The Hunt

Chapter Five: Arrival

"Aw, you thought I was going to let you out that easily? You're a funny victim."

The words rang out through the dark room. Edgaras was half asleep, and tried to move out of the chair he was tied to.

"You can't escape me. You are trapped inside your mind and there is no way for you to escape from me. I control you. I can bend you to my will, and I will make your life Hell if you do not do what I say. You are going to help me. You are going to destroy the Hunters from the inside out."

The lights flicked on, and Ed became aware that he was inside the same building as during his trial. Sitting in front of him, crossed legged. On the wall behind him there was writing, hundreds of symbols and shapes that meant nothing to Ed, but that he could only assume was the monster's plan.

Edgaras finally built up the courage to speak. "What do you want from me? Why am I here?" The monster cackled and stood up, joints creaking as he grew to his full height. The monster was at least seven feet tall, and he towered over Ed striking fear through his veins. It took a step towards Ed, and Ed let a whimper slip from his throat.

"You will do exactly as I say, Edgaras. I will control you and use you for my plans. Soon, I will contact you with details to your mission. To avoid your family and friends being put in the firing line and enevitably hurt, you will comply with what I tell you to do. Goodbye, Ed."

Edgaras fought against the restraints, and therefore against this monster. A groan slipped from his lips as he pulled against the clamps holding him in place, but also pulled against this monster's ability to control him. The sound of manic laughter escaped the monster's lips, and filled the room until it was deafening. As Ed grew more and more scared, the dream began to dissolve and form back into where he was sleeping. As his consciousness grew, he became aware that the laughter was not only in his dream, but in reality also. He looked around the room and saw a figure silhouetted in the window, its face hidden from view. In a panic, Edgaras summoned his crossbow and attempted to light the candle next to him, only to realise that there was no figure there at all.

Ed was broken from his contemplation when there was a heavy yet panicked knock at the door. The Path Master walked out almost instantly, seeming to already be dressed and ready. Edgaras began to eavesdrop on their conversation, finally hearing, between panting breaths: "Trouble... at the... village... children... dying..."
The messenger, clearly distressed and distraught, began to sob. He weeped and sobbed until he could not continue. This was the noise of a man that had seen and heard too much for the human mind to handle.

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They travelled silently, the chilling wind blowing through their hair and the rough road weather beaten and in need of repair rocked the cart at each pebble the cart overcame. Ed sprawled along the back of the cart, unable to draw his attention away from the dream. What did it mean? Who, and more importantly, what, is that creature? Why did he want to control Ed? Ed wasn't special. Anyway, didn't the Path Master say he triggered the first hallucination during that trial? Was he behind this? So many questions going through Ed's head meant he couldn't focus on what laid ahead. He would soon find out that it would not be as difficult as he thought.

As the crested a hill about half a mile away, they saw the chaos that insued the messenger's call for help. What had begun as children dying had developed into full blown arson. The village was engulfed in deep purple flame, a kind that had never been observed by the likes of Ed. The messenger broke down in the cart next to Ed, and, as if on cue, the sky opened with it's own tears. The rain came down lightly, having little effect on the flames engulfing buildings.

Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the villagers were running around the roads and fields in the village, some trying to escape this armageddon, some just accepting their fate. The Path Master stopped the cart, worried that if they approached whatever being had started this fire - for they knew it was a being due to the jets of fire cascading into the air occasionally - would set their cart alight like dry tinder. Ed could not help but wonder whether this was his fault. He had no idea why it would be, but he had a gut instinct that something was wrong. The shock of seeing his home village burn down meant all thoughts of his hyper-realistic nightmare were lost on him.

Just as Ed thought that he was at fault, a large column of fire was shot in his direction, melting the snow and ice in its path. This constant path must have reached the foot of the hill in in a matter of seconds from the village, as if to remind the group of grieving acquaintances that this was an intentional act. In one final act of redemption from the gods, the sky's opened up and heavy rain fell.