The Red Hair Land

Ch3: An Outsider In The Forest

Caleb looked back to see traces of his long walk in the forest, sighed and sat by one of the trees, taking out the map that was accompanied with the letter.

" The road literally a straight line after the gate and then... " his eyes narrowed in annoyance, getting a lil pissy " in front of the exit? how is it undiscovered if unthought?! "

As he pondered, Caleb heard fast footsteps around him, causing him to fall silent and focus on the source

Suddenly, an arrow shot towards him from an unknown place, hitting him straight in the chest

Caleb's eyes widened in shock; he no longer felt his spine despite his body's continuous trembling, his trembling hand moved towards the arrow embedded in him

He slowly turned toward Lily and found her trying to push the cage door while emitting hissing and aggressive screams, glaring at a spot in the forest where the arrow had come from

" Lily... " he whispered in concern, although he couldn't speak more

Caleb looked forward as the footsteps returned, but this time they were getting closer to him

When that thing emerged from the darkness, it wasn't a thing but a person - a man

He was so short that Caleb would bet the man would seem tall either with him sitting or in the passing years

He wore a tattered old brown coat with scratches and cuts, dark pants with long black boots, and an old scar in the middle of his mouth in the shape of an X, Caleb gazed at the man, puzzled

His mouth was slightly open, and he gazed calmly, blinked several times, and then spoke to him after realizing " o-oh, forgive me, my good sir " the man approached Caleb and placed his hand on his shoulder " I haven't seen a human enter this forest since the time of my staying "

" Ugh!! " Caleb screamed in pain as the man forcefully pulled out the arrow, the man looked towards Lily, whose screams grew more threatening and louder

" Hmm? " he hummed in curiousity as he approached her " is this your cat? " he reached out towards her, but Caleb quickly pushed him away " stay away from her, you weirdo! " he yelled in anger

The man got up from the ground, with muffled laughs coming from his smiling lips, he turned towards Caleb with a friendly smile " don't worry, I won't eat her, not yet, that's just a popular notion amongst the people in the days of war "

For a moment, he was silent, staring in wary of the old man

" Let's keep this informal " the man smiled as he walked towards Caleb, standing in front of him " My name is Dallas, you're .. nearly the first person I've seen dare to come here in twenty years "

" Wait, the first? I mean ... weren't there people passing through here to reach the Red Land? " Caleb asked

Dallas remained silent, then looked at the sky and said, " rain will fall soon, follow me " he turned to walk away, and after a brief hesitation, Caleb followed with his backpack and Lily's cage

As Dallas had said, shortly after, the rain began to fall, forcing the two men to hurry

When they finally arrived, Caleb glanced around Dallas's " house ", which was an old hut

Dallas stepped forward and opened the door, motioning for Caleb to enter

As soon as he entered, he felt a strange sensation, the place was dark, with only the light of faint candles enough to dispel the darkness

" It might startle you, but ... don't let them deceive you " Dallas said as he went to turn on the lights, what Caleb saw almost made him faint, or at least the feeling of it

On the wall beside him, hung four people with nails in every part of their bodies, cuts filling them, tattered clothes, and what caught his attention the most, their red hair

" My family fell into his hands ... " Dallas said, Caleb gave him a confused look " .. what have you done? " he said, trying not to lose his composure

Dallas sat on the chair beside him and looked down, " in reality, the only reason I exist here is because of them "

His eyes rolled towards the hanging people, " they are from the Red Land "

Caleb turned to look at them; involuntarily, he backed away due to their gazes, they looked like predatory animals

" What's your name, boy? " Dallas asked

" Caleb ... "

" Caleb ... huh, why are you here? " Caleb responded calmly, " my long to be away brother sent me a letter inviting me to a place called the Red Hair Land " he paused, covering his mouth, realizing what he said " ... excuse me, I don't talk to others much ", maybe not the case, maybe

" Take it easy, in my case ... " Dallas glanced out the window as the rain intensified, with the darkness of the night approaching, " this forest is the barrier between you and them ... he sends his people to spread corruption " he cut off his speech with gunfire, followed by an immediate body fall

He turned to see one of the four people lying dead on the ground, and Caleb holding the gun towards him, Dallas thought to himself, " with such ease..."

" I don't understand ... " Caleb said, looking down, " is he sending me there as a trap? or is he seeking help? their faces ... their expressions ... they are like ... "

Nonetheless, if it's a trap, then for what??

Dallas approached him, patting his back, emphasizing with him " don't let suspicion control you, boy " he turned back to the wall where there was a picture of a young boy with a woman, her face scrabbled

" Suspecting others' intentions towards you is worse if it's a family matter... but you won't know anything unless you go there yourself "
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To be continued ...