Brotherband Chronicles: Lydia's Past

Chapter 22: The eyes of a mad man

Hal had never felt this terrified in his life before. Of course, he had felt anxiety, stress or whatsoever before. Nothing compared to what held him in its grasp right now. His sword slammed his thigh every time his feet touched the forest ground and his crossbow bumped against his back. Under normal circumstances, he would have grasped the sword sheet to stop making so much noise and properly secure his crossbow, but these were no normal circumstances. Speed was all that mattered right now. So he made sure he was fast. Hal knew that he had never ran this hard before on rough terrain and even Jesper had trouble keeping up with him. Too much was at stake, however, to think of this right now. Hal felt his chest rise and fall more prominent with every minute passing. In the corner of his eyes, he could see his crewmembers following suit, all were following the one able to track Lydia as fast as possible.

Shadow, the blue-brown eyed dog, was the best tracker of Grimsdell Forest. She sensed the fear and urgency of the situation and did only stop when she saw that the men who were following her could no longer keep up. She knew they had to be fast and encouraged them with a bark here and there, loud enough for the men to hear. What she did not understand was the fact that the men were all carrying such loud metal sticks. Apart from all the dreadful noise it made, it seemed a bit weird to her. Sure, she liked a good play and fetch, but why would she then be tracking the scent of the girl instead of play? Fortunately for Shadow, the scent was clear and she had no trouble finding and following it. Otherwise, she would have stopped to wait for one of those fun sticks to be thrown.

Breathings were growing heavier and heavier, but the Herons did not stop once. All of their minds were consumed by one thought. What if they were too late? Lydia was a part of the Heroncrew. She was their friend. What would a world without her look like? How could there be a world without the young dark-haired woman, now that she was a part of their life? The Herons were fearful. As they passed tree after tree, they felt their hearts shudder more and more with the fear of the unknown. What if? They were simply two words and yet when combined, they meant a dreaded outcome. An outcome none of the Herons were prepared to face or accept.

Eventually Hal, who had been able to keep up with Shadow for a long time, concluded that the dog had disappeared into the woods. He halted his track and his eyes frantically searched for the black and white dog. Jesper, who was close behind, stopped as well.

'Where did the dog go?'

Hal shook his head. 'One moment she was right before me and the next she is gone.'

The other Herons had caught up with their leader and overheard Hal's words.

'What do we do know?' Hal did not know the answer.

The twins were frantically looking for clues as to where their guide had ran off to and soon others joined in.

Hal shook his head once more. Despair was trying to grip his heart and Thorn saw it. He too felt the grip on his chest, but he knew panic would not help. The older man placed his left hand on his skirl's shoulder.

'If she disappeared, that means we are close.' The crew heard his words and gathered around him; uncertain hope glanced in their eyes. 'Normally, she would be back by now to lead us on.'

The crewmembers nodded in agreement, that had indeed been the case.

'So that means,' Ingvar understood, 'Shadow found our destination.'

Stig quickly glanced at their surroundings. 'Split up in pairs. The more terrain we cover, the sooner we find Lydia.'

Shadow was the first to reach the clearing and she did not like what she saw. The girl she had tracked stumbled over a tree branch and fell to the ground as the man made his way towards the girl. It did not seem they had noticed the loyal dog. Shadow turned her head to see if the men following her had already caught up, but found that was not the case. The border shepherd was on her own. Then she saw something that sparked a memory. An awful memory full of pain. The man held a sharp tool in his hand and unbeknownst to Shadow, she found herself growling. Such a thing was used to cause her so much pain in the past. That was before the kind young men had taken her with him and before she came to live in Grimsdell with her big friend who gave her her name. Shadow realised the man was going to hurt the girl. She would not let that happen. A loud growl escaped her jaws before she jumped.