Denie heaved at my silence. "Besides, don't you want to find out who's been calling you?"
Oh shit! I forgot I told her that. She was right yet again.
And right now, what better option did I have? I asked myself, but then I remembered my vow to my late Nana. I had sworn never to step foot there.
No!" I disagreed. "I promised Nana I would never go there; you know this, Denie." I inhaled sharply before continuing, "I agree to escape the town tonight, but the forest won't be my destination. I will rather take my chances with the hostile town of Kir."
"Ok, I understand," Denie relented with a sigh.
She understood how precious Nana was to me and knew I would never willingly break my promise to her.
"But aren't there any valuables you would like to have with you? It is late in the night, as such, we could use this opportunity to sneak back to your cottage and grab your things."
Now that she mentioned it, I did have some items I couldn't part with. "What if we got caught?" I asked worriedly.
"We won't! Everyone must be deep in their slumber at this time."
"Okay!" I gave in and we made it to my cottage without getting caught.
Denie helped me carry the little valuables I didn't want to leave behind. An ugly-looking ruby waistband that had fallen off my waist the other day when I accidentally pulled on it. This was the only item I had been found with as a baby and a hairpin Nana gifted me two years ago when I turned 18. This was all I had.
I quickly fixed the waistband embedded with tiny little ruby stones and locked it back on my waist.
We were about to pack food when strange sounds suddenly came from outside.
"Oh shit, we have been found out," I muttered as we rushed forward to see what was happening. However, the result wasn't what I was expecting.
Denie and I gasped in horror to see Lance's angry gang marching toward my cottage with weapons and torches. It was evident they were here for revenge. They weren't satisfied with the Chief's verdict and thus decided to take matters into their own hands.
I realized it was never on their agenda to let me live long enough to be sold to Mador the next day. They wanted me dead.
"We need to get out of here. Now!" Denie said while pulling me toward the window at the back of my cottage. We quickly jumped out of the window and began running south toward Kir. Unfortunately, our tracks came to an abrupt halt when we saw more of Lance's gang also coming from that direction.
We were surrounded and couldn't go East. That would be another dead end because the sea was another disadvantage.
I smiled sadly as it dawned on me that this was a devised plan.
And now there was only one way to go… West—Into the Forest of Humdrum. Now, I was left with no other choice but to follow Denie when she grabbed my hands firmly and began pulling me toward the one place I vowed never to enter.
"Now's not the time to feel sad about your promise, Lana," Denie reminded me as we ran as fast as our feet could take us while their foot thumped not far behind us. They were chasing after us and shouting furiously at each other not to let us escape.
Our steps only slowed down and immediately ceased when we entered the forest.
I turned back to see the men had all gathered at the entrance with their weapons and torches, but none were brave or stupid enough to follow us in.
"Let her go," one of them sneered.
"She'll die in there! The monsters will rip her to shreds and eat her flesh alive!" Another one spat, erupting a cheer from the rest.
"That's exactly what a freak like her deserves." They all burst into another cheer.
I felt my heart clench at how passionately they wanted me dead.
What had I ever done to them? I tried to recall any past encounters or conflicts that could have led to this animosity, but nothing came to mind. It was a terrifying realization that sometimes, people can hate you for no reason at all.
Denie did not let me dwell on that thought for much longer. She pulled me and we began to broaden the distance between the town we once called home.
The dense trees and eerie silence of the forest enveloped us, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as we ventured deeper into the unknown territory with the full moon lighting our path.
It was then that I heard it again, "Lana. Come home, come to me."
My heart raced as Denie and I crept through the underbrush, the full moon casting an ethereal glow on the trees as I simultaneously searched for the source of the voice that only I could hear.
I knew this decision was dangerous. No, this was beyond foolish but pure stupidity. We shouldn't be here in the first place. We shouldn't have chosen this dreadful place as an escape route.
"Death is far more merciful than that which awaits you in the Forest of Humdrum." These words kept playing in my head, causing shivers to run down my spine.
The people of our town had already made that rule quite clear to everyone, but that didn't matter now because we had no choice but to keep moving further.
Denie was not as calm as she had been earlier. Her hand holding mine was trembling as we kept up our pace.
"You're shaking," I pointed out.
"Oh Yea? Well, that's what happens when you are drowning in fear." Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
I rolled my eyes, hating it when she used that tone on me. But I couldn't blame her, she used sarcasm to cope with fear, and it was my fault she was in this scary unsure situation.
We needed to find a way out of these woods quickly.
We planned to pass through the forest and hoped to find civilization at the other end of it. Whether we found the source of the voice or not, our safety was a top priority.
Suddenly, a bone-cuddling shadow materialized out of the blue, casting ahead of Denie.
I noticed it before she did and quickly grabbed the back of her shirt to stop her from moving any further.
"Wha—?" She was saying but trailed off when she followed my gaze.
A piercing scream left her throat as she stumbled backward to get away from it as fast as possible. At this rate, I was sure she would turn back time and not have suggested this crazy move if she could.
I wouldn't be mad at her but my bad luck if she decided now to abandon me and flee for her life. This was far too much terror for one to bear, all because I refused to be bullied any longer.