Chapter 2

I ran. I had no other choice.

My legs burned, and my lungs felt like they were going to explode, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t dare to stop. The trees whipped past me, branches tearing at my clothes and scratching my skin. The bow was still gripped tight in my hand, my only weapon, but I could barely feel it now. All I could hear was my father’s voice in my head: Run. Don’t look back.

Truth be told, I wanted to look back. To see him one last time.

But the fear, the rage, the panic that crawled inside me like a concoction of a living thing, kept me moving forward. Sounds of pursuit were close behind, closer than they should’ve been. I thought I had put some distance but the sound of their voices neared.

The broad man’s voice was the loudest, cursing me with every step. He was faster than I expected. Stronger.

But this forest—its mine. I know every tree, every rock, every hidden path.

I swerved left, feet barely touching the ground as I leaped over a fallen log. The forest blurred around me, but I saw it—a narrow ravine up ahead. It was barely visible, camouflaged by the overgrown brush. But I knew it was looming there. Father and I used it to hide from wolves once. It was deep enough to swallow a person, and if I jumped just right…

I pushed harder, legs burning as I neared the edge. Behind me, the broad man’s heavy footsteps thundered closer, his shouts like a roaring beast. He was catching up.

“I’ll kill you, boy!” he roared, fury dripping from every word. “Just you wait!”

I ignored him, focusing on the ravine. Just a few more steps… My feet hit the ground in a powerful stride, and I jumped. The air felt thick, and for a moment, I was weightless, soaring through the darkness.

I landed on the opposite side, rolling to absorb the impact, the soil and leaves cushioning my fall. My body ached, my ankles sore but I didn’t stop. I scrambled to my feet, glancing back for the first time.

The broad man had reached the edge, his furious eyes locked on me. He stopped, cursing, clearly not willing to make the same leap. I saw that the taller man was right behind him, calmer, less emotional. The broad man spat on the ground.

“He’s too fast!”

I saw him drawing his weapon but I didn’t give him the chance. I bolted down the trail, my chest heaving as I sprinted towards an upcoming stream. I figured that the water could slow them down, make it harder for them to follow me, even for a couple of seconds. I just need to reach the stream…

Behind me, the broad man’s furious voice boomed again. “Why are we playing games with this brat?! Let’s just take him down already!”

“You’re the one who got hit,” the tall man responded, his tone neutral. “Maybe you should be more careful.”

“Careful?!” the broad man spat. “I’ll show you careful when I break this little runt’s neck!”

“You’d better catch him first,” the tall man said calmly.

I pushed harder, my legs aching as I finally reached the stream.

The water roared in front of me, cold and fast, cutting through the rocks like a blade. The darkness made it look like a ravenous monster but I had greater fears behind me. I plunged in, the icy current pulling at me, but I knew where to step. I kept moving, chest-deep in the freezing water, using the noise to cover my escape.

For a moment, the sound of pursuit faded. Maybe they couldn’t follow. Maybe they’d give up.

Then I heard the broad man’s voice again, closer than before. “You think hiding in the water will save you!?”

I didn’t look back. I couldn’t afford to. The stream was carrying me downstream, faster than I could ever move on my own. I just need to keep going, keep pushing until I reach the river bank, right there is where I could hide.

Eventually, I saw it—the trap house Father and I had used before.

Hidden beneath the roots of a massive tree, almost invisible unless you knew where to look. I quickly climbed out of the stream, slipping on the wet rocks as I scrambled for cover but that didn’t stop me. My body trembled as I dashed and pulled a wooden plank over the entrance, covering it with leaves and dirt.

Inside the hidden space was dark and cold. My breath came in ragged gasps, my heart pounding in my chest. I reached out, my fingers searching for the hidden compartment along the wall. The wood was damp, but I found it—a spear, the one Father had stashed here months ago. The weapon felt heavy in my hands, but it was better than nothing.

Father always said it’s about survival. You take what you can, no matter how small.

I gripped the spear tighter, feeling the rough wood against my palm. Outside, I could hear them searching, moving closer. Then, a loud crash, followed by a curse.

One of the men had triggered a trap.

I didn’t wait to hear more. This was my chance. I bolted from the trap house, slipping through the hidden exit at the back. The cold night air hit me like a slap, but I didn’t stop as I knew my chances of survival was slim. My legs moved on their own, carrying me away from the broad man’s roar of frustration.

“I’ll kill you, boy!” he bellowed.

His voice was close, but I was faster. The underbrush scratched at my legs as I ran, the forest thickening around me. My mind raced, searching for the next place, the next spot I could use.

Father had taught me how to use the land, how to make it into a weapon. I remembered we had set traps for animals—pits covered in leaves, nooses made from thick vines, spikes hidden in the ground. They were simple, but effective. Perhaps I could use those...

I heard the tall man’s voice trailing behind me. “He’s leading us. Stay sharp.”

I leapt over a small ravine, landing hard on the other side. My ankle twisted, sending a jolt of pain up my leg, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I headed for the hunting grounds—the place where the traps had been. That was my last chance.

As I ran, I heard the loud crash of breaking branches. It was the broad man, he had already freed himself from the snare, and was now furious. I had hoped he would’ve been entangled for longer but alas...

“You can’t run forever!” His voice echoed through the trees, closer than before.

Up ahead, I recognized a land mark and with no time to waste, I dove right into a patch of thick ferns, weaving through them toward a large boulder. Just beyond it was one of the more dangerous traps—one Father had set to catch larger prey.

It was a pit, covered with loose branches and leaves. Inside were sharp stakes, large enough to impale anything that fell in. I knew exactly where it was.

But they didn’t.

I stopped behind the boulder before checking to see if the trap was still untouched; fortunately, it was. Ducking quickly, I crouched low as I heard the men approaching. My chest heaved, and I gripped the spear tightly, trying to quiet my breath.

The broad man was the first to charge through the ferns, his heavy footfalls crashing through the underbrush. “I’ll find you, you little—”

His foot hit the edge of the pit.

There was a sudden silence, followed by a startled shout. The ground gave way beneath him, and I heard him drop like a stone. Immediately there was a sickening thud as he landed hard, but that was all, I didn’t hear any pained screams except for the man’s loud cursing—he survived.

I saw the silhouette of the tall man arrive moments later, stopping at the edge of the pit and peering down. “He got you good.”

“Shut up and pull me out!” the broad man barked.

I took a slow breath. Now. This was the moment.

I darted from behind the boulder, sprinting around them before they could react. My legs burned as I pushed myself harder, heading toward the heart of the hunting grounds. The tall man called out behind me, but he wasn’t chasing yet.

I had bought myself time. Not much, but enough.

The hunting grounds stretched out before me—open and familiar. Father and I had spent hours here, setting traps, marking paths. This place was mine. I knew exactly where to step, where to avoid. The others wouldn’t be so lucky.

I ran through the narrow trail, branches snapping underfoot, my eyes scanning the ground. There it was—another snare, hidden beneath a pile of leaves. I leapt over it, barely breaking stride.

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Behind me, I heard the tall man giving chase, his calm footsteps now faster. The broad man wasn’t far behind, shouting in frustration.

“There he is!”

I led them deeper into the grounds, zigzagging between trees, my heart pounding in my ears. The spear was heavy in my hand, but I held onto it tightly. I couldn’t let them catch me. Not yet.

I glanced back and saw the broad man gaining on me with ease, his face twisted in fury. He was bigger, stronger, and faster, but I had the advantage here.

“You’re not getting away this time!”

I felt the taller man’s presence nearing behind, but as he charged forward, his foot was caught on something—a vine. The snare whipped around his ankle, pulling him off his feet and slamming him into the ground with a heavy thud.

I didn’t stop to see if he was stuck. I just ran.

But the broad man was still behind me, moving faster now that the tall man was downed. He was still yelling, threatening me with all sorts of insults. However, I didn’t listen. I was more preoccupied with the thoughts racing through my mind about survival.

My only hope was to reach the final trap.

Ahead of me, the ground sloped downward toward a small clearing. Father had set another trap there—something special. A tripwire I think it was, hidden just beneath the grass, connected to a deadfall. A large log, spiked with sharpened branches, I could almost see it. If the broad man followed me into the clearing and triggered the wire, then perhaps I can escape.

I sprinted into the clearing, my breath coming in gasps. He was close, too close. It’s just ahead.

I leaped over the tripwire using what little strength I had left in my legs as I continued running.

Suddenly, a sharp snap echoed behind me—

I glanced back just in time to see the broad man sprinting forward, his face twisted with fury. He looked too angry to think, too focused on me to have noticed the tripwire.

He hit it full force.

The log swung down from above with a heavy whoosh, its sharpened branches aimed directly at him. But at the last second, the broad man twisted, his body moving with impossible agility. The log missed him by mere inches, slamming into a tree with a thunderous crash.

He looked at me with a maniacal expression, grinning through bloodied teeth.

“I have you now, boy.”

My heart sank as I saw he had avoided the trap.

He was still coming. I ducked low, narrowly avoiding his outstretched hand as he lunged at me. I scrambled to my feet, my breath coming in ragged gasps as I stumbled forwards. The forest seemed to close in around me, the shadows growing darker, the trees more menacing.

But I wasn’t fast enough.

The ground beneath me seemed to shift as I fell into a small clearing, scrambling but there was no point. They were right behind me—no escape route, no more traps. I had been cornered.

I spun around, my feet pedaling backwards as I pressed against a nearby tree. I gripped the spear tightly, its wooden shaft slick with sweat. My breath came in shallow bursts, each inhale a struggle. I knew I had no realistic chance of getting away, but I had honored Father’s plea, only I had failed in doing so.

I looked up to only see that the broad man’s grin had widened, his heavy sword gleaming in the dim light. The tall man stood to the side, his face a mask of impassivity. They closed in, their footsteps crunching through the underbrush in slow strides.

“So the rat is finally cornered,” the broad man growled, raising his blade. “It was a good attempt but this ends now.”

I stood my ground, the spear held ready in front of me. My hands trembled, but I forced them to steady. If I was going to die, I would at least try to make it count. As soon as the broad man neared, I lunged forward with the spear, aiming for his chest.

The attack was clumsy, driven more by desperation than skill.

However, the broad man’s blade easily deflected my strike, the steel ringing out sharply as my hands ached with the impact. This was it—my end.

He sneered at me, already mid-swing, his sword descending in slow motion as I closed my eyes.

But just as the sword truly descended, a powerful force surged through the surroundings.

Immediately, I was thrown backwards in surprise, landing hard against the ground, the spear flying from my grip. In my peripherals, the broad man was also sent back, barely catching himself.

I looked up, and that’s when I saw him.

A man shrouded in darkness stood in mid-air, an unsurmountable rage boiled beneath me as I stared at him—It was the same man that had impaled father...

His hands were behind his back gazing straight at me. In that moment, my rage simmered as I felt a chill run down my spine, my entire body freezing up under the weight of his cold, dead-pan stare.

I didn’t want to admit it but, he was terrifying—like a shadow cast from the depths of some ancient, unknowable terror. My breath was caught in my throat as I felt like drowning, a feeling of weakness like an ant beneath a lion, vulnerable and small.

“Enough,” I heard him say, the lone word cutting through the air with an authority that demanded silence. It was a command, final and unyielding.

I saw the broad man’s face twist with frustration. “Why?! Let me finish this!”

The mysterious man’s gaze shifted to the broad man and just as he did, the feeling of weakness pressed against me disappeared. I gasped, releasing the breath deeply lodged in my chest.

“No. We’ll handle this differently.”

The broad man’s response was palpable, he seemed furious, only this time it wasn’t directed at me. He clenched his fists, his knuckles white, but he didn’t move nor retaliate, instead he spat at me.

“This isn’t over, boy,” his low voice seething with rage. “You’re not escaping the inevitable.”

The man descended slowly to the ground, his form exuding an air of unshakable control. Just as he did, the darkness shrouding him faded ever so slightly, revealing a hooded man. His face was obscured with shadows, the only features that stood out were his eyes.

They were bright green like eerie lanterns in the night.

He turned to the tall man, who had remained silent throughout, observing with a detached interest.

“Hold him still.”

The tall man nodded and stepped forward with unsettling calm. I protested but he grabbed me roughly, pulling me to my feet.

I continued to struggle, but the tall man’s grip was ironclad. My legs felt like lead, my mind a chaotic swirl of fear and disbelief. I didn’t know what they were going to do with me but deep down I knew that my fate was sealed.

I looked up faintly at the hooded man with my heart pounding in my chest.

“W-What are you going to do to me?” I struggled, my voice trembling despite my attempt to sound defiant.

The man didn’t respond. Instead, he turned his attention to the tall man, who began forcing my mouth open. Panic surged through me as I tried to resist, biting down on his fingers but his grip remained unrelenting.

Despite my efforts, I felt my mouth stretch as he pried my jaws to open.

From thin air, as if summoned by some dark magic, I saw the hooded man produce a small, wriggling creature. It looked like a worm or a parasite, its segmented body twisting and squirming in the dim light.

From the sidelines, I heard the broad man’s distinct voice—

“No!” he shouted, anger clear in his tone. “You can’t—”

Before he could finish, the hooded man stepped forward, approaching me with a calm, almost detached expression. Immediately, I struggled, fearful of what he was about to do.

Against my will, he forcefully shoved the writhing creature into my mouth with a firm, practiced motion. I tried to gag, my instincts screaming for me to reject whatever it was. The creature squirmed against my mouth, I felt its movement—alien and disgusting.

“Swallow it,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument. But I didn’t dare to.

Despite that, the tall man’s grip tightened as he forced me to swallow.

I gagged and tried to vomit, my throat convulsing as I desperately tried to dislodge the creature. It was alive, and I felt it writhing down my throat, an unsettling sensation that made my skin crawl.

I gasped, desperately trying to spit it out, but the tall man’s grip prevented any escape. I cried out.

“What did you do to me?!”

The man’s eyes were cold, his expression unchanging as he gazed at me with those green orbs, there was a sense of detached interest in his eyes almost as if he was experimenting—with me as the test subject.

“This is necessary,” he said, almost to himself.

The broad man’s frustration was near palpable. “You’re wasting time!” he snapped. “The kid is useless—”

“Silence!” the hooded man interrupted, his voice a sharp command. “Don’t test my patience.”

The broad man’s face twisted in anger, but he fell silent.

It wasn’t long before my vision blurred. Soon after, my mind began to fog over as the creature’s untold influence took hold. I struggled to keep my thoughts clear, but the sensation was overwhelming.

I tried vomitting again even if the action was futile, something dangerous was taking place and I knew this wasn’t the end of it.

“Do not resist,” the man said to me, his voice almost soothing in its coldness. “Your memories will soon fade, but your potential remains. Consider this an opportunity.”

The tall man released his grip on me as he stepped back. Their gaze however, were still fixed on me.

To my surprise, the world around me began to spin, the edges of my vision continued to blurr as though I were submerged underwater. It was as if something was invading or burrowing deep into my very thoughts.

Then all of a sudden, a sharp, biting pain erupted in my head, a sensation so intense it was as though my brain was being squeezed in a vice. My thoughts, once sharp and clear, began to fragment.

I tried to grasp at them, but they slipped away like sand through my fingers. Memories—familiar faces, places, and moments—flashed before me, only to dissolve into a haze of confusion.

I gasped, my breath coming in ragged bursts. My mind struggled to hold onto something concise, anything to anchor me in the chaos. I tried to call out as I held my head, but my voice came out as a hollow whisper, swallowed by the encroaching fog.

“What… is happening to me?” I managed to croak, though the words felt foreign and distant, as if spoken by someone else.

The hooded man’s presence loomed before me, his expression as blank as the night sky. “You will understand soon enough,” he said, his voice a distant echo in my fading consciousness.

“For now, surrender.”

No! I wont—I can’t!

I struggled with what little willpower I had left, but my body felt heavier, each movement sluggish and uncoordinated. I tried to fight against the unknown, but my limbs were like jelly, my strength waning drastically.

My vision wavered abruptly, oscillating between clarity and blurriness. Eventually, the sounds around me became muffled, the broad man’s frustrated muttering and the hooded man’s calm instructions drowning out into an incomprehensible murmur.

Everything seemed to collapse into fragments. I saw fleeting images—my father’s face, the lodge in the forest, the festival’s lights—but they were like broken shards of a shattered mirror, each piece distorting reality.

The more I tried to piece them together, the more they eluded me, slipping into the void of forgetfulness.

A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, my body trembling uncontrollably. My senses were overwhelmed by the kaleidoscope of sensations invading my mind. The pain intensified, a throbbing, relentless ache that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of my heartbeat.

I tried to remember, to hold onto something tangible, but it was disjointed. My sense of self seemed to dissolve, leaving me feeling adrift in a sea of disorientation and fear.

The fog in my mind thickened, obscuring any sense of reality I mustered. Trying to stay awake was almost impossible as I felt my consciousness rapidly slipping away, the little clarity I once had, now a distant memory.

The mysterious man’s incomprehensible words were the last thing I heard before my consciousness faded, leaving behind only a lingering and unsettling void.