Kabanata 3: Forest, Again

I woke up feeling groggy, my back hurt and I couldn't feel my feet due to the cold. I hate this place already. I grab the items that I prepared last night and quickly head out, I wouldn't like to be stuck in the forest at night, again.

After going out the gate and down the stone steps in the direction I saw the smoke I couldn't help but feel like puking, fear once again going through my veins.

''It's fine, where there's smoke there's people, everything is going to be just fine''

And so I reach the forest, speaking of forests they can be very confusing and keeping a straight line while walking through them is very challenging without the proper tools which I do not have.

So I do the next best thing' kick the ground a couple of times to make sure it is dusty enough, then I grab a stick and tie it behind my backpack, this way while I walk I will make a line behind me that will hopefully guide me back to where I started, not like I tried that with the horse and miserably failed.

The forest is cold, very cold, not like the mild autumn cold that the forest he was in had, no this was the middle of winter with no snow cold, I could see my breath every so often, it is unpleasant, to say the least.

After a while, not sure of the time, I notice something once again, the silence, the same total lack of noise that I experienced back in the original forest. I can feel my knees going weak, my legs trembling.

So I book it, straight line be damned I want out of the forest right now, so I run as fast as I can. Branches keep hitting me and I make an ungodly amount of noise but it's fine not like there's something noisier running right behind me.

I can feel the tears running down my face while I fear for my life and yet I don't stop, I keep running until I can see what looks like the end of the forest, an opening to a field with small stacks of smoke in the distance. The problem is I'm on a hill, so to get to the field id have to jump, it's not that big of a fall but it could easily break my legs, I don't stop though, instincts keep screaming at me to go, I didn't even look back once and I'm not going to.

I start running harder sprinting even, giving somewhat of a last wind then I reach the end and jump, no fear no hesitation I just jump and reach the ground on my side, slide a couple of times then look back at the hill behind me, or at the thing there. I can't see its upper torso due to it being hidden in the trees but the lower part has 4 legs resembling a deer or elk or whatever thing has two big toes.

The first thing that came to my mind were the noises from last night, was this thing right on the other side of the wall, was it looking for me, stalking me, hunting me, waiting for me to run, or just plain stupid and wandering about, I didn't want to know.

The front legs are bigger than the back ones and I can hear it breathing from here, it makes a nasal noise, it's huffing and puffing at me.

I get back up and prepare to keep running but not before I drop a one-liner. ''F**k you and everything you stand for''. And I keep running, I was quite proud of than one until I hear an inhuman screech coming from up the hill, in the forest.

I almost trip but keep running, my side hurts due to the fall, nothings broke, I think, but I'm running on adrenaline here, yet again I am keenly aware of my situation and I don't stop running until I reach a road full of mud and smelling like sewers.

Only now do I turn around and see nothing behind me, my heart is pumping and my chest hurting as I fall down in a heap next to the road, luckily out of the mud.

As the adrenaline falls off I can feel my whole body hurting. I can barely move but I make an effort to take out the water and drink with a trembling hand, spilling some while trying to bring the bottle to my mouth. As I coughed from choking on the water I glared back the way I came and say out loud.

''I am never stepping into a forest again, ever''.