Dark

Without wasting time Bell guided Clyde to the entrance of the Mines, after a short minute they reached the entrance but it was so dark outside it was hard to distinguish the mines from the forest. Clyde did not underestimate the severity of the situation, one wrong decision and they would both die. Bells condition was stable enough at this point to move on her own without the need to carry her in order to move at a fast pace.

"In a moment we are going to run and when we do you need to stay as close to me as possible. If we do get seperated stay still and I will come back for you."

Before anything else Clyde attempted to locate the direction of the exit. In common with the recent strings of bad luck they had move very far away. Next Clyde remembered the cabin and decided it was their next best effort. Judging from his senses the shack was about 10 minutes away assuming they didn't run into anything stopping them.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

They ran into the darkness sticking as close together as possible. Noises from all directions could be heard and a sense of dread filled the bout of them. It always felt as though something or someone was watching them with no sense of privacy. Clyde came to a halt causing Bell to run into the back of him. They didn't fall over because Clyde had cemented himself into the ground using the strength he had left not to move. In front him of him was a headless demon.

'If that thing notices our presence we are as good as dead'

Bell started to make a sound but Clyde grabbed her hand tightly. The demon looked over in their direction with some deep cackling noises. After a few seconds it went back to picking the bark off of a tree. Clyde started to move backward with Bell backpedaling at the same pace as Clyde, both of their hands still connected.

By the time they were six steps away from the demon it seemed that fate had already decided their destiny. A large crow swooped in from the sky landing in front of the two and began to caw.

'Damn bird!'

The headless demon moved at incredible speed for its mountain like figure and closed the gap between itself and the bird crushing it under its feet. Now only a few feet away Clyde felt the overwhelming pressure that was making him feel nauseous, almost has if there was a barrier in front of him. He knew Bell was feeling something similar and wouldn't be suprised if she felt even worse.

Reaching its hand out to where Clyde was standing, Clyde mentally prepared himself for an exchange. As the finger was a hair away something stepped on a branch causing a loud crunch sound. Just like before the demon appeared to have vanished in front of them toward the direction of the loud snap.

'Now's our chance.'

Making sure to still have a hold of Bell, Clyde began to detour from the original path planned to account for the demon. While on the move he tried to sense the fastest route to take but just like last time he couldn't use his senses properly. It clicked in his head and he let go of Bell. His abilities were coming back to him. This new revelation left Clyde with a lot of questions about this girl and her own abilities.

"Clyde?"

"Sorry, just give me a moment."

He understood the next step of the plan memorizing it in his head and then grabbed Bell again. Without interruption they safely made it to the abandoned shack.

"What in gods name was that thing?!"

"Just because we are in some shelter doesn't give you the excuse to be loud. Remember where we are and don't forget."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hellspawn."

Despite Bell living a closed off life from society this far even someone like her knew what a Hellspawn was. Over the past two decades the region of Cieder has fell victim to the plague of demons surfacing. With the arrival of Demons and creatures from other worlds came the magic awakening.

Disrupting the tention in the room Bell's stomach let out a growl.

"Sorry.. I haven't ate in quite sometime."

Clyde himself hasn't ate in roughly three days and was starving as well. He couldn't help but notice how frail she was. What was even more strange about her than he realized at first was her crimson hair. Almost no one from Cieder had her characteristics. More and more questions surrounded the girl than he could have ever imagined.

"Who are you really?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have any memory of what happened before you passed out earlier?"

"No, as I told you before."

"You performed a magic spell with an atunement I've never seen before that allowed you to survive and me to kill the thing."

Clyde could tell he struck a nerve as Bell was visably agitated.

"If I had awakened do you think I would have remained a slave for so long?"

"All I'm saying is that you confuse me on multiple levels but it seems there is a lot you're not aware of about yourself."

"So you find me strange also, I thought that perhaps it was just the people I've been accustomed to but even a stranger is gets a weird feeling from me."

Clyde was considered an outcast himself so he knew how she felt. Despite wanting to make her feel better he was incapable of such a feat.

"Let's just get some rest for now and we will finally get out of here in the morning."

Without another word the two tried their best to get some sleep.

***

When light broke the windows onto Clyde's face he awoke. Looking over he say Bell still fast asleep. It was time to get out of here immediately.

"Bell it's time."

Clyde and Bell left the cabin behind them, once again entering the forest. To their suprise upon opening the door, they were already on the outer rim of the labyrinth like forest. Perhaps their misfortune had started to turn around.

"This makes things easier."

"Where are we going now?"

"I'll take you with me to Galon and we will go our separate way from there. It's a relatively safe town and I imagine you could find some work."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to turn in the bounty and head eastward, I'll even give you a cut for your contribution even though you don't remember it."

"How do you think you'll survive without me if I saved you once already."

'Well I don't think I would have been in that position if it wasn't for you!'

"I'll manage."

Following a cobble road the two made it two a small intersection with signs detailing the directions toward various towns and cities including Galon. Continuing down the road they eventually passed several travelers who would give strange glances toward Bell. It was likely because of her hair but Clyde also realized she didn't really have proper attire of a working person. The affect of these people were negatively impacting Bell and it showed. Clyde typically wouldn't give it a second thought but he had grown a soft spot over the person who had saved his life.

"Before we go our completely seperate ways I'll see to it that you are properly prepared to be on your own."

"What are you implying?"

Clyde felt like he had fallen for an obvious trap and was unsure of how to proceed.

"Well.. you know, your clothes-"

"I'll do fine thank you, you've made it clear already you wish to be rid of me."

Clyde felt guilty looking back, he was a little harsh but that's just a result of how harsh life has been on him. Or at least that's how he's justifying his behavior nowadays.

After several hours had went by Clyde and Bell had made it to the gates of Galon.