The bloodstains brought me back to the route I had previously taken. However, the direction is upwards, not downwards. I saw the bloodstains were getting higher and higher towards the top of the hills.
My right hand still gripped the spear with great strength; I would not let go of the spear for a second. Instead, my feet continued to walk firmly through the thick bushes to get to where the bloodstains ended.
My eyes focused when I saw a small house made of wood located in the middle of the forest. It's not clear to see the bloodstains from a distance, but I'm pretty sure they must have brought Eve into the house.
Without thinking, I walked these feet quietly, hoping they didn't hear me coming. It was bigger than Bernard's log cabin but quite small compared to Eve's house.
I noticed the bloodstains led me to the front door. But, I didn't hear a single sound from inside the house, was the owner out to find wood?
I opened the wooden door and walked slowly, though my footsteps could be heard from the squeaking wood. I checked the rooms in the house one by one, but I couldn't find anyone there.
"Where are they going?" I mumbled, the bloodstains stopping just a few steps after the entrance.
Suddenly I heard laughter from behind the house. The voice is quite loud and typical of a man; the laughter is getting louder and more straightforward, a sign that they are walking closer.
I decided to immediately hide in one of the rooms, the bedroom. The wardrobe seems to be the best place for me to hide from them while listening to what they have to say.
"I didn't expect the wild boar to put up such a tight fight," said one of the men, heard opening the wooden door of this house.
"If you don't kill him, maybe tonight we won't have anything to eat," said another, sounding a little more feminine.
Their feet quickly stepped. Every squeak of wood that was heard caused a feeling of anxiety to arise in my heart. I hope they don't find me so I can run away in peace.
Damn me! The man with the long beard walked into the living room and looked as if he was about to change. I quickly tightened my grip on the spear beside me, preparing for something bad.
The wardrobe door opened. The man was surprised to find a stranger in the room, especially in his wardrobe. He, who was shirtless, immediately turned around to take his sword.
I stopped him from doing it. I pointed my long spear at the man, threatening that if he grabbed the sword, his head would fall off his body.
"Who are you?" asked the man, his voice deep with a sharp look in his eyes.
The man immediately called his wife. How surprised the woman was to find me pointing my weapon at her husband.
"Who are you?" asked the woman; the man looked directly at his wife with a specific expression.
"You don't know him?" the man asked, the woman shaking her head.
"If you're not her mistress, then you're nothing but a robber," replied the man in front of me, his voice firm and husky as if he was holding back anger.
"I'm not anyone's affair, nor a robber. I followed the bloodstains that splattered on the grass and led to this house," I said.
"What are you talking about?"
"My friend is missing, and she's probably bleeding from rebelling. What I want to ask before slashing the heads of you two, where are you holding her?!" I groaned, getting annoyed that they were trying to buy time.
"Your friend? Is he the wild boar?" asked the man in front of me. I shook my head, how can I be friends with a boar?
Seeing the expressions of the two people in the room made one thing clear to me, the bloodstains that were splattered on the grass weren't Eve's but a boar's.
"So, it's pig blood?" I ask; the woman nods slowly.
"We were on the hunt for dinner tonight. My husband slit the pig's throat so the blood might splatter." The lady explained in detail, down to the slightest possibility. I put down my spear and quickly turned it into the stick I usually carry.
"Forgive me. I thought you kidnapped my friend," I said.
I am humiliated! Pointing my weapon at other people in their house. Moreover, they are not guilty of the allegations I made.
"We northerners are not as soft as they are in the south!" The man in front of me immediately grabbed the collar of my clothes, slammed my body so that it whirled in the air and hit the wall directly.
My back really hurt; it felt real even after a long time of not getting pain. Along with this pain, the man seemed to be walking toward me with an angry expression on his face.
"That's enough, my dear. He already apologized," said the woman; she was softer than she seemed.
"I can't. This goddamn kid has barged into our house, our private place. If I don't punish him as a thief, then let me give him a hundred lashes for breaking into someone's house without permission!" threatened the man. I noticed his face was turning red, and the veins in his hands tightened.
"Do it," I said, standing in pain before the man.
"I don't know what the north and south are. I am not from this world," I continued.
"Then let me return you to the world you come from!" groaned the man, pulled out his sword and immediately aimed his swing at me.
TANG!
I closed my eyes, and I didn't feel any pain. When I tried to open my eyes, I saw the man's wife was protecting me like she was protecting her child from the hands of a criminal.
"You don't have to protect me, Lady."
"Killing someone just because of a misunderstanding, it's murder!" criticized the woman; it looked like she was trying to clear her husband's mind, which was looking mad.
"He broke into our house. At least I have to punish him severely!" said the man, the woman's steps were seen getting back and could not withstand her husband's strength.
"HE'S ALREADY SORRY!" shouted the woman, protecting me earnestly.
"If you want to punish him, then punish me as well!" the woman continued.
He seemed to be a man who didn't want to lose his woman. His hands started to loosen their attacks; it seemed that the words of the woman in front of me had managed to enter the man's mind.
Not long after that, the man started dropping his sword. The woman did the same thing.
He immediately turned around and asked me to go away. The woman pointed to the window of their room with her right hand.
"Before my husband relapses, you have to get out of here," the woman said, smiling at me.
"I'm sorry, and thanks a lot."
Not wanting to waste time, these legs immediately jumped over the bedroom window and stepped as far as possible to avoid the house quickly. But unfortunately, I did not know which forest to go to, so I panicked that I get lost in the wilderness without anyone.
In my mind, I kept worrying about Eve's condition. Who kidnapped her? And why do they do that?
The deeper the forest I go, the less light I get. How shady and dense the woods where I currently cause sunlight to not through the forest surface.
This caused me to nod off several times along the way, either by rocks or tree roots. The more I walked in, the more I realized I was truly in the middle of nowhere.
"IS THERE ANYONE HERE?"