The monsters in the woods

Heaving and panting heavily, Mara kept pushing herself forward with every being and with limited strength left in her.

She was determined and continued running as fast as her weak legs would carry her. She would not allow them to get hold of her again after she finally escaped from them.

The monsters

The monsters that killed her parents and destroyed a whole village without any form of remorse.

The monsters behind her were starting to gain on her.

Mara had just one thought in her head, and it was to keep running.

A couple of times, she would look behind her to ascertain precisely where they were on her trail.

It was horrifying, especially how things had forcibly changed from the peaceful and quiet time just a few hours ago to this nightmare.

Her mother’s need to protect her from the invaders earlier crept up into her mind making her gasp in sorrow and also allowing her to realize how everything was beginning to make sense to her.

Her actions and behavior before the attacks were concrete evidence that she knew something of this nature would happen.

Somehow, her mother must have known they would be attacked and was demanding of her father that they should move out and relocate immediately.

She recalled the scary one who had ended her mother’s life, referring to her as a witch.

Mara began to wonder just how deep she was in the dark and how everything that seemed impossible initially was becoming a reality.

It was as though fate had prepared to deal with her in ways she didn’t expect personally.

Before the attack, they were just an average family and had to live through each day as usual as possible, and now, she has lost not only one but both parents to death while she had no idea of her brother’s whereabouts. 

However, as the cold breeze brushing over her shoulders suddenly increased, Mara was reminded of her

shoulders, and she grunted out in pain.

The men had peered at her shoulder area and found her birthmark.

The same birthmark that had been on her since childbirth and had been thought of as just any ordinary born mark, but once they saw it, they had termed a meaning into it which shocked her.

Suddenly, the white flakes that had appeared briefly during the day before the attack started dropping gradually. 

Snow, at that moment, chose to present itself, causing Mara to feel colder than she was before.

However, she was getting weaker by the minute. When she heard the howls of the monsters after her, she knew that her plan to get away from these beasts had failed woefully and held tightly onto the necklace that her mother gave her, which a few minutes ago had severe as a weapon for her against the beast.

Her breath was beginning to fail her, and that instant, she unknowingly stepped on a pointed wood. It pierced her skin, and she gave off a scream.

It was game over.

She could tell that she was already bleeding but did not stop in her bid to get away from these men.

She dragged along the injured foot, and suddenly, one of them jumped before her to stand in front of her.

The man turned to face her and then gradually began to retake the form of a human.

“Brave girl. I commend you for trying to escape from a pack of us and holding out for a few minutes.” He said, walking closer.

Mara looked away immediately in disgust and hatred as he moved to stand before tauntingly.

At that moment, she was feeling so much pain.

She grunted out in pain as the pain of grieving and the one steering from the cut underneath her feet.

When the attack began, Caelum was not around and was fortunately and hopefully not seen by these monsters.

She did not want to assume the worst, but certainly, she hoped he was not yet dead.

She did not want to live with the guilt that they had killed her parents because of something relating to her.

Her twenty-first birthday was only a few days away, yet it had to seem like something was amiss other than what was happening.

The village also had been destroyed, and she sincerely hoped it was not her fault that all these things were happening.

Why was it that she had to be the only one alive of the young girls in the village?

Why was she even picked out carefully like a diamond in the rough?

She knew, however, that whatever it was, she would not be able to live with the guilt. All she wanted right now was her peaceful life with her mother’s nagging.

The men on horseback were beginning to approach, and she could hear both neighing and hoof sounds.

There were there suddenly.

“Great. You’ve caught her, but she did hold out on your lot. Pathetic.” The man who she had come to both

hate and dread was saying now as he got off his horse

“It felt fun playing chase with her. We could have had her in her heartbeat, but we wanted to give her

the benefit of a race.” The naked man in front of her said

“Oh, I see. You can find something to wear while I chat with our Guest. All of you!!!”

he said.

A guest he had called her, but now Mara was beginning to understand why they had taken her from

what the second man had said about playing chase with her. They would have treated her with more dignity if she were so vital to them.

However, she was merely a plaything to them, and all they were taking her back for was for games to whoever sent them on this mission. The man in front of her and his fellow monsters walked away to create a distance between them while the murderous man came to stand before her.

For a moment, he stood over her, looming and looking down at her, but then, seeing that she would not

lookup, he came down to make a half squat to level with her.

“I see you’re wounded, sweetheart.” He said

“I’m not your sweetheart,” Mara said between clenched teeth and balling fists.

She was still unwilling to look at him as he desired and would rather keep looking down.

“Oh, I see. Well, let’s take a look, shall we?” he said casually and tried to grab Mara’s feet.

Mara drew them away in such a way she folded them closer to her.

“Don’t,” she said with a warning tone.

“That was not a request.”