Chapter 3 Cast of Hawks

Arabelle's entire body aches and she feels disoriented as she half-awoke to the sound of wings fluttering and birds of prey chirping. She was finally jolted awake by a loud snap.

She found herself sprawled out on the muddy ground. Arabelle sighed and rolled her eyes at the entire section. She discovers she's inside the dead branch pile. There is darkness, and only the moonlight acts as a source of light.

Arabelle was confused as to why she was there. The sudden rustling of the branches surrounding her as if someone or something had purposefully cut them off with a sharp object was one of her wonders. Her gaze followed every crackle, and the quicker her heart pounded on twitter. She could hear a noise coming from behind, in front, on both sides, and above her. Whatever creatures were outside seemed to be surrounding her.

As the crackles abruptly stopped, Arabelle exhaled a sigh of relief. She clutched her chest and took a long breath to calm herself down. However, the crackles reappeared in less than a minute, becoming even more ferocious than previously.

"Stay away from me!" she screamed, hugging her knee in terror.

They became much more obnoxious. She could already hear a loud sound coming from its flapping wings, as well as the sound of a hungry bird.

"Ahhhhhh!" Arabelle screamed again when a bird's claw landed on the branches behind but she quickly stepped away before it could grab her. However, a claw from another bird appeared. More than four bird claws emerged one after the other.

The beauty was on the verge of passing out from terror of not knowing where she should go. Every side has claws ready to grab her at any time; left and right, front and back. In the middle of these claws, she was already cornered.

Her gaze was drawn upwards, when a small piece of broken branch dropped on her thighs. When she realized it, it was too late; a massive beak emerged out of nowhere, and she was almost beaked. Luckily, it didn't take her away because it was more than two inches away from her head.

Arabelle gasps for air, as the monster lets go of its beak. The beauty kept her gaze locked above, expecting something would attack her again.

The maiden was so startled that a basketball-sized eye peered out of the hole where the beak had come from. She fixed her gaze on it. And she couldn't move as she examined the creature's entire shape; it turned out to be a bird, and not just any bird; it was a gigantic hawk.

The hawk attacked again with its beak at the same time Arabelle yelled. It dips its beak into the hole repeatedly. Arabelle noticed that if the attack continued, the branches would collapse at any moment. She searched the area for a route out. Fortunately, she noticed a hole on the left side, next to another bird's claw. Knowing the danger, she came up with a plan to get through it.

The beauty's snowy complexion revealed itself after she removed her filthy wither rose pink long blazer. The swelling of the scars and wounds caused by the bird's claws, branches and her wound from the previous scene were visible on her skin. She crept back above, waiting for the beak to show up again. Staring nervously at the hole, Arabelle's chest pounding so much that she can't even barely hear her surroundings.

The beauty fearlessly tossed her blazer on top as the beak reappeared. It soon vanished after biting her garments along with the buried claws in the branches. She was aware that they were now enjoying her blazer because they thought it was her. Wasting no time, Arabelle crawled towards the hole to escape at the piled branches.

She successfully manages her way out, she stands up as soon as possible despite the fact that she was fully covered in scratches and dirt. She turned around and saw the five massive hawks pecking all over her blazer; they were now starting to fight with one another. Shivering in terror, the maiden forced herself to move her legs running away from this cast of hawks.

Her body was exhausted, and her mind was perplexed. Arabelle had no idea where she was on this earth. She simply followed her feet where it would take her. She looked around for someone who could help her but all she saw were trees, trees that appeared to be sick because they just had branches and no leaves. The beauty recognized that the woodland was frightening because it was completely dark, with only the moonlight providing luminance.

"Ugh!" she moaned in pain as she fell, after accidently touching the tree's protruding root with her foot. She clutched her hands together and sobbed uncontrollably. Fear, despair, and longing are all there in the maiden's mind. She begins to pity herself as she feels cast aside by the world. So many bad things were happening to her: her parents were slaughtered, she was nearly killed twice, she was absorbed in this place, she was chased by those ravenous birds, and she was now lying on the ground. Her wailing was followed by the sky. She decided to stop crying and stand up after dumping everything out. In the rain, her hair and clothes were both soaked.

Arabelle brushed the mud off from her arms and clothing. She was about to run when something unexpected fell from the sky. Her entire body stiffened as her previously used blazer was now torn. Simultaneously with the force of the rain, the sky also released a very strong and bright lightning and made her eyes widened as she noticed the massive bird-shaped shadow wrapping itself around her from behind.