the chest area of the bird.
*TWANG!*
The arrow hit the bird in the chest and startled it quite badly but it didn't kill it.
*TWANG!* *TWANG!*
Two consecutive arrows were shot towards the same spot before the bird even knew what was happening. The arrows which penetrated deep into its chest hit a vital point as the bird fell out of the tree into the grass below.
Madlenkosi slowly approached the fallen bird as he took it up and placed it in a woven basket on his back. He slowly made his way through the tall grass as he searched for a clearing so he can clean and cook his meal.
*GRRR* sounded out from behind him.
Madlenkosi stopped. A shadow loomed over him as sweat started to wet his back as he prays he was hearing things.
*GRRRRRRR* The snarl sounded again.
"Shit!"
Madlenkosi started running as fast as he could through the grass as he could hear something big chasing behind him.
"Shit, Shit shit shit shit"
Madlenkosi didn't know where he was running to, he just knew he had to get away.
Soon he got the idea to throw away the basket on his back and he did so immediately, but in the process of doing so, something slammed into him from his right, making him barrel through the air like a broken doll.
After being smacked into the air he slammed through branch after branch then rolled into a clearing around a lake. Madlenkosi then lifted his broken and torn body, he was finally then able to see his attacker...
It was a wild dog the size of a bear, Madlenkosi didn't understand why all the beasts and animals around here got so unbelievably large and he didn't want to, he just wanted to get away.
He looked behind him to the lake and then in front of him to the large wild dog, he slowly inched backward as the dog pressed toward him.
*GRRR* * SNAP*
The wild dog lunged and bit at Madlenkosi, in which he ducked and dived between its legs.
It was either do or be eaten, and he wasn't aiming to be on anyone's menu.
Madlenkosi rolled and stood up, he and the wild dog were in a standoff. His shoulder was out of place, he was covered in bruises and he was bleeding from multiple places...
"I must get away from this dog," He thought.
Madlenkosi then looked to the lake. The lake was a deep murky dark color, and there was a light perpetual fog floating above it.
As the wild dog noticed his inattentiveness it lunged for him yet again but it was a bit too slow as Madlenkosi jumped straight into the lake and quickly sank to the bottom.
The wild dog howled and barked at the water but it dare not go in.
As he sank deeper into the water, the temperature dropped constantly, until even pieces of ice were seen floating in the water.
Madlenkosi started to tremble and go into shock as he slowly sank to the bottom, his eyes beginning to close. He was just about to give up when he saw a glimmer of golden light from the corner of his eyes.
Turning his head, he swam to it with what little energy he had left and found out that the nearer he got to the light the warmer it got.
Slowly his body temperature started to rise and he began to feel more energetic once again. When he got within 2 meters of it he noticed it was a small golden fruit around the size of his fist.
It looked like an all gold shining São Tomé Peach, that gave off a comforting warmth as he approached it.
Once he saw the fruit, Madlenkosi felt hunger like he had never before. It felt like his whole being craved this fruit and at the same time he was trying to understand what kind of peach grew under a lake.
Regardless of how he thought of it, hunger still won in the end and he slowly ate the fruit.
Once he was finished eating the fruit Madlenkosi's body started to heat up at a drastic rate, his body began to burn with golden flames as his wounds healed and his shoulder was fixed.
His body began self detoxification and different types of toxins came out of his pores as a black goop and were burnt in the golden flames.
His skin peeled and burnt to ash to reveal supple yet strong golden bronze-colored skin which glowed slightly before dissipating.
His eyes changed from the brown color to a Golden Amber that glowed.
Madlenkosi could feel his strength increasing at an unbelievable rate, he felt like he could fight a lion. His body's very foundation was changing.
The only thing which saved him from self-immolating was the fact that the water around him was unbearably cold...