The Land of Dawn (ML Fanfic)

27. twenty seconds

The forest was damp and the remaining members of her clan haven't had anything to eat for about two days already. She was tasked to liberate her people and treasure the remains of their lineage. An unknown dark force drove the animals in their forest manic and uncontrollable and because of that, the creatures that they used to slay for them to eat, turned on against them and went on to kill some of them instead.

The group that was with Hilda were the remaining members of their clan from Megalith, the Gondrakis; even if most of them were skilled hunters and fierce in battle, they depended on Hilda for their survival. 

Hilda and her group have been wandering around the realm, in the hopes of getting to the Land of Dawn and finding a new and safe place to dwell in.

This was what Hilda has prepared for ever since she was young; she was born with a sealed fate and that fate is to protect her people at all cost; even if it meant sacrificing her own time and comfort in lieu of service to her pack, the Gondrakis. Hilda has been the most feared across Megalith. She was respected and commended for her finesse and strength, both in hunting and battling.

Once, they were invaded by a bunch of Navos—black bears that fed on anything that has a heartbeat. She killed the bears all by herself, while her whole clan slept inside their stone homes. Even in her slumber and ungodly hours of the night, Hilda kept one eye open, looking out for any signs of danger and invasion that could harm her clan. She was a woman, who has been typically known as feminine and subdued, but she was not like any other lady out there.

She's got colossal biceps and firm, well-toned legs; from her upper belly down to her abdomen, are eight adjacent well formed abs that were sculpted out from years of hunting and raids in the forest of Megalith. With her Titanium scythe in tow, not a member from her clan dared to taunt her.

"Hilda, I suggest we should rest. Everybody is tired and we haven't had any meat for a while. We only fed on fruits and vegetables, we are restless." Suling, Hilda's younger sister suggested.

"I guess we should, but only for a brief time. But we should start moving again before sundown." Hilda replied, as she sat herself on a nearby tree. Her other members followed, closing their eyes while leaning on huge rocks or rigid trees. Even when tired, Hilda isn't allowed to rest.

For about some time, she was proud that she was tasked with such a great responsibility; able to fulfill her childhood dream of being the one to protect her clan. But as she went on with her duty, years and years of rigid responsibilities to and fro, she realized that she doesn't want that kind of life; where she is contained in the walls of responsibility, calming the fears of her clan members by propping up a menacing façade and being firm in her orders. 

She does not want to do the same thing over and over again. She hated routines but she had no other choice. Her fate was sealed from the moment she was born and no one from the history of their clan denied such a superior responsibility.

It was an honor for someone to take on the clan and uplift it through wars and rifts and yet Hilda, the woman inside her constantly whispers that this job, this responsibility isn't fit for her. She was meant to do amazing things far from being the leader of their clan can offer. 

She does not want to stay in the position and die while being in it yet she does not also know what she would be when she is out of it.

She decided to ward off such dramatic thoughts out of her head and closed her eyes, counting up to twenty—she was not supposed take her eyes off her clan longer than that. 

Even with disdain for her fate, the act of protecting her clan has been embedded into her system rather deeply, that at times, she does it unconsciously.

"Twenty..." she started counting.

"Nineteen." She closed her eyes.

"Eighteen." She took slow deep breaths.

"Seventeen." She slowly drifted off.

"Sixteen." She heard a rattling sound from a nearby bush.

"Fifteen." She refused to let the noise bother her.

"Fourteen." She drifted farther.

"Thirteen." The rattling sound grew closer.

"Twelve." She took deep breaths again.

"Eleven." She had a vision, a bad one.

"Ten." She saw Suling's head cut off by a wild boar using its tusks.

"Nine." She saw Molu and Deri reduced to pieces by a stealthy snake.

"Eight. She heard the cries of two Gondraki children, while they were being chased by a ravaging leopard.

"Seven." She saw her lover, Logu cornered by a Bloke.

"Six." The Bloke swallowed Logu alive.

"Five." Dagu, her brother, fell off a cliff, tossed by a lion.

"Four." Hildone, her father, lost his left leg, as it was chewed off by a deer.

"Three." The vision slowly faded.

"Two." She slowly opened her eyes.

"One." Tears clouded her sight, she was out of breath.

She stood up only to see all of her clan members, dead.