Valkyrie

Chapter Eight: Season Four

Chapter eight: Season four

Initially right now I’m dead. My body is frozen and my stomach hurts unbearably from hunger. I have forgotten the sound of my voice and my mind is blank. My instincts just keep guiding me to move forward. Hvitserk is a walking corpse basically. The slight golden color he once had to his face was clearly white as the snow on the ground. He does not speak, only whimpers from the same pain that I’m feeling. 

The night is worse. We are completely defenseless against the creatures that roam the night. I pray every night when I go to sleep, I wake up the following morning. I tricked myself into holding a stick tightly in my hand and if I feel it going numb from the cold, I wake up. Hvitserk hardly sleeps during the night.

During our first two nights, he was constantly woken by night terrors and horrible body aches. During the day, we would stop numerous times for him to rest. Hvitserk completely deteriorated before my eyes. Tonight, however, he seemed content and he looked much better. He did not have night terrors and he slept through the night. I have never been afraid of nature until now. Every crack and every sound feels like a predator making itself known, when only it's the forest growing. Hvitserk did not even glance in the direction that the wood would crack.

“You’re not afraid?” I asked, Hvitserk sat quietly, not acknowledging my prences. I tossed a stick into the roaring fire as the silence that grew between us also grew tension. 

“Do you have an idea where we might be going?” Hvitserk continues to be silent.

“You were always good at tracking…” 

Hvitserk is a conversationalist, he loves talking, and he loves socializing. For Hvitserk to be this quiet is very out of character for him and I worried a new Hvitserk is replacing both Hvitserks I knew. 

“Will you not speak to me?” I said, pressing my hand to his face. He coldly removed it and placed it back over to me, indicating his coldness towards me. I was in shock. For the first time, I felt completely alone in his company.

While Hvitserk slept, I stayed up to make a makeshift bow to hunt for meat. We are close to running out on our rations and I’m not sure when our next meal will be. I practiced firing the arrow at the tree. Despite my trembling, frozen hands my aim was on point. Starting tomorrow, I will hunt for deer and small rabbits. Hvitserk likes rabbits. 

--

The next day was slightly warm and it was comfortable enough to hunt. While Hvitserk was still asleep, I decided to go off on my own near the area. I traveled up a slight hill and followed the sounds of a moving creek. If I get lucky I could catch some fish. Catching fish is much easier at the moment than finding deer. Once I reached the creek, the scent of fresh water hit my nose, and I took in the cool scent. It was calming; easing my heightened scenes. 

I slowly crept into the water and made my way to the icy middle and plunged my sharpened spear into the water’s belly: catching one fish. I glanced at it as it fought for its life and felt proud of myself. It was a nice looking fish. My moment was then interrupted by a group of strangely dressed men. They seemed hostile and I felt an urgency to run away. I began trampling through the waters as they chased after me. They were much larger than the average man and they spoke a different language than me. They were certainly not Vikings! My spear got caught in between some rocks causing me to abandon it. 

I was brought down into the water and underneath the current. I fought to come back up and when I did they already had me in their grasps. They were overpowering and I was completely defenseless.

“HVITSERK!” I screamed. “HVITSERK!” My voice was overcome by fear and it could not echo. I’m good as dead for sure. They brought me out of the water, bound my hands, and blindfolded me. They tossed me in the back of a cart and we were traveling to a distant land.