Running away from your responsibilities is only fun if you go to the woods. Ebony took her time walking. The crunch of the red-ish leaves underfoot and the bird chirping softly calmed her as much as they could. It was warm, the fall weather not yet chilled. The gentle afternoon breeze felt nice on her bare arms and legs as she tried to shake the tension school made her carry. She’s glad she opted for a sundress that day; it helped her feel light and less weighed down. With every step deeper down the forest trail, Ebony tried to relax. She couldn’t fully unwind, since she knew she’d have to return home eventually. Still, her semi-relaxed state was better than nothing. Though, Ebony wasn’t too relaxed to miss a detour on the trail she hadn’t seen before. It confused her enough to stop walking and take in her surroundings; everything else was the same.

 

Ebony walked that trail many times, basically whenever she was overwhelmed with school, and that was often. She was familiar with the position of all the roots and rocks that littered the ground and where they lie. She also knew all of the openings in the bush or trees that lead off the trail. Ebony could walk there blindfolded and in the dark without tripping or getting lost. That’s why she was confident that it was new.

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To the trail’s right was a short path leading to a patch of grass encircled by trees. Visually there was nothing impressive about it; it was just regular grass and ordinary-looking trees. But Ebony couldn’t bring herself to walk away from it. She had intended to ignore it and continue down the trail, but her legs wouldn’t move. She felt glued to the ground and that going anywhere but to that new area was impossible. 

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She stood in front of that path, unmoving as another warm breeze rustled through the trees and nudged her afro and dress.

The visuals were still unremarkable, but the feelings she started to get from it was ultra-calming. She felt that if she went there, she’d finally be able to lose the stress attached to her. 

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She stepped onto the path. 

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With each step, Ebony felt that constant fog of worry and anxiousness about college begin to clear. Thoughts of her overdue assignments and upcoming homework were distant memories as she stepped into the circling of trees.

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The grass brushed against Ebony’s ankles. It sent another rush of peace over her and made her want to be closer to the ground. She sat down, her legs stretched in front of her, but it wasn’t enough. She toed her sneakers and socks off and pushed them to the side. Her mind and body felt loose and languid while she slid onto her back. It felt like coming home once every part of her was on the ground. She turned her head towards the little bit of sunlight that broke through the trees and wiggled her fingers and toes in the soft grass. Her eyes slipped shut, and a slight, content smile settled on her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so comfortable. 

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It was an unnatural tranquility, a fire could have started right next to her, and she wouldn’t have even thought to move. She didn’t know if she could move if she wanted to. She paid no mind to the fact that she was getting herself dirty, or to the bugs that could be getting into her hair. Nothing mattered except that she felt good. 

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Her thoughts of that pleasantness were interrupted when she felt something snaking up her arm. She slowly opened her eyes, expecting maybe a bug or something, but she saw it was the grass. The grass was extending itself to latch onto her arm and other parts of her body, Ebony saw. If she had tried to move, it probably would have locked her to the ground, but the intense contentment she felt had her staying in place. She somehow knew that whatever was happening wasn’t bad. 

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The grass inched its way over her dress, up her face, and through her hair. Ebony slid her eyes shut when the grass headed towards them and covered the rest of her face. She could feel it encase her entire body, and she felt so heavy. The way her body felt right before she would fall asleep at night. She could still breathe, so she took a deep breath when she began to sink. The grass was dragging her down through the cold earth.

It tugged and tugged her until it was like it had never been around her in the first place.

 

Ebony opened her eyes. 

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There was no more grass. No more anything, in fact. Ebony floated on nothingness. A darkness so thick surrounded her that she wasn’t even sure how she could see herself. But she was there in one piece. Her body was the same, and her dress still there. Ebony felt like she was in heaven. That peace stuck with her as she began falling.

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The darkness rushed around her, and she reached an arm out to grab something, anything. But Ebony gripped air as she fell fast towards nothing. 

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Ebony fell through the abyss. 

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Her back finally slammed against something hard and damp. She let out a whoosh of air as she gasped, and that calmness that overtook her left just as quickly.

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Her eyes were wide and darted around frantically. Ebony scrambled to sit up, her knees digging in soft dirt under her. Sparse rain droplets fell from the sky, one landed right on her forehead, sliding down her nose. The weather said nothing about rain that day. 

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It was quiet, and the sky was cloudy and grey. Ebony couldn’t hear any birds chirping or see the colored leaves. Most importantly, she wasn’t in the semi-circle of trees anymore; very tall, thick grass was the only thing she could see. That was until she looked closer.

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People crept silently in the grass around her. Too many for her to count, but the grass moved around them. And the contrast of their skin to the grass gave them away.

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Ebony was about to scream, she sharply inhaled, her eyebrows shot up her forehead. She didn’t get to make a sound. The person closest to her made eye contact through the grass. He shook his head and put his finger to his lips to silence her. Ebony snapped her mouth closed and recoiled from him. He kept his eyes locked on her and held a palm out to soothe her. He gestured to something ahead and waved her to follow him. 

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Ebony realized they weren’t all coming at her. She rose up to look above the grass line and saw a group of bucks grazing. They were being stalked, and she was just in the way. 

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She lowered herself down and crawled with these people, mud stuck to her hands, knees, and dress. The rain fell harder, saturating her hair, and clouding her vision. She could hardly see the bucks anymore, and the people around her were even harder to make out. She couldn’t even make out the details of the man right by her. 

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In front of her, a woman slowly ascended from the grass, above everyone else. She was dressed in pieces of beige cloth wrapped around her chest down to the middle of her thighs. Her hair was longer than Ebony’s and pulled half up. Ebony could see she held something dark in her left fist. Ebony tried to swipe the rain out her eyes when the woman opened her fist, and the thing she held stayed in place.

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It looked like a dark, metal arrow. It floated in place, moving slightly as the rain fell on it. The woman began to tap her right foot, and the arrow moved with each tap. Ebony stopped her crawling and sat back to watch. She had to be dreaming. She had to have passed out or something on her walk, and it was all a dream. But if she was dreaming, it was the most vivid dream she’d ever had. 

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The arrow rose upwards, and as the woman tapped her foot faster and faster, it glided through the grass. The other people around began to stomp too, more dark arrows rising above the grass and heading straight for the bucks. The field was deafening with the sound of feet pounding the earth. They were all in unison with their footfalls, the sound traveled through Ebony as she clutched the grass below. She looked away before she could see the inevitable fate of the bucks. 

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Guttural shouts rang from the animals, and the stomping ceased. 

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The field was an uproar of cheers and whoops of joy as the people around her all stood completely. They all had on variations of the cloth outfit the woman had on. Ebony watched all but two of them head toward the bucks. 

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The woman who stood and the man who told her to be quiet strode gracefully to Ebony.

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“I’m sorry your welcoming was this abrupt.” The man offered a hand down to her to help her up. She needed the help, her legs so unsteady, but Ebony ignored his hand and stood up herself, her bare feet squished in the mud. 

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“Welcoming?” she shivered and hugged her middle, the lack of direct sunlight and cold rain took its toll. She looked between the man and the woman. They shared a knowing look between each other and smiled at her like she was missing something.

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“Usually, it is more of a smooth transition, but we couldn’t stop the hunt unless we wanted to go hungry,” the woman told her. 

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“At least she’ll have a nice meal her first night,” the man said. They talked and carried on like the rain wasn't even there. The loud droplets hit and bounced off their exposed skin and thin clothes.  Ebony didn't know how they could stand it.

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“I’m not staying here,” Ebony said, shaking her head and wiping more rain from her eyes. 

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“We need to get her back to camp, Eliah, so we can explain,” the man said to the woman, Eliah.

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“There’s no explaining,” Ebony said, “I need to go home.” She started to back away from them. 

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“You can’t leave,” Eliah laughed.

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“Are you kidnapping me?” Now Ebony desperately wished she’d brought her phone with her. She was so stupid. “People will come looking for me! They’ll know I’m gone. They’ll -- they’ll--”

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“--You don’t need to work yourself up,” the man stopped Ebony’s build-up to a breakdown. “We aren’t forcing you to do anything,” he continued.

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“Then please let me leave,” Ebony pleaded, rain washed away the tears that bloomed in her eyes. Her muddled vision took in the other people carrying the bucks off through the trees. Just those three remained in the field. 

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“Even if we wanted you to leave, you can’t,” Eliah said. She took in confusion on Ebony’s face and spoke again. 

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“You were chosen.”