Wild

Chapter 1

"Come... Come to us... Hurry!"

I woke up with a start. Catching my breath, I tried to calm myself down. It's okay Ester... It's just a dream... But subconsciously, I knew it wasn't. I've been having the same dream for so many days already. There's no way that's normal.

I hastily changed into my clothes and walked out of my tent. The sun shone down on the village, small kids ran around pretend fighting with wooden swords. The adults smiled at their kids, and brought wood in.

"Ester!" I heard a female voice from the far right.

I turned my head and a girl tackled me to the ground.

"Kya!!!"

The girl started rubbed her cheeks against my cheeks. "Kya! You said kya! That's just too adorable!!"

"Rebecca! Stop it!" I laughed trying to get her off.

"But you're just so cu--" Rebecca was suddenly ripped apart from me. A large buff man was picking her up from the collar. I quickly moved out of the way and the man dropped her; coughing and gasping for air.

"Morning Jared." I smiled at the buff man. He smiled and patted my head.

"You almost killed me!" Rebecca shouted.

"It takes a lot more to kill you." Jared replied silently.

I giggled at their small quarrel. Jared and Rebecca are really good friends of mine. But because I'm the chief's daughter, they are also my bodyguards. Yes, my dad is the chief of this village. My mother died when I was 2 so my dad is overprotective and he doesn't want to lose me too.

I'm not too lonely. I know that my mother is up in heaven watching over me; us.

"Ester, you should go to your father." Jared commented while blocking Rebecca's attacks with one arm.

"Okay." I nodded with a smile and walked over to the largest tent.

"Good morning Father! It's time for breakfast." I called out to him from outside the tent.

"Okay!" I heard him shout out.

I waited outside the tent for 5 minutes and then he jumped out of the tent.

"Let's go to the fire place!" My father cheered.

I smiled at his enthusiasm. My father is a pretty cheerful person despite all the things he has had to go through, though he can be pretty scary at times. Even though he can be overprotective at times, he's a cool guy. As long as he doesn't make me do something absurd just to protect me, I understand.

"Chief! Ester!" A guy with blonde hair and blue eyes walked over to us. "Please, sit down."

"Thank you Ralph." I smiled at him. He grinned and sat down next to me.

Ralph is a close friend of mine. We were together since the age of 5. He was a person well known throughout the village and he has a lot of admirers. I can pretty much tell by their eyes.

I noticed that there was a small silence as we all ate. Suddenly, the atmosphere grew heavy. We may seem like a small peaceful village, but just like rabbits, we are known to be very cautious. We are still fighting in... the war.

I don't know how long we've been in this war. It's been here ever since I was born. The reason we fight this war is long lost. I heard many reasons; most of them relate to various acts of betrayal like death of a loved one, murder, and theft. So many different clans were slain. We are one of the lucky clans that have survived.

Also in out clan, everyone except pregnant women and children have to fight. But because my father didn't want to lose me just like my mother, he didn't let me fight with the village. Yes, my mother died in this war. So many people died. I don't see how everyone can continue to fight on.

Why can't this war end?

Once I drink the last bit of my soup, I felt a slight thump in the ground.

Danger.

Immediately, everyone stood up; took out a bow hidden in their clothes, and aimed it. I didn't move a single muscle and listened.

Rustle...

One person immediately shot an arrow into the bush that slightly moved. The two people next to him immediately took out a dagger and focused their eyes on the place where the arrow disappeared.

A howl echoed through the area.

"Wolves!" Jared roared and everyone took a large shield from the tents.

"Ester!" Ralph shouted and gathered all the kids; then he grabbed my hand and pulled us all into the emergency underground pathway.

"Will you be okay?!" I asked him worriedly.

He smiled. " Hey. I survived all the way until now."

But... This is the first time any clan attacked us at the village...

I held the kids around me tightly and prayed for everyone's safety.