161 V2Ch161 New Follower

It was nearly dusk when I happened upon a fourth village since leaving Oofo. I decided to take a wide birth around the edges of the village this time. Maybe I could avoid all of the locals.

The terrain was very uneven around this area. Parts were tall enough to hide a 7-foot-tall individual from the village at this distance. Others, you could spot an ant trail on the ground at the same distance.

I began to hear sounds ahead. I sneered at the thought of another encounter with undesirables. As the distance closed, the sounds became high-pitched and worrisome. I heard calls for help that wouldn't ever be carried far enough that someone from the village could hear it. I thought maybe someone was trapped. I heard at least two voices. I got close enough to recognize one of them. It was that bunny bitch from before. Thinking back, the other voice matched the K-9.

I came to a stop and began rethinking my decision of going forward. At the very least, I could see what situation they are in and I could assess from there.

I poked my head around a corner. I could see the three of them. The Nightmare was stopped mere feet in front of them. It didn't look like it was about to do anything but... Was it just observing them? Assessing whether or not they are worth eating?

The Nightmare itself was a horrid creature. Its generic body was that of a large horse at least nine feet tall. It didn't have any flames as I had imagined. It looked like it was bleeding from odd spots that had no clear wound. Blood drained from its six hooves, spine, eyes, nostrils, mouth and rear. The eyes themselves looked like a portal to another dimension, filled with orange light and clockwork mechanics. It had three horns on its head that twisted and came to a violent point. Its mane was patchy and knotted. Its tail was devoid of any hair at all. Its mouth hung open as if panting, revealing vicious sharp teeth that looked like they went further into its mouth than any natural creature. An odd scar traveled from the back of its mouth down the length of its throat.

There was no measure to the karmic satisfaction I got from seeing these girls in such terror.

The Nightmare took another step forward. The girls screamed in response. Its mouth opened as wide as it could. Then, It opened wider, wider and wider still. The scar along its neck was part of its mouth. It could swallow someone whole. Sharp teeth lined every inch of the person-sized opening. The chimera girl looked like she fainted while the other two screamed even louder at the sight.

It was ready to eat.

Unconsciously, I turned the corner and began walking straight at the Nightmare. It had no idea that I was there. The sound of my footsteps was masked by the screams of its prey as well as my shadows underfoot. The girls finally noticed my presence. A glimpse of hope was instantly crushed at the realization of who it was that was headed for them. They couldn't possibly fathom the depths of my power. All they saw was a weakling that couldn't even stand up to them.

The bunny girl's hopes were crushed to the point that she even gave up screaming. She knew she was going to be dead in a matter of moments.

I managed to take a spot right next to the Nightmare's front shoulder without alerting it. I stared at the girls without emotion. The chimera woke from her fainting spell and started screaming once more. When she saw me. She almost bit her tongue.

'They must think I'm its master. Hah!'

It took another step forward, unable to wait any longer for nourishment.

I tapped its shoulder with my right hand. The head quickly turned toward me. I grabbed the closest horn and thrust downward as hard as I could. The thing's head spun around three times. Bones were cracking so loud that the girls screaming stopped. It started to lean toward me. I pushed it away with ease. Its body was launched at least 30 feet away, rolling on the ground like the ragdoll it became.

The girls' eyes followed it only until they were sure it wasn't getting back up. They then looked at me. I came close and kneeled down in front of the K-9 girl. The other two took that as being safe since they were not my immediate focus and ran. When they did, the girl in front of me reached for the chimera for a moment before remembering who is looking dead at her.

She tried to shimmy back away from me.

"It's not easy to get away when you are already up against a wall. I would know."

She immediately understood that I was referring to their earlier treatment of me. Ammonia filled my nostrils as she wet herself in front of me.

I began to reach out with my right hand. My target was her neck. She pushed her head back against the rock wall as hard as she could. The only sounds that left her mouth were peeps of terror.

While the most frightening thing in my travels so far was her friend's psychopathic giggling, this one gave me one of the biggest surprises in Eyse thus far.

She bowed down, bypassing my hand, and dipped her nose into her own puddle of fluids.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, I'm sorry. Please don't kill me. I'm so sorry."

I stood up while she continued to spout sorry's and please's. I looked at my hand. My thoughts were in a dark place once again. I was about to kill her. I was reaching for her throat.

"I'll do anything you want. Anything. Just say the word. I'll do it. I don't care what it is as long as you don't kill me. Please. Let me live. I beg you."

Her pity parade was getting on my nerves. Though she couldn't see it with her face in her piss, I waved her off like an unwanted annoyance and moved toward the corpse of the Nightmare. Its mouth was gaping open at full length. Even if it didn't make its prey sleep, the image was still nightmare fuel. I pried the eyelid of the creature open to have another look at an eye. Sure enough, It looked like spinning cogs in a sphere containing an infinite machine. I pulled the bauble out of the thing's head. It came loose of any flesh with ease. It was as hard as a marble. I did the same for the other. I stashed them in my backpack and went south again.

This recent event made me more aware of my surroundings than before. I saw a forest on the horizon with the last of the light in the sky. It was minutes away from a dark night.

I heard a noise behind me and chose to ignore it. My goal was the edge of the forest. There was a river that I spotted nearby too. It will be dark when I get there but it's nothing I can't handle. I don't know about my follower, though.

It began to snow before I arrived at my designated camping site. I used my shadows to clear the snow away from a spot under a tree. I set up my tent and a little fire. I went to the river and got some water to boil. On my way back, I passed by the girl that had been following me. Without looking at her or stopping, I barked an order.

"Clean yourself up. You reak."

I expected a retort due to the extreme cold. She said nothing and went toward the river. She was probably already freezing. Her shorts were already wet before she started following me. I felt bad for half a second. Then I went on to boil some water to make a stew.