The hole in an oak

  The forest was dark, scarry, a lot of centuries old and full of undiscovered traps. I felt its calmness and its majesty throughout my life, but I still can't get used to it. I sat down under a large oak tree with a big hole inside. To be honest, I just was scarry of its secret substance, so I had never looked inside of it. Terrifying. The grass covering under me was soft and fresh, but I felt like blood was coming through my hands. Disgusting feeling, which chased me again and again. Where did I stop? Oh yes, those sweet and bright flowers around me, I hated them. They were too innocent, too naive for this world of cruelty. I rather loved tulips with it dark-red. They just didn't give too much hope for people, didn't confuse them with this cute appearance. The lie was actually everywhere, but I wish nature could be my friend, but not the enemy.

Naive me… suddenly, the creepy noise filled my ears with its weirdness and horror. I was ready for it. Ready to take out my own life jacket, but actually a spray full of quick-active poison, it wasn't a death one, but just to make my enemy stop following me. But for the incident I had a sharp stone in my other hand…

I observe the glade, finding a little figure by my eyes.

"Just a wild hare," whispered me with relief.

I came closer, thinking of my dinner. Should I kill this little creature just to be delighted with hare meat? I hadn't ever wanted to harm anybody, but I was alone, alone against all predators that were living there.

"Gush! Stupid me!" while I was thinking the hare escaped from its probable hunter, hiding in the wilds.

Now I didn't have anything to eat, but sour berries, which I had eaten so many times before. Terrible taste, but I needed it, not to suffer from hunger. Making my way through the thickets, I took a sip of water from a nearby stream. The water was sweet and made me breathe healthier after a sleepless night I had. Nightmares were chasing me like old friends, and I fed them with all of the kindness which I could afford.

Finally, through the foliage, I saw a rickety shed near a lamppost. A place that we spotted a month ago with Azari. I peer at the piece of wood pinned to the door, hoping to find someone else's mark there, a way of our communication. But there wasn’t any. A sob came from my throat. I hadn’t seen Azari for two weeks, too much to believe that he is still alive…

The deserted house smelled damp and lonely to me. Something I got used to during that time. My eyes fell on a decrepit wooden table in the corner of the room. The two unloaded pistols we kept with no reason, as we didn't even have bullets. Dried mushrooms and berries, a jug of water and a stack of cans that we once stole from a warehouse. I wasn't even sure their contents were edible after all these years.

The rustle of the curtains made me look around, but it was not a mysterious enemy at all. A black fluffy cat, which sometimes visited us, now gently landed on its paws, waiting for a treat.

“There is nothing you could get today, sweety,” I said with sorrow. The cat meowed and looked at me with contempt worthy of a ruler's gaze towards his subordinates. I hated those looks that high-ranking people cast on ordinary people.

But I remembered that it was only a cat, trying to calm myself down.

“Come on, sweetie, I wish I could give you some milk, but I don't even have any for myself, so you don't need to feel aggrieved… Lucky you, you could somehow eat mice in the forest,” I said with a silly smile.

The cat purred in agreement. As soon as I sat down beside him on a wobbly chair, the animal suddenly pricked up its ears, ready to escape.

“Someone is here, be accurate, man! We need to get him now!”- I heard a hoarse voice from the outside.

I exchanged glances with the cat and rushed to the window to the backyard.

“Devil! Why should they come now, when everything was quite alright!”

I complimented myself for having grabbed at least one pistol and rushed almost at a gallop along my one known route.

"Chase! He escaped, move your feet!" someone shouted from the back of the house, loud enough for me to hear.

I ran, stumbling and slipping on the rotted leaves wet from the rain. It wasn't hard to guess that tomorrow my feet would hurt like hell, but right now I needed one thing. Get out. Few people knew these forests better than me, who lived here for ages. But this time I was not lucky, my pursuers were close on my heels.

Having reached the oak, I realized that all the ways of retreat were closed to me. In my pursuers, I finally made out two young men in the uniform of the City. They were clearly newbies and would hardly have coped with the enemy, someone stronger. But I was still a girl. I didn't have a choice.

“Wait a minute! Don’t run! We won’t harm you, darling. You just need to go with us,’ said the tallest one.

“Never ever,” I cried, using the spray and jumping into the hole the next moment.

To be continued