The wheels of the wooden carriage jolted along the forest path. Bleating from its occupants pierced the night. It mingled with the crickets and unseen creatures lurking in the dark.
The forest was evergreen and dense with shrubs, herbs, trees of all kinds. Its atmosphere grew thicker and heavier with moisture as the carriage ventured deeper. It clung to the skin and made each breath a hassle.
The carriage came to a stop in a small clearing. Two men dismounted from the horses pulling the carriage along to examine their herd. One of the men reached for the wooden cage and opened its doors.
He swept away the dried straw on the floor of the cage revealing a tiny peephole.
He stretched his hands forward, his palms facing the sky. A blue light appeared shortly just above his palm. It flickered and pulsed, illuminating the cage.
Closing an eye, he drew closer to the peephole. He peered at the occupants below, his lips moving soundlessly as his eyes darted from one figure to another.
"There should be eight of 'em, right?" He said.
"Nine." The other man had already seated himself comfortably near the fire he just built. He reclined on a moss-covered rock, his hands interlocked behind his head.
His companion nodded and tried counting again. Could he have miscounted? He wondered. He did so repeatedly until his companion spoke.
"Why don't you just bring them out and count, Radvid."
"It'll be easier on you. The fresh air would do them good too." He hacked up phlegm and spat hard, clearing his throat.
"You're right, it'll spare me the trouble anyway."
Radvid opened up the cage door and shoved some of the goats aside. Their hooves clattered on the wooden slats. He then opened up a latch. Several co-joined slats swung open revealing a hidden compartment. Its opening was big enough to fit an average-sized man.
He strode towards the other side of the carriage. His upper body disappeared behind it.
His shoes were visible underneath though as he rummaged behind it. He emerged later with a small ladder and shoved it into the secret compartment.
A pair of pale lanky hands grabbed the rungs on the ladder and slowly climbed up. The owner of these hands, illuminated by the light of the fire and the pale blue light, was donned in sack-like rags. She had waist-long red hair. The man grabbed her, both hands on her waist and brought her down. The girl shivered slightly as her feet made contact with the cold earth. The night wind breezed past her body, her red tresses dancing along.
Soon enough, eight of similar figures sat near the fire, all huddled together. And all female.
"I told you there were eight of 'em"
"There should be nine..." The other man pondered awhile, frowning.
"Do you think Nunvicks made a mistake?"
"Not likely Radvid."
Radvid peered into the darkness of the secret compartment. He could just make out a hunched lump by the far corner.
"Ithink there's another one here."
He started his blue flames again and ventured into the hidden compartment himself.
He climbed back up the ladder after a few minutes, with the 'lump' heaved over his shoulders.
"This one's as good as dead."
"Really?" Radvid jumped down from the carriage, the earth scrunching beneath as his leather shoes connected with it. He threw the girl down.
Her body lay close to the others. Although her face was obscured by tangled mass of hair, her mouth was wide open. A horrid smell emanated from it. The stench of decay.
The girls swallowed a scream, hearts pounding. Some swallowed hard, not wanting to empty their bowels. That meant more rough-handling.
The man who formerly sat by the fire, had moved quickly to examine the girl. He lifted her eyelids, grabbed her chin, turning it side to side. Roughly.
He ripped the collar of her dirty white cotton dress and yanked the neckline all the way to her collar bone. Just above her breasts.
"What are you doing Roi... ?" Radvid alarmed, looked at him with widened eyes, "... you're not going to–"
"Of course not..."
"...not with a dead one anyway." He mused, momentarily leering at the remaining eight.
"Look"
"Just look at her neck, you dimwit."Roi tore his gaze from the girls reluctantly and his eyes settled on what his companion pointed at.
"Oh. It's Yukon isn't it?"
"Aye, it is." The girl's neck was completely encased by a pulsing wet lump. It was red and resembled a rectangular leech on her neck.
Roi and Radvid shared a look.
"Don't bother, I'll burn it myself. Stay and watch the others."
"Don't exert yourself. We still have a long way to go." Roi nodded before heaving the body over his shoulders and disappearing behind the thickets.
Radvid stared at the remaining girls as he whittled away the outermost part of his chewing stick. They lowered their heads immediately. One in particular though looked confused. She stared back at him in curiosity.
The girl in question had watched everything unfold. Although she had come to understand her situation, she wondered how she got into it.
Radvid paid them no mind any longer and the girls breathed easier now. He even allowed them moments of whispered exchanges. They should at least be free before it's over, he thought.
"You shouldn't stare at the men so much."
The girl with red hair whispered to the girl beside her. The one who seemed to have no fear, staring at their captors like that.
Silence
The girl nodded. The girl with red hair seemed pleased with her response.
"I am called Inora, what is your name?"
"Yvonne."
"How did you come to be here, Yvonne?"
Yvonne shook her head slowly. Inora studied her. She didn't seem to be a liar, she thought.
"Do you remember where you were before you got captured?"
"At the Grounds"
"My uncle sold me to pay off a debt..."
Yvonne stared at her in shock. Inora continued.
"I was fishing at the port for my mother when it happened."
A few girls paused in their conversations to listen as well.
You need to leave now. Yvonne looked around, trying to see who said that. She must have imagined it, she thought.
"Iwas in farm with my sister when we got captured." Another girl chipped in. She hugged her sister close, patting her hair gently.
LEAVE NOW!
The voice yelled. It was at this moment that Yvonne realised that only she could hear it.
Leave now, before it's late.
The voice nagged incessantly. It drowned out the current conversation.
"But to where?" Yvonne asked. She regretted it immediately. The girls stared at her in annoyance. She swallowed hard in embarrassment. How loud was she? She wondered.
They all looked over to where Radvid seated. He seemed to be fast asleep. Or maybe pretending to be.
"Do you want to get us all killed?!" A blond-haired girl whisper-shouted. She seemed very peeved. Yvonne lowered her head.
She felt a sharp throbbing pain in her head. Her ears rang with the incessant nagging. She pulled at her hair madly, begging it to end.
The pain stopped suddenly, giving her a moment of relief. The girls ignored her. Inora however seemed intrigued.
"Did you hear anything?" Yvonne stared at her. She nodded slowly. Inora gasped suddenly, "your legs."
Yvonne felt her legs grow cold and numb. They pulsed with strange light too. A few of the girls noticed but nobody was prepared for what happened afterwards.
Yvonne stood up abruptly. Her face seemed strained and confused. Almost as if she were fighting her own legs.
"Hey! Sit your ass down lassy." Radvid yelled .
Yvonne paid no heed. At least her legs didn't because she took off. Running through the thickets. Radvid groaned loudly.
He withdrew a strange red stick, and shot it upwards. A burst of blue light launched into the sky.
Yvonne turned to look back. The blue luminescence cascading her face. Her legs propelled even faster. It jumped larges roots, avoided thickets and turned corners at many intersections. It seemed to know where it was going. Her breath quickened as the wind whooshed past her ears.
"Oof–" She landed hard on her back.
"Careful milady. Are you alright?" She scampered back in fear. Her body jolted to a stop as her back hit the massive root arch that she'd tripped on.
The stranger smiled and raised his hands in surrender. "Iassure you I mean no harm."
"My name is Vick."
"Here let me help you up." He inched forward and gently pulled her up by her arm.
She took a step back, her heart pounding.
"Don't worry it's okay. I won–"
Yvonne's leg made for it. She had just jumped the root arch and ran a few meters. A sharp pain at the back of her head stopped her. She fell on her stomach. A wet rock fell alongside her too. Blood trickled down it.
"You didn't even let me finish, girl!" Vick strode towards her languidly. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and spat in her face.
"My friends call me Nunvicks though." He stated just before she slipped into unconscious. She saw nothing.
Just void. Endless void.