The Curse
Young Luna staggered out of the woods just outside Alpha, an arrow pierced in her arm, and blood escaping the wound on her leg. The brown, hand-made hat was now tilted to the side of her face, hiding the darken eye, and blood streaming down her face. Her sight was blurred, and her legs weary from running all night and the wound. As she walked, her body grew heavier and heavier, sinking to the ground and pulling herself back up. As last, her legs finally refused to maintain the weight, and gave out. Luna fell onto the ground, too tired to move, too weak to cry for help. She laid still. Through her good eye, she saw a grey wall that seemed to sprout from the ground. She tried desperately to stand, to get up once more, just enough to make it past the walls, where she can find help; but, however, her legs no longer had the strength. Pain had paralyzed her body, and her spirit was slowly dying away. Realizing this fact, she closed her eyes. "…teacher..." she managed to utter that one word. Tears formed out of the corner of her eyes, and ran down her cheek, meeting the blood on the soft soil. I'm so sorry, she thought, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry… Luna started shivering on the soil, scared of what was going to happen to her, scared that they were going to find her. She slowly gripped onto the grass, uttering a few more silent words, "…please…please… forgive…me…" As final thoughts of her teacher invaded her mind, she passed out.
What's happened to me? Luna tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy to lift. Where am I? All the pain that she had previously felt was gone: there wasn't any pain in her leg or arm, and she didn't feel her warm blood or tears on her face anymore. Yet she was still unable to move her body, even her mouth couldn't form words. Am I dead…or alive? From a distance, she could hear a faint sound coming from a distance. It was too low for Luna to understand what it was saying. The voice grew closer, becoming angrier with the volume. Whose voice is that? That voice continued to get louder and louder. She tried to cover her ears, but her hands, as her body, were paralyzed. The voice was getting closer and closer, were Luna could almost make out what was being said.
"Wake up Nakuta!" Luna's head immediately shot up, her wide eyes meeting the cold stare of her father. He kicked her in her ribs. "Get up, you demon! Get up!" He kicked her again when she didn't get up fast enough. Before Luna could get onto her feet, her father gripped her wrist tightly and yanked her up sharply by her arm, and began dragging her.
Fear shot through Luna's body like an arrow, her entire body shaking. Her eyes darted side to side, examining the surroundings. Her eyes widen in realization of where she was now. "No…" a word escaped her lips before she could stop. A quick glance at her father revealed that her father didn't hear her speak. I'm back at Dioples! She started breathing more rapidly, her free hand gripping onto her hat. They found me. They found me and brought me back here! They are going to kill me in the very village I grew up in! The sound of her heartbeat and horrid thoughts covered the sounds of rapid footsteps closing in on her. However, she was quickly snapped back to reality when her father violently tossed her to the ground. At that moment, she noticed the whole village had surrounded her. A heavy set woman with a hand-made dress kicked Luna in the back as she lay on the ground. She arched her back, both hands pressed against her spine, moaning in pain. The villagers came closer; a few of them started kicking dirt in her face. She covered her face with the back of her hands, burying her face into the ground. A small child of about five came from behind and kicked her in the side two times, causing Luna to lie on her side and curl up into a ball. More villagers began to take their turns in attacking her while she lay on the ground: some kicked her anywhere they could; some joined the few villagers in kicking the dirt, while others just stared at her. Tears started forming in her eyes as she tried desperately to protect herself, curling into a tight enough ball to keep her stomach and face from receiving the blows. Finally, she inhaled deeply and screamed out the only person that would even attempt to help her, "TEACHER!!"
When she shouted, the villagers immediately stopped; they stopped throwing dirt and kicking her. It became abnormally quiet. Luna slowly raised her head from the ground, scared of receiving an unexpected blow from someone. The villagers had backed away from her, leaving space between her and her attackers, yet she was too afraid to make her escape. It had appeared that everyone was making way for someone. Deep down, she had hope that her teacher was the one everyone was moving for; deep down, she hoped that her teacher was here to take her from this nightmare, and take her somewhere safe, to a place that he often described in his stories. As she hoped, it was her teacher coming towards her. Luna sprang to her feet and started running towards him. Her thoughts on the danger the villagers posed were no longer lingering in her head; the only thought was to reach her teacher. However, she stopped running when she noticed something odd about it: he wasn't as she remembered him, he was something else. His shirt was slowly becoming drenched by blood. "Why…" He walked closer to her, his hand reaching for the head of his shirt. "Why…did you…do this to…me?" He gripped onto his shirt and revealed a gash that ran across his neck. Luna eyes widen as her teacher stepped closer to her, more blood running down his shirt. Luna stepped back from him, her hands placed on her mouth to keep her from screaming, and tears running down her face. She slowly shook her head in disbelief. The villagers slowly looked towards Luna, their mouths moving in unison, all saying one word: "Murderer." They continued to say the word, over and over, increasing in volume until they were screaming the word, "Murderer! Murderer!"
"No…" Luna whispered, closing her eyes tightly. "No…I…I didn't…" The villagers drew closer to her, along with her teacher. The chants grew fiercer. She crouched down to the ground, moving her hands to her ears. The cold, heartless stares were still on her; she could feel them. She didn't dare look back into any of their eyes, not even the eyes of the person that use to care for her. "Please…stop…" Luna lowered her head onto her legs, trying as hard as possible to stop the noise. "Stop." The villagers paid no attention to her, they didn't hear her plead. "I didn't do…I didn't do it…" Finally, she rose up and screamed, "I didn't do it!"