Chapter 1 - The Escape
It had been a lifetime since she was locked inside the darkness.
Leah tilted her head, listening to the deep, baritone laughter of her captors echoing from outside the cottage. She didn't know what year it was. She only recalled that she was eight years old when they threw her in here.
She didn't know why she was taken. All she remembered of the outside world was a stinging pain, the overwhelming scent of a drug, and then—blank memories.
Bang! Bang!
Heavy blows rattled the wood. Leah shifted her gaze to the bottom of the door, expecting her usual meal to be shoved through the small rat hole.
Instead, a harsh creak echoed through the room.
The heavy, chained door swung open. A blinding line of light cut through the pitch blackness, forcing Leah to shield her eyes instinctively.
She crawled forward, her neck straining. The door was completely unlocked.
Her mind raced. Was it a trap? A cruel game her captors were playing for fun? Or was it an answer to the desperate prayers she had screamed to the skies after last week's torture?
Steeling her heart, Leah forced her weak legs to stand.
"Ah!"
She gasped, collapsing back onto the dirt. Her feet were swollen and bruised, shooting waves of agony up her spine. But looking at that open door, fear didn't grip her. Instead, a wild, drumming wave of excitement flooded her chest.
She forced herself up again. Cautious, painful steps brought her to the threshold. Her pale hands gripped the edge of the heavy wood, and with a sudden rush of adrenaline, she kicked the door wide open.
The sight outside was suffocating.
The lifeless bodies of her captors littered the ground. The metallic, heavy stench of fresh blood hung thick in the air, mixing with the foul smell of trash, alcohol, and dung.
Leah stared at the slaughter, then looked up at the pure, beautiful blue sky.
She didn't wince. She didn't cry. Instead, she took a deep, shuddering breath, inhaling the scent of death and rot. To her, it was the sweetest perfume.
The dark was no longer hunting her. She no longer had to hold onto her life by a fragile thread.
As the fresh air hit her face, she felt a rush of pure, intoxicating excitement. It was the refreshing taste of freedom.
Hours later, Leah stumbled through a dense, shadowy forest. She had no destination, only a fierce determination to keep moving.
Exhaustion finally clouded her mind. Her eyes grew heavy, and she failed to notice the patch of grass concealing a drop in the earth.
She stepped forward and plummeted.
Hiss!
Leah winced as she hit the cold, muddy ground at the bottom of a deep ditch.
Lying there in the dark, a breathless laugh escaped her lips. The irony was almost humorous. She had just escaped one cage, only to fall directly into another.
Perhaps this was just how her life was meant to be.
She stared up at the small patch of sky visible above the hole, tears finally blurring her vision.
"Am I not a creation, too?" she whispered into the empty forest.
"Am I not allowed to enjoy even a tint of happiness? Why do the heavens condemn me? Was I not a child, too?"
Allowing the darkness to take her, Leah slowly shut her eyes and lost consciousness.
She closed her eyes too soon. She missed the sudden, brilliant display of aurora lights that washed over the night sky directly above her—the magic answering her cry.
