Amidral: No Promises Exist

New Beginning

Thinking that the three siblings were prepared to live alone in the wilderness seemed not to be a concern. They had their mother, yes, but for some time now, they no longer depended on her to survive. They had to learn new things, like where to find dry firewood and that freshly cut wood was useless; they relied on loose branches and, at first, on food they could gather before learning to hunt.

George was the smartest and the one who paid the most attention to their mother when it came to sorting everything that fell into their hands for food. He knew how to distinguish edible plants and draw maps thanks to his ability to memorize, although these maps only had drawings that his siblings had come to recognize as: path, camp, food, and danger; none of them knew how to read or write yet.

Recognizing tracks was a regular habit for them, helping them avoid patrols or other thieves. Although they didn't encounter humans at first, it was Daniel who kept them away from seemingly crowded areas. However, the search for food drove them farther and farther away from their "safe zone." One afternoon, while collecting berries, they stumbled upon a herd of animals they had never seen before. They were small, and the babies were spotted. They would have fled if it weren't for the fact that these animals knew where the food was, and so they began to follow them.

The map they were drawing kept growing, and the forest seemed endless, but they limited themselves to opening up certain areas. They stopped exploring to the north when they came across a dirt road similar to the one by the coast that divided two parts of the forest: the oak trees where they had been living and a dark, dense area where you couldn't see beyond a few meters. They tried to skirt it, but upon noticing marks that looked like knife slashes on the wood and ground, they decided not to approach again. To the east was the coast from where they had arrived, and the same was true to the south. When they ventured west, they stopped upon finding a clear pond in a small forest clearing. Water had already become strange to them, and swimming seemed wasteful, especially because they didn't know how, but Charlie couldn't resist laughing, scaring away the animals, and wading into the water up to his waist. That night, they didn't return to their camp but instead slept in the tall grass beside the pond.

It was late at night, and the stars were reflecting in the water when Daniel awoke to strange sounds. He slept as he always did, lying on his back, upright, holding weapons in his hands—this time, a sharpened stick. He didn't need to move to investigate; his eyes scanned the area, and he spotted one of those four-legged creatures from the afternoon drinking on the other side of the pond. It was alert as well, aware of his presence, but its thirst forced it to take the risk. When he tried to relax, Daniel realized that the small herbivore wasn't the source of the sound. Above his head, the branches of the trees were rustling at short intervals. Each time the small one-horned animal looked up, the movement stopped, as if stalking it. Daniel woke his brothers; it was time to leave.

It happened in a blink, completely unexpected. It wasn't the creature above them but one that took advantage of the distracted drinker to pounce: a two-legged monster with claws, an elegant neck, and terrible teeth. Its jaws had clamped down, covering the entire neck and part of the creature's torso. It didn't even scream; nothing was heard but the exhale of its breath into the night.

The brothers chose to grab their belongings and leave as quickly as possible, but it was too late, and they became witnesses to what had been hiding in the trees. The creature across the pond barely had a chance to enjoy a bite before a second attacker descended from the sky much faster than gravity should have allowed. It coiled its body like a snake around the other creature and secured itself with claws and teeth. No matter how much the poor animal thrashed, screamed, and tried to fight back, its attacker didn't budge an inch until the struggle on its legs brought both of them crashing to the ground. With the same speed it had dropped from the branches, the black creature, which Daniel couldn't fully describe, wrapped its long tail around the bipedal animal and dragged it swiftly across the forest floor until it disappeared into the trees. The brothers lost sight of both almost immediately. However, despite how fast they were moving away, it was several meters after they lost sight of them that the piercing screams of the prey being carried away by the black creature finally stopped.