No one was splashing water on her face so much as they were kicking it as they walked and stepped by her head. She was nearly submerged as her eyes fluttered open, part of her body lifted up on a jagged rock, the only reason she hadn't sunk beneath the river's surface. The water couldn't have been more than knee deep, the current just strong enough that she could feel it tugging at her.
Legs churned the water by her head as rider's waited from the shore and her neck ached so painfully that she almost couldn't turn it to see two men trying to work the rope out of a crevice it'd wedged itself into while they drug her across the water.
"Is she dead yet?" One of them called from the shore.
"Barely breathing, we'll get her loose and keep dragging!" One of the two in the water shouted back, laughing. Her throat felt like it burned and she opened her mouth, the cold water filling it. It was all she could do to suck in breaths through her fiery throat but the more she breathed the cool air and drank the soothing water, the more her head cleared.
She hurt everywhere. Not an inch of her body didn't have a scrape or bruise festering on her, and the clothes she could see was ragged and torn. She had two choices, wait to die or try one last time to fight, while these two had their backs to her. She didn't think she had the strength to strike as she tilted her head to look at them again.
One of them was kicking at the rocks now, cursing the gods as he pulled up on the rope while the other complained about getting wet. As his foot lifted out of the water to kick at the rocks, too, she saw a knife tucked into his boot and hope flared inside of her.
Try!
She gripped the edge of the rock that she was splayed on, hoisted herself towards them, and slid the dagger from his shoe. Just as he glanced down at her, she thrust it into his leg. He screamed and went down on one knee and she slammed the blade into his ribcage, piercing straight through to his lung.
The riders shouted, the second man whirled towards her and lifted his foot to kick. She held the knife out towards him and his foot landed directly on it. He shrieked and stumbled backwards and she lost her grip on the dagger as the man sprawled out in the water, slipping under the surface. The current was just strong enough to drag him away from her, giving her room to breathe as she struggled to slide the rope off her neck.
Her movements were clumsy as she scrambled, breath coming in and out of her lungs haggardly, her throat still burning, wheezing with each pull of air. The riders were charging and her mind, though foggy, knew she had to move.
She finally pulled the rope off her neck and plunged into the water. The man she'd stabbed in the foot, no matter how indirectly, paid her no mind as he clung to a rock, trying to lift his leg higher and remove the blade while begging for one of his comrades to help him. The horses came running after her, the riders holding swords high, threatening to take her head.
Erinne swam, pulling hard at the water, kicking off the bottom with her feet. Rocks jutted up, nicking her as the current got stronger and she glanced back and realized going with the current-not running-was the wisest choice she could have made. One of the horse's tripped and submerged in the water, barring another two rider's paths while two more were stumbling on the rocky bottom of the river. Another outright refused it's rider's command to go forward and the current was getting stronger.
Her sole focus became keeping her head up as she tread water, letting it pull her along, trying to avoid boulders jutting up out of the depths and into view. It drew her in like a bitter hug, a cloak of ice, sweeping her farther out of reach, until she looked back and saw them charging for the shore, motioning after her.
They would catch her if they got to shore and galloped along next to her!
Fear squeezed her chest, the water making her numb to her aches, all except the stiffness in her neck and the searing pain inside her throat. She glanced back again to see all the riders had made it to the shore and were following, as she'd feared. She faced forward, struggling to stay afloat as the current got stronger, as her body threatened to give out.
Ahead of her, she saw a tree overhanging the river, it's roots upturned far on the other shore, opposite of the riders. She narrowed her eyes on it, gulping water as the water dipped her down. She kicked and fought, she could feel it was a losing battle, could feel her end drawing near. She wasn't sure if the water was deeper or if she was so numb she no longer felt the bottom tearing at her skin.
The fallen tree was getting closer and she felt a desperation enter her veins, the kind she hadn't felt since Lohke saved her, when Donrin bought rights to her body and tried to rape her. She had to fight as hard as she'd fought that day to survive.
With that thought in her mind, she stretched her hands up, reaching for the branches. Her fingertips brushed rough bark, the wood crumbling into her eyes and she screamed with frustration, flailing her hands and latching onto another piece. Her heart leapt into her throat as she drew up short, water surging around her, but it didn't crumble like the first bits had. Heart hammering, she clambered to find a foot hold, pulling on the branches to move herself closer to the shore. Her arms burned with the effort, her head wanted to bob, just slip back into unconsciousness and drift away.
She shook those thoughts away and pulled again, her feet striking the ground and slipping, gripping again. This time she managed to stand, never letting go of the tree in case the current swept her legs out. She hobbled and staggered her way to the rocky bank and finally sank to her knees, unable to catch her breath as she twisted to search for the riders. Some of them were already turning back, motioning to the others to go back and cross the river, but one of them remained, glaring at her. It was the same one that had yelled that she'd killed his friend Leit.
"We'll catch you, orc lover!" He promised and then wheeled his horse to follow the others. She wasn't sure how far the river had taken her from where she'd started but she couldn't see the crossing point from here. Hoping it bought her some time, she stood on shaky, numb legs and looked around. She could follow the river's bank or try to lose them in the forest.
The bank might be too obvious, it would hide her tracks, but she had no cover. She had no real chance of outrunning a horse, but if she could find a place to hide she might be able to wait them out. With that in mind, she gritted her teeth and ambled forward, legs quivering with every step, but her body no longer felt any pain, though she could sense that it was still there. There would be hell to pay with the aches and pains if she survived this. As she glanced skywards, she realized the sun was setting. If night fell before they caught up, she just might actually make it.
. . . .
Erinne ran a long time, or as long as her body would let her. She slowed into creeps and ducked to hide when she heard a noise, working to stay ahead of her pursuers as they sought out her tracks. She did her best to cover them and tried to throw them off by creating a false trail leading down the river bank before she'd run into the woods. She tried doing so again when she heard them following her into the trees.
If she heard a noise all too close, she threw sticks and rocks as far from her as she could manage to try and draw any unwanted attention away from her. She couldn't even begin to say how many times she fell and wanted to stay there, especially when the sun finally sank away and darkness closed in around her.
Still she kept going, tripping over vines and brush, falling in small animal holes. She clung to the belief that if she kept going, maybe she'd outdistance them tonight and everything would be fine. The truth was, she knew, they would stop the horses and resume in the morning, most likely following her now very visible trail. That thought only scared her into pushing herself harder.
She tripped for the umpteenth time and went flat, breathing too hard to scream out her rage or pain. She was no longer as numb as she had been. She felt the sting of a thousand cuts, the throb of a hundred bruises, and every movement was painstaking and slow. She winced as she picked her head up slowly, trying to slow her breathing. She felt like she hadn't caught her breath at all since the rope went around her neck.
She reached up to prod the tender skin around her throat. It was raw and it felt swollen and hot. The sweat rolling down her body stung when it dripped onto her neck and when it filled the cuts along her body. She sniffled, exhaustion threatening to override her fear, as a chill crept through her.
Was Cold Hammer lying on the ground, still pinned down while he bled out? She doubted they would have left him breathing as they rode away. He'd been trapped, they could have done anything. Thrown another spear, taken his head, and Bukoo, too. No. She didn't imagine they would have left the pair of them alive, especially since they'd had no intention to leave her alive either. The way her body hurt didn't compare to what those thoughts were doing to her mind and she curled her knees towards her chest.
She wasn't sure how long she laid there when she heard several screams pierce the air. Erinne lifted her head, the movement twisting her neck painfully and she whined, but the sound came out more like a hoarse croak. She wasn't sure she could still speak at all and she didn't want to try, but more screams filled the night, almost systematically, followed by shouts she couldn't quite understand.
She pushed up on her hands, arms straining to hold her weight as if she'd somehow gained over the last few hours. The truth was, she'd lost. She'd lost Cold Hammer, Bukoo, nearly her own life and her wits. She had no strength left to continue, but as the shouts rose higher into the night, so did the scent of smoke and she struggled upright, using the tree to keep her up.
She hobbled forward like that, partially hunched over, using trees to keep her on her feet as she crept through the night until the orange hue of the fires guided her way instead of just the screams. As the village came into view, she saw the raiders storming. She knew their laughs by heart now, their triumphant howls. She could see men and women scattering, calling out to their families as they fled from their homes in nothing more than their shifts. There was no organization to them, they just ran blindly in their panic.
It was an unfair fight by all accounts and she closed her eyes as several children cried out and bolted for the woods, only to have their paths blocked. Her blood boiled and something inside of her rose, fighting to take over and she moved to help but hit her knees instead. Erinne cursed softly, tears stinging her battered cheeks, as she struggled back upright. She lost sight of the children, but saw the raiders batting down several men that dared to fight back.
"Please stop." She could barely get the words to escape her mouth. The air drug through her throat like a ball of thorns. She couldn't raise her voice at all and tears streaked. She wanted to go to them, to help them. "Stop."
She willed them to keep running, keep fighting, to try and stay alive and she took another shaky step forward when someone tumbled right into her. She couldn't even scream but the boy flattened out on top of her, shrieking loud enough for both of them, but when he scrambled backwards, he looked less scared of her than he had a moment before.
"Gehuo!" He said and grabbed her hand, tugging up and trying to run. "Gehou!" She didn't understand his language but she rose. His meaning was clear as he yanked on her hard, his feet digging into the forest floor.
"Gehou! Vo Tahno!" A rushed whisper reached her ears as another came sprinting her way and almost knocked them over. The young woman motioned for them to go before she paused, drawing up short as she looked at Erinne. "Gehou!" She pointed, "Run!"
Erinne glanced back at the village once more, the fires were high now, destroying everything in it's path. In the light of it she could see the raiders plundering and killing, she saw one of them hunched over a woman on the ground while she shrieked, she could see another taking the head of a father in front of a wailing child. It was a dagger to her heart. Her childhood nightmares surging back to the surface.
"I have to help them." She released the boy's hand and staggered and fell.
The woman gasped and grabbed her shoulders. "Get up, you cannot help them now, we must run." Erinne felt tears on her face as she met the woman's lavender eyes, her hair was pulled back, allowing her to see the pointed tips of her ears. She hadn't met many elves in her lifetime, but somewhere in the dusty depths of her memory, she recognized the healer's markings upon her face. The boy had them, too, and a few others that came running to them did as well.
This was a peaceful village. People that spread good works. Healing and charity.
"Mahto Venah, gehou!"
The woman nodded and lifted her to her feet, holding onto her and the group ran ahead. Erinne was beginning to recognize gehou meant run. "Come now, they are coming. I will help you." She cradled her close, lending her the strength of her shoulder and Erinne cried as they ran away from the village, loathing herself with every step as she drew away from the screams, away from the poor souls she should have been helping.