The forest seemed to swallow Caedus whole. Every step he took on his adrenaline-filled sprint was careful and calculated as he wanted to make sure he didn't trip over roots to get injured, as that would be devastating for his escape and his grandfather's survival.
Caedus' heart hurt thinking about how he had to leave his grandfather, but he knew he wouldn't be much help. The best he could do was keep pace fast enough to stay away from the three cultists but still be able to bait them; the longer he kept them away from the other group, the better it was for his grandfather.
As Caedus' thoughts were drifting, he ducked a barely visible branch he saw last second in the moonlight.
'Focus Caedus. You have to pay attention.' He scolded himself as he slowed down his sprint to a jog.
He took a few deep breaths, trying to get his breath under control. "How far are they? Maybe if they are separated, I can take one out," he mumbled to himself. He listened intently for anything. After a few seconds, he finally heard thumping feet approaching quickly.
Quickly making a decision, Caedus stepped on a large dead branch to make some noise to lure them over.
The pounding footsteps were closer now, crashing through the underbrush, snapping dead twigs and branches.
Caedus took his hunting knife out and silently hid behind a large tree trunk while picking up a rock the size of his fist. He peeked around the tree trunk slowly and saw one of the cultists barely in the moonlight. But Caedus' eyes were accustomed to living in the forest, so whether it was dark or not, a silhouette was good enough for him.
'He's alone. This might be my only chance. I was expecting to do a hit and run if they were together, but this works out great.'
He felt the cold rock in his left hand seem to grow heavier.
As he heard the cultist walking forward, he could hear the jagged breathing under his mask.
"This fucking brat. Where did he go..?" the cultist said to himself while trying to catch his breath.
Just as Caedus was about to throw the rock into the distance to get the cultist to turn his back to the tree he was hiding behind, he heard the other two pairs of footsteps approaching, accompanied by their panting breaths.
"Keith, did you find the kid?" one of them said exasperatedly.
"No, he must have gotten away," the cultist Caedus was about to strike, said irritably.
Caedus had a bad feeling about where their conversation was heading. He decided to get low to the ground and peek around the tree slowly to get a visual of what was going on.
"Let's head back to Paul, then. I'm sure he already took care of the geezer, so I am sure the Hollowed One will enjoy him. And if Paul failed, I am sure the old man would not be in good enough shape to take us three on. If the kid got away, I am sure one of the other teams will find him before we do."
Caedus could see the other two visibly nod in the moonlight.
'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! They are giving up on chasing me that fast? Why don't these bastards do cardio! And there isn't just one hunting party either, this is worse than I thought!' Caedus' heart froze solid.
It never occurred to him that he would have to look out for more than just the six cultists that were left after his grandfather quickly put down one.
'What do I do? If I keep luring them, I will have to still outpace them and make sure not to run into other parties. I can't run all night.'
The cultists called Keith sighed when he thought of him not being able to get the glory for capturing a sacrifice. "Damn man, I never get lucky with capturing the food."
The other two consoled him, putting their hands on his shoulders. "Well, you gave Paul information about that kid and his mother one year ago. That's a plus."
"Yeah... I guess." Keith hung his head a bit before taking off his crude clay mask and pulling out a pipe from under his robes. "You guys head back first. I am going to catch up in a bit. If Paul asks, just say I rolled my ankle and had to walk it off." The two who consoled him nodded and turned around in the direction Jorah was before walking into the dark, shadowy forest.
'A mother and her kid?' Caedus' jaw trembled with restrained rage at that thought. He was clenching his teeth so hard in anger that he felt his teeth might crack. 'How many innocents are these hunting parties responsible for killing. Were my parents victims of it too?' Caedus' thoughts were like a storm. Chaotic. Relentless. The anger and fury he felt were crashing within him with no end in sight.
Keith took out what seemed to be a lighter and brought it close to his pipe before attempting to light it.
*click click*
Caedus hardened his heart as he silently stood up from his position, which he had taken when he spied on the group.
Keith's back was to him.
*click click*
"Son of a bitch. Why isn't it working..." Keith said to himself with his pipe in his mouth.
Caedus slowly approached, silently. Like a hunter. Like his grandfather taught him.
*click click fwoosh*
Caedus saw the orange illumination of the lighter for a brief second before he heard Keith breathe in deeply, before saying. "That's the stuff."
'Now!'
As Caedus was in striking range now, he lunged forward. His knife was already at the ready, and in a silver flash that was exaggerated by the moonlight, he struck.
He stuck his knife in the side of the neck, ensuring he aimed for the vocal cords so he couldn't scream for help.
The blade punched clean through the neck. Spraying hot blood all over Caedus' hands. As quickly as he had stabbed, Caedus removed the knife from Keith's neck, readying it for another strike if needed. Keith turned around quickly, his eyes wide with shock as the lighter fell from his hands and his pipe fell from his mouth. A half-formed gasp was barely audible before being drowned out in a wet gurgle. His hands shot up instantly, trying to stop the bleeding.
He dropped to his knees and looked at Caedus with fearful and begging eyes. Almost as if he was pleading to Caedus to let him go or to help him. Caedus was sure that if the man could speak, he would be begging, saying something along the lines of 'I will change my ways! Let me repent!' He didn't believe the look in his eyes though. Evil people in the stories his grandfather told him always went back to their old ways after the protagonist took pity on them.
Caedus looked at the man in disgust before speaking in a low, angry tone. "You kill innocent people and tried to kill my Grandpa and me. You are going to die. I ran at first to give my grandpa a better chance at fighting without me being in the way, but now, after hearing more about the lives you guys take so casually..." He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't know why he was so angry. He didn't have a hero complex. All he wanted to do was survive and live his dream by experiencing life to the fullest.
Keith was lying on the ground now, soaking the dead Autumn leaves in blood. In the moonlight, Caedus could see tears form in the man's eyes.
Even if Caedus wanted to save him and take pity on the man, he couldn't. Simply put the man was going to die in a few seconds.
As the man slowly began to hold still, Caedus bent over and picked up the metallic lighter and inspected it. It was quite rare to see these types of lighters on Earth now. The reason is simply, technology has regressed. With almost all of the population leaving, almost no one knew how to do anything that was required to keep up with the way life was 400 years ago.
Caedus stopped his inspection and glanced at the body of the man he had killed.
A flash of thought appeared in his head as he saw his blood-soaked hands. 'I just killed someone…'
Caedus had never taken a human life before. He had been hunting many times and had slaughtered deer and wild pigs, but a human... He felt strange about it. He didn't feel guilty in the slightest.
"I'll gather my thoughts later," Caedus said resolutely before looking up at where the other two cultists had walked off to.
'I need to get back, but the issue is what do I do about the other hunting parties. Even if we survive this one, the valley is covered in hunting parties.'
Caedus' mind was racing. There were so many thoughts in his head that weren't completely forming. Then suddenly, he had a dumb idea that might just work. He looked down at his blood-covered hands that felt sticky now that the blood had dried a bit.
In his right hand his knife. And in his left hand...
*click click click fwoosh*
A familiar orange glow illuminated the immediate area. Caedus looked down at the face of the cultist using the lighter, noticing the man was in his mid-thirties with a small amount of stubble. By all accounts, he was an unremarkable average-looking human being. "After I am done here, let's see how your god protects you from this," Caedus mumbled.
Quickly, Caedus pushed a bunch of dead leaves together with his feet before dropping the lighter on the pile.
The leaves caught immediately, flames licking upward with a sharp whoosh, the orange glow dancing across Caedus' face. As if to help his plan, the wind blew gently, fueling the fire and helping it spread.
Upon seeing that, Caedus quickly dove back into the dark forest, sprinting towards where he last saw his grandfather.