The Ghost Forest

Chapter 1: The Scream

May Forest walked down the poor street with all of her belongings in a tiny bag. her hair stuck to to her forehead covered in sweat after a long walk alone. Everything she knew was now changing and nothing would be the same. Everything was dirty  and the air was full of smoke and dust, which made her caught. The people all around her where terribly poor. They barely had enough food and water to survive. Also, they were all refugees. Not a single person walking past her had any relatives in town and no body they knew form before. The humas who lived there was skinny and always walked with bend backs, while their heads faced down. Their clothes told her that they once was a grate and mighty people from all around the country. What had happened to them? The moon land of Darrwell was filled with misterious things and legends. Like the big legend of the lost temple. Or what about the grate legend of King Henry XI and his disapppearance ten years ago. She had always been curious to find the bigest and darkest secret of them all to solve. And being in Darwell gave her the feeling that her search had only just begun. Suddenly she felt a cold hand on her right shoulder. Her body turned to ice. Heart began to beat faster. She coulden't move a finger. A scream in the distance described exactly how she felt. What am I going to do? Is this an friend or foe? Do I knock him down? Of course it would be rude of her to not trurn to the stranger. So after a quick convincing she spun on her heels only to find herself face to face with a man with a shining, heavy armor and a massy air. He looked like he'd beed crying, 'cause his eyes were red and swollen up. The old soldier went slowely over to her left side on the narrow road through the tiny village. His face showed her a big scar that covered up half of his face. He hold an axe in his right hand, and in his left was his helmet, and a sword shined in his belt. She looked at his sword and recognized it inmediately. Her heart stoped beating a second. He was a soldier from home. And there on the shield was a little symbol of an egle in a fight. Ammon. Home, sweet home, even though she knew she would never see it again. It was burned to the ground, theat's why she ended up in Darwell. She could hear all of the screams and the runing people, some of them was on fire too. Even through the painful memory of stomped feet, she could almost taste new baked bread and strawbarry jam her mother used to make. Her eyes burned, but she quickly whiped the tears away as soon as the soilder spoke.
"May? I-it's May, right?" the soilder spoke with a rusty voice as if he'd screamed himself hoarse.
The soldier's voice sound tired and old, which is funny, 'cause he didn't look that old. He looked like he was more in his fourtys.
"Eh, yes sir." she answered hesitatingly. "Who are you?"
"I'm Gray Ross, the soldier of Ammon, the kings hardet worker and most trusted soldier," he paused and their gaze met. "Or at least I used to be."
She nodded, a tear felt to the ground. As soon it touched the dirt, it turned brown.
"Are you okay?" Gray whispered quietly.
She nodded again. But she wasn't ecxactly honest. Just by seeing Ammons symbol of peace on Grey's shiled made her tummy tie in tnots so hard it hurt. "I, I just remember how Ammon used to look like."
Then another tear felt from her cheek.
"I'm sorry I remind you of your past."
"It's okay, really."
Really not.
They stood there in the middle of the road not too far from the forrest.
"I thought I'd speak with you. You seemed lost," Grey found his voice again after standing so long in silence. "if you need a place to stay at for the night, you're welcome to join my sister and I at her house."
"How did you know?" May asked him without giving him eye contact. Something else seemed more important. At first she thought it was only the wind playing with a bush further ahead. Then she clearly saw a pink dress swooping past it.
"Did you see that?" she asked Grey, completely off guard.
"See what?"
"The pink dress behind that bush," she pointed in the direction. "There must be a person sneaking around the aria."
"I didn't see anything, sweetie, but I'm sure there's an explaination."
T

he wind blew the scream back again.

"What was that?"
"What was what?" this time it was her turn to ask Grey.
"I just think I heard something" he said.
"Like..."
"A scream" she finished him. "Yes sir. I heard it too."
"Please don't call me that. I'm no longer in that buisiness."
His face turned red, and so did his eyes.
Another awkward silence. They kill him. He hate it when a conversation is over. And yet he resisted the urge to get out of there.
"I had a beautiful wife" he said and smiled. "And thee girls, and one boy."
Then it was his turn to cry.
"She and all of our three girls died in my arms" he said this whith tears rolling down his cheecks.
She put a arm on his shoulder. It was the best she could to show empathy. "I'm so sorry Gray, I know how much it hurts. I lost someone too."
He looked at her as he dried his tears.
"I lost my entire family. My mum, my dad, my two older brothers, they're no more."
"Well young lady, I'm sure you and my son Logen, would could  potentially be good friends. Besides, he need to be cheered up. He hasn't been himself lately."
The scream was luder this time. Much louder.
Something was wrong. She felt it.
"You think the person is okay?" she gazed up on the old soldier.
"No, come on!" he replied and ran for it. "We've got to help the person who screamed"
May's heart beat fast. The closer they got to the person, the closer she felt she entered an exciting adventure. She had no idea how right she was.