Hold True

Chapter 2

I took in the sights around me and laughed.  I’m free, it can’t be.  After so many years of hell.  I made it.  I escaped!  

“But how?”  I wondered to myself.

The last thing I remember is my consciousness fading.  Is this heaven?  Did I die? How about hell?  No, I don’t think I would still be covered in blood if this were heaven. And if I were in hell, shouldn't everything be burning or something? But then where am I?  

I looked around for a sign as to how I got here and where exactly here is.  There’s nothing. No blood except for where I’m laying now, no broken shards of grass, nothing.  I couldn’t have just appeared. Could I?  Sir did say I have unimaginable power. But he was delusional. Right?

As I sat there confusing myself I heard a noise in the trees. I layed back down and listened for whatever was approaching.   No not an it, they.  I could hear the leaves crunching under their feet as they slowly grew closer.  Then I heard it, a voice.  Not any of the voices I’m used to hearing,  a voice of someone new.  

I tried to get up, so I could go hide behind a tree, forgetting about my injuries because of the adrenaline.  I cried out silently, hopefully not loud enough for them to hear and fell back to the ground.

The steady crunch of leaves stopped and I froze.  Biting my bottom lip, I waited for them to make the next move.

“Did you hear that?”  A deep voice asked.

“Yeah,  sounds like a wounded animal.” The other with a softer voice replied.

“That didn’t sound like any animal I know of.”  The deep voice whispered back. “And I’ve hunted  every kind of animal in this forest.”

“Go see what it is sir.”  The soft voice encouraged.

“Ha, me?  Why don’t you go, seeing as you are a better warrior than me.” The deep voice said arrogantly.

“I mean no disrespect sir, but you have to be mad if you think I’m capable of protecting you.”

“What does that mean?”  Deep voice demanded.

“It means,  it’s hard to keep an idiot safe... Sir”  Soft voice answered innocently.

I heard hear a thump.

“Ow,  hey... stop. I said I meant no disrespect. And shouldn’t you be going to see what made that noise?”  

Now I could hear some shuffling and a larger thump on the ground then another. And the leaves started crunching again as the men started moving closer.

I held my breath and tried pressing myself flatter to the ground hoping they wouldn’t spot me. But being in a clearing that is all green and tan, the red of my blood stood out like the sun in the bright sky.

“Wow!”  Soft voice exclaimed.

“Looks like whatever it is, is still there.” Deep voice examined.

“Hu?  What do you mean it’s still there?”  Soft voice asked sounding frightened.

“The bloods all in one place.  No sign of it leaving.  If it left there would be a trail of blood wherever it went.”  Deep voice explained.

The sound of the tall grass swaying as the men moved closer made my heart rate increase. All I could do was lay there and wait.  Then I heard one of them gasp.

“Shit.”  Deep voice exclaimed.  Hearing them  running closer towards me, I tensed up waiting for the pain.