Fevored Fight
She started awake yet again, peering fearfully out of the thick foliage she had hidden within. Blue eyes, darkened gray by fear, darted frantically about, as she froze motionless. Her fevered mind tried desperately to focus on the night sounds about her, listening for the telltale grunts or crashing about that would signal the troll had found her yet again.
In truth, Tasaria was now a solid days travel out of the troll’s territory, though it had taken her more then a day to travel so far. The troll had stopped chasing her two days previously. Her recollection of the past three days would be sketchy at best. The fever of infection that had swept through her body had left her delirious for days.
The wounds inflicted by the troll she had disturbed were not fatal, though the ensuing infection almost had been. Trolls are not known for their cleanliness, and their claws leave ragged dirty gashes. In her flight she had no chance to clean the wounds or even bind them closed from bleeding. While the loss of blood served to weaken her further, it had saved her life. With no time to wash the wounds clean, binding them would have sealed in the dirt and grime from the troll. The flowing blood washed more of the debris from the torn flesh.
Within hours her body, weakened from a lack of food and rest, had begun to lose the battle against infection. Fever set in quickly and her steps began to falter. She recovered more slowly each time she fell, until finally she had not the strength to stand again. With the last of her strength she crawled deep into some thing undergrowth on the forest floor. She took no note of the brambles tearing through her clothing or skin. She crawled as deep as she could, then lay unmoving.
Her will to survive was strong, and eventually the fever ran its course, leaving behind a battered and limp body. She was awakened often at strange noises and her own fears. Nightmares plagued her.
She heard nothing but the chirp of birds in the early morning air. Her parched throat cried out for relief. With no choice she overcame her fear, and made a slow painful exit from her sanctuary. Luck was with her and before long she stumbled across a stream. After quenching her thirst she began to clean up as best as able. Once finished she looked about her wondering which way to go. She had been lost before, so being hopelessly lost now was not as daunting as it could have been.
As she sat lost in thought a deer had wandered to the steam to drink. Even in her current state she had to smile at such a pretty site. A breeze blew past and the deer got a good scent of Tasaria. For a moment it watched her curiously, then turned to bound down a faint trail into the woods. With no better ideas, she stood and followed the small path.
Eventually the woods thinned and opened up into pastureland. A vast see of green stretched into a small mountain chain. Checkered across her view were fields of crops and corrals in varying sizes. Amongst these were nestled a small community of farmhouses.
Tasaria stood hesitantly at the edge of the trees. She knew she did not posses the skills to tend her wounds. The short amount of walking today had sapped her reserves. She was not skilled enough or strong enough to hunt up any food. She did not recognize the forest plants, and feared poisoning herself.
With all of these reasons she could not stand here debating. She had no choice. Instead though she sunk down to lean against a large pine tree with the pretense of resting and catching her breath. She trembled as much from uncertainty as from weakness. In the field a rabbit hopped about, creating a cozy scene of peace. The warm late afternoon sun lulled her into yet another fitful doze.
She started awake at a high pitched cry, alien in nature. It sent tremors of fear racing down her spine. The sun was still where it had been as near as she could tell. She must have dozed but a moment.
Glancing about the field looked as calm and peaceful as before. In fact the rabbit seemed to have found a few friends. The faintest hint of a smile crossed her weary, grimy face. It faded off into the trees. The screech came again. The rabbit raised up on his haunches, tilted his head back, and let out the shrill unnerving sound again.
As he did, she saw movement at the corners of her eyes. She saw at least five rabbits now. They were moving unnaturally, in quick jerky movements. The spasms seem to increase the closer they came to where she sat. Her dazed eyes just stared in morbid fascination at the disturbing scene playing out. As if by command, they launched themselves at her. She thought of running, but before the thought even solidified, the first furry body slammed into her.
She struggled frantically to crawl away from the crazed rabbits, to no avail. They were too many, too fast. Claws scratched her inadequately covered skin. Sharp teeth sunk deeply into her flesh. Sharp pain lanced through her body in a dozen places at once.
With a shriek of pain she tried desperately to free herself of her tormentors. Flinging one off of her, her wrist slammed into the tree behind her with enough force to go numb. With one last cry of pain she fell silent. She felt the pain ease away as the edges of her vision dimmed.
Blackness slowly seeped in around her, enveloping her in it's dark embrace. Then she felt the ground give way. She was falling. Her stomach gave a small drop of fear as she felt herself fall faster, and faster. She was certain the terror of that feeling would kill her. Breaking from the paralysis of fear she flung her arms out against the blackness.
The bright rays of the late afternoon sun burned her eyes. Her pounding heart blocked out all forest sounds to her ears. A tight tug at her boot caused her to shriek, flinging her arms as she tried to jump up. The contact of her wrist slamming into the pine behind her brought a rush of pain and adrenaline coursing through her. A haze of light clouded her vision, dotted with black spots. Her vision cleared as her wrist went numb. She saw the rabbit from earlier at her feet, frozen motionless, a leather lace dangling from his mouth.
A cry of fear squeaked out as the blackness closed in. Before her eyes shut she saw the rabbit make a graceful leap away from her and start back across the field.
