Valeria - A Story Of Survival

Part 1 - The Run

The Run

As the storm clouds rumbled and the rain began to fall, I came to and opened my eyes. The last thing I remembered was running for my life, the men with torches nearby and closing in.

The forest was once again moving as it was moments before, only this time I wasn't running. I was being dragged along a narrow pathway towards what looked like a plume of smoke in the moonlight. The men pulling me on either side swatted away at the branches and foliage that clawed at them with their free hand. The other men with torches walked ahead and behind us so I wouldn't be tempted to escape.

I was drowsy, but I was beginning to hear my surroundings again. The sound of rain getting heavier and the pitter-patter of droplets on leaves was ever present. Laugher erupted as they saw I was awake.

'You put up a hell of a fight!' The man walking directly behind had an almost toothless smile. In addition to his torch, the man walked with a piece of branch fashioned into a walking stick. I tried to spot the injry beneath the baggy furs that draped his body. He struggled to keep up, but that didn't stop him from trying his best. Even I could see he was ecstatic.

'Shit, we may have to put Old George down because of you.' He gestured ahead to a man bleeding from multiple wounds. He walked with a limp, holding his bad leg with his good hand. He held his shoulder with the hand that was missing two fingers and wrapped up in blood-soaked rags.

I couldn't remember hurting him, but knew he probably deserved it.

'Kid of your size taking on one of us? You got guts!'

'Just get it over with already.' I said, annoyed and tired of this psychopath.

The dishevelled man with no teeth seemed delighted with my suggestion, but shook his head. We came to a stop and my eyes followed him walking around to face me for the first time. 'No, no, no, no.' He uttered and pointed behind him at his camp. 'This is just getting started!'

The huge bonfire in the middle was the first thing that got my attention. Anything from wooden logs to rubber tyres were all thrown on into the flames to keep it burning. Smoke wofted through camp and fogged people at random when the wind changed. To mask the smoke, people wrapped their clothing around their faces.

I watched the men as they scrambled around, trying to keep things in order. The chaos that the storm brought was loud and blinding. A group were wrangling their pack mules back into their pen. Another group was trying desperately to get a hold of their tent that had become unpegged. The thing flapped around and flailed as the wind tried to take it.

'You can stay in here tonight.' Their leader opened the door of the makeshift cell. 'Oh and don't mind him. He won't be here for much longer.' He gestured at the person curled up in the corner.

'Who is he?' I asked, suddenly aware that I would be locked up with him.

'A dead man.' He said and took his leave.

'I'm going to kill you!' I yelled, kicking at the door. He chuckled and began delegating orders to the other tattered men. Pretty soon, he became just another monster in a sea of them.

'You should save your strength.' A weak voice came from the darkness.

I turned to face the dark corner of the cell. The shivering man wore nothing but rags and was naked on his top half.

'Conserve what energy you have. It's the only thing we have left.' The man's voice was dry and hoarse.

I didn't want to think about what he had been through or how he ended up there, so I looked away and focused on my surroundings. The man must have noticed. 'Jackals. There's more out there than usual.' He said, as one of the wild men tripped and fell; spilling two arm-fulls of spears onto the soft mud below. 'They're panicking which means they're stupid. If they all just held up in the centre of camp, they wouldn't be picked off.'