• Night-Stalks.
• They were everywhere. Jun stayed in attention, his staff clasped tightly in his hands, arms straight down at his side; muscles tense. His eyes shot here and there. A shadow moved, his eyes shifted. A sound rustled, his attention honed in on it. His ears and eyes worked separate, guarding twice the ground. He felt his calm collected demeanor crumbling around him. It was late. They had taken too long to find the Sol-Fruit. The Gatherers worked fervently, the shuffling of fabric, the snapping of vines, the whispers of command. The group was large, nearly two dozen in all; they worked with a mechanic efficiency that was commendable.
• Get in, grab the fruit, run. Simple. They did it every week, and if they got back with a full load this time, they could probably manage to skip one. This was the largest grove Jun had ever seen. Even Heura, the Prime Gatherer, was dumb-founded when they had found it. She split the group into small teams to maximize efficiency. And so Jun stood guard, facing the surrounding trees; their massive boughs reaching into the purple sky, casting shadows black as pitch all around. Jun swallowed hard, this wasn’t like gathering during the day.
• Shit happened at night in the Queenwood.
• He risked a glance over to Hal. The other was still as stone. Relax. It’ll be okay. Jun heard the words over and over in his head. They had struck out during Forte’s full reign, the group composed half of Gatherers and half Justices. There were enough of them to feel comfortable while walking through the fields, but once in the Queenwood that had all changed. And now that Jun was standing here, he was wondering how wise this night-time venture had been.
• “It’ll be full Forte, nearly as bright as Tarna in full-reign. What are you so afraid of?” Jun’s own words were haunting his memory as he scanned the shadows diligently. Hal had been pensive about the venture over cups, but that was nothing new. “Even if things turn sour, we’ll finally get some action!” Jun meant for it to sound exciting, but Hal just shrugged.
• “Doesn’t seem worth the risk.”
• “Then stay; leave the glory for the men.” Jun lounged back into his chair, and pulled on his ale. The other Justices smirked, chuckling maliciously. Jun grimaced and smacked his lips, wiping foam from under his nose. “And when we get back with the largest Gather in seasons, all the Harvesters will be so grateful they’ll let me have the pick of their daughters.” The men toasted to that, Hal just laughed.
• “You’re such a shit, Jun.”
• “I know.”
• “I don’t understand why we can’t wait till daylight...”
• “Because here’s no reason to!” Jun looked at Hal disbelieving. “You’re a child, Hal. A tit-suckin’ babe. You actually believe those stories?!” He started to laugh, the others joined, even Hal cracked a smile; though he flushed heavily. “Ghosts! Spirits! Witches! You’re right, let’s tell the others that we need to wait until daylight to find some fruit. Call it off boys!”
• “Come on, Jun. You know what I mean. I’m talking about the Woodsmen.”
• “Hal, okay. Hal. That’s reasonable.” Jun drunkenly turned to the others, humoring Hal’s concern. The other Justices knocked back drinks to hide their amusement; not fooling anyone. “No seriously. That’s a legitimate concern! Woodsmen exist, right?” Jun became serious, his tone shifting. “But I’ll give you three reasons we’ll be fine. First, there won’t be any Woodsmen out. Why would there be? What could they possibly gain from roaming the forest at night. If anything, its likely more safe at night. It takes a special kind of stupid person to try and navigate the Queenwood at night. Which is my second point; we have two dozen of them.” Jun lifted his mug to toast, and the men around him roared; probably more intoxicated than was wise.
• “That’s great, send two dozen fools into the Queenwood at night. Worse cast, it’ll make the town a whole lot brighter.” Deon complained, swiping coins off the counter with a ‘hangoverish’ grumble. Hal just smirked, raising an eyebrow. Jun smiled through his mug and shrugged.
• “That was two. What’s the third reason?” Hal asked, visibly less reserved about the task than a moment ago. Jun smiled wide, this was the shit he lived for.
• “Why it’s obvious? We have you.”
• Jun couldn’t help but feel that the third reason was the only one to stand at the moment. Something wasn’t right, and the Night-Stalks should have been the only warning sign they needed to get the fuck out of the woods. And fast. But of course the call wasn’t up to Jun, being at the bottom of command. And of course the Justice in charge of the others wasn’t going to let a little superstitious wives tale deter his pride.
• And even if he had, it still wasn’t up to him!
• The ultimate call was with the Prime Gatherer, and Heura knew better than to return to Harvesthome empty handed. There wouldn’t be repercussion, but people relied on the Sol-Fruit; not to mention she was also a victim of her own pride. The group was uneasy, they could all feel the tension. Yet there had only been one voiced concern; the Prime Gatherer’s apprentice, Sana Lanson. The girl was young like Jun, but she had a good sense for these things. Jun’s gut told him that she was right this time.
• But that was why she was the apprentice, and she had to be reminded as such. Hal’s words returned to Jun in the silence. Relax, it’ll be fine. Hal stood in perfect attention, the purple light of Morendo illuminating against the white tree embroidered on the back of his jerkin. The Gatherers worked fervently, Sana Lason directing two others how to indentify rotten fruit in the dark. Her voice was a husky whisper, barely audible even from a few feet away. Yet Jun couldn’t help but feel like she was shouting.
• Tela Ineps, the youngest of the Gatherers responded with another mousy question. There was urgency in her voice, unease shooting tension through her slight crouched frame. She was new and had the never-ending list of questions to prove it. Many had argued that she was too young to be a Gatherer, but she was skilled. As Jun had heard it, she was more valuable than half the others, and this was only her second Gather. Resta Menel, the other girl…well, Jun didn’t really know her story.
• She was hot.
• Definitely the hottest of the lot.
• And not just this group, but of all the Gatherers. At the moment she was glancing around nervously. Jun smiled when he heard Sana reprimand her quietly: “That’s why we bring the boys, Resta. Focus.” He smiled in spite of the situation and found his posture straightening. If Hal had heard, he didn’t let it be known. So noble. I should try to be more like him. Jun’s thoughts wandered for just a moment, imagining if he had a chance with Resta or Sana. They were good enough to look at, sure; but Gatherers were so thick-wristed sometimes—
• Something shifted in the shadows.
• He flinched, despite the long hours of training. In the second it took him to regain his composure it was all happening at once. Whatever shifted in the shadows had been hard to see because it was charging directly at him. It registered a breath before he was bulled him over; sent crashing to the rough ground behind him. He screamed out in shock, and other voices joined the din.
• The noise brought whipped Night-Stalks into frenzy, and they flocked overhead to watch the scene unfold. Jun was on his feet almost instantly, but his head spun and not from pain. This was it. It wasn’t a test, it wasn’t some glorious battle or honorable challenge. They had been ambushed, and he felt like a toddler with a stick.
• The shadow that had pushed past him, tore into Resta’s crouched frame, cutting her off mid-scream with a sickening thwack. The Gatherers dropped their sacks, turning to flee; but as Jun suddenly noticed there were multiple figures charging into the thick of the group. In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded and completely cut off from the others. Jun lunged forward, shaky arms swinging with all his might; catching the attacker in the back of the leg.
• The man cried out, going down in a tumble. Jun left him where he fell, jumping in front of Tela with his staff swinging in a wide arch. There were many, so many more than he had thought possible. Jun swung his black staff again, warding off two approaching shadows; their crouched forms ready to pounce.
• “WOODSMEN!” Jun shouted, loud as possible; he searched around frantically, not knowing what to do. “Woodsmen! Woodsmen!” The others surely knew by now, but Jun couldn’t think of what else to say. The sound of fighting was clear, bodies crashed curses were exchange; and cries pierced the silence. Blood was being spilt. In the corner of his eye he saw another shadow slipping around, trying to flank him. He cursed and took a step back, knowing Hal would file in behind him, protecting his blind spot. A quick glance to right told him just how wrong he was.
• Hal was gone.
• “Hal?” Fear made his throat clench. His mouth was so dry.
• “STAND YOUR GROUND!”
• “On me!”   “Form up, hold together!”
• “Ah, My leg!—”  “Stand your Grou—” “—My Fucking leg!”
• The chaos was all encompassing. Jun glanced around to see where Hal had gone, and in the moment of confusion a Woodsmen stepped into him. The sound of tearing cloth and slicing flesh made Jun’s head spin. The pain that slashed at his abdomen was sickening.
• He let out a gasp of shock and fell backward onto his ass. The cut was bleeding, but he was still conscious; the pain more surprising that inhibiting. But with his ass on the ground he wasn’t able to react to the form that slipped by him; snatching Tela off the ground by her hair and throat, throttling her.
• Her pathetic chocked off cry was met with laughter. A deep seeded hatful laugh. Jun forced himself up, spurred on by the urgency to protect; but a form slipped in next to him and smashed him across the temple. His vision blurred, and this time he fought to get his balance. The girl was being throttled, the sounds coming from her taunt frame made Jun sick. GET UP!  He stood but the figure was above him, something cracked him again. “Guh!” He smashed to the rocky terrain from which the Sol-fruit grew. The scent of smashed fruit and blood filled his senses, for a moment he couldn’t even see clear. GET UP! Tela was shaking; the men were converging in a casual pace that projected confidence. Jun screamed at himself to stand.
• Sana Lanson was up, her blonde braid glowing in the light of Morendo. She held something in her hand, but the Woodsmen that approached her didn’t seem to notice. When he grabbed her wrist, she swung the other hand with all her might; ramming her pruning blade into his neck. Jun pushed himself up to his knees, looking around for his staff. Where? Where was it? The other figures were cautious now, but still converged none the less. The man Sana stabbed felt to his knees, and she screamed as she drew the knife out and thrust it back into his skull again and again; silencing his gurgling protests.
• GET UP!  Jun got his foot under him and stood shakily to his feet, he saw the figure just in time to throw his arms up. The club smashed his forearms and sent him stumbling. By some miracle he remained standing, but the other was laughing. Judging by his silhouette the man was massive. They were talking, but the words eluded his conscious mind. They were monsters, some creatures spawned from shadow.
• Jun glanced over to Tela, watching her suspended legs tense like rocks. She was dying. Jun dropped to a knee to steady himself, grabbing the rock that his hand landed on. When the figure lifted his club to strike, Jun launched himself forward smashing the others hip with the stone. The man buckled and Jun shoved hard with his shoulder, knocking the man off balance.
• But he didn’t stop to grapple; he leapt over the man and ran toward the Woodsman strangling Tela. “LET HER GO!” He watched as the other’s face turned, glaring down on him hard. Jun took a step, his legs pushing him as fast as they could. But something grabbed at his ankle, and tripped him up. He reached out to catch himself, and misjudged his fall. His right knee smashed the rocks beneath him, and he skidded his palms bare. He pushed on the hard ground, but couldn’t stand. GET UP! “LET HER GO!” tears bit at his eyes. His staff lay not a foot away, he reached for it; clutching it in ruined hands.
• He pushed himself harder than he ever had in his life, using the staff for leverage.  GET UP GET UP GET UP! He got onto his feet and stumbled forward. His left leg held, his head spinning as he looked at his target; the man didn’t even flinch as he approached. Tela was quivering. Jun’s breath caught in his throat.
• Her arms thrashed uncontrollably. Jun forced his weight onto his right leg.
• And buckled back to the ground as he watched the life leave Tela’s body.
• Her arms fell hopelessly to her sides. Pain wracked his body, catching up with him in failure. Tela’s limp form fell to the hard ground, and the Woodsmen turned to him. He drew a blade from a sheath strapped across his back. Jun forced himself up, refusing to give in. GET UP! The moment he put weight on his right leg it buckled again. He cried out in frustration.
• He fell back to the earth, tears bleeding from his eyes. Get up. To his right Sana leapt over the earth like a dear. She crashed into the Woodsman, but was overpowered as quickly as she thrust her blade into his shoulder. He screamed in pain, cursing loudly; yet managed to hold on to her. The others around the now abandoned copse were laughing. Jun glanced around, trying to get his bearing through the spinning of his head.
• “Fucking bitch!” He cracked her on the head with the pommel of his butcher’s blade, she didn’t cry out; but her head snapped back with a force that drove through her whole body. “You’ll pay for that.”
• “Easy, Bruiser. Don’t kill her before we get some fun.” Jun’s blood turned to ice. Sana’s eyes went wide, the scream now coming readily enough. She raked her nails across his face, and he cried out again. The others laughed even harder.
• “We’ve got a fighter boys! Gonna be a long night!” The Woodsman smashed his head into her face, and Sana went limp for a moment; nose cracking on impact. Get up. His body was shaking. The Woodsmen wrapped his massive arms around her, easily subduing her attempts to ward him off. A Woodsmen walked by Jun, grabbing the back of his head with a meaty paw and thrusting his face down into the ground below.
• Jun saw stars. He felt his conscious waver, but he clung on with dear life; pushing himself back to his knees before a slam to the back forced him back down. He cried out in pain, but the force that nailed him there didn’t remain. Get up. He glanced back up to Sana from the ground, and saw what he had feared. The man restraining her was holding her by the chin, his pig nose drawing close to her neck that was now slick with blood. Jun’s fists clenched tight around his staff. The man had dropped his knife to the ground, too wrapped up in his libido to care. “Smells nice. A bit young, but I killed my other options!” He smiled wickedly, more teeth missing than present. “You’ll do fine. Fine as any other.”
• Sana’s eyes were wide, but the words weren’t registering.
• Get up.
• The others laughed, calling out whistles and howling.
• Get up.
• The woodsmen were keeping an eye on him, but didn’t think him a threat.
• Get up. Get up.
• The man ran his massive hand over her chest.
• Sana screamed.
• “Stop.” Jun’s word was slight, on his knees his face was bleeding too. The blood dribbled to the rocks under him. For some odd reason, the Woodsman known as Bruiser did. They all did, and they looked at him with humorous disbelief. “Stop.”
• “He’s not dead yet?”
• “I can fix that.”
• “Tough little, fuck…”
• “Give me a minute, Bruiser. I’ll knock him dead.”
• “No.” The man replied. His wicked smile spreading farther. Jun saw the eyes of a monster. He had failed. He couldn’t possibly survive this. “Let him live. I want him to watch.” The words sealed his fate. Jun wanted to collapse, to die right there in the clearing. Morendo was falling fast now, the Woodsmen were becoming people; their features lightening in the threat of Corna’s rise.
• Get up.
• “I want this Justice to feel the pain we’ve had to suffer for our whole lives.”
• Get up.
• “I want him to watch while I fuck his friend…
• GET UP
• “…then slit her throat.”
• Relax. I’ll be fine.
• Hal.
• I’ll never forgive you for this. Never.
• The man was working his hand again, but Sana was paralyzed with fear.
• This is what happens when you fail.
• Jun flinched internally.
• He would never forget that thought.
• He would never forget how it made him feel.
• And he would never forget what it made him do.
• He stood, moving with such a steady determination he didn’t register the crippling pain. His eyes were set on the other, who seemed to be equally bewildered than Jun had managed to get up. A Woodsman reached for him, but Jun twisted like a snake; uncoiling with a rage filled strike that cracked the other’s skull. The staff came away bloody, the man fell. Jun lunged forward and down. In his strong hand, he grasped the butcher’s blade and left it hanging between Bruiser’s legs.
• The Woodsmen were on him in an instant. Pounding him with fist and rock and club until his conscious mind started to fade to black. All the while, Jun heard the bloodcurdling screams of a castrated man. All the while he wore a grin that the Woodsmen failed to wipe off his beaten face. Then slugged on him until his thoughts jumbled, his mind ran like the blood from his mouth and nose and ears. They pounded him until he was left with the single unifying thought.
• The one he had experienced before moving. And as he faded he realized why it had made him flinch. Why he had found the thought so odd.
• Why he would never forget it.
• Because the thought wasn’t his.