Chapter 1 - Into the Shadows?
An arrow struck the tree. Barely missing my head. I continued running from danger, looking for any route that could lead me to safety.
“He’s here!” I heard a man shout behind me as I continued running towards the forest away from the village.
Cold air hit my face, and warm air puffs came from my mouth as I could barely breathe properly. I’ve been running from them the last hour or so. Just to get them off my back, but they keep catching up to me somehow.
What are they?! Who sent them? Did that old man send them to kill me?! I thought no one was following me when I left. No time to dwell on this. I need to find a hiding spot.
Damn it! I should’ve brought my sword with me!
”Boss! If we keep getting further away from the village, monsters will eat us.” I heard another man yell. “Well, screw that; we need to kill him!”
That is unfortunately true. As we get further away from the village, it gets even more dangerous in the forest, especially for those who go alone. However, the monsters don’t scare me at all. A river was nearing my vision as I got closer to it. But for sure, I am now very deep in the forest.
”Hey, pretty boy! You found a nice scenery to die in. You’re pretty lucky if you ask me. ” The ‘boss’ laughed as he got closer to me with his men. He is a tall, bald man with a scar that runs from his left eyebrow down his left cheek and is very muscular. His four minions look leaner than him, all holding swords, while a guy with dark red hair is holding his bow and arrow ready to strike me again.
I guess I need to fight them off. I thought to myself. I kicked the man closer to me in the stomach and snatched his sword from his hand and sliced his arm away from me.
“What are you waiting for? GET HIM!” As soon as the ‘boss’ yelled, the men came ready to slice me with their swords, but I dodged every single one of them and knocked them out.
I failed to notice the man with the red hair shooting me with his arrow. The pain stung in my left thigh, and I fell to my knees. Now, it is just the ‘boss’ and the archer standing. “Pretty boy,” The ‘boss’ tipped my head up with his sword to look at him. “Looks like tonight is your last night being alive. Say your prayers!” I pushed my body off the ground with all my strength and slammed his body to the ground. I pulled the arrow from my thigh and ran towards the river. “Hey!! Shoot this bastard now! We can’t have him escape now!” Surely, with no doubt, the archer shot his arrow at me, and it struck my upper left shoulder.
“Damn you! Get back here!” I heard the ‘boss’ yell at me. I jumped into the river, swam to the other side, and ran away from them. I needed to find a place to rest for a bit and clean my wounds before they got infected. I stopped by a very old oak tree and ripped a piece of my right arm sleeve, then wrapped it around my thigh to stop the bleeding. Then pulled the arrow out of my left shoulder, and even more blood gushed out. For now, I have to hide before the monsters start to show up here and go back when the sun arrives, as it would be stupid to fight off monsters while injured.
I scanned the area around me, but my vision was blurring. I found a small cabin in the forest. A little closer to the cave that is near the cliff. A light flickered behind the small window in that cabin. Someone must live here.
I almost laughed at the idea that someone is living in the depths of the forest so far from the village. Is it abandoned, or is it my hallucinations catching up on me? Did I bleed so much that I am now imagining things?
I forced myself off the oak tree that I was leaning on and walked towards the cabin.
One step,
Then another.
Finally, I am now in front of the main door. I can barely feel my legs from the pain and my breath is getting labored as I am nearing my limits. I must’ve bled a lot, or the arrows were poisoned. I thought to myself.
I raised my hand towards the door and gently knocked.
Knock.. Knock.. Knock
No sound nearby, and surely no sound behind that door either. Is this cabin abandoned? As soon as I put my hand on the doorknob, the door opened. I braced myself for what to come but all I saw was a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties in her dark green sleep gown. She is almost shorter than me up close and could reach my shoulder. She has straight brown hair braided down to her waist. Her green eyes stared back into my brown eyes. She looked as though she just woke up from her sleep. Until her facial expression turned into a snarl towards me. Would she scream?
“Who are you?” She asked.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could barely breathe in the air; my vision was getting even blurrier. My mouth opened to ask her for help, but I felt weaker by the second.
“Sir?” Her voice was muffled by the pounding of my heart in my ears.
Her face blurred before me, and before I knew it, darkness swallowed me before I could do anything or even say anything.
