Chapter 21: Beyond the Safe Path
605 Words
The forest felt different.
Echo couldn't explain why.
The same towering trees surrounded them.
The same gentle breeze passed between the branches.
The same birds sang above.
Yet...
Everything felt quieter.
As though the forest itself knew something was wrong.
No one spoke.
Not even Echo.
For the first time since leaving the cottage...
He noticed Dorothy wasn't humming.
She always hummed.
Not today.
---
The only sounds were footsteps.
Crunch...
Crunch...
Crunch...
Leaves bent beneath their boots.
Edric led the way.
His pace was faster than usual.
Every few moments...
He glanced toward the distant smoke rising beyond the hills.
Each time...
His expression grew heavier.
Echo finally broke the silence.
"...How far?"
Edric answered without looking back.
"Another hour."
Echo nodded.
"...We'll make it."
Edric smiled weakly.
"...I hope so."
That single sentence made Echo's chest tighten.
---
After another stretch of walking...
Dorothy suddenly stopped.
She didn't speak.
She simply raised one hand.
Instantly...
Everyone froze.
Even Kodie.
The forest became silent.
Too silent.
No birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
Echo whispered,
"...What's wrong?"
Dorothy slowly knelt beside the path.
Her fingers brushed the soil.
Fresh footprints.
Large.
Far larger than a wolf's.
Several of them.
Leading toward the village.
Echo swallowed.
"...Monster?"
Edric nodded.
"...Three."
Kodie crouched beside the tracks.
"...Four."
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed quietly.
"The smallest one stepped here."
Barely visible...
A fourth trail disappeared into the bushes.
Dorothy smiled faintly.
"Well noticed."
Echo stared at Kodie.
"...How did you even see that?"
Kodie shrugged.
"...It stepped lighter."
---
The group continued.
Much slower now.
Echo instinctively rested a hand on his wooden sword.
Every snapping twig made him turn.
Every moving shadow looked suspicious.
Mira quietly noticed.
"...You're scared."
Echo laughed awkwardly.
"...A little."
She smiled gently.
"...Me too."
Echo looked surprised.
"...Really?"
She nodded.
"...But..."
"...I'm glad I'm not alone."
For some reason...
Echo smiled.
"...Yeah."
"...Me too."
---
Minutes later...
The smell reached them.
Smoke.
Not from cooking.
From burning wood.
Echo's pace quickened.
They climbed a small hill.
Then...
He saw it.
Greenhollow.
Or...
What was left of it.
Several homes still stood.
Others had collapsed.
Fields that should have been filled with crops...
Were torn apart.
Broken carts lay scattered near the entrance.
The village well had been shattered.
Echo whispered,
"...This..."
"...Really happened."
Until now...
It had only been a story.
Now...
It was real.
---
Before anyone could move...
Dorothy spoke calmly.
"Listen carefully."
Her gentle voice carried authority Echo had never heard before.
"Echo."
"Yes."
"You stay beside Mira."
He nodded immediately.
"Kodie."
"...Yes."
"You watch the surroundings."
He quietly disappeared into the trees.
Echo blinked.
"...Where did he—"
"Focus."
Echo immediately straightened.
Dorothy looked at Edric.
"Take me to the injured."
Edric nodded.
"This way."
The moment they stepped into the village...
People stopped what they were doing.
An elderly woman gasped.
"...Lady Dorothy..."
A wounded guard lowered his head despite the pain.
Children who had been crying suddenly looked hopeful.
No one cheered.
No one shouted.
They simply...
Moved aside.
Making a path.
Echo quietly noticed something.
Nobody bowed because Dorothy was famous.
They bowed...
Because they believed...
Everything might be alright now.
For the first time...
Echo understood...
Respect...
Could be earned through kindness.
Not fear.
---
Suddenly...
A scream echoed from deeper inside the village.
"HELP!"
Echo instinctively ran forward.
His heart pounded.
The training was over.
This...
Was real.
---
End of Chapter 21
«A peaceful world is easy to love...
A broken world reveals who truly chooses to protect it.
And Echo was about to witness that choice for the first time.»
- Writer
