The Orphaned Omega

Chapter 18

[Dorothea’s POV]

I was lost. Thoroughly, and utterly lost. I’d been walking for days – maybe weeks, and had only managed to climb my way up and out of the valley Dark Pine and the other few packs near us resided in. I had crested the ridgeline and looked out on just more mountains and valleys. I did my best to keep going north, hoping to find something along the way. A road, a town, any sign of civilization. So far, nothing. Days and days of just trees, and every day the cover seemed to get thicker, and soon it was an effort to even find the direction of the sun through the canopy of trees.

I was starting to panic; I may just get lost out here for good and never find another soul again. My only comfort was that there seemed to be plenty of small streams and creeks to stop and refill my bottle with, and that it was summer now, so I didn’t have to worry about snow or freezing to death. My food supply had dwindled by now, and I kept myself going by finding berries and mushrooms that I saw other forest animals eating. I didn’t know how to distinguish plants on my own, nor did I know how to really hunt or trap anything. I had occasionally tried to fish and got lucky with a few small fish in the shallows once or twice. For the most part, I seemed to be sustained on sheer hope alone and even that was shrinking by the hour. I’d gone hungry before, as a child, so the pangs in my stomach were not new. Still, I wondered every so often if I may find myself on death’s door yet again just from my inability to traverse the wild. How could I have been so stupid? The idea of freedom had been so enticing, but now that I was free, I wondered if the quick death at Alpha Harry’s claws would have been preferable to this torment.

At about a week in, I had begun to speak to myself. At first, it was to keep my spirits up. Then, it was to try to ease the loneliness that had settled on the periphery of my fragile nerves. Then, I think, it was because I was just going insane. I’d even begun to curse the wolf that had yet to show herself. If I had a wolf to rely on, I could hunt quite easily. Such a thing came naturally to them! I grew angry with my nonexistent wolf, and when that did nothing, I became pleading and desperate. I fell asleep several nights in a row to a silent mantra begging her to come and help me, even if to appease the loneliness that was creeping in. I had always felt alone for the majority of my life, always on the outside looking in. And there was something incredibly disheartening about being lonely while surrounded by people. But being truly alone in the middle of nowhere, with no true end in sight, was a kind of madness that crept in bit by bit until one day I was sure it would crush me beneath its weight.

It was one of those nights of endless mental torment, and I tossed and turned in my makeshift nest of leaf litter and moss. I had gorged myself on water in an attempt to trick my body into forgetting it was hungry, and I felt the liquid slosh uncomfortably in my belly with every movement. I groaned and finally sat up, running grubby, dirt-stained hands through even grubbier hair, and began to braid and re-braid it just for something to do and focus on.

“I didn’t think this would be so hard,” I said to myself, my voice barely above a whisper. “I feel like I should have found something by now. I can’t help but think I’m going in circles…” I chewed on my chapped lip, combing my recent memory as I looked at the trees. None of it looked familiar, and at the same time, it was all too familiar. Trees just looked the same after so long. I had begun marking trees every so often in case I was circling around. I hadn’t seen any of my marks, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t still somehow going around and around. I settled back against my backpack, using it as a pillow, and stared up through the canopy at the small pocket of night sky that was visible. I watched the stars twinkle, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.

I was awoken by the splatter of rain on my face; at first, it was merely a sprinkle. Before long, it became an all-out deluge. I groaned, shoving my jacket quickly into my pack and huddling against the base of the tree to do my best at keeping dry. Usually, the summer storms that had frequented the area dissipated pretty quickly. I sat there staring at the rain-soaked forest, feeling the water sinking into my clothes and soaking me to the bone, for what felt like ages. It seemed as if this storm wasn’t going to let up. I hugged my knees tighter to my chest and placed my chin on top of my knees, closing my eyes and hoping I could ignore the wetness long enough to fall asleep.

As I began to doze, the monotony of the splash-splash of raindrops on leaves lulling me to sleep, some primal part of me awakened again with a sudden start. My entire body felt like a bolt of electricity had run through it, lighting me up and setting me on edge. My eyes flashed open, and I scanned the forest, but could see nothing through the rain and the shadows. Still, goosebumps formed along my skin and the back of my neck prickled in warning. I drew a slow, deep breath and tried to tell myself I was just being paranoid. I had been alone and unbothered for weeks. Surely, nothing had changed. And yet, that ancient, primal instinct seemed to scream at me and would not be ignored. Run, run, run, it seemed to chant. I slowly unpeeled myself from my cocoon-like position and quietly reached for my backpack. I kept my eyes scanning my surroundings, not wanting to miss whatever may be out there. I slid the bag onto my back and eased into a crouching position, ready to take off at the first sign of danger.

As the wind rattled the trees, it carried the unmistakable scent of carrion with it. Not just any rotting corpse, but the stinking, festering smell of a rogue. Not all rogues smelled like rot and death, but those that had been stripped of their humanity did. It was as if their body was responding to the lack of anything decent and began to decay as much as their soul had. I shot to my feet immediately, knowing I would be no match for a crazed, rabid Lycan. I took off in the opposite direction as the smell had come from, cringing at the way my feet crunched the leaves underfoot and the slick muck beneath my feet splashed as I ran. It was practically a beacon, no better than shouting ‘Hello, here I am! A tasty morsel for you!’ I heard crunching and splashing behind me, and I picked up speed, praying to the Moon Goddess to help me. I felt like for every step I took, the rogue Lycan gained two or more on me. Their footsteps seemed to just get closer and closer.

I chanced a glance back to see where they were, but a quick scan revealed nothing. Panic swept through me. How was that possible? I turned back around, and immediately came to a sliding stop as a large figure rose up in front of me. Its form was obscured in shadow, but I could tell it was humanoid and huge. My heart thudded in my chest, and I heaved for air, panting from the run and from panic. The figure stepped closer, and I then heard footsteps from behind me too. The smell of carrion permeated the air, so thick it made my eyes water. I could sense the Lycan behind me now, hear the slush of four paws in the wet leaf litter, yet I didn’t dare take my eyes off the figure coming toward me. I tried to suck in air but felt like I was choking. My body began to shake on its own accord, and all thoughts eddied out of my head. All except one – I was going to die here.

“Well, well, well,” the figure said, his voice deep and full of amusement. It sounded almost as if it echoed in my mind. He finally stepped close enough that I could see his face in the dim moonlight. He once may have been handsome, but time and hard living had weathered his features and created chasms upon his face. He had a huge, ugly scar stretching from his right temple and down across his face to the left side of his jaw. “What do we have here?”

I took a step back, and I think I may have opened my mouth to speak, but absolutely no sound came out. I couldn’t even remember how to breathe, let alone form words or sentences. He kept stalking closer, and soon my back had hit a tree. I glanced away briefly when I saw movement in the corner of my eye. The Lycan had come into view, and it seemed to be shifting back to its human shape now. I let out a strangled cry when its’ bones stopped reshaping – Alpha Ian stood before me. I shook my head. That wasn’t possible. That hadn’t been Thorin…Ian was miles away at school. How was this possible?

Ian came toward me, a cruel smirk on his beautiful face. The edges of my vision were suddenly blurry, as if a fog had crept in and it made me panic even more. Was I about to pass out and leave myself completely exposed to these men? Just ripe for the kill? I tried to swallow, throat feeling like sandpaper. I tried to draw in air, tried to force myself to think clearly. Then, I heard a voice in my head. It was oily and cold, and seemed to slide along my very bones. I felt like I would collapse.

I never wanted you, you pathetic mutt. No one does. No one ever will. You’re lucky I came out here to kill you. Its time someone put you out of your misery.

I shook my head. No. No, I was not going to die here.

Oh, yes you are. I will kill you and I will savor every moment it takes me.

I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off of the Ian that was not Ian. Couldn’t get the nerve to look for that other rogue, and I certainly didn’t have the where-with-all to try to sense him otherwise. I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking my head again. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible that Ian was here. This couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming, or hallucinating. I choked down my fear, telling myself I would open my eyes and run again. I wouldn’t go without a damn good fight. When I opened my eyes, I let out a strangled cry. Ian was no longer there, and instead it was my father and Alpha Harry. My father was on his knees, his throat slashed open and bleeding. His eyes were unfocused and unseeing, no breaths moving his chest. Blood dripped down his body, pooling below him. Alpha Harry had one hand gripped tight in my father’s hair, the only thing keeping his body from collapsing to the ground. Alpha Harry stared straight at me, his eyes piercing me like he could see to my very soul. That same slick, chilling voice slithered through my mind again.

You’re next, Thea. I killed your father without even blinking. Don’t think I wouldn’t do the same to you. I should have done it sooner. No one would have missed you.

I gripped the bark of the tree behind me to keep myself from falling. I couldn’t stop watching the blood drip down my father’s body. I had never seen my father after he died, and most days could barely remember his face anymore. But here he was, as clear as day in front of me. I didn’t know how this was possible. I didn’t understand what was going on. I felt tears slide down my cheeks, stinging my eyes. I couldn’t think beyond what I saw in front of me. Couldn’t rally the strength or the will to tear my eyes away, or to run. I felt like I was stuck, completely rooted in place. I silently started to beg the Moon Goddess to let me wake up from this nightmare.

This is no nightmare, Thea. This is real, and I will kill you.

The way the voice said my name was enough to make the meager dinner I’d had rise to the surface. He drew out the syllables – Theeee-uhhh. “No,” I heard myself say, as if from underwater. “No.”

In a blink, Alpha Harry and my father were gone. Not even the blood on the forest floor remained. Instead, it was Ms. Jillian, with her beady eyes and unforgivingly cold stare. For a woman who was shorter than I was at this age, she still made me feel small. I withered against the tree, trembling harder. She had a belt in one hand, the buckle end loose and ready to swing at me. I hadn’t seen Ms. Jillian in years – she had been acquired by a different pack shortly after I was adopted by Rosemary. And yet, after all this time, she still haunted me. Still brought a fresh wave of panic sweeping over me. My body felt cold. So impossibly cold. Even as my fingers scraped the bark behind me, they felt numb. My knees could barely keep from knocking together. Pure, undiluted fear coated my very veins. I doubled over, unable to hold my nausea at bay any longer. I vomited all over the ground by my feet, just as that voice came again.

You’re a useless, worthless pile of skin and bones. It was a shame the Alpha didn’t kill you. You were a disgrace – unworthy of even cleaning dirt from my shoe.

I vomited again, clutching the tree for support. What was happening? What was wrong with me? I sucked in a shallow breath, realizing as I stared at my feet that my vision was less cloudy now. I felt like the haze that had had me rooted in place was easing a fraction. Rational thought seemed within grasp. There was no way this was real. All of this was some kind of ruse, some kind of mental trap. I knew then, the thought hitting like a bolt of lightning, what had found me in this forest was not a simple rogue. It was not a rogue at all, but something made of nightmares and fueled by fear. They called them the Mahr, fickle beasts that could infiltrate your mind and become the things you feared the most. The longer you were ensnared by one, the more it sucked the life from you. I remembered from my supernatural studies class that legend said they had crawled up from Hell itself, and that hardly anyone had ever lived to see their true form.

I squeezed my eyes shut again, trying to think around the haze in my mind and the fear that had turned me useless. How could I kill it? How could I get away from it? I couldn’t recall any teachings about it. No self-defense tricks, no words to break its hold on me; nothing. My teeth were chattering I was shaking so hard, and I had to fight to keep from vomiting again. That ancient, oily voice slithered over my mind, speaking horrible things to me, and making it even harder to think. But I could think now. I knew what it was before me. I knew these illusions were not real, and I would not, could not, let this thing continue to feed on me. I drew in a slow, steadying breath. I looked up in front of me again and screamed. I screamed right before my feet were moving of their own accord, dashing away from the tree and into the tangle of the trees once more.

What I had seen in the brief moment I had looked up was something that would be seared into my brain for the rest of my life. The Mahr looked at first like some kind of hideous spider-snake hybrid. It was a horrific web of black, spindly legs (or maybe arms?) jutting from all angles and all sides of its long, thick body. Two of those legs were larger than the rest and armed with large pincers. Each of its many, many legs had been outfitted with numerous long, thin finger-like appendages. It bore an oval-shaped head on an elongated neck, with two black sockets for eyes and just a thin seam of a mouth. It had no hair, and no scales, but rather bore what looked like smooth, slippery skin like that of a dolphin. I had an errant thought that the Mahr needn’t show illusions to scare the life out of someone – it’s true form was enough.

It pursued me – I could hear it clicking through the woods behind me. The voice it had projected into my head continued, willing me back to it. Telling me I could run forever, and it would still find me. I refused to let the fear immobilize me again. If I stopped now, I didn’t think I would be able to find the strength again to get out of its trap. So, I kept running, and running, and running. I ran for what felt like hours, even when I wasn’t sure I could continue. I kept pushing my legs to go, but I kept hearing that awful mechanical-like clicking coming from behind me. It was an unnerving noise, one that shouldn’t come from a beast of flesh at all. Every weapon this Mahr had was made for breaking you mentally, meant only to drive you mad with terror. I refused to go down without a fight, even if some small voice inside of me whispered it would be easier to just let go. Things had already been so hard; would it really be so bad to just let go?

My legs became leaden, each step getting harder than the last. My body strained, my lungs feeling like they were on fire. It was pure will that kept me crashing through the woods. I kept praying, hoping for someone or something to come to my rescue or to be able to outrun this demon behind me. The Mahr hadn’t faltered a single step. It hadn’t slowed, a relentless pursuit behind me. I had an inkling it really could run forever, and that there was no hope for me to outrun it. It was simply wearing me down. I saw a fallen tree up ahead, and I braced myself for the need to jump over it. I wasn’t sure I could will the strength to my fatigued legs. They were burning, feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second. I must, I must, I must, I chanted to myself. I had to get away. There would be no other option.

I pushed off the ground with all I had left, letting out a scream as I did so. I made the jump, but my toes brushed a stray branch off the tree as I was coming down. It sent me sprawling to the forest floor. My head slammed into the dirt, my teeth going through my top lip. I tried to lift myself up, tried to get back off the floor to keep going. My head was spinning, the world nothing more than a blur of color around me. I couldn’t seem to feel my legs or work my arms properly. I struggled, hauling myself maybe a half a foot with my forearms alone before collapsing again. My eyes closed, and I waited for the Mahr to make its final move.