Everwinter pt I

Everwinter
© J.Mather 2006

A brilliant full moon hung in the air, casting its silvery light across the forest. The sky was clear, except for the occasional wisps of cloud that feathered the night sky. The stars could be seen all over the sky this night.

Down in the forest the tall fir trees stood, their great bough’s swaying gently in the breeze, branches heavy with the weight of the fallen snow. Beneath the canopy of the trees, there was darkness and the silence was greater than usual. Birch trees mingled here with the colossal firs. Ferns and other plant life carpeted the forest floor.

Only the faintest dusting of snow had managed to penetrate through the firs. Despite the moon shining in its fullest, it was dark, as it was every night; it could have been just the same as any other, if it wasn’t for the silence. Nothing stirred in the forest, indeed, nothing dared to move. There was a deafening quietness that only fear could create.

A hooded figure silently slipped through the foliage, creeping through undergrowth it crept through the trees. It was just a shadow, the mere passing of the wind through the trees in the night.

The figure stopped just a few strides short of the foot of a large pine and knelt down. A hand came forth from under the cloak and touched the cold earth. It sniffed, its breath leaving trails of moisture in the cold night air. It was refreshing and awakened the already heightened senses of the beings mind.

He was one of the Ardíth, an elite force of men and women under the command of Lord Tarriss. They were used solely for one purpose, to keep the land free of the vermin and terrors of evil.

He could smell them, they where close. He could even taste their vile presence on its tongue, but how close they where was anyone’s guess. Damn things, he could even be almost on top of them and wouldn’t know.

Four days had passed since he had come across the farm. The attack had left none alive, they had massacred everyone and every animal they had found. There wasn’t much left of the inhabitants, poor country folk, they didn’t deserve this, trying to scratch a living from the earth all their lives and then butchered and hunted like animals through the forest, probably for nothing but a bit of sport. He hated them, he loathed them and right there and then at the farmstead he set off in the hope of finding some survivors in the forest, so far he had found no trace of any survivors. He had picked up the trail from the body of what he presumed was the last one of the victims of that day, a young girl of about 18 years of age. Not much was left of her now, little more than a bloody pool of snow, some clothing and the half eaten remains of her body. By his guesses, the attack had come in the middle of the night, the girl was still in her nightdress when madness and fear had drove her into the forest.

It had been only a few hours ago that the trail had become slightly different from the usual movements so prone to these creatures. This made him proceed with more caution. He had guessed that it was the change of the wind, now they where downwind of his movements and were sure to be alerted to the his presence. He knew it was walking into an ambush, but what could he do? He had to stop these creatures, this was his job, his purpose. The sole reason for his being.

He knew that it was coming, every muscle in the shadow’s body was tense, it was as if his body could sense the tension in their limbs and the baring of their teeth, and without even a thought from his head, his body was prepared for it. Underneath the hooded cloak, the figure’s hand gripped the hilt of a short, thin sword. Any minute now, he thought. He took a few more steps across the floor. His heart was beating fast, he could even here his own heart beat. Surely they could hear it also, it seemed like a drum beating the march of a great army.

Stepping through the undergrowth he continued, then, just on the edge of hearing, a feint low pitch growl was heard, rising from the darkness before him. He stopped dead in his tracks and sighed at the crack of a twig from behind. “Ha!” he thought to itself. The creatures eagerness to kill, had led to a fatal mistake.

He turned his head just in time to see the creature leap right for his throat. With lightning fast reflexes he spun round, unsheathed the weapon and side stepped the creatures attack and stabbed the creature in the side of its head, nailing it to a fir tree, it didn’t even let out a yelp. It only hung there, dead.

The first creature growled and sprung from the darkness, red eyes full of wickedness and evil came hurtling toward him. He turned to face the creature and rolled backwards, kicking the animal square in the chest. It whimpered and fell backwards, but it was soon back on its feet, snarling.

Quickly, he vaulted his legs into the air, flipping himself back on to his feet with his hands. The creature was before him, growling and pawing the ground viciously, ready to leap again. The man drew a long thin knife from somewhere within his clothing and ran forward at the beast, arm held behind his head, ready to strike. The creature leapt and they collided, it had gone straight for his throat again, but he was quick. He pushed the knife into the throat of the creature, blood pumped forth from the wound covering his cloak with hot red liquid. They fell backwards on to the ground, the creature was pinned beneath him, but it no longer threatened him. The blow had killed it almost immediately.

He got to his feet, withdrew his knife and quickly scanned the surrounding forest as best he could. He had to act quickly, more would soon be upon him, this was merely a small ambush to asses the threat. He moved over to the creature that was still nailed to the tree by his sword, retrieved it and smiled as the body crumpled into a heap. He then wiped the knife and the sword on a nearby fern and set off, speeding through the undergrowth.

He was as sure footed as a deer and made easy progress. He soon came to a small rising and made his way up the hill. Suddenly from in front of him a mighty howling and baying could be heard, echoing all round the valley. He froze, and made himself ready for the oncoming assault.