What Lurks Behind The Trees

The near horizon

Gregor left the last village in his way, he told them to evacuate and head north. He rode back on the giant bird and took off to Cruin. The bird sped across the skies and over the empty fields. At this very moment, he felt as though he was the only person that existed in the world. He thought for a second, and only for a second if he could just run away and never come back, but he couldn't, there were people he cherished that were waiting for him amidst the madness.

The joy of being alone was short-lived. Gregor's face dropped as his heart did, because now the horizon was a smoke-filled picture of a destroyed Cruin. Was he too late? Was the fight over?

He flew the bird lower, making sure to avoid being in the open. The big bird's feathered wings spread across the fields, casting a closed shadow underneath. The tips of its wings tapped against nearby trees as it flew past them.

Once Gregor was close enough to the battlefield, he climbed down the bird and settled him far away. He patted the bird and left him behind. Now that he was close, he could hear the sounds of death. It was all too real now to run away and especially not when his sister, Celia was standing right before him.

Gregor stopped in his tracks, he stared at Celia and she stared back, both were equally confused.

"Why are you alone?" Celia spoke first.

"I was just going to ask you the same question. I went ahead of them, to evacuate the villages, they should be coming soon. Why are you here? Didn't you say you were going to fight?"

"I was, but father said I can't."

"You can't just stay here, anyone can come and attack you..." Gregor reached for his pouch "Here, take this."

She lifted her eyebrows and took the small bottle from his hand.

"This is a potion, it keeps you invisible and helps you breathe underwater, like a Malif. I don't think I'll have any use for it to keep it in case something happens," Gregor said.

"Thank you. Gregor, one more thing though, Venkalth left the battle for some reason, he said he needed to check something and hasn't been back for a while."

"Check something?" Gregor scratched the back of his head in confusion. Why would he check for something in the middle of a battle? Something in his head was telling him to find Venkalth, but he knew better than to leave the battle he had been preparing to fight in for months and follow a man he barely knew. "He'll come back." Gregor settled for that, he hugged his sister and kissed her forehead.

"Don't die, Greg."

"I won't. Take care of yourself." and with that he walked away, unwilling to turn his back to his sister, but with no choice but to do so, he disappeared behind the trees.

The clanging of metal became louder as he walked deeper into the woods. He figured the best way he could do this without dying is if he climbed a tree and shot his arrows from there, he could wait until the others arrived so they could all make a surprise attack. He walked further down the wooded area, he managed to avoid bumping into any soldiers who were abandoning the battle. These men would be executed after it ends. Gregor understood that feeling of wanting to run away and he hadn't even seen one drop of blood yet.

He spotted a thicker, taller tree by the edge of the woods. He ran to it and used his perfected climbing skills to climb it swiftly. Once he was at a reasonable height he lifted his head and was met with a sickening, bone-chilling sight. A field that was once green and alive with flowers and weed was now a dump of human bodies. Though many of them seemed dead, some were breathing their last breath, some were yelling in pain, clutching their sliced limb and some were drowning beneath the hills of corpses. But beyond all of that, the walls of Cruin stood strong, and as Gregor's eyes glanced over the tops of the walls, soldiers, from whichever side, were being thrown down like lifeless puppets. Goosebumps spread across his skin. His eyes scanned through the crowds of armour, eager to spot his father's mop hair or his brother and sister's grey eyes, but it was impossible to spot them amongst the chaos.

Gregor let out the shakiest breath, he took out his bow and an arrow, he tried to steady his arms, he had trained with Rowan for hours and hours, but he couldn't even aim. He cried frustratedly and gripped the bow and arrow tightly. He looked up again, ready to aim at a nearby soldier, but his eyes dilated and his mouth opened slightly. He could spot his father trying his hardest to fight off a man who did not hold back. Gregor saw as his father was tackled down to the ground and he scrambled to ready his arrow, he aimed at the man who was now ready to plunge his sword down his father's chest. So Gregor focused on the man, and with his exhale, he released his arrow, shooting the man in the arm. This gave his father time to grab his sword and stab him in the leg. The man barely had time to react to the arrow before another he received a final stab in the heart.

Gregor could see his father looking towards him, wondering where that arrow came from, but undoubtedly he couldn't see him behind the canopy and the branches of the tree.

He took out another arrow, ready to shoot some more men. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys! I'm back! 

Once again I apologise for being away, I was busy and I needed a break from writing to refresh my mind and come back with better writing :D 

I hope you haven't abandoned this story, because I haven't. I will go back to updating frequently but not as frequently as before. But don't worry, this story is coming to an end so there aren't many updates left anyway. 

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) 

Vote and comment!