The boy's cry was enough for Nathan to find the strength in his legs to run in the opposite direction. He really had no idea where he was going, but it was his only option.
He could only rely on his legs and his premonitions. But there was little else he could do to get rid of the boy who, even without looking back, he knew was following him by his constant whining.
A foul stench reached Nathan's nostrils seconds before a loud scream echoed around him.
It took a lot of willpower not to throw up at the stench, but since there had been no food since the day before, he didn't have much to throw up. So, Nathan endured the discomfort and continued to run through the streets of the village, trying to escape.
It was almost a minute before Nathan stopped running, but his poor physical condition and lack of food finally took their toll.
His breathing was ragged, and his legs were shaking with exhaustion. Nathan really did not want to stop running, but sometimes his willpower was not enough, and his legs gave out and he fell to the ground again, breaking his fall with his arms.
Unconsciously, Nathan looked behind him to make sure that no one was following him. But in an instant, he heard the throaty voice of the boy right in front of him.
"Is it my fault?"
Looking back, Nathan could only watch as the boy's bloody hand reached into his chest, gripped his heart, and ripped it out.
The boy looked at Nathan's heart in his hand and licked his lips before swallowing it in one bite.
Nathan could only watch as his heart was eaten in front of him as it lay on the floor, bleeding to death.
A moment later Nathan heard the boy's voice again.
"Is it my fault?"
But instead of turning and looking at him, Nathan didn't hesitate to run again, but in the opposite direction.
The adrenaline gave his tired, aching muscles a final boost, but Nathan knew he couldn't go on like this for long.
Turning his back on the boy, he thought the boy would kill him again by giving him a death promotion. Surprisingly, however, he was not attacked, so he kept running without looking back.
Completely lost in the city, he lost the feeling that his legs were about to collapse. Suddenly, Nathan ran out of the street and into an open area that appeared to be the town's main square.
'What...?'
In front of him, filling the entire square, were hundreds and hundreds of shadowy figures staring at someplace. Nathan froze, he had enough to deal with from that monster without having to face these strange shadows.
But seconds later he noticed that the shadows completely ignored his presence and continued to stare straight ahead. Meanwhile, Nathan heard the boy's voice behind him again.
"No! No! No! No!"
Nathan didn't hesitate and instead of looking back, he just kept walking into the square. His legs soon gave out, forcing him to kneel and crawl to get away from the boy.
Nathan expected to see his death at the boy's hands again... but no matter how long he waited, it never came.
However, the constant guttural screams of the boy behind him slowly made him lose his mind. To the point where his arms also gave way and all Nathan could do was cover his ears, close his eyes, and wait for it all to pass. Like a scared child waiting for someone to help.
"You all don't want to play with me either!"
The boy's cries came closer and closer to Nathan who just lay on the floor shivering without opening his eyes.
"Why, why won't you all look at me?"
The boy screamed violently, it was the worst scream he had ever let out. Nathan could feel the scream slightly damaging his eardrums and the fear seeping into his being.
But he could only shudder and cry as he listened to the boy approach him.
"At least look at me!"
Nathan refused to open his eyes, he just couldn't. His body was completely paralyzed, he had no control over his muscles. He felt as if there was a pressure preventing him from moving... but in reality, he was just so scared that his mind had separated from his body.
The boy was literally screaming in his ear, but the death Nathan had been waiting for... never came.
The screaming continued for a minute, but Nathan no longer understood the boy's words. His brain was simply not processing the sound information coming at it. It was as if his mind had activated a defense system, trying to keep him from going mad over what was happening around him.
Suddenly, without knowing when, the boy stopped screaming and silence returned to the square. Still Nathan did not move, did not open his eyes, did not even dare to change the rhythm of his agitated breathing.
Eventually he became aware of his surroundings and, with a little effort, slowly opened his eyes. There was no child in front of him trying to kill him. All that remained were the hundreds of shadows that continued to stare in one direction.
Nathan relaxed a little, knowing that the shadows didn't seem hostile, but he didn't want to disturb them for any reason.
However, Nathan was completely terrified. His body was shaking uncontrollably, and he felt so cold that he thought he might freeze at any moment.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, but the atmosphere made it clear that winter was near.
But his body was so weak that he couldn't fight the cold by burning energy he didn't have. Slowly, with what little strength he had regained from a few minutes lying down, he began to get up.
With slow steps he walked towards the place where the shadows were watching, trying to decipher what it was that made the shadows completely ignore him and the monstrous boy.
It was difficult to walk through the shadows without touching one of them, but Nathan walked so slowly that he somehow managed to avoid them all.
When he finally crossed the square and saw what the shadows were looking at, he didn't know what to say.
It was a church, with a statue of a woman carved into the top of its majestic door.
Nathan did not fail to notice that the church was the only intact building in the village, not even the house he had spent the night in was in as good condition as the building in front of him.
But not only was the church intact, it even looked as if someone had been looking after it, for the bushes around it were neatly trimmed and there was no sign of dirt anywhere around it.
Nathan swallowed and, with fear still in every fiber of his being, started walking towards the church.
When he was a few meters from the doors, they opened wide, inviting him to enter. Nathan hesitated for a few seconds, but with no other choice, he cautiously entered the church.
Once his body was completely inside the church, the doors closed again, locking him inside.
Nathan looked at the door behind him and his heart shrank as he knew he had no way to escape.
Looking straight ahead again, Nathan looked around the church.
However, with the intention of going deeper into the church, as he took the first step, all the tiredness hit him directly, making him dizzy and losing his balance.
Nathan fell face first to the floor and his eyes gradually lost focus until he lost consciousness, unable to fight the sleepiness that was slowly sinking him into a sea of nightmares.