White Roses Bloom

Chapter Eight

     It had been a year since Jack had buried his mother’s corpse in the rose garden. The last year had been hard on he and Anna. They were running out of money. Nearly everything that was raised and grown on the farm had to be sold. Anna had taken up a job as a healer. She went around town, selling even more of her herbal remedies, assisting all those that she could. She was becoming quite popular with the people as she had remedies for illnesses that not even the doctors could cure. As word about her spread, she got busier. Though Anna couldn't usually charge too much for her services, a lot of her customers were just as poor as her. One of the lumberjacks in town had been offering Jack and Anna wood to take home with them. He had said it was to return a debt he owed their father.
     One day, Anna left the gates of the kingdom to pick up wood from the lumberjacks who were cutting trees just outside the kingdom. The sun was still in the sky, although sunset was approaching quickly. As Anna walked over to the lumberjacks, she spotted something. It was dark, moving in the trees. Anna tensed, uneasy of that thing she saw.
     Suddenly a creature, much larger than the others jumped out of the tree. It let out a ferocious roar. Anna’s eyes widened. The lumberjacks broke into a sprint for the safety of the walls that surrounded the kingdom. There was a loud bang and Anna turned to her side. One of the trees had fallen and was now pinning one of the lumberjacks to the ground. Anna ran to the lumberjack’s side. That creature was getting towards the clearing. Anna slipped her hands under the tree and began trying to lift it. The tree was much heavier than Anna could lift. The lumberjack was struggling underneath the tree. Even combined, the two could not lift the tree.
     Suddenly a large set of paws slammed into Anna’s back, pushing her over. Claws dug through her clothes and into her skin. Blood began to bead through at the punctures in her skin. Anna wriggled under the creature, pulling herself free from under it. As she tried to run, the creature sank its dagger like teeth into her ankle. Anna let out a scream of pain, feeling her blood pool into the creature’s mouth. She could feel the creature pushing its venom into her bloodstream. She began desperately trying to kick the creature off, crying out in pain. Her vision began to blur as tears filled her eyes.
     Suddenly the creature let go of her. Anna rested her head on the ground, feeling as though that creature’s bite had drained the energy out of her. Screaming and yelling filled Anna’s ears. Then there was silence. Two people were panting loudly. Anna felt hands slip under her body, lifting her up. She rested her head against the shoulder of whoever was carrying her and let her consciousness fade.