BLOOD SAMURAI

THE STORY OF THE BANDIT KING PART 1(A CURSED LIFE)

As their battle comes to its climax, Maxwell gets flashbacks to the moment that led him down this path. It was many years when Maxwell was just a young lad, about 8 years of age. He and his friends sat on rocks by the swamp, their skin and clothes dirty and torn. Maxwell's fiery reddish hair was in cornrows. They sat by the swamp throwing rocks at Croco-slugs. Grotesque abominations. The slugs. Grew up to twenty to thirty feet. They had teeth like crocodiles, but much longer.

They had silver hard plated scales on their backs and the center of their heads, which took no damage to gunshots or even blunt weapons. Their tails look like crocodile tails and their slime was acidic, melting everything besides the other inhabitants of the swamp that grew accustomed to it. The boys continued throwing rocks at the monster as they slowly swam across the swamp unfazed by the rocks being thrown at.

Then suddenly, a voice started shouting at the boys. "Get down here you little bastards" shouted a man at the boys. Maxwell and the other boys raced down from the rocks and bowed their heads towards the man. The man had a clear-cut red suit with a black fur collar with what appears to be an emblem of a rose on his chest. His skin was pale, he was mostly bald because of hair loss. He had a gigantic beer belly that made old saint Nicholas look like a bodybuilder. As he shouted and cursed at the boys, asking them who permitted them to play. The boys remained silent. " So no one is going to answer me" ask the man as he pulled out a whip "the forty lashes for each of you," remarked the man as he raised his whip into the air a man came running shouting " it was me it was me I gave them permission to leave." The well-dressed man turned around to see a man in dirty old clothes standing in front of him. "It was me, Mr. Welson.

I told the boy they can go," remarked the man who had just arrived with his torn, dirty old clothes, dark skin, and long Rass. "And who are you to give orders around here?" remarked Mr. Welson. " No one, the boys looked tired," replied the man ask he tries to explain himself before receiving a whip across his face. Blood began pouring out of his face as the whip cut deep into his skin. Maxwell rushed towards the man, who was now bent over on the ground because of his injury. "Dad, are you OK?" asked Maxwell. " am fine," replied the man as he held on to his face. "Hi, you little shit, take your friends and go home. I and your dad still have to talk," remarked Mr. Welson. Maxwell looked at his dad, who ushered him to go, and he and his friends ran off, not looking back to see what happened next. Later that evening whilst Maxwell was eating dinner which was moldy mash potatoes and stew rat and rabbit with stale wet bread his mother, a beauty with her shiny smooth dark skin and dark black hair and shiny green eyes even among the dirty worn down wooden shack that they lived in, cleaned up the kitchen.

A loud bang and crashing sound came through the front door. When both Maxwell and his mother turned to see what caused the noise they saw Maxwell's father staggering and stumbling into the house. Maxwell's mother dropped the wares in her hand causing them to scatter and break as she rushed over to attend to her husband. As she rushed over to him, she almost split on something when she noticed a red liquid on the ground. As she watched the liquid on the ground she gasped as she realized it was her husband's blood, she dropped to her knees as she tried to brace up her collapsing husband. As she braced him up her body was covered in blood due to the lacerations and cuts all over his body, some so deep you see his bone in some insistence. Maxwell's mother rushed him to his room and she carried his father to their bedroom. As Maxwell laid on his straw and grass bed he could hear his parents speak. "There's no way you can carry on with tomorrow in the condition you're in" stated his mother to his father "Am not the least important you know that, what's important is that we have an opportunity to act and something like me being injured won't hold us back" replied his father. Maxwell closed his eyes and stuck straw in his ears to drown out the screams of his father as his mother applied medication to his injuries. Early the next morning before the rising of the sun, guards began entering the homes of the villagers and dragging people out. Those who weren't ready were beaten greatly and dragged on their backs.

"Time to work you worthless creatures" shouted one of the guards "Yeah time to show your gratefulness to us for allowing you lesser beings to live" shouted another guard in reply to the first one. When one of the guards reached Maxwell's home, he and his parents were already waiting for them. "I didn't think you would have the strength to move let alone be ready after what Mr. Welson did to you yesterday yah shit" shouted the guard. "Am always ready to serve," replied Maxwell's father. Maxwell with his parents and the other villagers walked for two and half hours through forest and tough mountain terrain, whilst the guard rode on horses. They walked till they reached their destination, a precious gemstone mine from their villagers began separating into different groups. The first group which consisted of young and strong men including Maxwell's father was the group that entered the mine and dug for the gems, they were also responsible for carrying out the gemstones from the mine and handing it over to the second group.

The second group, which consisted of old men and women and young girls, was responsible for cleaning the dirt of the gems, checking for any flaws and evaluating them in terms of quality, and separating them into different baskets based on quality for the third and final group to collect. The final group which consisted of young boys and young women including both Maxwell and his mother were responsible for carrying the baskets of gems from the mines and placing them on transporters to be carried out the mine. The baskets usually weighed thirty to fifty pounds which were to be carried by hands up and through steep and rough terrain out of the mine. Failure to do so or to even drop a gem will result in whippings or even death if it happened more than once.

This was to be done for 10 hours with two ten-minute breaks for water and 20 minutes to find and eat food which usually was any little creatures the villagers could find running around mines or the nearby forest. Maxwell, who usually worked alongside his mother, was carrying a basket of gems up the hill when he noticed his mother was nowhere to be found. "Strange" he taught himself as his mother never left his side even for a day since he started working in the mines. As he continued his march up the terrain wondering where his mother could be he heard a loud explosion behind him. Confused but not overly concerned as even though it was rare they were allowed to use explosives on tougher rocks to get the gems but then he heard a second one, then several more explosions began ringing out. Before he could gather himself and figure out what was happening an explosion happened next to the transporters behind him sending him flying from on top of the hill and into the abyss below knocking him out cold. After awakening several minutes later with his face covered in mud he saw a chaotic site like never below with villagers running in all different directions.

The men from the village attacked guards with their mining tools and flipped over guard towers and posts. Fires and destruction covered the mine with such force it looked like an act of God had taken the mine. As the chaos unfolded Maxwell realized what was happening: a riot, a coup, the villagers were finally fighting back. As the riot raged on it looked more like a war zone than anything else as villagers and guards were being killed everywhere. Maxwell ran scared and worried looking for his parents when he ran into a guard with a shotgun pointed at him, whilst the guard aimed his guard at the boy, Maxwell closed his eyes awaiting his death. Then suddenly the guard dropped to the ground dead with a pickaxe lodged into the back of his head.

When Maxwell opened his eyes he saw his father standing over the dead guard. His father grabbed his hand and told him we have to go now and they both ran out the mine and into the roadway leading to the forest. As they ran down the roadway Maxwell continued to ask for his mother, where they were going, and why this was happening. His father remained silent throughout their journey. As they ran they could hear loud footsteps coming behind them as they turned they could see guards chasing behind them with bows and arrows in hand. But before they could adjust to the new situation unfolding the guards launched several arrows at them. Maxwell stood frozen like a statue and closed his eyes embracing his death once more. After a brief moment, he opened his and realized that he was unharmed but saw his father kneeling in front of him with blood coming out of his mouth. "Are you ok? '' asked his father. Maxwell shook his head and tears began flowing out of his eyes as he knew what had just happened.

"This is as far as I can go with you right now" stated his father. Maxwell's father then took out a tooth from his mouth and inside the gum was a piece of paper wrapped in plastic he took the paper and handed it to Maxwell. "Son this paper here lies the future of our people '' stated his father as he handed over the paper to Maxwell. "We were once strong and proud warriors many moons ago now we are just slaves," Maxwell's father took a deep breath before continuing. "Take this paper, find our ancestors' ultimate weapon, and free our people from this nightmare son, only you can do this ". "But why me? '' replied Maxwell as sorrowful tears run down his. "Because it is your responsibility and destiny to protect everyone, you are stronger than you think child now go" replied his dad. "Go before they catch you" Maxwell with fearful tears of pain flowing down the face, turned and ran into the forest. As the light faded from his father's eyes, he used his last strength to make one last statement, hoping that it would reach his son. "I love you son and am sorry for all of this. Maxwell ran through the forest till he reach the swamp which separated the forest in half. He can hear the footsteps of the guards coming behind him.

But the only way to cross the swamp was to hop on the armor backs of the Croco-slugs hopping across each one of them to the other side of the forest. Which was dangerous as can be, just one mistake will lead to certain death as falling in the water will alert the monstrous slug that food was near or even worst than being eaten, begin dissolved in the swamp water as the acidic slime of the slugs made the swamp water very acidic to non-swamp natives. As he heard the footsteps come closer he decided to take his chances with the slugs and began hopping from slug to slug the guards arrived and began shooting at him with their guns and arrows but thanks to his small frame he was able to avoid getting hit while jumping on the monstrous slugs back. The Guards made chase towards Maxwell trying to recreate the young boy's movements but due to their bulky armor and poor agility failed to do so thus resulting in their failure and falling into the swamp water below. As Maxwell jumped to the other half of the forest he could hear the screams of the guards with the hissing sound of acid melting flesh and the monstrous splashing of water as the slugs devoured the men alive.

Maxwell didn't look back at the horrors that were unflooding behind him but used the opportunity to continue running. Maxwell ran and ran till day met night and he collapsed from fatigue. When he awakened he found himself in a wooden bed in an old wood and mud cottage in the middle of nowhere. He got up and looked around seeing the cottage was poorly made even compared to his old shack of a home. When he heard a voice. " I see you finally awake" when Maxwell turned around he saw a middle-aged man looking at him, Maxwell picked up a nearby knife and flew to the closest corner he could find with the knife pointed at the man. The man laughed and showed him a symbol burned into his neck. "See I got what you got kid we are the same '' remarked the man. Maxwell watches his leg and watches the marking on the man's neck the markings were identical. Seeing this Maxwell realized that they were both runaway slaves.

After calming down Maxwell realized he didn't have his father's paper nor did he open it to memorize it. He searched desperately for the paper on him. The man laughed as Maxwell looked up and down frantically for the paper. "Looking for this" remarked the man with the paper in his hand. Maxwell quickly grabbed the paper and opened it. " Don't worry kid I didn't open it, I found it in your hands when I found you and you held on to it with so much force I knew it was important to you" the man said. "Thank you" replied Maxwell. As Maxwell stood there giving the man thanks, he took a good look at him. The man was middle-aged, about his late thirties. His skin was a dark hue about two shades darker than Maxwell's own. His body showed serious signs of torture and abuse and of a man that lived a hard life with scars and marks all over his body. On the right side of his rib cage had a scar that looked like some sort of beast took a bite out of him and the attack healed poorly over time. One of his eyes had a long scar running down it and looked like it was permanently closed due to whatever caused the scar. His -feet were scarred from knees straight down to his toes. As Maxwell stared at the man, the man laughed and stated "When you are finished looking at me there is food at the table." Maxwell apologized for staring.

"It's ok child come and eat" replied the man. Maxwell walked with the man into the kitchen. The man ushered him to sit at the table. "Sit I will bring the food," remarked the man. A few moments later the man appeared with two bowls of what seemed to be rabbit soup as rabbit's feet could be seen sticking out of the bowl. The man rested the two bowls on the table, one by Maxwell and one where he sat. The man began eating whilst Maxwell stared at the food. The man laughed "it's not poisonous, it's only Rabbit stew child". "Am sorry I never had so much food in a day let alone for a meal" Maxwell replied. The man grew silent for a moment. "Well, there is more where that came from" replied the man as he watched Maxwell eat with a smile on his face. When they were finished eating Maxwell pulled the paper out and looked at it properly. It was a Map to some sort of cave where the ultimate weapon his father was talking about must be hidden but he didn't know how to find the place or where to begin looking. Even though he was scared to ask the man for directions, he walked up to the man and said "Do you know where I can find this place". The man looked at the paper and with a surprised look on his face stated "It can't be, it's real, the legends were true after all." He then looked at Maxwell grabbing him by the face causing Maxwell to jump and began looking into his eyes. "Your one of them a descendant of him," remarked the man "I can't believe after all the stories I heard as a child the legend comes to me in the form of a child" he continued. "Yes yes I think I can help you find the place." He proclaimed excitedly. "Ok so let's get going" replied Maxwell. "Wait child where do you think you are going" replied the man.

"To get the ultimate weapon and free my mother and my people" proclaimed Maxwell. "You are just a boy you need time to train, grow strong then you can go get the weapon" the man explained. "I don't have time, my people are dying now" replied Maxwell, frustrated with the man's explanations. "And what can you do as you are now? Hmmm, the journey alone will kill you and even if you survive can you even lift the weapon? And let's say you can do all that you know how to fight? Or use a weapon to free your people or do you think just because you found a weapon that the people who have your people will respect you and let them go? Replied that man. Maxwell now realizing the seriousness of the man's words and the situation dropped to the floor and began crying. "Where am I going to get someone who can train a salve boy like me?".I will train you" remarked the man. "You," remarked Maxwell, "But you just a runaway slave like me aren't you?" Maxwell continued. The man laughed, "Before I was a salve I used to be a warrior form a land far far from here boy". "You see this scar on my rib cage got it from fighting a lion with my bare hands" the man proclaimed. "What's a lion?" asked Maxwell. "You know what a cat is?" asked the man, Maxwell shook his head to signal yes.

"Well imagine a house cat but four times the size of an average man with a craving for meat," remarked the man. Maxwell looked on it in utter amazement as the man told his story about his fight with the beast. "So you will train me?" asked Maxwell in excitement after hearing the man's story. The man paused and laughed loudly "sure kid I make you the greatest warrior this side of nowhere yet". "When can we start?" asked Maxwell who was getting more and more excited as the seconds passed. "In the morning kid first thing first you need to rest to get the energy to train hard to get big and strong," remarked the man, Maxwell shook his head in agreement. As the man walked off Maxwell asked him his name. "Amhaselassie" remarked the man. Maxwell paused for a moment with a confused look on his face. " amhasslbina , alashunbba, amhasssrasslas" replied Maxwell as he tried to pronounce the man's name. The man laughed "Just call me by the name the people who brought me here have called me John" remarked the man. "John" replied Maxwell as he lay in bed falling asleep awaiting the morning to come.