Huffing, I closed my eyes and focused.

Slow my breathing. Ease it. Keep it steady.

It didn’t take long for my haggard breathing to grow quieter… but I still had to breathe quickly. I was exhausted. Overstretched and worn. My legs kept twitching, as did my left eye for some reason.

“Don’t go alone!” a man’s voice shouted not far away. Some dogs barked, seemingly mostly at each other, and I pushed myself up against the stone wall a little more. I crouched down some more, to make sure my ears weren’t peeking out over the top of the wall.

As I crouched, I felt my blood and sweat soaked clothes twist and pinch. It felt disgusting, but right now it was the least of my worries.

“Stay together!” the same man’s voice shouted. This time a little closer. The barking dogs sounded like they were growing farther away, but he was definitely growing nearer. Had he seen me hide behind this stone wall? Surely not. There were trees, foliage, and these decrepit ruins all over the place.

If he had seen me then he’d be shouting for his comrades to join him here. Yet he wasn’t. He wasn’t alone, I could hear the quick footfalls on crunchy leaves and branches, but it was only one or two more people. Not the many dozens his group was actually made of.

Gulping, I once again focused on my breathing. I needed to get it under control. My heartbeat was beating very fast, but humans couldn’t hear heartbeats. Especially not from a distance. But the dogs could… Though they’d smell me, either from my natural scent or my blood, long before they’d notice me by heartbeat alone.

So right now, my harsh breathing was priority. This forest was oddly quiet. Too quiet. There was very little wind. No animals, other than the barking dogs and shouting humans. There was nothing to mask the noises I made.

Usually by now I’d have been free of pursuit. Usually by now I’d have long escaped any human search party.

I really was sick. Maybe what was happening was more than just my first bleeding. Maybe the blood was a byproduct of what was really wrong with me. Hopefully it was nothing too serious… but right now it didn’t matter.

Disease or sickness wouldn’t get to kill me if I was caught. They were too slow compared to a sword or fire.

“Damn it, I said stick together!” the same man complained, and I noted the way he began to mumble under his breath.

He was being left behind. I wonder why. Was he slower? He sounded young, so it surely couldn’t be because he was old and not able to keep up…

I dared to turn around, as to face the wall. Slowly standing, I made sure to lower my ears as much as possible. With as much caution as I could muster, I peered over the stone wall I hid behind.

An old broken stone building was nearby. It was rather big, and had been multiple floors. A lot of stone rubble was all over the ground, from the collapsed walls. I wasn’t sure how it had broken down, but I was thankful for it.

This had been the first place for me to hide since I had been noticed. Though I knew that meant they’d likely come here to thoroughly search it, thinking the the same thing.

I couldn’t stay hidden here, especially not for long. But it would do to catch my breath and…

There.

I found the man. He was on the other side of the building’s perimeter. Near the opposing section of wall I was hiding behind. He was staring off the other way, at the area where I could hear the barking dogs. A quick glance told me there were people over there. In the distance I could see figures moving along the trees.

He mumbled some complaints as he turned, to scan around him. He had a large axe in his hand, but… well…

He was young. More boy than man, even if his voice sounded gruff. He was still bigger than me, and obviously bulkier, but he didn’t even have any hair on his face yet. Or if he did, I couldn’t see it thanks to how blurry my eyes were right now.

Speaking of blurry eyes, why wouldn’t my left eye stop twitching? It was starting to hurt…

Lowering slowly, I hid once again behind the wall.

I was safe. He had no dog. No dogs were near. I hadn’t seen any other humans nearby, at east not in the immediate vicinity… and he looked lost and out of place.

The axe he held was definitely a threat. Even though nothing more than a young man, I knew better than to assume he couldn’t kill me with it. He was a young man who had been born in a logging village. He could likely swing that thing with enough force to decapitate me with ease.

And right now I couldn’t be confident in my strength. I was trembling something fierce, and my legs were wobbly.

I felt as if all the blood leaking out of me wasn’t from natural reasons, but instead an actual wound. As if I had instead been stabbed through by a spear.

I’d never actually been stabbed by a spear… but I had been bitten by a fang as thick and long as one, so it wasn’t very comforting that I felt the same way as I had then.

What if an old wound had reopened or something? It felt ridiculous to think it, but…

“Frel, what you doing over there!” a new voice shouted from the distance. I focused on it as I did my best to rest and regain as much stamina as possible. I knew I’d need to start running again any moment, so I had to make every second count.

“Looking for the werewolf! Get over here, Slab left me behind like the jerk he is!” the man who was nearest to me shouted back.

I see. He that was who he had been shouting at earlier, when I had hidden behind the wall. The other pair of footsteps. A comrade who had gone elsewhere.

For a long few moments I listened to the two pursuers. One man was walking steadily this way, the other mumbling as he tapped his axe against the stone wall. He was likely resting up against it, but I wasn’t going to peek out to verify it. The other man was heading this way, which meant he might notice movement. Particularly my own.

“And werewolf? Please. Such a story,” the man spoke evenly as he arrived.

“I saw it too, Barn. It had ears as big as my arm!” the man supposedly called Frel shouted.

The other laughed, obviously not believing him. Which was good, and correct.

They weren’t that big… right?

Reaching up, I quietly rubbed my right ear. It was itchy, thanks to my sprinting. I was sweating, and my ears were always hot even on a good day. Too much fur.

Yea. Not that big. Surely.

“I think Suzie is just being dramatic. Remember last time she said she saw a flying tree? Had us all on edge, thinking the trees were going to fly away in the middle of the night as to avoid being cut down,” Barn said.

“Oh shut it Barn. I saw it, as did lots of other people. You can laugh all you want, but you won’t be laughing when it guts you and eats your soul,” Frel argued.

The two began to walk, and I focused on their footsteps instead of their conversation. It sounded like they were drawing closer, but they were just heading towards the crumbling building nearby.

“Do werewolves even eat souls?” his friend asked.

“What else would they eat? They’re demons.”

Food maybe.

Speaking of that, what was a werewolf? Some type of wolf monster, likely, but how did they come to assume that was what I were? Was that perchance what I actually was?

My parents had been very adamant we were cats, not wolves or dogs. But maybe they had been wrong. They had been wrong about many things… so…

But no. The witch had said I was a cat too. And she was… or had been, smart. More knowledgeable than anyone I’ve ever known and…

“Still, I hear she went into labor at the sight of this… thing. Wonder if the child will be human or not?” Barn wondered.

My stomach knotted, and I wanted to groan a cry… but held it in.

Poor Suzie. Stressed to that level, all because of me.

“Who knows? Hopefully the monks keep an eye on it. Lots of stories on how children are spirited away and swapped out. Maybe that was what it was doing, trying to steal the baby and replace it with its own,” Frel said.

I wanted to stand up and shout at them. To tell them how wrong and stupid such a thing was… but kept myself hidden. And quiet.

They were walking by. Their voices started to distort, since they rounded the building on the other side. Heading away from me.

Maybe if they left here, I’d be able to escape easier… I bet if I actually ran back a little, heading back where we had come from, I might be able to escape those chasing me by circling them. They’d never expect me to actually round back that way, likely, especially if they were all still chasing after me the other way.

“I feel bad for Slab though. His brother’s to wed Suzie’s daughter.”

“Probably why he ran off like he did. To kill that thing, as fast as possible. But still, leaving me alone… I’ll have words with him later,” Frel said.

“Aye, even if it’s because he’s worried he still shouldn’t have done that. I’ll let his father know too,” Barn agreed, and I was relieved to hear their voices growing ever more distant. As were their footsteps.

They were leaving the area.

“Not to change the subject… but what is this place?” Barn asked.

“No idea? Looks like an old house or something.”

“Ugh… let’s get out here. Might be a witches hut,” Barn worriedly said.

“Right,” Frel didn’t hesitate to agree, and they increased their pace. They headed off into the distance, following the sounds of the dogs and people.

Breathing a tiny sigh of relief, I relaxed a little… and regretted it. My right leg and calf began to throb horribly in pain, as if I had pulled a muscle.

Wincing, I bit my lower lip as to hold in the tiny cry of a whimper I wanted to let loose.

Luckily neither of them seemed to notice. They continued talking to one another as they headed farther away.

For a long few minutes… I sat there against the stone wall. Holding my right leg. I must have pulled something while running.

Just great. It’s been some time since I’d been in such a precarious situation.

“It always just happens without warning,” I whispered.

A far off shout, and the subsequent dog barking, made me focus on the sounds. They weren’t drawing near, but there was definitely something happening.

Maybe someone thought they saw me. Or someone got hurt.

All the better for me, whatever it was.

Since I had a small moment… I checked to make sure my I really wasn’t bleeding because of an actual wound. Luckily, I wasn’t. And even luckier… it seemed the bleeding had either stopped, or slowed down to the point it was no longer an immediate issue.

I wasn’t sure what to think about the bleeding, just yet. It was times like this that I wished I still had family.

Even if my family would have been cruel about it, they at least would have been able to tell me if it was something worth fretting over or not.

Yet right now I had no one.

No family. No witch. No Lujic or Ginny…

No religious priests I could rely on. No neighbors…

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Taking a deep breath, I groaned as I slowly stood. My right leg, specifically my right calf, jolted as I tried to put weight on it.

Yes. I had strained something. Wonderful.

But it didn’t matter. I had to just power through it.

Looking over the stone wall, I scanned the area. Off in the distance, past all the trees, I could see the far off silhouettes of people. They were growing even farther away. I had been able to make out the dogs earlier, now I couldn’t see them.

Good. That was great. Perfect.

Especially now that it seemed I might not be able to run at full sprint anymore…

Stepping away from the wall, I winced as I limped. I was able to at least stand on my right leg, but the muscle in my calf kept giving out when I tried to rely on it too heavily. I’d need to be careful.

Walking over bricks, roots, and bushes… I hurried back the way I had come from. Heading back to the village. I didn’t plan on going back to the village itself, of course, but I figured I’d head back a bit and then turn westward. The opposite direction they were all heading in.

By the time they noticed I should be able to get far enough away as to escape. Even with my speed reduced, thanks to my leg…

Hopping away, I was able to slowly increase my pace. My right leg still hurt, and struggled, but it was slowly getting better. Or I was simply learning to ignore it and adapt. Either way, my speed increased… and I eventually found a pair of trees I recognized. I had nearly tripped running between them, thanks to their roots having been hidden by the tall grass. Using them as a landmark, I turned westward.

From here I should be able to eventually find a road. I’d not use the road, of course, in case they sent out horse riders, but I’d be able to use it to find another town. Or at least a river I could use to rest alongside. The river would provide water and food, and…

“Alarm!”

My heart shot up into my throat as I turned. Off in the distance, standing next to a large tree… was a man. I didn’t recognize him, but I didn’t spend long looking at him. I hurriedly turned back around and started to run.

Gasping for air as I ran, I relied on the sudden burst of energy from my panic. It let me ignore the burning pain in my right leg, and the weird aching in my stomach.

“Alarm!” the man shouted again, and I was thankful I didn’t hear any other shouting. People were far enough away that it would take a short time before the caught up.

Could I escape in time though?

The forest was thick of trees, and the trees weren’t necessarily small… but the forest was flat. There weren’t any hills here, even though large mountains loomed in the distance. Even a human could see for a long distance, here.

There was nowhere to hide. Any spot I tried to use, like beneath some tree burrows or logs would just get me caught. This place was too out in the open. Not to mention they had dogs, and this was their own backyard. Every so often I ran past a freshly cut tree, or one re-growing from a cut from one of the last seasons. They frequented these areas. Which meant they'd know all of the locations I could likely hide in anyway.

I sobbed as I ran, and people began to shout behind me.

I was going to be caught, wasn’t I?

All because I had not paid attention. I should have noticed I was bleeding. I should have taken more heed of being sick. I should have…

I shouldn't have taken shelter in Suzie's kindness.

Stumbling, I rolled forward. I fell and rolled over roots and thick bushes. Before I even registered how I had fallen, I was back on my feet and running again.

Luckily I didn’t feel any new injuries from the fall, but as I stumbled back to my feet… I glanced behind me.

They were behind me.

I didn’t see many, but I also had only glanced but briefly. If I had seen four or five as I assumed, in that single glance, it was safe to say there were dozens more I hadn’t seen.

“Come on Renn!” I growled at myself. Picking up my pace, I began to hear only my heavy breathing and footfalls as I ran through the forest.

I had to hurry. I had to escape.

I’d be killed if I didn’t. Either by axe or sword, or burnt at the pyre. There would be no reasoning. No talking my way out of it. Only death.

I didn’t want to die.

I didn’t want to…

Running past a small patch of trees, I felt my eyes go wide… as suddenly my feet no longer found ground beneath them.

Not only was there no more ground beneath me… there weren’t any trees around me either. I was suddenly above a steep canyon like ridge. One big enough to fall into, but small enough I hadn’t noticed in my approach.

Shocked at the sudden change in scenery, I almost couldn’t believe what was happening… as I fell.

Past the trees. Past the grass. Pass the dirt and mud across the ridge from me.

Looking down, I flailed wildly as I tried to inhale enough air as to scream.

I was falling. There was a bunch of white and blue far beneath me, but it was rapidly approaching. I flinched and covered my face, and right before I could even comprehend what happened… I hit the water.

For the tiniest moment I went numb and blacked out… but then the tug of needing air brought me back to consciousness. I wasn’t sure which way was up, but I was quickly told the answer as my legs and bottom hit the bottom of the river.

Kicking off the rocks, I quickly emerged from the top of the river. Gasping for air, I flailed as I swam to keep myself afloat in the current. Which was oddly strong, for what seemed like a smaller river.

The river was noisy. Noisier even than the people shouting nearby and the dogs barking. I tried to look for where I had fallen, but couldn’t pinpoint it. On both sides of the river were tall ledges. Probably half a dozen trees tall, they lined the river on both sides. For as long as the eye could see.

My heart hurt as it beat, as I was carried along the top of the river downstream. The river was about three times as deep as I was tall, but it looked to be only that or so wide. I could reach either side of the river easily, but…

Should I?

Flowing down the river quickly, I watched as the rocks and dirt walls passed me by. I was nearly floating away as fast as I could run right now, thanks to my exhaustion and injuries.

Deciding to let the river carry me along, I started to swim a little. As to further increase my speed.

I could hear shouts and barks over the roar of the river, but couldn’t make out what was being said or really how close they were. They sounded distant, but right now thanks to the river everything sounded distant. My ears were wet too, which didn’t help.

Luckily the river was deep enough I didn’t have to worry over rocks or debris as I swam. A small sense of relief even started to fill me, as the river rounded a small bend and revealed that it continued for a very long distance. All at the same current speed too, based off the white rolls on top of the river’s surface.

To think I’d be this lucky. Even if they noticed I had fallen into the river, they might not be able to keep up with me. Especially since they’d have to clamber down the side of the…

Then something loud plunked into the water next to me.

Turning, I frowned as I wondered what it had been. A fish maybe? Something had definitely splashed into the water. I had even felt the droplets and…

Then another hit. This time in view.

An arrow speared into the water… then a moment later floated up and hit my shoulder as I floated past it.

Spinning my arms, as to spin myself around, I hurriedly found my attacker.

Off in the distance, on the top of the ledge, was a man with a bow. He was far enough away I’d not be surprised if it was the same location where I had fallen from. I was about to lose sight of it, thanks to the bend in the river.

He aimed, and I felt a rush of panic. Taking a deep breath, I dunked down deeper into the river.

Swimming down as well as I could, I hated how the strong current actually felt as if it was trying to push me back to the surface. I swam with every ounce of strength I had, to keep myself as far from the surface of the river as possible.

Good thing too, since the arrow flew right into the river where I had been.

However, even though I had been several feet beneath the surface… the arrow still hit me. I flailed as it ran right into my shoulder. It punctured, and I screamed out what air I had in panic as it delved into me.

Returning to the surface, I hurriedly took a breath as I went to pull the arrow out. Shockingly, I didn’t need to. The thing had pierced me, but hadn’t gotten embedded. It rolled along my shoulder, floating away even as it left a trail of blood in the water.

Touching the spot it had hit, I winced. Yes. There was a stab wound… but it wasn’t deep. Not too bad. The arrow had lost most of its momentum before it had been able to really do damage.

Yet it meant I was not only in range of his attacks, he was also good enough to hit me even as I swam around.

A hunter, likely.

Spinning back around, I accidentally swallowed some river water as I breathed a sigh of relief. I couldn’t see the bowman anymore.

I had finally floated far enough around the bend that I was no longer in his line of sight.

This didn’t mean I was safe, since I knew he could… and would… just run along the ledge until he saw me again. It meant at least for the immediate moment, I was safe.

I needed something to weigh me down, or block the arrows… if he continued to shoot at me. He’d be able to harass me for who knows how long if I didn’t.

And as I studied my situation further, I realized the river was my only option.

I’d not be able to climb up either side of the ledges. Not in my condition. The walls looked dirty and muddy… as if this whole ridge had been flooded by water not long ago. Likely had been, if there had been a storm lately.

Even if I could climb the ledge, it’d just make me an easier target right now. Better the river, which also let me dive down and try to avoid the arrows…

Then a new enemy showed itself.

A pair of large brown dogs began to bark wildly as they ran along the ledge. I glared at them as I watched them bark at me, chasing after me with their tails wagging.

Damn things saw this as a game…!

I scanned the ledge for any place they could use to descend. I didn’t see any… but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t find one, or even just jump off the ledge after me. The ledge was tall enough that it was too tall for a human to jump off, but not so high that a stupid mutt wouldn’t consider it.

And if they got into the river with me, I’d be a goner. They’d just latch their jaws onto me, and drag me down with them.

Spitting out some water, I returned to swimming. Doing my best to speed up the process. I needed to get farther down the river. Eventually the dogs would return to their masters, if I put enough distance between us. It was how they were trained.

A far off shout told me that there already was some distance between me and the men. This river was working in my favor. Odds were only a few humans even known I was in the river, which meant they’d not be running the right direction. They’d be heading to where I had fallen, if not elsewhere.

Though… I wonder where this river went. I knew there were lakes and such around here, but I wasn’t too familiar with this area. I’d only traveled through it a few times in my life and never lingered here for long.

Swimming carefully, I did my best to not over strain myself. The dogs were keeping pace with me; barking like mad, but right now weren’t an immediate threat. They couldn’t reach me. And no more arrows were flying at me… so I just needed to keep myself composed.

Composed and ready for anything else and…

Another bend in the river came up. As it did, the current increased. Becoming not only harsher, but more dangerous. The bottom of the river became shallower, and large sharp rocks started to bump into my feet as I swam.

Doing my best to float more than not, I ignored the pain as my knees and feet hit rocks as the current became even stronger.

Although it hurt… it was helping. The dogs were starting to fall behind, and the ledge was also becoming taller. The river was essentially going down a hill, just a very small one. The ledges were also starting to grow farther apart, widening the gorge I was in even more.

Rounding the bend, I breathed a sigh of relief as the rest of the river came into view. The ledge was growing even more. It’d not be long now and I’d be safe. It was growing to the point that the humans would either need a very long rope, or backtrack a long distance to get down here.

It’d not save me from arrows, of course, but it was better than the alternative.

Thanks to the increase in the current, I really didn’t need to put much effort into actually swimming. All I needed to do was make sure I didn’t get pushed against any large rocks, or get submerged. Basically only had to float and…

Then I was hit.

All my air left me, to the point I couldn’t even shout out in pain.

The feeling of being stabbed in the back was clear enough. An arrow had hit me.

Flailing, I spun around and reached behind me. I found the arrow, in my upper right shoulder. It had hit at an angle, likely thanks to how I was floating. A quick look behind me revealed my attacker. The same man with a bow… but he was far away. A silhouette amongst the trees, far past the bend I had just floated past.

He was far enough away even he wasn’t trying to notch another arrow. And the dogs that had been keeping pace with me, were also now behind me… although they were barking like mad.

Since I didn’t have to immediately worry over another arrow, I focused my attention on the one poking out of my collar bone.

Or at least, right under it. I tenderly touched the pointy metal thing sticking out of my shoulder. It was spotless, likely thanks to the water, and it was bent a little weirdly. It must have bent upon hitting one of my bones…

“Seriously,” I cried out in frustration, and wondered if I should just pull it out. It wasn’t bleeding too badly, it seemed, but it really hurt and I was worried it’d keep digging the hole it had made deeper.

I wasn’t human. I healed quickly. But this would take several days to heal, and was only a further burden on my already weary body…

The river’s current increased again, and as it did I bumped into some rocks. I winced, since the impact made my right shoulder flare up in pain.

Glancing around again, I was very relieved to not only see no bowman… but no more dogs either.

Maybe I had finally gotten far enough away.

My quick heartbeat was heavily thumping in my head. I tried to ignore it, and the pain all over, but it was hard to. Everything seemed to hurt. And I also just noticed that the water was kind of cold.

Many long moments passed as I stayed focus on staying afloat. I ignored the aches. The arrow in my shoulder. The cold water.

All that mattered was keeping my head above water. Keeping myself in the center of the river, as to avoid boulders and fallen tree logs beneath the water. Keeping myself awake… as my eyes became heavy.

“Oh no,” I realized it too late. I panicked, and wondered if I should hurry and swim to one of the embankments… but what if I did, and the humans caught up?

Just because I could no longer see, or hear them, didn’t mean they weren’t still behind me. It was very likely. Some humans would, could and have chased me for very long distances. Days worth of traveling.

I couldn’t stop here. I needed the river to take me farther. Much farther. Hopefully to where it’d either enter a lake, or split into separate rivers. So I could take another path and…

Waking up, I splashed wildly as I took myself to the surface.

I just passed out. And I was still passing out. The tug of the void was pulling at me. My eyes heavy and blurry, and not just because I was half submerged.

Doing everything I could to stay awake, I tried to comprehend what was happening. Why? I was tired, yes. Exhausted. Hurt. But this honestly wasn’t that bad. The arrow was the worst, but it honestly wasn’t that bad either. It hurt, but not so much I worried about it. I’ve survived far worse.

Unless…

The brief thought of the arrow being poisoned or something entered my mind. It was possible. Especially if the man had been a hunter. They sometimes tainted their arrows for larger game, or dangerous ones. Like me.

But… wouldn’t the river water have…

No. Not if it hit me before hitting the water. Even if it had hit the water first, there was no guarantee it’d clean it off toxins either.

Though it could also not be the arrow at all… but instead something more simple.

Like blood loss…

Blinking wildly, I groaned… and panicked even as I once again felt the strong tug of sleep.

Unable to do anything but shout wordlessly… I tried to roll over, a last ditch effort to keep my mouth and nose above the water’s surface. I wasn’t able to think of any other possible solution to my problems… and without warning, the world went dark and I passed out.