Cursed

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Death cycle

When Delilah ran out of that house, and away from her captor, she didn't exactly know where the hell she was going. Her priority was set on getting away, something she didn't actually think was possible. Delilah glanced up from her legs and surveyed her surroundings then let out a heavy sign, realizing she should have found out which direction the damn city was before letting the brute go. Wait, did he mean two hours of driving?

Okay, come on, girl, you got this, just get up. Delilah tried at self motivation.

She summed up all the energy she had left and tried to get up, but this motion sent shockwaves and tingles up her legs causing her to groan out in pain. Her last meal was yesterday, and her stomach is literally screaming for food. The wolves tried to force her to eat a rectangular shaped mystery meat that had a pale color to it. The green beans, accompanied by gray mush that may have been mashed potatoes, worked together to call the bile up from her stomach and into her mouth. They were trying to prepare her for a night with the old man before sending her off and claiming the bounty on her head. The thought of that was still revolting, and when she realized what they were doing she sliced her legs with a broken glass, then claimed it was her time of the month. This lie only lasted for two days, after that she used the same piece of glass to slice the neck of one of the wolves who came down to check if she was lying. As she thought back to earlier that day she regretted not killing all of them when she had the chance. Lifting her head up, she allowed the sunlight to shine on her face. It's been a while since she'd had a chance to be in sunlight. Deciding it would be best to just walk along the bank of the river, she pulled herself up and on her feet. She walked in hopes that she would run into a town of some sort.

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As Delilah walked along the river, watching it slowly drift along its course, a few leaves riding the last of the waves the waterfall created. She began reminiscing about the days she spent playing at the river as a child. She dared herself to open that box of memories she had kept hidden for millennials. She and the other kids would play while their mothers washed clothes along the bank of the river. Her Father was the Tribal Chief of our Village, he would advocate for their safety and made sure every member of the tribe was fed. Her mom would always talk about how it is a woman's duty to support her husband.

Their tribe was the oldest in the land, and she loved being a part of it. They were called The Samas, and even though they were human, it was said that her tribe drew energy from the sun. Delilah's grandpa used to tell her about the legend of their people: that they fought like warriors to stay alive, and because of that, they gained respect from werewolves.

So much so that the wolves protected the tribe people, but in return, we had to give an offering of our crops to the King.

The death of the Alpha ended the offering and the protection of her people. No one knows how the King died. Some say he died in battle with their enemy. Others say it was his punishment, because he was a greedy man and balance needed to be restored. She was once told that it was because he fell, and his rib punctured his heart.

After his death, the survival of our people rested solely on her father's shoulder. It was the worst time to be a human, let alone a kid. The very wolves that used to protect them, became savages, and began senselessly killing out her tribe members.

The Luna of the pack went crazy, and her son, the heir to the throne, disappeared, all hope was lost. Two years after the King died, starvation, disease, murder, and war all had a part in reducing her tribe of 200 members to five. The rest of them knew that death was coming, and the thought was peaceful at that point. The remaining adults decided that they should claim death on their own terms, which meant that they wanted to commit suicide with poison before the wolves could come back to finish them off.

"We would be able to join our brethren on the other side and rest from this life." The old man spoke loud enough for the five remaining members gathered to hear. The older man wore wrinkles on his forehead and around his eyes. His skin was darkened by the sun, during those days working on the farm. That was also the reason for his strong build and his survival thus far. He stood at the head of the group in trousers, his bloody shirt was ripped in places along the arm revealing scratches that crawled up his hands like vines. His voice was soaked with exhaustion, he was tired of being hunted, tired of killing, tired of merely surviving.

"On the count of three, we will all drink it." The group had skipped the formal introductions, they weren't planning on getting to know each other for long in this life.

The last five members included two men,( the old man, and one other farmer) she remembered seeing around the village. A younger boy who was the same age as Delilah, named Chad. His face was dirty and his keys were bloodshot, he was starving because of the lack of food in the village, we can see his collar bones, and his fingers looked like sticks with skin on it. His parents died trying to lure the wolves away from the shed he was told to hide in, they never returned for him. The last member was a woman who looked to be about in her late thirties. Her dress was dirty with mud and she seemed like she was hiding in the grass. Covering her scent from the wolves. She held onto the small bit of poison, like it was her life line.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

ONE

Delilah was only seven at the time, her parents were killed in the massacre the day before and she did not want to die. Standing there staring down at the purple liquid she also felt there was no reason to live; everyone was gone.

TWO

Everyone brought the leaf filled with poison to their mouths. So Delilah followed.

THREE

The mix of Angel's Trumpet, and European yew, felt like acid on Delilah tongue. She kept her chin up to all to help the process. The members of the group were convulsing on the ground. Chad screaming began to die down as his body went motionless.

Horror swiped across Deliah's face as she looked at the scene before her. Her body rejected the liquid as soon as it touched my tongue. It felt like the acid was trying to burn a new exit in my throat, but She shut my eyes and tried to push it down. By the time Delilah opened my eyes again, everyone around me had dropped to the ground and stopped moving. Tears ran down her face and her vision began to blur, but she remained conscious. Trying for a second time to get the purple liquid down her throat, Delilah managed to get enough down to make her unconscious.

Delilah woke up, and was met face to face with a strange man. He wore a black robe, his eyes were white without pupils. This was the most unnerving. She felt like he was staring at her but she had no way of knowing. His skin was pale as snow. Even though she was a few feet away she could smell him, the smell was a mix of smoke and peppermint. He spoke with a hard voice that boomed in her ear, shocking her already aching senses. He said that her people had broken the ultimate law. We neglected to fight and keep the balance. For trying to take their own life, She would be forced to walk the earth for eternity with all of my worst memories, feeling every pain as if she was human but living forever as if she was the undead.

SInce then, there have been countless times Delilah tried to take her own life. She has also tried counter spells, injecting poison, diseases, decapitation, impalement, hanging, fire, weapons, you name it, she's tried it. They only work at rendering Delilah unconscious, but nothing else. The only good thing is that she would be placed in a comatic state for a few weeks so her body still has to heal.

Delilah eventually tried to wait it out, let life run its course, but she noticed that after the age of twenty-five, she stopped growing.

The prickling branches under Delilad's feet brought her back to reality. The sun was fully out beating down on her, sucking the remaining energy from her body. She has been walking for two hour now. Her stomach felt hollow, like my navel is going to start touching my spine. Her surroundings started looking the same, pine tree after pine tree after pine tree. She tried to search for food, but there are no trees that she could eat from. Realizing her body will fail her soon, she began to look around for a safe place to pass out. Turning to the river first she decided to wash the blood off her legs in the river before I took my "nap." The water was freezing and causing the hair on the back of her head to rise in complaint. A minute into washing her feet, Delilah's vision blurred, and her body collapsed.