The branches in the forest were too huge that the forest turned dark, but the sunlight penetrated through the few spaces among the leaves and creepers, resulting to leaked lights. There was howling and horrible cries echoing around the forest as stench of blood could be smelt. There were also flappings of the wing coming from the top of the trees.
Some people were seen in the middle of the forest. There were few of them. They were putting on yellow robes, although, their robes looked miserable. There were cuts in some faces, some had their robes torn and they all had their hairs messed up with their weapons by their sides. There were signs of exhaustion on them as they panted heavily. Some leaned at the tree while some were sitting on the ground. They tried to glance beyond the branches above but the leaked lights from the sun blurred their sights and forced them to retreat.
"Hey guys, we can't just sit like this while we run out of time, it's almost noon, we have to give it more try" said Mike as he knitted his brows. He had a brown hair with white skin and seemed to be a brave one.
"I don't think so, I think all we have to do is to sit and watch the time pass, and by dawn, we get out of the forest" Lotus replied him as she continued panting. She had a pale skin and her hair black. Others seemed to be with her as they nodded their heads in affirmation.
"Yes, I go with her, perhaps, we already have two golden coins at least. We're assured to go through the second test!" Sid yelled in affirmation as he grinned. He was a black boy with an average height.
Whoops!
Something squelched in the bush behind them and hurried away as the bush moved restlessly. They all got themselves armed as they became quiet, looking here and there. Everywhere was dead silent as they poised their weapons steadily.
Whoops!
The same thing squelched again at the top of the tree they were formerly leaning at and rushed away as the apex of the tree moved here and there. This time, they'll became overwhelmed with fear as beads of sweat rolled down their cheeks.
Haa!!!
Suddenly, something very quick rushed at one of them and grabbed his head, pulled it out and hurried back into the bush while blood gushed out of his neck. The remnants of his body hobbled for some time and later fell down. Terror filled the place as Lotus screamed with her hands by her ears.
"Run!!!" Mike yelled as they all took to their heels. As they ran, one by one, their heads got pulled out while their bodies ran till they fell. Others clambered among the trunks and creepers. They continued running with their hearts in their mouths.
"No!!!" Lotus yelled as Sid got knocked off his feet by a pothole he had stepped on. Sid tried to free himself but his feet went too deep into the ground, leaving half of his leg stuck.
"Sid!!! Hurry!!!" Mike yelled as one of their heads got pulled again. Mike and Lotus rushed at him as more heads got pulled out. They pulled and pulled Sid as he cried out in pain.
" You guys should go, I feel something pulling me from beneath" said Sid as he groaned. Lotus and Mike ignored him and continued pulling him.
"No!!!" both Mike and Lotus cried out as Sid got pulled in the ground, showing nothing left of him but the soil covering the pothole. They both screamed as they hurried up and ran. There weren't many of them left. They had scattered, trying to save their dear lives. They had forgotten about their test.
"Oh no, not you Mike" Lotus exclaimed as Mike's hand got grabbed by something which pulled him in the bush. Mike's scream echoed as it came from a long distance. Lotus stunned for some moments but later resulted to running. She ran helplessly, not knowing where she was headed. She smashed through the bush as her skin got cut by the hard leaves in the bush.
After running for sometime, she stepped on something slippery which made her fell. She groaned as she rolled continuously, hitting her head on the stones on the way as she rolled.
Eventually, she stopped rolling while groaning in pain. Her eyes blurred, hence, she couldn't see clearly. Blood rolled down her forehead continuously as she tried to stand. She could perceive a weird smell all over where she was, the smell of the dead. She tried to move backward as slowly as she could. As she crawled, she felt something round and smooth. She moved a little bit backward and she felt something hairy. She gasped as she became more frightened. She tried to look at it but her eyes was still blurred. After struggling to stand, her feet turned numbed. She couldn't move again. Her body had been weakened and felt pain all over her body. She groaned and groaned as she laid still, sobbing as beads of sweat rolled down her cheek.
Whoa!!!
She became terrorized as she heard the sound of a beast approaching her.
"Oh no! Am in the home of the beast!" Lotus gasped as she noticed where she was filled with skulls , flesh and blood. She tried to move but she was too weak to. She just laid still and closed her eyes.