Chapter 5 Chaos ii

Meredith looked up at the man who was pulling at the rope on her hand with rage in her light brown eyes. Maybe if he gave her some water she wouldn't be this tired. She had been walking for a few hours and was hot and thirsty, but they didn't seem to care one bit about that. The sun was down already, and the night was fast approaching.

She turned and glanced at the three girls behind her, who looked like they had given up on their lives, unlike her. Her light brown eyes were filled with fear as she kept walking. She wasn't sure they could hold out much longer, and she wasn't sure she could too.

The girl's help would be paramount to her, but they didn't look like they would help Her escape. Instead, they looked like they didn't want to get on the bad side of this man. She swallowed and turned to look at them again, and this time, her eyes met with one of them.

She smiled slightly at the girl who looked to be around the same age as her, but she could see the fear in the girl's eyes as she quickly looked away. Meredith almost cursed under her breath. She couldn't get mad at them. She had to remind herself that she had no idea what they had been through and why they looked too afraid.

The girl's eyes met with hers once again, and Meredith was about to whisper something to the girl when she immediately held her tongue. One of the men had noticed this little exchange between them. She immediately turned away so she wouldn't arouse any suspicion, but it was too late.

"Stop!" The man yelled out, causing everyone to come to a halt.

Meredith gulped when the man started to walk towards her. She should have been more careful. He stopped walking right in front of her and was silent for a moment before he sighed deeply.

"Don't even think about it. You can't get far even though you try," he said in a low voice, and she didn't miss the underlying threat in his voice as he spoke.

"I think we should separate them" one of the other men chimed in, and if she hadn't panicked much before, she was far more panicky now

"I think that is a good idea." The man replied, and she watched as he started to walk towards the other girls, who immediately cowered in fear.

"What!" Meredith exclaimed in fear when she realised what was happening. No! This can't happen to her. She couldn't be left on her own with these men... how would she defeat them all on her own?

"Shut it!" The man behind her yelled in anger when he heard her voice and she winced.. her heart racing like it was about to explode right out of her chest. Was this going to be the end for her? Her eyesight slowly became blurred with tears, but Meredith blinked back her tears. This wasn't the time to cry. Crying was never a solution it would only make her lose the little energy she had left. She watched intently as the man loosened the ropes on the three girls behind her and freed them, and she saw the instant look of relief on their faces, but this relief didn't last when the man started to tie them together once again. Their look of relief was now a look of defeat. He tied them together firmly and gestured for one of his partners to take them away. "Please don't do this! My mother is all alone. She needs me!" one of the girls burst out crying, but the men showed little to no sympathy, and Meredith closed her eyes when the man smacked the girl hard right across the face, causing her to fall to the ground. "Shut your f*cking mouth up and do as I say if you ever want to meet your mother again!" The man's cold voice sent a chilling shiver of fright down Meredith's spine and dwindled her plans of escape. She didn't stand a chance against them. She knew she wouldn't be able to get far even if she somehow loosened the ropes and made a run for it.

"Take them to Gregory. He will know what to do. Maybe they can be worth something" The man who Meredith had first seen and now deduced was their boss instructed.

"But can we get to the raven city before nightfall? It's going to be dark soon, I don't think we should remain here. I heard a rumour that this is his territory. he hates intruders." One of the men input, and this seemed to anger their boss.

"Shut your mouth up. He is dead, no one has seen or heard from him for years. This isn't my first time passing through here, and this is the fastest way to get to Raven City. Or do you want to get caught by the Palace guards? I don't have any more gold to give to them. we haven't sold anything in weeks, or do you want me to give them your pay." He said and the man immediately shook his head.

"No. "

"I thought so. Let's get through this forest first. This place gives me the creeps"

Meredith watched as the other girls were placed away from her so she wouldn't try to speak to them. Thankfully, they weren't taken away like she had initially thought, but what weighed on her mind was the conversation between the men. Who and what were they talking about?

Palace guards? What Palace guards. Were they in another country? She wondered. That would only make things worse. She was sure the girls had answers to her questions.

But none of them would look her way anymore.

They continued their journey for some minutes more and Meredith had never felt so much exhaustion in her entire life. Each step she took felt like life was being sucked right out of her till she couldn't take it anymore.

She stopped in her tracks and fell to the ground, purely exhausted. "What the hell is she doing. get her up!" The boss yelled out in anger. His eyes kept scanning the area, fear visible as his eyes travelled back to her.

Meredith could barely keep her eyes open anymore. She couldn't move. Her feet and everything else hurt so bad.

"Get the h*ll up!" One of the men yelled at her, but Meredith remained unmoving. She wanted to move but couldn't; her feet had given out.

"Please. I can't walk any longer, I'm exhausted" She breathed out, hoping they would be compassionate, but these men were nothing like that

"We can't stay here much longer. we have to keep moving!" Their boss spat out in anger as his eyes continued to scan the area again. he could feel the hair at the back of his neck rise with each passing second. He could feel a cold shiver run down his spine. It was the most eerie feeling ever. And he wasn't the only one who felt it. One after the other, his men could feel it, too.

They shouldn't be here.. he could tell.

The man started to walk towards Meredith angrily. he grabbed her arms forcefully and drew her up. "Start walking, or I will kill you!" He threatened and the next second.

They all completely froze, including Meredith.

Everyone heard it. There was no way they didn't. It sounded like a growl... wolves, we're the first thing that popped up in her head and the exhaustion that she felt disappeared in an instant.

Were they wolves here. She was going to get eaten alive. Raw fear became evident in her eyes. "What was that." one of the men said in a low voice. They all exchanged worried looks.

Meredith stood on her feet and turned to look at the girls who stood protectively close to each other. They heard it too.

"I told you this was his territory." one of the men Burst out, and the boas gritted his teeth in rage. "Shut the h*ll up before I shut you up! We have to get moving..." he said and they all still remained in the same spot.

All of them are still in shock. "Get moving!" He yelled and jerked them back to reality. They all sprang into action and started to move.

But the man's eyes travelled back to Meredith "Stop again, and I will leave you all alone here!" The man said and grabbed her jaw harshly causing her to yelp in pain.

She was about to plead for her life when they heard that sound once again, but this time. It was louder, clearer and closer. She could see the fear in the man's eyes as they both looked towards the direction of where the growl came from, and they saw it.

It was fast approaching them... almost.... they couldn't move or run because it was too late. It had gotten to them. The loud growl became so loud and ear-piercing as the man yelled out in complete fright.

Everything else happened too fast, and Meredith stood there, wide-eyed in absolute shock. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. All she could do was watch. Watch as the man fell to the ground and yelled in as blood gushed out of the place that its hand was meant to be.

But she couldn't move. She was frozen in shock and fear as she watched it. It tossed the man away in front of her, and then it started to slowly approach her. Her mind was screaming at her to ru, cry! Yell out for help. But she could do nothing.

It was too late, it was going to kill her. It was going to eat her. This was the end for her.

Her heart had never beaten so fast in her entire life. She was too stunned to react. She could see as the other men took off running. She could see as the girls tried to free themselves from the ropes they were tied to as they cried.

That was all she could think of as it inched closer to her.

But when it was finally in front of her. Meredith closed her eyes bracing herself for the impact of getting eaten. But a second passed and then two, and then time started to pass almost a minute passed before her eyes slowly fluttered open because of how silent it was and as soon as she opened her eyes. It was met with a pair of golden eyes staring right into hers.