Chapter 8

The sun slowly makes its trek into the sky as I finish packing the blanket away. I nibble on a small piece of gran as I map out my journey to Joult. With good time, I should make it there in five days’ time. However, knowing me and my recent pace, I can count on the journey lasting eight days instead.

Breakfast finished, I shoulder my pack and weapon and move towards the stream. I decide to cover my tracks in case my presence was noticed after all. I didn’t need to be caught unaware by vengeful townspeople. As my booted feet make contact with the stream, I’m thankful for warm and solid shoes to keep my feet dry. Wet socks would make this unpleasant journey far less comfortable.

I travel up the stream for about an hour before I climb out, deciding I covered my trail sufficiently. I pull out my map and survey my location. I estimate my position on the map and pick my path then head northeast as my thoughts wander.

The weather is getting cooler and within four or five months, snow will fall. I need to secure my survival before then, though I’m not sure how. I’ll need a place to hide in when the weather turns. I could start searching now and narrow something down in the next couple of months.

A cave would work, if it’s large enough to build a fire. Securing wood and stocking up is essential as well. For extra warmth, I could make a fur coat or blanket from my hunts. I would need to hone my hunting skills and I suppose the best solution to that is practice. I can start with smaller game and try my skill with that. I can also scavenge the surrounding area for berries and such to stock up on. I’d make it work, somehow.

If only I had listened to the Elders. I wouldn’t be here in the first place. I wouldn’t need to worry about anything. Now, I’m out here all alone in a world unfamiliar to me.

Never wander past the borders, for those who venture out never return. It is why the stories of the Elders were told in the first place, or so they used to say. According to them, many years ago, there were humans who craved the adventures similar to my own, and unlike me, had the freedom to pursue those dreams.

One by one, those adventurers failed to return on schedule.

Sixty years ago, the village leaders established the borders. Our ancestors claimed it was to protect us all. They never specified what it was they were protecting us from. I doubt they even knew.

The Elders always said that to be curious of Them, would sentence you to a fate worse than death. The Elders even claimed They would steal you away into the night and you would never be heard from again. The Elders had a terrible habit of frightening you into submission with their outlandish stories and tales. Most of the Elder’s stories were rubbish with not enough details to make for a credible retelling of the past, and as a result, I never put much stock into those stories.

Nobody had ever witnessed a kidnapping, and other villagers later came forth to declare witness of the ‘stolen’ villagers passing over the boundaries. They also claimed the villagers were in a trance, but honestly? Nobody knew. Everything was just speculation.

Now, I know better. The stories were true. Perhaps the Elders never really understood everything they spoke, but they spoke truths. They do steal villagers away in the night. They are dangerous. They possess those they take. And now, it’s too late to heed their words. It’s far too late. 

It’s ironic. All I wanted growing up was to go on an adventure, experience the thrill of my life. To leave the village and see the world at last. Now here I am, under circumstances I never anticipated, and all I dream about is my home. How unfortunate I realized the moment it was too late, the only thing I ever needed was my family. Now, I can’t even have that. If only I had stayed home that night.

Without warning, the memory pulls me in.

I stare at the wood beam ceiling and wait until the last of the noise fades from my ears before slowly counting to a hundred and twenty. One, two, three, four…

One hundred and nineteen…

One hundred and twenty.

It’s time. I need to calm down, I’ve gone over this plan a million times before. I’m fine, everything will be fine. Take a deep breath and focus, Alanna.

I pull the blankets back from my body and sit upright. Glancing around my bare room, I look to the small window on my right covered in a thick black curtain.

Sitting along the wooden wall to the left of the window is one bookshelf stacked to the brim with my cherished collection of books. My treasure has been accumulated over the span of twenty-two years. I’m the only one in the family with this many books that has still found time to read them twice.

On the connecting wall is my large, wooden, antique dresser that has been passed down our family line for generations. Although it currently sits in my room, it is no more mine than the house I reside in. When I am forced to take a husband, his house shall become mine, and all I will be allowed to take are my books and clothes to remind me of my old life.

There are two doors on the wall to my right. The door to the left leads to the hallway while the one on the right holds my small collection of shoes and jackets.

I take a small breath and cross over to closet of the small room. I reach in to grab the pack as quietly as I’m able. Inside are my favorite combat boots, a spare set of clothes, a flashlight, two canisters of water, and enough dried meat and cheese to last two days.

While I plan to arrive back home tomorrow night, it’s always better to have extra rations than not enough. I’ll grab my bow and quiver from the bushes where I hid them earlier this afternoon.

After going through my mental checklist, I take one more look around my meager room before slipping out my door to the left, and down the hall.

Careful of my steps and the creaks in the floorboards, I slink past the bathroom. I move away from my sister’s room on the left, and my brother’s room next to hers.

As I enter the living room, I turn and take a quick look down the hall to the room my parents occupy. Whispering my goodbyes, I make my way through the kitchen, out the side door, and into the backyard. I swing my pack over my shoulder and pull my boots from my bag. I purposely kept them off to prevent making more noise than necessary. I tie the laces.

Pausing briefly to assure myself no one followed me, I take a cursory glance around the yard. I resume my stealthy pace and walk straight back to the fence line surrounding my parent’s property. I reach into the brush to snag my bow and quiver. After securing my weapon, I open the gate and wince. The gate is older than I am and squeaks with every pull.

I suck in a breath and continue on my mission to freedom. Luckily, the gate opens to the forest directly. I can make a swift dash past the tree line, which marks the boundary line of our small village. Once through, I will no longer have to worry about getting dragged back to the village since no one will dare pursue me past the boundary line.

I am so close I can almost taste my freedom. In my haste, I push the gate with more force than necessary and it slams closed with a bang. Mentally cursing myself, I sprint the last fifty paces and force myself through the thicket along the tree line. I skid to a stop and look back. My eyes take in the view of my family’s small one story log cabin.

I did it. I really did it.

I expect to feel excitement and ecstasy for making it as far as I did, but I don’t. I’m nervous. What if something happens? What if this is a mistake? I shouldn’t be doing this. It is ridiculous, I don’t have anything to prove to the villagers. They don’t have to know I came this far, I can still turn back. It’s not too late… but this is what I wanted, wasn’t it? This is all I have thought about for the past month. I’m finally going on the journey I’ve always dreamed of. It’s only until tomorrow night and then I’ll be back. I can do this. I’m just letting the nerves talk.

It’s fine. I’m fine. I will do this. I have to do this.

Mind made up, I turn once more. I slip my flashlight from the side pocket of my bag and turn it on. The tree canopy is thicker than I anticipated and dims the light from the moon and stars. All I can see in the darkness of the night is the narrow path the light from my flashlight makes. Even though the thick night air presses down on me, I shake off the feeling and focus. I had gone over my plan to freedom so many times, but actually experiencing it is a vastly different thing. I take a few deep breaths before panic sets in.

It takes a few tentative steps forward before the feeling completely abates. My breath is steady and my steps sure. The nerves have finally dissipated, and in their wake, stands the long-anticipated excitement.

A smile creeps along my face as the giddiness escalates. I feel like jumping for joy and skipping across the uneven terrain in the dark, knowing full well it would end with my face-plant in the dirt.

Instead, I resign myself to calm steps forward. I know my first order of business is to find a place to rest until the morning sun. Ideally, I would find the perfect abandoned cave to lie in, but a close second is a tall tree to perch on.

I shake the remnants of the past free, my heart breaking.

And how short lived that excitement was. I was so fucking stupid and naïve and I paid a hefty price for it.

If only He didn’t exist. If They didn’t exist. My life would still be normal, I would still be normal. They are the reason I’m here. It’s not just my stupidity that got me here. They did too. This is also Their fault. They did this to me.

My anger swells inside my chest. My vision narrows and my brows furrow. My hands clench and my breathing labors. Angry tears threaten to fall as I stare at nothing. My mind is on a loop, the endless aggression and frustration directed at myself and at Them.

I fight to control the surge of emotion. I manage to stuff the memories and thoughts deep after long, tense moments. The emotion lingers at the surface, ready to overtake me if I let it.

I force the tears away and focus on steadying my breath. I breathe in slowly and count to five. I hold it for three counts before exhaling with seven. I repeat this process for several long minutes before I’m successful. My heart slows and my rational thought returns. I can’t let that happen again. I can’t let the emotions overcome me like that.

I need to learn control.