Follow The Path Novels & Stories

"This is so freaky." Ulrik followed the meandering path and ignored me. "Where are we now?" I asked him, examining a navy green flower that resembled a poppy. "We have but to traverse this hill and we will be in Cardoza." "Praise be," I sighed. I was so done with near death experiences. "Who?" He turned to look at me briefly. "What?" I asked him. "Who are you praising? If it is Glob, think you not that it would be more effective if you waited until you made his aquaintance?"

"Where do you want to go?" "I want to go run." My wolf growls in excitment as I let him through. Pitch black with a white patch on my chest. I feel Percy start taking full control as he winds through the houses, making his way to th epath into the forest. Freya catches up, looking like she is at a jog while Percy is running at almost full speed. Percy snarls and starts going faster, as Freya easily passes us and dissapears into the forrest. Our pads hit the dirt faster as we continue following her, deeper, until we come upon a pond. Freya pases around it, smelling the ground.

He was in bad condition. "Eyes and ears pealed. Something feel very off." I murmured, unsheathing my sword and tugging on my horses reins. With a soft grunt, it walked slowly next to me. The others followed suit, staying quiet as we followed the small and over grown dirt path to the mill. I scanned the ground, finding multiple footsteps marching towards the mill. A few drag marks here and there, with a small blood trail told me that they where in fact here, but the question was, where they alive.

So I just pick a direction and begin walking. I walk through the maze to my left and then take an immediate right. I use this pattern for a while before I switch it up and move to the right and then to the left. As the sun beats down on me I start to sway under the heat. “If only there was some water,” I murmur to myself and suddenly a glass of water appears in front of me on the path.

I knew I wouldn't get up early enough to attend the ceremony on Friday so it was better I found my way now. I walked till the sun began to set just memorizing lanes and newly found hiding places. Hugging trees-pfft! I was just joking, but I touched the tree though, don't judge me. It was really beautiful, I memorized the routes I would need to use for the next few months of the semester.

I focus only on the path ahead. I see signs of the path I’m on. Scratches on the trees, marks from claws. Blood, dark and drying, spatters the undergrowth from where one of the bleeding wolves crossed. I spot a broken branch to the left, trampled leaves to the right, all leading one way. They passed through here. I surge forward, paws pounding the earth, breath deep and steady despite the pace. I run on full speed for a solid ten minutes, following every broken sign they left behind. Each one drives me harder, faster. My gut twists tighter with every step. I know where they headed.

A path. My jaw tightened. “Of course,” I muttered. Always a path. Always something leading somewhere. But this time. It didn’t feel like control. It felt like invitation. That was worse. I stepped onto it. Careful. The moment my foot crossed onto the brighter line. The rest of the structure dimmed slightly. Focusing. Narrowing. Like everything else became less important. My chest tightened. “Alright… I get it.” Follow. Always follow. But this time.

Like something was waiting for us deeper inside. The path split in three directions. Tessa frowned. “Which way?” I lifted the fragment. The moment it faced the middle path, it warmed. “Middle,” I said. “What if it’s a trap?” “It probably is.” “And you’re still going?” “With you,” I said quietly. “Always.” She swallowed hard but didn’t argue. We walked through the middle path, the water rising around our ankles. I kept her hand tight in mine, guiding her around slippery stones. Every time the fragment warmed, I adjusted our direction.

[Route guidance active] She saw a faint path unfolding before her, and without hesitation, she followed it. It led her through a narrow alley, the walls seeming to close in around her as she moved swiftly and silently. She crossed a broken side path, the uneven ground threatening to trip her up, but she kept her footing. Then, she came to a low fence, and with a surge of adrenaline, she hoisted herself over it, her body barely clearing the top. Her ankle throbbed in protest with every step, but she pushed on, her breathing steady and controlled. The noise behind her grew louder, but she didn't dare look back. This wasn't a desperate, last-ditch attempt at escape - it was a carefully thought-

I said. The ripple formed. not visible. but—present. right in front of me. and for the first time I felt it. not pressure. not control. path. “There is no direct path,” it said. “Then I’ll make one.” the answer came instantly. because that was what we did now. we didn’t follow systems. we didn’t wait for structure. we created it. The space trembled. not violently. but reacting. that was very unexpected. “You will not arrive as you are,” it said.