The Beasts Substitute Bride

A shrill scream filled the silent night. It was nothing to Waylen at this point. The forest was filled with thousands of screams almost every second. At every minute, there was a fallen hero. The grasses were wet and not from the rains. The blood of the fallen coated every inch of the ground.Waylen jumped over a body as he ran. He had no care for his life again. The singular thought in his head was to get to his wife. He left her behind when he heard the enemy was in the village, he dropped all and went for his wife. She was his world and he could not continue living if something happened to her.The village looked even worse than the forest. Bodies were scattered everywhere. The houses were burning and the little children who had been spared were crying. He should stop and console them. Get them to safety. Assure them that everything was going to be alright but he just couldn't.He saw his home come into sight and he pushed himself further. He ignored the burn in his ribs as he stop

The rest of the night was gloomy. The morning was even worse. So far, our family has never been selected but what if we were unlucky today. Nevaeh was quiet. Mama chewed on her fingers. It was a nervous habit. Papa was his normal self but I could tell he was worried. Coulter on the other hand was indifferent. I know he cared about us but right now he wasn't thinking about it. I took my shower quickly and wore a yellow dress. The hand straps were thin. The sun was already shining brightly. I was the last to join them in the living room. It was a bad habit I had. Coming late. Papa scolded me often but today he didn't spare me a glance. We started our trek to the town hall. Mama walked beside Papa and they talked in hushed tones. Coulter walked far ahead while Nevaeh and I walked together. The hall was full and our family took the vacant space by the window. Our leader Silas and his beautiful wife Harriet were not here yet. They had three daughters. They were below the age of twent

I was sitting at the table alone drinking warm chocolate milk. Everyone has gone to bed but I just couldn’t find sleep. “Couldn’t sleep?” I turned round to see mama standing at the kitchen door.“No” she poured herself some chocolate milk and joined me. We sat in silence just staring at the stars.“Nevaeh didn’t mean any of the things she said. She’s only upset”“Why does she have to go. Why does any of us have to go to the beasts?”“It’s how it’s always been. From the time of your great grand parents till now. We can’t change it”“And so we have to accept abnormality as normal? It’s like you don’t even care you’re sending your daughter away”“Don’t say that. Of course I care. I’ll do anything to stop it but I can’t. If we don’t send Nevaeh, the wrath of the beasts will be upon us. Upon the village. Do you want so many to die because we don’t want our daughter taken?”“Why must Nevaeh be the savior?”“Other families have sent their daughters too. If they decided to keep their daughte

"Shit. Shit" I muttered under my breath as I grabbed my bags. I ran out of the room only to realize that I was barefoot. I dropped the bag and ran into the room searching for my shoes. I found them and grabbed them putting them on as I ran out again grabbing my bags."Be careful Paisley" my mother shouted at the same time I hit my foot on the chair."Fuck" I cursed."You have to be careful. You'll hurt yourself" Nevaeh said from the kitchen doorways as she watched me run around like a headless chicken."I'm late Nevaeh. I'm in so much trouble" I hurried for the door."Don't forget to Kamiko" she called out before I slammed the door shut. Shit. I forgot to call her yesterday. The call would have to wait until later today. Firstly, I needed to get to work.I couldn't run on my feet. I was already so late. I took a cab to the office."You're late" the receptionist Patricia said to me cocking her head to the side."I know. My alarm didn't work this morning""You'll have to explain to the

I woke up early today and it didn’t take me long to get ready. I had about thirty minutes before work officially started.I knocked on the Nevaeh’s door but she didn’t respond.“Nevaeh”“Coming” she shouted from inside. Her voice sounded much better so I felt at ease.She opened the door and I entered.“You didn’t open yesterday” I said in an accusing voice.“I’m sorry Paisley. I just… we have only four days until they come for me”“Stop talking about leaving Nevaeh. I’m going to see Silas today”“Promise me Paisley. That you’ll get me out of this”“I promise Nevaeh” I squeezed her hands. My phone rang and I reached into my bag.“Patricia. I’m awake and already on my way”“There’s no need for that” I frowned.“Why? Did I get fired”“No. The boss asked us not to come in today”“What? Are you serious?”“Yes. He said we should consider it an off day”“I can’t believe it”“What’s that?” Nevaeh asked. “The boss gave us an off day” her eyes widened.“I’ll talk to you later Paisley. I have