At the opposite side of the clearing, a monstrous pig-like beast is jumping around in the air as it chases after other fairies. The fat body reminds Markus of wild hogs he's hunted in the past, but the creature is much larger, almost the size of a cow. Markus sees a dark colored hide, with a straight tail flailing around. The head of the beast is definitely pig-like, but the mouth seems grossly enlarged.
Markus starts moving toward the beast as the fairy flutters right beside him. The creature lands from its last jump facing the direction of the pair. Another roar is let out as the beast immediately sees Markus and the flashlight beam.
The creature starts charging for Markus, the shine of its yellow eyes reflecting off the light. Its mouth opened wide as if to tear him apart. The fairy yells at Markus, then shoots up higher into the sky to avoid the charge.
“Shit not again! Stop! STOP!” Markus yells as he raises the rifle and aims for the head of the beast. He squeezes the trigger once, an incredibly loud gunshot echos throughout the forest. The muzzle flash from the rifle lights up the entire area around Markus.
The bullet slams into the open mouth of the beast and bounces through the skull. The creature is killed instantly, crashing head first into the ground at full speed. Its fat body then rolls over, with a cloud of dirt hanging in the air from the impact.
Markus stands silently, impressed that a single well-placed bullet took the beast out. He had been prepared to dump the entire magazine into the creature to kill it. As he lowers his weapon, Markus sees a large group of fairies swarming around the dead creature. The fairy leading him earlier appears again and starts yanking at his jacket collar from the side. Shes pointing to the animal in a hectic manor while speaking her unique language. Markus doesn't understand why, believing they simply wanted the beast killed.
He heads toward the corpse of the beast with the fairy floating beside him. As he reaches the body, Markus sees a commotion of numerous fairies trying to frantically pierce the hide of the creature with their weapons. The scene doesn't make sense to Markus. As he observes the situation, Markus feels the fairy tugging on his left glove. His hand lets go of the rifle fore grip, allowing her to lead him. Markus is slowly pulled as his hand gets dragged toward the belly of the creature.
Markus squats down so his hand can be pulled easier into position by the fairy. She places his hand over a spot on the belly, pressing them together. Markus is confused about this turn of events, noticing the other fairies stopping their efforts to watch him. He stays quiet to see what might happen next. Strangely, a barely noticeable vibration or thumping is coming from the belly of the beast.
Something isn't right, the creature is obviously dead yet why does he feel movement? His eyes then catch a faint change of color under the beast's skin. The flashlight is quickly turned off, and for a brief second, a tiny glow is seen. Markus looks up and sees all the fairies gathered around him silently. He immediately recognizes what's been going on. A fairy has been eaten alive by the beast.
Markus flips the flashlight back on again, placing his rifle on the ground beside him. He starts frantically grabbing at the knife attached to the left side of his belt. He quickly finds it and undoes the snap button holding it secured in its sheath. In a swift motion, a stainless steel hunting knife is pulled free and brought before the beam of light. Markus moves closer and immediately plunges the hunting knife into the upper chest of the beast.
Carefully, Markus cuts a path down the middle of the creature's underside. He uses the flashlight to help guide his hands as he inches closer to the target area. Markus moves quickly, using his past experience cutting up hunted animals. The beast's hide is soft, easily splitting apart as the knife keeps moving. The knife finally reaches a point just above the groin area of the creature. Markus pulls his hunting knife free and proceeds to the next step.
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Reaching towards the middle part of the belly, Markus uses his left hand to lift open the cut portion of the skin. As the meat pulls apart, the knife in the other hand is used to cut away muscle and tissue. Some of the creature's organs spill out onto the ground, and soon, enough room is provided to reach for the stomach.
Markus can see the over-sized stomach within the creature shining. With the knife, Markus reaches inside the creature and presses the tip against one end of the organ. He slices slowly from one side to the other, careful to not go deeper then necessary. As soon as the knife reaches about two-thirds of the way, the stomach bursts open and a fairy flies out. Immediately there's celebration from the other fairies as crying, yelling, and cheering can heard.
Numerous fairies are gathering around the female that was just rescued. Although covered in blood and fluids, she is happily hugging and dancing with her friends. From the ground, Markus can't help smiling at the sight above him. He turns back to look inside the creature once more to make sure nothing else was missed. Inside the stomach, Markus sees various plants and trash eaten, but in a corner, he sees a tiny human skull.
Markus' smile slowly disappears as he realizes what he's spotted. He then looks over to the head of the dead beast. Very briefly, a rage shows in the face of Markus. The hunting knife is suddenly thrust into the neck of the creature, causing blood to start oozing from the new wound. The knife is quickly pulled out, and he begins wiping the blood covered blade against the hide of the animal. Once clean enough, he does the same for his bloodied gloves.
The hunting knife is put back into the sheath once the simple cleaning finishes. Markus grabs his rifle and stands up to face the fairies. A large group is already heading to the town with the rescued fairy, but several have stayed behind. The remaining fairies notice Markus has finished up and begin to swarm around him. Some start pulling on his jacket as they point to the town lights. They're all speaking their language, but Markus doesn't understand any of it. He can only guess they want him to move toward the town.
After a few minutes of walking, Markus starts to realize the town he was heading for was not what he thought. As he gets closer, the lights start to appear higher and higher off the ground. The fairies escorting him are idly chatting, sometimes flying beside his face to ask questions. Markus can only respond with “I'm sorry, I don't understand.” or “I don't know what you said.” to whatever they're asking.
Its a short distance from the clearing to reach the edge of the town. Markus' suspicions about the lights soon become reality. As he finally emerges from the forest and into the town perimeter, Markus sees an amazing sight. The town he reached was, indeed, a community filled only with fairies.
It's a spectacular image of beauty that stands before Markus. The lowest levels of the town are even with his head, as small wooden buildings of all sizes and shapes continue upwards for several stories. All the structures are built directly into the trees surrounding him. He could see bridges leading in all directions and strategically placed stonelights illuminating the town. Many of the buildings are currently darkened, but that's expected for the middle of the night. Markus looks around to see how far the town went. He can only guess there must be thousands of fairies living here.
Markus continues to walk further into the fairy town, impressed with the innovation it took to create such a place. The fairies escorting him could tell he was admiring their home. Some try speaking with Markus, pointing at various buildings, plazas, and bridges like tiny tour guides. A particular blonde, curly haired fairy tried her best. He was a little disappointed that he couldn't understand her, but allowed his eyes to follow her fingers.
After a few minutes of touring, Markus reaches an area inside the town clear of any trees. Some carved wooden tables and chairs are scattered about, with several tents placed around an empty fire pit. The furniture and tents are human sized, so Markus wonders if this area is meant for guest or traders. Using the barrel of his rifle to flip open the tent entrances, Markus sees they're all empty.
Markus starts assuming the fairies are inviting him to stay for the night. He looks around at his escorts for a sign that it's okay to sleep in one of the tents, but they simply smile back or chat among themselves. Markus decides to take their actions as a yes. He turns his flashlight off and slips the backpack over his arms to crawl inside a tent. A blanket is spread over the bare ground for minimal comfort, but it was better than nothing.
Markus prepares the backpack as a makeshift pillow, placing the rifle beside his body. He lays on his back with his head against the backpack, leaving all his clothes on. Through the tent, Markus can see the lights of the fairy town above him. He begins to wonder if this entire trip is a dream. Slowly, his body begins to relax. Markus finally notices how tired he actually feels. His eyelids start to close, and for the first time since arriving in this strange land, he felt safe.