Fear

Chapter 1

Mitch and I had traversed the land of Inayla for weeks; going through the Morte Marsh, the Esperanca Highlands, and to the Mitica Forest- trying to finally find somewhere safe, farther away from The Medaeno's castle.

Very few people lived in the Esperanca Highlands, so Mitch and I had a sense of security living on the plains. We would've stayed there longer, but food was hard to find. You would have to hike the mountains to find any meat, and the plants that once covered the highlands died from lack of water long ago, leaving the plains a dry yellow color.

I was determined to find a place to stay in the Mitica Forest. It was a vast area of forest, and perhaps one of the only places that I could feel at home. We had only traveled through a small part of it so far. The forest covered over a third of the land in Inayla. Trees were found throughout almost the whole area, including pine trees, oaks, maples, and more. Areas of the forest were covered with grass, which were the areas used by farmers. The Mitica Forest was a famous place in Inayla. A place of mythical lush beauty, which is how it got its name.

The path Mitch and I were walking on was led by rows of tall pine trees, looming over us. Ahead of us, I could see an apple orchard, which was a main attraction of Inayla according to Mitch.

"Let's rest here for a bit," Mitch said sitting down against one of the pine trees. It was off the path, where grass started to grow. Pine needles were littered on the ground as far as I could see, but that was just the start of the forest. I sat beside him, looking up at the endless branches of the tree above us. I thought I had spotted a couple squirrels on the chestnut brown branches, but they moved so fast I couldn't tell.

A fox passed by us, its fur red and patched with white. It walked very slowly to say the least. Mitch must have noticed it too, for he beckoned the fox towards us.

"Is something wrong with it?" I asked, watching intently as it stumbled towards us. Mitch picked up the fox, and that's when we noticed it. There were dark red cuts across the fox's belly, but the blood must've been dry. The fox hadn't left a trail of blood behind, but when I touched the scars, my fingers were smeared with blood. I wiped them off on my pants.

"It's been badly hurt," Mitch replied worried, and then set it back on the ground gently. It stayed sitting there, watching us, as if it was wondering what we would do next.

"Mitch, try to find some maple leaves," I said, standing up and pointing west of us.

"Why do I have to do it?" Mitch whined, slowly getting up. I rolled my eyes.

"Just do it Mitch."

"Fine."

...

After Mitch had come back with the leaves, I gently flipped the fox over to see its underside. Mitch sat beside me once again, and I thanked him for the leaves. I was about to put them around the cuts, but then I noticed something weird about them.

"You know Inaylan right?" I asked Mitch.

"Yeah, everyone here does. It's a required first language to know even though people here mostly speak English," Mitch replied. The Inaylan language was made from runes of sorts, each one representing a certain sound.

"It's just that...the cuts look weird," I remarked, gesturing Mitch to look at the fox. He turned his head a couple of times, and the fox, and then finally raised his eyebrows, shocked. I waited for him to speak.

"Well...they're definitely runes. I didn't notice until now because they're written so small to fit on the fox's belly."

"What does it say?" I asked, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at me with his hazel eyes, silent. "Mitch?"