Chapter Six Willow
Chapter Six
Willow
Slowly, I blink my eyes open. Darkness surrounds me and I tense up with fear as my hands press to the walls closing in around me.
After a few deep breaths, I remember where I am. The walls aren’t moving. I’m inside the tree trunk. I’m unable to stretch as the space is too small, but as I move, I feel something on my hip. I feel around my side and pull out the large object, wondering why I didn’t see it in here before.
But then I realize it’s resting on top of my hip. When I pull it around, I lift it in front of my face, trying to see what it is in the dark, and I feel something topple off it, landing near my feet. The moon must be full tonight, as I’m able to make out the large object as a water canteen.
I don’t question where it came from, as my throat suddenly feels so dry that I fear it might close up if I don’t drink some right now. I hum in approval, wiping the back of my hand over my mouth after drinking a third of the canteen in several greedy gulps.
I reach between my feet to find the other item and frown at the bundle of leaves. It’s been tied up with a small vine, and as I turn it over in my hand, I realize it’s wrapped up like a present with the vine forming a bow at the top.
Curious, I pull at the bow, and the whole package easily unravels in my hand, revealing a large leaf filled with berries and nuts. I lick my lips as I stare down at it. Then I tilt my head up and look at my peephole and the opening above.
There’s not much to see from here, especially in the darkness. Somebody had left this here for me. Why hadn’t they tried to capture me? Or wake me?
Looking back at the food, my stomach rumbles as the hunger presses in.
It’s been well over a day now since I ate anything, maybe even closer to two.
I don’t recognize this food, though. But what reason would someone have to leave me poisonous food?
Would anyone out there have a reason to try to kill me?
The Mating Hunt sounds like a savage ritual, but I can’t think of a reason any of the men in it would want to poison me. I pick up a berry and run it across my lip before pulling it back and squashing it between my fingers, letting the juice rub into my skin.
Many plants have other bad qualities besides poison. It could be paralytic or psychoactive, making me act in ways I normally wouldn’t.
I pick up a nut and assess it. It looks similar to a walnut, without its shell. Which means someone shelled it for me. It feels safer than the berry, so I place it on my tongue and pull it into my mouth. After ten seconds, when nothing strange happens, I chew and swallow it down.
I lift my red fingertips and rub them together, no pain or numbness. My lip still feels normal too. I touch it with my fingertips to make sure it’s not swollen.
Deciding that the berries probably aren’t harmful, and that my hunger gives me no other option right now, I pick up a berry and toss it into my mouth. It’s a perfect blend of sweetness and tartness, and I moan at the taste.
It only takes me a few minutes to finish the berries and nuts, and to take another small drink to wash them down.
Standing is a little difficult, and I have to use my hands against the side walls to help steady me, but when I finally get my feet under me and stand up, I glance out of the hole and consider what to do next.
It’s dark in the forest, but I can’t tell if it just turned dark or if it’s the middle of the night.
I can’t stay in here forever; I’m already feeling cramped.
Eventually, I’ll have to climb out so I can stretch my legs properly.
Worry fills me, knowing someone left that food and water for me. There’s a small chance they did that and left, right? Is someone watching me right now?
Perhaps it was a kind man who was in search of Larissa or one of the other more desirable women.
He stumbled across me and felt bad, so he left me food and water.
Although I had seen the sort of men who had signed up for this Mating Hunt.
None of them looks like the kind to do something like that without taking something from me in return.
Staying here is risky, since someone already found me, but the middle of the night is not a good time for me to go stumbling barefoot around the forest.
I decide to wait until daylight to move and sit back down in my hiding spot, hugging the canteen to my chest as I close my eyes and try to sleep.
Loud footsteps wake me, and my eyes fly open in shock and fear. A man’s rough chuckle fills the air, making my entire body tense.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you?” he asks, making fear crawl up my spine.
He knows I’m here.
I should probably stay hidden, but the need to see what’s going on has me slowly pushing to my feet.
I try to subtly peek out the hole without pressing right up against it, and right in the middle of the small clearing, facing me, is a large man carrying a sword.
He’s pointing it right in my direction, and my eyes widen with fear.
Panic surges through me as my body freezes.
“I think I’ll eliminate you now, so I won’t have to worry about you trying to steal my prize from me later.” Confusion mixes with the fear. What prize did he think I would steal from him?
He steps forward into a ray of moonlight, and I realize he’s not looking at me; he’s looking down at the base of my tree. Just as I start to question what’s down there, a gigantic wall rises in front of me, blocking my view.
No, not a wall. A man. His back is covered in swirling tattoos, and he takes a step away from the tree, giving me a better look at him. I recognize the long, brown hair. He’s one of the cannibals.
I press my back against the trunk, trying to get as far from them as I can, as I watch with wide eyes through my little peephole.
“Leave, or I won’t be held responsible for your death,” the cannibal says, turning his spear toward the other man.
The man laughs as more footsteps approach. I can’t see anything except his back, and I watch as his muscles tighten, as if readying for a fight.
“Look what we have here,” a new voice chimes in, sounding amused.
“Three on one, looks like easy pickings to me,” a third voice adds.
“I’ll give you this one warning,” the cannibal tells them. “Leave now or die.”
My heart is beating so loudly that I place my hand over it, hoping to quiet the sound so nobody hears it.
The sound of swords being unsheathed fills the night as the cannibal moves into a fighting stance.
Suddenly, one man yells as their opponent moves forward. Grunts and cries ring out, combined with the clanging of swords against what I think is a knife and spear.
It’s hard to make out what’s happening in the dark, through my small hole, and when fear gets the best of me, I drop back down and cover my ears as my body starts to tremble.
It doesn’t take long for the noises to come to a halt. Needing to see who’s won, I quietly stand back up. I have to lean toward the hole before I see anyone.
Two men lay on the ground, and I think they’re dead based on the blood pooling around them. I’ve never seen a dead body before, and it’s startling, to say the least.
A few feet away, the cannibal is glaring down from his towering height at the third man as he holds him by his throat. He bares his teeth and literally growls as he starts to lift him up by his neck, right off his feet.
The man's legs start to kick to find purchase as his eyes bulge wide. His hands fly up to the cannibal’s, and his mouth opens wide as he tries to breathe.
I see the cannibal squeeze tighter, and then suddenly the man goes limp. He’s dead. When he lets go, I gasp as the man crumples to the ground, alongside his friends. The winner of the fight, the cannibal, takes a few deep breaths and scans their bodies.
Is he going to eat them?
All I can do is watch with fear as he slowly tilts his head up toward me, his eyes finding mine instantly, as if he knew exactly where I was. I gasp, dropping down to the ground with the need to hide myself, even if it is pointless.
I hold my breath, my hands pressing to the walls on either side of me as I stare up at my peephole. What is he going to do?
It’s so silent that for a second I can almost imagine he’s left, but then I hear the soft sound of his footsteps crunching in the leaves. I wait with bated breath until something moves at the edge of my peephole. I suck in a sharp breath and wait, but nothing else happens.
His footsteps seem louder now as he moves away.
I hear what sounds like something being dragged and realize it’s the bodies.
Is he going to roast those men on a fire and eat them right outside this tree?
I’m not sure I’d be able to stomach the smell of cooked flesh without vomiting.
And what if he decides to eat me as dessert?
After ten minutes or so, the noises stop completely, and only the sound of birds chirping reaches my ears. Curiosity pulls at me, so I slowly stand, wanting to see what he did to my peephole. When my eyes catch on a yellow flower, I freeze, confusion filling me.
Gingerly, I reach out and take the lone flower he’s set across the bottom edge of the hole. I bring it to my nose, and the floral scent instantly relaxes me, just a fraction.
Certainly, if someone was planning to eat me, they wouldn’t give me a flower, right? Nobody had even given me one before, not even Paul, whom I was supposed to marry.
I glance out the hole and see no sign of the man or the bodies.
He must have removed them. Unsure what else to do since it’s still night, I sink back down and pull the water canteen into my lap.
I twirl the flower in front of my face as I stare at it, considering all the possible reasons he may have left it there for me.
The most pressing question I have, strangely, is what the man’s name is. Somehow, referring to him as the cannibal doesn’t seem fitting anymore. I close my eyes and try to guess his name as I drift off to sleep.