Adamantine

Bonded

   Boreabilis,
Winter 1607.

     Serenity saw it first then felt the hardness of his boots on her stomach. Pain exploded in that area. She grunted in pain and felt her eyes sting with tears. Serenity knew she was on the verge of crying but she refused to cry in front of these monsters. She closed her eyes for a brief moment and focused on the forest. The trees seemed to whisper at her vulnerability; the icy wind carried it's laughter.

There were three of them this time. Two beating her and a lanky one standing guard. One of them, the tallest of the three grasped her hair and pulled her up to face him.

"You freak. Why don't you just die?" He shouted at her face and slapped her with his free hands. She fell to the ground and hit her head on the snow covered forest floor.

I wish you would all die a horrible and painful death.

It was freezing cold but she can feel the rush of blood in her head making her nauseous. She was always the subject of physical abuse but this was the first time she felt life draining out of her body. Serenity felt a prickling sensation near her shoulder blade and it crept down her arm. The feeling intensified like a wicked rash. Then it felt searing hot she wanted to pluck out the areas if she could.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and suddenly it felt cold. The hotness was replaced by chilly trickle leaving goosebumps in its wake.

"What was that? Did you hear it?" Asked the lanky one standing guard.

Between in and out of consciousness, Serenity heard it too, like snow crunched under heavy steps.
Is it a person? An animal? She tried to listen but everything around her seemed blurred and sounds muffled.

"Is someone coming you idiot?" The tall boy snapped.

"I don't see anyone." another replied.

"Could be an animal, let's leave. She might get eaten alive. We wouldn't want to share the same fate as her." Said the tallest. Smart.

With one last kick they snickered and left her writhing in the snow. Her head throbbed, her stomach felt as if someone stuck a blunt knife and took out her insides. Their loud voice rang in the air as he boasted about how she fell on the ground with just a slap. They weren't that far away -

"What is - "

Whoever said that was not able to finish his words as a heavy blow struck him and he was thrown on the ground. The other two rushed at the source of their comrades downfall but got thrown back the same way. The three of them crawled on all fours and tried to get away but they weren't moving. It was like they had lost control of their body.

Then in the periphery of her eyes, Serenity saw why they were numbed in their spots. Fear surged her veins and she blinked her eyes thinking she was seeing things as she hit her head. But it didn't disappear and she had to blink a few more times. A big black shrouded figure stood mere inches from the boys, wisps of black smoke seemed to escape from it in tendrils daring anyone to come near.

She realized the air around her had dropped and felt colder than before. The black figure strode towards her in a slow graceful manner like it had all the time in the world. Blood drained from Serenity's face due to the approaching dark figure and lying in the snow for too long. It approached nearer and, Serenity felt the cold accompanying it.

It wasn't numbing like the snow or biting like the chilly wind. But it was raw and piercing like frostbite. She was surprised at how it didn't bothered her the least though. This cold felt familiar, like home. It felt like the first rays of sunlight in Boreabilis's short spring. Much to her astonishment she was drawn to this cold.