Page 12 of Forever Bound

I reach for it, tears stinging my eyes at the one piece of home I have left. My canvas bag with patches sewn into it from my world travels. I spent most of my 20s searching the world for the missing piece inside myself, never finding anything other than more missing pieces.

I clutch it to my chest with a sob. "Thank you."

She studies me, and a nervous energy moves through me.

She opens a trunk and pulls out a large wooden stake. "You may be our only hope. You are the only person ever to get so close to the creature. Kill him. Stab him through the heart with this stake while he sleeps. Free our village of this curse."

She hands it to me, and I feel the death it carries as I clutch it.

We are both startled from our conversation by a banging at the door. An angry Russian voice demanding entry.

Vara rises and grabs my arm. "Quickly. Leave. That is Boris, the one who tied you up. You do not want him finding you," she whispers, guiding me to the back door. "Run! And remember what I said! Kill the creature before he kills us all."

I shove the stake into my backpack, throw it over my shoulders and run with everything in me. Away from the village. Away from the cave where the monster lives. Away from it all and towards what I hope is civilization.

When I reach the edges of the woods, I step out into an open field covered in snow, but the moment I do I find myself at the beginning of the forest again.

I blink. Confused. And I run again, to the edge of the woods, to the open field.

I step out, and once again I'm returned to my starting point.

My heart beats against my chest erratically. I pant, not from exertion but from confusion and fear.

I unzip my bag and pull out my phone, trying frantically to get a signal, but there's nothing. Not even a sliver of a bar.

I try again, running to different locations, but it all results in the same thing.

Anytime I try to leave, I end up at the beginning.

Realization dawns on me, and I sink to my knees in defeat.

Vara didn't tell the whole truth.

This village is cursed.

But not just with a monster hunting them.

I cannot leave this village.

It won't let me.

Chapter 4: The part where I decide whether to stab this wooden stake into someone’s heart. Never thought that would be one of my life choices.

For the firsttime in my life, I'm lost.

Truly and legitimately lost.

And I don't know what to do about it.

I've been wandering the forest for hours, and as the sun sets, the chill in the air grows, mirroring the bone deep frost forming in my bones.

How many times can I flirt with death before he comes to claim me for good?

Everywhere I turn, everything looks the same.

The same trees, the same rocks, the same bushes, the same snow. I don't know if it's the curse trapping me in this spot, or if I've lost my wits, but I can't find the village, or the cave or anything else for that matter.

The fear doesn't truly steal my resolve until the night descends, covering the world in darkness. Even the moon, still looking full in the sky, seems to have a hard time penetrating the deep purple shadows settling around me.

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