Lioren bolted upright with a gasp. The sky was drenched in red as a blood moon rose over the tree canopy. Flowers littered the clearing; standing tall, deep purple and veiled in shadow, petals curling like cloaks over hidden faces. Their smell permeated the air, earthy and bitter, as if it was a warning that she shouldn't be there. Her eyes fell to the tree line and she began to tremble. Those two golden eyes stared back at her from the edge of the shadows. The red light revealed it to be a massive black wolf. It stood, ominously still on the edge of the clearing as phantom voices echoed on the wind.
Two beneath the blood moon’s call...
One to hunt and one to fall...
Lioren scrambled to her feet as the moon rose higher. It broke free of the canopy, its crimson light washing over the forest in waves of heatless fire. The moment its glow touched the clearing, the violet flowers trembled. One by one, their delicate heads bowed and darkened, petals curling inward like clenched fists.
Lioren watched, breath caught in her throat, as the monster advanced. Its heavy paws crushed the wilted stems with every step. Lioren spun around, looking for somewhere to run. The light was getting closer. Run. Lioren sprinted for the trees on the far side of the clearing. A howl of pursuit echoed behind her and the phantom voices echoed once more.
One to hunt and one to fall...
Lioren crashed and stumbled through the underbrush. This is a nightmare. It had to be. She was in the clearing only moments before, safe in Tomas' arms. Wasn’t she? Didn’t he promise she’d be okay? Then why did everything reek of blood and fear? The pounding of paws grew louder behind her and she risked a glance. She wished she hadn't. The monstrous wolf sped toward her, panting and eyes burning with excitement. Lioren pushed her legs harder, faster. She wasn't going to fall tonight.
A splash of violet caught her eye. The wolf could not step on the flowers until they wilted. She turned toward the patch of color and the wolf snarled behind her. Lioren burst into the clearing and didn't dare stop running until she was sure the wolf halted its hunt. It snarled and paced the edge of the flowers. Golden orbs sparked with frustration and desire.
When fang meets flesh beneath red sky,
One shall live, and one shall die.
"I am not dying!" Lioren yelled at the wolf as if it was the one taunting her with haunting words. "You are not real!" She yelled again but her words felt hollow. Lioren was not sure if she believed this wasn't just some trauma induced nightmare.
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“Watch the ruts, Tomas! She is bleeding again.” Mira yelled from the back of a wagon. Her back ached from crouching over Lioren, who barely stirred beneath her hands. The wagon jostled again, throwing Mira on her ass as they sped around a curve. Their horse snorted in frustration as Tomas he flicked the reins again. The sun bared down on their dash for medical help with cruel heat. A stark contrast to the cool autumn temperatures they were used to.
“Would you like to drive instead?” Tomas snapped back rather hotly and turned back to the dark road. He winced at each bump and shake of the wagon. Each bump drew a weak whimper from Lioren. Her arm was almost black with infection as the bite had become necrotic. Even her side wounds were starting to show signs of infection.
“At least slow down! You’re going to run the horse into the ground—we’ll be stranded!” Mira traded out the foul-smelling bandages for new ones. Last bandage. Mira offered up another prayer to whatever God would take pity on her. As if in response, Lioren let out a gasp and rolled over enough to vomit dark liquid onto the floor of the wagon. Mira gagged at the smell and adjusted Lioren on to her side to keep her throat clear.
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Lioren’s body shuddered like a breath held too long, her face twisting with pain and something close to fear. Mira’s face fell when she touched Lioren’s fevered skin. She breathed a little easier as Tomas slowed down. Barely.
“Fuck!” Tomas yelled and yanked hard on reins as the curve revealed a felled tree. Not a large one, but large enough the horse was adamant about not crossing. Tomas leaped off the wagon, swearing as if it was his only vocabulary and began dragging the obstacle away. Despite his best attempt, the log was not moving more than a few inches.
"Mira, get over here and help me!" Tomas ordered and pulled again, gaining a few more precious inches. Mira did not join him. "Mira. NOW!" He yelled, still straining against the log.
"I.. can't." She breathed at last and Tomas whipped around only to see Mira, tears streaming like an undammed river. "Maybe if Kale were here--"
"Don't fucking say his name." Tomas snarled and leveled Mira with a glare. "He chose gold over Lioren. If she.." Tomas couldn't bring himself to say the words. Tears threatened to fall as he turned back to the tree and started his futile attempt to move it.
The sun was beginning to set and Tomas had barely made any progress and Lioren was getting worse. Mira continuously held a small mirror to her friends lips to detect invisible breaths. Tomas slumped against the fallen tree, sweat drenched and defeated. The sound of an approaching wagon jolted him out of his wallowing. He scurried to his feet to take a defensive stance at the rear of their wagon. Mira abandoned her vigil beside Lioren to trade her mirror for her bow as the approach grew louder.
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Lioren lowered herself to the ground and sat with one leg stretched out and the other propping up her arm. Her breaths were heavy as she stared back at the golden eyes that had been stalking her. For hours? Days? She couldn’t tell anymore. Her legs burned in a fiery rage that she could only associate with running for days, but the moon never moved. It floated, mockingly in the black sky and shining a big spotlight on her no matter where she hid. She closed her eyes, trying to savor her small relief of rest as the quiet snarls echoed with that accursed wind.
“Aah!” Lioren flinched as a sharp pain laced her arm. She held her arm up to see a thin red line had appeared and a small trickle of blood slid down her arm, over the crook of her elbow and dripped into the flowers below her. Like a wave of death, the flowers began to die. One by one, petal by petal, her sanctuary darkened and the light of the moon seemed to burn faster. The wolf purred with satisfaction and began its approach once more.
Lioren scrambled to her feet, slipping on the dead foliage and willing her legs to carry her further. The wolf howled and the whispers grew louder until they were right next to her ears. In the distance, the red sky was giving way to a light pink. Dawn! She could make it. She would make it. She wasn’t going to die! Tears blurred her vision as the distant light filled her chest with aching hope.
“LIOREN!” Tomas shouted from somewhere in the forest. His voice was loud with panic and he called to her again. Something in her told her to keep running. It couldn’t be him. This was a dream. Tomas was far away, safe from nightmare wolves. But what if he wasn’t? What if he was also trapped in this prison? Lioren stumbled as a war raged in her chest. Her heart was torn between instinct and fear.
“Tomas!” She cried, unwilling to risk leaving him in this Gods’ forsaken place. He called her again and she turned to run towards his voice. It grew louder with each step, each breath and each tear that fell. He was begging her. Pleading for her to find him.
“I’m coming! I am right here!” She yelled back, her pace slowing as the fatigue began its deathly crawl through her body. Breathing was becoming harder and her chest was being crushed under the weight of her exertion. Just a little farther. Pale light illuminated the landscape as the trees parted and Lioren stumbled into a clearing.
She gasped for breath and called again to the figure standing in the center of the clearing. It turned slowly and Lioren’s relief turned to ash.
It wasn’t Tomas.
