"Hey, Alex! Wake up!"

Alex balled his fist and punched the first thing his hand could hit. Too bad it was Dylan's nose.

"Holy shit!" Dylan exclaimed

"Where are they?"

"Where? What?"

Alex was sat on a lawn in the middle of a public square. Two bags and a tattered tent lay behind his feet. The air smelled of strawberries and roses.

Blooming around them were beds of marigold and a few stepped on roses. Little kids played tag around a white marble fountain and others played hide 'n' seek in the parking lot.

The square was paved with cobblestones edged with stucco buildings and short hibiscus trees. In the centre stood a large and well decorated hearth; A few families sat round the hearth chatting and laughing.

A strange feeling started developing in his stomach as he looked at them. He imagined Him and his mum together sitting in the porch right outside the house staring at the evening sky as she told him stories about old Greek myth and all some fashion stuffs.

Dylan rubbed his hurting nose. 'owww! You're so mean.'

At a nearby pavement cave, some people zipped juices in the shades of patio umbrellas. A few others played cards round a ping-pong table. At the far end of the centre were parked some delivery vans and a few other expensive vehicles.

It took him a second to recover. Those weren't what He expected to see. He was actually expecting to see a dark giant with red fiery eyes, sharp claws and fangs trying to devour him but all He saw were tourists having fun. They weren't even paying them any attention.

"Uh- I'm sorry" Alex apologized 'I thought we've been attacked- again"

Dylan was dressed in a black leather jacket. His pale dark hair struggling as they tried to break out of the cowboy hat over his head. His dead hazel-brown eyes looked like an endless abyss. He wore a pair of black jeans and had on his feet a pair of adidas sandals. The sharp scar right below his jaw glittered in the daylight making him look a little older than he actually was.

Curling in his rough palms was something that looked like a cat…which would have looked cute if only the cat wasn't dead. From his dressing, the scar on his chin, the cowboy hat over his head and the dead creature in his hand, he looked like an undertaker ready to take me on a trip through the underworld.

"I think you should dress like this more often" Alex said. "Maybe that'll help scare them away,"

"You know" he lumbered over and sat on the lawn beside Alex which made him a little uncomfortable "I hardly ever know when you're joking"

"I'm not. I mean it"

"Bah. I do not think that'll be necessary – for now" he said filling his mouth with a handful of cherry chips "I've gone round this place while you were asleep and good news, I didn't find anything unfriendly or threatening, and…" He then sighed, "No trace of Lutis"

This made Alex a little relieved, even though he was aware that Dylan's information couldn't be relied on. But Dylan giving a bad news at the moment could make him fade off. The last one month had been the toughest moment of their lives. They'd left home and spent the days running around and hiding from deadly beasts who wanted nothing than to chomp their fleshes down their stinky throat.

Dylan's face immediately turned grim giving Alex more reasons to doubt what he'd just said.

"What's wrong" Alex asked, "you look worried"

He readjusted his posture "yeah. But do not worry" he said "it's nothing "

Alex shook His head "I don't buy that" He said "can't you see your expression. You look like a skeleton that was dug out of his grave with a hoe"

That wasn't a joke, Dylan actually looked like that. That should have gotten him annoyed but he just smiled. "You're right" he said. "But it's my problem which means I'll have to deal with it myself"

"It's okay. You can talk to me"

"By the way, have you finally gotten in touch with mum?"

That got Alex a little angry and He felt guilty afterwards. He knew Dylan was more than a friend to me; he was more like a, can He says.... Brother (on the run) to him, but him referring to his mum as 'mum' made him a little uneasy.

Alex shook the thought off, "still not," He replied, "I hope she's okay. She must be really worried right now."

Alex eyes trailed off as he tried picturing his mum. But all he could see was him getting eaten alive.

Dylan smiled wearily and ran his hand into his pocket and took out pocket knife. At least it should have been glittering if it wasn't splashed all over with what looked like a purple paint. Dylan had used the knife to save Alex at a museum when They were attacked by a ram headed man.

He held the hilt of the knife continually staring at its blade and rolling his eyes at Alex like he meant to say: I'm sure your blood will mix well with this

He heaved a heavy sigh "is this how we gon' live our lives till we die?" Alex had to look around to be sure Dylan was talking to him "keep hiding and running from monsters"

"No" Alex replied with certainty, but if one were to look closely at him, they would see his lips quivering, "Maybe if we manage to find Lutis"

"We don't even where the man is or where he stays" Dylan said "how're we expected to find him"

"He should be somewhere close, I'm sure we would find him soon" Said Alex.

"Mmm…" He nodded and stood "I'll be right back"

Before Alex could say anything, he had run away. Alex watched as he ran into a store only to come out minutes later with a swollen bag.

"What's that?" Alex asked

"Food"

Alex cracked his fingers "the last time I checked, we were both stranded with no money" He spoke slowly said "how did you get this?"

"Hum…." Dylan bit his fingers "had to do some hustling"

Alex knew what that meant. Dylan was an orphan with no family member or relative so he had to fend for himself by doing menial jobs and when those didn't pay, well he does some creepy little things that would better be kept a secret.

He reached his hand into the bag and tendered everything in it on the table. A box of chocy, two pieces of doughnut wrapped in brown papers, some chips and two diet Pepsi. I was drooling already.

Dylan took off his cowboy hat and wiped off the string of sweat running down his cheek with the back of his hand.

"I hate summer afternoons" he complained "all sunny and .... uh, sunny"

Alex stuffed His mouth with a handful of chips. "Well, I love it" He said but doubted he could understand. All Alex heard myself say was "uhm-mmm-mmh!"

"You'll burst your throat soon enough" Dylan said and sighed. Alex knew what that meant, he was done eating and that left him wondering why he had to bring so many foods.

Dylan then looked at Alex "Alex." He called out "there's something I think I need to tell you"

"Okay" Alex didn't turn his attention away from the box of choccy staring wild at him "I'm listening"

"While I was surveying this place, I found this" he reached into his bag pack. At least, Alex thought it was his until he saw him bring out a red boxer. Alex almost knocked out from the odor.

"Hey" Dylan scowled "you haven't gotten rid of this thing"

He said the thing like it was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen. Well it actually was, even Alex was surprised Dylan hadn't passed out from the odor.

"He he…" Alex let out a nervous laugh. The truth was Alex didn't even know why he kept it in his bag pack "I thought you'd that for me"

Dylan threw it, not actually aiming it at any one but luckily it landed on the picnic table of one of the couples on our left. They were about to kiss when the boxer landed on the guy's face.

Alex turned his face away not wanting to know the next thing that was going to happen. Seconds later, a pie landed on Dylan's face.

"You fucking piece of shit, why'd you do that. Do…" The guy kept raining curses on Dylan, but after a full minute and Dylan Didn't even say a thing, his expression not even shifting, the guy stomped away angrily.

After the guy left, Dylan looked at Alex, "You know that's your fault?"

"But hey –." Alex said "why did you have to check my bag?"

"I thought it was mine." He picked the second bag and started rummaging through it, not without checking it first.

He soon brought out a brown book. Alex thought it was a tourist guide or probably a lost diary until he opened it. It had the picture of a tall man riding on a white horse. He had a bow crossed around his chest and a sword stripped to his belt. Below it, was something written in another language Alex didn't know but was surprised he could read it.

"wonna survive out there without turning into a yummy hot dog" it said "come meet me and I'll teach you how to bash some heads"

Alex threw it back at Dylan. "What Is this?"

"I do not know but I think it can help us find Lutis"

"Find Lutis?" Alex asked "how?"

"Didn't you read it? Wonna survive out there" he quoted "the Old man told us to find Lutis who would take us to a place where people like us live. People who can't live a day without getting into a fight with unfriendly beasts.

"Yea, but this says c –charon not Lutis"

"Maybe he can help us. It wouldn't hurt to try." Dylan argued back.

Alex sighed, "Okay. How do we find him? It says here that… where's this place."

Dylan snatched the book. "I know the place. We should get going, before we catch the wrong attention."

With that the two stood up to leave.

* * * TO BE CONTINUED * * *