Chapter 1: The Bookslinger
A saga of myth, legend and cramming before the exams!
Chapter 1
The Hooded Stranger fled across the Desert of Study-Leave and SwitchBlade the Bookslinger followed...His well used reference books nestled cozily in their holsters which criss-crossed about his waist.His hall ticket neatly folded and placed in his breast pocket.
The path he followed was one that had on several earlier occasions been trod by Bookslingers on a similar pursuit... to conquer the Hooded Stranger. Not much was known of this stranger apart from his name. 'The Final Exam' was what he was called by the ancients. A name that has haunted every Bookslinger over the ages and SwitchBlade was no exception.
This was a path he had willingly chosen to follow, knowing fully well the consequences of failure. SwitchBlade knelt down in the sand and rested, his body moaning with fatigue and hunger. He surveyed the Desert around him. The company of friends and the warmth of his loved ones were now nothing but a mirage in the scorching heat of the noon sun. Now he was alone. All he had to keep him company were his maddening thoughts.
His mission to conquer the 'The Final Exam' had turned him into a maniac. A thoughtful yet focussed maniac."Only a week left before I catch up with my Stranger", mumbled SwitchBlade to himself. His speech was less coherent than ever before. Endless weeks in the Desert of Study-Leave did that to you. Lesser Bookslingers would have lost hope by now."But not me!", he thought to himself.
He had no aides on this mission. Only his trusted reference books. Their well-used pages falling apart and their lines marked with fluoroscent ink, the books had come to his rescue several times in the past.They would not fail him this time either.He prayed that they wouldnt....
A quick swig from his waterbag and he was ready to go once more.He picked himself up off the ground and dusted the sand from his denims. Onward he pushed toward his Hooded Stranger. To conquer his Goal. To taste the sweet taste of freedom. The distance that seperated him from his destiny shortened with every step he took.What lay ahead... only time would tell.....
