My heart leapt to my throat, and I stumbled backwards, almost tripping. I managed to gather myself enough to turn and run, the image of the beast sending pure adrenaline through my veins, and I prayed that I wouldn't get caught. And yet, in this world, it wouldn't matter. I would just be another helpless victim that wandered too far into the forest, disobeying the rules that time aided us in discovering. The sounds of my pounding feet changed from the crunching of leaves to the soft thuds of the dirt road. The demon in hot pursuit behind me.
I didn't bother calling out for help, knowing there would be no one stupid enough to run in my direction. I was mildly hoping to run into someone, forcing them to help me, but the chances of that would be rare, and the chance of them even having hounds would be almost impossible. I could hear it's moans and screeches behind me as I sprinted for my life. I felt a soft tug on the back of my hoodie before I was suddenly yanked to the ground, the tearing of fabric following suit. I landed on my back, feeling the dirt path beneath me, and when I looked up the only thing I could think of was that this was the end, and it was a pretty darn stupid way to go.
I tried one last time to escape, rolling around and scrambling to my feet, closing my eyes and I bolted forward, only to feel it's claws rake my back-
I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized I had felt nothing. I turned around in surprise, seeing nothing. Was it toying with me? I waited for a few moments, only to find that it seemed to have lost interest. The wind was cold against my back, and I was left alone, confused.
It was a little chilly, and I knew it was going to get colder as the day went on, so I took off my hoodie, turned my shirt around, and put the torn jacket back on so that my skin wasn't exposed to the elements. And I began walking down the path towards the next city, Yüblin. It was one of the top five largest cities, and it was filled with people who had too much food, and tended to throw out perfectly good edible items. Not to mention I had no money, and unlike villages, no one would want to trade.
My feet began to ache from walking for so long, and when I looked up, I saw that the son was touching the tops of the trees as night began threatening me. The city was a good ways away, probably a three days walk. Despite being excessively tired, I knew better than to rest. Night was always the worst when it came to demon attacks, unless you were in a city. The cities were protected by organizations that consisted of people with hounds.
"Oi, boy! The hell you doin' at this time of night?" I whipped around to see an older man atop a wagon, being pulled by a single horse. I was wary of the stranger, but replied anyway in a voice that sounded hollow.
"I'm trying to travel to the city."
"Get in the damn wagon before you get killed," he pulled the reigns to stop the horse, and threw a thumb behind him, gesturing to the wagon, "lucky for you, I gotta head there too." Knowing very well that it would be much safer to take my chances with him than any other demons, I hung my head and obeyed, climbing in the back. The man must have been a traveling merchant, as there were tons of goods packed neatly away, seemingly ready to be placed on a stand. The man began talking again, "so what's at the city for a lone boy like you? The hell are your parents anyway?"
"Safety from the death my parents faced," was my simple reply. I sunk down in a comfortable position, hearing the man clear his throat, but ceased his chattering. I managed to find peace in the rocking of the wagon, the squeaking of the wheels, the clopping of the horse, and the older man's humming of random tunes that I had not heard before.
My dreams took me back to the one who explained the fate of my village. How the fire consumed the life of almost everyone. Those who survived were slaughtered by demons, and the only ones to escape had lived on the outskirts of the little town itself. That woman had taken me back there, the witch telling me who was who, what they did for a living, and how they died. I don't think I could ever forget her pointing to a dead woman, saying that was my mother, or the dead man who looked like he was trying to flee before getting killed by a demon, and telling me that was my father.
But I don't think I could ever forget her face when we discovered the demon that had never left the village, and how it consumed her as I fled.
Right before she was going to give me an explanation as to why she was showing me these things. Forever leaving me in the dark with a stick of driftwood in the middle of a vast ocean about what really happened in my village.
My eyes opened to muffled light, and I immediately noticed that I was under a blanket, which I pushed aside, and that the wagon was missing all its supplies. Not to mention the smell of dried blood everywhere. I knew what had happened, and I didn't need to look to know of the older man's fate.
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