CHRONICLES OF THE LOST ORACLE: BOOK ONE - SHADOWS

chapter three

It was close to midnight and the fire was burning low, almost burnt out. All was quiet in the ominous darkness of the forest surrounding the clearing where I had made camp for the night. I sat on a log scratching in the fire with along stick. My heart was heavy as my brother's words resounded over and over in my mind.

"You'll break mom and dad's hearts if you leave."

But what other choice did I have? Watch them suffer because of me was not an option. Maybe I was being selfish; just leaving because I wasn't strong enough to watch them suffer. Maybe I should have stayed and let the family decide together, given them the choice.

No, leaving was the right thing to do. In my heart I knew it was no matter how devastated my parents was going to be when they found my letter tomorrow morning. Oh how I wished there was some way I could spare them from all the pain I was going to cause them either way. But how?

It was just like this morning, I was looking for an answer and my mind went blank. All my thoughts were pushed aside to make way for someone else's. It didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't just in one person's mind - I was in every mind of every person who has ever known me, all at the same time. Luckily there were only ten families in my village but it was complete and utter chaos, to say the least. Every thought everyone one has ever had concerning me hung like pictures in front of me. I remember looking at them and wishing that non of these memories of me existed and then my image disappeared from all the pictures it was in.

I was stunned. Wondering if it was real I made myself come back to reality. The fire had burnt out and except for the dim light of the glowing coals, I was surrounded by complete darkness. The light from the crescent moon was almost completely blocked by the leaves of the trees. My little stunt had completely drain the last bit of energy I had left. I was exhausted and desperately needed to sleep. I had opened my sleeping bag and laid it out beside the fire right after had finished lighting it. I curled up in my sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of the night. Identifying every sound I heard, calculating the distance between me and every creature or animal that walked by. Once or twice I would hear an animal moan that I couldn't identify and a little bit of fear would rush though me but then I would calculate that it wasn't too close and relax again. I had camped out in the forest countless of times with my father but now I was all alone.

Everything that had happened in the last twenty hours was starting take its toll on me and being alarmed every so often wasn't helping my exhausted mind. Still listening to the sound of the forest at night I drifted to sleep with the revelation that I had actually erased myself from existence - so to speak.

I must not have been in too deep a sleep because it felt like only minutes later that I woke with a start. Something had just past very close to the clearing. I only heard footsteps so I couldn't tell if it was an animal or another hunter. Fear filled me to the core of my being. I had brought my hunting knife with me but it was out of reach in my backpack and it was too dark for me to find it. I sat up against the log looking around hoping to see something, anything. What ever it was, was closer than when it had woken me. I could hear it breathing now. A forest inhabitant would have at least snorted or have made some sort of identifying noise by now so I knew it could only be another hunter. But why was he not making himself known?

"Who... who's there?" I could hear the fear in my own voice.

"Fear not young one. I mean you no harm." It was definitely an man's voice coming from the darkness. An ominous feeling rushed over the clearing again.

"If... if that's true then stop hiding in the dark." I stuttered.

From the darkness I could just make out a tall dark figure stepping into the clearing in front of me.