Enemy Territory-On Hiatus

Chapter Seven-Escaped

Harsh breathing, his thumping heart, and hearing his feet beating against the hard ground, Glenn did not know where he was going. All on his mind was escaping the situation he had found himself. After meeting the fearless lass and her company and receiving the instruction to make his grand escape, he was resulted in hiding in a cramped area where none of the scouting and murderous men would look twice of searching.

It was in a large barrel filled with murky water that he had sunk himself into while ignoring the disgusting scent.

Holding his breath and able to hear their footsteps since sound traveled through water, he patiently waited for them to make their grand exit. The moment the people left, Glenn climbed from the barrel with haggard coughing. Leaning on his knees, he glanced around the unfamiliar area underneath his wet eyelashes. Detecting he was closer to the forest than he presupposed, Glenn was about to run towards his grand escape, but the silhouette of a woman and young child captured his attention in the distance.

He could not see her face, but he recognized from her wobbled running., she was running from something. He saw this through her action of frequently glancing behind her and tightening the grip around her daughter's hand. Glenn realized she had managed to escape the massacre and was heading towards the forest like himself.

Suddenly, the woman came to an abrupt halt and fell onto the ground with a scream. His eyes widened at this, and without thinking, he rushed towards her.

"Mama? Mama?"

Hearing the small child crying out, he suddenly stopped when the light from the rising fire of the Keep illuminated the area and revealed the woman's face. It was the fearless lass from earlier, and she looked deathly pale. He glanced down her dress, and his face scrunched with both disgust and pity. That was because a pool of blood had formed around her legs. Her babe had not survived the ordeal, he realized and was taking her life along with it.

He looked at the little girl grasping onto her mother's hands, and tears pricked his eyes. He had never liked trampling onto the weak and basking in the suffering of the defenseless. As he stood like a shadow over the dying woman and her sobbing daughter, his breath hitched in his throat when her eyes suddenly opened.

"Why...?"

Knowing her condition would worsen if she spoke, Glenn dissuaded with a low huff.

"Save yer strength."

He saw her nod, then turned in her sobbing daughter's direction. Furrowing, he plainly understood the message in her longing look.

"Should me take the bairn?"

Watching her considering the matter, he moved closer when he realized her life was ebbing. But before that happened, he saw her nod of confirmation. Not wasting time because shouting and nearing footsteps were heard in the distance; he grabbed the screaming child and rushed towards the forest.

"DON'T LET THAT HIGHLANDER ESCAPE WITH THE CHIEF DAUGHTER!"

Someone screamed, but Glenn did not glance behind to watch who did. No. On his mind was escaping the godforsaken madness he found himself. He glanced down at the screaming child in his arms. He had not thought of the consequences of bringing her along, but the moment the woman had asked him to, he had not hesitated.

He wondered why.

He was also now mindful of her identity.

The Chief daughter was in his arms, and she would be the only surviving member of her family.

Hiding her small head in his chest, he jumped over tree roots, ducked low lying branches, and jumped over small holes. Haggard breathing, he increased his speed for he realized the men were gaining on him. Tightening his grip on the child, he navigated through the dark forest as best as he could but would sometimes stumble to the point where he got nasty bruises.

Suddenly, he stumbled, his feet feeling restrained and firmly tied. Twisting around so that the child would fall onto his chest, his breath left his chest, and during his vulnerable moment, the men had caught up.

"Ha. An unarmed barbarian."

The leader of the men stepped forward with a humorless bark of laughter.

"We only want the wee bairn, dog, and ye can go scath free."

Watching his opponents that was a total of two, Glenn glowered.

Two grown men hunting down a bairn made a bitter feeling envelope his heart. Were they planning to kill her as well?

Somehow that bothered him a great lot.

Not one for being defenseless, he quickly gathered a heap of dirt in his hand and threw it into the man's face. Lifting the child, he barked.

"Run and hide!"

Despite being frightened, the child ran away from him and went into the darkness.

"Get the bairn!"

Barking towards the other men, the man continued to bawl. Glenn hurriedly rolled to the side when the man had blindly swang his sword. Kicking him in the sheen with both feet, Glenn quickly stood and grabbed the sword; before it could cut the flesh of his arms, he twisted the man's arm until his screams enveloped the air.

He had ruthlessly broken it with no regard for his pain. Punching him in his stomach, he then smacked behind his head with his elbow. Pushing him onto the ground, he brushed his hands together as if he had only touched flour.

Suddenly, a piercing childish scream enveloped the air, and his heart pinched. It appeared they had found the child. Not bothering anymore with the unconscious man, he rushed in the direction of where the scream was permitting, with the sword hilt tightly gripped in his hands.

The moment he arrived at the scene, he did not hesitate to strike down the man who had a firm grip around the child's hair.

Kicking him in his stomach after removing the bloody sword from his center, he rushed towards the child, who had remained limp on the ground.

Instantly he detected a knife wound was running from her left shoulder to the middle of her arm. The man was about to slice her throat, and it made her shake with anger.

Swearing underneath his breath, for it was deep, he quickly tore a large part of his tunic and wrapped it around the wound multiple times.

Satisfied that the bleeding had stopped, he walked over towards the struggling to breathe man and kicked him extremely hard on his head to end his suffering, though the anger he felt went beyond such mercy. Gathering the whimpering child in his arms, he grabbed the blue fabric from around the man's body before his blood could taint it. Wrapping it around the child, he tightened his hold on her, for she began to shiver from the cold draft blowing through the trees.

"Dinnae ye worry, bairn. I will not let ye die."

Whispering words with conviction, he buried her face in his shoulder.

"I will protect ye, as yer mother wanted me to."

At that moment, the moon slowly drifted to the middle of the sky, and he had enough light to see. His journey would be dangerous, but the child in his arms encouraged him.