Sheep to be Slaughtered

~Chapter Twenty~

          Damien and I sat across from each other, the tight stone room we were in only allowing a few feet between us. The room felt even tighter given the small fireplace Damien had previously constructed. He was successfully able to start a fire, which I used to warm my icy hands. My breathing had slowly returned to a more normal pace and my heart no longer beat painfully in my chest. Still, I was uneasy. The distant howls of the Venge kept my near-death encounter at the forefront of my mind and I found myself unable to stop envisioning those teeth... the exposed muscles and bone... and how close to death I had come...

          If not for Damien, I would be dead... simply another of Founder Marco's victims...

          ... as Damien was supposed to be.

          I cautiously looked back up at him, taking in the sight of the man I believed to be dead. His hair had grown, his dark brown locks nearly falling into his eyes and the longest of his waves reached his chin. The beginnings of a beard had also appeared on his face, the bare patches only due to the deep scars that marred his handsome features... but it was Damien... here... alive and well...

          He fiddled with some of the pebbles of the stone floor, not pressuring me to speak. I was grateful. So much had happened in so little time, my head still spun. I needed to say something... to thank him for risking himself to come to my rescue... but I was still so overwhelmed...

          "I, uh... I only have these two fur blankets..." Damien said quietly as he patted the blankets next to him that lined the stone floor. "Not very comfortable... but it's at least warm. You can sleep there... if you want. I don't mind sleeping on the ground..."

          "I thought you were dead..." I blurted. "You... how did you get away?"

          Damien chuckled. "Well, I came pretty close to death... I managed to hide this knife in my sleeve." He twirled the knife he spoke of in one hand. "I couldn't get myself free though before one of them got my face... can't see anything out of this eye anymore."

          The thought of Damien fleeing from the Venge through the forest, bleeding from such deep wounds filled me with sympathy. He hadn't given up for a second though... nor had he given up on trying to survive out here in the woods on his own in the cold winter months. My brow furrowed.

          "How did you survive out here this last month?" I questioned. "Founder Marco always told us there was no food out here... that's why we must be sacrificed to the Venge to keep them from entering the village to look for food."

          Damien smirked. "He was right about that at least... there's nothing out here... perhaps in the warmer months there might be something... but right now, the only thing other than trees in these woods are the birds and the Venge."

          "Then how...?" I trailed off. How had he survived a whole month on his own?

          "I've been sneaking back into the village when I have to," Damien replied. "I take only what I need since food is scarce for people in the village too."

          My eyes widened. "And you've never been caught? No one suspects you?"

          His eyes seemed to light up in mischief. "It's actually been rather easy to sneak in and out given that everyone heads off for Daily Offering at the same time every day."

          I shook my head in both disbelief and awe. I could feel my excitement beginning to rise. "So, you've been living out here for a month... have you... have you ever reached the forest's end in your travels to and from the village?"

            My spirits sunk when he shook his head.

          "No... with the Venge about I haven't been able to wander far from here..." he admitted regretfully. "But I know it does end."

          I hadn't heard that right...

          "What?"

           As if he read my mind, he responded, "You heard me," he smirked again. "Back when I was in the village, I found out this village... isn't all there is. And, well, anyone with that kind of information is a threat to Founder Marco unless you're one of his lackeys."

          My eyes could not have grown wider... there was an end to the forest... there was more to our little world... and I wasn't alone in believing that...

          "Is that why Founder Marco chose you last Selection? Did he find out you knew the truth?" I asked as I began to piece things together.

           Damien nodded in response. "And not just about the village..." he muttered. "Turns out I'm his son too."

          "You're... his son?"

           Again, he nodded. A flash of anger and resentment crossed his features, creating a haunting image with the deep scar and light that danced about from the fire. He didn't offer up any further information. He looked distant now, his mind clearly elsewhere. I did not push the subject. He had already revealed so much to someone who he might suspect was still devoted entirely to Founder Marco. That thought instantly made me want to reassure him... I no longer counted myself amongst his devout followers.

          "He took my mother from me..." I shared quietly. "And I don't say that because I have any quarrel with you... but rather, I want you to know I don't... consider myself to be one of his 'lackeys' anymore..."

          Damien glanced at me with no distinguishable emotion on his face.

          I couldn't bring myself to go into detail, but I continued. "Mother died trying to protect me from him..." I lowered my gaze, shivering at the memory of how he had touched me... how he saw through me with those evil, penetrating eyes of his. "I've only recently seen who he truly is... and if you really are his son, well, that only supports how I feel about him... for what kind of loving father would send his son to such a cruel death?"

          Damien dropped his eyes after I had gone silent. I watched him for a moment, my early memories of him coming back to me. He had always been such a happy boy. Zander and I had often played with him when he wasn't out riding and grooming the horses or making friends with the cows and sheep. Everyone in the village knew what a passion he had for the animals... he used to go silent for days if Founder Marco slaughtered any animals at Daily Offering in front of him and the village. It shattered me to learn that the couple that had raised him over the years were not his real parents... they had loved and sheltered him, yes... but the image of them being his true parents was certainly forever marred and warped now that he had learned the truth... and to find all this out only to be sent to the forest as a sacrifice... it was horrible to think about.

            And what had happened to his mother? He had lost her just as I had lost mine... had he even known her? Did he have even a single memory of his real mother? My heart went out to him when I reflected on all the memories, I had of mine... the moments in which she was soft and vulnerable with me were few... but I at least had those few... Damien likely had nothing...

           "I'm so sorry, Damien..." I offered, my voice genuine and empathetic.

            He looked back up at me briefly and I saw the look of gratitude on his face.

            I had never been closer to the man I had shared a childhood with than right here... in this moment. We were just two broken individuals who had lost so much... years of freedom... parents... family...

           .... But we had found each other nonetheless. 

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Little bit shorter of a chapter unfortunately, but thought this seemed like a good spot to end it! :) So geeeez, just a few surprises in this chapter!!! Bet ya didn't think Damien was the son of the nasty-asty Founder Marco ;) and how the heck did he find out? How did he find out there is something beyond the village? Does he got Wikipedia or something??? And what happened to his mom??? O_o Stay tuuuuunnned!!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Thanks so much for reading!!!! <3 <3 :D :D