Give me a fucking break!

Running across a crop field, Alice was, yet again, cursing about her situation. Behind her were a handful of rangers, shooting rains of arrows at her. Almost literally, as each arrow duplicated itself in the middle of the air.

Thanks to her good speed, agility and kinetic vision, she managed to evade most of the projectile, but doing so she was also allowing them to keep track with her pace.

Let’s get back a little, shall we?

Well, this looks like a nice place. That’s an appreciate change after the last two.

I'm on top of a small hill, on one side, you can see an immense forest, on the other, a vast land of crop fields. I'm no agriculture expert, but I think the plants are yet to be fully matured, but still old enough to be recognized.

I can see a little barn and a house a little further ahead, on the edge of the crops field. Is that a farm? At least it looks like it.

What should I do… I don't have any trust in adults, but I… kinda didn't have any proper meal for almost a day, and this might continue for a while. Well, I guess I can see if there is a farmer, and if he is trustworthy or not, I'll decide what to do afterwards.

Took me a few minutes to arrive in front of the building, it was the classic picture of your typical farm, a huge red painted barn, with some empty windows and apparently a lot of hay in it, it was surrounded by a wood fence. It was also empty, maybe the farmer went out with his cattle. Besides the barn there was a smaller wooden building, a house, I believe. Behind those two structures, hills of grass were extending toward the horizon.

Wait… oh! Here he is! Coming down from a hill, someone was walking back with several horses. He seemed pretty old, as he was carrying a garnished white beard and a fairly impressive round stomach.

I waited for him to arrive back at the barn. After all the horses returned in their designed places -I guess- I decided to show myself in front of the house. Even if he's as much of an asshole I suspect him to be, I won't have trouble dealing with him, so I might as well not drag this too long.

He was genuinely surprised by my presence.

“Wha..What are you doing here young lady?”

“I’m… lost.”

He looked me suspiciously… and then harboured a gentle smile.

“Seeing your state, you must have been through a lot. Are you hungry?”

I have to say, I was surprised by his answer, and also suspicious.

But I was suspicious and hungry, so I accepted his offer of a meal…

That's right, everyone is not a monster, some people are genuinely gentle and helpful. Our heroine resents adults for personal reason, but maybe she'll change her mind a little. Who am I kidding, I am the narrator, I know what will happen, and things are never as simple as it seems.

Before the meal, the old farmer proposed Alice to wash, even though most of the blood was washed away with the snow before it could dry, she still had some across her body, and her clothes had several holes in it. After her rural bath, she gladly accepted a change of close from the old man. It was only a pair of pants and a shirt, a bit too wide, but still better than thorned clothes covered in blood.

The rest of the day went peacefully, the meal was fulfilling, and Alice slept in a spare place in the barn.

Even though she was on her guard all the time, nothing noteworthy happened, and she fell into slumber without realizing it.

3 days passed just like that, Alice stayed and helped the old farmer feeding the horse and attending to the crops field. He was friendly and warm, so much she finally managed to relax a bit by the second day. He never asked what happened to her, not even her name. His only price for her to stay was that she would have to help him with his daily tasks, and there is a lot to do. In fact, she was impressed one man was able to take care of everything by himself.

"That's because usually, I hire people to help me with the harvest. This year I decided to start a bit later, but they should arrive in a few days or so…"

“I see…”

Later that day, I found myself in my forage bed, unable to sleep, because of one single thought: ‘what if I stay here?’.

Apart from the first door, that passed because of sheer curiosity, I always had a reason to move one, namely to escape a dark cave and a cold mountain. But it’s peaceful here, and I don’t know if I want to risk it.

It’s not like I have anything to watch for if I return, I want to see Samsy again, but that’s about my only motivation. On the other hand, I might get myself into more and more dangerous situation if I keep going on. I don’t know where I am in the first place! Maybe I should ask Old man for that. And maybe I should also ask what is his name instead of calling him Old man all the time.

Suddenly, a sound outside the barn attracted my attention. Is there someone? Is the Old man here? It’s pretty late, I wonder what he is… no, there is more than one person.

I immediately got up, prepared for a fight. I focused on my hearing, those guys are definitely not here by chance, they are too discreet. If not for my i-talents and magical earing enhancement, I wouldn’t be able to detect them, they must be professional. Shit! Is the old man in trouble?

I placed myself close to the barn entrance, waiting for an opportunity to strike. I believe they are between 2 and 4, if I can take one of them by surprised it would be great. After that, I’ll go to the house to watch over the Old man.

As expected, I saw a figure sneak into the barn, a man covered in black clothing with a hood. I went silently in his back, and knock him down with a chop in the back of the neck. He fell down unconscious.

Shit! Another one was at the entrance of the barn! How did I not heard him?

I prepared for combat, but instead of jumping on me, he took a few step back and pulled out his bow.

I run towards him, and he shot an arrow.

I moved slightly in anticipation, but to my surprise, the projectile split itself in mid-air in two other arrows.

I tried to dodge, but the splitting took place close, and I reacted too late.

Shit, I have half an arrow planted in my right shoulder now!

At this point I was outside the barn, I looked towards the Old man house, and saw another sneak close to the entrance.

I have to be quick! I focus magic in my palm, and conjured as much water and fire as I could, creating a small explosion of steam -did I say she was a genius?- but large enough to cover the archer vision. Promptly after, I ran towards the house.

“What’s the ruckus! Are you not done with her?”

What? This voice…

On my way, I sensed another one hiding behind the barn, and evaded two arrows fired from him.

Like me, they seem to see clearly in the dark.

I was just a few meters away from the house, and the last guy remarked me, but I stopped my course. The reason being, besides the last man in black, there was the Old man, with no trace of the usual warm smile on his face.

"I thought you were professional! How can you struggle with only one girl!"

I jumped sideways to dodge arrows coming from my back. Don’t tell me… but… why?

"Have no worry, sir, we will capture her."

Saying that, the man in black took his own bows out, and significantly faster than the last one, fired several times. I dodge everything, but the splitting makes the trajectory impossible to predict, and I felt blood dripping on my cheek.

“Hey! Don’t damage her! She will lose value!”

The reality struck me. It was a lie. It's always the same. An image flashed into my head. An image of the past… I should have known, adults can’t be trusted.

I felt something coming from above, with minimal movement, I dodged the eight arrow coming from the sky.

I feel… lighter. It's been a while since I have been so angry. The Old man is looking at me like he looks at his horses… no, lower than that.

I want to kill him. I want to blow his head off with my fist.

Fortunately, I didn't lose it, and I remember the promise I made to Sam.

Frustrated and hateful, I turn my back to the old man, and started running towards the crops field.

Arrows kept flying towards me. Those fuckers are accurate, I can't run properly and dodge at the same time. I still have an arrow on my shoulder, and I don't know why, but the healing process didn't start. But I still managed to attain the field, the crops are shoulder height, enough to lower their accuracy.

Or so I thought, a few meter after entering, an arrow pierced my left leg. I fall and rolled down forward, immediately after getting up, I intercepted on arrow with my palm. That hurts like hell!

Shit! How do they do that? I should be fucking covered…

Wait, I have an idea.

I rolled sideways to avoid another barrage, but this time I didn’t get up.

“I am a genius, I can do anything, I am… perfect.”

I am… a wolf.

And she started running on all fours, like an animal, and it worked amazingly. She unexpectedly got faster, and the hired men in black couldn't locate her anymore. After a few minutes, she had distanced herself from them, but she was about to arrive at the end of the crop field, leaving her uncovered again.

Call it a miracle, or luck, or destiny. What awaited her at the edge was not her doom, but her salvation.

Immediately after leaving the crops, she saw it, at the same place as the one that brought her here.

Thank god, the fucking door is here.