The Herbalist

Meeting the Guild

- Agnezka -

I was a Thursday nitght isn our quiet place, and nothing was out of the unusual. I was just finishing my shift at the flower shop when a customer entered. In our small town, customers were rare, especially in this season and at this hour. I lived in Białowieża, a quiet place nestled beside the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the primeval forest. The stillness of the town should’ve been comforting, but the moment this man walked in, my stomach churned.

Something about him wasn’t right. I wasn’t the warm-and-fuzzy type to begin with—never had been. People had motives, strings always attached. I learned that early, so I kept to myself. Polite, professional, distant. It didn’t stop me from noticing how people noticed me, though. Men in particular. Not that I cared—I wasn’t attracted to them. Or anyone, really. For years, I thought there was something wrong with me, until I realized: I’m asexual. And happily so.

Still, that didn’t stop men like him.

“Hello, sir. How can I help you?”

“My, oh my, look at those beautiful eyes. You’re a true beauty, love.”

I stiffened. “Thank you, sir. What can I do for you, flower-wise?”

“Well, maybe I’ll skip the flowers and just ask you out instead, little Flower.”

“With all due respect, I’m at work. If you don’t intend to buy anything, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

“Relax, sweetheart. Didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll take a bouquet of calla lilies—for my mother.”

“Of course, sir. Let me get that for you.”

I turned to the back to prepare the bouquet, relieved to escape his gaze. That’s when I heard frantic meowing at the window. My black cat, the one I’d rescued weeks ago, was perched there, pawing at the glass. Something was wrong. I opened the window, and he leapt in, tapping at me insistently. Then he froze, his fur bristling as he hissed at the customer.

“Is that your cat?” the man called from the front.

“Yes. He must be hungry. Let me sort him out, and I’ll finish your bouquet.”

“No problem. I’m not going anywhere.”

Great. That guy couldn’t give me more creepy vibes as it was.

I carried the cat to the back room, stroking him in an effort to calm him down. But he stayed agitated, his eyes locked on the door. Then I heard scratching. I opened the back door to find the other cat I rescued that day—a tabby—just as frantic. Both of them came one day by my place and looked tired and determined to make me their new owner. I didn't see any issue with that, so I rescued both and so far they were very friendly and gentle souls. But now, both of them were acting strange, almost as if they were trying to warn me of something. I stepped outside and scanned the area.

That’s when I saw it.

A black van idling just beyond the shop. Its engine hummed, and the driver sat like a statue, watching and smoking. Only puffes of smoke were coming out of his opened window. Two more men were positioned near the front door, hidden from sight. All of them were wearing black military clothing and looked like they were on a Black Ops mission. My stomach dropped. I didn’t know what was happening, but every instinct screamed: Get out.

I slipped quietly into the dense Białowieża Forest, moving as fast as I could without making noise. My heart pounded in my ears as I ran, footsteps and voices echoing behind me. Who were these men? What could they possibly want with me?

I didn’t stop to think. I just ran.

The trail I often used for jogging came into view. If I could make it to the clearing with the fallen logs, I might find a place to hide. I pushed myself harder, lungs burning as I sprinted. It felt like the longest five minutes of my life, but finally, I reached the logs. I slipped into one of the hollow trunks, covering my tracks with fallen leaves.

I waited, trying not to breathe too loudly. The forest was silent, save for the faint rustling of leaves. Then I heard it—footsteps, close. Too close.

Before I could react, rough hands yanked me from my hiding spot. I screamed, kicking and thrashing, but the man who grabbed me only laughed. I recognized the man as the driver of the van, and released the loudest scream ever. The man laughed at my pathetic attempts to wiggle out of his grasps. All of the sudden, my rescued cats came out of nowhere, jumped on the man’s face, claws out and screeching. That got him to release me and I resumed my running. This time it was frantic and I had no clue where I was going. I was so scared. I saw two men, Creepy customer and another one in full military gear coming at me and gaining on me. I was running on pure adrenaline but my wind was starting to ease down. A third man came out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground, full force. The wind got knocked out of my lungs as I hit the ground. As soon as I could breathe again, I fought with all my might, but by this time, I was tackled and the other two men had caught up.

" What do you want with me?

“She’s feisty! Yeah, it’s her. The boss will be pleased. He’ll be here soon.”

“Let me go!” I shouted. “I don’t know what you want, but I’m not going to help you!”

“Help us?” he sneered. “You have no idea what you are, do you? But now, you belong to the Purifier’s Guild, and—”

A deafening roar cut him off.

A massive bear charged out of the trees, heading straight for us. Bears were rare in the forest—almost unheard of. But here it was, fury incarnate. The men scattered, fumbling for their weapons, but the bear was on them before they could fire.

I didn’t wait to think about the randomly perfect timing of the bear or his unusual large size, nor to see the c*****e that might happen. I bolted, running blindly through the forest. The screams, the gunshots, the sound of flesh tearing—it all faded as I ran. I didn’t know where I was going, only that I needed to get away, far away.

Finally, I collapsed against a tree, lungs heaving and legs trembling. My face was wet with tears, though I didn’t remember crying. The night was falling fast, and I was lost—utterly, hopelessly lost.

A branch snapped behind me.

I spun around to see him—the driver from the van. His face was scratched to hell, blood dripping from the wounds my cats had inflicted. He looked enraged, like he’d murder me with his bare hands.

Even though I was scared as hell, I had no strength left to run. No fight left to give.

But then, just behind him, the bear emerged again, snarling.

It struck fast, clamping its jaws around the man’s head and violently trashing him. There was a sickening c***k, and the driver crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Dead. I had never been for violence and this was too much for me. I turned away, retching. When I looked back to see if I was next, the bear was staring at me, its dark eyes gleaming. And that’s the last thing I saw before the world went black.