Chapter 5
Alone and Petrified
***

POV: Someone

A loud crash of an antique vase broken on the floor echoed throughout the whole receiving room. Three tall and bulky men started to tremble as their eyes were laced with undeniable fear. Their heads bow down, and their legs shake, for they knew that with one mistake their loving life was at stake – or worse, they had to say goodbye to it.

“What the hell did you say?” A woman in her late forties was holding three sharp and long daggers in her hands, asked violently as she narrowed her eyes and looked at them with pure irritation and ferocity.

The woman was sitting on the single black sofa wearing a silky delicate red maxi dress that flowed down and reached the floor – emphasizing her fair skin. It was paired with red three-inch pumps.

Her straight light ash blonde hair flowed freely at her back. Her narrowed eyes were decorated with dark black mascara and black eyeliner that contoured and defined her gray eyes. Her pouty lips are covered with deep red lipstick, causing the three men to be intimidated more.

The woman entirely screamed of high authority, class, and power, and no one could ever break loose once she unfolded her true color. She was well-known for that – indisputably wicked and ruthless.

She held her head high and raised her brow as her face laced with a sarcastic smile – waiting for an answer while playing with the daggers in her hand.

The bulky man in the blue jacket cleared his throat – trying to find his own strength and ease his trembling voice before speaking.

“The lady had escaped,” he nervously answered.

His forehead was slightly damp with bullets of sweat due to his intensifying fear.

In an instant, the man who had just spoken lay down on the floor – his breathing hard and uneven – gasping for air and whimpering in pain. A pool of warm crimson red blood streamed down from his chest – as he stopped breathing and lost himself from this world.

The two men who were left standing shut their eyes tightly – feeling sorry for their pack companion but couldn’t do anything for him at the same time.

“Find. Her.”

That was just what they needed to hear and eagerly dismissed themselves out of the room, or else they’ve might also meet their tragic demise at the hands of the devilish woman.

***
POV: Tamara Davis

Meanwhile, it took a couple of minutes more before the three men in black shirt finally left the poor man on the ground. He had endured a few more kickings – making her realize that he might already be dead.

That possibility made her shiver down to her spine – her chest clenched tightly. She wouldn’t have wanted to witness any of that, for her mind was now haywire.

Tamara heaved a deep slow and inaudible sigh – as she tried to calm her raging nerves.

Everything was all she heard was the shaking trees in the woods caused by the strong wind – also embracing her and sending her further chills.

Tamara clenched her fist tightly – finding her strength to finally face the barn.

The three men were already gone – but she wouldn’t take any chances. She observed and looked around the passive place for a matter of minutes more before completely finding the courage to step closer to the man lying on the ground – dead… or hopefully not.

Tamara gently walked forward – her slow-paced tracks contradicted the fast beating of her heart. She took out a long stick to defend herself if anything happened – as if it could do something for her.

She saw a small blanket resting near the barn and used it to cover the man’s nudity. Her cheeks turned red as she tried to put the blanket on him while her eyes were looking at the other side.

Her forehead creased as she studied the lying man, whose face was badly beaten – almost unrecognizable at that.

She slightly shook her head – feeling sorry for the poor man.

His left eye was swollen and started to get dark circles around it. His lips were bloated a bit and had a cut at its side – his left arm had a long scratch of a claw, which she deemed were the splattered blood on the ground came from.

He was quite slim, and having three men as opponents, he was definitely outnumbered.

“Is he dead?” Tamara whispered to herself as she tried to reach for the man using her long wooden stick – tapping his feet to at least get any reaction from him.

She saw him whimper as he whispered inaudible words. Tamara didn’t try to move closely at him to understand what he was trying to say. Knowing that he was not dead was enough for her, for she was still shaken and uncertain about him – the only thing that was making her stay was her conscience.

She heaved a deep sigh and bit her lower lip. She was thinking of what to do next. Of course, she couldn’t bring the man to wherever she wanted to go, because even though he was slimmer than an average man, he was quite tall… and he was a man she didn’t even know.

Tamara decided to look for some medicinal plants around – to cure the man’s arm, which was continuously bleeding. She found a white cloth inside the empty barn, some arnica flowers and river water to treat his wounds.

She couldn’t carry him to the hay, so she decided to put some hay under him instead – to at least keep him warm. She tended to his scratched arms and covered them with a white cloth.

She also found some fruits from the trees and shrubs around the barn to relieve her starving stomach.

While eating some wild berries, something caught her eye – something that brightened as some light rays hit it. She instantly went up and moved closer to where it was – a golden tag necklace that had the word ‘Aeron’ written on it.

Tamara’s forehead creased and looked at the lying man, then shrugged. Maybe she would just give it back to him once he was already awake. And maybe he could also help her find her way home to her parents.

She heaved a sigh as she sat up and bent down the huge tree near the barn.

The sky was already filled with different hues – shades of mauve, deep orange, wine red, grey, beige – all were enveloped by darkness.

Time flies passed, but Tamara still couldn’t comprehend what was truly happening to her.

Her mind was floating in the midst of the night. She watched how the crescent moon formed from the dark and lonely sky – she bitterly smiled. The stars glistened so brightly – the same as her eyes – which were now moistened with tears, which she immediately wiped as she tried to stay strong.

She missed her parents so much that it made her realize that she needed to contemplate a plan on what to do next. But nothing came to her mind – it was null – she heaved another deep sigh and continued watching the stars.

Her eyes flew to the man, who was already sleeping soundly while she was wide awake. The soughing of the trees swayed by the wind didn’t do good on her. The owl hooting and the birds shrieking sounds made her flinch to the ground where she was currently sitting.

Tamara braced herself for the moment of deafening silence – as her sobs came out painfully. She was soothing herself from the cold wind brushing her skin – making her feel so petrified and so alone.