Enemies of The Forest

Chapter One

"Ly, we shouldn't be here," Ethel whispers quietly as she looks around the silent forest for anyone who could be watching, spying, hunting.

"You don't have to be here, Ethel," I reply, annoyed already at having her with me. I had tried everything to stop my little sister from following me out to the woods behind our village, but when she'd threatened to tell my mother and father that I was sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, I knew there was nothing I could do.

"You can't be here by yourself," she whisper-yells, her eyes going wide in frightened shock. She would surely be beside herself if she knew that I come out to these woods most nights by myself, drawn to them by a feeling of familiarity that I don't quite understand

The woods are usually full of life during the day, alive with the sound of birds calling to one another and little critters scuttering about the forest floor. The men come out here to hunt during the day, and the children come to play in the many ponds; their laughter echoing through the trees. As soon as the sun sets and the moon rises, however, the forest is silent. No birds call, no children play, only silence. That is, except for the cries of the night creatures.

The villagers say that the forest is cursed, that it is forced to house all kinds of devilish creatures at night. No one knows where they go, or even where they come from; no one has even seen the creatures, but every night, they can be heard howling at the moon. My mother once told me that the howling and crying that can be heard are the same animals that can be seen bouncing and scuttling throughout the day, they are only changed when the moon rises.

However, I have heard other stories from the women in the village who say that the creatures who roam the forest at night are the banished fae crying for their soulmates, hoping that they will come to find them. Of course, no one believes them; everyone knows that the fae were banished a hundred years ago after the war. They were locked away in their Kingdom, forced to close their gates to our world forever and forbidden to ever return.

"I can protect myself, Ethel, you cannot," I shoot a pointed look at the small stick that she is clutching tightly in her small hands. Ethel is many things, but a fighter is not one of them. I, myself, am armed with a homemade bow and five amateurly made arrows; they are sharp enough to pierce a deer's hide though, so if we were to be attacked by someone, or something, then the arrows would at least cause enough damage to cause a distraction.

My sister does not respond as she continues to look around the forest as if she is able to spot a predator in the pitch black. I learnt the harsh lesson on my first trip into the forest that a lantern brings nothing but trouble to you. I remember running out of these woods faster than I had ever run before when my lantern caught the reflection of two big glowing eyes. Ever since that night, those eyes have haunted my sleep, luring me back into the forest at night. On the nights when I am particularly strong willed, I am able to ignore the calling of the woods; other nights, however, I find myself walking towards the trees before I am aware of what is happening. I have never seen those glowing eyes again, and yet, I always find myself looking.

"Where are we even going? We can't see anything!" Ethel exclaims a little too loudly; the sound echoing through the silence. I stop abruptly in my surveillance of the surroundings and slap my hand over Ethel's mouth, pulling her back into my chest.; waiting, listening. I knew I shouldn't have let her come; I knew she would give into her fear; showing fear in these woods is like offering yourself to the beasts on a silver platter. Ethel struggles in my hands, but I push her closer into my front. I hear a soft rustle to my right, no more than a foot away; too close.

That's when I hear the low growl. Ethel must have heard it too as she goes stiff in my hands.

"When I count to three, you are going to run for home, you know which direction it is?" I whisper next to her ear hoping that whatever beast is lurking nearby can't hear me. Ethel nods her head stiffly under my hand and I feel a gentle tear fall onto the skin. My heart clenches with sadness and guilt at having put her in this position in the first place, but I can't let my emotions take over; I need to be focused. One wrong move and neither of us will be making it home.

"Whatever you do, don't look back, understand?" Again, Ethel nods, my hand now slick with her tears. Another low rumbling growl breaks the silence of the forest sucking a whimper from Ethel's mouth. I take a deep shaky breath myself before lowering my hand and reaching for my bow that I have slung over my shoulder.

"One," I whisper as I pull my bow over my shoulder and grip it with my right hand.

"Two," I grab an arrow from the quiver that I have fastened around my waist, knocking it, but keeping the bow pointed to the floor. I take another deep breath as I turn my back to the Ethel, looking out into the dark forest, looking desperately for whatever is lurking in the darkness; that is when I see it. The two glowing eyes peering out from behind the tree a foot in front of me.

"Three," I whisper with the little breath that is left in me. At the same time that I hear Ethel's frantic feet run away from me, I lift my bow and shoot one of my arrows at the spot between the glowing orange eyes. I don't look to see if it hits, as soon as the arrow has left the bow, I turn and run after Ethel, knowing that my arrow is surely no true match against a beast made from the devil himself. A loud, angry growl vibrates through my bones as the sound of pounding feet follow closely behind me. I sprint through the forest carefully trying not to fall over any protruding roots, knowing that that will be my death.

The heavy methodical pounding grows louder and louder as I make it closer and closer to the opening of the forest. In the dim light of the village, I can see Ethel just ahead of me, pumping her small legs as fast as they will go. The sight of my little sister running for her life pushes me faster, a strong need to get her home safe has my legs moving faster than they ever have done before; my muscles and lungs burning with the exertion, but all I can think about is getting Ethel home safe. Need to get Ethel home.

Then, I am falling. The growling grows louder as I scramble to get up, but I know that this is it. I close my eyes as a heavy weight land on my back.

"LYLA!"