Sleepwalker
By Michael Bolduc
Jereth pulled back
By Michael Bolduc
Jereth pulled back
the string of his bow. The notched arrow pointed at a large buck positioned on an adjacent hill.
“Clear your mind.” Jereth thought, breathing in the mixed aromas of the forest in late spring, exhaling as he released the arrow. He waited too long. As the arrow was released from its tension, the buck bounded down the back side of the hill, out of sight and unscathed. Frustrated, he searched for new concealment and the chance for something other than soup for dinner that night.
Jereth moved his six-foot frame nimbly through the rough terrain of trees, rocks and small knolls. Jereth was dressed in clothes colored in shades of brown, and a deep green cloak, which covered his fire-red hair and beard, allowing him to blend into the forest's greenery.
At the age of twenty, he had been hunting in these woods, located outside his small village of Terrin, for many years. He was usually accompanied by his father Morinth, who died about fourteen months ago. Some of the happiest times he spent with his father were in these woods.
“I need to stay focused. I curse you, Bena.” Jereth whispered to himself, recalling a conversation he had with his best and only friend earlier that morning, which had been distracting him throughout the hunt.
Jereth ran into Bena before he left the village that morning. They joked with each other for a bit, but then it came up again, Bena's constant worry about Jereth's reaction to his father's death.
“You're pulling away from everyone except your mother and me,” was all Jereth had been hearing from him lately. Jereth was in no mood to discuss the subject, and told his friend they would talk when he got back from the hunt. The pain of his father's death was like a wound that starts to heal, but is continually ripped open.
“These woods are not for the unaware.” Jereth could hear his father's warning ring in his head. He woke from his thoughts, surveyed his surroundings and continued to navigate through the woods. Then he stopped short. Something was watching him. He could feel it.
Jereth spotted his observer atop a distant knoll, a large black fox. The fox's fur was not just black, it was midnight black. It stared at Jereth with matching black opal eyes that were like open voids. It lowered his head and began to run in Jereth's direction.
“It is only a fox.” Jereth kept repeating to himself, but as it came closer, something deep inside screamed at him to run. He obeyed without reservation.
His heart and lungs pounded as he fled from his pursuer. When Jereth looked back, the fox was gone. He slowed to catch his breath and walked between two rows of thick green, head tall brush, which turned into an open area with a large pond at its center. The water of the pond was like a mirror reflecting back the forest around it. Floating inches above the pond was a woman with long black hair, dressed in a lacy white gown. Her skin was smooth and pale white. Jereth could not stop staring into her bright blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman Jereth had ever seen. He couldn't take his eyes off her.
She seemed to be whispering something. Jereth moved closer to the edge of the pond to hear. Time seemed to slow. Jereth felt a warmth wrap around him. He felt at peace. The woman floated towards Jereth. He desired nothing more than to be with her.
“The sleepwalker,” she whispered to him with full red lips as she stroked the side of his face with a soft hand. “I have seen you in my woods, wanting relief. Be with me.” She began to move back into the pond. Jereth followed. Her voice was like sweet syrup being poured into his ear. “I will give you peace. I will love you. I will pleasure you. I will take you away from your pain.” Jereth was chest deep in the water.
It was becoming hard for Jereth to see. Darkness was closing in on him from the edges of his vision. Jereth struggled to maintain his senses. To his left, under the thick brush surrounding the pond, the black opal eyes of the midnight fox stared back.
His father's words of warning rang in his head once again. Jereth stopped his descent into the pond. The lady in white was still whispering, but he could not understand her now. He was staring at her reflection in the pond.
Jereth's body went cold. In the mirrored reflection, he was not with the lady in white but with something else. A tall, thin, leathery creature with greenish brown skin and greasy black hair that covered a hideous face marked with pustules. The soft hand that was stroking his face was now long, thin and bony. In one swift move Jereth unsheathed his hunting knife and cut the creature along the ribs. The creature let out an ear piercing scream, which was mixed with howls of the midnight fox.
Jereth scrambled for the safety of dry land. The creature, now showing its true form, began to sink into the depths of the pond. The black fox began to get to its feet. Jereth was running once more. He ran from his temptress, from his desire to escape.
Jereth raced through the woods, occasionally looking back for his pursuer. The burning of his lungs and legs cleared his mind. The surroundings were familiar. Jereth knew he was heading in the right direction and soon burst into a clearing that lay between the woods and his village.
Jereth turned and scanned the woods for the midnight fox. All was clear. “I think I'll have that talk with Bena now,” Jereth thought to himself as he turned for the safety of his home.
“Clear your mind.” Jereth thought, breathing in the mixed aromas of the forest in late spring, exhaling as he released the arrow. He waited too long. As the arrow was released from its tension, the buck bounded down the back side of the hill, out of sight and unscathed. Frustrated, he searched for new concealment and the chance for something other than soup for dinner that night.
Jereth moved his six-foot frame nimbly through the rough terrain of trees, rocks and small knolls. Jereth was dressed in clothes colored in shades of brown, and a deep green cloak, which covered his fire-red hair and beard, allowing him to blend into the forest's greenery.
At the age of twenty, he had been hunting in these woods, located outside his small village of Terrin, for many years. He was usually accompanied by his father Morinth, who died about fourteen months ago. Some of the happiest times he spent with his father were in these woods.
“I need to stay focused. I curse you, Bena.” Jereth whispered to himself, recalling a conversation he had with his best and only friend earlier that morning, which had been distracting him throughout the hunt.
Jereth ran into Bena before he left the village that morning. They joked with each other for a bit, but then it came up again, Bena's constant worry about Jereth's reaction to his father's death.
“You're pulling away from everyone except your mother and me,” was all Jereth had been hearing from him lately. Jereth was in no mood to discuss the subject, and told his friend they would talk when he got back from the hunt. The pain of his father's death was like a wound that starts to heal, but is continually ripped open.
“These woods are not for the unaware.” Jereth could hear his father's warning ring in his head. He woke from his thoughts, surveyed his surroundings and continued to navigate through the woods. Then he stopped short. Something was watching him. He could feel it.
Jereth spotted his observer atop a distant knoll, a large black fox. The fox's fur was not just black, it was midnight black. It stared at Jereth with matching black opal eyes that were like open voids. It lowered his head and began to run in Jereth's direction.
“It is only a fox.” Jereth kept repeating to himself, but as it came closer, something deep inside screamed at him to run. He obeyed without reservation.
His heart and lungs pounded as he fled from his pursuer. When Jereth looked back, the fox was gone. He slowed to catch his breath and walked between two rows of thick green, head tall brush, which turned into an open area with a large pond at its center. The water of the pond was like a mirror reflecting back the forest around it. Floating inches above the pond was a woman with long black hair, dressed in a lacy white gown. Her skin was smooth and pale white. Jereth could not stop staring into her bright blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman Jereth had ever seen. He couldn't take his eyes off her.
She seemed to be whispering something. Jereth moved closer to the edge of the pond to hear. Time seemed to slow. Jereth felt a warmth wrap around him. He felt at peace. The woman floated towards Jereth. He desired nothing more than to be with her.
“The sleepwalker,” she whispered to him with full red lips as she stroked the side of his face with a soft hand. “I have seen you in my woods, wanting relief. Be with me.” She began to move back into the pond. Jereth followed. Her voice was like sweet syrup being poured into his ear. “I will give you peace. I will love you. I will pleasure you. I will take you away from your pain.” Jereth was chest deep in the water.
It was becoming hard for Jereth to see. Darkness was closing in on him from the edges of his vision. Jereth struggled to maintain his senses. To his left, under the thick brush surrounding the pond, the black opal eyes of the midnight fox stared back.
His father's words of warning rang in his head once again. Jereth stopped his descent into the pond. The lady in white was still whispering, but he could not understand her now. He was staring at her reflection in the pond.
Jereth's body went cold. In the mirrored reflection, he was not with the lady in white but with something else. A tall, thin, leathery creature with greenish brown skin and greasy black hair that covered a hideous face marked with pustules. The soft hand that was stroking his face was now long, thin and bony. In one swift move Jereth unsheathed his hunting knife and cut the creature along the ribs. The creature let out an ear piercing scream, which was mixed with howls of the midnight fox.
Jereth scrambled for the safety of dry land. The creature, now showing its true form, began to sink into the depths of the pond. The black fox began to get to its feet. Jereth was running once more. He ran from his temptress, from his desire to escape.
Jereth raced through the woods, occasionally looking back for his pursuer. The burning of his lungs and legs cleared his mind. The surroundings were familiar. Jereth knew he was heading in the right direction and soon burst into a clearing that lay between the woods and his village.
Jereth turned and scanned the woods for the midnight fox. All was clear. “I think I'll have that talk with Bena now,” Jereth thought to himself as he turned for the safety of his home.
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Michael is a new writer who is excited to have his first publication in Digital Dragon Magazine. When not writing he lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.
