There was chaos everywhere Jennifer looked. She spotted the Dark Forest and saw a path that looked free of barbarians. When her mother escaped, she would hopefully see the same thing.
Jennifer sprinted in the direction of the trees. She jumped over a bloody corpse and spotted a barbarian coming her way but she hadn't been noticed yet. Jennifer ducked into one of the huts and waited for the barbarian to pass.
She noticed a body laying next to her. She didn't want to look down at it but she couldn't help herself.
Hugo the stable boy lay there, his eyes open and lifeless. A large chunk of flesh had been taken out of his shoulder. He wasn't going to be getting up ever again.
Jennifer closed her eyes tight. She wanted to mourn her first crush but there was no time. She had to get to safety and meet up with her mother. Jennifer peeked outside the hut and saw that the coast was clear.
“Take a deep breath, Jennifer,” she told herself. “You can do this.”
Jennifer took her own advice and then flew out of the hut. She ran as fast as her legs would allow her. Bodies were piled up all around as she went by. Jennifer hoped that her father wasn't one of them.
She was close to the forest when she heard shouting behind her. She turned around to see two barbarians moving towards her.
Jennifer let out a blood-curdling scream as she scrambled to the tree line.
The two barbarians broke into a sprint for the girl as they chased her into the forest. “Where are you going, pretty girl?”
Jennifer could hear them yelling at her to stop. She ignored them as she ran through the trees. The sun barely made it through the canopy of foliage, making it too dark to see where her pursuers were.
The will to survive propelled Jennifer faster and faster. Their shouts were farther and farther behind her as she made her way deeper into the Dark Forest.
A thick root ruined everything.
Jennifer toppled face first into the cool soil of the forest. It took her a moment to shake the daze from her eyes. Then she remembered she was in mortal danger.
She flipped over to find the two barbarians hovering over her.
The uglier one with a scar over his eyes dropped his club to the ground. “You're fast for a girl,” he muttered.
“Please don't hurt me!” Jennifer pleaded.
The two barbarians looked at each other and let out a howling laughter.
Jennifer hoped her death would be quick.