Prologue.

It was a clear spring day in Alaska and a new challenge waited for Kris. He had been on the road for three days now driving to his new home. On his way there he saw no sign of human life besides the town he drove through two days ago. Kris had bought a house online and that is where he was heading.

-Kris POV-

"Wait... where is the house?

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...

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Fuck!!!!"

I couldn't believe they scammed me. There's nothing here but a few pipes which I assume are for plumbing. Banging my head on the steering wheel I begin to tear up from the pain and humiliation. The only way to keep my mind sane was by reminding myself why I was there in the first place.

"I can't go back to them. I can't." I say while wiping away tears.

All of a sudden my phone began to ring and not knowing who would call me I picked up the little thing to find out who it was. It was James, the only friend I could talk to. We were like brothers, constantly joking around and helping each other.

"Kris where the hell are you? I've just visited your parents and they're saying they don't know you." There was a slight annoyance in his voice.

"Ummm... how do I say this? Something bad happened and now in living in Alaska."

I could just imagine the look on his face right now.

At the top of his lungs, he shouted "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE IN ALASKA?"

"Ow... loud shit. Please try not to yell in the mic again."

"Sorry... but what's going on?"

"I'm sorry but I can't say what happened. I'm still trying to get over it. But right now I have a problem. You see I bought a house online and it was a scam. The previous owners must have taken everything even the house. All that's left is some pipes sticking out of the ground."

"So?"

Confused by James's reply I ask "So what?"

His reply took me by surprise. "Just build a new house to call home. Start a new life for crying out loud and maybe you'll discover a new ability while you're at it."

It is common for people at a young age to discover some capabilities that they possess. Most of the time people only have one and it is rare to find one that isn't a passive ability. With this in mind, I said, "Dude are you still on about that? You know I don't have any. Besides am past the age where one discovers them."

His response was quick. "All I'm saying is that some people are late bloomers and who knows maybe your abilities are passive."

"Or maybe I'm just a useless person who's gonna die out here!"

There was a long silence between us and deep down I knew I shouldn't have gotten angry about this so to try and fix it I said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Thankfully James was understanding and replied with "It's okay. I have an idea. Send me what's left of your money and I'll buy everything you need like windmills, fridges and that kind of stuff. I'll get some guys to get everything sorted."

"Is this goodbye?"

There was another long and uncomfortable silence between us until he replied with a hurt tone of voice. "Sadly it is. I want this to be my final gift to you. I'm sorry."

Tears slowly started rolling down my cheeks. "It's okay," I sniffed, "I'll try and stay alive."

"You better."

And then he hung up leaving me in a crying mess. I spent more than half an hour crying to myself now being completely alone. It took some time for me to calm down and think of my next move.

"James said to build my own home. That is easier said than done," I signed, " at least I bought that axe before I left town."

I figured I needed it to chop some firewood or something but now it looked like it would be my new best friend. I got out of the car, grabbing the axe as well, and had a good look at my surrounding. There were lots of big pine trees perfect for building a log house. All I needed was a plan.

My new home was finally done with all the features I wanted. The furniture James sent was installed last week and the actual house looked pretty good if I could so myself.

The first few weeks were the hardest days of my life. My body was stiff all over from chopping all the trees and trying to carry them. Not to mention that I placed strict rules to make my food last which made me constantly hungry. But after a month I noticed a difference. The trees were getting lighter, a can of beans lasted me a day with no hunger. Furthermore, the weather which was getting cold didn't affect me. Maybe James was right, I could have the ability to adapt.

Now that my house was complete it was time to take stock of my current food storage. Shit! it was low. " I'm gonna have to hunt or grow something soon," I thought. I looked out my window and was reminded that it was winter. Having noticed a variety of wildlife in the woods around my house for the past few days I came to a realization. I had to hunt, the only option that would guarantee my survival. But the big question I had was, with what? The axe was not going to work at all but maybe I could craft something. I walked around outside my house looking for anything that would work or that I could use to craft something. Nothing I saw appeared useful until I tripped over something, falling face first in the snow and shit it was so cold. I quickly got out of the snow. I looked back to see what I tripped over and saw a piece of a chopped tree buried in the snow. After staring at it for a moment some ideas came to mind.

I was going to make a spear and a bow. The log was not as big as the ones I used for firewood but it was big enough. I spent the next few days carving and collecting feathers on the snowy ground or from dead birds. I even sharpened a rock in a peculiar sharp piercing fashion for my spear. I used my leftover nails for arrowheads. Everything was ready now and all I desperately needed was a successful hunt.

I crept up to an unsuspecting herd of Elk roaming across the snowy fields. The herd was heading south, not sure why. This was my chance and actually my first time of having a good shot of killing something to take home. All I needed to do was aim and fire. I positioned myself in a standing posture that made me steady my aim. I slowly but energetically pulled the string with an arrow in front of it to its furthest point as I inhaled. My target stood in an unmovable position chewing on some grass sticking out of the snowy ground as it constantly shook its tail. I exhaled and let go of the string of my bow. The bow shot the arrow with such force it knocked my target to the ground giving me the perfect opportunity to make a quick kill. The Elk hit by the arrow saw me running up to it and with all its strength it tried to run but it was too late as my spear quickly found the back of its head, killing it instantly. The rest of the herd scamped away in different directions. It took me a moment to realize what I had just done. My joy and excitement could not be contained "I did it! I finally did!" I exclaimed loudly.

I shouted as I jumped in the air with excitement. Knowing I now had food for a month or two I picked up the Elk ready to take my prize back home. To my surprise, it was lighter than I originally thought, or was I stronger? "I could probably run with this Elk on my shoulder," I thought. The house was about twelve to fifteen miles away and it was getting dark so I needed to make as much time as possible. I threw the Elk over my shoulder and began running home. As I ran my mind was clouded with thoughts of ways I could cook the meat. Fry it, roast it or even smoke it over a fire.

Now about two miles away from home I was stopped by something ahead of me. I couldn't tell what it was from a distance but it looked dangerous. It walked slowly across the path stopping to smell the air. After what felt like a minute it turned its head towards me looking straight at the two flesh bags before it. At that instant, it started walking slowly in my direction and as it got closer I could see a dark black aura around it with blue colouration all over its black fur. Shit, it is a Shade Wolf.

This was the last thing I wanted to encounter. Their reputation for their capabilities is known across the world. A wolf the size of a grizzly bear and as fast as a Cheetah. Not to mention the fact that it could control a dark force that it would use when attacking its prey. The worst part was that they eat their prey alive.

I was not in the best situation to handle this. But I couldn't just give up my kill. The only thing I could do was an attack but it looked like this beast had the idea first.

The Shade Wolf used its dark force to launch me flying in a tree forcing all the air out of my lungs. Slowly I got up but as I did the wolf charged catching me by surprise and using its massive tail to knock me back to the ground. I tried to get up but the wolf held me down with a paw and howled to signal a victory. The weight of the wolf was crushing my rib cage. There was nothing I could do but think if this was how I was going to die.

After the wolf was done howling it lowered its head to take a bite out at my shoulder. As the two rows of teeth sunk into my flesh and began crushing my shoulder bone, something inside of me snapped. At that moment I let out a deafening shout caused by rage and pain. Instinctively my feet kicked the wolf on top of me onto its back forcing it to let go of my shoulder. Both of us got back to our feet and started moving in circles waiting for the other to make a move. What must have been the most intense moment of the stand-off was ended by the wolf jumping to attack. As if my body had a mind of its own it adjusted out of the way but not enough to avoid two of the wolf's claws from ripping two straight scratches down the side of my face. It landed and turned around for another attack but only turned straight into my arms, giving me a strong and tight grip on its neck. With all my strength and in one quick movement, I snapped its neck making the Shade wolf fall lifeless next to me. I stood there wondering how I was not dead but the pain of my shoulder forced me onto my knees. On my knees, the wolf's mirror-like eyes stared back at me and I admit it was a little off-putting. But I noticed something in the reflection of its eyes. My left eye was red. A color representing the burning rage inside of me.

Was this an ability or was it just blood rushing where it was not supposed to?

Slowly the colour began to fade away and I looked up to the clear dim sky.

"You just had to make it difficult, didn't you?" I spoke to myself as if someone was listening.