Horous turned suddenly, his unblinking eyes boring into me. I felt the chill of something unspeakable brush my soul.
"Never trust these men, for they're not what they seem!"
His voice was familiar, yet I knew this couldn't be possible unless I'd seen him in a nightmare.
"The Cohert of the Gate Orderr will not suffer another decade of Vareth’s wrath. We end this—now."
Fionn lunged at Horous with such speed that I heard the man groan beneath the painful cracking of bone. The weapon flew from his hands. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his misshapen arm. Fionn kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The others stopped and warily watched Fionn.
Fionn pulled the knife from the unconscious man's arm, causing his blood to squirt everywhere. It wasn't only madness I saw on his face as he stood upright. He was proud of his conquest. His polished riding boots were now covered in blood, and his coat fluttered in the wind.
"Who's next?"
A bearish man bearing a crescent scar on his cheek stared venomously at Fionn and charged.
Torin flew like a ferocious animal toward him and grabbed him by the throat. He lifted the man as easily as if he were a feather and squeezed the man's throat so tightly that his eyes popped. Hekicked violently, dislodging a battered boot, and clawed viciously at Torin's hands to no avail. Only when he gasped for air and his face turned scarlet did Torin hurl him against a tree. The man struck the trunk and collapsed, motionless, to the ground.
Torin picked up the boot and tossed it toward the man.
"You really should invest in a fresh pair of boots," he said, calmly approaching the nearest man.
The man, tanned so dark he appeared almost black, glared at Torin beneath a tangled mass of coarse locks. He looked unhappily at his beaten comrades.
"You and your brothers are vultures preying on the innocent! You should be punished for your heinous crimes."
Torin’s smirk sharpened.
“The stars have chosen, the hunt has begun.” his voice dropped. “We will not allow a shambling cohort like yours to fulfil this prophecy.”
Uttering a feral cry, he lunged forward, hefting a jagged blade. The remaining five men charged behind him with weapons raised. Chaos erupted as the brothers tackled them with daunting speed and agility. What had been three handsome brothers transformed before my eyes into savage creatures, viciously attacking with inhuman speed.
A soft breeze stirred the air, its touch cool and almost comforting as it brushed against my skin. It carried a faint rustling that caught my attention, pulling my gaze toward an opening in the trees. For a brief, surreal moment, I felt as though the forest itself was showing me the way. Guiding me toward an escape.
This was my chance. Stunned, I stumbled away from the carnage of blood and broken bodies. Rising above the fear freezing my movements and the rational thought, a tiny voice in my skull snapped
Run. Run now.
I had to act fast if I wanted to escape. Afraid of discovery, I moved slowly at first, then more quickly when I realised that no one had noticed my flight.
I exploded into a run, my legs carrying me like a sprinter through the woods, moving on pure survival.
Branches scratched my shins, whipping across my arms like claws, and more than once I almost twisted my ankle. Ignoring the pain, I forged ahead, sliding and falling in the mud. I didn’t stop, I couldn’t stop.
Gulping air, my lungs on fire, I kept my eyes ahead of fear that even a glance over my shoulder would draw attention to me. Sunlight dappled the ground and, above, I glimpsed welcoming patches of blue sky through the lattice of branches. I didn't recognise where I was, which concerned me. Though I had often taken walks in the forest to draw and paint, I kept to the perimeter and never strayed too far from either the road or the village.
I continued to run, trees engulfing me in muffled silence. Then a sound. Faint, distant, but unmistakable. The low hum of engines, the sound of tyres.
I followed the sound, I wasn’t lost I could make it. My heart skipped a beat when I glimpsed the road beckoning through the trees. My legs pumped harder, my breath erupting in harsh gasps. I felt certain I'd faint from exertion, but I was only a few dozen metres from freedom. There would be more cars on the road, and I could flag one down to stop and help me.
I thought of Donte, no doubt wondering where I was by now. He would eventually try to call me, but his messages would simply go to my voicemail. I tried to stem tears as I envisioned his face.
Help me, Donte!I thought, willing him to sense my distress. What would happen when I didn't arrive in the village today? My mother would be hysterical, fearing the worst for me; and my stepdad unreachable on his flight...
I forced myself forward. A few more metres. The air felt alive.
You can make it.
Even the earth beneath my feet felt different, firmer, more solid, as though it were pushing me towards freedom.
