She slapped the flame from Hippos’ hand and stomped it to put the fire out. She felt doomed, as the light might have drawn the beasts towards them. From panic rose noise, the people were turning their whispers into loud voices. A terrifying wave of shh went up the line of people, making them realize of their grave mistake. The silence fell again upon the line of people, but since so did the realization of their mistake, the panic now felt grater than before. The more silence they tried to create, the more their hearts would beat louder, the more the crunch of the leafs turned into whip cracks and the more the terrifying of getting mauled by wild animals was taking over.

They started slowly getting up and moving again. In their hands with knives, axes, swords, daggers and arrows. Afraid, terrified and petrified of what could happen, of what they’ve done and how they’ve exposed themselves to the darkness within the forest. A darkness with no light at the end that felt never-ending like a labyrinth. In the cold dead of the night the people were sweating all their anxiousness, fear, panic due to their own carelessness. The windless forest felt like a suffocating trap that strangled all their bravery out of them. A woman’ scream thundered through the forest, everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Focusing, holding their weapons tight, trying to muster their fear under control. Hands shaking, knees weak, arms heavy, this felt like the reckoning for their mistake. The scream faded as quickly as it came, a few minutes later… Nothing. Slowly they started moving again. The scream of the woman reappeared, just as loud, again. They stopped, again.

Footsteps, quick little footsteps around them. The light of the moon had faded behind clouds. The tears flowing down their faces, but silence made its presence again. They couldn’t trust their eyes or their ears, it felt like they were being played tricks on. A squirrel sprung its head out a bit, Hippos leaned in and took it in his hand, the squirrel climbed onto his shoulder, this made Adpetentia happy, he had calmed her down once again. Another squirrel popped its head out, she leaned in, she put a finger under his head, and the head came after her, and with the head, a wolf trying to bite her arm. Hippos pulled her back whilst stabbing the wolf in the right eye. The wolves ran out of the darkness towards people, Adpetentia couldn’t use her bow, it was too dark, so she took her arrows and used them as spears. Hippos snapped out of his disappointment and lust over his heroism in Creetus, reinvigorated by the attack of these beasts.

And the Roman Army….

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