AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leap over the rocks on the river and look around the forest for any sign of her, and I only see empty tree trunks and paths through them that all look the same. Panic and anger rush through me as I wonder what would have scared her like that.
She didn’t seem intimidated when the wolves surrounded her. I wonder if there is something more fearsome in this forest she could make her run. I can’t imagine what it could be; the worst-case scenario would be a rebel orc clan.
I keep running and hear an arrow's woosh through the woods' quietness. As I continue weaving through the trees, I hear chanting and hollering, the sounds of humans, the same sounds we heard in the clearing that night.
Why couldn’t it be the wolves?I ask myself as I keep running through the woods. Minutes later, I see Dana through the trees, sprinting as the humans throw spears and arrows at her.
It’s happening again,the voice in my head whispers. Fury and shame flood my emotions, and I race toward the humans with my blood boiling. I won’t let anyone else die because of me. If I had gotten her home sooner, this wouldn’t be happening.
You did this,the narrator in my mind continues.She will die because of your stupidity.I try to silence the thoughts, but they get louder as I get closer to the first human.Kill them like they killed Flora.
I tackle the first human I see, twisting his neck and slashing his chest to ensure he’s dead before moving to the next. Adrenaline shoots through my body as I catch up to them, putting him in a headlock and slicing his throat. I watch the blood spill onto my hands, and the sight of the dark red liquid only makes me more furious.
They’ve stopped chasing Dana and are now focused on me. Good, I would love for them to make their death easier for me. One hurls a spear at me, charging like a madman while shouting something incomprehensible. I dodge his spear and catch it before shoving it into his throat as he approaches.
I slide the spear's tip out of him and kick him to the ground. Another approaches me from behind, and I use my momentum to spin around and slice his stomach with it. His organs spill out, and I grin, knowing they can’t hurt anyone anymore.
Eventually, I see black. The adrenaline and rage overtake me as I shed more blood of the beastly things. They might look human, but their looks only partially conceal their evil. They want to hurt something pure and kind; they deserve to die, but not without perishing first.
I grab one and pin him against a tree, slicing him open and watching him bleed. I assume he pleads with me from the tone in his voice, and I grin as I watch him struggle before sticking the spear through his heart. I feel the tip of the spear slice through him and hit the tree trunk before I pull it out quickly, and he hits the ground.
I feel arms take me from behind, and I turn around, ready to kill the next one. The arms hold onto me tightly, and I quickly realize this isn’t a bloodthirsty human holding onto me when I hear the person sniffling and weeping; it’s Dana.
“Hurian.” Her voice cracks. “Stop it, please, stop it.”
I look at the bodies on the ground as she holds me. I feel her heaving breaths against my back and start to see reality again. Ten bodies are on the ground, but I only remember killing four, and I must have blacked out for longer than I thought.
Why is she weeping? I slowly realize she must have seen me in my furious rampage. She’s never seen me lose control before. I know what she endured with her last clan, and she must think I’m exactly like those devils that imprisoned her.
I can’t believe I’ve done this, especially before her. I haven’t lost control like this since I found out Flora died. This must have triggered those memories, and I reacted as I did back then, only I’m not that orc anymore; at least, I thought I wasn’t.
I grab her hands around my abdomen and try to unlatch them gently. She’s not letting go, so I force her hands off me more abruptly. I walk away, hearing her weeping behind me. I’m still not fully present, but I know she can’t be close to me. I almost thought she was one of those brutes; what if I turned around and tried to kill her?
“Hurian! Where are you going?” she cries.
“Stay away from me, Dana. Go your own way.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I don’t respond because I have to be sharp with her. She doesn’t realize what she’s gotten herself into, and I don’t have the energy to explain what just happened. I need to get back to the compound; we’re close enough to the waterfall that she can even follow me from a distance and find her way back. I believe that she can, and it would be safer for her.
“Hurian!” she calls out again.
I hear her feet racing over the leaves and twigs on the ground. She’s going to catch up to me, and I don’t know what I will tell her. I don’t want to leave her here, but I don’t want to put her in more danger by being beside me.
“Hurian! Stop!”
I freeze and let her catch up to me. I know she already thinks I’m an asshole, and abandoning her would only worsen that. I wait until she races in front of me and looks at me with red, swollen eyes.
“What are you doing? What happened back there?”
“I can’t say,” I respond coldly, looking away from her.
“What do you mean go my own way?”
“I won’t leave you here, but you keep your distance from me. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t understand!” she exclaims angrily, throwing her arms out to the sides. “I don’t fucking understandanythingthat’s happened today! What is going on with you? This isn’t the Hurian I know!”
