Ravens After Dark

The Darkness Around Me

I burst through the undergrowth and dodge pass more trees. I don't know how long Iv been running but I'm exhausted. I'm just not tired enough to be willing to give up my life for it not when I'm being chased by someone who would kill me right away. A quick glance behind me sends me lurching into a faster run, he's still there. My breathing becomes ragged as push passed more trees,its like the forest is never ending.I was once told the best way to get away from somebody is to zigzag in different directions so after running past a long oak tree i surge to the right using all my strength to disappear into the bushes.After running for a little i change directions to the right again only this time after a moment i bolt to the right again sending me another direction. My legs beg me to stop calling out for me to collapse on the forest floor and never move again. I continue sprinting after a while i look back and theirs no sign of him, taking it as a good sign i stop behind a large spruce tree and fall to the ground crunching the leaves and twigs under me. As i sit trying to catch me breath i feel like every part of me is on fire, so much that every chirp of a cricket or rustle of branches from the wind makes me jump out of my skin. After a while my breathing finally slows as i stare into the sky. Its clear tonight, filled with thousands of shining stars a crescent blue moon being the only thing to light the forest. Just moving my legs closer to me makes them scream with pain,i cant blame them i haven't run or even moved this much for years let alone in one night. Either way it doesn't matter id do anything to stay away from that place and that room, even if it means tormenting my limbs with so much exercise. The wind rustles the tree branches sending my eyes searching for any movement around me,i know its the wind but with out a thought i always look around me. The winds chilly tonight as it grows from winter to spring, most of the snow seems to have melted except for the occasional patch that has survived. I pull my arms in closer and wrap them around me bare legs,it doesn't help that all i have is a torn old farmers dress that has had the sleeves ripped off. Which is i guess my fault, i needed something to cover my wounds. When the wind finally calms i pull myself up ignoring the siring pain from my body,i slowly move through the trees listening for anything or at least anyone. The longer i walk the more i begin to relax and calm. I make it to a large clearing only filled with wild sun-blooms the only flowers that grow through winter and wilt in spring. The whole field is covered in the mall standing as tall as to my hip. I crouch down, watching for anyone around. After a few minutes i slowly make my way through the field trying to watch every space between the trees. About half way through i my hair stands on end, my eyes search through the tree line but i cant find anyone watching me. I try to shake it off as paranoia but i continue to feel like I'm being watched but not by one person but by multiple people like I'm standing on a stage. I look behind me to see if anyone was following me or if he had caught up tome,but no ones their. Just as i begin to think i was just being stupid i turn towards the direction i was heading only to see something standing only a few feet away from me. It want the man chasing me, no, it was something else. He was shaped like a human but was pure black like a shadow. The darkness seemed to morph around it like it was apart of him. He had no face it was like he was an empty can-vise. He just stood tier unmoving but i could feel his eyes on me, completely focused on every part of me. A moment later he was gone as if he weren't their,and with him gone its like i was able to breath again. The crickets began to chirp again as the wind picked up. That's when a siring pain pierces through my stomach forcing a scream from my lips. My hands fly to the pain as i hold the area around it, that's when i felt the warm blood push through between my fingers and down my arm. My legs buckle under meas the pain grows stronger,i fall onto the ground as blood soaks through my dirty clothes and douses my arms with more blood. The edges of my vision grow dark and blurry as the blood loss begins to the warm my body. I roll my head to the side to see blood begin cover the ground around me turning the sun-blooms yellow peddles blood red.My eyes begin to grow heavy until i catch movement in the tree line.Out of nowhere a group of people come running toward me all in hoods and small cloth masks covering half their face. Some had swords on their hips while others had bows pulled over the shoulder. A tingling sensation begins to take over my toes and slowly make its way up my legs. When the group finally got to me I want to push them away and run but i can barely keep my eyes open. S o i just lay unmoving watching as on crouches down next to me and begins putting pressure on my wound. Another ear piercing scream pushes past my lips and through the clearing. I hear one ordering another to keep me quiet as a leather gloved hand covers my mouth that's when my eyes shoot alert lurching my body into fight mode. I toss my body trying get their hands off me, i bite down on the masked mans hand making him pull back with a small shriek. Voices fly into the air all harshly whispering to the others to cover my mouth and to hold me down. Hands grab at my ankles pushing my legs against the cold ground. A pair of hands grab at my wrists, i try to fight them but they finally grab my hands and push them to the ground. Distracted by trying to get away another gloved hand covers my mouth. My eyes shoot up to look at the masked face of the one leaning over me keeping me quiet. The man reaches up with his free hand and pulls down the mask from his face, i freeze realizing that he isn't much older then me. He looks so calm and focused like nothing was happening, he put a finger to his mouth telling me to be quiet. When i finally nod my head that i wouldn't scream his hand slowly lifts up from my mouth and back to his side. Another wave of pain shoots through my abdomen as i lurch forward trying to cover the pained area when hands grab my shoulders holding me down. The corner of my eyes grow even darker as the tree line grows fuzzy for a moment . A chores of whispers surround me as the one working on my wound is whispering for me to stay still and ordering out commands to the others. my eyes look back up to the man leaning over me.

"its okay, don't worry we aren't gonna hurt you! The girl attending to your wound is a medic and a very talented one at that okay?" his voice was so calm that i felt like i needed to listen. i slowly nod my head up and down telling him i understood.

He then continued as if he had just gotten my permission to continue talking."For us to help you you really need to stop moving its making her job harder and isn't helping you okay ?" i nod again and he seemed to relax a little. He covered it up well enough that the others didn't see but i could catch it, he had relaxed knowing that i had calmed down just a little. The tingling sensation had began to reach my neck as my eyes grow to heavy for me to keep them open. "oh no,no,no,no hey i need you to ope your eyes,okay? open them know!" i tried to open my eyes but they were just so heavy and i was so tired i cant make out anything else he said, all i could hear were voices around me harshly whispering orders. i feel as if I'm drifting in the field when my body finally relaxes as i drift to sleep.

Pain shoots through my stomach as my eyes bolt open. Sun shines into my eyes as I squeeze my eyes closed once more to block out the suns raise. My eyes finally adjust to the light as I hoist my sore and pained body to sit up. I'm in a tent, with tables and chairs in the middle and animal skin rugs scattered all over the dirt floor. I pull myself to the edge of the bed while also trying to keep my self up right by holding the bed post. My feet slide off the bed and on to the warm wolf skin pelt under me, as I use all my strength to pull me onto my feet but pain shoots through me again pushing me back onto the bed. The pain grows as take a few breaths as I sit as style as I can be. I finally get enough courage to look a my stab wound.

The large wound spanned from my right hip bone and up to my bellybutton. The wound is still pink but is sewn shut to help it heal.It'll leave a scar but it wont be my first and most likely not my last. Although it will be the one of my nicer scars seeing that it was tended to by someone who knew how to make it heal easier. Ill probably only have a slight scar line that could go mostly unnoticed unlike all my others that we tended to with dirty cloth and my untrained hand. I slowly re-wrap my stomach to keep the wound from reopening or getting infected. I pull the clean m white shirt over my head and over the bandages,the shirt has long sleeves that I fold up to my elbows. The the shirt itself is nicely put together with the v-neck collar dipping down only to right under my collar bone. The shirt flatters and emphasizes my hour glass shape yet allows for easy movement. I tuck the bottom of the shirt into the pair of black leather pants that reach down to my ankles and have cross stitching on the sides of my legs where they had sown the pieces together. I slowly button up my pants as slow and painless as I can, taking intermittent breaks to relieve the pain. My hand hold the wound as I painfully reach down to grab the boots that were also left for me.The boots are standard hunters boots with leather laces. I finally finish getting dressed as I pull my self back up from the bed still keeping my right arm against my stomach to hold to wound and try to help the pain. When I finally pull my self up my eyes shoot up to the tent flap being opened as a boy enters into my tent. He stops suddenly when he sees me standing leaning against the bed post watching him. He just a little taller then me looking to be only 6 '1 height. His hair is rustled and feathery blonde as if he had just gotten up from bed. He is actually quite cute in a village boy way. A subtle hansom that doesn't make him stand out from the crowd but is easily seen in a way. He finally pushes through the of seeing me up and a small smile graces his face surprise.

" Hey your up, for a while we thought you'd never wake up." He begins to make his way towards me when I stumble back,falling back down on the bed. He quickly stops bringing his hands up to show me he wont come closer. "Its okay I get it, you don't know who I am or what I want I get it, but I don't have any weapons so its okay don't worry why don't you just tell me your name?" i watch him for a moment as i try to figure out what he wants.

"Okey, not a chatty one are you well, im Caidan i guess you could say im the leader of this ragtag group ."he says as a smile spreads a crossed his face.

" My names raven." i say as i survey the entirety of the tent.