Chapter Text
All of your senses seem to awaken one by one. The first, touch. Everything was cold and wet, specifically your hands, knees, feet, and cheek. You groan as you try to get yourself up, but you’re not quite awake yet. The second is hearing. You can hear naked tree limbs clattering in a soft breeze, and the sounds of crows. You’re outside. Your eyes slowly open, a blurry world greeting you as you fight to keep them open before blinking rapidly to clear your vision. You’re able to sit up, every muscle in your body protesting as you push yourself, leaning forward on your hands. Everything is so goddamn bright.
You’re on the ground on the side of a dirt road, deep grooves made by wagons and tires. How the hell did you get here? Down the road is a small village, wooden homes and shops with dark windows. A light layer of snow dusted the top of everything in sight. It felt like a ghost town, though you weren’t sure if it really was since it was so early. The sky was barely light enough to see, but the sun hadn’t quite peeked over the mountains yet.
Laying back in the fallen leaves felt a lot better than you were laying before, flat on your stomach with limbs splayed out like a dead body. You still didn’t have the energy to actually get up. The smells of farm animals in the moist morning air was somewhat comforting, though that comfort didn’t last as you finally realized how dry and terrible your mouth tasted. Mud, the coppery taste of blood, and something rotten. The combination made you gag, though your stomach was too empty for something to come up. Turning to your side, you spat out a tiny bit of dirt that had invaded your mouth, just hoping the taste would go away.
The creak of wooden wheels cuts through the pressing silence around you, making you turn your head to see a wagon pulled by a mule coming down the road behind you. You sit up again as you hear a man’s voice, “Who’s there?”
Slowly standing on wobbly knees, you use a broken fence post for support. “Hello?” you croak out.
A short figure hops off the wagon, shuffling over to you with a lantern. “Oh lord, are you alright?” she asks, putting a gentle hand on your shoulder. You just stare at her in confusion for a moment. Her old clothes, the lantern, and the cart made it feel like you’d jumped back in time. Did you end up in Amish country?
A couple snaps sounded from the cart, pulling you out of your thoughts as you heard the man again. “Hey, girl, you alive or what? Who are you?”
You take a moment to answer, hoping that clearing your throat will help your voice. “I’m y/n… Where am I?”
The man sighed, leaning forward to try to get a better look at you in the dim light. “What d’you mean where are you? No shoes, ripped up clothes, most put together thing you’ve got is your pack. What, were you just dumped here or somethin?”
You hadn’t even thought to look at whatever state you were in. Looking down to check yourself, you saw you were wearing jeans, torn near the bottom with holes at the knees. A dirty, sweaty tshirt with a few small blood specks dried onto it, and an open bomber jacket. Thank god for that, it was freezing out. Your feet were not so lucky, bare feet on hard snowy ground almost made the jacket feel pointless. You look back up to the man and shrug, “I guess? I don’t… remember how I got here.”
The man huffs, turning to look back down the road for a moment before looking back at you and the girl. “Elena, get her in the wagon, I’m sure we’ve got extra boots somewhere for ya, we’ll figure out the rest later. Maybe get you some water, you sound like you’re dyin.”
You relax a little, accepting Elena’s help as you stumbled toward the wagon, flopping into the back before he got the mule moving again. You laid with your back to them, leaning up against some big flour bags. “Well I’m Leonardo, call me Leo, my daughter, as you know, is Elena. Where’re you from?” he called over his shoulder.
The first trace of sun started to peek over the mountain, directly in your eyes. You lazily put an arm over your eyes as you answer, “Close to Austin.”
“Austin?”
“Texas.”
“Texas??” He sounded alarmed. “You’re a long ass way from home then, how the hell did you take a whole trip to Romania without knowin?”
You jerk upright, turning to stare at him. “Romania?!” That had to be a joke. You don’t know why on earth you’d travel all the way to Romania.
Elena spoke up, turning in her seat to look at you. “Did you get lost or something? Or… are you sick? I know some sick people come to this village...”
You think, trying to remember anything that would lead up to you being there, but you only get a flash of a memory. Fluorescent lights above you… someone yelling, then nothing. “I don’t know… Um… do you guys have any way of communicating with people outside the country?”
“No, a few places have landlines and there are radios for the farms, hunters, and fishermen, but even the landlines can barely get outside the village. The closest city is a two day drive away so people don’t leave very often unless it’s to get a big shipment for their shops or if we need more medicine.” Elena explained.
“You just sit back, we’ll get you fixed up as much as we can, then you can get a plan on getting the hell out of here.” Leo got the mule into a canter, picking up the pace a little after taking a turn to a bigger dirt road, a main path cutting straight through the village.
As the trees cleared, your breath caught in your throat. You’d only seen a small portion of the village, but it was much bigger than you thought. A castle sat past the edge of town, a vineyard, then a small field sitting just before the walls. You noticed a factory in the distance, a reservoir with huge windmills another direction, but your attention was soon turned back to stare at the castle.
“Do you think whoever lives at that castle could he-” you begin to ask, but you’re cut off.
“No. Don’t even think about going there, the place reeks of blood and death. Step one foot in there and you’re gone.” A grave expression overtook Leo’s face.
You decided to drop the subject, but continued to stare at the castle. Someone in a higher position of power could have more knowledge about the village, what had happened to the “sick people” Elena had mentioned, and maybe figure out how to recover your missing memories. They might also have access to better forms of communication to reach your family.
The sound of a bell made you flinch, three loud rings echoing through the quiet village. By this point in the morning a couple people had ventured out, but at the sound of the bell, they rushed right back inside.
“Shit,” Leo muttered, pulling the reigns to the side and getting the cart pulled towards the nearest house.
“What’s happening?” You ask.
“Get inside, go knock on that door while I get Rufus unhitched.”
Elena jumped off the cart, hurrying to help you off, then to the door. She slammed her fist on it. “Clara! It’s Leo and Elena, we have a friend!”
The door was practically ripped open, Elena stumbling a bit as she was about to slam her fist again. Two sets of arms gripped you and Elena by the arms and shirts, pulling the both of you inside. You were barely able to keep your footing.
An older woman, probably Clara, hurried past you to Leo. “Get your ass inside right now, don’t worry about the damn mule!”
“I’m not leavin him to get torn apart!” Leo argued, clutching the reigns like his life depended on it.
Clara scoffed, then rushed to a side door. “Put him in here, quick. It’s made for pigs, but he’ll fit.”
Leo pulled a now panicking Rufus inside, pulling the bolt to lock the door. An inhuman roar cut through the air and sent a chill up your spine. The two outside froze, then broke into a sprint to get back in the house, slamming the door behind them.
“Okay, again, what the fu-” a hand is slapped over your mouth. A young man, in his late twenties, was standing in front of you with a finger to his lips. You nod quickly, promising to keep quiet before he pulls his hand away.
Everyone is on the move, closing curtains and moving big pieces of furniture in front of the windows as quickly and quietly as they can. A cabinet is opened and weapons are handed out, a large hunting knife for you. Elena was handed a small hand gun, looking like it was held together with bandage wrappings and tape. The other three had shotguns.
Silence. Your heart was pounding, all you could hear was your pulse, and the panicked breathing of the other occupants of the house. Everyone was frozen, waiting for something to happen.
Elena clutched her gun, hands shaking as she came closer to you, keeping her eyes on the covered windows. She spoke in the quietest whisper, one you could hardly hear. “Whatever happens, don’t make a sound.”
You nod, starting to sweat even in the cold. You gasp, putting a hand to your mouth to avoid making a sound as thud sounds from the roof. Everyone looks up, aiming guns and readying knives for whatever was up there. They all remained silent as whatever it was shuffled around.
Another gasp draws everyone’s attention to Clara. A small window at the top of the door showed a snarling somewhat human face, upside down peering through the small window directly at you. A shot’s fired from the young man’s shotgun, hitting the
thing directly in the face and blowing it backwards off the roof it had been perched on.
A roar from outside and the house is descended on by more of these things. “Get ready, make sure to go for the heads! Anywhere else just slows ‘em down!”
You guess the whole silence thing is over now. Everyone gets into a tight formation, you being somewhat in the middle as the only one without a gun. Your heart just gets more and more frantic, holding the knife in front of your chest, anticipating whatever was coming.
You’re startled by a loud crack from above as a board from the roof is ripped up. Two of these beasts fall on top of the group, causing everyone to scatter. One of them lands directly on top of you, pressing you to the ground. You put a hand to its throat as you try to push its snapping jaws away from your face, bringing the knife up and forcing it into the side of its neck.
Another shot rings out as you shove the body off of you. Looking over, you see Elena missed, barely shooting the second one in the ear. It dove for her, but just before it could land a hit, it took a shot to the side.
Leo ran over, snatching the knife from you and stabbing it in the head. A collective sigh fills the room, but they weren’t ready to relax yet. The young man helps you to your feet, holding his shotgun up in case he’d need to shoot again. Everyone has their eyes on the hole in the roof, listening for anything that might come down.
A loud crack and some splinters drew everyone’s attention to the front door as one started slamming against it. All guns trained on it, ready to fire as soon as it burst in. You stayed to the back of the group, now without a weapon.
With everyone distracted on the door, an opening was left for another monster. It dove at you through the hole in the roof with a loud growl. Breath was pushed from your lungs as you landed hard on your back. The beast went for a bite just as you raised
your hand to push it away. You let out a scream as it bit down hard, taking two fingers and a chunk of your hand. “Shit!”
The body of the beast slumped over you, blood oozing out over your neck and chest from what was left of its head. Your ears were ringing from the shotgun blast that was a little too close to your own head. Another crash, and another shot, then the only sound was your sobbing.
Leo and the young man pulled the body off of you before throwing it out of the busted doorway. “Vince, get the first aid kit!” Clara shouted.
You could hardly think as your wounded hand bled and throbbed. Two sets of hands pulled you up, gently setting you down in a chair at the table. Vince hurried over, setting a box on the table as Clara took a seat in front of you. “Keep an eye out for any more!” she yelled to the others.
“This will sting, bite down on this,” she instructed, pushing a thick leather strap, already covered in bite marks, into your mouth. You did as she said, then she pulled out a small green bottle.
Another scream, and more tears. You didn’t want to look at your mangled hand, but you couldn’t help it. The pinky and ring fingers along with the side of your hand were bitten clean through at a steep angle. Blood poured from the wound, but whatever Clara had poured over it seemed to stop it almost instantly. The pain was only slightly numbed, and still unbearable.
Vince rushed a bowl of warm water and a rag over before returning to his guard at the door. Clara used it to clean around the wound before applying a tight wrap around your hand. “That’s the best I can do here, you may have to go to the village doctor if
it doesn’t scab up soon, though.”
She took the wet rag and started cleaning the blood off your neck for you as you leaned back, still sobbing and cradling your hand in your lap. “What the fuck were those things? Is… is this normal?” You choked out.
Clara sat back with a deep sigh, rubbing her temples. “Lycans. Wild wolf men that are commanded by the lords of this village, though some of them are too wild even for the lord to handle. We usually have someone in the bell tower at the church to keep an eye out, but whoever’s up there right now was late. Turning out the lights, blocking windows, and staying silent usually get us through it. I forgot about the damn door…”
A shot glass was placed on the table beside you, and you watched as Leo produced a flask from his inner coat pocket. “This is the best we can do for the pain, it’s strong stuff, though, so..”
You took it quicker than he could speak, knocking your head back. It burned like crazy, but you were able to barely stomach the whole shot. He nods in approval, stepping away to peek outside. You laid your head down on the table, holding your bandaged
hand to your chest as you tried to steady your breathing. Your heart was still trying to burst out of your chest, but slowly started to calm. Tears still fell, but having the wound treated like this did help a little.
Everything happened so fast, and it was so much for you to process. Even with Clara’s explanation, it was still too much to fully understand, but you weren’t in a place to question any more at the moment. The only thing you knew was even with Leo’s warning, you were still set on trying to speak to whoever was at the castle, adding your current wounded state to your reasons why.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the attack, Elena and Leo brought you back to their house. They had an extra bed they let you use. Elena ended up staying near you to keep an eye on your wound, as well as showing you where to get cleaned up. It was difficult with one hand, but you also weren’t exactly the kind of person who’d ask for help. She let you borrow some clothes while she cleaned your tattered ones. You insisted on keeping them, they were still good clothes, but it would be nice to at least get the grime and blood off of them. The boots you got from Leo were a little big, but still comfortable and better than bare feet.
Meanwhile, Leo went back to Clara’s, offering to help fix her roof and door. While out, he decided to ask other villagers about who was taking a trip to the city next and when so you could be taken away.
Even with a chance to leave what seemed like the most cursed village in the world, you were still set on the castle. There had to be a reason you were here, and you weren’t about to leave before finding out why. You had to leave this house and start your own trip before they carted you off.
Three days. Leo came back with the news looking a little disgruntled. He didn’t like the idea of this surprise guest staying with him for that long, but you promised you’d stay out of his way and entertain yourself, maybe even help with house cleaning or whatever they needed that you could manage one handed.
Sleep didn’t visit until early the next morning. The pain slowly getting worse to the point where you stumbled out of bed to raid the cabinets as quietly as you could. You found a bottle of liquor, taking a quick sip. Yup… it was the same stuff Leo had offered earlier. You grimaced, taking a bigger swig, feeling the warmth seep through your chest. You stumbled back to bed, flopping down on the thin mattress to try and get at least a little sleep. Nightmares visited you, the same vision of the lights, but instead of shouting, you heard cackling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bleeding hadn’t picked back up again, which Elena told you was a good sign. You wouldn’t have to visit the doctor at all, and just hope that it healed up quick and avoided infection. It still throbbed with pain, but you didn’t want to keep turning to alcohol for relief. It was at least manageable enough to get to a more sterile environment. At least, you guessed the castle would have that.
The second night wasn’t much better. You didn’t want to stay any longer and risk someone taking you away. You awoke before any light hit the sky, checking a clock on the wall that read 3:17 am. Perfect.
You fished around in your backpack, grateful it wasn’t your dominant hand that had been mangled. You pulled out a notebook, writing a hurried note.
Leo and Elena,
I wanted to thank you both for everything. You’ve done a lot for a random stranger. If I can repay you at all, I’ll find a way to. I’m leaving now, and I hope whoever I find will be able to help me.
Stay Safe,
y/n
You stared at the note for a few minutes, wondering if you should explain more, but decided against it. They didn’t need to know where you were going, though they could probably guess just based on you asking about the castle earlier.
Pulling up the straps of the backpack was hard, and you cursed yourself for always seeming to pack your entire bedroom when it came to a carry-on for a trip.
The last thing you needed before leaving was a weapon of some sort. You wouldn’t deprive this small family of their guns, so you searched drawers and cabinets as quietly as you could before finding a one full of different hunting knives. You opted for a smaller one, it wouldn’t be missed. At least now you knew what you were facing out there, though your confidence in facing something in an actual fight was low.
You were greeted with cold air as you cracked the door open, peeking out to the empty street for any roaming lycans.
Nothing.
Taking a deep breath, you stepped outside, looking up at the castle looming over the village. Another deep breath, and you were off. Whatever happened in that castle of “blood and death” couldn’t be worse than getting your fingers chomped off.
The trip there felt like an eternity. Your eyes flicked around frantically at anything that moved or made a sound, and each step took a massive amount of willpower as your fear tried to hold you back.
You reached the gates at first light, staring at the iron gate that looked like it was hanging partially open. There was space at the bottom for you to crawl under, but the thought of it crashing down while you were halfway through sat heavy on your mind.
Taking a deep breath, you pulled off your backpack, getting on your knees and using your good hand to slide it under. The gate held as it was grazed by the pack, which gave you a little more confidence.
Another deep breath, and you were on your stomach, trying to slide sideways under it as quickly as you could. An uneven rock in the road was used to pull yourself through faster. A metallic groan told you to get the fuck out of the way, and the points hit the ground. All you could think as you saw your injured hand centimeters away from one of the points was Oh thank fuck I already lost those fingers!
You laid on your back for a moment to allow yourself to catch your breath before slowly standing to continue your journey up the road.