The golden flames flickered and sparked against the rocks surrounding it, mesmerizing me into oblivion as I thought of how I was to return safely to my home.
I had told Nero, the man that found me at the river, that I had been making my way to the nearest village. That I had lost my way in the forest, when a pack of wolves had pursued me and I had to abandon my supplies in hopes of distracting them so I could get away. He had believed me, or at least it seemed like he believed me.
Nero was quiet hard to read, he only ever grunted responses. Every once in a while he would ask me if I was cold, or thirsty. All the while leading me farther from the part of the forest I was familiar with.
Nero left once convinced I would be fine for a while. He had mumbled that he was going hunting that he should be back before night fall. He had left a hefty blade with me incase I needed to defend myself. A smile curved my lips, if only he knew how much I didn't need his weapons.
A loud pop from the burning wood broke me out of my thoughts. The flames were dying now and the wood pile had dwindled over the few hours he had been gone. I worried my bottom lip as I looked out into the dense forest, now deeply shaded in the late evening. I had no idea where we were in terms of my house. I had never been out this far before. I had no idea where Nero was, if he was on his way back, if he was injured.
I got to my feet, I wouldn't be dependent on a man now that I was in an unfamiliar situation. The fire was dying and someone needed to gather wood, with the sun about to set. Nero could be later than he thought and I had more power in my pinky than Nero had in his whole perfectly chiseled, mouth wateringly, handsome body. I survived this long on my own, I could take care of myself. Mind made up, I made my way into the ever darkening forest in search for more wood.
***
Sage. She encompassed my mind to the point that I had to shake my head to clear my thoughts. I was hunting, I needed to focus on my surroundings.
Crouched low in the foliage, I had been waiting for a while, waiting for the animals to become comfortable once more. I had killed three birds so far, enough for Sage and I. But I had also told Ryan, James, and Darren I was out hunting. It was getting quiet late, they had to be curious as to where I was by now.
Just as I was beginning to get restless, movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. A buck walked out further into my sight and within a few seconds I had an arrow nocked, loosed, and food secured for the men back at camp.
I needed to take Sage back to the main camp. I felt uneasy leaving her by herself while I hunted. But it was getting late and I had yet to secure food for any of us. We weren't far from the mens camp now, maybe a mile or so. She had insisted she would be fine, and I'm faster and more productive when I go out alone.
Her confidence didn't console me though, I found my mind circling back to her as I made my way through the darkening forest. Was she hungry? Cold, now that the sun was beginning to go down? She was so much smaller than me. She seemed fragile.
A howl ripped through the silence of the forest and I froze.
Another howl sounded further in front of me. A pack of wolves? Sage! My senses on alert, I began to quickly make my way back to the small camp where I left Sage, the added kills slowing me down. Frustrated, I growled under my breath and pushed myself to run faster. I was almost there. More howls echoed after the second yelp, the wolves had spotted prey. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach.
I slid to a stop in the camp glancing wildly through the surrounding forest, there was no sight of Sage. I looked down at the stump where I left her, the knife I had left with her was still there. I dropped the buck next to the fire and began tracking Sage's footprints. Dusk had set in and the trees blocked out most of the precious light I needed to properly track.
A loud crack resounded through the woods followed by an animal whimper and loud barks....Sage.
"SAGE!" I yelled into the forest and started running toward the shuffling and barking.