Elsewhere...

I don't know how long it's been since they blinded me. Time feels distorted when you're lost in the dark like this. The last thing I remember is feeling their grubby hands dragging me away, my grip slipping from Hiroshi's arm. Panic set in as I stumbled, feet scraping across the dirt, but I couldn't hold on. They dragged me a few steps before I fell into something that seemed bottomless.

The descent felt like it lasted an eternity, like being suspended in the void, my heartbeat the only sound in the suffocating silence. And then, suddenly, I landed. Soft. Too soft. It wasn't the hard, bone-snapping crash I'd braced myself for. At first, I thought I'd fallen into something like a pillow. My relief was brief—gone the moment my hand brushed against something slick and warm.

I froze, my mind scrambling to make sense of it, but the truth became apparent when I raised my trembling hand to my nose. The metallic tang of blood filled my senses, immediately joined by another repulsive, sharp, nauseating stench. I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting violently. It was when it hit me—and I didn't dare remove the blindfold since. I wouldn't. I couldn't. I didn't need to see to know I wasn't alone here. Whatever I'd landed on beneath me was drenched in death. I didn't want to know what—or who—I was sitting on.

Better to stay in the dark. Better not to know. Yet, not knowing was even more terrifying.

"… Brother …" I whispered "… Hiroshi … where are you…"

They must have taken him to that cursed shack, where their boss looms like a dark cloud. Just the thought of him—the vile goblin who tormented us—filled me with a hatred so deep, I could almost taste it. I'll never forget how he laughed as he burned Ebony to ash... Ebony was just a kitten, defenceless and trusting. He took pleasure in our pain, in watching us writhe as those cursed contracts tightened around our throats.

And then Hiroshi—my brother—tried to protect me after I tried to rig his throat out, only to get kicked in the gut for his trouble. The memory made my blood boil.

The cruellest part of it all? We could've escaped. Easily. If things had gone differently if those contracts hadn't been made while we were still unconscious... Hiroshi and I would've torn through these scaly bastards without breaking a sweat. We're witches—more powerful than they could ever comprehend. We bow to no one but our mirror reflections. Yet here I sat … helpless.

Why did this happen to us? Why did "they" have to show up on that day? What kind of sick joke is fate playing on us?! Why—

"Amaye!"

"Huh?"

I froze. Was that...?

"Sis! Up here! Grab my hand! I'll pull you out!"

I ripped the blindfold off in an instant, my heart racing. There, standing at the edge of the pit, was--

"Brother? Brother!" Relief crashed over me like a wave, and a smile—real, genuine—spread across my face.

He was here. He was alive.

"Thank those of Grandure," My voice trembling with joy as I reached up to take his hand, and he hoisted me.

"Dear me… he's seen far better days."

"Eh?"

I followed my brother's gaze and nearly gagged at the sight—a goblin's rotting corpse, its body decayed and twisted beyond recognition. The stench hit me all at once.

"O-oh… oh my stars… I-I was sitting on… ugh!"

A wave of nausea surged through me. I felt like I might faint right there, but Hiroshi's arm around me kept me upright as I clung to him, burying my face in his shoulder.

"Well," I managed, voice still shaky, "From the looks of all this mist around us, I take it—"

"Oh yeah," Hiroshi interrupted, casually placing my pointed hat back on my head like it was nothing while smugness painted all over his ace. "An utterly terrible case of death befell him. Completely untreatable. No known cure. Same for the lot of them."

He gestured around the cave. Everywhere I looked, the goblins lay still, lifeless, their lungs choked full of the deadly fumes I thought would never actually work. Tears welled up in my eyes as I counted the bodies. But these weren't tears of sorrow. No, tears of pure, unbridled joy were what they were

I couldn't help it. A small, breathless laugh escaped me.

"I hope they end up wherever they sent Ebony," I muttered, wiping a tear from my cheek, "just so they can beg for forgiveness before whatever happens to the worst of this world comes for them."

"Likewise, sis, likewise… Now, let's get the heck out of here before—"

"BROTHER, LOOK OUT!!!"

The warning came too late. A shadow lurched from behind Hiroshi—a goblin, barely clinging to life, fungus-infested rotten claws out with its last ounce of strength devoted to a final, desperate attack–

"URK!!!"

But it could never reach him. A thorny vine erupting from the ground beneath made sure of that, spearing the goblin straight through the chest with a sickening–

-Crunch!-

The goblin's eyes widened in a final, futile scream as the vine embedded itself, eating through every internal organ or muscle it could find throughout its entire body before it constricted, ripping through the goblin's insides with brutal force. The creature's body convulsed violently, its blood and guts spilling out in a grotesque display as the vines ruptured it from the inside out. The grisly remains fell to the ground in a twisted heap before us.

"You tried ... to hurt my brother." I advanced toward the remains of the vile creature, my eyes glowing with a coldness that my otherwise impassive face failed to reveal as I spat at it all.

"Damn… he must have been the rare goblin who took out a healthcare package. The old crone's book said the poison should have been instant death—how did he—"

"It doesn't matter, he's dead. Now let's get out of here."

"Right behind you, sis."

-~-

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Outside the cave.

Four Weeks

Huh? Time really does fly by when one isn't isn't really thinking about it much. We both got so in touch with the way of things during our captivity it's odd to think so much time had already flew past.

Will we miss our time with the goblins? Definitely not. But will we forget? That's another story, unfortunately.

I can still vividly recall waking up in their cave and seeing the heartbreaking sight of little Ebony's charred body. I wished I could have made that scaly goblin suffer for what it did, make it slow and agonising for him as he had made it for Ebony. But it doesn't matter anymore.

A shame we never got a chance to bury you, but regardless; rest easy, our little kitty, your vengeance has been served.

Now we can finally get back on track with what we set out to do four weeks ago. We're a month behind schedule, but that's not on us, so there's no point in complaining. So First things first: we need to find a way out of this forest.

"Have you figured out the map yet, brother?"

I looked at my twin who had his eyes glued to the map for most of the walk now. I think it has been ten or so minutes since we lifted ourselves back onto the path and he has been silently staring at that map ever since.

"Well, after carefully studying this map for the time I have done so ... rest assured, dear sister of mine, that I ... have no clue where we're going..."

"Ugh ... go figure" I sighed with contempt, not really that surprised. "Give it to me, let me have a look"

"Hold on a second! I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough, just let me-- Oi!"

I snatched it from his grasp and studied it myself, my eyes widening the longer I stared at it.

"W-woah ... that's a lot of paths on here ... is the forest really that big?! W-which one are we exactly on?!"

"Yeah, not as easy as you expected, huh?"

"Oh be quiet." I scoffed back. "Look, how about we just keep going forward, and as soon as we figure out where we are, we can go from there."

"A terrible idea is... but with our predicament, it's better than nothing. Who knows, maybe luck will be on our side and--"

"Are you coming or what?" I yelled out, already several yards away from him."

"H-hey! How'd you get there already?! Wait up, Sis!"

-~-

A half-hour later

---rrruuuummmmbblle---

"Oh, crap..." I winced, wrapping an arm around my midsection.

"You hungry too, huh?"

I shot him a withering look. "You have no idea. It feels like my stomach's trying to digest itself."

I paused for a brief moment.

"But hey, you must've swiped something edible when you pulled me out of that hole, right? What've we got?"

Hiroshi's face fell, and I felt a sinking feeling in my gut that had nothing to do with hunger.

"Ah... Well... about that..." he stammered, avoiding my gaze. "It's probably a terrible time to say this, but--"

"You didn't take any food, did you?" I groaned, my hope evaporating faster than morning dew.

"Well ... um ... no."

--BAM–BAM--

"OW! W-what the- O-Oi! -S-stop it!"

My fists were pummeling Hiroshi's arm in a flurry he clearly wasn't prepared for.

"You forgot food? Food?! Of all things!"

"Ow! OW! Sis! Stop it- Argh!-That hurts!"

"It's supposed to hurt, you idiot! How could you forget something as crucial as food?! YOU DUMBNUT!!!"

Hiroshi bolted in some random direction, but I was right on his heels, my fury practically radiating off me in waves.

"Mother was right when she said you're always so clueless about the important stuff!" I yelled, my anger a call sign that gave rise to multiple arrays of thorny vines erupting from the ground and reaching after him.

"You left behind the one thing we needed to survive in this damned forest!!!"

The thorns came down at him from all directions, their strikes deadly in all possible forms.

I had to admit, however, as they struck at him, that I became slightly impressed by how seriously he took to duck, jump, slide under and even swing through branches at one to avoid them.

"Oh, put a lid on it!" He shouted desperately, weaving through the underbrush. "I was enjoying the sweet sounds of those bastards choking on their own death! You'd have done the same if you were in my shoes!"

"YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT!!!"

-BAM-

"Gu-fah!"

I lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. Before he could react, we were rolling down the hill, caught in a whirlwind of limbs. My fists flew, and each punch met with a retaliation just as hard from him. We fought like there was only one tray of pudding left for dessert as we travelled down the hill as fast as a speeding ball.

"You! Stupid! Brother!"

"No! You're Stupid!"

-Bam!-Pow!-Ca-blam!-Bam!-Bam!-Wham!-

We tumbled down that hill for what felt like an eternity, crashing through the undergrowth until we finally came to a stop at the bottom. Exhausted and gasping for air, we lay sprawled out on the ground, too drained to move, staring up at the clear blue canopy above us.

"... Hah … Hah … Hah … victory for … Amaye …"

"... Sod off! … Hah … Hah … I won that fight …"

"... Perhaps … in your dreams … maybe …"

" … Oh, why don't you just–... Ugh … I'm too tired to go on with this …"

I pushed myself into a sitting position, glancing around at our new surroundings ... which was just another way of saying that we were still in the forest, perhaps even deeper than before.

"Urgh ... we're never gonna get anywhere if we fight like this," I groaned. "That's how we ended up in the river, which led us to a month at those reptiles' feet in the first place."

"Y-Yeah," Hiroshi replied as he began to pick himself up. "... sigh... but look at us ... the best we've accomplished since leaving was being able to find deeper dug problems ... we left on a whim that we could fix what happened at home but ... but --sniff-- but we-"

I turned to look at my brother, startled by the catch in his voice. His eyes were glistening, on the verge of tears. It had been a long time since I'd seen him like this, so vulnerable and lost. My heart clenched.

Without thinking, I moved towards him, cupping his face in my hands. I felt my own eyes welling up as I looked into his.

"Hey, stop that," I said softly, my voice wavering. "If you start crying, I'll cry too, you idiot."

Hiroshi let out a choked laugh, and I pulled him into a tight hug.

Here's an expanded version with more details and the requested changes:

"...We're going to get out of here ... I know we will ... and then we'll be one step closer to saving--"

"...Grrrrrrrr..."

I paused mid-sentence, a giggle escaping my lips. "Was that your stomach? We should probably find something to eat first."

Hiroshi's eyes widened. "That... wasn't me."

My laughter died instantly. "It wasn't mine either."

-snap- -rustle-

We both turned slowly, our breaths hitching in our throats as our eyes locked onto the bushes nearby. From the underbrush, a massive, furry black creature emerged, its coat a tangled mess of brambles and dirt.

From just a brief look, it already appeared like it had clawed its way through hell itself, fresh wounds peppering its body like a grotesque tapestry. It held its left front paw gingerly off the ground, favoring it as if every step was a battle.

A jagged scar marred it's left eye, the injury recent and raw looking. Its breath came in ragged gasps, and foam dripped from its jaws, glistening in the dappled light filtering through the trees. As it fixed its gaze upon us, a low growl rumbled from deep within its throat, vibrating through the air. The creature's good eye was fixated on us, glinted with a unstable hunger.

Hunger it appeared to have found a way to quench.

"Feral ... Beast?!" Brother exclaimed as we scrambled to our feet. Brother positioned himself protectively in front of me, aS we backed away slowly.

Of course, it noticed, and in response to such, the beast's pace began to quicken.

"G-Get away ... Get away from us!" I screamed in utter panic, which acted as the catalyst to signal the eruption of dozens of thorny vines from the ground, instantly reaching out towards the beast and ensnaring it before it could react.

"Raagh! RRRAAAGGHH!"

From the moment they got a firm grip, the beast began to struggle against its bonds, perhaps in response to the pain the vines made it feel. It thrashed and shook and even cried out, and for a brief moment, I felt bad for its condition.

"Now! While it's still ensnared!" Brother yelled out, taking my hand and pulling me after him. "Come on, Sis! Run!"