Interlocked

6: shit we're really into the thick of it

Once each of them had brought back five to ten men each we set off into the woods surrounding the castle and its gate. In order to do this, we had to leave the safety of the castle.

With a group this size, I would normally feel pretty safe, however, I felt like I had a bundle of twigs in my lower stomach. Necromancy was normally something I didn't do around people because of the cost of it. It was something that even took me some time to stomach when doing it to myself, who knows how it looks from the outside.

Our group didn't have a set path that we took, I believe they were just following me till we could find something. The mood was relatively light with Ryder talking to all the wolves and vampires around, something I picked up he did a lot. He wasn't very shy and was always smiling. On the other hand, Elliot and Bentley were very serious about their surroundings. They didn't talk unless they needed to just search from left to right.

I was just walking around if I was being honest, there's not much I can do if the ghosts or spirits didn't want to make themselves known. So it was like a stroll in the woods, peaceful and kinda quiet until I tripped on a trap.

An unsightly scream fell from my mouth as I was hosted up in the air by the rope around my ankle. The others jumped at the yelp only to see me hanging upside down. They walked up to me and started chuckling, Bentley especially. Apparently the sight of me in distress he found fun, only for me to scowl at him.

He took out a knife he had on him and started to cut me down. Elliot fanned out the other bodies in hope of finding out whether this was new or not. While still upside down I could hear a giggling coming from up in the trees. Looking up I could see two spirits, they stopped as soon as I spotted them and hid again.

Once Bentley got the rope cut he gently lowered me down onto my feet only for me to spring to life at the tree.

"What are you doing, little one? I just got you down from that tree." The name brushed off me as I was too busy trying to climb the tree to get to the children. I could still see them which was good because I could use them to question whether they saw anything. They seemed to be from this house since their appearances were very old-fashioned.

"Come her children, I won't hurt you I promise. I just have a few questions for you." They stopped backing up into the shadows for the time being. They looked at each other then back at me.

"We will only come down and talk if you play a game with us." Looking at my options, I would rather play the game than attempt to climb this tree for nothing. "Alright come down and tell me what game you want to play."

Once I was off the tree, I could see the confusion on Bentley's face. Since he was the only one still around me, he was confused as to who or what I was talking to.

Turning to him, "I am talking to those two children spirits. They said they will only talk to me if I play a game." He only nods in response saying he understands that I'm not going crazy.

The two children hop down from the tree smiling ear to ear. They both turn their backs to us and start whispering to each other about what game they are going to play. When they made up their minds they turned at the same time, still smiling at us.

"We have decided we'll play hide and seek. You will seek and we will hide. Only you can play the game" And with that, they turn around and disappear. Turning to look at Bentley, "They say only I can play. So I guess you have to stay here."

He doesn't look too happy at what I've said. "These woods are dangerous, I'm not just going to let you go on your own. Why don't we find someone else to talk to?" I pondered over his words for a second but it was already too hard to find these two.

"I'll be ok, plus there are plenty of other supernaturals around the area anyways. You have no need to worry." I smile at him but the worry doesn't fall from his eyes. At the same time though, I'm not too sure that I won't get killed out here.

I don't have much time to wonder on that subject though when I hear the children giggling and calling after me although I didn't tell them my name. News spreads fast with ghosts I guess. Taking off I look around to see if I can spot them.

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I had been running into the woods for about ten minutes before I heard any sounds. These weren't the sounds of spirits but the sounds of footsteps. Looking around I couldn't see anyone but that's not saying a lot because I don't have as good senses as wolves or vampires.

Staying on my toes, I tried to reduce as much sound as I could just in case it was one of the wolves that attacked Bentley's pack or not. It was all in vain though because like I said I don't have good senses.

From behind one of the older trees, a grey wolf popped up and started growling. It looked pretty clean for a rogue wolf which had my heart racing. Whether it was clean or not, a wolf is a wolf, and this one seemed to be set on killing me.

You could see the blood lust in its eyes, it started to circle me growling at me when I tried to take a step back. As if sensing I was going to make a run for it, it pounced and I ran. It grabbed my ankle and chomped down as hard as it could to prevent my escape.

Screams could be heard escaping my mouth at the pain it caused, ankles had a lot of bones and tendons you had to be careful with. It released my ankle knowing it had gotten a good bite on it, but it wasn't done just yet.

Since my ankle was out of commission all I could do was try and dodge my best by throwing myself away. This wasn't a very effective plan, because next, the wolf bit into my arm. I knew I needed to protect myself but I didn't have a knife or knew if there were any bodies buried near me, but all I could do was try.

Using the blood dripping off my arm and ankle I called forth all bodies buried near me. The ground shook as about ten bodies came out of the ground. This seemed to scare the wolf enough to let go of my arm, a grunt falling from my lips when it did.

I could see my fingertips turning black as the bodies sucked some of the lip out of me, after years of doing this it didn't hurt as bad. I could hear other footsteps near us, hopefully, they were friends and not foe.

"Attack" was all I could whisper at my undead army and they went and did just that. They started running towards the wolf, following it while it tried to flee the scene. I could hear Ryder and Bentley coming my way screaming my name. The pain was a lot to endure but I knew I needed to stay awake.

They had arrived shortly after their shouts, panic plain as day on their faces. I could hear them ripping something and feel them tie it around my injuries. They looked over my body to look for any more deathly ones other than the two they found.

"The wolf is escaping. I sent ten undead after it but I'm unsure if they will be able to follow." Speaking at this point was horrible, it's as if the pain spread to my heart and lungs.

"It's ok, we know. We sent Elliot after however it was and he's sure to catch them. For now, we need to get you back to the castle, you are slow at healing and this leg needs to be checked out so you don't bleed out." All I could do was stare at Ryder who was carrying me in his arms.

A frown was etched on my face from Ryder's face, although I have only known him for a day at most, something about seeing a frown on his face didn't sit right with me. But there was nothing I could do for now with my busted-up arm and leg.

The last thing I saw was the black tears falling down my face as I fell back on Ryder's arm and chest and just decided to close my eyes. Bad luck seemed to follow us everywhere. Whether that was because of my luck or it was a setup from the kids.

edited 1/8/22 :')

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Who loves angst, am I right?