Mist

Prologue

Rindanvale - 458 years after the War of Weterin

It's chasing me again. This time, we're in the woods behind my grandmother's cottage. Its yellow fangs are bared, red eyes crazed. The beast's huge paws continually hit the ground, making a loud thudding sound every time.

It's too fast. I can never outrun it, but I can hope to lose it. I make a sharp left turn, running through brambles, scratching my arms in the process.

As I continue forward, I trip over a protruding tree root. Bearing with the pain of my newly scraped knee, I pick myself off the ground.

As I urge on, I soon arrive at the old Rindanvale cemetery, though it looks different; There are only four tombstones. When I read them, my face turns place as a ghost, and I fall to my knees. They belong to my mother, father, brother, and grandmother. What is most disconcerting is the fact that the graves have been dug up, and the coffins are missing.

I am pulled out of my shock by the rumbling of the ground. I look up and see the monster is stalking, waiting for the right moment to pounce and devour me.

I slowly attempt rising to my feet, which only proves to be a big mistake. Soon the ground around me caves in, and suddenly, I'm falling.

Right as I am to hit the ground, my body jerks, and suddenly my eyes open.
Breathing heavily, I sit up in bed and lay my face in my hands.

"You had the dream again." A male voice sounds from the shadows, causing me to jump in fright.

I watch as my older brother, Alfred, reaches my bedside. I solemnly nod my head in affirmation.

"Where did it occur this time?" He asks, while gently brushing the hair off my face. I feel terribly guilty, as my cries wake him every night.

"The woods behind grandmother's house." I reply with a sigh. "I-I saw something else; Something I've never seen before," I add hesitantly, unsure if I wanted to tell him.

"Tell me, what did you see, Lena?" He grabs my hand as he says this, looking expectantly into my eyes.

"W-what I saw was four t-tombstones. There was one for mother, father, grandmother, and even you, Alfred. Wh-what really f-frightened me was the fact that the graves were d-dug up, and the coffins m-missing!" I manage to hiccup out. I start weeping as I recall my nightmare, remembering all the gruesome details.

"Don't worry little Lena, it's just a dream. Nothing will happen to any of us." Alfred lightly taps my nose with his index finger, then kisses my forehead.

"Now, go back to sleep," he tells me, "you'll need your rest in order to visit town tomorrow!" As I curl under my blankets, Alfred blows out the candle by the door, which he must have lit when he first entered the room.

"Goodnight, Lena." He says, before exiting.

"Goodnight, Alfred." I manage to mumble, as I have already started drifting back asleep.

Only a few minutes go by when I hear a crashing sound coming from the garden area outside my window.

I push aside my curtains, trying to get a look at what is causing the ruckus.

"Hello? Is someone out there?" I call out, although I'm not expecting an answer. A few seconds pass with no other disturbances, so I lie back down.

As I close my eyes, I hear footsteps moving quite rapidly towards my room.
In walks mother, a worried expression on her face.

"Oh dear one," she says, waving her arms frantically in the air. "You must leave at once. They are here! They've come!" She grabs my arm and pulls me from my room, guiding me throughout the house.

"Who's here, mother? What is happening?" My voice leaks with confusion and worry. Mother has a sad, faraway look on her face, which only helps to worry me further. Stepping out of her trance, she brings me outside to the garden.

"You must go, my dear child. If you run now, there is a chance they will not find you." She pushes me, urging me to go forward, through the woods.

"But mother, what will become of you?"

"Do not fret about us, child. You mustn't let your mind wander from the task at hand: Run!" She attaches a leather satchel to my back, and hands me a canteen filled with water.

"I love you, Lena. We all love you very much." She says this as she rushes off, back inside.

I am left staring at the house; Grandmother's cottage. We had been staying there for the season, while our home was under repair.

Suddenly, I am overwhelmed with a sensation of dread. My nightmare, it is playing out. They will not make it.

With this new insight, I run from the house, attempting to get as far away from my family's death as I possibly can.

Tears blind me, and I have not a single clue as to where I am, but I continue to hasten forward.

Behind me, I can hear men shouting. They are looking for me; They want to kill me as well. These are the thoughts that enter my mind as I go through the woods.

As in my dream, I unexpectedly trip over a jutted tree root. Unfortunately, rather than receiving a scraped knee, I garner a twisted ankle. I am unable to stand, so I force myself to quickly crawl, gaining cuts and bruises all along my legs and palms, as they graze over the stones and rough plants that lay on the ground.

As I near a clearing, I collapse in exhaustion. I try and catch my breath, my back facing the woods.

From the trees behind me, I hear a quick whizzing sound, and feel a twinge of pain near the upper region of my spine, close to my neck. I reach my hand back and touch the area, unsure of what has happened to cause such a pain.

I fall face-first into the ground, then everything goes black.