The Hunted

It Begins

                                                                                         Lyra

I feel grass beneath me as I try and force myself to be awake. Next to me, I think of warm silk as if someone is wearing fancy clothing. I feel the warmth of a cluttered room matched by a slight breeze brushing on the lower part of my legs. 

Why is it so hard to open my eyes?

Excited chatter is coming from every direction, and I am quickly becoming overwhelmed by how suffocating it is to be around what sounds like a Girl Scout parade on steroids. I blink with my eyes closed before flexing my eyes open as hard as I can find that they only open a small bit. Shuffling comes from my right side before I hear a girl yell out, "She's awake!"

Thanks for screaming, douchebag.

I felt the presence of someone come near before crouching down to my level for me to see. A lean man in a doctor's coat smiled down at me. He had a full head of pure white hair and smile lines that complimented his blue eyes. All in all... I don't think he's the type of person to hurt a fly. It doesn't matter if that's what I think though, I was still kidnapped and he's still associated with those who murdered the cops that just wanted to help. 

"Hello, I'm Dr. Craftsman. I heard from a little birdie that getting you here was incredibly difficult, but now that you are, I hope I can help make your stay as nice as possible."

By the time he had finished speaking on deaf ears, I could open my eyes normally and was working on the rest of my body. He lifted a water bottle to my lips and gently poured water into my mouth. The logical part of me wants to spit the water in his face and tell him that he can shove the nice act up his ass, but the other part of me says that this water is better than an iced glass of tea after mowing.

I slowly drank the water he gave me, taking in my surroundings now that it was easier to function. Everyone here was wearing a white dress and not one looked the same from another. Slutty dresses that ended just above their ass, poofy wedding dresses, cocktail dresses, maxi dresses, and thankfully, mine was a loose sundress. At the far end of the tent was an empty rack for dresses that a woman was wheeling out while two other men held the flaps to the tent open. When the flaps were wide open I caught the eyes of a man wearing older soldier-type armor before the two men dropped the flaps.

"Now that you seem to be fully awake and aware of your surroundings, there will be nurses to make sure you get a gasp of being on your feet. You will only have 30 minutes before the king will give his speech, so hopefully, you'll be ready by then."

The King?

~~~~~~~~~

I was walking around normally now and trying to find exit points before a man with dark hair walked in.

"Everyone, my name is Leon. I will answer some of the questions you have before the important questions will be answered by the King. So, I want everyone to stand and prepare yourselves for the moment you will be led outside."

The women stood up and cleaned themselves off before they took turns speaking. "How long will we be here?"

"3 days."

"Will our families be told about where we are?"

"Yes."

"What will be our activities?"

"Camping, exploring, and taking a tour of our kingdom."

I rolled my eyes and decided it was my turn to... politely ask a question. "How many people have you had to kill to get the women here?"

The mood shifted in the room. As if the girls were excited to go on a spontaneous trip without letting anyone know suddenly realized that it wasn't them that wanted this. Murmuring erupted amongst everyone and some tried to leave before soldiers stepped in and blocked the entrance. I looked back at Leon and he almost seemed surprised by the news, or by what I said rather.

"I wasn't told about- I'm sorry you had to go through that. That is not our way and most definitely against the rules. I can understand if that makes you worried, anxious, scared, or even terrified, but I assure you that we will not hurt you. Now the King is ready, if everyone will follow me." Leon made the move to step out but none of the girls followed, most glanced at me and others frantically looked around with tears welling up in their eyes.

The soldiers started walking forward and gently pressing their hands on the girls' shoulders muttering a soft "let's go," and we sorta shuffled outside ten feet from where Leon stood next to two taller men. The tallest one didn't let his eyes off me. Leon likely told him about my question...

"I am the King. As you're now likely aware thanks to one of the girls here, this isn't a vacation. You have entered a place most likely related to hell. You will be hunted, chased, stalked, and bitten by wolves. Once bitten you will either never to leave this property, or go live in heaven on another property. You will likely starve or be severely injured, and you have no chance of winning if you rely on speed or strength."

"I would like to add that Leon lied to you. Now that you know that this isn't going to be the best experience for you, you might as well know that your parents won't be notified. Also, Hi I'm Tobias. A pleasure to meet each of you." He smiled and winked before looking at the King.

"There will be a flare that goes off at the edge of the woods, once it starts you may try and run away. The wolves will follow once the flare goes out, which will be around an hour. Questions?"

No one spoke up so I figured I might as well do it again. Not in a serious manner, but more so mocking and pissed. "Yeah, what's your name?"

The king looked at me and his eyes softened more a moment before blinking out of it and looking back at the crowd. "My name is Elias. It's a pleasure to meet each of you. Now let us begin!"