In the End

Chapter 7: Nightmares

I approached Leonidas and his wife. He introduced us. Whatever he called her came out all garbled but my dream-self seemed to understand what he said. His wife handed me the baby and the little girl tugged on my skirts. I smiled at the two small faces that looked up at me and then at the two happy parents. This was all I could have ever wanted for my brother or myself. The only thing missing was our parents-a pair of happy grandparents.

The dream morphed and we were in our old house in Dragow. The wife took the baby and disappeared out the front door. The toddler ran circles around me before heading out the back door. Leonidas stood across the room and gestured for me to follow his child. I laughed and raced after the precious little redhead, following the sound of her sweet giggles. As I stepped outside, I barely caught sight of her blue dress as she disappeared into the little wooded area that was behind our house. I followed after her, her laughter ringing in the air. We went deeper and deeper into the woods and slowly it grew darker and darker. Her laughter suddenly ceased and I stood alone in the middle of the dark woods. Goosebumps crawled across my skin. Cold. It had gotten cold. The goosebumps prickled my arms and legs.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream rang through the air. It made my blood run cold. For a moment, I stood frozen in place. Then, I bolted. I raced toward the cry as fast as my legs would carry me. As I reached the clearing of our backyard, I saw her-my mother. She had a grizzly mark across her face and blood covering her visage and soaking her blouse. She was bound to a pole and a large fire had been lit at her feet. Its flames licked at her hungrily. 

Without thinking, I screamed her name. Only then did I notice the large assembly of people with rifles and knives and torches. One man in particular caught my eye. It was the man with the scar from all those years ago. He looked at me and then began to move toward me, calmly and slowly. I panicked, turned on my heels, and then raced back into the woods.

I jolted awake with a start, gasping for air. I felt as though I had just been running but I was in the forest, leaned against a tree, stiff and cold. It was still early morning, thankfully. As I became fully conscious, a different wave of panic washed over me. I had to find Flynn and get on the road. I stood and stretched. I took a quick drink and washed my face and then headed back north toward the road. 

As the road came into view, I stopped. I couldn't actually walk on the road. I didn't want the Guard to see me or stop me or for Weylin to catch up to me. I stayed in the cover of the trees and began to walk west, parallel to the road. I walked for half an hour or more before I heard something in the distance, a bit southwest of where I was. I hadn't encountered anyone or anything yet so I proceeded with caution. The noise continued and I headed toward it, knife in hand, prepared for anything. Soft prickles tickled my arms and the sound became clear as I got closer. It was the sound of a horse and I was hopeful. A few moments later, I could see him. It was Flynn. He was caught in a snare, a rope wrapped tightly around his ankle. He brayed in distress and I moved quickly toward him, grabbed his reins, and cut him free.

I sighed with relief and gently stroked Flynn's nose. He calmed and so did I. Things would be better now. I could do this. I would do this. 

I mounted Flynn and we set off carefully through the forest, trying to maintain a path parallel to the road. Sometime in the late morning, some merchants passed by heading into Carmile. Around midday, there was a little more traffic. But the road out of Carmile was a long one. Very few people would be traveling it in general and I worried about those that would. By late afternoon, Flynn and I pushed deeper into the forest and followed instead the curve of the lake. Eventually, we would need to make camp and it was better to do it far off the road. 

The remainder of the day passed without incident. We didn't stop until it became too dark to continue. Though the moon was full and bright and would have been enough on the road, the leafy foliage of the trees above blocked out most of the light and I had to stop earlier than I would have liked. Flynn and I made camp which really just meant that I tied Flynn to a tree for fear of him getting spooked and leaving me again and I pulled out some food from the saddle bags. I had eaten very little during the day as I was too anxious. Now, I was starved. I fed Flynn an apple and I devoured a loaf of bread and a partial hunk of cheese. I washed it down with spring water and then found a tree to snuggle up next to.