The Hunting






I awoke, out of breath and red in the face. I was sweating, like a demon in the pits of Sol. I scanned the cave. Mama Wolf and Lind were still sleeping on the rock floor. It was probably nothing, I said to myself as I lay back down. My eyes had barely closed when they came again. The faint roars of a metal bear echoed throughout the forest. Again, I was the only one bothered. I waited for the roars to die down, and closed my eyes.

The flakes of sleep slowly drifted from my eyes as they opened, letting in the new days light. Slowly, I get on my knees, thank Luna for my rest, and stand up. I walk to the back of the cave, where Mama Wolf is scooping the bones out of our breakfast.

Mama lifts her head. "Lork," she whispers," how did you sleep?"

"Fine," I mutter. "I heard some really weird. . "

"That's good," she interrupts. "Say, have you seen Lind around?"

"No," I answer.

"Odd. He never runs off before going fishing."

I start walking to the front of the cave. "I'll let you know if I find him."

I walk out, sun beams hitting my face, and look around. The birds were flying through the forest. The grizzlies were waking from their hibernation. The salmon were swimming upstream. The air was warmer and the skies were a light blue, not a cloud in sight.
I stroll down the steps of the cave. My bare feet find a small crevice under a cold stone. As I bend down to look, I start hearing small, quiet breathing. The crevice is filled with darkness, except for one faint beam of light, entering from a hole no bigger than a beaver's tooth. Even with the light, I see nothing, except for two, small, green specks. I blink. The specks had gotten bigger, until they were the size of a dot. They were getting bigger, and whatever they were connected to was coming for me. I make out the outline of a small animal, no bigger than a beaver. I step back slowly,never taking my eyes off the dots. As it steps into the light, I notice a grayish-brown coat of fur. The figure leaps out of the cave, giving me only one, measly second to run. That second was wasted by my inability to move. Instantly, the brown-grey fur hit my face, along with the scent of dead rabbit. I am forced off my feet and onto the forest floor. I hear a snap, not knowing whether it is the sound of a branch, or my ribs, cracking.
I don't know how long I was out, but as I regain my consciousness, I decipher the blurry shape of a wolf. Not just any wolf, though. Lind,a seven-summer old wolf; my brother.
"Gotcha!" Lind teased.
"I-I just wasn't ready," I reply, not willing to let him best me.
"You just don't want to admit I kicked your butt!" he sassed.
I knew he was right, so I decided to change the subject. "What were you doing in there?" I asked," Mama's worried sick!"
Lind looked down at his paws. His ears drooped, and his tail went between his legs. "I was hiding," he muttered. "From the noises,"

My eyes widened and my jaw fell open. I started shaking. "W-w-what did the n-n-noises sound like?" I stammered.

"Like a rock hitting the prey box we found yesterday."

I looked back at what had happened the day before. Lind and I were racing through the woods, when I tripped on something. I was getting up off the ground when Lind brought me a small, blue box with small bits of red moss growing on the side. This was strange moss, for whenever I rubbed my thumb against it, it chipped off easily. It didn't feel sticky and it tasted like the prey box itself, as if it was a part of it. The box was cold to the touch and had some kind of a latch, We must have broken the latch, because it was already half-open. We looked inside, and saw strange items, possibly edible. There was a triangular piece of several things mixed together, and a carton of brown water. I was not going to take my chances with the water, but the other thing was steaming. I picked it up, ignoring the stench of the cow meat on it, and brought it up to my mouth. My teeth passed through a layer of yellow strands of some strange substance. I tasted a strange kind of red stuff, possibly blood. I handed it to Lind. As he scarfed it down, I began to wonder if The Servants of Luna had come back, for these strange items have not passed through the forest for years.

I shivered. The thought of The Servants coming back was more horrible than I could imagine. The return of The Servants would foretell an even worse event, "The Hunting". The pitiless sacrifice of the citizens of the forest used to be thought of as a spiritual time. The sacrificed used to be considered lucky. But that all changed when a sparrow came back from her visit to the city. She told us The Servants had skinned the sacrifices and sold the skins for shiny silver coins and paper the color of grass. Since then, instead of dying for them, we fled as the noises came.

I shook my head, coming back from the terrible thought.

"Lork?"

I looked down and noticed Lind looking up at me, confused. "Are we?"

I tried to remember what he had asked. "Are we what?"

"Going fishing.", he replied. "Are we?"

I nodded my head. I would do anything to stop the thought from entering my mind a third time.

We meandered toward the river, watching the salmon leap as they swam upstream. The rapids carried small pieces of sharp, clear rock and shiny, silver tree trunk-like objects. We approached the stream, ignoring the blank stares of the deer that stood before us.

"The key to fishing,"I began, "is patience. You must wait for the perfect fish to come to you. You cannot go to it, for it will see your shadow and dart away. You cannot be too picky, though, because all the fish will pass, and you will leave with nothing." I scanned the brook, spotting a salmon that was smaller than the rest, but big enough to fill a stomach. Slowly, I got to my knees, and laid my palm on the water, eyeing the fish. As the salmon passed under my hand, I went for it. I thrusted my hand into the water and pressed my nails into the fish. A cloud of blood rose to the surface as i pulled out the fish. The salmon squirmed in my grasp, attempting to gain its freedom. I dig my nails in harder, and it goes limp. I toss the salmon to Lind, instructing him to thank Luna for its life. "Your turn," I say after he finishes.

Lind bounces to the river, and ducks his head. There is a slight change of wind as I observe him.

Then, I smell something. Something I hadn't smelled in a long time. The air stank of the second sign of "The Hunting". Guns. I look around, finally noticing the forest had changed. The deer had gone, the birds stopped singing, and the salmon stopped leaping into the air.

I looked back at the river, where Lind was still fishing his paw through the water. "Lind," I whisper. I hear the faint loading of a gun. "Lind," I say again. I spot the gun poking its way through a shrub.

"Lind!" I shout. He looks up and runs to me. Dirt flies through the air in an explosion of dust, centered where Lind had been standing. The gun slowly rose, revealing one of Luna's Servants, dressed in plant-like animal skins.

"Don't worry, Lind", I say, attempting to comfort him, "it's only one Servant. We can survive this."

As I finish my sentence, I see more plants move, uncovering at least ten more Servants. They each held a gun.

As we start to back away, we hear the only sound worse than a gun shot , a gun reloading. The more times we hear that noise, the more times they can shoot, meaning a smaller chance of survival. We backed away faster, keeping our eyes on the Servants as they pointed their guns.

"Run," I whisper.

Lind looks up at me with a worried look on his face. "What?" he asks.

The sound of a gun shot sounds as one of the Servants fires. The bark chips on the tree next to me. "Run!" I order Lind.

The air rings out as an orchestra of shots sing behind us, unwarningly attacking the area behind us. I felt a sharp pain in my right ear, causing me to slow down. I slide behind an oak, telling Lind to run back to the cave, and to never look back until he does. I reach up to my ear, feeling a small ridge. I bring my hand back down. Red.

I scan my surroundings. Above me, a layer of leaves and tree branches block out the sky. I knew there weren't enough trees to block myself from their sight.

I hear another gun shot as I see a squirrel running up a tree. That squirrel probably just saved my life. I wrap my arms and legs around the tree, pulling myself up. The Servants had gathered around the tree underneath me. As I near the highest branch, a shot rings out. I feel a sharp sting in my right arm, causing me to collapse on the branch. I spot the cave coming into view. I realize if I jump from branch to branch, I will lead them to Lind and Mama, so I would need another way. I couldn't go by ground, or by air. There were no rivers leading to the cave, so that rules out water travel.

I decide that I would have to climb out of sight, and pray to Luna all goes well. I grasp a gap in between the tree bark. I inch my way up the tree, trying to heal my arm at the same time. I push my head through the barrier of leaves, revealing a cloudy sky and oncoming rain. Luna, give me your strength, so I can return home safely, I pray. My strength returns to me as I look up at the sky. The clouds parted, and I saw a girl, about my age, looking down on me with compassion. She had ivory skin and cherry red lips. Her eyes, however, were the brightest tint of blue I had ever seen.

I knew that girl had to be Luna, our goddess and protector. I regain my focus on getting home, while the strength lasts. I leap across the leaves, supported by thick branches, and lay my hand on my arm. Still wounded, but healed. I reach up to my ear. The scar is still there, untouched by Luna's power. The cave comes back into my view, closer than ever. I hop down from my position in the tree, landing firmly on the rock floor in front of the cave's opening.

Mama Wolf rushes to my side. "Lork," she asks with a worried tone in her voice. "Are you okay?"

I look up, crippled and bleeding from the leap, and whisper, "The Hunting."

Mama looks down at me, confused and even more worried. "What?"

I raise my voice. "The Hunting. . . is back."

Those were the last things I remember saying, as I pass out.