Walking silently, both Aki and Neo continued to traverse the forest. Their destination remained the same, but certain plans have change inevitably. The presence of the pale monster in the forest was a major issue. It meant the possibility of another monster wave having occurred. The timing was cruel, as it seemed to have happened right after they decided to explore the valley. It made many of their plans difficult to go through with, especially that of exploring the entirety of the valley. The presence of the monsters means the two had to resort to more time and resources consuming methods, that will likely lead to their death sooner rather than later.
The two were between a rock and a hard place. However the occurrence of a monster wave was yet to be confirmed. Hopeful, Neo decided to continue their journey across the valley. The Old Ruins were still a few days of travel away, and so they had to keep moving until they reached the edge of the forest by the end of the night. Neo was still considerably drained from their encounter with the pale monster, but he held on knowing they were close to the edge of the forest.
"Gah…my legs are killing me…" Neo complained under his breath. Aki looked over her shoulder, looking unbothered. She didn't even seem like she had been walking for more than half a day already. There was no shortness of breath, no sweating, no panting, and not a single complaint had been uttered. She was not tired at all. Which came as a big surprise, due to her small stature. One would assume her to be unhealthy and frail, but on the contrary, she was in fact decently strong. At least strong enough to carry Neo.
Sigh, "Please don't look at me like that, I know I look pathetic, but before I got here, I was a sickly kid with barely any strength to lift my own body out of bed." Neo said as he briefly leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree, to catch his breath.
"I didn't say anything...You're getting ahead of yourself again. I just wanted to point out the fact that… we're nearly there." Aki said while pointing forward.
Neo followed her finger, and glanced to the distance. There, trees were arranged in a triangular shape. Beyond the group of trees, was the vast expanse of plains. A clear landscape that stretched from the west to the east. In that moment, the wind blew gently across the open field, causing the tall grass to follow in the direction of the wind. The sight was peaceful and beautiful to look at. Neo felt his body being a bit revitalized by the sight.
"Neo…get down" Aki said while pulling him behind some trees. Her voice barely an audible whisper. Neo was about to complain, when he saw her gesture to keep silent. His instincts quickly kicked in and he clamped his mouth shut. He scanned the surroundings cautiously. Despite that however, he could only see the billowing tall grass, and hear the blowing of the wind. Aki on the other hand, was very tense. She exuded a different aura than usual.
Observing her closely, Neo felt as if he could cut the tension that she exuded in the air. He on the other hand still couldn't see what the danger was. Until he heard it that is.
Thud, Thump, Crack, Thump…The echoing sounds of something large and heavy approached them slowly. The sound similar to that of a beaten drum. It was loud, unnerving, and worst of all, it was getting closer. Neo glanced at Aki with a concerned expression on his face. His eyes kept darting back and forth from the tall grass to her face, waiting for a reaction. But Aki kept still, very still, except for one hand that she reached out to grasp Neo's arm very tightly. Her grip was strong.
Neo looked into her eyes, urging her to explain what was going on. But she kept silent, only tightening her hands as whatever was approaching got closer.
At least tell me what's going on…this isn't funny at all. He complained in his head.
The loud footfalls continued to get close, until they stopped, just a few feet away from the two. Once again, only the sound of billowing grass, and restrained breathing, could be heard.
Accompanying the deafening silence, was the sound of a violently beating heart. Finally, the string of tension tightened, and Neo's blood ran cold. Through the tall grass, he saw it, the shadow of a big and bulky figure. It stood still, occasionally it moved ever so slightly as if breathing. The figure stood rooted to its place, only turning its head ever so slightly left and right.
It continued to repeat this action, turning its head left, then right, then back again. He could feel his heart, trying to climb its way up his throat. At that moment only one thing was on his mind; that they we're absolutely fucked.
THIS IS INSANE, WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DO?!? Neo screamed in his thoughts as the creature inched closer and closer. The wind blew louder and louder, and with that the creature began to make gut wrenching gurgling noises. It raised one of its limbs, and reached out towards the two of them
Then it stopped…and retracted its hand, before turning away and slowly lumbering off. The thud of its footsteps wracking the ground, like silent thunder bellowing its wake. Soon the sound grew further and muter, but still the thundering beating of his heart continued to echo in his ears. Neo waited a moment more before drawing in a shaky and careful breath of air. The feeling of cold air blowing down his throat cleared his head, yet it was only one emotion that welcome his calmed mind. Dread.
What the fuck was that about…what the absolute fuck??
The loud beating of his heart rang again and again as an echo in his head. They we're alive, and he did not dare question why. He only knew, that whatever happened was lady luck blessing him for the first time in a long time.
The wind continued to caress the field, and the silence of the seemingly empty valley beckoned them once again. To cross its vast expanse. He knew it wasn't the case however, that there was more dangers hidden in the valley, than one could ever imagine. Neo turned to his companion after feeling a light tug on his sleeve. Her eyes we're trembling ever so slightly, pupils dilated so much that they we're akin to dots. Her breathing rough and ragged as if she had surfaced for air after diving.
Neo's lips parted and closed over and over, as he hesitated. His eyes flitted left and right, scanning the surroundings carefully. He had no way of knowing if they we're truly alone. The silence of the plains was a lie, a trap in plain sight. He held Aki's hand firmly, and she turns to him, as he signaled to her as best he could, to control her breathing. She stares back at him for moment. To his surprise, she begins to take long, deep breaths, and soon her breathing calmed.
Her face was still pale and frozen in place. But the sharpness in her eyes had returned. Her clarity had returned. It was time to move. He took a deep breath as well, before turning back towards the empty valley. The tallgrass danced and swayed, as the wind continued to pass. The pale face boy continued to watch the grass sway in silence. His face was calm, but his mind was the opposite. The gears we're turning, hard, harder than ever, plan after plan, simulated, scrapped and rethought. Pieces of the puzzle we're brought together in an attempt to figure out an image, a plan, a way to get through.
Time flowed, all was still, neither the boy with pale skin, nor the girl with fiery hair moved. The valley was quiet, except for the wind that continued to blow across the valley. Minutes more passed, and the two had remained still for quite some time, or so it felt, Neo wasn't sure. After all, he had no way to tell.
It was only until his head began to ache, that Neo let out a deep sigh. He dropped his head, his eyes faced the ground, and a drop of sweat dripped down his forehead. Nothing, no ideas, no plans, no way out. Neo entertained the thought of his companion being able to read his mind, as she proceeded to let out a sigh.
Her shoulders sagging in exhaustion, and what he assumed was silent despair. They sat still.
Soon the wind stopped blowing. The tall grass became still. Suddenly, the world, was mute. For a moment, the two felt as if they had become deaf. But the sound of their heartbeats meant otherwise. There was no sound, no wind, not even the wildlife. Nothing.
Neo exhaled a cloud of mist. His palms were cold, and so was his spine as if melted ice had dripped along his back. His hair began to rise, and with it his heart slowly began to claw its way up his throat. Something had changed. His companion was frozen in place. Not moving at all. Her breathing was restrained. He found himself mirroring her actions.
The eerie silence was like a knife, digging its way through his skull. Neo felt numb, his impulse was to move, to take a deep breath. But something held him back from moving. Something wrapped around him, constricting his movement. Instinct, like a snake wrapped around his very being.
'Move and you're dead', it seemed to say. Time passed, slowly, agonizingly slow. The nothingness, and stillness, deafening. As it chipped away at his sanity, he repeated to himself over and over again.
Don't move, don't move, don't move…don't move! And so he didn't, they stood still, frozen, like statues. Soon the wind began to blow again. The sound of the world coming to life once more around them. They both exhaled and took a deep breath. The relief that came with the wind sweeping over them was joy like no other. But it was a brief one.
WHOOOOOSH---.
The tree a few feet to Neo's left had splintered into pieces. Fragments of wood, acted like shrapnel and shot off in multiple directions. Neo wrapped himself around Aki, effectively shielding her from the sharp wood, but sacrificing his own body in the process. A moment later, pain tore through his arm.
A large piece of wood, had lodged itself into his arm. Blood flowed like a spring, and the smell of iron hit the air. The earthy smell of wood mixed with the iron of blood. Nausea took over, and his legs lost their strength.
Looking over his shoulder, Neo witnessed a tall figure, cloaked in the deep shadow of night. It towered over them as its hand swiftly extended towards the two. Its claws poised in a grabbing motion. The air shrieked at the speed the figure moved its limb.
Neo mustered what strength he could to evade while holding Aki in his arms. His hope was rewarded when he successfully dodged to the side. The wind grazed his clothes, and red hair billowed. Joy was brief, as the arm swept towards them swiftly. In a blink of an eye, Neo made the decision to toss Aki away as far as he could.
She flew away for a second before landing and rolling on the ground a fair distance away from Neo. The monstrous figure took that personally it seemed, as it struck Neo, making the sound akin to that of something being squeezed and the squish, followed by the bloody pop. A brief silence took place, before the sonic boom signaled the impact of the strike. Creaking from its wooden fist was heard as it shook it lightly, as if trying to shake off the pain from punching something solid. A fair distance away, multiple tree's had collapsed and shattered, showing something had gone flying through them.
Just beyond the shattered stumps, the mangled body of a young boy lay in the debris of a fallen tree. The red viscous liquid, stuck to every surface visible to the eye. Bone, flesh, and other parts, scattered. The body…the corpselike body moved slightly. Its nose twitched.
Awoken by the smell of iron, Neo opened his eyes once more. The miracle of having lived through such a powerful blow briefly crossed his mind, before his body was assaulted by a blinding pain that came from…everywhere.
Wh-where…where am I…injured…legs?...arms?...h-head…or is it…
Struggling to gather his consciousness, he swam in an ocean of pain. It felt as if his body was submerged in a vat of thick liquid. His arms felt heavy, his head was mired in an overwhelming sensation. Pain was his entirety, and his entirety was in pain. Pure and unfiltered.
He opened his mouth, attempting to take a breath. Only to croak out a half groan half squeak.
"Ueu…UeweeEEEEECK!!!!"
F u c k…my throat…it must look horrible right now…I probably look like roadkill.
Vomiting blood, his breakfast, and what was likely a piece of his mushed internal organs, he struggled to get up despite his grievous 'injuries'…if the complete dismemberment, shattering of limbs and bones could even be referred to as such. Aki who was only now recovering from her unrehearsed stunt roll, slowly got up from her spot, disoriented.
Her first instinct was to scream for the pale faced boy. Luckily she came to her senses quite quickly and stopped herself from shouting out loud. Scanning her surroundings, gave her some idea of what had occurred.
Neo must've thrown me, but what about him!? That monster is too fast to keep up with. We'll die if we don't get out of here. Neo where are you- Aki analyzed, but her train of thought was suddenly halted, when she saw the line of trees that had been felled. It appeared as though something big had shot through the multiple trees.
Without thinking, Aki quickly ran towards the line of trees, at the end of which a struggling Neo was trying to stand up despite his mangled body. Aki ran towards him, her footsteps accompanied by the splash of his blood which had pooled all over him.
"Neo! Why aren't you healing? What's going on??!" She stretched out her hands towards him, but stopped short of touching his battered torso. The blood which was flowing continuously from his wounds, began to slow down. Soon it stopped, and began to flow back into Neo's body.
"…Eughh…huaa…A…keegh…" Neo blurted out, while his chest heaved.
I can't speak without my throat…It's taking too long to heal. What is going on? Why isn't my power reacting to my injuries? What's going on?
"I don't get it. You healed so quickly the last time…what is wrong with your powers?!?" Aki whimpered, her pupils shaking as she watched his bones twist agonizingly slowly back into place, while the flesh squirmed and twitched sliding over the bones. The blood sneaking in between the open flesh to seep back into the arteries.
Neo's tears flowed, mixing with the blood on his barely recognizable, but healing face. Soon the tissue on his throat moved, as if struggling to stretch over the gaping wounds of his neck. Neo felt odd, it was as if he had been drained of something, besides the blood that was slowly flowing back into his injuries. The injuries showed no signs of recovering faster.
"Egh…Hugh…Kegh!!" He groaned out loud trying to speak.
Aki kept looking back over her shoulder, as the towering figure stood still. It had no distinguishable eyes though it was like it was staring eerily at them. It was still as a corpse, as if it hadn't just thrown a man through a handful of trees, shattering them in the process.
Neo groaned and strained his mind, willing and urging his ability to heal his wounds faster, but there was no reaction whatsoever. Trying his best to claw at something inside him, for something to move, for something to happen. There was nothing.
A blurry sight welcomed his left eye, which had ruptured from the impact. He blinked a couple of times, trying to regain clarity. Abruptly his vision shook, following the heavy footfalls of the giant creature. The tremors intensifying, as it moved closer and closer. The thick patches of moss all over its limbs and torso, fluttering with the wind as it blew across the valley.
The monstrosity approached, slowly, step by step. Aki no longer hesitated, and gently embraced Neo. His warm blood soaking her tattered clothes. The warm liquid that slowly crawled back into his wounds, staining her skin, red.
Neo closed his eyes, trying his best to gather his strength. Shouting in his mind.
Fucking work damn it!! Why aren't I healing faster!?! Come on, you shitty fucking system!!
Aki closed her eyes, and hugged him tighter, Neo endured the pain. His eyes straining, as he tightened his partially healed jaw. The wind blew hard across the valley, making the tall green grass billow, it looked as though the entire valley was an ocean of green waves.
Then abruptly. As though it was never there, the wind stopped.
The grass stilled, and with it, the towering monster froze. Its hollow eye sockets betrayed no emotion. But its movements became, more measured. It bent down on one knee, and suddenly, as if the very laws of physics themselves had been augmented, the towering monsters body gave off a heavy feeling. Similar to the strain of a taut bowstring. The creature's body, quietly creaked. The bark that was its skin, groaned and creaked akin to the sound of a falling tree. But there was no falling tree. It was only the sound of the creature straining its body in preparation for...something. The air felt as though it was twisting around the creature's body, as it crouched there, its arms planted in front of it.
The two children frozen in their place, watched with bated breath, staring wide eyed and wary. Then they heard it, the sound of grass brushing against each other. But there was no wind, and yet it was unmistakable the sound of the blades of tall grass, rubbing against each other.
One second, the towering creature was just few meters away from them. Then it dissappeared-
BOOOOOM-
The impact came first before the sound. The grass surrounding the towering monstrosity was flattened, and a cloud of dust rose, robbing them of their sight. There was only the sound of rustling glass, followed by intermittent whistling of air, as if a dozen bullets were flying past them, coming from multiple directions.
"Th—Th-stha-Stan…d uh-p…an—lum…Af-A-ki…" Neo spoke as though he was chewing on his lips, because his throat was only still partially healed.
Aki, like she had consistently done so, did not heed his request but instead picked him up and began running opposite from where the monster disappeared to. It still surprised the injured boy how strong she was contrary to her physical stature. She ran so quickly it was as if the boy weighed nothing to her, which might've been the case.
BOOOOOOM—
Another loud explosion shook the valley, another dust cloud rose up to cover the grassy field, and the sounds of what can only be described as, a 'crossfire' continued even as the two ran the way they came.
What the fuck is she doing?!? Why's she going back the way we came!? Neo said in his head, worried that his throw might've caused an unnecessary significant damage to his companion's brain.
To his surprise however, she stopped after coming across his pack, which had miraculously survived the first attack. Neo stared at his companion, a mixture of admiration and shock evident in his partially healed face. Aki picked up the bag, and carried it together with the pale boy.
She then ran, ran as quickly as she did earlier, and once again Neo questioned if she was a normal girl at all.
This time around, she was running towards the loud booming sounds. Neo didn't dare doubt her judgement this time around, and just silently healed, though his heartbeat betrayed his calm expression. Aki, after having gotten closer to the sounds, then opted to circle around the clouds of dust in front of them.
She made a wide arced turn to the right, effectively duping the now preoccupied tree monster. As Aki ran with all her might. Neo's recovery soon neared considerable progress as he squeezed his fists. He was just about to switch places with his companion, when she came to a screeching and sudden halt.
What stood before them was another blockade.
Said blockade was a thin grey extraterrestrial looking humanoid.