Also don't point out all the spelling and grammar errors. I know they are there. This is still only in rough draft form. Thanks, guys!
Chapter I
Alexi Romanov stared down the shaft of his arrow to the broadhead that he aimed steadily at the deer just ahead of him. The deer kept picking at the ground looking for something to chew on unknowingly that it would soon be the meal of another.
Alexi's arm began to shake. He had been a hunter since he was ten years old and his aim was true and merciless. But today it seemed he couldn't find his aim. Something was bothering him. Recently hunters have gone off into the forest and never returned. They weren't simple, novice young boys gone off and gotten lost but expert trackers. Men and women who have lived in the forest for decades providing for their people in Ladvicitavoi.
Pain began to shoot up Alexi's arms. The muscles in his back began to waver and now his arm was holding back most of the poundage of the bow. His blood began to pump faster and a loud drumming filled his ears. His arm wouldn't stay steady enough but he now had the right spot.
Slowly, Alexi began to tense up his back muscles and his arm slowly drew back. His fingers relaxed and the bowstring inched away from the tips of his fingers. The deer had suddenly gone stiff with fear. Perhaps its natural instincts heard Alexi's heart pounding or it could feel that something was amiss. The bowstring continued to inch more and more toward the tips of his fingers. His arm stopped shaking and the pain was gone. The bowstring was now on the tips of his finger. Any moment now and the bowstring will be released. Any moment. His aim was still true. The deer, even though it had sensed something, knew not enough to run. Knew not enough to give in to its fear. Any moment.
And then the twang of the bowstring and the swoosh of the arrow and a crashing of a heavy weight among the leaves and branches that littered the forest floor. And there was Alexi. Still standing as exactly as he should. Perfectly still. The deer was dead.
Alexi dropped his arms and looked at the deer. It was perfectly still, perfectly dead. It did not suffer. Only a brief bit of pain and then darkness. Alexi unsheathed a steel knife and walked over to his kill. The arrow protruded from the side of the deer where it pierced both lungs.
The deer was only a doe and from the looks it had been starving for a number of weeks. Mostly skin and bone, Alexi looked at it disgustingly. Something was wrong in the forest. The animals were more and more scarce and the ones they did find were not enough to feed the settlement.
Alexi dropped down to his knees and pulled the edge of his knife across the bowels of the dead doe. The hide parted and a stink rushed up Alexi's nostrils. With his hands he began to pull out the guts throwing them to the side in a pile by a large tree. He would later scavenge what was valuable of the guts but right now he needed to eat.
For several days, Alexi had been without food. He could have easily found something small to gnaw on but tracking deer didn't allow someone the time or luxury to do this.
Alexi pulled out a rib of meat and placed it to the side. He gathered together some dead grass and small pieces of branches. Placing them in a pile, Alexi began striking a bar of flint, which he had pulled out of a pouch on his belt, against his steel knife. Sparks sprayed about and it was enough to start a small ember which Alexi blew into a flame.
Soon enough, a small fire was burning away with Alexi hovering over it turning the rib of meat he had pulled out of the doe. As the meat cooked, he pulled off pieces of it and shoved it into his mouth. The hunger inside him filled his stomach with a pain and now with the smell of cooking meat he could no longer stand it. Some of the meat was raw and he knew he would later pay for it but only now mattered.
Alexi leaned against a tree. His stomach had its fill and now weariness started to take over. His eyes began to flutter. The lids became heavier and it became unbearable to keep them open. The fire began to die and the sky began to darken to dusk.
Home could wait for tomorrow, thought Alexi. Ladvicitavoi was only a half a day journey from where he now laid. It wouldn't be too long before he would see the great stone wall of the city he grew up in.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. A shadow flirting across the dying flames. In a flash, he was up on his feet. His knife found its way into his hand and its steel glimmered in the flames. The fire was blinding him and with a sound kick the fire and the white hot coals were knocked away. Now darkness enveloped him.
Alexi hunched forward. Ready to spring at whatever was in the forest. It might have been a wild cat. They were dangerous and sleek and unafraid to attack an unaware hunter. Usually they would run away as soon as the hunter was alert to its presence but something told Alexi, perhaps an instinct, that he wasn't alone.
From the corner of his eye he saw a shadow and then a familiar twang. Alexi ducked just in time as an arrow flew past overhead. On gut instinct, Alexi threw the knife he had been holding in his hand at the shadow just a few yards away. All he heard was the clatter of the steel against a tree.
Now unarmed and holding the ground, Alexi knew he was in trouble. His bow was unstrung and useless. Trying to string it would only make him more of a target for his attacker who lurked nearby. Now he only hoped that in the frenzy of the attack that his assailent had lost him in the darkness.
Alexi grabbed a rocked. He now listened. Not a twig snapped or a leaf rustled. Dead silence. The pounding of his heart began drumming in his ear. The darkness was overwhelming. An instinct made him feel that something was closing in on him. Fear made his limbs go numb and even though brain screamed for him to run, he could not.
A cold blade pressed against his kneck. He could feel drops of blood begin to glide down his throat as a sharp pain made him gasp for breath.
"Don't move," came a voice from the darkness. From the corner of his eye, Alexi could see a shadow floating above him. Now he could feel the hot breath of a man against his cheek. Alexi tightened his grip on the rock in hand. He knew he would only have one chance at this. Knew this would be his only hope of getting out alive. One mistake and his blood would mingle with doe's on the leaves and dirt.
Alexi sprung up to the surprise of his attacker and swung the rock at the man's head. The rock connected to skull and a sickening, crunching of bone could be heard. The shadow fell to the ground lifeless. The man must be dead. No one could have survived a blow like that.
