Look further no more: The enemy within!

Simone hauled the girl into his arms. The overwhelming killer intent earlier accompanied by the sudden drop of temperature was not a good sign. It was the first time he felt such concentrated pressure and that propelled his instincts into overdrive and search for an escape. He barely glanced back to his companion if he was following but he felt the old man's presence behind him blindly running through the undergrowth bush worth and trees that blocks the moon's light. He winced when another screech blasted throughout the area, shaking off the leaves of its branches. He almost drops the girl in his arms as he tried to block the piercing scream with his shoulder and hand but the girl remained complacent by the events that are currently happening.

Fuck this life. Time seems unimportant as they traversed the foreign area of the forest, trying to gain distance from something they do not even know. They have been running for long minutes by now and he's starting to feel the strain on his arms and legs from the added weight of the motionless girl he carries. The forest terrain seems more dangerous, he observed, even the forest is was so quiet. Too quiet. The sound stopped abruptly. He swallowed hard.

When the forest is this motionless, a larger predator is within the vicinity.

It's still there. Not quite here, but it is everywhere. This lingering pressure was so suffocating it's hard to breathe and now they're back again in the forest. How frustrating.

He inhales greedily when his lungs detected it's starved for air, then he looked over his shoulder to check the old man, he was a few paces behind him. He slowed down his steps. 'What now? he shouted over while adjusting his grip on the girl. 'Just run ahead,' his curt reply. Right.

'What about the girl? Do we need to tag her along with us? He asked. 'Just so you know she tried to leave us earlier,' he jokingly said even from the danger still lurking in the darkness. This seriousness is not good for his heart.

'Yes, for now.'

'Roger.' He nodded his assent and focused on running again. He observed that the further they are moving, the weaker the pressure is. So they ran some more under the cloak of the night. There was no moon to light their path as the forests canopy overlapped among each other, hiding any uneven slopes and broken ground. He tried to avoid them by manoeuvering around but he still got caught unexpectedly when he stepped into what he thought a large flat rocks that turned out to be inclined rugged terrain. Stepping afoot, his brain was late realizing the absence of solid ground beneath him, then a whoosh of air escaped his lungs when empty space meets his foot. He tried to grab something with his free hand while unforgiving gravity pulled them downwards. Fuck. He twisted his body to absorb the impact as he met the ground from below. Even though his fall was a shallow one, the abuse on his back was worse, pains travelled all throughout whenever he tried to move. He paused, eyes closed, and body shuddering. He checked the girl for any injury and found none. He released a shaky breath. He tried to reign his anger but this kid is really testing his patience. Who the hell would remain unaffected in this situation?

A dead one for sure.

'Hey, kid. Stop with your dramatic silence and help us navigate this forsaken forest or I'll leave you behind!' he threatened but it all fell on deaf ears. He tried shaking her up but she remained unmoving. He checked if she was sleeping, only to find out that indeed the girl was asleep.

Unbelievable.

Then a voice familiar yet annoying at the same time shouted from above, an unimpressed face peered down at him. His mood plummeted.

A pregnant silence followed.

A significant one.

The old man started opening his mouth when he glared, shutting him up.

'Not a word,' he said. His companion's brow lifted at that remark. 'I know. Don't start,' he said, beating the old man from uttering scathing remarks about his blunder.

'I haven't said anything,' the old man replied, 'yet.'

'Your silence was enough,' he argued back. 'Need help?' he inquired.

Of course, you blighted idiot.

'No!' he rejected vehemently.

'Okay, but just so you know we're not safe here.'

I know that but by asking for help from you, my pride cannot take it. He thought, seething inside.

------' The longer we stay, the higher the chances it will appear again,' he explained.

'I know,' voice hard from irritation he felt inside no matter how unfounded his reason is.

He's always composed no matter the situation they're in. The total opposite of him.

Damnation! He thought, acting like a petulant child.

Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard and released a heavy sigh.

'H--,' he started but stop himself. Fuck it. He will never let me live with this humiliation.

Damn him.

Glaring, he uttered the vilest words he could say after he asked him a much-needed help.

'You are welcome,' he said while smirking.

'Tch.' Unimpressed.

'You're learning faster than I thought,' he continued but Simone stubbornly ignored him. His back ached so much but they need to move. Now. He righted himself up even though his back demands a rest.

'Take the girl with you and go ahead of me. I'll catch up with you later.' He tried moving his lower body with some difficulty and glanced back when his statement was met with silence. The old man was staring at him intensely.

What a creepy guy. He glared.

'Yes. Just take her. She's heavy and my hands cannot hold her for long plus my back's killing me.' The old man released a long-drawn breath but nonetheless nodded. He leaned down and took the girl with him and started walking away when he paused, turned around and spoke.

'You really do not want any help at all?' he pressed, eyes teasing. Tch. This old man.

'No! Now go.'

At long last. Simone inspected the area, even if the fall was shallow, the underside of these steeps were full of sharp rocks. There were no suitable protruding roots or dulled edged rocks to grab on.

Bloody hell.

With no other options available, he grabbed the sharp rocks to tug himself up. The sting of pain reverberated all over his body as he dragged himself up. Within a minute or two he finally pulled himself and ran after them. He caught up with them after some time near the edge of the forest and by now the moon decided to show its magnificence, giving off enough light to the surrounding field.

'We're out in the open old man,' the brat shouted after some time, voice still far from his position. He felt his presence long before he spoke.

'I can see the-,' he stopped midsentence when a sharp pain bloomed across his right cheek. Damn it. He did not even sense it. He stilled for a moment then wiped the blood with his shoulder.

'Old man?' the brat called and skidded to halt not far from his left.

It came and went suddenly. They are here.

He crept close enough with his gun to check the perimeter but no movement at all as far as his sight can detect against the dark background. This creature has the advantage during the night, he noticed. He turned his head sharply to the right when a faint rustle not far from them.

'He--'

'Shhhh.' He held up his hand shushing him, straining his ear, trying to listen. It's gone. No. Footsteps?

Hell.

'You need to go. Right now! I'll distract them here. Run to safety. I'll find you and we'll regroup from there morrow,' he said while handing back the girl to him once again.

'What? Why?' He scowled from the sudden turn of event. He did not sense anything amiss but nonetheless accepted his charge once more. 'Just do what I s---,' a strong gust of humid air blasted across the field. He raised his head, muscles tense, and waiting. The silence was killing. It was dark and someone or something was out there. Sweats started to overwhelm his rough skin when they heard it. A high -pitched screech, so loud it hurts their ears emerged from the quiet night. Again. This time it was a long drawn a chorus of intense wailing. "What the hell is that sound?' the younger man bellowed against the noise while covering his ears but the voice was drowned out from the chaos around them. All remaining animals fleed from the scene as fast as they can but the force knocked them all to the ground preventing them from escaping. They'll die here if they stay here for long.

Simone tried to move his head and look for any opening under to cushion this ears against the scathing sound. He started crawling the soft ground when he remembered the girl and his companion. He sharply turned his head, trying to locate them. Where the hell is she? The old man? He scrambled fast up to his feet when he noticed that it was so quiet now, still keeping both hands buried to his ears even though it barely protects him from the pressure of the sounds earlier. It's gone again. Vanished. The dark abyss that surrounds him barely scares him, but at the moment a whole new fear spiked through his whole body. This night is so different maybe because of the eerie silence that hangs around after the burst of sounds, casting a stinging shadow of uncertainties over him like a net. The unknown entity can kill them at any given moment, in a blink of an eye. His sword can barely protect him when the enemy cannot be seen as it blends with the night.

He stood still, trying to process what happened that he failed to see red eyes watching him closely from afar. Its sharp fangs were covered with saliva running down its bony chin. It was standing still, so still, waiting, as it watches them patiently. Grinning, tongue lolling with glee.

Soon.

'Old man!'

'Hey!'

'Little girl!' Where is she? I did not throw her off that far, did I?

He crawled slowly to find his companions when he heard a faint groan not far from him. 'Old man?' he whispered, 'Is that you? Are you alright?' He followed the origin of the sound and found his older companion, a shadow, hunched near a fallen tree. 'Old man?' he tried, again and again, he heard a groan. He stilled. 'Is that you?' A soft groan yet again. 'Hey! What is wrong? Are you dead?' He tried egging him with insult and it worked this time. The old man looked ready to argue with him. He turned and lifted an arm to shoo Simone off of him and slowly opened his mouth to speak.

But those words never came.

Before he could speak, his throat was pierced and cut off in a spray of blood. His body fell to the ground with a soft thud.

'Wha----' Then he saw a sharp, elongated nail slowly dragging the head away, smearing the cold soil. The old man's eyes stared back at him, full of undisguised disbelief.

In shock, his body refused to move as his eyes remained glued to it. The world shrank, focusing only on what is in front of him, the old man's head being taken its headless remains, as blood continued to gush out of it.

Before he could comprehend what he was seeing, of what happened, he was tackled from behind, knocking him to the ground and toppling him forward, followed by a stinging slap across his cheek. The impact also snapped his world back into full focus.

*********

Her world opened the same way it did for anyone who was slowly claiming its wakefulness from the Dream God, with such bright brilliance and shocking colour that she realised, was unreal and very much so fake, as if she was looking from someone else's eyes, looking at the spectrum of colours that made up the world she is suddenly thrust into. Then, everything was focused, demanded her sole attention and there was no way she could actually look at it without overworking her sluggish brain cells. To compensate, she scrunched her eyes tightly, then slowly opened them, hoping that the world she knew would still be there. She watched the unfocused world slowly sharpen, this time at a pace that her mind would be able to understand.

Light dots appeared from afar. She blinked rapidly.

Stars. Her brain supplied then followed by series of familiar scenes in the sky.

Clouds

Trees

Night.

Silent.

Why? How did she lose consciousness?

Her world was black and white for sometimes... fuzzy and the only thing she could remember was two men...arguing.....screaming..... And running...then the feeling of being suspended mid-air and nothing. She remained motionless.

What happened?

In her peripheral view, she noticed large shadows dancing across the ground she lay, screams echoed everywhere that hurts. She struggled to push herself up and when succeeded, a guttural scream followed. She snapped her head towards the sound and found the still body of the blond guy staring into space. What is he doing? They needed to hide. Monsters....monster.....and she saw a stretched, grotesque arm, slowly dragging a.....head. She squinted.

A bloody head.

No. No. No. Shaking her head in denial. She shivered in fear as she watched it returned to its origin. No. No. Don't you dare look! But her eyes stubbornly refused to look away. In the far end, near a bent tree where the blond guy was, stood her nightmare. No matter where she sees it, in a dream or reality, it always looks the same to her. Monster. Forgotten memories flashed before her eyes. Blood on the walls. Severed limbs. Scream of terror and red eyes. Stop. Stop. The air around turned frigid, as pressure started to mount, rendering her motionless.

It started moving towards, closer and closer. Heart in her throat, she remained motionless. It walked past the blond guy.

No. No. She tried moving her legs.

No.no. Frustrated and frightened, she struggled with all her might but unable to and disappeared. What? Where?

Her hair stood in attention. Behind? A foul smell brushed past above her. Something is digging into her back, something sharp. A claw? Goosebumps spread all over her body when she realised it. Too close for comfort. Paralysed by fear, she held her breath.

'Grrrr.' A deep growl echoed. She closed her eyes tightly and held her breath.

'Grrrr.' It started sniffing her head, touching her hair with its razor-sharp claws. Then it licked her neck. Oh god. Sticky saliva clung to her skin, making her crawled with revulsion but she did not move. Time seems to drag itself slow, yet the monster needs to move away from her.

No. Please. She begged silently.

Run. A voice from somewhere echoed inside her head.

Who?

'Run!' A voice from behind her spoke. Unnatural and hoarse. Her body locked in terror, seized its moment to wake up. She jumped and stumbled three, four steps away from the creature and run towards the blond guy, tackling him with all her might. She never thought of anything, just an instinctive act to live and get away from the source of danger.

Run. Run. Run. Was the urgent message of her brain running through her mind right now. She grabbed the sleeves of the man and tugged him with her but the guy was in shock.

Damnation. She looked back to check the monster behind. It was looking at them. She looked down at the man who was looking at him. No time. She raised her arm and slapped him with so much force. That woke him up.

'What?' he spluttered.

'Run!' she shouted as she swung around and headed toward the exit of the forest. Then a scraping and huffing, followed by a growl echoed around.

'You idiot. Run!'

Simone followed her without a second thought after hearing the sound. He did not bother to look behind him.

She looks over her shoulder. Oh no. With her heart hammering, she had no choice but to retreat into the forest---she's glad that she's familiar with it like the back of her hand. All they need to do is run fast, hide, and wait for the sun to come up if they're able to escape. She held his arms ahead of her, brushing across low lying leaves, vines and twigs.

'Where are we going?' A shout reached her ears. Thank goodness he followed.

'Safety.' she replied.

'Where?'

'Just....follow me.' She cannot afford to talk right now. The creature is following them. Heavy, pounding steps shook the ground, unhurried. Suddenly a light broke out from the eastern sky. That gave her the energy to run faster.

They needed a place to hide in the meantime. To where? She spotted the mountain she once explored. There? Of course. There is only one refuge. The cave.

But that place frightened her. It is that or the monster following them. There is no time to waste.

At one point, Simone's foot stepped into the open air. He came close screaming. Then he realised it was only a stack of branches and leaves piled on the ground. He quickly hopped and continue following the girl.

Why the need for running. All they do is run. For Pete's sake, it's frustrating the hell out of him in his usual tirade but right now running was the only option.

Light from the eastern side grew brighter in front of him, bathing the forest steadily but the one following them seemed to catch up on them, but with the sun coming up any minute now, they rushed headlong across the forest. As they reached the mouth of the cave, a thudding sound stopped them in their track. They glanced over their shoulder, then turned fully to face it.

It was standing near the tree not far from them, watching them. The growing light revealed the nightmarish features it hides in the darkness. Wrinkled grey skin adorned with scars embroidered its whole body. Long, thin human legs and arms are used for locomotion. Red eyes locked to them, its thinning hair mostly covered its head. It was tall and its mouth slightly open with fangs on both the upper side. They tense when it smiled. Fear grew sharper with every second. Will it attack if they move? Slowly, they backtracked inside the cave and stop. Yet it never moves. Then another step then it growled loudly. They winced from the intensity of it.

The sun is now above when it vanished into thin air. A rushed of relief flowed into her. She slumped to her knees after such an ordeal. She glances up and found the man in the same state as she was. Still, she could not help but be stunned by the strange behaviour of the creature. It never attacked them. It has plenty of opportunities to do so but it never did.

She is alive.

They are alive.

Teary-eyed, she shook her head. God, what an evening they had.