The dull knife ripped the flesh in an ugly way. Aleneo grew frustrated as the knife struggled to cut through the meat of the small rabbit he'd been lucky to catch. He made do with what he had. He'd skinned animals many times before, but he usually had better tools than the blunt blade he had.
The fur was the most difficult to successfully get off in one piece. He managed to keep most of it intact. He sat it off to the side so it could be dried out.
On his trek back to where he'd set up his tent, he'd found another source of water that wasn't part of the red boiling water. It was a small stream that headed West if he was heading North like he thought. He moved the tent closer to the stream, but he didn't set up right next to it out of fear larger animals visited for a drink.
He washed away the blood in the water, scrubbing profusely until his skin was a bright irritated red.
He grabbed sticks and a rock for a campfire as he made his way back to the tent once more. He sat at the opening, halfway inside and set the sticks up. The first strikes of the rocks together did nothing, but hurt his hands. He aggressively hit the rocks together until his hands were just as raw as his feet were still from being exposed to the cold too long. He was positive he had permanent nerve damage.
His frustration grew as he simply couldn't get a spark to happen. He threw the rocks onto the ground and kicked the nice pile of sticks he made with his foot. They fell down into a pile. He sunk his head into his palms and sighed.
His stomach growled loudly and painfully. His mouth watered for the taste of meat.
His head lifted and his eyes fell on the carcass. A strange interest in the raw meat overtook him. He reached out with a gentle and hesitant hand. It hovered over the meat. His fingers twitched as he imagined the taste of the blood and then the relief he would find after he ate it.
He snatched the bloody body like a feral animal. He sunk his teeth in. The blood spurted into his mouth and ran down the corners of his lips. He ripped into the hard meat and devoured it before he could think rationally about what he was doing.
He was starved. He didn't care if it didn't taste good or that he could get sick. He needed something to satisfy his hunger. Though, if he was being honest, the raw meat didn't taste bad like it should have. The taste of copper only ignited his hunger for more.
He ate the meat until there was barely any left on the bone. He licked his fingers and finally stopped to breathe. He was panting by the time he dropped the bare bones of the rabbit to the ground in front of him.
Shocked, he stared at the mess before him. It looked as if a beast had ripped the thing to pieces.
His shaking red hands came into focus. He stared at them, not sure what to make of what he'd done. He felt sick. He leaned over, gasping, and spat what was left in his mouth. All there was was red saliva that painted the grass.
Aleneo discarded of the rabbit's remains except for the fur. He kept it to be used as gloves when he would inevitably have to return to the icy climate outside the dome of warmth. He had no idea what was causing this strange change of weather, but he was sure it had something to do with Erebus's return.
All of this had to do with the Dark Prince and whatever deal Alette and Tilen had made.
Aleneo moved through the forest at a slower rate. He was full from the rabbit but hunger didn't seem to be far off. There was something else that worried him more than going hungry. It was this growing fascination or desire with raw meat.
He was disgusted and disturbed that he'd eaten raw meat in the first place but to want to do it again was fucking bizarre. He'd tried his best to push those inclinations to the back of his mind. That was much harder when he had ample time to think about it and for his mind to wonder.
The forest was still eerily quiet even when he seemed to be heading out of the strange warm zone near the boiling red water. He passed patches of snow. They got larger until he was walking on snow completely again.
He reluctantly put the layer of coats back on. He held the rabbit's fur in his hands as a way to keep them warm as the temperature dropped exponentially.
Something made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He paused and listened. He heard a faint noise. Slowly, he turned and looked over his shoulder. The road was clear. But he felt something. In his gut, that twisting that made him think of Erebus.
His eyes widened with realization. He ran toward the trees that were more densely packed and dove in between them. He pulled shrubbery up from the ground and covered himself as best as he could. He settled his panicked breaths and waited for what he feared was coming.
The roaring in his ears made it hard to concentrate. His pounding heart only made him feel like a cowering animal and made him want to run even though that was a horrible idea.
The feeling in his gut grew stronger. Then, he heard horses.
They were faint in the distance, but Aleneo knew that sound so clearly. It was embedded in his brain not only from the battles before but because he dreamed of hearing that sound and seeing Angel again.
However, this feeling made it clear that this was not Angel reborn again. His fears were proven when he heard Erebus's voice.
"Stop!"
Aleneo didn't move a muscle. He distanced his breaths, holding them longer at a time. He didn't know what their line of sight looked like. He hoped they moved past him, not caring to look at the spot he was hiding in.
"Highness, what is it that you sense?"
Aleneo balked. That was Cephus. He'd know the voice anywhere.
He clenched his fists so he didn't take a peek. The anguish he felt made him angry. He supposed he should have known Cephus would bend over for Erebus. He had no loyalty to Aleneo and was only looking to survive through this war. Aleneo wished he didn't care.
"Shut up," Erebus said. It sounded like he dismounted. His boots crunched the snow. "Release the hound."
Fuck!
Aleneo took off running into the dense part of the forest and away from the men.
"There!"
Aleneo panted for breath but pushed himself to run faster than he was capable of. Low hanging branches smacked into his face, blinding him for short periods of time. He ran through a thorn bush, ignoring the painful stings on his calves. He tore through brush, ripping branches out of the way and low hanging vines.
The roaring in his ears grew louder. He made the mistake of looking back and then there he was. Erebus. He was running after Aleneo with a lot more agility and grace than Aleneo would have ever given him credit for.
Aleneo dropped the rabbit's fur and the sewn coats. The lifted weight gave him better movement. He was so full of anxiety and adrenaline that he didn't notice the cold. It bit into his skin like a thousand needles, a thousand bee stings, but that only powered him to keep going.
He made it through the thick brush. He thought he saw the end of the forest and the start of Hinythian land. For a moment, a split second, he thought he had a chance at freedom.
But the end was a mirage of hope.
The ground opened up into a sink hole and he fell into it. He landed awkwardly on his feet and immediately lost his balance. He cried out as his hurt ankle snapped to the side and made a cracking sound. He laid out onto his side and weakly pulled himself away from the light shining through the hole above him.
He looked up as he moved to the shadows. When he saw how far he'd fallen, he gaped. The hole from which he'd fallen through was at least twenty feet high. Vines now dangled around the hole. They must have been what kept the snow from falling in and covered the hole.
He shivered as he pressed his back against the cold rock walls.
Above him, he heard people walking up to the hole. Snow began to fall as someone came to the edge. A soldier he didn't recognize looked down into the hole.
"I don't see him," the man said.
"He's in there." That was Erebus. "I saw him fall in. Anyone have any rope?"
There was some rustling. Aleneo looked around for a weapon of some sort, but there were only walls of rock and dirt. He felt around the walls and found a sharp rock that was sticking out from the damp and cold dirt. He yanked on it, but it was in so deep that it wouldn't budge. He tried again and the sharp edge sliced through his thumb.
He bit his lip so that he didn't scream. It was so dark down here that he could use it to his advantage. The only source of light was from the hole and it only came straight down, keeping the rest of the hole pitch-dark.
He dug his nails into the dirt. He clawed until he started to feel the sliver of stone move. At the same time, he heard men moving toward the hole, talking in lower voices that he couldn't make out.
He dug more furiously. His nails chipped and his thumb was bleeding all over the rocks. He didn't stop until the dirt around the rock finally gave and he held the sharp edge in his palm. He turned it around and swiped through the air. It would do.
He turned and saw the rope they'd come up drop down the hole and a man climb down it. He dropped to the ground and pulled out his sword. Another one followed him and another until there were five soldiers standing under the beam of light. They looked around the cave searching for him, but they didn't spot him at first.
Aleneo tip-toed around the soldiers as they dispersed and searched the through the dark. They cut through the air with their blades, making it clear that they weren't against killing or harming him.
"What's taking so long?" Erebus stood at the edge of the hole. Aleneo could see his boots and the bottom of his legs.
Aleneo looked up at Erebus and then down at the men that were stumbling around. He moved to the darker park of the cave. He held out his hand behind him, expecting to find more rock walls. His hand didn't touch anything though. He kept backing up, wondering if there was a tunnel that he could disappear into. If he moved quick enough, he might be able to get ahead of these men.
With that idea in mind, he turned around and started toward the darkness. He was right that there was a tunnel leading to somewhere. There was a cool breeze the further he went down which made him believe there could possibly be another way out.
The breeze turned warmer. There was a sweetness to it. He paused, hand almost slipping off the rock he clenched in his fist. His grip weakened as he took another step toward the darkness. The breeze stopped. And then came again. Almost like a breath.
Something wrapped around his ankle and yanked him off his feet. He let out a loud scream.
"Over here!"
The soldiers rushed into the tunnel and after Aleneo. But they didn't know that there was something in there with him.
Aleneo screamed again as he was pulled toward the warm sweet air that he now knew was the breath of whatever creature had captured him. He scrambled to sit up. He dropped the rock in his haste. He searched in the dark for it and managed to find it. He sat up again and started cutting at the thing wrapped around his leg.
It felt like a thick vine. He sawed manically and furiously. Blood was running from the cuts in his hands making his grip of the rock slip. He lost it again in the dark as another vine grabbed his arm and wrenched him across the ground.
The soldiers ran at full speed into the dark with their swords drawn. One tripped over Aleneo and went flying into the darkness. The man screamed so loud and so high that it frightened Aleneo to the core.
A crunch, the sound of bones breaking, the splattering of blood, and then the man's screams again. Aleneo twisted and clawed at the ground.
The other soldiers ran past him and to their ultimate death.
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