TEASER 1

The village was usually not quiet, even at night. The sound of the wind sifting between each house and the rustling of the leaves were common. Horses nickered to each other, while other animals shifted around underneath the calm starry sky.

10 year old Yoojin was accustomed to sleeping through it all.

But on this particular night the nervous whinny of their family horse happened to wake Yoojin up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stumbled tiredly over to one of the windows and opened the crudely made wooden shutters.

Cold night air blew into the house and sent goosebumps rising along her skin. She ignored the discomfort and stuck her head out the window.

Everything appeared fine. The main dirt road that ran through the middle of their small village was empty. The nearby houses were darkened as the families there found the rest they needed for a new day of work upon sunrise.

But there was still the sound of her horse. She could clearly hear his hooves stomping the ground nervously. The creak of wood was heard as the horse pulled on its restraint to their stall. Shadow was usually a very quiet horse. He wasn’t skittish.

Yoojin’s curiosity was getting the best of her. She bundled herself up in her father’s coat and slipped on her own boots. She liked to wear the coat sometimes in the house. It was big enough she could curl up in it easily and sit by the fire on those cold nights.

She definitely wasn’t warm now as she grabbed a lantern and quietly made her way outside. The wind blew her lantern out instantly and she dropped the useless thing by the door to their house and made her way to the back yard with only moonlight and memory as her guide.

When she got to where the new privy hole was being dug she expertly avoided it out of pure reflex. A few more steps and she was at Shadow’s stall. The horse was struggling against its restraints even more now.

Yoojin looked nervously to the surrounding woods hoping there wasn’t a wolf prowling about. The wolves didn’t usually come this close to the village though. And when they did they went for the small livestock on the opposite end of the village. They wouldn’t usually dare to take on a horse all alone.

Yoojin was about to speak in order to comfort Shadow when a real shadow formulated behind the stall. The shadow took the form of a large man. She watched on wide eyed as the man’s arms went over his head and pulled out what looked like a two sided battle axe. Moonlight glinted off the steel as he swung it downwards forcefully.

Yoojin’s mind could barely process what was happening before she heard the shrieking of her horse and the feel of warm blood splatter on her face. She didn’t think she had made a sound, but when she opened her eyes again the man seemed to have finally noticed her standing there.
The sound of her horse’s now lifeless body falling heavily to the ground woke her from her shock. The man was approaching her quickly with his axe over his head again when she turned to run. She had always been fast.

There was the sound of air being hacked at as she dashed back towards her house. She was about to avoid the privy hole again when she made the snap decision to jump over it. Yoojin was relieved when she heard the man let out a surprised cry as he stumbled into the ditch. She didn’t stop to see though and continued to her house.

She was rounding the corner when she came face to chest with another man. She let out a scream, but quickly discovered it was her father. His eyes were frantic with concern. She was happy to see that he was armed with his broadsword.

“There’s a man,” she told him quickly as she pointed towards the backyard. “He killed Shad-”
Her words were cut off as more shouts arose in the village. Her eyes widened with pure terror as she saw the reflection of fire flicker in her father’s hard eyes. She turned to see the neighbors house ablaze. As she looked more houses began to light up the night.

“Yoojin,” her dad shouted as he grabbed her face and effectively grabbed her attention. “Get your baby sister and make your way to the woods. You stay there until I come to find you.”

“But dad,” she started weakly.

“Do as I say,” he commanded harshly. “And do it now! Take this and go.”

He pulled a dagger out of his belt and handed it to her carefully. Her small hand gripped the leather hilt with all of the might she could muster as she ran in to grab her baby sister.

The cries of her disgruntled infant sister were added to the cacophony of horrid sounds that filled the night in her normally peaceful village. Metal on metal. Guttural death screams. Screeching women and crying children.

Yoojin was about to run to the woods when she spied a friend of hers hiding in a bush by her house. She beckoned silently for her to join as she made her way towards the woods.
Upon entering the woods the girls froze with fear as they heard voices. They relaxed again as they heard that it was only the frightened voices of more children.

“Why didn’t he come with us,” one girl cried.
“Because they are trying to protect us,” another girl responded. “I saw other boys staying too.”
“Shh,” Yoojin said quietly but firmly as she approached them “Even my baby sister is quieter than you. Do you want to get killed?”

“Sorry Unnie,” one of the girls cried quieter.

Yoojin beckoned for them to follow as she plunged deeper into the woods and further from the terrible sounds of carnage in her beloved village she called home.

When a hollowed out oak tree presented itself to them Yoojin decided it was as good a place as any to stop. She pushed the younger girls into the natural shelter before sitting at the opening. She wrapped her baby sister in her arms and rocked her with her father’s oversized coat forming a protective bubble around them both.

Only after she heard he light snores of the other children did she allow herself to cry.

She stayed up all night keeping watch for her father, but he never showed. No one did. She wanted to wait like he said and be a dutiful daughter, but as midday came about she couldn’t handle it anymore.

Yoojin turned to her friend. She wasn’t much younger than herself and was just as capable against an attacker as she would be. Yoojin handed her baby sister over to the littler girl and handed her father’s dagger to her friend.

“I’m going back,” she said firmly into the scared girl’s eyes. “I’m going to find help and be back. Watch my sister for me.”

The girl nodded quickly with tears in her eyes and took the dagger. She held it awkwardly in her tiny hands.

Yoojin made her way to the village as fast as she could while still taking good observation of her surroundings so she could find her way back. Along the way she managed to stumble upon more lost girls. One of which was still cradling the long dead body of her older brother.

Yoojin pried the girl away and led them back with her. The smell of ashes was in the air as she came upon the now unrecognizable village. It had been completely burned to the ground. Yoojin focused all her energy into not crying as she surveyed the area for any attackers. But she saw no people.

None but the dead remained.

~~~~

TEASER 1 is up! please tell us how you liked it :)
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written by: KatingaTrouble
edited by: sunggyu_luv