The condensation on his breath coming rapid, heavy like the fog was normally his favorite time of the year. Hibernating trees and dried brown leaves beneath his feet are only complimented by the subtle and eerie breeze that blows his short dreads back with ease. As the leaves under his feet crunched he couldn’t help but feel like the pacing of crunching leaves behind him closing in, growing ever so close and time was cutting thinner than violin strings. He knew never to run in a straight line, his mentor always taught him zig-zag was the best way to get out of view as the gears in his brain worked over-time, harder than any engine, harder than a bird trying to fly its way from the eye of a storm. The trees he relied on for some kind of coverage, begin to dwindle but his legs never stop, even though the burning pain and the back of his thighs tightening. His mind in a state of harbored hope and thick bliss, hope to run fast enough, hope to run into anyone or thing that could stop this creature from chasing him even if it’s for a moment, a short, burst moment. Even more so running upward his gaze set at the height of the hill, his eyes cut in reflex to view behind him as his footsteps slowed while the creatures only fastened even quicker than before.
There it was a pure plain and wide view of emptiness as he came upon the top of the hill, early morning condensation slipping underneath his feet causing him to slide down the mountain aggressively as he skipped and bounced like tumbleweed. A snap is heard followed closely by a crunch, letting out a scream only muffled by his clothes flapping in and out of his airway. As what seemed like minutes comes to an end he opens his eyes still disoriented, he sees the bone sticking out of his arm but it doesn’t register as the overwhelming screeching comes from the woods beyond the hill.
***
“Where in the bloody name of the gods have those boys run off to?” he says as his beard tangled with the breeze of fall, holding his torch a length out in front of him the light being emphasis to his silver gauntlets as the dusk turns to morning “Jack! Where are you,” he says shouting into the layers of trees hoping to get a response back men and women follow behind his side all wearing the same light grey trench coat that harbor different symbols and medals. “Kale, I don’t think your son is here?” he said with his old style lumber jack hat strapped tight to his curtain beard covered chin and his leather covered hands tucked tight in his pockets, “ Damn it, Reem I told you to watch him and train the lad not let him venture out into the woods” he gritted his teeth but held back from saying anything further only taking his torch and inching deeper into the woods when he stops abruptly taking the knee, laying his bastard short sword by his side and swiping the leaves out of his way-finding footprints underneath. “ uh, sir! You should come” Kale obliged picking up his things as he walked towards Zol, she was tall for a woman even one as young as she but she had skillful green eyes but mud soaked blonde hair was in a bun . It was one of the ancient turtles his decaying grey and black carcass halfway into the earth with one of it’s linear spikes broken off towards the head, with a trail behind it the amount of blood the filled part of the trail was nothing to scoff at as it was only a tinted crimson and still quite wet. “What is this? Some kind of sick joke.” Kale’s gaze turns to his right-hand man “Hey don’t look at me, these creatures don’t even travel this way around this time of the year”, “ then how does a scaled flapper get towards the inner lands?” he shouts while Zol walks around it, standing in the trail that dwarfs her by comparison “unless something dragged it out here”, “Zol, stop this crazy talk. Dragons? If that what you are speaking of, Dragons have been gone since my great grandfather was we lad.”, “ but..”, “ no buts, end of it. Now where could those boys have gone”, “Hey Kale!”, “ what could have dragged this thing to the mainlands?”, “Hey, Kale!”, “What is it, tooth?” Kale shouts in aggravation while Tooth never gives his full attention he only raises his rifle to point at the thick four parallel claw marks carved into the tree, Kale sheaths his swords as he walks past tooth over to the tree as the screeching could be heard in distance sending all the birds scattering above them.
“What in the holy dark moon is that?” Tooth, clutches his rifle tight in his grip, he looks frantically from side to side unsure which direction the noise came from, his crooked teeth chattering together almost creating a motor sound. “ Oh calm yourself, black cat your acting like a child,” Zol says to him as she follows Kale’s lead over to the tree, “Yeah brave words for someone how acts like folklore are the same as supernatural events”, “Should I shake and cowardice at the bedtime stories my grand-parents use to tell, uh tooth?”, “No, but I believe it should be heeded as a warning”, “Oh yeah against what? The man towering leech?”, “ no more of the harvesters” Reem’s face turns to suspicion as he raises an eyebrow “Harvesters don’t even exist on this side of the planet those are an overseas parasite” He smirks in his reply “ Don’t be foolish if we as simple apes can traverse the seas what makes you think that other creatures can’t do the same. That arrogance will get us killed Reem.”, “ Eh, no worse than your cowardice” there bickering only distracts them from the sounds “Hey, you two knock it off!” Kale whispers to them as his raises his leather glove covered finger to his lips “Zol, do you hear that?” she stands still for a moment as the sound of crunching swifts right past them, then again and again only the figure of a large black blur. “ Everyone on me,” Kale says as they all begin to make a circle back to back as to watch all directions. Kale’s short sword enchanted in flames, Reem’s hands glowing a deep flaming purple, while both Zol and Tooth’s rifles glow with there own holy and golden enchantments the creature blacked by shadows and dawn light reveals it’s numerous spider-like eyes are it snarls “What is the name of all decaying angels?” Kale whispers to himself before the creature lets out a bone-chilling scream.
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