Selling Myself To The Hunter

Chapter 2

Dahlia

There was light, and then there wasn't. And then there was just endless falling into an abyss. I screamed, but no sound came out. I was in complete and utter darkness, free-falling into a pit of death. It was humid and uncomfortable, or maybe that was just me. My stomach was in my chest, and all I could do was pray that the impact would kill me instantly. I was sure it would, it felt like we had been falling for forever. Or at least I was. I didn't see where Toby or that woman, Sera...Sera-something went.

I continued to scream, especially as I began to see green beneath me, quickly approaching. Dead, I was dead. There was no way around it. My eyes slammed shut, not wanting to see my own death. God, just let it be quick. Please be quick. I felt something bite into my skin as I continued my descent. My eyes shot open as the pain set in. Were those tree branches?! I wailed in pain. This time I heard my own voice.

My body ricocheted off of at least a dozen tree branches, some with palm leaves, others with nothing but the unforgiving branches themselves. But, with each impact, my falling slowed. Kind of. I landed on the mossy ground with a sickening thud, my body refusing to move. Or maybe it couldn't. I hadn't gotten that far yet. I was shaking, adrenaline rushing through my veins, my heart hammering.

Wherever I was, it smelled. I can't describe the scent, except that it was unearthly and potent. A smell I don't think I'll soon forget. It was eerily quiet around me, though I was just the one screaming like a mad woman for god knows how long. I probably scared everything off.

Testing my fingers first, then my toes, I slowly checked myself over for any breaks. I was definitely bleeding, I could feel the sharp slicing pain on my back, my skimpy nightgown torn in several places. Breathing hurt, so maybe I had a broken rib or two, but otherwise I think I was okay. Slowly, I pushed myself up onto my knees and blinked a few times, trying to figure out where on earth I was.

It looked like the middle of a jungle. Massive trees and overgrown plants surrounded me. It was so thick, I wasn't sure anyone had ever even set foot here. And it was so, so humid. There was an eerie gray fog that prevented me from seeing too far ahead in any direction, and I'm pretty sure I saw a few flying bugs as big as my face zooming by. I'm definitely going to try to avoid those.

I finally got up on shaky legs. Crap. I was barefoot. My feet were already wet and muddy from the marshy ground. But that seemed to be the least of my problems at the moment. Where the hell was I?!

"Toby?!" I called, my voice uneven. "Toby?!"

I could hear some movement, but it was hard to tell where it was coming from. I took a careful, achy step forward, trying to preserve my feet. "Babe? Is that you?" I asked.

"Sure, I can be your babe." A menacing voice laughed from behind me. "Whatever you want, beautiful."

I nearly jumped out of my skin, whipping around to face the terrifying creature behind me. It sounded like a man, but looked like a beast. He had horns, and fur, and a sword bigger than my body. He reeked of filth and had blood staining his furry arms up to his elbows and around his maw. My eyes went wide in fear as I sucked in a sharp breath that had my ribs yelling in protest.

"Run." The creature whispered, his teeth stained red. And I didn't even hesitate.

Breaking out into a sprint, I tore my way through the dense forest, tripping over my own feet as I went. I could hear the monster gaining on me from behind, laughing at me and mocking me for being so slow. Something whipped past my head, slicing the top of my ear, and I dared to glance behind. It nearly cost me my life. I ran straight into the biggest plant I had ever seen. But it was no ordinary plant...it was...what the hell was that?!

It blended in with the forest. The only reason I saw it was because I was directly beneath it and could see it moving, its camouflage lacking from below, exposing its bright yellow underbelly. I could see its sharp fangs and the unnaturally colored spit dripping from its mouth as it moved. Whatever this monstrosity of a plant was, it looked carnivorous.

"You call that a chase? Ha!" The bull-like creature laughed, just before the plant with sharp teeth snatched him up into its mouth, his screams muffled. There were a few sickly sounding crunches and then a fountain of red that slid down the plant's mouth.

I covered my mouth to muffle my own scream, just before turning to run in a different direction. My heart was racing, my lungs burning, my body aching. But I didn't dare stop. Not for a moment. Not until I found somewhere safe. There had to be somewhere safe...

Somewhere...anywhere...there!

A few hundred feet ahead there was what looked to be a cave. It was risky, but so were the voices I heard from behind me. I needed to get to the cave before being seen, just until I knew if the voices were friends or foes. I wanted to cry when I got to the cave, and sob when I found it empty. The voices were getting louder, and I grabbed a jagged rock - just in case. I could see them approach and pass, but they thankfully didn't see me hiding in the shadows of the cave. Or if they did, they didn't bother to stop.

I'm guessing the former, considering they were all armed to the teeth with primitive weapons and were wearing what looked to be hide and bones. I let out a shaky breath when their voices were finally gone. Silent tears fell while I picked the sticks and stones out of my torn-up feet. One was especially deep and would need more attention. But where could I go to get it looked at? It didn't exactly seem like there was an urgent care facility nearby. We were in the middle of a jungle for f***s sake!

How? Just how?! My breathing, which was already ragged, only got worse as I thought about what the hell just happened. One minute I was at my home, making breakfast, the next I was free-falling into a godforsaken jungle. I didn't let myself think about it further, not about being chased and almost killed by the beast-man or how the carnivorous plant unknowingly saved me. Not now anyway. I couldn't afford to freak out - yet. I laid down and took a few deep, calming breaths and thought of what might be my next best move.

I settled to tear off a piece of my nightgown and use it as a bandage for my foot. That was the worst of my injuries at the moment. I will need to find something more modest soon anyway. Never mind the fact that my clothes were torn, but they were sexy night clothes. I would hate to run into someone else in a thong and torn nightgown. Later. Later I will worry about that. Right now, I need… I need... sleep. My adrenaline was plummeting, my eyes heavy from crying and freaking out. Just a few minutes... Just enough to get my head back on straight and think of my next move. Just a few...

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Hunter

Another f*****g shitty day. Not the worst day, no not by a long shot, but still shitty. Just like every other day here. Hugo and I were on a run, minding our own business, and ended up in another brawl. We won, of course, but the bastard got a good bite out of my arm, making me shift back to human form to cauterize it. Just for good measure, my accelerated healing would take care of the rest. Unfortunately, the fire I built, along with my freshly spilled blood, only ended up attracting more unwanted attention. I was bloodied and more than pissed off by the time I got back to my camp, but on the bright side, I had a ton of hide and a couple of femur bones that would make great weapons or even tools by the time I was done with them.

I made sure no one followed me back to my camp, not that anyone would bother me here, not normally anyway. The smart ones knew better than that. The dumb ones never make it close enough, too many terrors surrounding my camp like sharks. I quickly, properly tended to my arm, and then got to work preparing the hide and drying out the bone.

"Let's go back out for a run." Hugo pushed.

"We just came back from one." I frowned. And a shitty one at that. "Is something wrong?"

My wolf Hugo and I had a very strong connection. We were two souls in one body. A werewolf. A hybrid werewolf, specifically. My mom was a very gifted hybrid, my father an alpha king. Together they made me, and a slew of other extraordinary pups. We each had our own gifts, mine was spell casting. My powers were exponentially powerful, but I could hardly use them here. Not without drawing unwanted attention. The fewer people who know about me and my abilities, the better.

"We should go, now." Hugo said more urgently this time.

He didn't give me a reason why, but I didn't question him further. I simply shifted back into my wolf form and let him take the lead. I knew better than to question my wolf. It was because we were in such sync with each other that we have survived this hell for over ten years.

Ten. f*****g. Years.

Hugo set off at a quick trot, his nose to the ground every few minutes. We were out for over half an hour before we heard it, bloody murder screaming. I guess Seraphina collected again. I used to think she just picked up random souls from her swamp, random ones who sought her out for favors or information. But then I learned she also likes to trick unsuspecting creatures into making a deal with her. She would make them think they made out with the deal, only to terrorize them later on and eventually drag them to this hell, what I like to call 'the other world'.

The scream was from the far side of the jungle, and Hugo and I made sure to avoid that area. It was nothing but bad news and bad people and far too close to Seraphina's mansion. But so was everything else, I suppose. We were all trapped in this dome-like world.

Unbearably humid, murderously cold, and scorching hot, whichever biome you hated most, Seraphina had it to offer. Alongside some of the scummiest creatures to walk the earth. The things of nightmares lived here, some even thrived. Not many made it past a week, let alone a year, but if they did, they were typically in it for the long run. The key to surviving here is to establish dominance quickly, and never lose your step, because the second you fall, someone will be there to end you.

But fortunately, whoever just came crashing in was as good as dead. It was only a matter of time before the darkness kicked in. Perhaps a mercy for whatever fool just landed here. And it was with that thought that I finally coaxed Hugo to turn around.

"Let's go back, it's getting dark out." I said to Hugo, who reluctantly led us back to camp.

Whatever he was feeling, we weren't finding anything, and we both knew how foolish it would be to stay out past dark. There were monsters out during the day, but at night...something else prowled through this world.

If you even wanted to call it night, there was no sun or moon in this fabricated world. Seraphina simply preferred that this world go from gloomy to terrifying in the blink of an eye. She manipulated the weather, the light, even some of the creatures she dragged here just to make things more interesting. Her words, not mine. That being said, we weren't lucky enough to have any sunlight, or moonlight. Nothing that might bring us joy or spark hope within us.

If there was anything beautiful here, it was usually deadly. Anything inspiring is usually a trap. Anything good was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's skin. You can't trust anyone here. I learned that early on. Even you yourself can be deceived at times. Victim to another one of Seraphina's attacks. There was a fog she liked to sometimes release, one that would make a person go mad. I learned that the hard way, but thankfully Hugo was mostly unaffected by it and was able to get us to safety before anything too terrible happened. That made Seraphina very upset. She has wanted me dead for years now, but she can't personally lay a finger on me, not without risking her own life. And that drives her mad.

It's the only good thing I have to hold onto here.

One small mercy perhaps, that the moon goddess gifted me, besides (hopefully) a quick death. It was in my nature to fight, to survive. No matter how hard the days got, I kept on doing just that - surviving. I managed to out whit Seraphina once, and it was that gift that kept me going for many years. It was hope, a fool's hope I eventually learned, that kept me going. I used to think I might have a chance of escaping her. But that thought faded over the years. After seeing so many of her victims pass, after seeing thousands of attempts by just as many captives...seeing them all fail...after living in this hell for over ten years, I realized there was no way out. There was no escaping.

Only surviving.