The Guardian | Chapter 21

Lilly cried herself to sleep, and when she woke up, the sun was shining down her face.  She blinked and stretched.  She was thirsty so she took another drink from the pond.

Who knows how many germs and bacteria are in that water, Lilly thought.  I hope nothing seriously happen to me from drinking untreated pond water

She heard a strange hooting noise.

Oh my gosh, what is that? she thought as her knees knocked together.

She turned towards the noise and saw a white snowy owl sitting on a tree stump.  Phew, she sighed.  The owl screeched as it flew away.

Lilly was scared.  Every noise in the forest spooked her.  She was alone in the forest with no parents around her.  Never in her life had she had to worry about food and shelter.

She thought back to the time when her family had a barbeque in their backyard.  Her father was on the grill cooking thighs of chicken.  A pleasant aroma arose from the grill as the fat dripped into the grill and caused the coals to crackle.  The thought of the succulent and juicy chicken thighs made her mouth water.

No Lilly, this is not the time for day dreaming, a voice in her head said.  And that man is not my father.  He is an evil demon.

Her tummy growled.  She hadn't eaten anything all day.  The last meal she had was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, two slices with a generous helping of peanut butter and grape jelly smothered in the middle.

Another thought came to her head, What about shelter.  What dangerous animals roamed the forest?

Lilly stay focus, she told herself.  Tackle one thing at a time.

She stood up.  In the pond, she could see that there was a large bloodstain where the demon stabbed her.  Her clothes were torn and her arms, legs, and hair were all covered with a good layer of mud.

She wrinkled her nose.  Lilly was the kind of girl that hates dirt.  Her room was neat and tidy.  All her belongings were carefully kept in the drawers.  In addition, she took bath every day.

She sighed, I guess I better get used to it.  This is my life from now on.  I have to depend on myself.

Where am I, she thought.

She saw a hill not far from her and she started walking towards it to get a better look of her surroundings.  She noticed squirrels scampering up trees and birds squawking overhead.  She even spotted a fox sulking among the trees.

The climb up to the hill was exhausting and Lilly was panting and sweating when she got to the top.  She was thirsty too but there was no source of water around.

From the top of the hill, she peered down.  Last night, when she arrived to the forest, the sun was going down and she did not have a clear look of her environment.  What she saw from that hill shocked her.  A trail of destruction cut right through the forest like an ugly scar.  The fallen trees was burnt to crisp and the ground was as black as charcoals

The demon army did some good damage and ruined the pristine woodlands.  I wonder if other villages are OK, she thought.

Her own stomach cut off her train of thoughts with an even louder grumbling.  OK, OK, I know.  Let's find something to eat.

She turned and headed down the mountain.  Although the descent was easier than the climb, there were other perils.  She almost slipped on some wet leaves and fall down.

Halfway down the hill, a bush of bright red berries caught her eyes.  She approached the bush.  The bright was alluring to her and she was very tempted to pop one in her mouth to alleviate her hunger.  However, she noticed that the wildlife had steered clear of the tree and had not touch it.  All the berries were intact.  A line from a story that she had read came into her mind: If no animals touches a berry, it is poisonous.  What is safe for wildlife is probably safe for you.

Guess she would have to look harder.  She walked away from the bush and continued her descent.

Animals scampered around her completely oblivious of her.  She noticed the animals and contemplated about catching one as food.  However, the problem was that she had no weapons.  She looked around for any sharp sticks or rocks that could be used but none were found.  Just then, a thought came into her head, She was her own weapon.  She was part demon thus had claws and everything.  Even a wing!

No, don't do it, her conscious told her.  Don't even think about it.

However, her stomach complained louder, shouting and screaming at her.  After fighting with it for over thirty minutes, she finally gave in.  Although she didn't like it, she was hungry

She was not aiming for full body transformation; she didn't want to go all out demon.  She concentrated hard on her fingers.  Her fingernails grew longer and became claws.

A small vole scampered in front of her.  With one swift motion, she speared it with her claws and killed it.  Having nothing to cook the meat, she ate it raw.  She tore through the vole with blood splattering all over her face.  When the meat was consumed, she licked her lips.  Although she didn't want to admit it, she enjoyed it.  

She returned to the pond and cleaned her face.  She had blood smothered all over it, especially around her mouth.  She felt disgusted with herself.  Nevertheless, her stomach was finally quieted.  She Washed the blood from her face and took a sip of water.  She then began to plan what to do next.

The demon army was attacking villages, so if he followed their trail, she will come across a village.  There she might find something useful or better yet some survivors.

She went to the hill she visited previously again then climbed down climbed the steep embankment until she reached the tracks.  She followed the trail northwestward.


Notak's army had conquered almost a quarter of Beringa within a period of simply three days.  There were fierce resistances from General Joque's army as well the local defenders.  Notak opted to attack the weaker villages first so that he could establish a strong hold before going face to face with the stronger resistance.