13 The hunt pt. 2

I ran as fast as I could, doped with the horrific sensation of mortal agony. After some hundred feet I reached the forest zone again. Now I have at least some sort of safety. Scared out of my wits I turn around to look for him every 100-200 feet. When we were still in the grassland, I could see his silhouette behind me. Now in the Forest I couldn't see his black body anywhere in the shadows. Even so I could still hear him for about a full day, till the noise became too quiet, to hear.

I finally got some rest. Still cautious from him, I laid some false tracks and climbed up a tree before I went to sleep. Sometime deep into the night I was awoken by some strange noises, footsteps and the slight rustling of something going through the undergrowth. Some paranoia was still left from the encounter, so I didn't make a noise while slowly turning into a position, from where I had a good view on my surroundings. The moment I started to look for the cause, was the moment I found him. The freaking black horse from hell was looking for something, probably me. My fear surfaced again. What should I do? He was exactly beneath my resting place. Luckily, he hasn't spotted me jet. I decided, in absence of a better alternative, to go for the old good method of hiding away. He searched under me for about half an hour, till he decided to look elsewhere for me. I waited for another half an hour before I started to climb down and get away from that monster. As I ran for a while I started to hear hoof beats. How the fuck could he catch up to me that fast, if he didn't knew where I was? Or.. No.. I can't be. He couldn't lie in wait. Or did this thing really bait me down my tree?

The chase began anew. It was gruelling. This time only his speed didn't give him that much of a advantage. Still, it was faster than me and it was more untiring than me, so my doom was only a matter of time. I wrecked my brain endlessly for a solution without finding one. By the end of the day I was finished, physically as well as mentally. The whole day I heard him behind me. Sometimes near, so near, that I felt his breath. This mostly resulted in me only running in agony. The only thing fear didn't cloud was the need to escape and with that I just ran driven by my fear. Other times he was so far away that I almost couldn't hear him. That also was in no way a break for me. It was at least as bad as the other alternative. Paranoia made me see monster in every shadow passing by, in every noise I heard. Paranoia and fear in an everlasting cycle.

In conclusion, I never had a rest, for at least 20 hours straight. I couldn't go on like this. I had forfeited every hope. Confronted with my immediate death, I choose to accept it. Nevertheless I still wanted to put up a fight, even if it was just a declaration of my acceptance.

I turned around and made preparations. Crouching behind some bushes as cover and taking out my bow, I waited. I hadn't heard him in a while, but I knew he was there. He was every time. I looked up to the sky. It was getting dark again. If I meet him in the darkness, I won't have a chance against his black fur; I won't be able to see him. Even though, I couldn't influence when he came. He could set the conditions of this fight. Slowly I calmed down. I knew I was going to die and that certainty made my head clear. I was so calm like never before. The Great Spirit around me gathered naturally, like I was some sort of forest spirit. Animals slowly gathered by my side. I became one with the world at those last moments of my life.

I felt him before anything else. Yes felt him. He was messing with my connection to the Great Spirit. This isn't a disruption that was happening; rather it was a change, an invasion into the Great Spirit. It was strong to the extent, that I could physically feel him. He made my own Spirit change, He made me change. This feeling of me changing without my will was terrifying. The process of it was uncomfortable at first and painful later on. I closed my eyes, even if he wanted to kill me, I wouldn't care at all now. The spirit was the essence of one's Identity. This goes so far, that the spirit is what's left of oneself after death. Your spirit as your true self is way more important than your physical form.

So I felt in a state of trance, disregarding what happened around me. Even so, I could still feel him. He was near, and the closer he came the more did my spirit change. I wanted to run from it, but I had nowhere to run. I wanted to fight against the change, but I had no option to do so. I was a puppet in his hands. The Influence he made on my Spirit was getting out of hand. I felt physical pain and physical changes. My fear was like that of an animal, I lost my mind in it. I couldn't think straight anymore. The pain coupled with the change of my spirit made me want to die. I accepted death, yes; I didn't accept this change. I remember the old saying of my tribe about the totems: „They are you; you are them." My soul cried without tears. Now I know the real meaning of those words, he really was me. And worst of all, I was becoming him.

When we woke up, the animals and plants in our vicinity were all dead, drained of all life. We felt good, extremely good and ready to look for more.