Page 1 of Finding Her (Lore of the Fields #1)
“ Come home .” The words echoed through my mind as I walked through the balmy, pouring rain. Steam rose from the crunching gravel under my bare feet, the soles of which stung from the sharp terrain.
Home . What was home?
I clenched my eyes closed and attempted to force information—any information—into my mind. Nothing .
When had I come to consciousness? I was completely naked in the wilderness with no memory of the preceding events. As I tried to mentally retrace the steps of how I got here, all I found was the same darkness and ache that swallowed me whole. Had I been walking for hours? Days? Months?
I trudged down a pitch-black road, the sky a deep purple of twinkling stars and swirling galaxies above me.
The road was flanked by arching trees with large, glossy leaves that reflected what little light was available.
A heavy drop of water plummeted from a branch above my head and splashed onto my brow, where it mixed into salty sweat.
To say it was humid simply wouldn’t give enough credit to the sauna that I was submerged in.
“Come home,” I whispered, repeating the gentle and welcoming plea aloud to myself.
I lifted a hand to my throat at the sound of it.
My voice sounded slurred and grated, as if my vocal chords couldn’t remember how to produce language.
I prayed this road would lead me home. Although I lacked any definitive details, I associated the concept with comfort. Safety.
Odd gurgles, growls, and whispering hisses echoed through the trees.
I startled as branches rustled nearby, accompanied by what sounded like words.
They were snarled out by a scratched, nasally voice that was hardly human.
A swarm of red eyes observed my struggle from a looming mass of dense brush.
Hyperaware of the lancing cuts in my feet, I worried the darkness concealed my view of a blood trail left behind me—a potential dinner bell for the monsters lurking in the inky blackness.
Surely, I had found hell. The more I progressed towards a refuge I wasn’t sure existed, the more my body suffered. I inhaled deeply before every step, attempting to rally my strength, only to stumble with nothing to catch myself on.
Just keep going . My exhausted knees began to buckle under my weight. I gritted my teeth and hissed at myself to continue or be the next meal of whatever howled nearby. The faint lines of the road began to blotch and curve unnaturally. My vision was fading, distorting, failing.
Just one… two… three more steps…
My eyes cracked open as I suddenly had the sensation of floating.
No, not floating, but being carried. Between my nearly shuttered eyelids, I saw a shadowed face above me that stared ahead.
My vision was too hazy to make out any distinctive features.
I knew I should feel afraid that something had caught my unconscious form, but I experienced nothing other than acceptance at my impending demise.
I only hoped I wouldn’t be awake for what came next.
I let my eyes close again, and a warm light shone faintly through their lids as I went back to nothingness.
“You’re safe now. I’ve got you,” a deep voice rasped softly. It sounded miles away and rang in my skull without meaning. I gave in to the exhaustion, and my aching body pulled me to a dark and terrified sleep.