It had been 2 weeks since he'd last had anything to eat. The first couple of days he hurt quite a bit. He was really hungry. After that though he started to feel much better almost euphoric. He seemed to have a lot of energy. He seemed to be in better spirits. He was amazed at the agility with which he climbed the cliff.

However, now he was starting to loose it. He looked down from his chest on down to his feet. He was barefoot now. His shoes had completed their disipation in the last several days. They were no longer. All that he had was his shreded pants and underware. As he looked down he saw not an ounce of fat. When he started out he weighed almost 200 lbs. He was only 5'6". He was overweight and felt it. Now as he looked down at his body, he saw nothing but strength and determination. His body no longer seemed like his anymore. It was as if he had been driving an old 1980 chevette and now he was at the throttle of a new Ford Mustang with a V-8 4.6 liter engine. He felt like he had command of 300 Hp at his disposal except now he had no fuel.

He could feel the hunger and he was becoming very lethargic. He looked ahead where he thought the path lead. It certainly appeared to go only one way and that way was down the guantlet. To the left and to the right lay two huge cliffs, neither of of which were scalable - at least not in his condition. Down the center was plush green forest. It was misty and cool but not chilling. The air felt good to him. But he could feel the lack of energy. In the distance he could see smoke and with it hope.