Sterling's Story: Part Four

Sterling had left rather spontaneously, and was starting to regret his decision early on in his travels.  He had a bit of money from helping out around the village, and used some of it to pay for food and water on the trip.  He got a general idea of what was around by asking about the local geography.  He was genuinely curious about it, as he had never been anywhere other than Mecha Square and an old, abandoned base.  He learned about a couple of nearby villages he could probably stop at, and he hoped he would be accepted there.

His first trip mostly took him across rough terrain, mostly difficult mountains, and a bit of the mystic desert.  It was the fastest way to the next town, even though it wasn't the easiest.  He walked for a while, but he also learned how to use his transformations for stealth.  He practiced on inanimate objects, such as cacti.  He noticed supply caravans traveling through the region, and would hitch rides by taking the form of some plant or flora, then latching onto the vehicle as it moved.  Because of this, it only took him a few days to reach Mobigypt, even though it was rather far away from Palm Village.

For being in the desert, it was rather majestic, with gold and jewels all throughout.  He had never even seen this place, so he was a bit uneasy, but he thought he'd be safe here.  He snuck in on the back of a supply caravan, getting off at the first big intersection.  "Wow. . . " He whispered.  He had never seen a place so majestic in his life.  He began to wander through the place, taking in all its sights, and buying a small loaf of bread from a market on the corner.  He was really starting to like the place, and wondered what he would do for lodging, and a way to make a living here, when he suddenly saw a shadow from a figure behind him.

He didn't have time to recognize it, but it was the panther who was with the bullies back in Palm Village.  He had a hand over Sterling's mouth and a knife pressed to his neck in under a second.  "We don't want your kind around here kid.  We're all about fighting those robots, see?  And you must be one of em, the way you got us back there."  He then shouted.  "GOT A ROBOT HERE!  MUST BE ONE OF THEM EH. . . EXUS!"  He barely knew the word, but he knew what a riot it would cause.  Sterling broke free while the panther shouted, and took off down the streets, turning every corner he could.  The local authorities were on his tail, and gaining, fast.  Finally, Sterling found a corner to hide in just long enough to become a copy of the panther.  He was hasty, though, and it was done incorrectly.  There was a scar on the right side of the panther's face, but Sterling had his on the left.  He quickly moved out of the corner and saw the authorities.  He had to throw them off his trail, so he pointed down a side street.  "He went that way!"  Unfortunately, the authorities knew the panther all too well, and attacked Sterling instead.  They got a solid hit with a club, which knocked Sterling against the wall and out of his transformation.

Sterling shook his head, and was back to square one.  He had to get out of there in a place he wasn't very familiar with.  He didn't try to transform again, as he thought it wouldn't work.  He did his best to retrace his steps, but he was disoriented from the stress of having to flee and the hit he took from the club.  He kept running through crowds, in and out of alleyways, until he found an exit.  It wasn't the way he came in, but he didn't know, nor did he care, he just kept running.  The authorities didn't chase him too far from the city, as he was only one mobian, and didn't do much.  They didn't even see him do anything, but they attacked him because they thought he was just like the Exus.

After about ten more minutes of running, Sterling was worn out.  He was deep in the jungle, and didn't know where he was.  He collapsed against a tree, breathing heavily.  Why did they do this to me?, He thought.  I'm not like the other bots, I didn't hurt anyone unless I had to.  It's not fair. . . He lowered his head and felt tears in his eyes, and exhaustion overtook him.  He fell asleep, somewhat covered by the leaves of the tree.

He woke up hours later, in the middle of the night.  He heard a rustling of leaves and panicked, but it was merely an animal running past.  He was dizzy for a moment, and getting hungry.  He looked around and was able to remember his somewhat-impromptu survival training, which had him find some berries.  He made sure they were safe to eat by taking a good look at them, then eating some.  It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.  He moved through the jungle cautiously, keeping close to places to take cover, just in case.  He noticed a couple of actual Exus robots as he moved, and cursed them under his breath.  If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be a "freak," or got run out of Mobigypt. . . He didn't think he was strong enough, and moved on for now.

There was another huge problem in the jungle, though.  There was nothing to hitch a ride on.  Nothing came through the jungle, it was all more in the plains, well-traveled forest paths, and other open areas.  Sterling knew he needed to get out, but he wasn't sure how.  He decided to pick a direction and continue moving in that direction until he found something else, like a city, or a beach.  He didn't know which way he chose, but it was West.

After about a month of travel, he came across the edge of a river.  He was happy to find a large source of water, and drank from it, filling up a canteen he took with him from Palm Village.  He was scared, as he didn't really know how to survive on his own, and couldn't see any towns, but he had to keep going.

Over a year had passed, and Sterling was now ten years old.  He was much thinner now, barely able to sustain himself from fruits and the water he head.  He didn't get into very many accidents, being very careful.  He had gotten a couple of small cuts, but those were healed quickly.  He had finally gotten out of the jungle, being sure to keep some food and water with him.  He had learned through experience how to sneak around and transform to avoid being targeted by predators.  He saw a different kind of terrain up ahead, which was the Mobian badlands.  He had heard tales of it and how easy it was to get lost in there.  The canyons were huge, and Sterling knew he couldn't climb all the way to the top to get a better view.  He tried to keep his wits about him, and stick to the same strategy as the forest:  pick a direction, and go that way.  The direction he chose was southwest.  He had a vague idea of where he was, and he wanted to go to the Great Mobian Mountains, as he knew there would be some nearby mountain villages.  If he kept going a bit farther, however, he would find something he never expected to see.