Fire in the Woods

Belvino · Mar 6, 2016

(Closed)

“Papa, where are we going?” the soft, sweet voice of the little girl was in stark contrast to the panic surrounding her. There were angry cries and screams coming from outside and every now and then someone would come running by the open door with a rifle in hand. The man that the girl had spoken to now stopped his hurried rush to gather everything in sight and stooped to her level. His dark eyes met hers and it was at this time the little girl felt a strange pull in her stomach as if something heavy had dropped in it.

“We must go now little one. The wolves are coming,” he seemed to struggle with something for he hesitated and his face contorted in pain, “I must…. I have,” he said. He shook his head and grabbed a rifle from a nearby table.

The man stood up and grabbed his daughter’s hand pulling her along outside. She struggled to keep with his pace and stumbled several times as they rushed through the village. Finally, after she had fallen and her hand had slipped out his grasp he slowed to a stop and looked back at her. There was fear in her eyes and so much confusion as she tried to get back to her feet. People were running all around them but he stepped towards her and swooped her up in his arms.

“I’ll have to carry you Sophie,” he murmured in her ear. They resumed their pace once more though this time the little girl was slung in one arm while the man carried his rifle in the other. The girl clutched tightly to her papa her face buried in his chest as the infectious fear seeping through the village began to fill her heart with dread.

They had been running through the woods a long time now and had lost sight of most of the village. The forest was eerily quiet and all the usual noises of animals hurrying through the brush could not be heard. Through the silence a howl broke, sounding horribly close and loud. The man let out a startled gasp and turned his head, but he could see nothing in their wake.

“I need to let you down now Sophie-

“But Papa,” the girl looked panicked and began shaking her head, “Papa please don’t,” she whimpered.

The man seemed not to hear her as he looked frantically around him, searching for the perfect spot to hide his little girl. It was then he spotted the trees and their roots forming a dark enclosed hole at the base. He pushed the girl through it, her clothes catching on the roots. It was barely big enough for her small form. Her face appeared through the darkness of the hole with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’ll be back little one. I promise. I’ll be back, just stay here do not move from this spot no matter what happens,” he said. He hoisted the rifle to his shoulder pressing the butt end in hard and stood to his feet taking a last look at his daughter. The little girl was left watching her father disappear from view. The silence in the forest was oppressive her eyes darted back and forth through the parts she could see. She strained to hear a noise, any noise but everything was silent. The sound of her father’s footsteps had long since left her earshot.

Suddenly the forest exploded with a rush of noise. Birds burst from the trees shrieking their complaints, and the small animals that inhabited the forest ran past the girl’s hiding spot in a blur. Through the noise a man’s startled cry could be heard.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunshots echoed in the forest and the little girl’s heart leapt in her chest. Her father had fired the weapon, but the forest seemed to be settling down again. Everything was quiet once more and there was no footsteps announcing her father’s return.

“Papa?” the little girl questioned. She ignored her father’s plea to stay in the hiding spot and crawled out of the little hole. Her feet carried her back towards the path her father had taken. She walked for some time before her eyes spotted a crumpled form in the path ahead. It was her father.

The little girl ran then and slipped in a puddle of blood as she neared her father. She collapsed on top of him and felt more warm hot liquid on his chest. Her eyes widened and tears began to fog her vision.

“Papa? Papa! Papa wake up!” she cried. The man remained still his eyes closed with his throat opened. The little girl did not understand death and she shook her father and pushed him with her tiny fists demanding that he wake up. Her sobs echoed in the forest as she curled onto his chest pulling her knees up to her face. A tree branch snapped nearby and the little girl lifted her head her eyes settling upon the form of a man standing nearby his face cloaked in the shadow of his hood…

******
Sophie woke with a start, flinging herself upright in bed as her breath came fast and hard. For several weeks now she had been plagued with this dream. This dream that was both a nightmare and a memory. She didn’t want to be reminded of that day, but short of not sleeping there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t understand why it plagued her after so many years. She was a grown woman now.

Rising, Sophie pushed the blankets aside and proceeded to pull a plain, pale dress over her head. Her fingers shook as she braided her thick, red hair and let it drape across her back. She had been living with a different family for years, a family who cared for her like she was their own. The strange man that she had seen in the forest that day had left her with them and she had never seen him again. Though she would have been hard pressed to recognize him since his face was cloaked in shadow.

Sophie hurried through the home saying a quick goodbye to one of her adopted family members as she rushed outside. She needed some air and time spent alone if she was going to ease her mind. That was the only way she realized to heal after the repeated trauma she was exposed to from her memory. Her voice hummed through the forest matching the songs of some of the birds and seemed to soothe her while she trekked through the woods. The forest was dense in parts and required scrambling over rocks and tree roots, but it was in the small clearing that gave way before her when she finally stopped.

A creek danced over rocks and traced a pattern through the trees. She removed her shoes and stepped into the cool water allowing it to rise up to her ankles. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath letting her worries wash away with the water. Yes, this was exactly what she needed.

goldsoundz · Dec 22, 2016

Dorian

"How long is forever?"

The question still haunted Dorian. Haunted him not like a violent demon, but as a cold, uncomfortable whisper in his consciousness. His mortal self (or perhaps the memory of his mortal self?) still recognized time in the temporal, chronological way that allowed him to consider the fullness of the question, and reminded him that he was, at root, a man after all.

Taken as a young man into his eternal tribe, Dorian still retained the vessel he occupied at the time of his capture: The sturdy legs and tall frame of a young villager destined for productive toil; the strong back and wide shoulders fit for swinging an axe; the quick wit and keen sense which allowed him to feel at home in the deep forest; the steady and sure hands which could create beauty from chaos. He sorrowfully examined the mature oak he presently lurked behind. As a craftman's apprentice, Dorian had spent countless hours quietly searching the woods for such a tree such as this; the perfect beginning for the table or wardrobe he could already see in his mind. He recalled the tension he felt for destroying something living and beautiful to create something equally beautiful and...eternal. Eternity meant something beautiful before that day, the day he was surprised and overwhelmed and made eternal himself.

And now Dorian contemplated eternity as he silently watched the young woman he had saved so many temporal years before. Wasn't it just days ago that he snatched the sobbing young girl from the corpse of her father and stole her to safety? Had he not been watching over her, silently protecting her, for just mere moments? But here she was, a beautiful young woman now, ripe with living promise and oblivious to his care. She was just yards from him, but miles away.

Lost in contemplation of all these things as he watched the young woman, he barely noticed or acknowledged the shadowy form slinking up beside him, obviously curious as to Dorian's purpose here. And when it too spied the beautiful young form, it smiled cruelly and finally addressed Dorian, his kin, in an evil whisper.

"So, how long is forever?"

Belvino · May 22, 2017

The water rippled and uncoiled, undulating round her form and continuing on its perpetual travel through the trees. Once in a while a leaf, or a broken twig just light enough to balance on the water surface, would brush against her form and she would lazily kick it away. The whole forest was singing, the wind through the leaves, the birds chirping as they moved about their day. A large boulder protruding upon the edge of the river bank was inviting enough as a seat and she took it without much hesitation. Her dark green eyes focused on nothing and yet everything all at once, darting about here and there as she began absentmindedly undoing her plait until the auburn tresses spilled over her shoulder.

Her fingers curled in her hair and her voice soon adopted a hum of no particular tune, but which was soothing enough to continue carrying her through this blissful trance-like state. Vague images of the dream flashed behind her eyes and she gasped—a short quick inhale. Her eyes clamped shut and for a while she sat perched on that rock breathing quickly. After a time her eyes opened again but there seemed to be a ghost haunting her gaze and she was no longer as peaceful as she had been before. With a shake of her head she rose to her feet and plunged into the creek pushing through to the deeper areas.

The hem of her dress began to get soaked so she gripped it firmly in both hands and pulled the fabric up over her head tossing it towards the dry bank. She settled in the cool water letting it wash over her. Her eyes focused on the leaves of the trees and the rush of the water all around her. The pink rose buds of her nipples stood just outside the reach of the water, and yet hardened nonetheless. She traced her hands through the water feeling as if silk slipped between them.

Time moved away leaving her there, soaking in the water. She rose later her hair dripping and her pale flesh goose pimpled with cold. The pads of her fingers had wrinkled from the exposure to the water and felt strange as she reached for her dress. Her skin still damp made the fabric cling to her form leaving an impression of her darkened nipples. She settled herself on the rock once more, but became aware of a strangeness to the forest around her.

The birds had stopped their beautiful noise and the wind which had been loud before now seemed just a bare hint. Through it she thought she heard the noise of twigs breaking and a shuffling sort of sound in the leaves. Her head swung about, eyes narrowing searching the shadow of the trees for a form she could not see.

“Hello?” she called. She had started to rise from the rock but thought better of it until she spotted her knapsack still sitting in the dirt from before. Quickly she darted over, her hand pushing through the bag to find the hilt of the knife she carried with her. It was a small blade suited better for slicing up fish and severing the stems of plants than defense, but it was all she had. Her voice rung out again questioning the stillness around her.

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