All Rights Reserved - PureInnocent
I could feel my body ache as soon as my eyes opened. I realized that I had woken up in sweats. I laid there for a few seconds until I began to question where I was. It was colder than usual. My mattress felt smaller, and harder. I sat up and glanced around. Darkness fell over this unusual place. Surprisingly. I didn’t worry much. I guess I was too tiered and confused at this point. My head hurt. My mouth was dry. I thought about going to get some water. I convinced myself otherwise. If I woke up now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep later. I laid my head back down onto my pillow. It wasn’t long before I drifted off into rem.
I woke up to what sounded like cattle screeching. I didn’t bother to open my eyes this time. I tend to wake up a few minutes early anyway. I laid in bed to relax before my alarm clock rang and I had to drag myself out of bed for another day of hell.
I felt something tug on my hair. I was so tired that I didn’t realise it at first. It got annoying after a while. I jerked my eyes open to see what was causing the ruckus.
Where was I?
This was not my bedroom. There was no overdue twinkly Christmas lights’ hanging over my overflowing bookshelf. There was no empty picture frames sitting on my desk that I had forgotten to fill and hang. Nor was my school uniform neatly folded and placed on the end of my bed. Heck. I wasn’t even in a bed at all.
I felt a tug on my hair again. I swiftly turned my head to see who was doing such a thing. I came face to face with a girl who looked about my age. Maybe a bit younger. She had tan skin, and brown eyes. Her jet black hair sat neatly on her shoulders. She looked a bit Indian to me.
“Who the hell are you?” I demanded “Why are you pulling my hair?”
“We have to leave before they come.” The girl whispered.
“The who? What in the world are you talking about? Where am I?” I insisted.
“We have to leave before they come; there is no time for questions!” She replied. “Now can you please keep quiet?”
I was furious. She had no right to tell me what to do.
“I promise I will tell you everything, but if you want to survive. You need to come with me.”
If I want to survive? What is she talking about? I didn’t have time to think. The girl was already crawling to the opening on the side of the shelter before I had the chance. I followed her to the exterior, and ran with her into what seemed like a narrow pathway. I was surprised to find out I was not wearing shoes. She began to slow her pace yet every few seconds she would turn her head around as if she was watching for someone. I turned my head around to see if I could spot what she was looking for. In the distance I saw little huts made out of what looked to be sticks, bush and rope. Is that where I was sleeping in? A rush of panic sent butterflies to my stomach. I heard a slight thud and turned back around to see the girl had jumped into a 10 foot dirt pit.
“Naomi! Come down here! We need to hide!” She shouted.
“How do you know my name? Who are you?” I called down to her.
“Never mind that, we will get to know each other later. Right now you really have to come down here.” She begged.
“I am not climbing into that filthy hole.” I argued.
“Naomi! They will KILL you!” She cried.
I didn’t know who she was talking about, but I knew better not to complain. She seemed like a selfless person. Waking me up, dragging me through a path and trying to save my life. I still have yet to know where I woke up, and why I am here.
I toke a deep breath to try and calm my thoughts and I crouched down and let myself slide into the dusty abyss. That’s when I noticed I was dressed very differently from when I feel asleep that night. My purple silk slip was replace with some type of tan woven dress an emblem with two birds flying through a unknown symbol had been carefully stitched onto the front chest area.
Before I had a chance to ask the girl about the rags I heard banging and whining in the far distance. The girl ran to the side of the pit and sat down. She motioned for me to do the same. I complied with her and huddled to the side of the dark tunnel. It was not to long before I heard horses galloping through the path and a few hushed voices.
A man’s voice ushered in the absence. “They toke her. She should be hiding somewhere around. We will need to find her before it’s too late.”
Are they talking about me? I wanted to scream out and tell them I was down here, maybe they would save me, but the girl already had her hands covering my mouth, I was about to slap her and make a run for it, but suddenly I heard another voice in the stretch.
“Once I get my hands on her it would be my pleasure to strangle her.”
“We have to punish her first. Perhaps... Nail her to a cross and leave her to die?”
“No chance.” An unfamiliar voice spoke. “The alphas will be the ones who will deal with her. I’m sure they have plans for her. Remember, the sacrifice does need to be alive when we return her to camp.” He paused for a second. “Let’s go check farther east. She couldn’t have ran very far.”
I heard the horses trotting away as a rush of fear and panic set in. I needed answers.
I turned to the girl who still had her back against the dirt wall.
“What is your name?” I asked.
She looked at me for a second. As if she didn’t plan on telling me.
“Grace.” She replied. Her voice was very melodic and soft.
“Come along” she ordered, as she began to climb out of the hole. Grace reached down to grab my wrists and hoisted me up. She led me back down the path we came from. I wanted to ask her more, but I didn’t bother to. I was thirsty and tiered from the chase and I didn’t want to complicate things anyway. We walked not very far until we came back to the clearing. We hiked down the small hill and entered our hut.
The shelter was very small. Made out of what looked like to be the remains of an old tree. The walls were carefully carved and shaved. There were hieroglyphics and different symbols painted onto each stalk. The ground was covered in woven fabrics concealed under sand and mud. Other than that, it looked sad and empty.
“Look, I know you are very confused but I will explain everything tonight after feasting.” Grace exclaimed. I shook my head. I was still out of touch with reality
I didn’t know where I was; how long I was going to be here and more importantly, who are those men and why do they want me as a sacrifice?
Authors note: Hello everyone, thanks for reading. Please critique my story down below in the comments and vote!
