I Asked Around A Bit, Knocked At Two Three Wrong Doors Until I Saw A Familiar Face

And less than the blink of an eye later I was standing on solid ground.

I took a quick look around Nothing nearby and stretched my body. Loosening up those stiff muscles felt great.

There were some berries right nearby. Small, kinda round, orange-red-ish berries. I pondered over whether I should try some or not. I inspected the bush a bit. It took a while but I found traces of animals eating those berries... or some leaves.

After a bit of thinking I concluded that it must have been some berries. I was quite sure of it.

For safety sake I took one and pressed it in my hands. They were rather juicy, had a few seeds inside too. Didn't smell foul either. So I took the chance and tasted a bit of the juice on my hand.

It was quite tasty.

So I gathered what I could find on that bush in my bag. Wasn't much but it was a change to eating just roasted rabbit. And as I found out a great addition to it too.

Picture Rosehips. Bacche di rosa canina. by Giovanni

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

Note from the Author

Sorry for the delay. Really messed up with the queue date on this one :D

Heartbeat

I stretched down. Slowly. To not startle it.

The tree gave off a creak. Shit, I'm too heavy. I need to get the pace up a bit.

The deer looked around immediately, staying like that for a moment. Turning its ears around. But it relaxed again and continued grazing.

I hung motionless for that time, holding my breath. Even when it had already relaxed again. But I continued, stretched myself further and further. Suddenly, a drop of blood. I saw it right in front of me, falling down, slowly. My heart stopped as I saw it. Oh shit The drop landed on the deers head.

To this day I am unsure how long, or rather short, that moment actually was. In my eyes it looked like it took an eternity. But as I look back on it, the deer wasn't even able to react to the blood of drop before I had sliced it in two. I didn't expect my claws to be that sharp, but it was nearly like I just sliced through nothing. Like I sliced through the air. There was no resistance in the deers body at all. Before I knew it I was down on the ground. Standing in between two halves of a deer. I looked at both of them. Besides of other fluids, blood was flooding out like there was no tomorrow. But the deer, it was still alive. At least the half with a head. It all went so fast, it didn't notice that it died.

I bit off its head, to stop the suffering. Even though I'm a monster, an abomination, I'm a merciful hunter. There's no need for suffering, at least if I'm able to end it.

Picture The human heart by SkarlettFury

Music Heartbeat 60 bpm found on Jeroen Klap's Channel

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

New Theme

Note from the Author

Sadly I have to change theme since the Library Theme from Themes By Eris does not seem to work anymore.

I'll take a look into it and see if I can fix it by myself but I can't promise anything. And even just the fixing might take a few weeks. So for now this blog is back to Optica, either till I fixed Eris' Library Theme or found a good replacement.

I slowly woke up in a warm bed, a rather slender arm lying on me. It took me a moment to realize this wasn't a dream, would've been the only good one I had for as long as I can remember. Not fully awake I stared at the ceiling for some time, my thoughts so far away I didn't have any.

Still lying down, I looked around a bit. I was in some house. There was a table with two chairs, a bow and some arrows near a door, another door, a fireplace, still some faint glowing embers in it. On the floor where some clothes, they seemed familiar.

Then this thought slowly came up from somewhere. This arm on my chest, this wasn't mine. Mine was touching some soft skin. I looked to the other side of me and fell out of the bed in fright, landing on the hard, wooden floor. Ouch.

From the jerk Ingrid woke up too, sitting up and grasping the blanket to cover herself.

“I did this for you!” She roared immediately

“Thanks... I guess”

“I heard some loud sound outside last night, turned out it was you. Fell asleep beside my door and fell over. You were ice cold. Pale skin, blue lips & all.”

“Ok... but wouldn't just lighting a fire... been enough?”

“I didn't want it to be my fault you froze to death, so I wanted to make sure. But don't you tell anyone about this! This was a one time occasion! Understood?”

“Sure, stays between me and you.”

“And... I am sorry for yesterday, shouldn't have shouted at you because of this old bastard. I'll let you stay, as long as you're a help on the hunt. Else I'll kick you out. Got it!?”

“No worries, forgiven, understood & accepted. But one question-”

“Your clothes? They're by the fireplace”

I looked down at myself and reddend again.

“...n... no... but thanks...”

I paused shortly, trying to get somehow comfortable with the situation of being around her naked, again.

“How... how did you get me in here?”

She laughed “Easy, I'm a hunter, I'm used to carrying full grown deer to this place. I admit you are a bit heavier, but I didn't need to carry you very far.”

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

After completely focusing on my arm for some time I had back my own arm and hand. Skin, five fingers, nails, hair and all those small marks.

I ate what I had left, emptied and refilled my flask twice. By the time I was done the sun was high in the sky. My stomach was grumbling and I sensed that I was far from my usual state. I usually wasn't the guy to go jumping through the woods because he was overflowing with tons of energy, but now I was near to drained.

It was time to preserve my energy as good as possible, to think twice about it if it's worth running after some prey. Naturally I had to take some risks, but even those had to be close to a bet I'd surely win.

I left all unnecessary stuff at the tree, including my shirt and shoes.

It was rather warm and the air stood still, so it was much more pleasant to run around with just pants, bow, arrows & a knife. Might have been a good idea to take some rope with me too, to set up some traps in case I found any good spots, but didn't really think of that then. The Idea was more, fast & much. And traps usually weren't the fast way of getting prey.

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

Blood

Calm Panic

Blood. I had blood on my hands. BLOOD. Why do I have blood on my hands? Whose is it?

I went back to the pond to wash it off, but it wasn't there. I remember wich way I had to go and I was sure I went in the right direction but the pond was gone.

I followed my own footsteps back to the tree to double check. As I came to it I noticed that there were bloodstains all the way up to the branch I was on. And this wasn't at all the tree I climbed up last night. How did I get here?

Picture Blood on Cloak by mohzart [EDITED]

Music Calm Panic from P.T.

Note from the Author

Hope you do like the story so far. And that my writing is not too horrifying :D But anyway, I'm always happy about some feedback so just send it my way ;)

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

I gently stroked through its fur “I thank you, Brother. May your spirit pass on, while your body feeds me”

Yøû ssërióùssly köntinûé wïz zât? Cøme oñ, $hê åïnt 'røùnd nømôre. Jüst kîll ít ænd bê dönê wïz ít.

I held the rabbit up at its hind legs, took a club lying nearby, and hit it in the back of the head. I tried poking an eye, to see if its really dead.

It was.

I fastened it to my belt, and continued.

Did you want anything?

Why ærê yøu sstïll dôiñg zåt? Shæ âiñt 'røûnd tö nôtïce íf yøù dön't.

What does it matter if Ingrid is 'round? She introduced me to it, but I don't do it for her. I do it to show some respect to my prey, to thank it for giving me its body, its flesh. But why do I bother to tell you, it's not like you'd listen anyway.

Büt zêræ ï$ nø ssëñssê în døing zåt, ïts nôt åwæ-

How would you know that? Can you tell? If you can, tell me how

Î... Ï... Åh fück yøû hümâñss ånd yøûr ëmótìónàl sstüff! $sînk mørë rrråtiønæl, lësss êmøtiônål. Yöúr kìnd îs zë ønly ånimæl zât døe$s zæt, zê ønly kînd zæt ssínks êmøti-

Again, how do you know? How can you be so sure?

Didn't hear any more from him after that. Did I corner him? Interesting, doesn't happen very often.

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

Martin

A Hard Teacher

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Looking around I was kneeling in grass. No more trees around me. The hand was a man's. It was big and scarred, but it's touch gentle.

'Wha's wi' ye wee 'un?'

I tried to say something but I couldn't bring out a word. I began to cry.

'Noo Noo, na need te blart. Ye git a name?'

'...Bjorn' I said faintly

'So Bjorn, ye hungry?'

I nodded, wiping away my tears

'Folloo me then. Name is Martin by th' wey'

Picture Male Peasant by dashinvaine

Music A Hard Teacher by Hans Zimmer

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

Beat by Memories

Looking at it afterwards I’m unsure what I thought. Although he was just an image from my memories, I did barely know how to fight.

The only experience I had was the training with that one guard. And hitting at a tree stump on my own.

I didn’t even know how to use a sword properly, and I had the brilliant idea to fistfight with this guy.

Oh shit-

He came at me with a right. By acting like I had a shield in my hand, I actually managed to block that.

It was a hard swing, It hurt like hell. But I had a small success there.

I was actually able to block that p –

He hit me under the chin.

I felt how I bit through my tongue, then lifted off the ground. Still pushed by his punch.

I woke up again. Panic-stricken, sitting up instantly

He beat me. Should have expected as much.

Picture DOWN + B by vashperado

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016

“Ingrid-”She broke me off aggressively

“No, I won't give you a chance to refuse. You know, my father, he was a bastard. He was once a hunter of this small village. But you know what? He was the worst hunter you could imagine. And know what he did when he came back without any game? He beat me. To a pulp. But the worst part hasn't come yet, everyone knew, Ernest too, but no one gave a shit. And one day, I went with him on the hunt. I persuaded him somehow to let me join. Wanna know what I did?”

“I-”

“No, I told you, no chance to refuse. That day, I took a knife with me and... and...” She paused for a moment, got calmer “He didn't come back with me that day, and neither any time later.

As I came back alone... at first some people asked where he was. As soon as I looked into their eyes they knew, but still I... sarcastically... I told them that he... that he saved me from a boar and didn't get up from that. They all knew he wasn't that kind of person. He had never done that... not for me.”

At that point she was overflowing with hatred and sadness. Tears were running down her cheeks. She dropped down to her knees. And nearly out of reflex, since it just felt like the right thing to do, I held her in my arms.

We sat there like that for a moment.

Still sobbing she said “Now it's your turn...”

“I... I...” I sighed “Where should I start? My village got burnt down. Everyone got killed, except me. I don't know who it was, but this one guy was shouting 'Hail to the king' all the time.”

© The Zero 零 Squad, 2013-2016