Huntress Chapter One+Prologue

Prologue


         The lightening flashes unusualy bright, illuminating the cave high on the cliffs. A young woman sits up in her bed made of furs, her dark eyes wide and wild with shock and fear; her long, pale blonde hair in disarray around her thin, pretty face. A roll of deep thunder follows, further startling the woman. She quickly leaves her bed, making her way across the cave towards a small hole carved in the wall where a simple long, flat wooden box lays. She touches it once, before removing it from the wall and opening it. She smiles, breathing a sigh of relief as she assures herself its contents are safe.
         She closes the box, locking the clasp in place, and slides it carefully back into its home. She tilts her head slightly, cocking her ear towards the entrance of the cave, as if hearing something. She then turns and walks slowly towards it, a curious expression on her face. As she reaches it, she leans slightly on the wall of the cave as if unsteady. She closes her eyes, and for a moment her face is blank as the rain splashes up in it. She then suddenly opens her them, and a rapturous look lights up her face. “She is coming.” She whispers, and then an unrestrained laugh erupts from her, echoing out into the cliffs beneath her.



Chapter One

I try to open my eyes to see, and then realize they are open and its pitch black all around me. The only sound I can hear is my own ragged breathing, and distant screams. Then all at once, it’s so blindingly bright that I have to close my eyes, and when I open them again, I see chaos all around me. There’s fire shooting through the pitch-black sky, which is slowly filling with smoke. I hear people screaming and the clashing of metal, along with the sound of something exploding. The ground is shaking beneath me, and I try to move, but I can’t. I begin to cry out in fear, but my piercing wails are lost in the din of battle.
Then, a girl’s face blocks out everything. I can see it clearly, but I cannot focus on her features. She reaches down and picks me up as if I weighed nothing and runs with me. I can see the panic on her face as she charges through a thicket of trees. Her eyes are focused on something, and she runs even faster. She then comes to a sudden stop in front of a single elder tree. Reaching up to her throat, she pulls something off of her neck and presses it against the tree. A blinding light fills my vision……and this is where I always wake up.
I have been having this dream for as long as I can remember, at least once a month for the past seventeen years. I can almost sense it coming when I lay down to sleep, but it never fails to take me by surprise, and after I never can remember the face of the girl. I told my mother about it once when I was nine. She looked shaken for the briefest moment before putting on her calm mothers face and said “It’s only a dream Sasha; it’s nothing to worry about.”
My mother is extremely protective of me, probably a result of losing my dad in a car accident when I was two. I never berated her for it, though at times it was a bit vexing. I probably didn’t make it easy on her when I was little. I’d go running off into the woods on her and sometimes be in there for hours. This seemed to frighten her more than anything.
We live on the outskirts of a pretty small town; our house on the edge of the forest was almost fairy-tale like. I don’t have friends really, as I’m not very good with people, but I don’t feel lonely. I’m content to stay in my own personal bubble with everyone leaving me be. I often take walks in the woods behind our house, simply enjoying the silence and solitude. I found that in the forest, my senses were keener. I could hear small animals rustling, see things move far away, and even my sense of smell was sharper.
I awake from this dream about half an hour before I’m supposed to get up for school, and I decide it’s useless to try going back to sleep now, and crawl out of bed. When I look in the mirror, I see a zombified version of me. Dark hair in disarray, my dark blue eyes blood-shot from my disrupted sleep, my pale skin even more white. I touch the small silver chain around my neck with its crescent moon shaped pendant. A gift from my mother when I turned 10. I practically scowl at my reflection before turning away.
As I make my way downstairs, I can hear my mother in the kitchen and smell the coffee that she’s brewing. My mother is an early riser, unlike me, who would sleep until noon if I’m left alone. My mom looks up from the stove as I enter the kitchen, and pushes a ready-made cup of coffee towards me. I smile weakly in thanks and fall into one of the chairs around our small table.
“Rough night?” She asks me as she sat down next to me. I nodded as I took a huge swig of coffee. “Just a weird dream.” I say, though I don’t know if I’m trying to convince her or me. She studies me, and for a moment, an unreadable look passes over her face, but before I can place it, it’s gone and her face is serene again. She smiles and places her hand on my arm in a comforting, motherly gesture.
My mother is the only person I’m close to. She has no other family to speak of, as my grandparents died before I was born and she was an only child. We don’t know my dads family either, they never forgave my parrents for eloping, but I don’t mind. My mother is family enough. My mother stands up and grabs her jacket off of the back of her chair, preparing to leave for work. We say our usual goodbyes, and she heads out the door.
The sun is starting to come up now, bathing the sky in grey-blue light. I stare out the window and into the forest, not focusing on anything in particular. Then, a slight movement in the trees catches my eye. I look over and see something dark move in the trees. I stand up and open the window, trying to get a better look, but then it’s gone. I stare at the spot for a few minutes, before I shake my head and call myself crazy.
I spend the next half hour getting myself ready, and then walk out the door with my bag and wait for the bus, only to see it already pulling away. I sigh in irritation at myself; I’ll be late for my own funeral. I turn towards the woods and decide to cut through them rather than take the highway. I trudge into the forest, taking my time as I’m already going to be late, what’s the point in rushing?
I zone out as I walk, taking the familiar path through the woods. I’m so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I barely here the slight hissing noise. I pause a moment, looking over towards the trees. Seeing nothing, I shake my head at myself again and continue walking.I look up as I hear the strange hissing sound again. I look up and stare hard into the trees, trying to discern where it’s coming from. Then, out of nowhere, the shadow I saw earlier appears not ten feet from me. Its burning red eyes root me to the ground, and for a moment I can’t even breathe. Time seems to slow down as it moves towards me; a horrible grin full of jagged teeth appears in it. It reaches a smoky arm out towards me, and everything speeds up again.
I tear through the trees, my heart feeling like its going to beat right out of my chest. Suddenly, I come to a clearing. Shafts of sunlight filter through the trees, making the snow on the ground shimmer. In the center of the clearing is a enormous, ancient elder tree. I stop before it, and simply stare at it. It looks familiar to me, it even feels familiar to me. I almost completely forget the creature pursuing me, and stand in awe before it.
Then, I hear the strange hissing noise again, but this time it’s coming from all around me. It almost sounds like my name being whispered over and over. I look up and see the outer edge of the clearing surrounded in blackness. Red eyes stare at me from all directions. As one, they begin to move towards me. Panic floods my every thought, and then without thinking, I throw myself at the elder tree.
In one fluid moment of silence, I seem to float through the air towards the tree. And then it’s as if the world shatters around me. I see a blinding white light, and feel an intense heat surround me. For the briefest of moments, I feel as if I’m floating, and then I slam hard into the ground.