Extraits

« I’m the best of the hunters in my village, bringing in the most food out of all of us who take our weapons to the wilderness. But even so, my father, Hunter, our leader, has insisted I travel no farther than the forest’s edge.

Beyond the body of water, red lights glow in pairs. They are the eyes of those that are neither human nor beast in these parts. No one has ventured past the lake and returned alive. Terrible creatures lie in wait within the dense forest. Describing them as terrible is generous. They hide in the shadows of the trees, their bodies camouflaged like chameleons—only, they’ve been known to snap a person in half with one bite from their powerful jaws.

The crackle of dry leaves draws my attention, but I remain still. Heart racing, sweat beading my forehead, I can’t allow my fear to shake my resolve. Survival lies in what game I can bring home. »

« My breath rises in ghostly wisps into the cold evening air as I hold my position. Motionless. Silent. My arrow securely nocked and trained on the shoreline of the icy lake. It’s after dusk, and winter has settled in early this year. The woolen cloak and gloves offer some warmth, but the chill bites the tips of my ears and nose. Still, my eyes remain fixed. The nightly cries of the youngest children, the ones that are nothing but flesh over bones, just skeletons really, shriek in my thoughts. They cry for their lost families, for the blistering pain riddled throughout their bodies as the new cure slowly heals them, for insatiable hunger; I can only help with the latter. »