The Curse of Lētālis

The trees were full of life and the green leaves were like the breath of life itself. Sounds of the stream flowing over limestone rocks could be heard for miles. The birds sang, the wind whistled, and the leaves blew in the breeze. Everything felt perfect. Except it wasn't.

Gwyn looked up toward the sky and watched as a robin flew above her head. Her fiery red hair whipped at her face, blocking the view of the woods ahead of her. Her green eyes burned with tears as she remembered the last time she had set foot in the forest. But she had to keep going- she had no choice. She had to escape.

A twig snapped a few paces away from where she stood. Although Gwyn could no longer tell which direction the sound had come from, one word screamed inside her.

Run.

She took off as fast as she could. White hot pain seared down her legs as she ran, but she forced her legs to run faster when she felt hot breath creep up on the back of her neck. She thought it would be cold, but instead it was warm- human. It was so warm that it sent chills down her spine. A voice in her head echoed.

Turn left, right, right again, now left.

Leaves flew up as she leaped over branches, their crunch drowned out by the rhythmic thundering of her heartbeat. She would have kept running forever. She felt as if she could. She knew she would- whatever it took to get away. But she stopped when she came to a tree. It looked like every other tree in the woods, but the twisting branches and dark-colored bark told her otherwise.

Gwyn stopped in her tracks.

Dad's tree.

She whipped her head around in all directions. Nothing stood out from the greens and browns of the forest. She was safe, for now. The urge to stay was strong. This was the last place her father was ever seen alive, but she would not have the same fate he did. The will to survive overpowered the need to stay.

Gwyn ran again and silently prayed to whatever divine watching over her to let life stay in her body. The end was near. She could feel it, but she wouldn't give up. Gwyn might not have been there for the last breath her father took, but she wouldn't let the same person do what they did to her father happen again to her. She couldn't let that happen to herself. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she pushed herself to run faster.

The trees began to thin and their trunks spread further apart. The sound of car engines roaring on the highway and tires squealing on asphalt carried to her ears.

People- her safety.

She ran out into the road holding out her hands, hoping the traffic would stop in time before it crashed into her.

A black Sedan screeched to a stop inches away from her. Gwyn let out a scream before she realized her body hadn’t been splattered onto the asphalt.

A woman stepped out of the car, mid-yell. She stopped short when she saw the dirt smeared across Gwyn's face, the rips in her clothes, the tears in her eyes, and blood dripping down her arms.

"You need a ride," the woman said in more of a statement than a question.

Gwyn nodded her head and climbed inside. The door slammed as the woman turned the key to start the ignition. "Tell me where you need to go," the woman demanded.

"Away from here," Gwyn responded in a rush. Her throat was dry and the words came out rough and scratchy, but the fear the woman heard behind her words told her to drive.

"What's your name?" The woman asked as she stepped on the accelerator.

Gwyn was quick to answer. "What's it matter?" she retorted.

The woman looked at Gwyn through the rearview mirror. "It matters because I have a strange girl in my car, with blood on her arms, who doesn't know where she's going," the woman replied. "So what's your name?"

Gwyn hesitated for a moment.

This isn't home anymore; no one knows who you are, she thought to herself.

She sighed. "Gwyn," she answered. "And you?"

"Alexis," the woman said, quickly changing the subject. "What's your last name?"

This time, Gwyn didn’t hesitate. “Parker,” she said. “My name is Gwyn Parker.”

Alexis paused and stared at Gwyn, a spark of recognition flickering off of her eyes. Alexis gasped but spoke barely above a whisper.

"Lētālis."