Life in the Dark

Exploration

        It wasn't long after that encounter that I decided to leave the house. I grabbed my axe and a few bandages that I had made and packed them into my bag. I looked at the piece of paper and the box that the wolf man had gave me and realized that it was a map and a compass.

"That was nice of him." I walked towards the doorway and looked at the chicken.  "The people around here don't take kindly to it" , the words played through my head. I grabbed the chicken and stuffed it into one of the side pockets on my bag.

"Okay, lets go south." I took out the map and compass, turned myself to face south, and started walking. The trees rustled from the small breeze that blew by.  I wasn't walking long when I heard a yelp, I drew my axe from my bag and faced the direction of the yelp I stood there waiting for whatever had made that sound to stumble through the trees, but it never did.

"Just keep walking." I turned to walk when whines started. "A dog? No, just keep going towards the village." I argued with myself in my head, the whines got louder. "We could always run if its something bad" I reasoned and took off towards it.

I ran towards the noise, cutting and slicing away at the bark of the trees. I eventually came to a small clearing. The whines where loud and long. I looked around for what was emitting those sad and sorrow filled cries, when my eyes landed on a monstrous sized dog caught in a bear trap.

"You poor thing." its head snapped towards me, eyes locked. It tried to take a defensive stand but faltered, howling in pain. I moved to get closer. It snarled at me. "let me help, please." the dog barked at me. " Shit, no good. Alright think, How do you get an animal to trust? " I looked over the dog. Thick black fur covered it. One of its eyes a pale yellow. the other was a clouded grey. "So its blind in one eye."  I moved my sights down along the dogs body, you could see its ribs poke out from under the fur, as thick as it was. "Its hungry, it has to be." I reached into my bag and pulled out a small bit of meat that i had got from one of the bugs that came through in the night before and held it out to the dog.

"Here." it growled in response. I set the meat on the ground and pushed it towards the dog with the blunt end of my axe. The dogs head tilted in confusion " Its meat, go ahead and eat." The dog leaned its head down to sniff at the meat before licking it. It looked back at me. 

"Don't like it?" I sat still and watched the dog. it seemed to be observing me. Finally it took the meat and pulled it closer. I sighed and set myself to the right so the dog could see me better. The dog chomped and tore at the meat. "So it was hungry." I tested my luck and moved a little closer to the dog . The dog was too focused on the meat to pay me any mind.

"Hey bud," the dog looked into my direction, " I wanna help you get out of that trap, But I know that its going to hurt. So I need you to trust me, alright?" The dog eyed me up and down before going back to the meat. "I'm going to take that as a yes." I move to the back of the dog  and look over the Bear trap.

"there it is." I reach my hand down to the release trigger. Earning me a growl from the dog. I ignore this and pull the release. the teeth of the trap withdrew from the dogs leg with a squelching sound as the dog howled in pain. I quickly wrapped the leg in a bandage  stopping the flow of blood. It was now that I felt the sharp pain in my leg where the dog has bit me. i scream and kicked the dog away from me. 

The dog, now standing up right, loomed over me. I grabbed my axe and backed into the tree that the dog was laying under. As the dog shifted it weight to walk it paused. It walked in a circle and then looked back at me. " I'm nice, I promise." I dropped the axe and held my hand out allowing the dog to sniff it. It looked back at me and huffed before making its way into the tree line. I stood from the ground and started my way back to the road.

"Well that was fun. Great going me." I grunted. My new injury stung as I walked. I took the compass from my right pocket. "So to the right?" I'll admit that I wasn't quite sure, but I had a pretty good bearing on were I was thanks to the slices on the trees. 

After another two hours of walking I eventually made it to the village. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but it wasn't this. The houses were sparse. The few farms were filled with rotten vegetables. The smell of rotten mud carried on the wind. The few people I saw in the street was either skin and bone, drunk, or yelling at the skin and bone robbers. Sometimes a combination of the three.

 The more I walked, the more people stared. Some of the men started to get up from the benches. I quickened my pace.

"Oi, you!" I turned to see a man with a pitchfork walk over towards me. " Just what are you doing here?"  The smell of alcohol on his breath was pungent.

"I was just wandering, looking for supplies and such." I responded. the man spat in my direction and pointed the pitchfork at me.

"Oh really? Then what's in your bag?" I pulled my bag closer to me and grabbed the handle of my axe. "Easy now. There's no need to get antsy." he walked closer, my response was to walk backwards.

"Sir, all I wish to do is look around for a bit and then I'll head out the same way I came in." The man snarled, his pitchfork left his hand and lunged towards me. I dodged to the side and slid across the ground

"You little-" "That's enough!" a frail voice called from the crowd. I faced the crowd to se a small old woman coming forth, her skin almost see through. she wore a babushka around her head and a dark blue jacket.  In her arms was a dead chicken.

"What do you want you old hag!" the mans speech was slurred. The old lady just walked past him. the man just scoffed and turned toward the crowd, walking back to wherever he came from.

"Are you alright my dear?" she held her hand out to me. I got up to my feet and shook her hand. "Yes, thank you for your help." she laughed. "Help? No dear, I was just tiered of the noise. It scares my pet." She petted the dead chicken that was under her arms. I grimaced a little at the action. 

"This has to be the chicken lady."  I reached into my bag and pulled out the plastic chicken, handing it to her. "Is this yours?" The lady's face became dark as she snatched it from my hand.

"Where did you get this?" she dropped the dead bird and rushed towards me. "Are you in cahoots with  that damn wolf?" the villagers gathered closer to us as the old woman backed me into a wall. "If you are we don't want you here! leave!"

"No I'm not!  I found it on the trail by a dead dog!" I was scared. I had never seen so many people go from friendly to hostile so quick. "I'll leave Just let me grab a few-"

"LEAVE!"  alright. I ran towards the gate I had came in from. looking over my shoulder to see the mob chasing me. As I looked back I hit a statue with my right side causing it to fall and a stone to be nocked loose. "She's destroying the village!" 

"Fuck" I ran faster, making sure to look forward when I saw the outline of someone with a trench coat and hat. "Hello stranger." I continue to run hearing the mobs shouts grow distant.