Ander - Part 1: Subchapter 10
10
"Oh, dear gods..." she breathed, staring down at her reflection in disbelief. Even at the top of the riverbank she could tell she wouldn't like what she saw if she went any closer, but what choice did she have?
She sat down and carefully lowered herself onto the dry edge of the riverbed. The bank was so high she had to drop down the last few feet, so it was safe to assume this must be quite the hearty river during the rainy months. As it was now, however, it was barely more than a merry stream, happily roiling over the smooth white river stones.
There's no point in delaying the inevitable, so she kneeled by the river's edge and looked down.
Urgh, she did look a frightful mess: her fur was dirty and tangled, her clothes torn. She had cuts and bruises everywhere and her eyes looked dull and tired, like they belonged to a vixen twenty years her senior. This wraith staring back at her created a sharp contrast against the beauty of this place, so pure and peaceful.
Kiana splashed some water onto her face and took a long, soothing drink. Now for something a bit less pleasant.
She took a deep breath, bit her lip, and plunged her aching fingers into the icy cold water. There was a sharp sting, but it only lasted for a moment. The water washed over her wounds, taking the blood and dirt with it in thin red tendrils, like the smoke from a candle.
When she was sure all the impurities were gone, she pulled her hand from the water and inspected her wounds. They were bleeding anew, but at least now they would be able to heal properly. Bandages would have been ideal, but her mother would surely have noticed their absence. Being a healer, that woman naturally kept track of anything and everything in her medical chest, so Kiana didn't dare steal any.
She thought for a moment, then tore a long strip from the hem of her already torn dress, soaked it in the river, and used that instead, wrapping it around her fingers nice and tight.
Giggling a bit at the thought of a dressing made form an actual dress, she stood up and looked around, planning her next move.
She could either walk along the dry edge of the riverbed, or she could cross over to the other side and continue straight ahead. The bank was quite a bit higher than she was tall, so it might provide her with good cover, and she would be within arm's reach of a fresh source of water throughout.
The bad part of that decision would be if any trackers decided to jump down into the riverbed as well, and they surely would. This river seemed to stretch on in a straight line for quite a distance, no twists or bends, so she could just forget about staying hidden in here.
If she went straight ahead, that would put the most distance between her and her pursuers as fast as possible, but that would also mean leaving the river behind, and who knows when she would just stumble upon a water source again?
Keep your priorities straight, girl. You have your water skin, so you don't have to worry about that right now. Just keep moving.
Kiana stepped into the river, a bit surprised by how hard it pushed against her ankle despite the shallow depth. She slowly waded across, lifting her dress higher and higher as the water started to rise above her knees.
You must look absurd, she thought, like a vixen trying to pull off the world's greatest curtsey.
It was slow going, with the fast-moving water making it difficult to see exactly where she was stepping. The rocks were smooth and loose underfoot, and she didn't want to go sprawling, but things started to get easier again once she passed the halfway point. A few minutes later she was back on dry land, safe and sound, if a bit soggy.
She dropped her dress, not liking how it clung to her wet legs now, but unable to do anything about it. She grabbed some roots sticking out of the bank and pulled herself up, being very careful not to let any dirt get into her impromptu bandages. This sudden exertion pulled quite a number on her sore stomach muscles, but she gritted her teeth and powered through until she was able to hook her foot over the edge and roll herself over the top.
"There," she said, lying with one arm and leg still dangling over the side, taking a moment to catch her breath.
It was odd, this feeling she had now. She knew what it was, of course, but to feel that way in this situation just seemed a bit out of place.
That feeling was pride.
She felt proud of everything she had done over the past - how long has it been? Seven hours? Well, maybe not the part where she fell on her head, but everything else? Yes, she felt proud! Damn proud! She was taking charge of her own life for a change, and that felt great. She could just imagine the bitches back home fanning the gossip fires once they found out what she had done.
Did you hear about Kiana? Ran off in the night, she did.
Her poor mother. Such scandal. I'd just die.
And poor Mateo, too. No bride for him.
That Kiana has always been such a troublemaker. No good, I say. Probably in one of the other villages, drinking up a storm, bouncing from one bed to the next for scraps, you mark my words.
These thoughts were so funny to her she just couldn't help herself. She laughed and laughed, and by the gods did it feel good!
A rumbling in her stomach didn't allow that to continue for very long, though.
She got back to her feet, one hand clutching her midsection. Now here was a feeling that didn't seem out of place at all.
She looked around and started toward a pair of trees surrounded by thick bushes. She would be able to hunker down and have some food without fear of being seen from the river.
She only packed the bare essentials for this trip: some salted meat, some bread and a pair of apples, so if she wanted to make them last she would have to ration it out very carefu -
- click -
A monster erupted from the ground in an explosion of dirt and dead leaves and clamped down on her ankle with a pair of metallic jaws, biting and tearing, rusty teeth sinking into her flesh.
Kiana fell, screaming in pain and fear. Did she think her fingers were bad? This was infinitely worse! She could feel this damned thing scraping against her very bones!
"What - what is this!?" she gasped, struggling just to stay coherent through the black fog of searing pain rising to engulf her senses.
The thing around her ankle wasn't a monster, but some kind of mechanical contraption, she could see that now. Perhaps it was a trap, but it wasn't like anything she had ever seen before.
It really did look like a pair of ugly brown jaws, with triangular teeth pointed inwards; jagged, rusty teeth that were now piercing her flesh and tasting of her blood. It had been half buried in dirt and leaves, lying in wait for whatever prey would come along, ready to bite and tear.
Maybe she was right the first time. Maybe this thing really was a monster.
She tried to pull her leg back, screaming as the teeth sunk in even deeper, but it wouldn't budge.
Oh gods, there was blood everywhere! She could see it flowing from the gashes in her ankle and leaking between the horrid thing's teeth. It wouldn't surprise her if a metallic tongue snaked out from its maw and lapped it up like an animal.
Don't be stupid, Kiana! This is not a monster! It's just a simple clockwork of iron and springs! No different from the toys Father made for you and Layla back when you were pups! Now stop crying and figure a way out of this!
Taking deep, hitching breaths, she blinked her tears away and forced herself to look at the situation with calm eyes. Or at least as calm as she could manage with that burning pain grinding away at her ankle.
There was a pair of chains she hadn't noticed before, sticking out of the dirt and attached at either end of this cruel contraption.
That's why you couldn't move it, she thought. It must be anchored to something buried underground, probably stones.
Kiana stuck her hands into the gaps at either end of her mangled ankle, her fingers sliding into the valleys between the trap's teeth. "Then I'll just pry the damn thing open!" she said, gritting her teeth, and pulled.
"Hnn - aaaAAARGH!!" she couldn't feel any give from the trap whatsoever, but she could certainly feel the pain in her ankle double, then triple as the wicked points trembled inside her body, tapping against the bone.
Not willing to give up, Kiana closed her eyes and tried harder. She could feel the blood flowing across her hands, seeping into her fur, hot and wet. The trap was absolutely slick with it.
She could feel the tears running down her cheeks, not as hot as her blood, and not painful at all, but somehow far worse, as if her body already knew what her mind refused to believe.
"Hnnn!" It was no use. She gradually released her grip so that the pressure wouldn't snap back all at once, then angrily wiped the tears from her eyes so she could see.
There was some kind of locking mechanism at the base, keeping it shut. Without the key there was simply no way she'd be able to open this thing, at least not without a pry bar or other tools she simply did not have.
She briefly considered smashing it open with a rock, but even the slightest movement was enough to send blinding bolts of pain through her leg.
"No... no..." she said, tears blurring her vision. She used her good hand and started digging at the dirt beneath the trap, unearthing the chains link by link. If she couldn't open this accursed trap, she would just have to dig it out.
And then what? her inner voice asked. Are you going to carry the anchor on your shoulders and hobble your way deeper into the woods with this fifty pound trap still stuck around your ankle? Be realistic, Kiana. You're not getting out of this one by yourself. The best you can hope for is getting out alive. You know what you need to do, so swallow your stubborn pride and just do it before you bleed to death.
The voice was right, of course. That know-it-all bitch was almost always right.
She didn't think there would be any trackers out hunting for her just yet, but right now they were her only hope.
Feeling like she was betraying herself, she raised her head to the sky and called for help, the sunlight broken into rainbow shards in her teary eyes. "Help!"
There was no answer.
"Please!" Kiana cried. "Someone please help me! Oh gods, it hurts! Pleeease! Someone, please, please help me! I need heeeelp!"
She didn't know how long she lay there in the dirt, but she kept calling for help until her voice was hoarse and the sun was blocked by the gathering clouds. The wind kept blowing leaves in her face, and she soon found she didn't even have the strength to pull them off, or even care. All she could do was call for help that may not even come before nightfall, the pain in her leg slowly getting worse and worse until it threatened to cut into her very sanity.
"Please... won't someone please help me...?" Her voice was little more than a croak now, and she felt alarmingly lightheaded. She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, but that would surely lead to death, so she willed herself to stay awake, no matter what. If she could just stay awake long enough, maybe someone would finally hear -
What was that?
Kiana strained her ears, but the constant rustling of the leaves both in the trees and on the ground made it difficult. Maybe she was just imagining -
No! There it was again! The snapping of twigs, the crackling of leaves underfoot; someone was coming! Someone must have heard her!
"Hello? Hello!?" she called, wondering what Fox could be on this side of the mountain at this hour. Maybe a hunter, or a trader? It didn't matter, just as long as he could get her out of this thing. "I'm over here! Please help me! I'm hurt!"
The bushes rustled, and hope flared within Kiana's heart. She was saved! She would have to go back to the village, but at least she wouldn't die like an animal in a trap. "Thank the gods!" she said. "I've been stuck here for hours! Can you -"
The words died in her throat as her discoverer emerged from the bushes, and the hope in her heart gave way to paralyzing fear.
Hulking, impossibly huge...
This was no Fox.
Special notice. Although the next installment of this story is labeled as "Adult" I assure you there will be no rape or anything of that nature. Above all else, this is a clean story. The reason I labeled it as "Adult" is because Kiana does get threatened with it, and there is also some violence towards women. These are things I believe are not suited for small children.
Edit: Screw it! I have seen stuff way worse than my little story on here getting labeled as "All Ages", and it has come to my attention that some of my readers haven't been able to read my full story because they're just a year too young, so I'm changing the rating. Have fun!
This has been the tenth subchapter in my serial novel, "Ander". If you enjoyed it, please help keep my face un-mauled by irritable ostriches by dropping me a donation. Thank you! ^_^
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