Ebony Vision

Chapter Three: Captured?

The voices were coming closer and closer and shivers were coming up my spine again. The voices belonged to an adult, an old woman, and...a boy? He must've been a similar age as me, his voice being in the middle of high and low.

The adult shouted out as he neared the edge of the ditch. "Hey! We caught a gal instead of a grizzly!" This dialect...where did I hear this? The boy then spoke, "But how did she get stuck in there? It's pretty visible to an average teen if you ask me."

"Now, now," the elderly voice croaked, "let us get her out of here. It is not very comfortable down there, is it deary?" I just nodded and stayed put to where I was. "Hold this rope," the adult voice gruffly said as I heard the footsteps above me and the sound of something falling in front of me. I attempted to grab the rope, but as a blind girl, failed to grip it.

I searched for it, and gripped it when t came in contact with my worn fingers. But as I gripped it, I remembered that the trap remained clinging to my leg. The adult yanked the rope and a scream escaped my mouth as the trap's fangs dug in deep into my ankle. My ankle bled terribly with the vermilion liquid dripping into the mouth. He sounded surprised when he stood up from his crouched position, "The trap is stuck on her leg..." He then groaned and sat down, complaining about a pain in the tailbone.

The elderly woman then spoke to the boy. "Edwin, get your brother Wister. He should be strong enough to lift the lass up, as well as taking the trap off." The boy, accordingly Edwin, pouted as he began to walk away from the ditch, "Gina, I'm not weak!"

Gina chuckled and called back, "Aye, but I can't have two teens in the pit hole now, do we?" Huffing, Edwin ran home and came back in a rather quick amount of time. Another voice was heard in the distance, but this one was more calm and mature than the rest, but still young. The voice of a fifteen year old...

"A girl fell in a bear trap? Now that is something." His voice became clearer as the older brother came nearer to the ditch. He slid down and released the trap from my ankle and grimaced. "Aye," he said, "Poor thing. That must've been painful." His stiff arms wrapped around my waist as he hoisted me out the hole and back onto the flat ground. I tried to thank him, but as said before, I was becoming mute.

Wister climbed out and crackled his knuckles, telling his father to be more careful. I bowed in gratitude and began to limp off, but the younger boy grabbed my wrist tightly. "Hey," he whined, "where are you going?"

Wister joined in, "Mm, it's too dark for a young girl to travel alone. We will take you in for the night." But I shook my head no, and continued to walk in the other direction. It was only a moment until I crashed into a tree and fell into the leaves below. Edwin burst out laughing, but was instantly silenced. I guessed that it must have been Gina.

Wister's voice suddenly questioned, "Girl, how many fingers do I have? Show me with yours." I bit my lower lip and made a wild guess of six. After a moment of silence, Wister turned his attention to Gina and said, "Gina...this poor lass is blind and mute." Astonished, I felt for the older brother. He took my hand and stabilized me. I could hear him breathing above me high. "Lassie," Edwin joined in, "we'll take you in and that's all there is to it."

I struggled away from Wister and ran back into the woods. Melody. If I was going, I wanted her with me. But the adult captured me and carried me back to their cottage. "It's all right lassie, calm down. You'll be better soon. I promise."

I froze. His voice reminded me of my father long ago. His low voice echoed in my ears, "It's okay Sylvia. I promise, you'll be okay soon." I couldn't hold back my tears as I held the fatherly man close. The two brothers and the elderly woman soothed me softly as we entered their home back in a old village. "We're home," Edwin whispered as he hopped along his relatives.