Nightmare Valley

Kyle scrambled to the tree and grabbed a leather sling and pouch. Fastening the sling on his wrist, he held his oversized staff. Fatty had already pumped his legs towards the location knowing Kyle’s speed.

“Bottom of the hill, the left path.”

Fatty wheezed while raising his hand and pointing.

Kyle left the boy who was a year older and skipped between the grass and rocks. At the bottom of the hill, the green grass gave way to rocks and red stones. Rumors from the older shepherds said the valley formed when a giant tore the hill away from the opposite mountain.

Whatever the case, the valley lacked green vegetation and even water. Kyle lamented on the intelligence of his sheep. They left the lush vegetation above to come skipping among the rocks and barren landscape.

Following Fatty’s direction, he jumped along the rocks until he arrived at the flat bottom of the valley. Nightmare Valley stretched along for miles between the mountain and hills until it gradually disappeared into the plains to the south. Because of the steep walls near the mountains, it earned its name from its formation.

Kyle had listened to many rumors floating around the shepherd boys camp about this valley. Wolves had a knack for trapping sheep in the valley. By chasing them higher up the valley, the walls became steeper thus preventing the fleet-footed prey from escaping.

This chase also worked well with humans. Out on the hills, a wolf could be scared away by a large group. In the valley, a single boy had no escape. The older boys who had ventured into the village also heard tall tales about how people disappeared and returned starving.

At the moment Kyle could care less about the legends. Around the rocky bend, his three sheep were being eyed by a large wolf.

The Black Wolf lived in the forest on the mountains and seldom frequented the open hills. Older males who lived alone or became exiled from a pack tended to be more daring. When they acquired a taste for mutton, then they turned dangerous.

Facing a beast whose height reached his shoulders and had no qualms in dragging him off, Kyle removed a smooth stone from his pouch and loaded his sling. Gathering momentum he stood in the open between the walls and fired. When the rock left the sling, he whistled.

The pebble flew faster than an arrow and with a clonk, knocked the wolf on the head above one eye as it turned on reflex towards the sound. Shifting to face the new enemy on unstable legs, it issued a growl before tottering to the ground.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Kyle walked up towards the dazed wolf as if taking an evening stroll. Along the way, he casually lifted a pair of stones the size of brick from among the rubble. When he reached about four feet from the wolf, the beast wobbled to a stand and lunged towards him.

The seven-year-old boy promptly stuffed a large stone into the open maw with one hand, wedging it open. The move locked the jaw while keeping the woozy wolf in check. The next hand swung down from above, smashing the second rock onto its head.

The blow sent the wolf reeling to the ground again. Before it could stagger and raise itself on the front paws, another well-placed blow slammed between its eyes. The vicious beast toppled to the ground.

The last vision of the whimpering beast was of those calm eyes of the boy, cracking its skull with a rock.

Kyle unwrapped a thin rag from his staff and cleaned the splatter from his face and arms. He then tapped the three heads of the delinquents who tried to fawn and flatter him by rubbing their heads on his chest.

“Wah! A Black Wolf, run! Wait, is it dead, is it dead? It’s dead right?”

“Dammit Fatty, didn’t we just talk about this? And why are you backing away?”

“What the heck Kyle, I caused a landslide coming down that path, I swear everyone on the mountain heard me.”

Kyle sat on a rock and drank the water in the large pouch Fatty handed to him. He then tied it to his belt. Fatty stood behind him tossing stones at the bloodied wolf. Convinced it was dead he then inched towards it while poking it with his staff. Kyle eyed him circling around the carcass humming and hawing.

“Down in the village, you could make top coins for this you know. Sleazy Joe said he chatted with the shearer once when he went down with his clan’s shepherd. I’m sure if he uses his contact, you can earn a few silvers.”

“Fatty, Joe’s idea of a chat is to say hello. And I don’t think it’s a good idea to place your money in the hands of a guy called Sleazy Joe. If you want, I can hand it over to you. One silver less the selling price is yours.”

“Deal! Don’t wheel back on your words ok.”

Kyle glanced at the hand Fatty spit and offered him to seal the deal while raising an eyebrow. Seeing his refusal, Fatty replied with a sheepish smile and wiped his hands. They were about to leave to seek help when Kyle glimpsed a small opening behind some creepers.

Prodding it with his staff to avoid snakes from launching any surprise attacks, he discovered a small open passage wide enough for a person to walk single file. Looking at the path lined with a few broken cobwebs, he entered with a grumbling Fatty and three sheep in tow.

The natural alley extended for about forty feet before ended in an open grotto. Below a smooth rock face, a small rounded cave the height of a child opened its maw. The entire entrance seemed to be shrouded in darkness, so much so that they could not view even one foot inside.

“Can we go now, Kyle? It's not like I’m thinking about the carcass lying outside but this place gives me the willies.”

“This place is too strange. Give me a moment, I want to see how deep this cave is.”

Kyle replied as he slowly walked inside.

The moment he stepped inside the entrance, Kyle knew he made a mistake. Over seventy years of living among immortals had fine-tuned his senses when it came to spiritual fluctuations.

Turning around his intuition proved him correct.

The exit behind him had vanished. He was trapped!