Renard dangereux

CHAPTER 8:

We were at the right distance to pass through an unclaimed territory, I could tell because there was a faint track passing through this part of the forest.

I had to let him know, "see that trail passing through the forest?"

"Yeah."

"We have to pass through that forest, it doesn't belong to anyone so it's-" I hesitated "not safe, but our chances of dying are slim."

"That's comforting." I giggled a bit, but I had to explain the hefty part.

"So the Sukas thrive on these parts, that means we can't have any fires and need to be out as soon as we physically can. We have a good chance of getting robbed of our supplies, but seeing I'm me they should only threaten us. If that happens, let me do the talking."

"Right."

"We'll survive, I promise."

We walked into this horrid forest, even I was scared.

The forest was thick and the trail was thin, it was hard to keep track of where we were. I could barely see the sky to tell the time of day. Everything looked the same, it was worse than the hills. The ground was uneven and at some points the trail was almost completely drowned and then dived back up to the surface of the ground again.

I tripped, "shit."

He grabbed my arm and yanked me back onto my feet.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just twisted my ankle."

I took a deep breath and kept going. Our hike was, climb up, climb down, climb up, climb down. Panic and repeat. The routine was tiring and I hated it, it was getting humid thanks to the lack of exposure to the atmosphere.

I heard a noise in the distance. I stopped.

Matthew couldn't take the hint, "what's up?"

"Shhh!"
"What are you-?"

"Shut up and listen!"

Someone was following us. How long have we been here? How deep in the forest are we? How long have they been following us? Do they know the forest well or not? Are they a threat? These were the questions that needed to be asked to know if you're being followed and if you were truly in danger, other than their motive. I heard another noise, it was a rustle not far from the trail we were following. We'd only been here a few hours, we were a quarter way through the forest, they'd just started, didn't know the forest considering they were using the trail as a guide and were a threat because they most likely wanted our supplies.

He whispered, "What's up."
"We're being followed."

He searched the bushes, he felt uneasy and could sense he was being watched.

"Just keep walking. They probably know now, but I think they'll persist."

We walked in tense silence. I could feel a pair of eyes follow us and I could hear the occasional rustle. They most likely weren't experienced, meaning they were young and rather foolish. It was getting dark and we were reaching the heart of the forest, meaning we wouldn't have any fast way out. It also meant it would be a bad idea to move in case we went off trail, but we couldn't use any light sources because we'd attract attention.

I whispered, trying not to look at him, "we're reaching the most dangerous part of the forest, but we can't have light."

He sighed quietly, we kept walking as the rustles grew louder and became more regular. My heart raced, my breathing picked up, my blood was rushing, I couldn't focus. Matthew was shaking. Despite our feelings we had to keep moving.

The sun was down, it was pitch black. We had to stop walking. He sat down and tried to relax, both of us were too tired to talk. It seemed we both decided to stay up the night incase of any incidents throughout the night. A presence appeared in front of us with the intent to harm. I felt air brush past my face and grabbed the hand that created it.

"Piss off."

No response. My grip tightened.

"I said piss off!"

"Fine."

I let go, but the presence didn't leave.

I got up and grabbed my knife, "I thought I told you to piss off!"

I pulled them closer to me and gave them a warning nick in the neck. They retaliated by trying to grab my hand and use my knife against me, but it was my knife.

I cut their stomach a little, it was a female.

I repeated myself, "piss off now or die, girl."

She left, Matthew was too scared to move.

I sat next to him and sighed, "That won't be the last of them, let's hope it's the last for tonight."

I was wrong. I heard quiet footsteps next to me, they were heavier than the last ones.

I woke Matthew up, "Do not move a muscle, what so ever."

I got up again and grabbed my knife again. I didn't know how long we had left to survive or even if we would. I heard the same set of footsteps again. I hissed.

I heard a voice above me, "well, hello little fox."

It was a man, I turned and saw a tree to my left with a man's figure in it. My chest rose and fell, my muscles tensed. I was shaking.

He filled this tense pause, "you know what a foxes biggest weakness is?"

I didn't answer.

"The darkness."
I leapt from his tree and grabbed me from behind. He was much more experienced than the previous girl.

"That other bitch was just a teaser." I felt his arm lock around my waist and his hand clutch my wrist.

I snapped, "Not a very good one."

I swung myself around and kicked him in the chest. I tripped and felt my body roll along the forest floor. It was hard to find my footing, he was right. We can't survive in the dark. He walked toward me, I couldn't give him the chance to attack. I grabbed my knife and leapt towards him. I felt the air fill my hair, my body lift off the ground and eyes focus on this male figure. My knife lifted towards him, but he was faster than I thought. He kneed me in the stomach, knocking all the air out of me. I was back on the ground, my body stung. I wasn't going to win this fight.

The sun was rising, I smiled. He leapt towards me and I could finally move. I gave him an uppercut under his neck and he fell at my side. He kicked the back of my knee and dragged me down, pinning me to the floor. He was going to kill me with my own knife. Matthew kicked him off me, I stole my knife back and kicked him in the face.

"You're an arrogant dick!"

We left. I limped next to and tried to hold back my pain, refusing to look at my injuries.