Chapter 4: Running away again
She kept floating in the bright stretch of nowhere. She tried moving her body, but to no avail. That's weird, she thought. My body can't move much. It's as if I'm in suspended animation. Just after she thought that, the space seemed to contract and it seemed to squeeze her out. She fell down onto something hard. But her quick reflexes saved her head from hitting the ground. She got her palms scraped and nothing more. She stood up, feeling a bit unusual with the surroundings. The sun was shining up in the sky, and the trees didn't look like anything from the pine species. Where am I? The first question she asked herself. She looked down, seeing herself standing on the same rock form. However, the carvings seemed clearer than before. She moved across the stone, and alighted from it. That was when she heard voices.
Two men gaped at the lithe form as it gracefully stood up and looked around. "Who is she?" the first man asked in a foreign language. "How did she get there?" the second man questioned. Neither answered the other's question as they continued to stare at the girl with long flowing hair wearing a blue dress.
Tomoyo walked away from the clearing when she heard the sound of gunfire. "Aaaaaaahhh!" she screamed as she ducked. When another fire sounded, she started running again, not caring where she ended up, as long as it was away from the hunters.
The first man immediately went after her. "Come on Conrad, let's get her!" "But she's not an animal, Edmond. We can't have her for dinner!" the other man refused as they ran along. "But she's a witch!" Edmond countered in French. "How can you be so sure that she's a witch? You never saw a mark on her shoulder," Conrad asked. "Do you think an ordinary woman could appear out of nowhere like that? And of all areas to go to, she appeared here in The Witches' Glade! Right on top of The Hex!" Conrad took this thought for a while. "But she doesn't look like a witch. More of an angel actually." "But witches can make disguises can they?" Conrad was clearly convinced. He prepared his gun. "You're right. I remember the witch Rebecca who was drowned in the tub then burned in the Town Square. What a beauty!" "But very deadly," Edmond added grimly.
Tomoyo ran faster, up ahead she saw another clearing and raced to get there. She could hear the footsteps of the men approaching her. And were they speaking in French? She was so sure their European twang sounded anything but Japanese. But she kept running despite all her thoughts.
Edmond and Conrad were still running after her, but this time, not to catch her, but something more important than that. "Wait! Don't go there!" But Tomoyo didn't listen. She thought it was a trap to slow her down. So she continued running. She reached the end of the clearing when she finally realized why the men started shouting instead of firing at her. But her momentum was too fast that she didn't have enough time and strength to suddenly break her run. Tomoyo tried turning left but slipped on loose earth. She screamed as more soil fell loose under her feet and sent her skidding down towards the edge of a high cliff. The men tried rescuing her but it was too late. She fell of the ledge and to the jagged rocks of the sea below. "Well, that's the end of our hunting trip," Conrad sighed. "We better get back before dark. They say witches still haunt these parts of the country." Edmond sighed and turned to walk away. "Yeah. But at least those witches are down by one. That'd make me sleep for days."
She kept floating in the bright stretch of nowhere. She tried moving her body, but to no avail. That's weird, she thought. My body can't move much. It's as if I'm in suspended animation. Just after she thought that, the space seemed to contract and it seemed to squeeze her out. She fell down onto something hard. But her quick reflexes saved her head from hitting the ground. She got her palms scraped and nothing more. She stood up, feeling a bit unusual with the surroundings. The sun was shining up in the sky, and the trees didn't look like anything from the pine species. Where am I? The first question she asked herself. She looked down, seeing herself standing on the same rock form. However, the carvings seemed clearer than before. She moved across the stone, and alighted from it. That was when she heard voices.
Two men gaped at the lithe form as it gracefully stood up and looked around. "Who is she?" the first man asked in a foreign language. "How did she get there?" the second man questioned. Neither answered the other's question as they continued to stare at the girl with long flowing hair wearing a blue dress.
Tomoyo walked away from the clearing when she heard the sound of gunfire. "Aaaaaaahhh!" she screamed as she ducked. When another fire sounded, she started running again, not caring where she ended up, as long as it was away from the hunters.
The first man immediately went after her. "Come on Conrad, let's get her!" "But she's not an animal, Edmond. We can't have her for dinner!" the other man refused as they ran along. "But she's a witch!" Edmond countered in French. "How can you be so sure that she's a witch? You never saw a mark on her shoulder," Conrad asked. "Do you think an ordinary woman could appear out of nowhere like that? And of all areas to go to, she appeared here in The Witches' Glade! Right on top of The Hex!" Conrad took this thought for a while. "But she doesn't look like a witch. More of an angel actually." "But witches can make disguises can they?" Conrad was clearly convinced. He prepared his gun. "You're right. I remember the witch Rebecca who was drowned in the tub then burned in the Town Square. What a beauty!" "But very deadly," Edmond added grimly.
Tomoyo ran faster, up ahead she saw another clearing and raced to get there. She could hear the footsteps of the men approaching her. And were they speaking in French? She was so sure their European twang sounded anything but Japanese. But she kept running despite all her thoughts.
Edmond and Conrad were still running after her, but this time, not to catch her, but something more important than that. "Wait! Don't go there!" But Tomoyo didn't listen. She thought it was a trap to slow her down. So she continued running. She reached the end of the clearing when she finally realized why the men started shouting instead of firing at her. But her momentum was too fast that she didn't have enough time and strength to suddenly break her run. Tomoyo tried turning left but slipped on loose earth. She screamed as more soil fell loose under her feet and sent her skidding down towards the edge of a high cliff. The men tried rescuing her but it was too late. She fell of the ledge and to the jagged rocks of the sea below. "Well, that's the end of our hunting trip," Conrad sighed. "We better get back before dark. They say witches still haunt these parts of the country." Edmond sighed and turned to walk away. "Yeah. But at least those witches are down by one. That'd make me sleep for days."