Merek's Ascendance Page 2

  His father turned towards him to get one last word in.

  “If you’re here when we get back, I’ll kill you.”

  Without another word, his father disappeared from sight. Merek simply sat there, covered in blood, too scared to understand. He hadn’t meant any of this. This… this was insane.

  Haven’t you done enough damage?

  Merek looked down at his hands, hands that were covered in his mother’s blood. He started to shake, and his wounded arm only served as a testament to his weakness.

  Gods, what had he done?

  He stood up, favoring his shoulder. The wood wasn’t in too deep; he could probably pull it out. But he needed to stop the bleeding once he did. The cottage had very few things that he could use to stem the blood flow…

  Merek hung his head. As much as he detested it, he needed to get the coat that was his bed. He could stop the blood flowing with that, at least until he could…

  Until he could what? What was left for him to do?

  Merek looked around, trying not to panic. He had to think of something. He had to do something.

  His eyes fell on the forest, and he knew exactly what had to be done.

  Gathering up the coat from the floor, he savagely pulled the stick of wood from his arm, feeling the blood soaking through the coat. It wasn’t that bad of a wound. He had suffered worse when the hoe slipped from the ground and cut his leg.

  Which meant there was nothing stopping him from leaving. Nothing at all.

  But where would he go? To the forest, of course. How would he survive out there? The same as he had when he was forced to sleep outside in the cold winter nights. Could he ever come back?

  Did he really want to?

  Merek shook his head, unable to find answers that truly compelled him. But with no other option, he struck out for the forest.

  It didn’t take him very long to find a stream to soak his wound in. The water was cold, but at least it allowed him to clean the blood from his arm. He kept the coat pressed against the hole, looking around as darkness claimed the forest. He would need to build a fire or something if he wanted to… wanted to…

  His vision suddenly blurry, it was all he could do just to stay upright. But the next moment the world around him faded to black and he pitched forward, unconscious before he hit the ground.

  Chapter Two: The Forest Boy

  Merek didn’t know how long it was until he woke up, but the moon was shining down on him when he did. He was lying in the mud of a river bank, the lower half of his body still underwater. He shivered, his clothes soaked from his impromptu swim. His right shoulder was numb, though every few moments a spike of pain would remind him of the damage done to it. He leaned back, accidently burying his long hair in the mud as he took deep, gasping breaths.

  He couldn’t be sure how much time had passed before he finally pulled himself from the river.

  “Well… today’s ending… just grand,” he said between gritted teeth, pulling himself with one arm onto the grass. No sooner had his feet left the water then he felt the mid-spring’s warmth start to heat him. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky to keep the moonlight from lighting his way to… somewhere.

  But there was something in the breeze that sent a shiver down his spine. He looked around as a sense of foreboding overcame him. He searched the sky, but saw nothing but fireflies in a sea of black. Further off, the stars melted away into the darkness, and only night could be seen.

  Merek’s eyes narrowed even as his heart started beating so hard he could feel his chest move.

  In the distance there wasn’t as much a formation of clouds as there was a mountain of black. They stretched across the horizon, miles and miles away but still terrifying close. He could see lightning sparking from one sect of cloud to another as the entirety of the countryside rumbled with trepidation.

  There was a massive storm coming, and it was coming straight for him.

  “So… shelter. Shelter right now.”

  Forcing himself to his feet was a chore in and of itself, as every muscle burned when he tried to move it. But he couldn’t just stay there. The odds of him surviving in an open field with a thunderstorm of that size… well, he wasn’t very good at math, but he knew it was a bad idea.

  He moved as quickly as he was able back into the forest. At least the trees would take some of the brunt of the storm, the same way it took some of the snow. But he knew from wretched experience that it wouldn’t handle it all, and he needed to hide from the rest.

  The feeling returning to his legs, he jogged through the forest. Bright green leaves fell from the trees as Merek leapt over fallen logs and crushed branches beneath his steps. All the while, his eyes scanned the forest for any sign of an escape.

  A boom of thunder made him instinctively cringe as he lifted his good arm to cover his head. He turned back to the moon his eyes wide. He couldn’t even see the edge of the forest now, but he could make out the moon’s position. The clouds hadn’t even appeared in the sky overhead yet, and still the thunder was loud enough to deafen him.

  Merek’s jog became a sprint even as he wondered just how far away he had floated from his home. The storms were never this bad there.

  Everywhere he looked there was nothing but grass and leaves and wood, nothing that he could immediately make shelter out of. He stopped running as his breath ran short and sweat poured down his brow.

  “Nothing,” Merek said as his desperation grew. “Nothing to hide in, nothing to protect myself with… nothing…”

  The world grew dark around him, as if something had blotted out the light.

  Inwardly cursing his luck, he looked to the sky to discover that was exactly what had happened.

  The storm had found him.

  He could hear it now, the thunderclaps of the storm from so very close. Lightning bounced back and forth between the clouds, but it wouldn’t be long before the lightning blasted down to earth. And there was a different sound, a sound Merek couldn’t quite identify, almost like the rushing of a waterfall but stranger, wilder.

  His jaw dropped when he realized it was the rain. In unison with this realization, he turned and ran again. He had very little time now, very little time before the storm washed him away.

  Merek’s flight took him up a hill, which he climbed with mounting exasperation and pain. What he wouldn’t give to rest, to just lie down for a while.

  Then he saw it.

  A break in the trees exposed a rocky hill. And, if his eyes didn’t deceive him, there was a cave on top of it.

  “High ground, hopefully dry cave. Worth a shot, I think.”

  The rain was closing in; he could hear the torrent coming. He ran for the hill, though his legs were weighed down by both exhaustion and fear. It took the rest of his strength to climb the hill, the stone much harder and unforgiving than the soft grass of the forest. Each step felt like the heels of his feet were being punched, but he persevered.

  Until at last, he was face to face with the infinite darkness of the cave. He took a last look at the surrounding storm, and smiled. He had made it with a moment to spare.

  Then he stared into the dark, and hesitated. There was something wrong about the cave, some elusive misgiving that Merek couldn’t quite put his finger on. But every instinct in his brain was telling him not to go into the cave.

  The moment it took him to contemplate it was the only relief he had before the storm hit him. Ice cold sheets slammed into his back at the same time a powerful gust of hair nearly blew him sideways. He pitched forward as the wind jostled him around, and he found himself being pushed into the cave.

  It was quieter, if nothing else.

  Merek stood stock still, only inches removed from the rain. Drenched from only seconds in the torrent, he stood shivering in the cave. There was no light, no sound emanating from its depths, but…

  This place really did not sit well in Merek’s mind.

  Gathering his courage, though Merek didn’t believe it would be much
good, he took a single tentative step.

  Nothing happened.

  He took it as a good sign and moved forward one more, his eyes looking around in every direction for something he couldn’t see. He took another step, each one taking him further from the storm. The noise was dying down the deeper he traveled. He turned to look back at the rain, but there was nothing but a wall of water to be seen there.

  That didn’t stop him from seeing a bolt of lightning strike a tree a little too close to his cave for comfort. He jumped, backing away several more steps into the cave with his breath short and sharp.

  Then he heard it.

  He stopped in his tracks, staring at the rain without seeing it, hoping – a rare feeling –that he had just imagined the sound. Seconds stretched on, seconds that seemed to be taunting him with their silence.

  Merek counted to ten without hearing anything but the raging storm, so he decided that it must have a trick of the thunder. Though that decision didn’t cause him to turn around just yet. He wasn’t that confident that his decision was correct.

  The seconds turned into a minute, and still he hadn’t moved. His left arm was shaking, though he tried his best to keep it still.

  Finally, he couldn’t bear it any longer and he turned around. As if on cue, he heard the noise again. There was no mistaking it this time, nor was there any denying it.

  Merek was not alone in the cave.

  The sound was something he was unfamiliar with. It was more than a rasp, but less than an actual growl. It sounded most like a deep sigh heard from the bottom of a well.

  Whatever it was, the noise scared him.

  He considered backing away, but the flash of another lightning strike kept him still. He could deal with whatever it was in the cave, or he could risk getting blasted by a lightning bolt.

  Neither option sounded very good.

  The sound changed, as if the owner of it didn’t have the strength to keep it going. Now it was quieter, a whimper. Pained. Whatever was with Merek was hurt, it sounded like. He didn’t want to approach, he didn’t want to go near the noise, but…

  It sounded like it was in so much pain, and the whimper was pitiful. The thing was scared. Scared, hurt and alone in the dark with a storm overhead. Merek couldn’t just ignore the thing’s suffering.

  Not when he could relate so well.

  He forced his legs forward, stamping down on the fear that was threatening to swallow him. The noise grew louder, scarier, as if the owner was trying its hardest to be defensive but simply didn’t have the strength.

  A bolt of lightning flashed close enough to light up enough of the cave for Merek to see what it was he was pursuing.

  A black bear, taller than he was by only a matter of inches, was huddled against the cave wall. Against the bear were small, wriggling black masses of fur that Merek instantly realized were her babies.

  “So, a mother bear and her children all hiding in a cave. But why do you sound so hurt, mother bear?”

  As if in answer, another lightning strike lit up the bear.

  “Oh, Gods…” Merek said, covering his mouth with his hand in shock. Perhaps the wound wasn’t as bad as Merek thought, but the fact that the bear wasn’t howling in pain was a testament to the animal’s spirit.

  Two arrows were sticking out of her left arm, both cutting cleanly through and emerging on the other side of her flesh. Blood was still dripping from the wounds, indicating that they were fresh.

  “I don’t understand, who would put arrows into you? Why?” The bear, of course, had no answer for his questions, but he wasn’t expecting one.

  “Alright, we need to get these out, or it’s just going to get worse. I’m going to break the arrow so we can pull it out. It’s going to hurt.”

  Merek was saying it more for his benefit than hers, for he knew the moment he touched the arrows the bear was going to defend herself from what she would perceive as a further assault. Even though Merek knew this, he gripped the arrow anyway. The feathers would be easier to take off than the…

  The arrowhead was tied on, Merek noticed as he ran his fingers down the exposed shaft.

  “Tied on?” Merek mused aloud, “Hunters don’t usually tie on their arrowheads.” He looked at the bear and cleared his throat. “They don’t want to risk the arrowheads breaking off, or it coming loose because they didn’t tie it tight enough. So they… why am I explaining this to a bear?”

  He briefly shook his head before taking a deep breath to steady himself. Then he gently untied the head from the rest of the arrow. As gently as he could, he started to pull the stick from the bear’s arm.

  As expected, the bear was not very receptive to this course of action.

  Her arm swung out at him, but in the dark he didn’t know it was coming until it smashed into his face. Thankfully, the wounds from the arrows had sapped much of the bear’s strength, so the blow didn’t hurt as badly as it could have. But the claws still raked his skin, causing blood to bubble through his flesh. She tried to swing again, but a timely flash of lightning allowed him to see it and catch her falling arm.

  “Now, you stop that!” Merek chastised, throwing the weary arm aside. “I’m trying to help you!”

  Knowing time was now against him, he grabbed the shaft and pulled it free. The bear roared in pain, but made no move to defend herself. Perhaps she finally understood. Or, more likely, she simply no longer had the strength.

  “Just hold on a moment longer, alright? Just one more minute.”

  Tenderly, Merek untied the other arrowhead and prepared himself.

  “It’ll all be okay. Just… don’t eat me, all right?”

  Then without any warning, he pulled the arrow free from the mother bear’s arm.

  She howled her pain into the storm, but the noise was swallowed by a thunderclap that nearly deafened Merek. Her two babies huddled closer to their mother, perhaps from the cold but more likely from fear.

  Merek stripped off his coat and wrapped it around her arm. It was wet and cold and bloody, but he couldn’t leave it untended. She instinctively growled again, but she didn’t actually seem very angry. Unless Merek was very wrong, she should start feeling better.

  She growled something, a few short bursts of air that roused her babies. Thinking that she had called on her children to defend her, Merek tried to back away. He couldn’t make it more than a few steps before he tripped over his own foot and hit the ground, stifling a scream as the impact aggravated his wounded arm.

  The bears were all over him a moment later.

  He covered his head with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the teeth and claws and the pain. He waited for a full ten seconds before he realized none of those things were forthcoming.

  Merek opened his eyes to find that the bears were cuddling with him. Their mother moved towards them as quickly as her wound would allow and settled herself next to them. Without anything resembling understanding, Merek found himself sandwiched between a mother bear and her two babies. His first thought was that at least it was warm.

  It took Merek a long while before he fully acclimated to his new situation. He didn’t move, scared as he was of disturbing the children. They had no such qualms, however, stretching however they wanted in order to get comfortable. One bear scratched its head with an arm, and inadvertently tickled Merek.

  That was the only thing that possible could have convinced Merek to move. He squirmed away from the tickling bear, but it followed him, seeking out the comfort of Merek’s torso.

  Realizing he had precious little choice, Merek moved his left arm to better accommodate the sleeping child. It rested on his arm and was soon fast asleep.

  I’m resting in a cave with bears. This is… what? What am I doing?

  Until the storm stopped, he really had no other options. Plus, the bears seemed rather friendly. That, or they liked to cuddle with their meals before eating it. Even if that was the case, it wasn’t like there was anything he could do. They were just too ado
rable to fight against.

  So with no other option, Merek closed his eyes and, eventually, drifted off to sleep.

  He had no idea what he dreamed about, but when he woke up he was sweating and his breath was harsh and too quick to control. He took a gulp, closing his eyes and taking as deep of breaths as he could.

  When he finally had himself under control, he looked around the cave. The storm had died off, though it was still lightly raining outside. It was also finally daytime. All three bears were gone, perhaps journeying into the forest for food.

  Merek’s stomach growled loud enough to echo off of the cave walls, and he figured food should be on his to-do list also. He stood up, cradling his arm. It was stiff now, but the blood had stopped and there was only puckered skin to show for it.

  “What I wouldn’t give for bandages…” he thought aloud before walking slowly towards the cave entrance. “Not that I have anything to give,” he finished, looking out at the forest from his overlook.

  All he saw on all sides were trees. There were no paths, no roads, nothing that resembled civilization.

  Merek’s smile stretched from one ear to the other. This place was perfect.

  He took the path down, entering the untouched forest around him. It took him only ten minutes to find a bush that had blackberries growing on it, which he scarfed down without hesitation. There were other bushes, some with edible berries and some not, but he decided to save that for later. It was better to ration his food sources.

  There was no telling how long he’d be out here.

  “Well Merek,” he said as he started to walk, “I guess we’ve got no chores to do today. So what would we like to do?”

  Almost on cue, a bird landed on a branch only a few feet away.

  “I agree,” he said, moving towards the bird. For the next two minute, he simply sat down and enjoyed the tranquility of the forest. The animals, the insects, all of it. It couldn’t be nicer.

  Then he heard a familiar growl, and he began to worry. What if the bear didn’t remember him from the night before? It was a bear, after all. Father always said that bears were the dumbest…