As the group transverse through this dead forest of the day, we could hear the howling of wolves. The sound was far away from here. It was too distant to be a threat. However, it was a warning. The wolf’s cries were a sign that there is danger lurking from afar.
“Looks like it’s yer kind, Skully,” Clover jokingly said to Skoll, the stoic mutant werewolf. He was trying to lighten the mood, although all it does is irritate him.
His tail swished back and forth. He was clearly agitated. Not only was the wind blowing toward the direction of the howls, Skoll was anything but bored and agitated, “quiet, little human. I thirst for battle and blood,” he snarled, impatiently.
“Uh, sorry lad,” the leprechaun nervously apologized. “Don’t mean to be rude. But ye know; the more time ya spend with these wolves, the more they are going to smell us. They will start to think that we are food in the open,” the dwarf explained.
Clover was not lying. If we are in a position in open space in the wilderness, it is a bad idea if we stay here longer than usual. To the eyes of a starving animal, the scent of a human is a delicious meal.
Skoll growled, “shut up human, I care little about your foolish worries. My senses are sharper than yours. No matter where the prey is, the hunter is closer. There are no secrets in this world for a skilled predator like myself,” he snorted proudly as if boasting of his skills and prowess.
“Arty, I want to remind yer furry ass that I am not human. I’m leprechaun!” Clover angrily shouted at the werewolf, annoyed with the beast for his arrogance.
The two stopped as Skoll turnaround and approached him, gazing down at the leprechaun in front of him, “what you call me?” The werewolf asked suspiciously, his fangs slightly bared.
Clover looked into the blue orbs of the beast, not flinching, and spoke, “yer don’t need to be so arrogant, laddie. I’m merely speaking the truth,” smirking and grinning as if amused.
Skoll’s mouth curled in a slight smile. His canine teeth didn’t extend much further than his lips—only a few millimeters. A small, sharp canines protruded of each side of his lower jawline. He lowered his own head at Clover’s level, “do you wish me to eat your heart out…human?” Intimidating and menacing, his voice was deep and husky.
Watching the two argue and bitter among themselves is annoying and down in the dumps. On the contrary, Eve and I shared the same sentimental feeling, but with different reasons. We both just want to go home, back to our home. Back to the comforts of warmth and shelter.
Eve, however, simply did not appeared even to care about the two bickering amongst themselves; she only stared ahead, her gaze fixed to the two in a trance-like state. Her mind is preoccupied with something else, perhaps the memories of the past or something in between?
“Alright,” I stepped in between them before the situation gets any worse, “we should not be fighting in this pointless manner.” I glanced at one another, “so cut it out and stop acting like a pair of children. You are both adults now and we should not act this way anymore,” I scolded them.
Both glared back at me, glaring with anger. They weren’t looking at me; instead they kept glancing back at one another, their faces turning red with rage, snarling and snapping their jaws. Their eyes turned bloodshot, the pupils dilated. It was obvious they wanted to fight.
Before this escalates any further, the sudden presence of approaching people alerted my senses. Turning to the left, a group of armed people in the far distance came walking towards our direction.
Skoll immediately smelled their presence, his ears twitching, his body tensing, his tail flicking from side to side. Without warning, the werewolf conjured his ice axes in each grip of his hands.
Eve pulled out her knives after the arrival of the strangers. She was ready for a battle; a confrontation. There was no doubt in her mind that the newcomers are possibly hostile and dangerous from the way they are approaching us.
As the group finally got close enough, their appearances were dirty and unkempt. Most of them are wearing tattered clothing. Some of the men and women had a scar on their face. Others appeared to be wounded or sick. All of them looked like they have not eaten a decent meal in weeks.
However, unlike my companions suspicion over them; they weren’t hostile or just bunch of violent thugs and militant soldiers, these are simply ordinary people, desperate and lost.
When the raggedy people approached with their firearms, the werewolf did not attack, but neither did he lowered his weapons. Instead, Skoll remained still, staring at the people as if trying to assess the threat level of the new arrivals.
I approached them, “do you guys need any help?” I asked. Eve, Clover and Skoll pursued as if they were watching over my shoulder. The people stopped in front of the three of us.
The leader of the group was a middle-aged woman. She wore a black leather jacket with a hoodie and a scarf covering most of her face, “are you one of them?” The woman glared at me with distrust and suspicion; she wasn’t sure whether to trust us or not.
“What do you mean by one of them? If you are implying the cult that reside in the forest, then no,” I answered, shaking my head, “we are not from there.”
“Then what purpose are you here, stranger?” the woman inquired, keeping a wary eye on the wolf.
Smiling to myself, I said, “we were on a job in clearing out their cult hideout that reside in this forest. Luckily for us, we were able to finish the job successfully,” after saying that, the rest of their group whispered in shock and surprise from the revelation.
The woman nodded, “you guys are the ones who killed those bastards? Thank god. We’ve been searching for days now, looking high and low for them to rescue our loved ones,” the woman sighed with relief.
One of them, a boy holding a rifle who looks no older than twelve, approached the woman’s side, “what about my mom? Did…you save her?” He was trembling; his eyes full of fear in hearing my answer.
My expression turned to horror; if I tell him and the rest that their…mothers, sisters and wives are dead by my hand then I will be killed in the spot or worse, they become devastated and depressed from the way their clothing and body language are; these people will surely lose their sanity or kill themselves. So I have to tell a lie that will keep their fantasy alive—that the women are still alive, that they are safe and sound in that cave and are waiting for them.
“Yes…” I gulp nervously, “your mother is safe, including the rest of your love ones,” when I said those words, the boy and the rest of their group cheered with joy. Smiling, crying and embracing amongst themselves. They thanked me for saving their family members and friends. Then the children hugged and kissed each other. Their parents patted on their back with tears in their eyes. While others laughed in joy.
“Thank you so much!” The boy dropped his rifle and embraced me, feeling remorse and self-loathing for delivering them a big lie.
When the boy dispersed back to the group, the leader of the group thanked me, “I want to thank you for delivering this news. May we know the location of their hideout? I am sure we would love to have them back,” she happily asked.
I really cannot believe I am doing this. I feel fucking awful and terrible that I could barely hold myself together from collapsing in pure apprehensiveness. This is a shitty thing to do, however there is no turning back.
Although, this hurts to say; it is also better for these people to acknowledged the pain of seeing the truth with their own very eyes so they may have the chance to mourn and come to terms of the events that happened.
“Just continue walking through south from here, you eventually see a save and a bunch of dead cultists,” I answered with a fake smile.
The leader of the group thanked me before they began to walk in the direction I told them to go. As they start walking, I called out the boy as he turn to face me in surprise.
“Whatever happens out there, you will be alright. As you fall, remember to pick yourself up and continue onwards. Everything will be fine in the end because I know that you will overcome this. Just keep fighting and do not give up in the darkness. That is the only way for us to live our lives.”
With that, the boy nodded and smiled, waving goodbye as he left only dust on his trail.
As they all left, I almost collapsed from the ground before Skoll grabbed me in the nick of time, “careful,” his stoic voice had a hint of concern that made me almost feel shocked of hearing someone like him.
“Adam!” Clover and Eve worriedly yelled, running towards my direction.I gave a weak laugh, “I…I am fine, just feel tired suddenly, that is all,” as Clover and Skoll help me stand on my feet. They were both looking at me with a concerned look.
Eve, seeing my exhausted form, turned to Skoll for help, “Skoll, I still do not trust you but…can you carry him on your back?” Despite sounding anxious to speaking to the mutant that almost killed her beloved, she willingly set aside her differences and placed Adam’s safety above all else if the situation demands it.
“Yer can’t be serious Eve?! Laddie, what if this beast kidnapped Adam?” Clover protested, his arms folded in front of his chest, his eyebrows furrowed.
Guess I need to intervene, “it is alright guys, I trust Skoll,” I said with a small chuckle. Before Clover and Eve could argue further; the two of them looked at each other in silence. Then, they both sighed in defeat.
“Alright, fine…” Eve agreed.
Toward which Clover begin to helped me onto the back of Skoll, “hey Eve! Why don’t you help me get him up?” The leprechaun complained with a grumpy tone, but was unable to stop helping despite his reluctance. It was obvious that the little fellow was reluctant to letting go of me.
“Adam can’t be touched by women,” she answered in a sad tone. At first Clover was confused by what she said but eventually understood that the young maiden was linking about my trauma. After a few more seconds, I am now on his back; giving me a piggy ride. My face was pressed to his neck and shoulder.
“Were good now,” I delivered a thumbs up to my companions. We began to walk once more, our feet crunching into the snow. The cold wind blew across us again, bringing with it the scent of dead trees around us.
As we continue our walk, we stumble upon an abandoned church from a distance away. The structure had a broken roof, its windows shattered and walls riddled with graffiti. The building was a perfect example of the state of the world, it reminded me of a graveyard.
“A church?” Eve asked with a puzzled expression; a question that no doubt was directed toward the old, ruined, and dilapidated building. It was hard to imagine that a place of worship like this existed in such a desolate location—or anywhere for that matter.
Clover gave a slight laugh, shaking his head, “Ain’t no one live here anymore.” He continued to point out the fact that there were not even any signs of life in this area, “it is worn out and broken. Strange to say this but anyone want to check what is inside? I think it might be interesting to look around.”
We were a bit hesitant to agree with him, although Skoll seemed as though he was eager to explore the ruins. I didn’t know why, but the idea of exploring a deserted house or a creepy basement sounded like a terrible time and setting for this.
“Let’s not, I have bad feeling about that place; we should just focused going back to the city and heading home,” I suggested, hoping that the others wouldn’t disagree.
To my relief, they agreed with me. In the end, it isn’t worth risking ourselves in some shady and abandoned church. And if it did turn out to be haunted, then it would be better to leave than to risk getting caught in the middle of a supernatural event.
