wet, the scent clung to the ground better and that made it easier for Karen to sniff and track animals and people. And there were other dangers in the forest. There were also various beasts like big cats, werewolves, hellhounds, huge birds of prey and dragons out there, and they all ate humans. Now that it was dark, these creatures would be coming out to hunt. The forest was a dangerous place to be at night.
Then I remembered all the small joys we’d shared between all the beatings and the problems. I knew I had to find Donna, but how?
Then a call came from inside the house, which brought me back to my senses.
“Matt, it’s time. Come in and help me in the kitchen,” shouted Arlene.
I got up at once and rushed to the store room to gather the meat.
Arlene and I made the next meal and afterwards I cleaned up, while everybody ate. I got my usual scraps and then I went to sleep.
Found
I woke up on time the next morning and went to the kitchen to help Arlene. I started boiling some water. I got lost in my thoughts as I stared at the bubbles rising up in the water. They looked so free and energetic, just like I wished to be.
Arlene came and placed a hand on my shoulder and said:
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?” I asked.
“Karen knows where Donna is,” she announced.
“Really, where is she?”
“This morning, Karen went into the forest to hunt and she came upon Donna’s scent. She tracked it for a while but she had to abandon it when it went into the witch’s part of the forest.”
“Noooooo!” I cried.
This was the most dangerous place in the forest. It was so unsafe that even Karen was scared to go there. When I had first come here, Karen had taken me to the forest to teach me how to hunt and gather wood. She had given me an axe and asked me to chop a tree down for some firewood. She watched and screamed at me while I hacked away.
Then, all of a sudden, we heard a cackle - a loud scary cackle that sent all the birds flying out of the trees. I looked at Karen’s face. It was pale and scared, and the life had drained from it. This cackle had terrified Karen. She stood there for a moment. Then she recovered and showed me a border in the forest and told me never to cross it. It was cursed. Beyond it was the witch’s part of the forest. The sound we had heard was the witch’s cackle.
This was the only part of the forest the Ogres never went to. They were frightened of the witch. I always wanted to run into this part of the forest because I knew that if I did, Karen and the others would never bother me again. But, I wasn’t keen to bump into the witch. Karen was the scariest creature I had ever seen. I wondered how dangerous a witch, who scared the life out of Karen, could be and I didn’t want to find out. I felt safer in the Ogres’ area of the woods’ so I stayed put and bore the pain.
Donna didn’t know anything about the forest as Karen had never taken her there. I was the only slave who was sent into the woods to work. This helped me learn a lot about the animals and all the pathways. Karen had taught me some things but I learned most of it by myself. Donna didn’t have this knowledge and was probably as good as dead now.
I was shocked at Donna’s escape but I somehow made it through the day. The next few days were gruelling. With Donna gone, I had to do her jobs too. Karen tried to find a replacement, but it looked like all the humans had disappeared. The work just kept piling up. I did my best to finish it all, while Arlene lazed around. She didn’t care. Karen wasn’t going to harm her.
I blamed myself for Donna’s disappearance. Deep within my mind, I had known she was going to escape sooner or later, but I hadn’t made a good enough effort to stop her. I should have tried harder. Maybe I should have sat by her that night and made sure she was okay. I wanted to go into the woods and look for her, but I knew there was no point. If the animals hadn’t got her yet, then the witch would have.
A Way Out
It had been a week since Donna disappeared and the work was still piling up, day after day. While cleaning the store room, I realized that we were running out of wood. We needed firewood to cook the food, and not having any food to eat would make Karen cranky and moody. So after I finished tidying, I rushed into the forest. I thought that this would also give me an opportunity to clear my mind and maybe, just maybe, I might see Donna and be able to save her. But there was no sign of her.
So I found a tree and started chopping it with an axe. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a voice. It said, “Hi, Matt!”
I looked around but there was nobody there. I guessed I must have imagined it, so I continued striking at the tree.
“Hi Matt, how are you?” the voice called again.
This time, I was sure I wasn’t making it up. I scanned the surroundings completely, but still there was nothing. I started to panic. Should I stay here or get back home? Then I heard the voice once more.
It said, “Look up here.”
I looked up at one of the nearby trees and saw a huge, weird bird. It was shabby. Its feathers were brownish yellow, and sticking out of them was a red, long, crooked neck. On top of it sat a tiny head which had beady eyes and a sharp beak. It also had two wrinkly legs and vicious talons on its feet. It was a vulture, a talking vulture!
It repeated, “Hi Matt! How are you?”
I was amazed. “Who are you and how do you know my name? How is it you can talk?” I answered, while raising my axe.
“Calm down, my friend. I’m not here to hurt you,” said the vulture in a friendly voice.
Then it went on. “I’m Maria, and I come from the remote Island of Peace. I know your parents. They were the ones who sent me here to help you escape.”
“You know my parents?” I cried.
“Yes, I do,” nodded the vulture.
“Where? How are they?” I asked.
“They escaped and left their home after you were kidnapped. They fled to the Island of Peace, where it’s safe and there’s nobody who can harm them. They are very happy there, but are worried about you. They sent me here to rescue you.”
“Nobody can rescue me,” I answered despondently.
“I can. I know a route that will lead you to your parents quickly. I have scoured every bit of this forest from the air and I know the ways through it,” said Maria.
“But how can I trust you?” I asked.
“You have to. I’m your only way out of here. Or do you plan to spend the rest of your life serving the Ogres?” asked the vulture, sarcastically.
I started to think, and then I heard someone calling. It was Karen. She was looking for me. The vulture shrieked and started to flap away.
“Meet me here tonight if you’re in with this plan. This is your only chance. I won’t come back again,” the vulture croaked hurriedly, before flying off.
Karen strode up and ordered me to finish chopping the wood quickly and to get home and cook her some dinner. She said she was starving. After that, she stomped away.
I wasn’t sure if I should listen to the vulture. But she was right. What other choice did I have? I finished chopping the wood quickly and I went over to the house with the firewood and carried on with my chores.
That night I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking about escaping. My family, my freedom, the chance of finding Donna - those and many other thoughts passed through my mind. I knew I couldn’t spend all my life here serving the Ogres. I had to get away at some point and tonight might be the best opportunity. Maria was my only hope. But can I trust her? Could she be the witch in disguise?
I pondered about it for a while. I then realized that if the witch wanted to convince me she could have come in the form of a person who I could trust and not as an ugly looking, talking vulture. So I made up my mind. I packed a few clothes and tools into my bag. After making sure that nobody was watching me, I picked up my bow and arrows and I tip-toed into the darkness.
The Journey
I found my way back to the place where we were suppos
ed to meet up. Maria was sitting on the tree waiting for me.
“I knew you were going to come,” smiled the vulture, enthusiastically.
“I’m trusting you with my life,” I told her.
“We need to leave now. We must get there within three days.”
“Three days! That’s too long!” I cried “Karen can easily find us in that time.”
“Don’t worry about her. I know the forest very well. I can help you get through it, avoiding those Ogres. They will never find us, I can assure you of that,” declared the vulture.
There was nothing I could do other than trust Maria.
Maria started flying and told me to follow her, so I did.
She was flying quite fast and I found it hard to keep up. I was really tired. But I knew that if I made an effort for these three days, I was going to be free. So I put in all the energy I had. I walked for hours. I pushed through deep woods and dense undergrowth. I even had to swim across a couple of rivers. But I kept up the pace and was always behind Maria.
We had been out for so long that the sun started to rise. It was morning. I hadn’t eaten for ages and I was hungry. I asked Maria if we could stop and hunt something to eat. She told me that we had to cover some more distance first, so that we could be safe from Karen.
We travelled all morning and, finally, in the afternoon she told me that it was time to take a break. She started sniffing around, trying to locate some food. Vultures have a good sense of smell.
“I smell something good.