Sheep to be Slaughtered

~Chapter Twenty-Nine~

          All too soon, we were running through the forest again. Damien again led me to the village, and I trailed closely behind. I checked over my shoulder continuously. Though Damien had said the Venge did not tend to come out or present themselves during the day, I still feared they might appear behind me the moment I didn't expect them to...

          Despite my nervousness that we once again were passing through the domain of the Venge, I was growing excited. I might see Leanna today. Just knowing that she was still safe and taken care of would help me to get through the rest of these trips... though hopefully, there would be fewer now that we intended to gather what we wanted from Daily Offering. Again, I thought of Zander... did I dare try to bring him along? Did I dare think of telling him of our escape from the village and the forest itself? If I told him and he refused, we could still be on our way and leave... it wouldn't matter if Founder Marco knew or not...

          No. No, Zander had chosen himself who he aligned with... and that was Founder Marco and the village. It still didn't feel right to just leave him behind... he had been my close companion as long as I could remember... and yet, he had turned on me so readily. I knew without even asking what Damien would say if I should mention something like this to him... and I couldn't risk our escape by trying to convince Zander to come along. He had accepted my death... Zander had moved on... his allegiance to Founder Marco alone.

          It was devastating, something that I was still trying to come to terms with... I just couldn't believe all that time we spent together had just... ended... It was too much... so much all at once and maybe... if he only knew how much he hurt me, he would take it all back and tell me how horrible he felt... maybe he would tell me the only reason he had to tell Founder Marco was to protect his family and keep them from being sent to the forest... I could understand that.

           But something told me that wasn't the case...

          We reached the tree line in a few minutes, both of us panting from the sprint. We hid in the bushes once more as we gazed into the village. Just as the day before, I could see the herd of sheep nearby and the same shepherd tending to them.

          "Daily Offering will be happening any time now," Damien whispered to me. "That'll be an easy time for us to slip into Founder Marco's house without being noticed. The problem will be getting out, especially if we're weighted down... we'll be slower..."

          "There's a back door," I mentioned, though I was sure he was already aware. "We should be able to get out easily... Founder Marco usually has business within the village until nightfall."

          "Oh, don't misunderstand," Damien looked at me. "You're not going in there with me. I'll take our satchels. You just check on your sister. Don't let her see you of course, but just check to be sure she's doing all right." He reached into his satchel and offered me a small package. "And... leave her this if she hasn't much to eat. Something for her to have until we can bring her with us."

           I smiled at him gratefully and accepted the package. "Thank you, Damien."

          He nodded in response. "Go on then, your old house is further north you know."

          I shook my head. He could only be sweet for limited periods it seemed. "Be careful... I can meet you back here. If I don't see you soon, I'll assume you were held up. I can create a distraction if you need."

          "Nothing too rash," Damien winked but then he retreated back into the forest before he took off to my left... towards Founder Marco's house.

          I looked back to the village once more. Time to go.

~

          I was now crouched in the bushes as close to my old home as possible without moving into anyone's sight. I was so close to Leanna and growing so excited I had to remind myself I couldn't let her see me yet. I wasn't sure if she even stayed in our old house any longer since she was so young... but then again, I hardly expected anyone in the village to care enough to take her in and share their limited food with her.