Chapter 118 Chapter 118: I felt trapped
~ Raven's POV ~
I kept running through the dark forest as fast as my legs could carry me. Branches whipped across my face and arms, scratching my skin and tearing at my clothes. I could feel blood trickling down my cheeks from the cuts, but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop.
Behind me, I could hear them getting closer, and only heaven knows what they would do to me if I were caught. Who could be responsible? Why me? I remember Liam saying there are bandits on the way, so why are they inside the town now?
Who did I offend? Is Lady Johanna? Annalise or Helena?
"She went this way!" one of them yelled. His voice was closer than I thought. I wish I knew this forest as much as I did the ones in Belgravia.
Would I die here? No. I still haven't gotten any message from the queen about my mother. So I refuse to die. I must see my mom. Introduce Liam to her formally as my mom. These thoughts pushed me forward.
"Spread out!" another voice shouted. "Don't let her escape! The boss will kill us if we lose her!"
My lungs were burning. Each breath felt like fire in my chest. My legs ached and trembled with exhaustion. I'd been running for what felt like forever, but I knew it had probably only been a few minutes.
I wanted to stop. I wanted to collapse on the ground and just give up.
But I thought about Liam again, about his smile. About the way he held me. About the life we were building together.
I couldn't give up. I had to keep running.
The forest was so dark. The moon was only giving off a little bit of light through the tree branches above. I could barely see where I was going. I just ran forward blindly, hoping I wouldn't crash into a tree.
My foot caught on something, a root sticking up from the ground, and suddenly I was tumbling.
I hit the ground hard. Pain exploded through my body as I landed on my side. My ankle twisted underneath me, and I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming out loud.
The pain in my ankle was terrible. It felt like I had been stabbed with a knife. I tried to stand up, but the moment I put weight on that foot, more pain shot up my leg.
I'd hurt it badly. Maybe I sprained it. Or worse it was broken. I didn't know. All I knew was that I couldn't run anymore.
"Did you hear that?" a voice called out from somewhere behind me. "I think she fell!"
"Check over there!" another voice responded. "She can't be far!"
Panic filled my entire body. They'd heard me fall. They knew I was close by. I need to hide right now.
I looked around frantically, searching for any place I could disappear to. But the forest looked the same in every direction, all I saw were just trees, bushes, and darkness.
Then I saw old rotting logs just a few feet away, which were covered in moss and mushrooms. And underneath them, there was a dark, long space. It looked like a small cave made by the logs leaning against each other.
It wasn't much. But it was all I had.
I crawled toward it as fast as I could, dragging my injured ankle behind me. Every movement sent fresh waves of pain through my leg, but I gritted my teeth and kept going.
The voices were getting louder. The men were getting closer.
"She's around here somewhere! I can feel it!"
"Check every bush! Every tree! She can't have gone far!"
I reached the empty-looking space under the logs and squeezed myself inside. It was tight, barely big enough for my body. I had to curl up small, pulling my knees to my chest, making myself as tiny as possible.
The smell inside was awful. It smelled of a dead animal that had crawled in here to die. But I didn't care about the smell. I just needed to hide to survive.
I pressed myself against the back of the logs trying to disappear completely.
Above me, the logs creaked slightly from my weight. I froze, terrified they would collapse and give away my hiding spot.
But mysteriously they held. The logs stayed in place. I could hear footsteps now. The bandits were nearby, searching the area.
"Dee, you check over there!" someone ordered. "I'll look this way!"
I held my breath. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure they would hear it. It felt like my heartbeat was echoing all over the entire forest.
Please don't find me, I prayed silently. Please, please don't find me.
Through a small gap in the logs, I could see lights. Torches. The bandits were carrying torches to help them search.
A pair of boots walked right past my hiding spot. So close I could have reached out and touched them.
I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop any sound from escaping. I didn't dare breathe. Didn't dare move. Didn't dare do anything.
The boots stopped. Right next to the pile of logs where I was hiding.
"Anything over there?" another voice called out.
"Nothing yet!" the man standing next to my hiding spot yelled back. "Just a bunch of old logs and…"
He stopped talking. My blood turned cold.
Had he heard something? Seen something? Did he know I was here?
I squeezed my eyes shut, praying harder than I'd ever prayed in my life.
"And what?" the other voice questioned.
"And nothing," the man finished. "Just logs. She's not here."
The boots moved away. I heard him walking further into the forest. I let out my breath very, very slowly. As quietly as I possibly could.
That was a close call. I thought I would be seeing myself in my grave. Thank the gods. I was still safe for now.
More footsteps ran past my hiding spot. More voices calling out to each other.
"She can't have gotten far with those fancy shoes!"
"Keep looking! The boss would probably reward us with extra gold if we brought her back alive!"
"I'm going to make that woman pay for kicking me!" That voice was Dee, the man I'd kicked. He sounded furious and in pain. "When I catch her, I'm going to…"
"Save it, Dee!" someone snapped. "Let's just find her first!"
The voices started to fade. The bandits were moving away, searching in other directions. But I didn't move. I stayed curled up in my hiding spot, barely breathing, waiting.
Minutes passed but I still didn't come out. My ankle throbbed with pain. My body ached from all the scratches and bruises. I was cold, scared, and exhausted.
But I was alive, that was what mattered most.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the voices got quieter. Further away. They were moving deeper into the forest, searching in the wrong direction.
I allowed myself to breathe normally again. Just a little bit.
Maybe I was safe. Maybe they wouldn't find me. I could just wait here until morning, then try to find my way back to the inn and to Liam.
I let my head rest against the rotting log behind me, closing my eyes for just a moment.
But the sound of footsteps coming back made my eyes fly open.
"Wait," a voice spoke. "Come back here for a second."
"What is it?" another voice responded.
"These logs. Look at them. Some of this moss is scraped off. As if someone crawled past here recently."
No. No, no, no.
"So? Could have been an animal."
"Could have been. But let's check underneath just to be sure."
My heart stopped beating. My whole body went numb with terror.
They were going to look under the logs. They were going to find me. I heard them walking closer and their boots crunching on the dead leaves and twigs.
"Help me move this log," one of them ordered.
I pressed myself even further back into the hollow space, making myself as small as possible. But there was nowhere to go. No escape. The back of the space was dirt.