Mercy & Fire

27. One Crow for Fate

Roselena

My feet landed harshly on the ground despite the sticks and stones digging into the rough soles of my feet. My pulse thundered against my eardrums as I tried to ignore the burning stitch in my side and the strain in my lungs, but I didn't stop running.

Sticks and thorny vines whipped across my skin, leaving behind trails of red anywhere they could, and any pain they should have caused was numbed by my fear and determination to keep pushing forward — away from what was chasing me.

The sound of the wind whooshing past my ears mixed with the symphony of other, overwhelming, overstimulating sounds. Snapping and cracking wood. Tree roots being torn out of the ground as they collapsed. A forked tongue hissing... All of it echoing just below the sound of my pulse thundering like a storm in my ears.

Sweat began to form a slippery layer over my skin, becoming wicked by my weathered white dress. The heat of exertion seemed to radiate out of my pools as if I were a brick oven about to combust, and my lungs burned to the point of feeling raw.

I wanted to stop. I was in so much pain, but when I glanced behind me, I felt desperate to push my body to the brink of death before I ever stopped trying to run away.

My eyes settled on the black scales slathered over the thick cylindrical body of a serpent hundreds of times bigger than a normal one. I watched they another tree uproot itself as the snake's body pushed it over while slithering after me.

A sharp, startled sound left my throat as I felt and heard the serpent come closer and closer, the sounds becoming louder and louder. Despair broke through the surface of my chest just as my feet began to inexplicably slow down almost as if I were walking on molasses.

My muscles burned to keep moving with the same momentum, but my body began fighting me. Frustratingly, no sound came out when I tried to scream.

Slowly, I descended to the ground on all fours, feeling gravity become heavier and heavier on me. I turned onto my bottom as best I could and huddled with my knees bulled to my chest and my head tucked on my knee caps.

My muscles strained even harder when I heard the noise become louder over my heart beat until there was no sound at all.

All the wind, trees, leaves, and even my heartbeat silenced and all I could hear was the rattle of its tail. Trembling, I waited with expectation of pain or sudden movement. But nothing came.

I raised my eyes to see it curling its long body in a pile of rings before using its slender neck to curve toward me. It's stare felt like it was searing down to my bones, paralyzing me.

Gulping down nothing but air, I nervously stared back, afraid to look away and risk it deciding to attack me suddenly. My focus on it was only broken by the sight of a small black bird flying across the space between me and the serpent, scaring even myself.

My stomach was in knots as I looked back at the serpent just as it lunged forward, its large, dripping fangs ready to impale me.

Jolting awake, I felt sweat gathering at the back of my neck despite the cold temperature of the room. I could feel my heart straining against my chest with alarm as I tried to sit up only to feel a weight shift on my chest. Focusing my eyes, I came face to face with a small black bird staring straight at me.

Not being able to tell between sleep and reality left me reeling, but to have the same bird in my dream sitting on my chest only amplified it. Apprehension sunk into my stomach as I returned its oddly heavy gaze in the dim light of the dying fire.

Feeling desperate to get the bird away, I snatched it up quickly in my hand, which was something I didn't think I'd be able to do just a few weeks ago. Now it seemed that grabbing a bird was the least of my problems.