Status: Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!
Chasing the Night
Trois
While the east and north sides of Castelnaud were steep cliffs that stood about 500 feet above the Dordogne River, the south and west sides had a much more gradual decline. I steered the horse through the town that surround the walls of the castle. I rode through the uneven stone streets of the town, keeping my head down. It was early spring so the farmers and their families’ were outside, working in the fields. Small children chased each other from house to house. Inside of following the now unpaved road all the way down the hill I veered the horse onto a small narrow dirt trail which lead into the forest.
Clouds had developed in the sky making it darker in the forest that usual. The trees in the forest were tall and wide; having been there for decades. The forest became denser the farther I went in. But after about half a mile in the trees started to thin again. The meadow that appeared when my horse stepped out of the forest was elliptical in shape but uneven. It was also created when the war started. The trees were cut down and used to reinforce the castle. Several large stumps still remained; hidden beneath the knee high grass. The dirt trail cut the meadow in half diagonally. I stayed on the trail, enjoying the light breeze that threatened to knock my hood off. I liked coming here; it was the main reason I slipped out of the castle. It was beautiful, through its beauty didn’t really shine in that day’s gloomy sky.
When I was over half way across the meadow I pulled lightly on the reins to slow the horse. I normally crossed the meadow into the forest on the other side, following the trail for another mile before turning around and heading back. But in the past I was the only one on the trail. That day, how ever, there was a person standing on the edge of the meadow, where the trail continues into the forest. The person was clothed in a dirt brown cloak, which was pulled of their head. They’re back was bent as if they were lending on something for assistants. The worn cloak covered their face but I could make out strands of gray hair. It appeared to be an elderly person; most likely a woman. I continued to follow the trail at a slow pace while keeping my eye on the old lady. People in the forest weren’t an uncommon thing. The war had destroyed many homes and forced people to relocate. Many now lived in the forest because it offered shelter from the weather and easy hiding places.
As I rode up beside the old women she raised gloved hand towards me as if she was excepting me to give her something. I had no food on me so instead I pulled the small leather purse from my pocket and fished three gold coins from it. As I placed them in her palm her hand closed but not just around the coins but also around my wrist. I was still confused when she pulled me roughly out of the saddle and onto the ground. By the time I even thought about screaming the gloved hand covered my mouth. As this was happening I noticed that she was no longer hutched over. As she stood up straight the hood fell off and revealed her face. The old lady was actually a man probably in his mid-twenties. His gray hair was actually a pale blonde color. My shocked turned to fear as I saw two more men walked slowly out of the forest. A second later my fear turned to panic when I saw the blonde man draw a small knife from his pocket.
I started kicking and screaming, through the screams where muffled by the man’s hand. His grasp on my tightened the more I kicked. Then something, I wasn’t sure what, caused him to suddenly release me. When he did so I was in the middle of a kick so instead on landing on my feet I fell on my back. The back of my head bounced out something hard, most likely a rock. Everything went black but I was still conscious. Pain erupted through my skull. I could feel the pain pulsing around my head. Just as the pain in my head was starting to subside to a soft ache, a new pain appeared but it wasn’t coming from my head. It was coming from my neck; right above my left shoulder. The new pain was shaper and hotter. It spread like wildfire from my neck, down my arms and continued to fill my chest. I couldn’t move; my body was paralyzed by the pain. I couldn’t see and the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. As the searing pain moved through my body I could hear my heartbeat slow.
I lost track of time. I wasn’t sure how much time had pasted. Three minutes? Thirty minutes? A day? Time seemed to follow together as I lay on the ground; which I could no longer feel. I couldn’t feel anything besides the pain pulsing through my veins. When the pain seemed to engulf my entire body it seemed to change direction and move back towards my heart. My heart started to best faster as the pain surround and strangle it. My heartbeat continued to increase till I thought it was going to burst. Then at the point of detonation my heart stopped. The pain slowly faded away, leaving my body weak and exhausted. Only then did my body allow me to drift off to sleep.
Clouds had developed in the sky making it darker in the forest that usual. The trees in the forest were tall and wide; having been there for decades. The forest became denser the farther I went in. But after about half a mile in the trees started to thin again. The meadow that appeared when my horse stepped out of the forest was elliptical in shape but uneven. It was also created when the war started. The trees were cut down and used to reinforce the castle. Several large stumps still remained; hidden beneath the knee high grass. The dirt trail cut the meadow in half diagonally. I stayed on the trail, enjoying the light breeze that threatened to knock my hood off. I liked coming here; it was the main reason I slipped out of the castle. It was beautiful, through its beauty didn’t really shine in that day’s gloomy sky.
When I was over half way across the meadow I pulled lightly on the reins to slow the horse. I normally crossed the meadow into the forest on the other side, following the trail for another mile before turning around and heading back. But in the past I was the only one on the trail. That day, how ever, there was a person standing on the edge of the meadow, where the trail continues into the forest. The person was clothed in a dirt brown cloak, which was pulled of their head. They’re back was bent as if they were lending on something for assistants. The worn cloak covered their face but I could make out strands of gray hair. It appeared to be an elderly person; most likely a woman. I continued to follow the trail at a slow pace while keeping my eye on the old lady. People in the forest weren’t an uncommon thing. The war had destroyed many homes and forced people to relocate. Many now lived in the forest because it offered shelter from the weather and easy hiding places.
As I rode up beside the old women she raised gloved hand towards me as if she was excepting me to give her something. I had no food on me so instead I pulled the small leather purse from my pocket and fished three gold coins from it. As I placed them in her palm her hand closed but not just around the coins but also around my wrist. I was still confused when she pulled me roughly out of the saddle and onto the ground. By the time I even thought about screaming the gloved hand covered my mouth. As this was happening I noticed that she was no longer hutched over. As she stood up straight the hood fell off and revealed her face. The old lady was actually a man probably in his mid-twenties. His gray hair was actually a pale blonde color. My shocked turned to fear as I saw two more men walked slowly out of the forest. A second later my fear turned to panic when I saw the blonde man draw a small knife from his pocket.
I started kicking and screaming, through the screams where muffled by the man’s hand. His grasp on my tightened the more I kicked. Then something, I wasn’t sure what, caused him to suddenly release me. When he did so I was in the middle of a kick so instead on landing on my feet I fell on my back. The back of my head bounced out something hard, most likely a rock. Everything went black but I was still conscious. Pain erupted through my skull. I could feel the pain pulsing around my head. Just as the pain in my head was starting to subside to a soft ache, a new pain appeared but it wasn’t coming from my head. It was coming from my neck; right above my left shoulder. The new pain was shaper and hotter. It spread like wildfire from my neck, down my arms and continued to fill my chest. I couldn’t move; my body was paralyzed by the pain. I couldn’t see and the only thing I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears. As the searing pain moved through my body I could hear my heartbeat slow.
I lost track of time. I wasn’t sure how much time had pasted. Three minutes? Thirty minutes? A day? Time seemed to follow together as I lay on the ground; which I could no longer feel. I couldn’t feel anything besides the pain pulsing through my veins. When the pain seemed to engulf my entire body it seemed to change direction and move back towards my heart. My heart started to best faster as the pain surround and strangle it. My heartbeat continued to increase till I thought it was going to burst. Then at the point of detonation my heart stopped. The pain slowly faded away, leaving my body weak and exhausted. Only then did my body allow me to drift off to sleep.