Fear

My hands scurry around my neck, desperately trying to find the one thing that could help. But it is no use, it's gone.

A cold realization hits me; it must have broken and fallen off when I fell at the bottom of the hill.

"Willow, what's wrong. Are you hurt, you look really pale?" Keri asks walking back towards me.

"My necklace" I croak.

"Is that all?" Nana sighs, as she sets down Keri's pack.

"It's alright, I can go with you to look for it and Nana and Keri can meet us at the camp sine we are almost there," Sakura reasons.

"But the Forrest" I whisper.

"Sounds good we'll meet you there" Nana replies as she puts both packs back on and grabs Keri's hand.

"Let's go" Sakura says gently as she leads me back down the hill.

Apparently unnoticeable to Sakura, the Forrest becomes darker and the air is so thick, I can barely breath.

"St..stop," I barely stutter

"We are almost there see, the root you tripped over is right there," she states as she points to a spot about 10 feet away.

As I look to where she is pointing, movement on my left catches my eye. It was barely a blur, but my heart stops.

"Run!" I scream as I push Sakura up the hill.

"What is wrong with ..." as it stepsnonto the road, her words fail her.

Maybe a foot shorter than the trees it came from, this yokai filled the trail ahead of us. It's legs, which looked to be roots dropped tremendous amounts of dirt as it took another step. It's arms were like branches, each one a compilation of many smaller branches braided together until, at the end they splintered into many "fingers". It's head was that of a dead tree, one fallen by lightning and it neared and black scar across its top. It's eyes were black peony's. It's mouth was just a hole filled with razor-like splinters.

With the sound of branches moving in a thunderstorm, it reached one hand towards me. In that moment, Sakura jumped in front of me. The sound of the branches hitting her was that of a baseball bat hitting a pillow followed by a small thud of her hitting the ground several feet away. I was relieved for a split second that she was still breathing, before I felt the crushing grip and several sharp pains of the twig "hand" grabbing hold of my waist and pulling me up into the air.

Tears of anger and of reality filled my eyes. I was the reason Sakura was hurt right now. I should have never agreed to go camping. Maybe, once it has...consumed me...it will leave. Sakura is close enough that Keri and Nana can find her and get her help.

As I finish that though, I hear a familiar small sound coming from the Forrest. A flash as the branch that held me is cut clean in half, as if he had been chopped by a great woodsman.

I fall hard to the ground this time as my Savior chops the next hand of the behemoth as it swings towards him.

My savior picks me up like a father picks up his small child. As he does so, I notice that the branches that were cut are growing back at a terrible speed and that he is reaching for Sakura. My savior turns to run in the opposite direction.

"Wait! It's still alive, it's going to kill her!"

"She is none of my concern," he replies coldly.

"But you can save her . Please save her! I'll do anything,just please save Sakura!" I plead, tears streaming down my face.

His masked face looks down at me and I almost feel like he is smiling.

"Once a deal is made, it cannot be undone. If you go against this, her life will be forfeit" he calmly explains.

"Yes , I agree, anything , just go!" I panic as the branches are near centimeters away from Sakura's unconscious body.

Swiftly, my savior places me on the ground, draws his sword, and in one movement, fits the tree vertically from the brunt too to its roots. It starts to fizzle into the same black smoke as the yokai from before.

"Let's go" my savior states as he quickly picks me up and dashes into the now brightening forest.