Branches lashed out and bushes grabbed at her dirty, threadbare rags. Braying hunting dogs chased her unrelentingly through the thick underbrush of the woods. With only a sliver of moon in the clear sky to guide her, she continuously stumbled, cutting her feet and shins on rocks, logs, and other unseen hazards. No matter her injuries, she didn’t slow down or stop. Without warning, she burst from the trees and found herself standing in the middle of the only paved road that led in and out of their quaint town. She desperately spun in a circle, her lungs burning and grateful for the reprieve, trying to figure out which way led to freedom and which carried her back to her prison as the barking dogs and shouting men drew closer. Only when she saw the flash of lights in the trees did she decide and take off, her bare and battered feet pounding painfully against the asphalt. As she rounded a corner, bright lights on the road obscured her vision. She cried out and curled into a ball, wrapping her hands around her head. Tires screeched out close to her and every fiber in her body turned to steel to brace for the inevitable impact. Cautiously, she peeked out from under her arms, but what she saw was more horrifying than a vehicle hurtling towards her. A pair of yellow eyes glowered at her, fire and mischief burning bright. A frightening grin spread the maw open, revealing four rows of pointed, jagged teeth with a forked tongue lolling out. The face had no body, but the greenish-grey skin hugged the skull so tightly that every bone shape was clearly defined. The decal on the side of the truck mocked her failed escape attempt. In her panic the young woman couldn’t even force a scream, but the face disappeared hastily as the truck door was thrown open. Two men clambered from the truck and advanced towards her, their crimson robes sweeping along pebbles, sticks, and pine needles. She turned to take off again, but rough arms wrapped around here and dragged her back to the truck. “Let me go!” She screamed, pulling against the arms. “You know we can’t do that.” One of the men grunted as he forced her into the vehicle. “Please… I won’t tell anyone, please!” She begged as tears started falling from her eyes. “You know why we have to do this.” She was shoved into the backseat between two of the robe-clad men. As the door shut, she saw her pursuers coming out of the forest. They spoke in muffled voices to one of the men still outside the truck. “There must be another way…” She tried pleading again, her attention turned to the driver who shifted into gear and began down the road from where they arrived. “Uncle, please… We must stop this insanity.” “This will be the final night of your suffering,” her uncle replied as he drove. “After tonight, there will peace again, for us and you.” Silence fell in the vehicle as hopelessness began to consume her. Five minutes down the road, they crested a hill and the serene valley opened before them. Surrounded by steep mountain peaks, the village sat quiet and undisturbed. Fog settled among the houses in the late-night air. Here and there, houses flickered with light like fireflies dancing in the night. Despite the signs of life, the village was eerily silent, not even the sound of an animal broke through the chilling air. They passed among the quaint homes. In some of the lit windows, deadpan faces peered out at them as they passed. No one came out, but they were all aware of the truck’s passing. And, even without seeing her, they were all aware of the truck’s cargo. On the other side of the village, the truck wound its way up an unpaved mountain road. Each bump jostled the passengers in the vehicle, and the truck’s engine, pushed to its limits, whined at the steepest points. Still, they pressed on and eventually summited the mountain, arriving on a flat top. The two men in the back climbed out, dragging the young woman with them. From the front seat, her uncle also emerged, carrying a tall, narrow hat that matched his robes. The young woman looked around, completely taken aback by the breathtaking view. As far as the eye could see, mountains and forests sprawled below them. Behind them, she could still make out the faint lights from the village below. Mountain tops of grey and white spread around them, and she began to wonder what existed, if anything, beyond those peaks. “Tie her up,” her uncle’s voice brought her back to reality. He had donned his tall hat and now stood beside what appeared to be a charred tree trunk, though it lacked any branches to speak of. The two men dragged her kicking and screaming over to the post. Physically, she was no match for the two men, but that didn’t stop her from struggling. Her voice echoed among the cold, unfeeling mountains, but she knew that no one would hear her, not up here. They lashed her to the tree, and she could peer down the other side of the mountain. Part of her contemplated jumping, but she couldn’t pull her hands free of the crimson sash. “Here we stand, O Exalted One,” her uncle began in a resonant voice. “Forever your servants, with that which we offer unto you. We prostrate ourselves in your benevolent presence and act in your guidance and wisdom.” He stood on her left, but the other two men were on her right. She looked over at them now and saw them kneeling in the rocks and dirt. Their faces were pressed into the ground with their arms straight along the ground above their heads. Had this not been such a serious situation, she would have found the whole scenario comical. This was the religion and belief-system she was raised into, but she didn’t believe any of it. Most of her formative years were spent trying to find something else in which to have faith; nobody had ever seen their exalted being, yet offerings were still made to him. From the day she was born, she was marked as an offering because of her flaming hair. “On this day, the eve of her sixteenth birthday, we bring the fiery-haired child to you. We implore you, O Exalted One, accept our offering and our penance as proof of our devotion to you and your teachings. Take this child and leave our homes in peace and our land in prosperity. Thusly we beseech thee, O Exalted One.” Her uncle bowed so deeply that his hat brushed the ground, and she marveled at its defiance against physics as it didn’t tumble from his head. Their prayer complete, the men turned and went back to the truck. The young woman pulled at the sash and looked over her shoulder. “You can’t leave me here! Please! I’m going to freeze to death!” But they didn’t even spare her a glance. The truck turned around and disappeared down the mountain in a cloud of dust. Shivering, she tried again to free herself. “Stupid… Ritual…” She muttered through chattering teeth. “Bunch of hooey… Get out of here… take a truck…” A rumbling echoed up from the side of the mountain she faced, and she froze. What was that? A bear? A goat? She craned her neck forward, but the motion was moot. Rising from the side opposite the town, a shape began to shift in the darkness. Boulders rolled and shattered as some gigantic being stirred. Fear began to bubble inside her, and she struggled more frantically against her bonds. It wasn’t the Exalted One; he didn’t exist. But her insides turned to writhing worms as a creature rose above the edge of the mountain. Greenish-grey skin stretched taut over a skull. No hair adorned the top of the cranium, but it was anthropomorphic. The eyes, xanthous and burning, rose over the crest next, fixated on the lone girl shivering on the mountain top. Pointed cheekbones and sunken eyes made the thing appear haunted and grotesque. A thin line for a mouth cut across the jaw. Skeletal hands, thinly covered with the same sickly flesh rose and rested on the flat mountain, long, bony fingers with sharpened talons stretching towards the young girl. Had she not been tied to the trunk, the girl would’ve collapsed. “Please…” she squeaked, shaking her head imperceptibly. “Please don’t eat me…” The creature’s mouth didn’t open, yet she could hear it’s low, booming voice filling her mind. “Why should I not? You were left as an offering for me to eat…” “Because… I don’t want to die.” It was the best she could think of; it was no longer possible to think this horror wasn’t real. The being chuckled. “I’ve found,” his head loomed closer, the smell of death pervading the air. “That most humans are quite afraid of dying when it is finally in their faces. Your death will mean the protection of the town. Do you not want your friends and family to live in peace?” Anger began to replace her fear. She turned her head to the side and spat. “I don’t care about them. They brought me up here to die.” “But such is how you honour me.” “I didn’t believe in you; I didn’t honour you. I believe in you now, but how could I honour something that wants to kill me?” The slit of a mouth upturned at the corner in what she could only imagine was a smile. “You have fire… I delight in suffering, but the village has brought me a sacrifice. I cannot betray my own teachings.” A claw reached towards her. “Are you so weak that you will allow the village to control you?” She cried out. Fury danced in the immortal’s eyes as they narrowed. “They do not control me!” The voice boomed out, causing her to tuck her head against her shoulder in a vain attempt to cover her ear deafen the sound. “They do if you leave them in peace for one mere mortal sacrifice.” Silence descended, and she was grateful. Her head pounded from the creature’s irate voice. As the quiet persisted, she dared to speak again. “I will honour you, but I will not seek to control you… I will offer you your taste of humans and spread the word of your pride and prowess. You will have proper prostration in houses of worship. If…” “If…?” The abomination prompted, leaning its face back in again. “If, O Exalted One, you murder the village.” The fire that lit the Exalted One’s eyes was now reflected in her own. This time she knew it grinned, as the slit spread open, revealing four rows of sharpened teeth. Each tooth was as long as she was tall and was serrated like a saw. A forked tongue dashed between the spiked teeth as its claw came forward and severed her bonds with one quick movement. “It would be my absolute pleasure, Priestess.” The skeletal body climbed over the flattened peak. The young woman watched as the immense being descended into the valley. Soon the sounds of crashing houses and guttural screams reached her at the top of the mountain. She surveyed the carnage from her vantage point, a sudden warmth chasing the chill from her body.