Page 34 of Fires of the Forsaken
This wasnota good night.
I laid on the hard ground. Roots, rocks, and twigs dug into my back. My body hurt. I needed my ultra-plush mattress. And my body pillow. And my air purifier. A TV wouldn’t have hurt either; some background noise to drown out my misery.
Instead, I listened to the horses snorting, shuffling, and sloppily gulping up grass, while also surrounded by a cacophony of humans snoring, grunting, and farting. (Aka, the worst white noise sounds ever).
And few people had some serious stomach issues. Because,phew,there was a toxic cloud hanging over this camp.
Tears stung my eyes as I stared at the starry sky.
Fatigue made my body ache, but my mind kept swirling, going over thewhat-ifs.
What if I’d gone home after work? Or had gotten a craving for Chinese food instead of pizza? What if I had asked Bo to walk me to my car? Or if I’d parked in a different spot?
What if I’d done just one thing differently? Could I have avoided this whole nightmare?
Those kinds of questions could drive a person mad.
I wiped at my wet cheeks but stopped as a new sound drifted toward me. A noise that sounded like a cat’s hairball-hacking meow.
Mowow.
Didn’t the venomous horse make a noise like that?
Mowow.
I sat bolt upright.
The guy sleeping on my right side grunted, burped, and rolled over. No one else stirred.
Ice ran through my veins. Should I scream?
A twig snapped.
Were we about to be under attack?
Mowow.
Or was I hallucinating?
Why was no one else moving? These were ultra-powered Viking soldiers! Shouldn’t they have been trained to sleep light and listen for signs of danger? Instead, they were all snoring away. Useless lumps.
Mowow. Snort.
A massive shape lumbered through the trees. A horse. Definitely. It was saddled, but riderless.Andbridle-less.
The horse I’d set free?
The animal snorted again, its red eyes glowing eerily in the dark. A long, pointed tongue slithered between its lips as it watched me. Longingly. Hungrily.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me.” I scrambled away, grunting when my back collided against a tree trunk.
The horse’s ears pricked. It took a step forward. Two.
Whoosh!
An arrow hurtled through the trees. The horse keened, flashed its creepy-ass fangs, and pivoted, avoiding the blow.
Whoosh!
