World is Broken

Chapter II

Another day, Juana thought as she woke up. Nightmares had plagued her sleep once more, and she woke up with scratches in her wrists. Sighting, she rolled out of bed.

The night had flooded the place, but she wouldn't let that stop her. It was Saturday, she had all the day ahead.

As soon as she was dressed, the grabbed a bucket and starting bailing the water in the lowest floor in order to be able to get out. Once the floor was only middly damp, she grabbed her quiver and bow and left the house.

She ran across the forest, allowing the shinning Sun to warm up her olive skin. She hadn't bothered with braiding her hair that day, and it fell loose down her shoulders, dark blonde waves that bounced with every step she took. She half-wondered what the older women in the village would think of if they saw her.

She placed an arrow on her bow, look a deep breath and exhaled as the arrow flew. It hit an apple on a tall tree, which fell to the ground. She picked it up.

"Breakfast" She thought while she ate it.

She sat in a tree and sharpened the tips of her arrows with a rock. She had fifteen arrows, all made by herself, and she could not afford to let them go to waste.

When she was done, she started training. She shot a few arrows, letting them fly and hitting a few trees ten metres ahead. Whenever she practised, her thoughts went to the back of her head, ignored, and her sensed sharpened.

As she was picking up her arrows from the tree, she realized her hand was bleeding. Perks of not having gloves. She shrugged it off, wipping it with a handkerchief, and kept on practising.

She got bored of still objectives quickly, and decided to go for a bigger challenge.

Juana lay on on the floor, unmoving, until she heard the leaves rustling. Holding her breath, she got up and quietly placed an arrow in her bow.

She launched to attack with quick reflexes, jumping into a bush and grabbing whatever was passing by. It was a small rabbit, with brown soft fur. She hadn't used her arrow because it was still young, it would be more useful if it grew. Therefore, she returned it and got deeper into the woods.

She stopped dead when she saw a trail of blood at her feet. At first, she thought someone else had the same idea as her, but no one came to hunt to that forest. It was hers, as far as she knew.

Curiously, she got closer, following the path until she found it, her eyes open wide.

The body of a calf, bloody and mutilated, was in the middle of the trail. There were paw prints around it and the smell of death nearly made her double over.

She knew it was their territory, and yet, her curiosity made her get a closer look.

To an inexpert eye, it would look like a normal dead body, but she knew better. She had seen more death than most people would in their lives.

The calf's snout was untouched. The first thing wolves did after killing a prey was eat their snout, it was their favourite part, and their way of advising foreigners not to get closer. But that one's snout was perfect, which could only mean one thing.

That creature that followed her every morning was neither a wolf nor anything she'd ever seen.

She grabbed her arrows, placed them back into the quiver and ran back as fast as her legs would let her, fear running through her veins. She feared the unknown, but most importantly, what it could do.

She bit her lip as her pace steadied, reaching the street. But her heart was still pounding against her chest. What kind of creature was the one that circuled the village?

She ached for answers, answers that no one could give her. But she still had one chance.

She made her way towards the library, walking fast yet not too fast as not to raise suspicions. Everyone was already reserved towards her, some saying she was too smart and curious for her own good. Imagine what they would do if they found out what she had discovered.

She went inside the building and dived into the zoology section, searching for books on genetics and hybrids until she found one.

All morning she flickered through old pages, drinking all the information, until she saw a picture  that made her heart skip a beat.

Those blue piercing eyes and dark fur... It had to be the creature she knew. She dived into the pages, and her gaze darkened with every word she read.

Hybrids between ancient hunting dogs and wolves, they were vicious and known for killing any creature in their territory not for food but for fear. The most curious thing about them was that they weren't natural hybrids. Meaning someone in a laboratory delibarately created them.

Juana had to hold a gasp. Was it really a coincidence that those animals, those that weren't natural, surrounded the village? Animals known for not letting anyone in their territory?

Was it a coincidence that their appearance had casually caused them to be trapped inside the village?

Questions burned inside her. What were they hidding? What was at the other side of the mountains?

The hid the book inside her jacket and went outside. As she walked back home, she felt stares digging in the back of her neck, as if everyone was watching every one of her movements. With each second passing, she was more sure that there was something really wrong happening, something everyone wanted to ignore.

And something the few who knew was keen to keep a secret.

Why?