Tales of the Forbidden - Story II | Chapter I
I awoke in a daze. The metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night. I felt lightheaded and nauseous as my head reeled around. A stinging, persistent pain plagued my legs, and a splitting headache made me wince in pain.
The forest was alive with thousands of chirping insects and the occasional rustling from within the bushes. I shivered as the midnight chill licked my body.
"Hey, little buddy's awake!" I heard a gruff voice proclaim through the confusion. I tried to bring my arms forward, but they were restrained. I was strapped to a chair.
A blurred, blackened silhouette approached me. I tried to arch my head up, but could not summon the strength to do so. A rough hand seized the bottom of my snout and jerked it upwards. My ears perked backwards in fright.
"Wake up," The figure demanded, his deep voice was like a knife, "I said WAKE UP!"
His hand retracted and was swiped across my face in a vigorous swoop. I spat blood onto the grass.
"F-Fuck you..." I mumbled through gritting teeth. My voice broke as I slurred the words.
"What was that?" The same tone snarled. I did not respond. I was on the brink of unconsciousness.
My eyes brimmed with tears. Blood continued to ooze from my mouth and nose, cascading down my chin and dripping onto my legs. My clothing was stained with the crimson red.
"Now, now," The figure spoke, his tone mellowing. He retreated back a few feet as my eyesight began to clear. I started to make out the various silhouettes that surrounded me. The one who hit me was a black-coated wolf of large stature, donned in dark clothing. His comrades wore the same attire.
He towered all those around him. In his left hand, I could faintly make out the outline of some sort of spiked mace.
"We could do this the easy way or the hard way," He said as he lazily swung the mace around.
"W-What do you want?" I murmured through the blood. He maniacally laughed.
"The fucking money, you dipshit." His voice turned sinister as he shot the words.
"W-Wha-..."
"Ten-thousand dollars is sure as hell a lot to lose to some incompetent shit," He continued, trotting around the island of grass which resided within an ocean of trees, "I remember the very day you came to us, pleading for the money, saying you needed to pay rent or else you'd get kicked out!"
My memory was clogged.
"I felt sorry for ya', I really, really did. Now you do this to me? To your friend? It was just a simple task! I give you the money, and three months later, you pay it back! How did you FUCK that up?"
"I... I don't... I just..." My eyes were locked onto the ground.
"Life's hard for us. Curfews, witch-hunts, disrespect, and this is how you treat a fellow Ivvari?"
"I was going to give you t-the money, I swear... I just... I got fired, and-"
"No more petty fuckin' excuses, Victor."
"Please, just... just let me go, I'll leave the city. I'll... I'll never come back... I promise..." I pleaded to him.
"I need that money, and we had a deal."
I choked up on my words. Silence conquered the scene, save for the occasional chirp from within the forest.
The wolf let out a sigh.
"Y'know what, since I'm a generous fella'," He began, "I'll give you... Gus, how much more time should I give the bastard?" His head turned to face one of the idle figures.
The broad-shouldered deer glanced at me briefly before his eyes returned to his master.
"I'd say... three weeks?"
"Perfect! Three weeks it is, my friend!" His tone turned zealous and joyful.
He approached me. I winced, fearing that it was just some cruel joke and that I would instead be greeted by his mace.
"Uh, Henrik?" One man appeared seemingly out of thin air. His voice was light.
The wolf turned around, visibly annoyed.
"What?"
"Ought to hurry. Norre said he saw some patrol cars nearby. They must've caught a scent."
Henrik slowly nodded and returned his attention to me. He crouched down as to be on the same eye level.
"You got that? You have three weeks to get the rest of the money." His voice was hushed.
I nodded in silent understanding.
"Now, you can try to run or hide, but that won't help you. I'll know exactly where you are and what you're doing, so don't try to pull any shit on me. And if you don't get the money in three weeks, then I'll be very upset, and you don't want to see me upset, now do you?"
I shook my head.
"And when you get the money, you bring it to where the deal was initially made. I'll have someone pick it up there. Understood?"
"Y-Yes..."
"Alright, good man." An eerie smile was plastered across his face. He erected himself, patted me on the shoulder, and began to walk away before drawing his attention to two of his men, "He must be quite sleepy. Give him some rest, untie him, and bring him back where we found him. Oh, and try not to kill him."
They complied, and made their way towards me as Henrik departed from the scene. The rest of the group, a dozen or so men, followed him closely, disappearing into the thicket of trees.
I braced myself, but it did not help as the impact from one of their fists knocked me unconscious instantly.