Chapter 7: The Woods That Hunt

The smell of wet soil filled my nostrils. The soaked ground clung to my clothes, and the trickles of rain washed over me. I was outside.

I opened my eyes, letting them adjust. I was in a forest.

Trees swayed from side to side as the wind blew. Tears fell from my eyes. There was no way what had happened was real.

I looked to my side, and Eliza lay unconscious beside me.

Taking a deep breath, I weakly raised my hands to my face. Just holding them up was hard. Ola, Ren, Bethany, Isaac—their faces flashed through my mind. My head ached. My eyes, tired from crying, now just stung. No more tears came.

Ola, Isaac, Ren, Bethany, Ethan...

It took all the strength I had left to lift myself off the ground. My body was tired, not from exertion or running, but from something deeper. My thoughts were scattered, fractured.

I walked to Eliza’s side and felt her neck. She had a pulse. She was alive.

“El,” I said, my voice breaking.

“El, please wake up. I don’t know what to do.”

She didn’t respond. I lifted her up and hoisted her onto my back. Slowly and gradually, I walked. One foot in front of the other, step by step. Each step harder than the last.

I had no idea where I was going. My only thought was to move forward.

I walked for what felt like hours. My lungs burned as if they might collapse. Deeper and deeper into the white forest I went.

My arms throbbed, struggling to hold Eliza up. My feet wobbled, buckling under the weight. The only sounds in the forest were my feet stomping through the wilderness.

The moonlight was my only source of light, casting scary shadows on the forest floor. I could see only a few feet ahead of me, not that there was much to see—just endless trees and the occasional animal, which ran away upon spotting us.

Finally, I reached a tall tree. I set Eliza down and collapsed beside her, panting. I closed my eyes for a moment. I needed rest.

“Who dares come into these woods?” a deep voice growled menacingly.

My eyes shot open.

A white figure leaped from the trees, landing before us. It stood tall on two legs, its white fur shimmering in the moonlight. It had a wolf-like appearance, sharp claws, and gleaming teeth. Spikes along its spine. It towered over us,

“So, you are not lost, boy,” it growled.

“You must be brave to wander these woods. Brave or stupid.” Drool oozed from its mouth as it eyed Eliza hungrily.

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More creatures began to fall from the trees, surrounding us. They moved forward, encasing us in a circle.

“The gods must be smiling upon us today, gifting us such a wonderful supper,” the creature said, its companions growling as they inched closer.

In that moment, a lesson Melinda had taught me flashed through my mind:

“This is what we call a White Keeth. They tend to travel in packs, with an alpha leading the group. They’re fast, smart, and deadly—masters of the hunt. If you ever see one, under any circumstances, run with all your might, or you will die.”

I laughed bitterly. This world was cruel. Maybe this was for the best. To die here and be reunited with my friends. Maybe this was how things needed to end. At last, it would all be over.

For so long, I’d felt special—like the main character in a story. Deep down, I believed everything would work out for me, no matter what. So far, it had. Even after discovering the orphanage’s terrible secrets, I thought it was my duty to be the hero. The one who saves everyone in the end.

Some hero I was. All I’d managed to do was get my friends killed. I wasn’t a hero. I couldn’t even stop myself from crying.

“Shut up, Maddox,” Eliza’s weak voice broke through my thoughts.

“Shut up and get us out of here.”

“Eliza,” I said, shocked.

“It’s not fair to them if we die here. All those other kids at the orphanage... it’s not fair to any of them. We need to make that bastard bleed for what he’s done. So shut up, Maddox, and get us out of here.”

“This is useless, boy,” the alpha growled. “I, Ogunt Ki, will not let you escape. Why do you fight? You cannot win. Just close your eyes and accept your fate. Prey is prey, and we are the hunters.”

A surge of energy shot through me. In that moment, I made a promise:

This cruel world can take me, if it means she gets to live.

I will not stand by and watch anyone else die. Never again. I can’t do it. I won’t do it. I refuse.

I clenched my fists, slamming them into the ground. Black, shadowy mist radiated from my arms as ice shot from my palms, forming a barrier around us. The barrier transformed into a dome, sharp spikes rippling outward and engulfing the Keeth. My arms ached, but my rage drove me forward. The Keeth had to pay for what they’d done. Magnus had to pay for what he’d done to Bethany, Ren, Ola... all of them.

Her face appeared again in my mind—the girl with blue eyes and white hair. Her smile melted my heart.

“Please, let go... it’s not—” she began, but her form dissolved into mist before finishing.

I snapped back to reality. The Keeth were gnawing at the ice dome, tearing chunks away.

Ogunt Ki stood nearby, fists clenched. “Boy, it’s too late. You never had a chance.”

His voice faded as my head pounded. Visions of the white-haired girl filled my mind.

“Get up and fight,” a voice urged.

Furious, I stood. Shadowy mist erupted violently, forming hundreds of hands that seized the Keeth, pulling white, transparent substances from their bodies. Their souls.

Ogunt Ki struggled. “What is this?” he shouted, fear in his voice.

“Mercy... please,” he begged.

I watched, my hands trembling as the shadowy mist devoured their souls. Ogunt Ki’s red soul was torn from him and swallowed by the void.

“How... unfortunate,” he whispered before vanishing.

A woman walked over my body, smiling. “Mmmh, interesting,” she said. Those were the last words I heard before everything went dark.

For a while, I faded in and out of consciousness. Voices passed around me.

“Madam, I found these ones in the forest,” a woman said.

“And why would you bring filthy children back here to my home, Sora?”

“I apologize, Madam, but this boy’s magic... I assumed you would find it very interesting,” Sora replied.

“But I will dispose of them at once. I apologize for my rash and forward thinking, Madam Lilith,” Sora added.

“Take them both upstairs. I’ll deal with them when they wake,” Lilith ordered.

“Yes, ma’am. Understood,” Sora said.