Page 34 of My Fated Orc Hero

And are those red eyes peering at me through the brush? Suddenly panic takes me and I start to run.

Is it doom dogs!

Whatever the hell those are.

They can’t be good.

Branches whip at my face as I stumble through the underbrush, my lungs burning. Ten minutes pass, then maybe twenty. I have no idea where I'm going now, just away from whatever the hell that was.

Eventually, I slow to a walk, my legs trembling with exertion. The adrenaline fades, leaving me exhausted and scared. But I continue, stumbling through the dark forest for what feels like hours.

What am I doing?

I don't even know which direction leads out of here now! I am definitely good and lost.

Maybe I am already back in the “real world?”

But I don’t know, and I don’t even care.

I am just spent.

I slump against a tree, sliding down to sit at its base. As the reality of my situation sinks in, something inside me breaks. I can't hold back the tears any longer. I bury my face in my hands and sob.

"Oh grandma, I wish you were here. Or even Great Aunt Charlotte," I hiccup between breaths, "You'd know what to do.”

But even she probably wouldn’t have had a solution for this...

CHAPTER 12

Iwake with a start, breathing in the morning air.

It is morning, right.

In a flourish the events of the previous day all come back to me...

Yes, there is much to accomplish today.

I roll over, wanting to feel my Zoe again.

I am surprised when my arm falls on bare mattress. She is not there.

"Zoe?" I call out, my voice still rough with sleep. No answer.

She must be in the washroom, I tell myself. I try to ignore the knot already forming in my gut.

Quickly, I check the bath, calling to her as I go. "Zoe? Where are you?"

Nothing. The knot tightens.

Now I check every room, growing more frantic with each empty space. The kitchen, the study, even the damn pantry. No Zoe.

Perhaps she is outside in the garden?

Walking out the door, I spot the ogre guards from yesterday. They eye me warily as I approach.

"Where is she?" I demand. "What have you done with her?"

The larger of the two, I know him as Grok, holds up his hands. "Easy there, Thokk. We haven't touched your human."

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