Chapter 254
Hera glanced over her shoulder at the closing SUV and the oversized wolldog. Without breaking her stride, she quickly scanned her surroundings and dashed toward the densest part of the forest
Suddenly, she spotted three or four fallen trees blocking the path ahead. Their trunks were crisscrossed with vines. After adjusting her breath, she sprinted toward them.
Using one hand to vault herself over a tree trunk, she gracefully dodged the vines and wove through the scattered trees.
The SUV screeched to a halt in front of the trunks. The men inside jumped out, but the wolfdog leaped over the trees before they could react and continued chasing Hera “Eric, should we keep following her? She’s heading into the deep mountains!” Brian’s voice quivered with fear,
Years ago, Brian had cut down those trees to mark the boundary. Beyond this point lay danger–wild, ferocious animals and an ancient, haunted graveyard that the villagers avoided at all costs.
Brian had once dismissed these fears as superstition. But when he ventured into the mountains once before with Eric for a big hunt, they barely escaped with their lives. Only four of the ten men returned, and Eric’s facial scar was a constant reminder of that nightmarish ordeal. It was terrifying. Eric seemed possessed at that moment and continuously slashed his own face with a knife.
Ultimately, the four of them stumbled and crawled their way back. After that, Brian never dared to return and deliberately cut down those trees to block the path, “Forget it!”
Eric spat on the ground. His expression was grim.
“Call the dog back. You two stay here and keep watch
He figured that Hera, alone and unarmed, wouldn’t survive the night in the mountains. It spared him the trouble of dealing with Hera himself.
Deep in the forest, Hera finally stopped running when she was sure no one was following her–not even the wolfdog.
Panting and exhausted, she removed her jacket and leaned against a tree, her legs trembling
Hera hadn’t eaten or drunk anything all day except for a few pills. Now, with a fever and after running so long, her body was reaching its limit.
She glanced around and spotted a bush with clusters of green and blackberries. She remembered eating these wild berries as a child. The green ones were poisonous, but the black ones were safe in small amounts.
Hera picked some blackberries to soothe her dry throat and hungry stomach. Then, she found a corkwood tree with yellow fruits. She didn’t like the yellow fruit’s sour taste, but with limited resources, she forced herself to eat a few.
However, instead of feeling full, Hera felt even hungrier.
She longed for the perfectly seared steak that Bernard used to make.
Hera let out a frustrated laugh as her stomach grumbled in response
Hera looked up at the darkening sky and realized the night was approaching.
While foraging, she gauged her location by the density of the trees and their moss patterns. Hera figured out that she was deep in the mountains, far from the village.
She knew she couldn’t make it out before nightfall and needed to find a way to survive the night. When she returned, she vowed to have Bernard cook that steak again.