The Red Cloaked Huntress

The forest has always been quiet during these nights. Where the forest is abandoned from its creatures that lurk around and stars that fill the night sky. Nights where your gut tells you to retreat back home and to safety. These are the nights that make my heart beat faster than ever possible, where my hands itch to hold my bow and shoot an arrow, where my eyes narrow and seem to be able to look through the darkness. I had walked, crawled, ran, and climbed this forest for the past hour. Searching high and low for something, anything that could feed my family during these hard times of near starvation.

Its always been hard to live during these times, to survive. Food, money, clothes, and shelter has forever been hard to attain with my family status. But I do whatever possible to help, even if it might mean me ending in a forest, dead.

The forest is the equivalent of a large maze. A variety of trees, bushes, grass, flowers spread out on the land making it hard to know where you’re going and where you came from. But with years of exploring this area from the highest tree to the lowest pit hole, it got easier. Trial and Error even if sometimes it ended with me having to spend the whole nights in the cold air to find home again.

I climb a random large tree. My upper body helping me push myself up to the stable branch that was enough to hold my weight, even if there isn’t much. I hold the branch right above me and once again push myself up so I am standing on the branch instead of sitting. Carefully, I move myself to another tree that was close with an easy jump. Now allowing me to see clearly to what’s beneath me.

That’s when I heard it. A low growl with a small scared animalistic sound echoed past the trees and called my bow. Two different animals. A wolf and a deer. It was easy to identify the simple creatures when you’re always waiting for them, trying to hear them and along the way studying them in a way. But the only thing on my mind was that I just found my jackpot of the night.

Approaching them, I try to be as quiet and swift from the top of the tree. As I saw the rather large wolf, I could see its teeth grabbing onto the deer while using its paws to hold it down. I carefully remove my bow from its position on my arm and an arrow from my back before drawing my bow and aiming at the head of the wolf. I let go. The arrow flashing past my vision as I blink and a low and almost muted howl filled the air. The arrow, as I had aimed, hit straight at the wolfs head. Right above his eye. Quickly, I throw the bows and arrows beneath me and jump from the branch. Landing on the wet forest ground with a roll before picking my bow and arrows back.

The deer was still alive, its flesh and blood showing and spilling, like water streaming down a calm lake but this isn’t calm. In any other person case my age they would be instantly scared away but me, I’ve been used to it for a while. I didn’t care if it ends with my family having food in our cheap plates. The wolf wasn’t alive though, the arrow had gone through its head and now its blood spilling out of the wounds. If the deer’s blood looks like a calm lake streaming then the wolfs look like a rapid waterfall.

The deer was making agonizing sounds as I kneeled down closed to it. Pain, its eyes resembled pain and there was no way it was going to survive. Especially not with my family in need of its meat. I pick up the knife from my boot, the bottom sole falling apart from its frequent use. The silver from the knife glowing as the moonlight set its eyes on it. Instantly, I throw my arm down, hitting the deers neck causing even more blood to appear. Some splattering on my very cheap green tunic.

This had been my life for as long as I can remember. Waking up and instantly going to the forest to hunt until the moon rises and the sun sets. I eat sometimes but sometimes means almost never, then I hunt a little bit more then go to sleep. Every second of my life, every hour and day, blood is somehow part of my daily routine. What I have to see and just for the sake of my family who doesn’t even care.

I remove the deer from beneath the wolfs heavy paws and using my knife, I start to skin the deer calmly, to remove every part of the hide in the dark. I put the blood filled hide around my waist like a belt, some blood going on my trousers, before going towards the wolf. Loud noises suddenly coming from behind me and I hastily turn around standing up and drawing my bow on instinct. Realizing I’m closer to the village then I wanted to or expected, I put the bow back in place before looking past the trees and to the village.

Today there is to be a festival of sorts for the engagement of Mateo, the famous and loved hunter in this village but he should really be known for his cheating on his past wives. A low growl from behind me interrupts my thoughts before I’m thrown on to the floor violently, my back hitting the muddy dirt floor with a thud. The bloody wolf snaps his jaw at me, trying to bite at me as I push him away only using my bare hands. Unfortunately, my knife had fallen from my hands when it threw me on to the ground. Kicking and pushing, I try my best to get the knife with my hand. I fail.

Suddenly, the wolf had stopped snapping its jaw and looked at me before moving away. It almost seemed sad, shaking my head, I look at the wolf in front of me, circling around me like a predator. I am the prey. Swiftly, I get the knife with a roll before picking myself up, not moving my eyes off of him for even one second. That one second could be the death of me and I don’t think I’m ready. The moon wanting to show its presence became brighter allowing me to see the true creature in front of me.

That’s when I realized, It wasn’t a wolf but something much bigger and dangerous. Its teeth were sharper than my knife, its coat was darker than any nights sky and its red eyes were darker than any blood that I have caused to spill. And it was about to spill mine...