SHE RAN AS FAR AS her feet could drag her. Twigs were slapping, whacking, and hitting her face, and stones were digging her skin underneath her feet. But no matter how painful it was or how tired she felt, she continued to run.

The unknown creature followed suit, but unlike her, it was chuckling while it pursued her. It didn't even feel tired or exhausted. Instead of feeling all those things, it was relishing every moment. Like its prey's anguish was what's making it more eager to continue the chase.

"Ah!" The young girl groaned. The pain from her knee to the shin crawled like a giant needle pricked her. But instead of giving it her attention, she focused on crawling away from her pursuer.

Using a tree as a support, she tried to stand up. But she slumped back to the ground due to exhaustion, pain, and most especially fear. When her efforts to escape were made futile, all she could do was cry and wait for her end. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that it would end quickly and painlessly.

After some time, everything became quiet. She could only hear the rustling of leaves, the whistling of the wind, and the sound of her harsh breathing, but the sound of the pursuer was gone. The maniac laughter that was following her vanished like smoke in the air.

She double-checked her surroundings, looking for the slightest hint of his pursuer's whereabouts. But all she could see was the dark and creepy forest no one had dared come in. But she didn't have a choice, she was forced to run here and hide. No one would help her anyway. She was on her own.

Her tribe had abandoned her for being different. And different equates to evil. Even she hated herself for what she had become. But what she hated the most was those mortals she treated like her own family and blood. She couldn't believe that it was that easy for them to cast her away. Thinking about it made her feel more frustrated.

The sudden gust of the wind woke her up from her deep slumber. She thought she was safe. She thought she got away from her pursuer. But it was only watching her, waiting for her to regain strength and begin the chase once again.

She whimpered, "Stop! Just end my suffering now. I don't care anymore."

And just like that, her pursuer materialized in front of her. It was a black smoke with a distorted-like appearance. It didn't have eyes, nose, or anything, but she felt like it was staring deep into her skull. Staring at its formless body made her shiver. She thought she was ready to die. But she wasn't—no one is.

The black smoke crawled on the ground, making its way towards her. She tried to avoid it from touching her, but the tree from behind prevented her from doing so. All she could do was whimper and wait for the pain and for everything to end.

When the smoke reached its way to the mortal's body, it entered her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. She stiffened and her body went completely still. After a while, she went numb and lost consciousness. Her eye sockets rolled behind and all that could be seen was the white of her eyes.

The smoke continued to suck the life out of the mortal's body. It feeds on the mortal's negative emotions without hesitation. It produced a low growl like it was mocking the mortal from its futile attempt to escape from it. But they knew no one had ever escaped a creature like it before.

No one had ever defeated a murklin ever.

*

Finn Erskin wiped the sweat off his forehead and heaved a sigh before chopping the last piece of wood. He was out doing this for almost two hours now, and he had to go back home to cook his family breakfast before they all woke up.

When he was done, he picked up all the piles and climbed back up the mountain. When the thunder roared, that was his cue to run. He didn't want his newly chopped woods to get wet. His mother would surely scold him.

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It's not my fault she always asks me to chop wood in the morning. It's always raining in the morning.

He abruptly stopped when a shadow went past him. He saw himself slumped on the floor, woods scattered all around him. When he stood, he grunted and rubbed his aching butt.

"What the hell was that? Watch where you're going!" he exclaimed, eyebrows creasing towards the person who bumped him.

His eyes widened at the sight of the unfamiliar woman. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were dirty with mud and her rotten teeth growled at him. His initial reaction was to run away. But when he saw that it was a human, he immediately calmed down. 

"Hey! Calm down. It's okay. What happened?" He raised his palms towards the woman to show that he was harmless. But the woman still snarled at him and tried to attack him.

"Woah! I said calm down. I won't hurt you. See?" He showed her his hands. "I'm not a bad person. I just want to help."

The woman continued to growl at him. He thought she was going to attack again when she moved, but was appalled when she suddenly stared at him, particularly on the necklace he was wearing.

It was a gift from his father on his twenty-first birthday. It was his initials carved in stone. FE. And his father carved it specially for him. His older sister, Charis, and his younger brother, Carl, also had the same with different initials and color. His was Cyan.

He touched his necklace. "Do you want to play with this?" The woman didn't answer, but she snarled a little. "What about this? I'll let you play with it later if you come with me. Deal?"

After nodding, Finn rushed to catch the woman when she suddenly went limp and fell. He held her head to prevent it from hitting the ground. He didn't know that he could move that fast. Sighing in relief, he didn't think twice and carried the woman behind his back. 

He didn't care for the chopped woods anymore and hurried to their house. The rain was already pouring when he reached the house. His mother greeted him with furrowed eyebrows.

"What happened? Who's that woman?"

"I met her in the woods, and then she suddenly fainted."

Finn laid her down on the bamboo cot before rushing to the kitchen to warm some water. And then he prepared a towel. He also grabbed some herbal medicine on the side in case the woman was bruised or injured.

He was busy tending to the unconscious woman when his older sister woke up from all the ruckus. 

"What's happening?" she said weakly.

Finn stopped for a second to smile at her sister and said, "You're awake. Please give me a moment to finish this. I'll cook your breakfast as soon as I'm done."

Charis nodded. She tried to sit on the bamboo cot she slept at on her own, but it almost cost her all her strength. Her face grimaced as she clutched on her aching chest.

Her mother stopped her, and helped her lay down the cot again. "Don't move too much if you can't," Mandy scolded. 

"But I want to help with our breakfast at least."

"Let your brothers do the heavy work. If something happens to you, it'll just be more difficult for us."

No matter how painful that statement was for Charis, she knew her mother was right. If she was to collapse again, Finn would need to work hard thrice again. She didn't want to be a heavier burden anymore.

Mandy started preparing for their breakfast when she noticed that there were no new chopped woods in the trunk. She marched towards Finn and confronted him angrily. 

"Where the hell are the firewoods?!"

Finn raised his head from the woman. He just finished tending to her, and was about to head to the kitchen to cook.

"I'm sorry. It got soaked in the rain as I headed home. I didn't have the time to pick them up as it started pouring. It'll just get wet. It's useless. And I had to carry her home with me."

Mandy's temple twitched. "You were out for almost two hours, and you brought nothing? And why did you bother sending that woman here? Finn, we're already so poor, and yet you even sent another one to feed. Do you think we're a charity?"

"I can't just leave her out there in the rain. She also lost consciousness and—" He sighed. He didn't want to argue with her mother anymore. "I'm sorry, okay? And I'll take care of her. Don't worry."

"Take care of her? You can't even take care of your own sister. How do you think you can take care of a stranger?" Mandy stormed out of the house without waiting for Finn's explanation.

Finn could only sigh as he started cooking breakfast without a word. It was not the first time his mother scolded him like this. This was his everyday breakfast. Everything was his fault. Everything happens because of him.

Charis spoke from behind, "I'm sorry for being useless, Finn."

"Ey, what are you saying? You're not useless."

She smiled weakly. "What good did I ever bring to this family?"

"You shower us with love. You always teach me everything you learn and read. You light up the house with your laugh. Should I continue?"

"Oh, Finn, how can you be so optimistic?"

"If telling the truth means being optimistic, then I don't mind being one." He grinned before starting the fire.

Charis wiped the tears that escaped her eyes. She didn't want Finn to see her cry over this. She was already weak physically. All she could do was to become brave mentally and emotionally for her two brothers.