Sheep to be Slaughtered

~Chapter Nineteen~

He was supposed to be dead... he'd been selected and sacrificed by Founder Marco last month... he should be dead. Was I dead already? Had death come for me so quickly I had not comprehended my final breath?

"Snap out of it, Eleyah, we need to go. Now!"

Yet, there he was. That was his voice.

A gurgling growl sounded close by followed by a howl that cracked as though whatever beast uttered such a sound had not consumed a drop of water in days.

"Eleyah!"

I stared at his face... the face I both recognized and didn't... for only one of his once vibrant green eyes stared back at me... the other was white and clouded. A massive wound that was still healing stretched from his forehead to his chin... it cut through his eye, and I could see the indent of the claw mark in that clouded eye... I didn't get a good look, but I could see a similar wound on the side of his face, starting nearly at the top of his head and ending at his jawline...

... he had been much closer to death than me...

He, however, was not staring back into my wide eyes. Rather, he was looking at my wrists and hands. He tsked and yanked out a piece of fabric from the small bag that was strapped over his shoulder.

"Are you hurt anywhere else? They'll know where you are if you leave a blood trail behind you... we need to patch you up fast," he said as he ripped the fabric in two and began wrapping my wrists.

I shook my head.... No, no I don't think so... but I couldn't feel anything other than fear and shock... was I bleeding somewhere else?

Damien quickly tied the fabric into a knot, making me wince at how tight it was. He evidently had enough of my gaping mouth and shocked stares as he pulled me from the tree and spun me around a few times. He seemed satisfied there were no more wounds and he seized my hand. Then we were running... running as fast as we could through the trees in almost total darkness. Damien pulled me onward, but I dared to look back for but a moment.

The shape I saw outlined by the light from the torches was all that I needed to see to know that the Venge I dreamt about the other night were very much real. And they were far more terrifying. The size alone of the monster I saw was staggering. It's back rose well above the torches that had been secured high above my head... it was easily larger than even the village's tallest horses... bigger than the bull even... Thick, black fur stood up along its nape and back. Fearsome teeth gleamed against the torch light; its lips curled back in a snarl.

The beast was magnificent... stunning... and absolutely terrifying.

"Keep running," Damien commanded, keeping his voice low but aggressive.

I turned my head back towards Damien, just as I saw the Venge leap into the darkness after us. I had suddenly never been more motivated to run. I shot forward and now ran next to Damien who still held my hand securely in his. I didn't dare let go though, if I tripped and fell in this dark forest, I needed him to yank me back up to my feet. Howls began to erupt all around us, but I could hardly see anything anymore. There was no more light from the torches...

"A little further..." Damien said.

But the howling Venge sounded so close now... they were all around us... closing in... was I bleeding from somewhere else? Could they still smell me? Could they hear us too well as we crashed through the forest, breaking twigs and crunching the snow beneath our feet? I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this pace... my lungs were burning, and my heart was pounding too fast... my legs cried out for a break and my chest was beginning to hurt. Wherever we were going... I needed it to be close. I couldn't run like this for much longer... perhaps Damien would be better off if he went on without me... maybe it would have been better for him to have never set me free at all...