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Within a few seconds, the ground looks like blood-filled lakes rather than creeks. The man looks at the skull and shouts something I don’t understand. It sounds like a foreign language, but it’s not one I’ve ever heard before.
The rest of the circle gets on their knees, and the chanting slows. Hurian pulls me back into the forest, away from the clearing.
“We need to leave now.”
I barely hear him; my eyes are fixated on the evil before me. I’m almost in a trance, staring off into the clearing like a void has captured my attention. Hurian turns me around quickly and holds my arms tightly as he looks into my eyes.
“Dana. We need to run. Now.”
I snap out of my daze and nod. He takes my hand, and we run through the woods quickly. Hurian slows his pace enough for me to keep up with him, but I can barely keep my attention on the trunks in front of me and logs beneath my feet as the gory images play over in my mind.
We reach the river, and Hurian stops to let me go first. I walk across the rocks carefully and turn around to see him staring back toward the clearing.
“Hurian! What are you doing?”
“Making sure they don’t come anywhere close to us,” he responds as he climbs over the river's rocks.
We reach the other side and continue to run to the cabin. My leg is beginning to hurt from my gash, and my heart is racing. Sweat starts to drip down my back, and I feel scrapes on my arms from running through the trees burn.
We reach the cabin, and Hurian opens the door for me. I walk in and catch my breath as I cross my arms and hunch over the back of the couch. A few minutes later, I notice I’m staring blankly into the fireplace. I feel my breath on my arms and try to return to the present moment as I come down from the adrenaline.
My eyes begin flickering around the room, and I start seeing my surroundings instead of replays of the blood pools in my mind. I notice Hurian pacing in the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head as he looks down at his feet. I close my eyes and inhale deeply as I stand up straight and rub my face with my hands.
My eyes lock onto the grooves of the cabin’s floor. I don’t see the ritual anymore; I see my kidnapping. I see the cruel eyes looking into my enclosure and hear their evil chuckles as my skin crawls from the bugs.
I remember how time passed in there. At some point, it ceased to exist. I didn’t see much sunlight in that enclosure, so day, night, morning, afternoon, and evening became nothing but words. They didn’t signify anything anymore.
“Dana.”
I look up and see Hurian walking to me slowly. His head is tipped slightly down, trying to meet my eyes where they rested on the floor.
“Are you alright?” he asks as he gets closer.
I back away instinctively a few inches and shake my head. “No.” My eyes begin to water, and I look down at my hands and see them trembling. “I don’t want to stay here. I can’t stay here anymore. If they find us, if they see us…”
“We won’t stay.” His voice is soft and kind. “We’ll leave now.”
“I understand that there are other species that hurt humans. Orcs, dark elves, I get that, but let one of your own kindbleed outon the ground? Letting one of yourfamilybleed out? How is that possible? Who could do something like that?”
I know the questions I ask are rhetorical. More than anything, I’m trying to process what I just saw by speaking it to someone.
“They’re probably a clan that lives deep in these woods. They’ve been reported before, and I ran into one a few years ago when I was hunting.”
“What happened when you ran into them?” I ask, unsure if I want to know the answer.
“A few members of Burning Sun and I came across a campsite. There were four tents, and no one was there at the time. Out of curiosity, we wandered through.” He sighs and sits on the couch, looking at me over the back of it. “We found a lot of ceremonial paraphernalia. Knives, talking sticks, animal skulls, it was odd. We heard chanting coming from nearby and decided to investigate.”
“Were they doing what they did in the clearing?”
Hurian shakes his head. “No, but they were sacrificing a bird. They spoke to some God, and we determined it was a sacrifice of sorts. I don’t know if it was the same clan, but it seems they pass these traditions down through generations. Either way….” He stands from the couch and looks at me. “They’re dangerous, and I don’t want to know what they’ll do if they find two outsiders on their territory.”
I nod and look at the floor, memories of my imprisonment returning. I shake my head and close my eyes, trying to shut them out. I feel Hurian touch my shoulder, and surprisingly, I don’t cringe at it. Usually, when these memories rear up, I hate being touched, but his fingers feel soothing.
“Why don’t you get your herbs and pack whatever else you want? I’ll pack everything else, and we’ll go.”
“Okay,” I respond softly.
I watch him walk into the kitchen and turn around to grab the bag holding the herbs. I open it and notice they’re all mixed up and crumpled from me running with the pack on.That’s the last thing I care about right now;I think as I close the bag and look around the house.
