The Last Renauti (The Ethereal Series #1)

Chapter 1

All she could see was a blur of green around her, even so, she continued moving one foot in front of the other ceaselessly, taking in shallow breaths. She knew she wouldn't survive another day if she didn't find some food and water by nightfall. Her stomach had stopped rumbling since  long and was replaced with a painful emptiness she felt with every movement of her body. 

Every muscle in her body wanted to collapse and give in to the exhaustion, to just give up and hope that she would lose her consciousness before a wild animal attacked her, maybe then her death wouldn't be so painful. However, her self-preservation instinct did not let her stop her stagerring steps. 

Suddenly, she heard  a faint noise, something other than the hum of the forest. She came to a stand still, ceasing the sound of twigs and leaves cracking under her feet. She closed her eyes trying to pick out the sound again. The birds chirped, insects hummed, leaves rustled in the gentle wind accompanied by a faint gushing sound. 

Water. Dry lips formed the word, her parched throat restricting any sound escaping from her mouth. 

A river?  No, it sounded like a waterfall. Am I hallucinating?

Despite believing it to be a figment of her imagination, she turned slightly towards her right, following the faint gurgling noise. Her legs strained with each step, the scratches on them burning, reminiscent of her attempts to climb a tree last night to rest. 

The thought left her mind as the gushing sound became even louder. The sound rekindled a tiny bit of hope in her. Perhaps, she could get through this nightmare. With renewed belief, she moved her battered body as fast as she could. 

The further she went, the clearer the sound became, filling her with optimism. 

As she walked, she let feelings of guilt and condemnation wash over her. She wouldn't be in this situation, if only she had taken some time to plan her escape, instead she ran away without giving any thought to how she would survive or where she would be going. 

She shook away her wayward thoughts. What was done, was done. At that time, fleeing from that wretched place was her only thought. Somehow, she had managed to do it, she would get through this ordeal as well. 

Each excuriating step led her deeper into the forest, until she finally caught a glimpse of water. She slowed down, mindful that there might be predators around the water. Walking cautiously, clenching her calves to mute the sound of her steps, she moved forward, seeing no animals from this side of the waterfall, she increased her pace again. 

The waterfall flowed from a steep mountain. The speed of water gentled as it flowed further east. She assumed that animals would quench their thirst from the gently flowing water and moved towards the thundering waterfall. 

She faltered to a stop as she stared at the view in front of her. The waterfall looked like something out of a fairy tale. The waterfall was surrounded by a cluster of trees. The water shimmering in the light of the afternoon sun. 

The sight of the waterfall made her parched throat hurt anew. 

Eliza advanced towards the waterfall.

Just as she reached near the edge of the waterfall, she felt the tip of a blade being pressed on her back. She was so absorbed with the view of the waterfall, she hadn't noticed anything coming near her. A shiver danced down her spine as she felt the point of the blade on her back.

How had they found her so soon?

Dread filled her body as she stood still as a stone, apprehnsive of the blade on her back.

"Who are you? And how did you come this close to the camp? " A person behind her asked. 

She didn't understand what camp the person was referring to, but her mind raced with ideas as to how she could get away. She thought of jumping in the water but the thought of predators lurking further down the river stopped her. They woud kill her if the presuure  of the waterfall wouldn't. 

She thought of fighting the person behind her but she wasn't sure how many people were with him, she discreetly tried to look back. But the stranger pushed the tip harder against her back.  

Realising that there was no way of getting out of this, Eliza thought answering the stranger's questions could help her buy time to plan an escape. She tried to talk but three days of not drinking any water had her throat parched,rendering her incapable of answering the man's question.

Making a strange sound of pain, she settled for shaking her head, hoping that the stranger would be able to figure out that she did not know anything about any camp. But it seemed that things were fated to not turn out the way she wanted.       

" What are you doing here?" He asked harshly, seemingly irritated with her muteness. 

She tried turning around again so that she could at least try to explain him through actions.

The man gripped her right shoulder, hard. 

She tried shrugging off his hand until the man finally turned her around. 

He moved the blade and pressed it lightly against the vien fluttering wildly on her neck. She moved her gaze away from the weapon and looked up into a pair of grey-blue eyes. 

She raised her hands and pointed towards her throat and then to her mouth, making an x symbol with her hands to make him understand she couldn't speak. Again, she pointed at the waterfall and cupped her hands to tell him that she came here to drink water. The man understood after a few unsuccessful tries.

He nodded and loosened the grip on her shoulder and Eliza let out a soundless sigh of relief. He turned her back towards the waterfall, ensuring that the blade was still pointed at her neck.  Making a cup with her hands, she drank the water greedily, each gulp of water reminding her of the tip pressed to her neck. Before she had her fill though, he pulled her back.

Eliza turned and frowned at him for not letting her drink more water. The man just shook his head and gestured for her to move towards a trail she hadn't noticed before. She took a few steps before a sudden wave of dizziness made her fall forward. The stranger held her tightly, a strong arm wound around her stomach to stop her fall. He held her body upright again. 

Her eyelids fluttered as exhaustion from not sleeping and eating for the past few days claimed her. Fatigued, she let her eyes close, leaning all her weight on the stranger who still had his arm wrapped around her mid-riff. Sub-consciously, she heard the faint sound of the man cursing and picking her up in his arms. 

"I'll just take her to the camp." Were the last words she heard before was consumed by darkness.

Author's Note-

I hope you all liked the first chapter. 

~Aahana