Flynn was in the field above the village again. He always went to the field when his father had no work for him, which was rarely. He was making his way back to the paths when he heard her scream. His little sister, Ellery, five years younger than him, screamed loud enough for him to hear her all the way up at the field.
Flynn rushed to the part where the paths split into two and froze. He could take the shorter one and be there in minutes, or take the longer one and be there in maybe more.
Now this is where things get strange. Usually the answer would be obvious. Take the shorter path, right? Wrong! See, the longer path was clear, not only of brush and brambles, but also of danger.
The shorter path had tall grass surrounding it, trees with no leaves bending over to block the way, and roots that sat up two feet from the dirt. But that wasn't the worst of it. The shorter path also had strange creatures roaming around.
She screamed again as Flynn weighed his options; take the long path and possibly be too late, or take the shorter one and risk his own life in the process. Ellery's next shout answered for him as he bolted for the shorter path.
The tall dark grass rose beside him as he ran, the tree branches emerging from the fog settling around him. They knew he was coming, the creatures. It was known that the creatures used the fog to hide themselves as they stalked you, and a thick rain to slow you down. The rain started slow at first, barely blurring Flynn's vision.
Flynn jumped a rising root and had just landed neatly when he heard the growl behind him. He glanced over his shoulder as he continued running and saw the bright yellow eyes everyone feared. He gasped and turned to face forward again…only to come to a sudden stop. He made a full circle as he looked around for the path. It was gone. The only evidence of a path was the small spot of dirt beneath him.
The grass had grown around him while he'd looked away and now he was lost. Flynn swore and started to panic, trying to see over the grass as the sky grew darker and the things got closer. The rain stopped for a moment, allowing Flynn to hear again.
Ellery screamed once more, this time she was close. He was almost there. Flynn ran in her direction again, ducking and jumping over any obstacles in his way. The rain started up again, but this time, instead of falling like normal rain, this rain…fell…up. Flynn had trouble shielding his eyes and his pace slowed slightly.
The things were on his heels! Jaws snapping and claws digging themselves into the dirt as they formed a group after him. Out of the corner of his eye, Flynn could see the moonlight glisten off the strings of saliva hanging from their jaws with anticipation. The rain didn't seem to have any effect on them at all.
Just a few more feet…he could see the edge of the path! Flynn could feel the hot breath of the things on his back. As he got closer, he could see that there was a drop, a small cliff he'd have to jump before he was at the village. He risked one more glance before jumping for the edge of the path. A clawed hand reached out for him and just barley caught him, raking his claws down Flynn's back.
Flynn yelled out as he fell the eight feet to the ground, landing on his ankle wrong. He tried to scramble to his feet when he heard the growls just above him. He made it a mere ten feet away from the small drop and looked up.
The things stalked the edge as they watched him with angry eyes in the strange rain. Flynn swallowed realizing they couldn't cross and crawled to his feet. He had to lean on a nearby tree, his ankle and scratch swelling painfully as he made his way back to the village.
The screams had stopped, only raising the fear twisting inside him.
Flynn bit his lip hard as he pushed off the support and hopped his way to the clearing.
When he got there, Flynn's best friend Sloan was standing beside Ellery, his arms wrapped around her in comfort. Flynn glanced around the clearing and saw the cause of the screams. A large deer lay mangled near the edge of the clearing. Blood was everywhere. When he glanced back at Ellery, she'd noticed Flynn's approach and rushed over, "My Gods Flynn! What happened to you? It didn't get you did it?"
Flynn eyed her dress carefully to check for blood stains or wounds and shook his head, "Did what get me? What happened? I heard you screaming."
Ellery chewed her lip and gestured at the deer, "You should have seen it Flynn…it was huge. A wolf…it came out of nowhere and attached the deer I was trying to get close to…well, I screamed and once it killed the deer, it turned for me. Sloan chased it off though. It didn't hurt m-Your bleeding!" she'd noticed his back and turned him quickly.
Flynn wasn't expecting the sudden shove and lost his balance on his injured ankle. He stumbled and landed hard.
Sloan rushed over, helping him up again. They took him to the village doctor as he told his story about slipping off a large rock, scratching up his back and landing wrong.
They couldn't know the real story about the wolves that had chased him. There were certain people in the village that believed that one scratch from the wolves meant death, Sloan was one of those people. Sloan lost his own father to the wolves a few years back. He'd come back the next week with fangs and claws. He'd come to the village covered in blood, sobbing about not meaning too do it. The other village men took him down a few moments later.
Flynn would keep it secret. As far as he knew, he had a week before anything strange would happen, giving him more than enough time to leave the village without suspicion and say his goodbyes.