My heart was pounding when I press my back to the rough bark of the closest tree.
There's hundreds here. I'm just hoping that this one keeps me safe from the screeching in the distance.
You've got this! You wrote this damn book!
Pulling out my copy from my bag I clutched close, I flick through the pages, trying to figure out where I had penned this part.
I don't remember a chase scene. Was it something I added and then deleted at the last moment?
The screeching was guteral. I could hear the phlegm spitting out of the throat of the beast hunting me down.
Fuck. Which one was that? I had created so many fucked-up monsters, I couldn't keep count.
OK, think. What screeches like that? What tracks scents so relentlessly?
It could be closing in on me and I wouldn't know.
I had pumped everything into my creations, not expecting to face one myself.
Hesitantly, I checked my surroundings and darted for the next tree. Pausing to try and listen, I darted again and again to fresh cover.
It wouldn't matter if I didn't get out of this forest. I'd die here if I didn't outsmart whatever hunted me.
You always gave them flaws. What was this one?
Now THAT was a question. What even was this thing?
Peeking, I saw a silhoutte glisten under the moonlight. Hands and feet crushed the leaves beneath it, the back foot kicking some from it that twisted between the toes.
OK, so it wasn't an actual hunter. That was a damn relief.
Peeking again, the head turned from me sniffled at the air. I could hear each breath huffing through its skinny frame.
The broken bones protruding from its spine made my gut pang in realization.
There were only two creatures I could remember with that feature. It was either a Blood Demon or a Kalfar.
Blood Demon's were much more vicious than Kalfar. They were also easier to take down. They survived off fresh blood. Anything that could taint it made them sick. Chemicals always made the host nauseous.
That means, if it was a Blood Demon, I had the monster and the human host to deal with.
But, it could be a Kalfar. Quick, deadly, thirsty for a kill. Rouge ones were the ones who went for the throat. Untainted Kalfar were sweet and docile creatures who had a love for cinnamon.
But, this wasn't some sweet animal.
Sharp teeth glistened when the creature stalked closer. There was a growl of frustration when it inhaled again, snorting at the leaves getting stuck to its nose.
I wasn't brave enough to risk another glance. Exposed muscles and bone would confirm if it was a Blood Demon hunting me. Black skin and eyes would be a Kalfar.
Then, I'd know how fucked I really was.
Inching around the tree it approached, I hugged my book close to my hammering heart.
Clamping my mouth shut, I tried to quieten my shaking breaths as the feet crushed its path on the other side.
They shuffled by, sniffling towards me, then snorting again. I listened to it veer away on its path onwards, something swishing through the leaves.
I couldn't move. The leaves drowning my feet would instantly give me away.
But, if my suspicion was right, that new noise was a tail. Neither of the two predators I was confusing this one for had that feature.
A tail.... walked on all fours.... wasn't a great hunter....
Was it just young? Or did it simply not know this new skill?
Think. Was it going to kill you or not? You wrote a horror novel. Everything was designed for death.
But, there were a few who steered from it, despite thier fearsome traits.
If I carefully picked my way back the direction it had come, we would miss each other entirely.
That would be my only chance.
Lifting my feet upwards ever so carefully, I spread my stance as wide as I could go before slowly burying my foot again.
I left my cover, seeing the creature still sniffling its way down through the forestry while I carefully picked my path behind it.
I was exposed, but it hadn't noticed. There was a sea of leaves to get through before the closest tree where I could shelter myself again.
Why did I make these forests so damn leafy? Sure, it looked great, but aesthetics weren't going to save me now.
I was almost there. I could almost reach out and grab the bark....
Glinting caught my attention, forcing my head to turn towards it. The shining of two eyes from the frozen creature staring right at me made my blood run cold.
They weren't black. They were red.
Blood Demon.
I whimpered, not sure if I should give up on the slow path to safety, or abandon my method and just run.
The creature's body wound around so it could stalk back towards me. It was slow but cautious when it picked through the leaves I was still trembling in.
Did I run? Should I run?
My heart hammered for freedom. My throat ran dry, rasping when I tried to swallow the desert that had formed there.
White fur stained with fresh blood bristled the closer it came. Forcing my fogged brain to acknowledge it, I frowned at the discovery.
It wasn't a Blood Demon, not nessesarily.
I made hybrids; more powerful and stronger than the originals. This was the child of one of those fearsome demons.
I only had one I knew of with those features.
"Orlo?" I breathed as the snout took in my scent.
The creature paused, kicking again to try and dislodge the leaves.
He was young. Terrifying, but still so inexperienced. His parents were the ones who would tear my limbs apart and snap my bones just for being near thier precious child.
Where were they?
How come his spine was like that? I hadn't made it that way. The bones weren't supposed to be so exposed and broken.
Orlo tilted his head, whimpering. I saw now that a wire was cutting around his back leg that dragged behind him. The limb was so limp, it looked like it would snap off if I removed what kept it together.
The poor, pitiful thing. No wonder I was confused about him. I had only introduced him in my sequel. Orlo didn't exist in the copy I held close.
I made them more dangerous, smarter than the original creatures that haunted the pages and tore bodies apart.
Orlo wasn't like that, yet. He was only a wounded baby.
"Let's find your parents" I smiled to him as I let his nose brush over my hand and little teeth gently wrap around my skin "they'll be looking for you."
I wasn't going to touch the wire or his mutilated back. If the pain didn't make him hurt me, his screams would bring his parents down on me in seconds.
I didn't want to be around when they found him. I made sure both would be as fierce as possible. They were designed to be the perfect blend of raw power and brutality for each other.
Both were trackers too. They'd be on thier missing child's scent in a heartbeat the moment he called for them.
Leading Orlo back through the leaves, I felt him nudge my back and run his wet nose over the shaved portion of my head.
Well, this could have been worse. My heart was still trying to recover from the terror.
Pausing, I heard more footsteps through the leaves ahead. There was a growling breath to my left, and another to the right, just a few meters away.
I wasn't going to be dumb enough to linger. I had done my job and survived through sheer dumb luck.
Giving Orlo a scuff on the head and a sympathetic look, I quickly picked my path in the opposite direction, focusing now on how to get out of the forestry before the monsters of the light decided to hunt me too.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
