The Guardians of Deities

1

Her breathing was accelerated, drops of sweat appeared on her forehead and neck and tears emerged from her dark hazel eyes. She was running without a destination, just to escape from the consequences of her actions.

She was passing through tall grass, tall enough to hide her short figure. When she was sure she was far enough, she dropped to her knees, exhausted and trying to calm down her breathing. The same scene played repeatedly in her brain, the tears clouded her vision while they hung from her long eyelashes.

Arline Cole was twenty two years old when she chose to run and hide in the woods. Since that moment, her entire life took a turn. She was born into a well positioned family. It was loving and it had its problems, just like any other, but it was her blood.

The calm murmur of the sea invaded her ears. This would've been normal if the sea was near her, but she happened to be in the middle of a deserted field, surrounded by trees. She was confused and was debating wether to go back and face her well deserved punishment or search for the source of this out-of- place sound.

Arline almost went for the first option when she heard people approaching her hiding spot. She panicked and without fully getting up she started running again towards the thick grove in front of her. She wasn't ready to stand in front of who she had done wrong.

She easily hid behind one of the trees, paying straight attention to who was coming for her. How am I getting out of this one?. A very concerned voice spoke in her mind.

For a second time, before she was about to turn herself in, she heard it again. That calmness hugged her, it eased her mind, almost hypnotized her.

The curiosity was stronger than her sense of responsibility, so she decided to turn her back to the horde that was searching for her and try to find where that sound was coming from. She didn't know why she was doing it but deep inside her she just knew she was delaying the inescapable.

As she was passing through trees and branches she came to a sudden stop. She froze and listened carefully. On her left, under a dark shadow she made out a mirage, just like those in deserts or very hot roads. But it was settled in a dark, cold forest, on a cloudy day and was shaped as an arc.

She was unsure to approach it and felt stupid when she did. The closer she got to the blurry arc, the colder it got. She felt how someone or something pulled her towards an unreachable sea. She had crossed the arc. One moment she was walking and in the other she was sinking into the floor. Except the floor was wet, freezing cold and moved violently.

Arline started to freak out, to choke on water and sink deeper. But quickly she put her thoughts together and rose to the surface. While trying to stay afloat she glimpsed a piece of land with enormous mountains. It wasn't far away, so with all her remaining strength and adrenaline, Arline started to swim.

When she reached the rocky shore, her arms and legs were cramped and tired. She felt frozen, clammy and heavy due to her soaking clothes. She just wanted to close her eyes and give herself into a deep sleep. Until she heard people approaching the place where she was laying. So she forced her exhausted body to get up and seek for a place to hide. She had a strange feeling these people were not trustworthy nor friendly.

Arline felt how her knees were shaking and how heavy she was on her clothes but managed to hide behind a fallen tree trunk in the beginning edges of the pine tree forest, she felt relieved to be hiding. Her intuition didn't fail her. These men were carrying big hunting rifles, one of them a bow and arrow. Not to mention they were ripped and obviously tall, with thick beards. They looked intimidating and violent, and were laughing hysterically as they were preparing a bonfire to cook their dinner.

She tried to stay alert and awake as long as she could but her eyes started to have an unbearable weight to hold them open for another minute, so she fell asleep in the cold, damp soil, covered with leaves.