5 “Run!”

Some say that the way back always feels faster than the way out.

However, Sebastian didn't feel it this way.

Not today.

Not tonight.

Not in a single fucking minute of this runaway.

The fairy-tale-like forest of jade colors had become a malicious labyrinth with no tone or hue distinction. Where any creature had its possibility to jump out of the brushes at any time.

What were the four lost lambs going to do in this crisis?

Ask God.

Sebastian had tripped over four times, the flashlight had felt to the ground a couple of occasions, and branches of trees had whipped his face with no sympathy uncountable instances.

His father pulled him up once, twice, thrice, and many more. But what he got of reply was not a deserved 'thank you' as it should, instead, the return was a cry of rage shouting 'Run!'.

A twisted face, was that still his patient son?

Her teasing brother?

Her Caring child?

The family had to question their selves despite the short of time and the eeriness of the moment.

But, his indifference was hypnotizing.

As if they had no thoughts in their head, the Bercic's just kept running as the youngest child of the family ordered.

He had scratches on his face, dust in his pants, blood on his knees, but in his head, he only guarded one thought: the car— the only thing that can get them away from the upcoming unknown danger.

In no moment Sebastian stopped to think about calling the emergency line, what are these authorities going to do anyway? Pick up their cadavers? 30 miles was not an easy task.

The adrenaline running through his vein contained the obvious tiredness.

Sebastian put his hand on his chest, wishing that act could slow the wild pounding of his heart.

"Change direction!" Disquiet, Eva suddenly shouted.

The mother had no clue of why her daughter abruptly broke the silence that had existed up to now, but her arm was pulled by her son to reroute.

"Eva! The presence! Where does it come from!" Sebastian took only two seconds to understand that while he could sense 'the dangerous thing' coming, her sister could somehow visualize it.

"There!" Eva pointed to what was their original 'behind'. "I feel some there too."

This time, she showed with her fingers their original 'in front'.

"Some? More than one?!" Sebastian merged in terror, and it became worse as the black silhouette of Eva shook her head to confirm.

"We need to run faster, or they will surround us!" His terrified eyes looked directly into the souls of everyone present. Then, after considering pros and odds, he added. "Eva, carry mom!"

The girl reacted with no pause and gave a piggy-back carry to Molly.

The woman tried to resist, "No Eva, don't waste your energy on-"

"Mom! Shut up!" Sebastian hushed her from wasting energy, this was not a debate.

Joseph stared at Sebastian, wanting to nag 'this is not the way you talk to your mother', but he didn't, he knew this was for the best.

So he clapped his wife's shoulder to calm her, and then Eva's to thank her.

The family kept running without any compunction.

Surprisingly enough, Eva was still faster than Joseph and Sebastian despite carrying her mother who weighed just a little bit less than her.

"Eva, keep me updated if more of those things appear!"

…

Sebastian frowned.

To be honest, that wasn't the best of the decisions.

Indeed, Eva has much more chance to escape being alone.

She can predict where does 'the things' came from, therefore, she should be able to create the safest route. And also, seeing from the fact that 'the things' haven't reached them, theoretically, they have the same speed as average humans like Joseph, Molly, or himself.

The thing is, the speed of Eva wasn't average.

An athlete, that's what his sister was.

Sebastian couldn't pronounce the words ' escape by yourself' even after the long ten minutes run, he was scared, and having Eva by his side was comforting.

It makes him not lose hope.

And needless to say, Eva didn't need his word to leave them behind, prioritizing her life.

That dread that is gripping him over, Eva must feel it blowing her skin too. But she has not done what was evident, she hasn't abandoned her family.

Sebastian knows her well… she probably won't either. Her position was clear, she wished that they four could escape together, no matter at what cost…

Maybe, she was the only person in this situation who could still make choices.

Eva was much greater than him, he always knew it.

He, a mere coward, only knew how to go with the flow of the waves, while she… she created her own waves.

…

"At our left!" Eva called and the mother illuminated with her flashlight the abundant trees in her sight.

The group immediately turned to jog in another direction.

Yes, jog, not run.

Their hasty breathing could not afford to go any faster.

"Shit! Again! It's the fifth time already." Joseph cursed and clenched his teeth, wanting to throw and break his phone.

But he shall not, because, without the compass that is currently functioning on the smart device, they four would be doomed in the middle of the dark forest.

'I'm starting to lose the direction of the damn car.' Joseph thought for himself but didn't say it.

Sebastian instinctively lifted his foot to take another step.

His throat ached every time air came in, and his deserted mouth begged for water each time the air came out.

'The flashlights are getting weaker, and the flash of the phones doesn't have the same power. We are getting more and more tired, equal to slower. But the things still haven't appeared, even though they know perfectly where we are. It's like… they're are purposely tiring us out…'

Ignoring his worn-out body, Sebastian tried to concentrate on dissecting the pieces of information.

'At least a twenty of these unknown living things: with intelligence, team cooperation, a possible leader among them, likely to be faster and stronger than a grown adult…'

"Sebastian, come on… just ten- five minutes more. We are so close to the car." The father tried to reassure his son with a smile, after seeing him immobile in his place breathing greedily the cold air.

"We have been running in circles." Sebastian painfully unmasked the truth.

"...…"

Eva bit her lips, clearly not resigned.

The father's expression was hidden in the darkness, but it's guaranteed that it wasn't gracious.

"We cannot keep just running, or we'll get more lost in the forest." Sebastian intervened, briefly explaining his thoughts. "We need to face them before we lose our straight to even fight back."

The parents looked at each other.

Despite being adults who had lived more than twice the number of years than their children have, no one here really had the experience of being chased in a forest at night.

Like most of the time, their son was nailing the truth.

"Eva, can you feel in which direction there are fewer of… these things?" Molly gravely asked.

"They're all approaching as we talk, but by that way, I feel the smallest presence." The daughter responded.

Joseph looked at his compass.

North.

And their car is in the northwest.

'Even if it wasn't there, being the foot of the mountain, there should be other vehicles.'

"If we run toward the car, those things will intercept us, but if we can persuade them…" Joseph didn't express anything else, but his point was clear.

The family made a decisive interchange of looks.

There was hope.

…

"Five minutes more! Sebas, This time I'm being serious, we are so close!" Joseph made a statement with a not too loud or too soft voice, he never ignored that they were under persecution.

Sebastian shook his head as an affirmation reply, if this was another sweet white lie of his father, the relief wouldn't be flatter than before.

Eva finally smiled once again after the bonfire.

Molly smir-

"STOP!!!"

Sebastian screamed at the top of his lungs.

Every one of his senses was telling him to abandon this place.

"Why! It's should be farther away, not here!" Eva also reacted at the same time, but she was not as paralyzed as Sebastian, her hands redirected the flashlight toward an extraneous tree.

The extraneous thing being that this tree had not a single characteristic of one.

'It moved.'

'It turned around.'

'It's looking at us.'

"Glup."

Joseph abrouptly took Sebastian's trembling hands and lifted it, or should I say, the flashlight he was holding.

The two bright circles connected.

Such hidden entity revealed by the light had no clear distinction between its head and torso, but the body was extremely tall, two stories tall. What could only be its legs were about three meters high, while its arms, the monster had three pairs of them, equal in length to the legs and with three joints instead of two.

Hands on this hideous creature were inexistent, black bone pricks were the substitute for the continuation of wrists. Under the limited light, the skin had a gross rotten meat color.

Curved like a tetrapod, a peal of frightening laughter escaped from its unusual mouth of only four teeth.

"Hgehgehgehgehe~~~"

After the first howl, like echo resounding, multiple voices of more acute tone spread on the forest.

"Hehehe~~"

"Hehehe~~"

"Hehehe~~"

"Hehehe~~"

Its colorless eyes, covered by layers and layers of wing-like ears, stared at Sebastian who held the solitary flashlight.

A trickle of sweat ran from his forehead to his chin.

Compared to that intimidating size and physiognomy.

The camping Axe he was holding had to be a mere joke or a mere toy.

And he… a mere dead man perhaps.