Journey To The Forest

by Eve Hathaway

  Cyrus stood quickly, throwing whatever he could into his bag and ran towards where he thought the scream came from.

  Another scream pierced the air and he ran as faster, adrenaline pumping through his veins, carrying him through the darkness. He stumbled in his limited vision. His elbows banged against the sides of trees and his face suffered minor cuts from low-lying branches. It had been moments since the last scream and he instinctively kept moving towards where he thought he heard it come from.

  Several minutes passed and he began to wonder if his gut was right. The air had grown heavy around him and there were no sounds apart from his hurried steps pounding the ground. Then, something warm pulsed against the skin on his chest and he finally stopped to take a look at the source of the strange sensation.

  A violet light glowed under his tunic. He dropped all that he carried and pulled hurriedly from under his tunic to reveal his Soulyte. The light of the gem was beating, an ever changing array of deep violet and amethyst swirled in its heart.

  Cyrus scanned his surroundings. There was still no sign of Magdeline. But the gem seemed to hum louder as he faced a certain direction. He let himself be led by the gem. He faintly remembered of Magdeline’s warning about carrying a light in the forest but her safety was more important to him at that moment. What had she gotten herself into? Was she okay?

  Minutes later, the glow of his Soulyte gem faded. He tapped it but the humming seemed to have stopped. He looked around and saw nothing but the black outline of trees. When he finally looked down at his feet, he let out an un-hero-like scream. Hardly a foot in front of him was Magdeline, fully submerged in the inky waters of the swamp. Her eyes were closed and her hair floated around her. That she glowed in the depths of the murky water was how he was able to tell she was there.

  Cyrus’ first instinct was to dive in but something held him back. It was then that he realized that not only was he terrified of women, that he was scared out of his mind of water. He felt his legs rooted to where he stood. Watching Magdeline’s hair swirl around her brought back unwanted memories of him plunging into the river a week prior. He had almost died the last time he went into the water and the experience left a more lasting effect than he had initially thought.

  The waters looked as if it was ready to swallow him, to claim him since he recently cheated a watery death. Cyrus watched helplessly as he was held hostage by his own fear at Magdeline’s submerged form. There was no telling from where he stood if she was even alive. Her screams had stopped almost ten minutes ago.

  But Cyrus couldn’t leave her. He would not be able to live with himself if he hadn’t at least tried to save her as she did to him a few days ago. Swallowing his fear, and before he could think, he braced himself and dove headfirst into the icy black water.

  The water rushed around him and he was momentarily blinded. It felt like a thousand knives piercing into his flesh. The weight of his sword seemingly tripled, tugging him down. He waved his arms around until he could feel what he hoped to be Magdeline’s body. He gripped what he could and with a mighty kick, swam back to the surface, pulled her with him. With the last dregs of his strength he threw her body onto the shore lifted himself out of the black depths, using the twisted roots in the mud for a decent handhold.

  Magdeline remained deathly still on the ground.

  “Come on, come on,” Cyrus urged, as he crawled to her. “Please breathe.”

  Remembering some distant training, he placed his palms on her chest and pushed down, pumping to force life back into her and get water out of her lungs. As he labored on he thought of the many times had he almost lost her. He kept trying but to no avail. Tired, frustrated, frightened, he knew he had one last shot at saving her. He cradled her head in his hands and lowered his head to touch her lips with his.

  Just when their lips were a hairs breadth from each other, she sputtered and coughed out water. The stale water splashed on Cyrus’ face hovering just above hers. She continued to cough and sputter and Cyrus pulled back slightly, his shoulders sagging in relief.

  “Wow, hero,” she chuckled weakly when she was finally able to talk. “Aren’t you feeling sociable tonight?”

  * * *

  Want to finish the story? Continue reading Search For The Witch: Soulyte 2

  * * *

  About the Author

  Eve Hathaway was born in Delridge, Washington, where she lived for 5 years with her parents and younger sister. For better employment opportunities, the family moved to Seattle - the city they all now call home.

  As an older sister always expected to be a "good role model," Eve adapted the logical and practical perspective of an adult at a young age. At seven, she stopped hiding her loose tooth under a pillow and putting up her stocking by the window on Christmas Eve. She developed a sense of independence and responsibility quickly. But she knew no world beyond reality.

  In high school, Eve's after-school routine involved dropping by the local library and waiting for half an hour for her dad's shift to end so they could drive home together. To kill time, instinct pushes us to grab whatever is in front of us. Eve was always surrounded by books. She wasn't much of a reader - primarily because she only owned textbooks, which she refers to as potent sleeping pills. But after skimming a random fiction novel at the library, she was hooked. She would check out book after book almost daily and sneak a read at every opportunity. Her favorites were those which took her to new worlds and introduced her to different new species. She read them then, but writes them now.

  Eve finished an Associates Degree in Elementary Education at Seattle Community College. She works part-time at a local school as a substitute teacher. At the same time, she authors paranormal romance, fantasy, urban legend, and fantasy books - inspired by both library books and the creative minds of her elementary students.

  About the Book

  Journey To The Forest

  By Eve Hathaway

  Published by Publications Circulations LLC

  All contents copyright © 2013 by Publications Circulations LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, companies and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.