Absolutely exhausted, she pushed herself to her feet, wincing at all the aches and pain on her body. She was sure the weegan’s had managed to take a few chunks out of her, before she started the hallucination, but she had no time to check right now.
She had to get out.
Running and limping as fast as she could, she tried to follow the path in front of her, but it was already shifting from underneath her and soon disappeared along with the last light.
She could only hope that the others made it out on time.
She sighed and dropped to her knees. She looked around, but there were no wraiths chasing after her this time. Yet, she felt a cold chill run up her spine as the air turned into a biting cold. She was wet from being covered in sweat and blood with no way to keep herself warm.
She quietly walked around, gathering sticks and dry grass to make a fire. Her arms were so exhausted she had debated on whether to just stick through the night with no fire, but she knew she needed the heat, the warmth – the light in the darkness that surrounded her.
Glancing at herself from the light of the fire, she could see that she had several bites on her legs and arms. She had a small chunk of flesh ripped out from her calf and her foot was still bleeding from the first bite she took.
Damn forest.
She didn’t have anything to clean her wounds with, but she healed them either way, just enough to stop her bleeding. She would surely die, if she did nothing. She was thankful for her healing magic, but her parched throat wished she could’ve also had the ability of water, and as for her blistered hands – they wished she had the ability of fire too.
A snapping twig brought her attention to the forest behind her. She stared into the dark, but she couldn’t see anything. Besides the fire, her only light source was the dim light of the moon through the trees.
She waited for a while, but there was no more noise – all was quiet once again.
And then – the crying sound of an infant reached her ears from the opposite side of the forest.
Why the hell would there be an infant in the forest this time of night?
The crying continued.
What if there were other people stuck in here too? What if they need help?
-“Uh…what if they are not people?” The stern voice in her head said to her.
-“And what if they are? You just going to leave them there to die?” Another voice said.
-“Awe, but it’s a baby.” Said another small trembling voice. “What if it’s hungry? Or what if it was abandoned?”
Before Tsugi realized it, her feet were already taking her toward the noise, limping across the crunching leaves and rustling grass.
-“What are you doing?” The first voice hissed. “I’m telling you this is dangerous!”
-“Oh, shut up.” Said a fourth voice. “How heartless can you be?”
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-“Or STUPID!” The first voice screamed and they all went silent as though they had breaths of their own that could be held.
Why was she heading toward this noise? Was it curiosity? She already knew it could be a trap, but what if it wasn’t and it really was a baby?
She summoned her daggers and approached with caution. The crying got louder and louder from behind a big tree. She peered around it, and found a bundled blanket on the ground. She slowly reached down and pulled the blanket open, revealing a crying baby.
“Hey.” She said softly and knelt to the ground to pick it up. “Hey, it’s okay. Shh, shh, shh.” She crooned, gently rocking it. It snuggled against her warm body and stopped crying. “Where’s your family?” She whispered and stood to her feet, looking around the lifeless forest.
Perhaps that snap of a twig she heard earlier was the child’s family checking on whom this stranger amongst them is.
She carefully rocked the baby, limping her way back to the campfire.
Sitting down by the fire, she looked down at the sleeping baby and couldn’t help but smile. It looked so peaceful with its chubby cheeks and deep dimples when it smiled every now and then as if in a pleasant dream. It had a head full of dark pitch black hair that was so thick it had looked like someone just slapped a wig on it.
And then there, in the distance, a quiet sobbing, sounding like a woman crying and sniffling. “My baby.” She cried. “Where’s my baby?” Tsugi looked toward the direction and squinted her eyes. “My baby.” The chilling voice came closer and closer, but she didn’t see anyone amongst the shadows.
Looking down at the baby, a cute little ‘v’ began to form between its brows and it frowned such a sad frown that broke her heart. “Shh, it’s okay.” Tsugi whispered. “Don’t cry, it’s okay.” The infant began to cry and croak sadly.
“My baby.” The voice got closer. “Where’s my baby?”
And there, lurking in the darkness just beyond the trees – a shadowy figure could be seen.
Tsugi grasped onto the baby and stood up to get a better look at the figure. As it came closer, Tsugi began to back away, gently rocking the baby in her arms.
“My baby.” The chilling voice was much closer now, but she was still hidden in the shadows. Then the shadow froze, Tsugi could see a silhouette of a woman’s face with her long hair flowing behind her. The silhouette slowly turned toward Tsugi and approached her.
Tsugi could see her dirty bare feet step into the light of the campfire, followed by her long light blue dress, decorated in flowers. Her arms were skinny and her skin looked beautifully flawless all the way up her neck and to her face. She had gorgeous bright blue eyes and long dark silky hair that reached her knees.
“Is that my baby?” She said with a wistful smile on her face. She held her arms out and walked over so smoothly it seemed like she glided across the dirt. As she got closer, her face flashed quickly into a distorted rotten face. It happened so quickly that if Tsugi wasn’t paying attention, she would’ve missed it.
Tsugi became hesitant and her hold on the baby tightened. The woman’s face flashed anger at Tsugi’s movement. Her eyes flared open and a draft of wind flew in, surrounding them.
“My BABY!” Her voice was distorted and angry, her bones cracked and her body became weirdly contorted. Her clothes melted into her skin and a dark spot began to spread from the middle of her chest like black veins stretching across her naked breasts.
The baby wailed loudly mixed in with the ruckus of the wind and all the strange noise around them as if wails of cries, laughter and murmurs of onlookers sat and watched.
Tsugi untied her cloak and wrapped it around the baby, securing the baby to her chest. She tightened her hold around the black smoke and gripped tight onto the hilts of her daggers.
A giant black worm-like creature emerged from the woman’s back like a parasite. Her body was marked with black lines like cursed tattoos. “My baby!” She screeched. Her lips moved along with the black creature emerging from within her. It’s distorted voice muffled hers. Its too long muscular arms grew out of its sides as it gripped her shoulders, leaning over her to peer into Tsugi’s eyes.
“Give me the baby, and no harm will come to you.” The creature drawled, seemingly grinning from ear to ear – wherever its ears are on – wherever that face was. Its aura gave Tsugi a deep fear she hadn’t felt in a long time, a fear worse than death itself. It crawled across the ground as its body stretched like a worm, still attached to the woman’s back. “This – is not – yours.” It hissed, pointing its long creepy finger to the bundle on Tsugi’s chest.
Tsugi stared at the creature with fear spreading through her body, freezing her in place. “What are you going to do to the baby?”
The creature grinned menacingly, sending a chill up Tsugi’s spine. “Oh – you can still talk in my presence.” It purred clearly amused. “What I do with it, is none of your concern.”
“If you are going to hurt it, I will not give it to you.” To her surprise, her body managed a single step back.
Its eyes widened with shock. “What are you?” It said slowly, narrowing its eyes, scrutinizing her. “I pinned your soul down, you shouldn’t be able to move.” She wasn’t sure either, but she was glad she was able to. “No matter.” It crawled in closer and towered over Tsugi. Its face split open and a long red tongue stuck out of its mouth like a snake tasting Tsugi. “I cannot let that thing –” It pointed its long creepy finger to the bundle. “leave this forest.”
“A baby?” Tsugi furrowed her brows. “You won’t let a baby leave?”
It grinned letting out an amused growl. “You can see me and yet – is that what you see?”