Bodies covered the expanse as far as one's eyes could see.
swoosh
The air whistled through the canopy. A group chased a lone individual who was running at astonishing speeds, gradually catching up with each breath.
"Fuck!! why are you chasing me?!" the man being chased shouted.
"Just because. Duh..." soon, numerous bushes began to rustle from various directions, appearing to outpace the man.
"You sure it's the right guy?" the child in the group asked.
"It's her credulity" one of the men from the group responded with a chuckle.
"Stay focused, it can be a trap" the lady who seemed to be the one leading the group said in a stern tone.
"I don't understand why is considered a threat when he is this... weak?" the child shook his head in distrust.
"Because he is a Pradhart." the lady replied almost instantly.
"Hmph, so what?" this time the man said in annoyance.
"..."
"..."
"I apologize, sister," he said as he gulped down the ensuing silence between them.
"it's alright, you just aren't able to observe properly." she pointed out.
The man they pursued was in a grave state, with numerous tears in his clothing and skin, so severe that one could glimpse inside and see his heart pulsating.. Even with the man's intestines visible, which could be said to be waiting to fall out any moment now, he didn't show a hint of pain on his face.
Just a face filled with absolute confusion, other things? He seemed to pay it no lesser mind.
"Yeah... I see it now," the child ventured, seemingly understanding as he looked at the highly shredded (in every meaning) back of the man.
But that was not really all going for the man being chased. In less than half a day, the man found himself in an oddly regal setting. And in such a brief span he was forced into yellow diamond-print pajamas, felt attracted to table(?), felt uniquely offended, had his inaugural drink, and now, to top it off, as if all that weren't enough, he was being chased by what seemed to be some sort of extra goth fancy ninjas.
"Right, left, move" the lady whispered as she blurred out of vision.
The two individuals spat in the directed paths, with weapons appearing in their hands out of nowhere.
"Time to dissect the frog!" the child chuckled.
The lady ninja appeared in front of the man with a sword in her hands, causing the man to halt his steps abruptly.
"Please cooperate, Master Laurance," the lady said.
"Cooperate with what?! My death?!" Laurance exclaimed, his face clearly showing terror.
"Nothing you can do now, shiny!" the ninja man shouted, seemingly catching up and making a triangle with the group, with Laurance trapped inside.
The lady glanced at the two others as if conveying some sort of signal to them, to which the others responded with nods. The group started circling around Laurance, with each passing second accelerating their pace until one could barely catch up to them with the naked eye.
Swoosh!!!
Laurance felt pain for the second time since his arrival in this strange dream world, the sensation which seemed to be rooted from his heart. Looking down, he saw three spears embedded into his body,
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"Arrgh!!" and what followed were wails. Tears started dripping down his face as his legs gave out, emotions in frenzy indistinguishable from one another, each cry louder than the previous.
"That's it?" the child scoffed, looking down on the man kneeling and flailing, as if giving his all just to breathe.
"And I heard they never cry... seems like they do," the man said with clear surprise in his eyes.
"This mission might be unsuccessful," the lady said while glancing toward Laurance to check if he could hold up, and continuing, "cut his legs and feed him a bandage serum, we have to retreat."
"Shhh! what a waste, I will follow." the child jeered as he took out a bottle from his pocket.
The lady disappeared as soon as she heard the comment leaving behind man and child, from which man also disappeared soon after stealing a glance of Laurance.
"Well, well, the adults have left you and me behind. What to do, they are so unreliable...now...chug it down..." forcing the bottle into Laurance's mouth, who seemed to have fainted while sitting.
"Oh! someone's coming, so it's a farewell!" the child said as he removed the bottle from Laurance's mouth.
Slap!
Slapping him on the face as he disappeared with glee on his face.
"MASTER LAURANCE!!" the man rushed toward Laurance, embracing his body within his arms. The man stood up, carrying Laurance as gently as possible, quickly inspecting his surroundings for any enemy in presence.
"I was too late..." as he disappeared into thin air too.
----------------------------------------
Morph stretched out his neck, looking right and then left, being wary of any other presence on the road.
He was standing at the main entrance of his house, just one step away from being considered outside.
[...Will it be safe heading outside at this time?] he wondered.
Just a few minutes back, he was contemplating what to do on this unique day. He was already the early bird to get the worm, but now what? What were these birds supposed to do next, go back to sleep? Well, that wasn't an option; he was now too wide awake to descend back into sleep and not that he didn't already try it. After some brainstorming, his light bulb of inspiration finally lit up. A little adventure when the world is still in bed sounded rather pleasing—a new experience, perhaps a secret that no one else would know had even taken place. And now he was standing at the starting point of his adventure, yet not taking a step forward.
His excitement had brought him this far, and his timidity was leading him to hesitate.
What if a stranger suddenly started following him? What if his parents woke up and found him gone? What if he came across a criminal?
Far-fetched ideas were revolving around his head, which clearly had no justification.
"Whatever, I will face it!" he resolved, posing a very impractical fighting stance that one would only see in mangas...
Abruptly straightening up into a proper human as soon as he realized what he was doing.
"...Ahem!" faking clearing his throat, intending to tell anyone who might have noticed him that he was sane, but there wasn't anybody there, thus embarrassing himself further.
"Whatever," Morph muttered, starting to walk and looking around at every intersection he came across, stealing glances behind him occasionally.
Dawn was just around the corner; the day was starting as the darkness of night seemed to dissipate. Soon, birds could be heard chirping as everything under the horizon slowly began to be basked in light. It also had a calming effect on Morph's nerves, finally letting him forget his very-unlikely-to-happen fantasies and thus finally live in the moment.
—To be Continued—