Out of Place

Eirin grunted in pain; her back burned as if it was set on fire. She did her hardest to protect her head with her left arm while trying to escape the vine's grasp. 

 "Demon, be gone!"  

Eirin gasped after a few more vines grabbed her by the legs and pulled her up, leaving her hanging upside down. Blood rushed to her head as she cussed. The mist hindered her vision, causing her to be unable to spot anyone nearby. No one's going to be able to help her but herself. 

The forest continued repeating the word 'demon,' but Eirin could not care less as she struggled to pull the vines off. Thanks to her perfectly athletic body, she didn't have much of a hard time doing sit-ups; the only problem was getting the vines off with her position continuing to make it hard for her to think wisely. 

Eirin took deep breaths before resuming, and as she attempted to get rid of the vines with her bare hands, the nail on her ring finger cracked, making her scream in agony. Tears formed in her eyes as she huffed for air while staring at her cracked nail. The pain's one thing, but looking at the blood coming off her finger scares Eirin too much. 

The stench of fresh blood wafted through the area, and the ground started to shake as more vines rushed in Eirin's direction, crept from her legs to her torso, and finally reached her arms. One of the vines forcibly grabbed Eirin's arm and sucked her blood, thus making the teenage girl grow weaker. 

It was apparent she needed to get away, but how? 

Eirin looked around, trying to scout the area, her face flushed. She kicked and fussed around until her skirt fell towards her torso, revealing what was underneath. 

Staring at her fallen skirt made her feel something heavy inside the pocket. 

'That's right! The cutter!'  

Eirin's struggle continued as she pulled the item out of her upside-down skirt's pocket. She took deep breaths before pulling herself up and cutting the thick vines. Coleen's new cutter doesn't seem to work, as the vines were too thick to cut. Eirin held her breath with her sweat rushing out of her temples. 

 "Futile it is. You shall not escape."  

Despite hearing voices, Eirin ignored them, remembering what Link had said in the cafe. Whatever that was, it was only trying to manipulate her into thinking that there was no escape; that's what the teenage girl thought as she continued cutting the vines. 

The corner of Eirin's mouth quirked upon hearing the vine snapping, and that was until she felt gravity pulling her back to the ground. 

'I didn't think about the fall!' 

Eirin groaned in pain after she fell hard to the ground. She was lucky she was able to avoid falling headfirst. 

'I'll believe Cromwell if he tells me that was stupid— because it was indeed stupid,' the teenage girl thought as she looked at her bruised elbows and knees. 

Grateful for the leaves covering the ground, the teenage girl took plenty of time to get back on her feet. 

Eirin looked around, but the mist hindered her eyesight and brought chills down her spine due to the cold atmosphere. She screamed due to the excruciating pain after she moved her left arm, trying to warm herself up. 

She looked at her arm, wondering if she had broken it as she tried to move it again but immediately regretted it after feeling immense pain. Eirin panted, with tears forming in her eyes. She's in the middle of an unknown forest, helpless and powerless. 

As Eirin stood still, a sudden gust made her close her eyes as she could feel the freezing air seeping into her skin. It was followed by howling and a child's laughter. The eerie feeling didn't leave Eirin as she dragged her feet on the ground. She couldn't avoid creating noises; it took a lot for her to walk with those severe injuries. 

 "Lonely demon child, I pity you." 

The voice echoed throughout the forest. Eirin knew the forest was talking to Shade Cromwell, which meant her companions were still somewhere inside the forest. It assured her and motivated her to keep walking, hoping that she'd bump into them. However, as she continued to drag her feet, the mist grew thicker. 

"Ei." 

Eirin froze. She gulped as she convinced herself that she was hearing things. 

"Eirin! Help me!" 

The voice grew louder, making Eirin bite her lower lip. She tried her hardest not to look back and kept ignoring the voice. Despite all that, Eirin was forced to stop walking after someone held onto her leg, tripping her and causing her to hit her injured arm once again. 

"Why are you leaving me? How could you leave me? I didn't want to die. I wanted to live long and be happy." 

Tears welled in Eirin's eyes as she screamed in pain after those same vines pulled her legs after she tried to walk away. Her face hit the ground, and she heard laughter. 

"I want to be with you again." 

Eirin grunted, sobbing, making the laughter get louder. It was as if the voices were making fun of her. 

'Either manipulate me or laugh at me. Just pick already!' Eirin thought, causing the shrill laughter to get even louder and annoyingly causing pain to her ears. 

Due to aggravation, Eirin stabbed one of the vines using her right arm, and a scream surrounded her as the vines withdrew, letting her escape. 

"Ei, don't leave me here." 

Hesitation filled Eirin's heart after hearing that familiar voice once again. How could the forest learn that voice that Eirin would never be able to hear any more? She turned around and saw the familiar silhouette of her best friend. The mist faded, letting Eirin see those round, beautiful black eyes staring at her with tears falling out. 

 "It's cold out here. I want to leave." 

Ava's short bob hair was in a mess while she looked down with her hands balled into fists. "I don't like being alone." Her voice sounded so pitiful that Eirin could not control her emotions. She knew that all of these were just illusions. She knew... 

However, the guilt was trying to eat her alive. 

"I'm sorry," she spoke as she turned her back to her best friend. 

"Where are you going?" 

Eirin dodged the vines that were about to grab her, resulting in another severe pain in her left arm. Desperation kicked in; she couldn't see anything as she ran away. 

"AH!" 

The teenage girl shrieked after stepping into quicksand and losing her balance. Eirin knew it would only cause her more trouble if she panicked, so the teenage girl took deep breaths. Her injuries are the ones hindering her escape. 

"Now, die!"  

Several vines charged towards Eirin. Thinking that it was her fate, a bright light flashed before her, making her squint as she felt something rough holding onto her arm. The vines screeched as those blazing flames burned them. 

"Are you an idiot or what? Why are you trying to kill yourself?" 

His sharp black eyes looked directly into Eirin's as he said those words. It was Shade Cromwell's usual crude tone. 

'At this point, I am relieved to see this hateful guy,' Eirin thought. 

Shade did not let any of the vines escape, burning them into crisps. He pulled Eirin out of the quicksand with no trouble as he clicked his tongue. The teenage girl felt too weak to retort as she lay on the ground, huffing. 

"What were you doing? Offering yourself like that to those shitty vines?" 

"Did I look like I wanted to die right there!?" 

Eirin grunted as she held onto her shoulder. It was getting harder for her to breathe due to the unbearable ache. Even her eyesight was getting blurry, and her chest was growing tighter. 

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" 

The teenage girl did not have the energy to talk back anymore. It was as if the pain was about to kill her whenever she tried to move. 

"I— think I broke my shoulder." 

With an eyebrow raised, Shade sighed as he leaned to Eirin and looked at her dirty clothes. "Let me see," he said, causing Eirin to stare at him as if he said something crazy. 

"What do you mean to let you see?" 

The man rolled his eyes and pulled Eirin towards him. Without warning, he ripped Eirin's shirt to see her bare shoulder, leaving Eirin to freeze. 

"What the—" 

"It's not broken." 

Shade cut Eirin off, and once again, without caution, he placed Eirin's dislocated shoulder back, causing her to scream in pain. 

"What are you screaming for? You should be thankful it wasn't broken." 

Eirin huffed and puffed while holding onto her arm. "Thankful!? You did that without asking about how I would feel." The teenage girl wanted to lash out and scream as loud as she could until they heard a child's laughter, thus making her remember where they were. It wasn't the right time to argue with Shade Cromwell. 

The flames were still going strong despite the mist all over them. Eirin wanted to converse with Shade about their plan to find Link and Coleen, but the young man swept Eirin off her feet. Her eyes were wide open as she watched the young man catch her with his tough arms, and soon, a sharp gust went after them.