It wasn't often that Ye Shengtao was afraid, but right now was an exception.
He was positively terrified. His sturdy legs quivered, all four of them, and his udders shook as he trembled. He refused to look up, his red eyes were burning, and not a single muscle in his body was responding to his commands.
He wanted to get out of there, but he was paralyzed.
The forest was dark, yes, but it wasn't the dark that scared him. It was the thing that hid in the dark, following each and every one of Ye Shengtao's group's movements with its beady eyes.
If Ye Shengtao hadn't seen the creature before, it was likely he would be completely unbothered.
The first time he had seen the creature, he had barely been bothered, only slightly disturbed at most. But right now, every vein in his body was pulsing with the blood that rushed to his head.
The stench of the creature filled his nostrils with every slow breath he took, despite him taking so few.
'One breath-' he thought to himself, 'that's all it would take to give our location away.'
The rest of the group seemed unbothered by the odor, or perhaps they could not smell it at all. Ye Shengtao's senses were, after all, at least a thousand times more sensitive than theirs.
This was one of those times when Ye Shengtao wished it wasn't. The putrid smell of rotten flesh, and the unmistakable metallic smell of fresh blood characterized the creature. Every gust of wind that came from its direction was packed with the smell.
Ye Shengtao could practically taste the smell on his tongue.
It was as if he had eaten a dead rat and cut his tongue on it. It was sticky and obviously gory.
The wind blew through the forest leaves, and the upper canopy shook, allowing a few rays of moonlight to pour through them. But that was the only sound in the dark night. The usually chirping birds and crickets had gone silent too. The only sounds were from rustling of leaves, and Ye Shengtao could never tell if it was the wind, or it.
The few rays of moonlight coming from behind the creature illuminated the bushes and gave a shadow to the dreadful figure that the party had been trying to avoid for so long.
It was tall and thin, and distinctly unhuman.
While it had the shape that one might assume might attribute to a human, standing on two legs, two arms stretched out beside it, and a rather small head. But it was not human.
It could not be mistaken as human.
The hands were thin and wiry, resembling stiff tentacles rather than arms. The legs were long and stick-like. In the standing position the creature's legs could easily be mistaken for thin tree trunks. But with the moonlight casting its shadow over its entire body, there was no room for doubt.
It slowly moved its body, circling the group like a wolf that had found its prey. It first placed its tentacle-like arms onto the ground and then its legs followed. Its movements were slow, but because of its sheer size it outpaced the small group that was trying to follow its movements.
It knew they were there but could not tell where exactly.
This was their only hope.
With every step to the right that the creature took, they desperately moved to the right along with it.
The group stared at it in terror as it moved behind bushes and trees, darting out of their vision. The only thing that let them know that the creature was still there, was the dreadfully light footsteps and the rustling of the leaves that came with the footsteps.
"Where did it go?" Fergio whispered in a tone that was almost a hiss. His voice was clear and loud in the silence of the forest.
Ye Shengtao wanted to shut him up so desperately, but it was too late.
The creature had heard him.
Princess Olivia huddled behind him and hugged his back as she trembled. This forest was no place for a delicate princess like her to be.
Ye Shengtao had been hoping all along that the darkness of the forest would assist them, the same way it had been assisting the creature in remaining hidden. But now that Fergio had let his voice out, there was no way that the creature hadn't heard them.
As if confirming Ye Shengtao's worst fears, the rustling got closer and closer until it was right in front of them. The creature was still hidden, but the group was painfully aware of where the creature was. There was no way they couldn't tell.
Every single one of their senses were honed in on trying to figure out where it was. How could they possibly miss the movements?
The creature seemed to have come to a standstill, but Ye Shengtao knew very well that this was not the end. There was no way that a predator would circle its prey and then leave.
And he was correct.
The deafening silence merely lasted a few seconds before the beast's hand darted out of the bushes at a speed that the group could not comprehend.
Its long and wiry fingers reached out for princess Olivia with delicate and precise movements.
It was like an experienced jeweler using tweezers to pick up the tiny jewels that they preciously used to make their fine works of art. But in this case, the jewel was princess Olivia.
With one swift movement, and much before anyone in the group could react, princess Olivia was in the air. Her already petite body looked tinier and tinier as the creature quickly pulled her into the bushes that it was lurking in.
Ye Shengtao merely blinked before princess Olivia was gone. She was nowhere to be seen and the group had no clue as to how to react. Should they follow her into the bushes and fend off the fiend? Or stay where they were to protect each other?
Fergio looked at Ye Shengtao with a nervous shake of his head.
"What do you think… happened to Olivia?" He whispered to Ye Shengtao hesitantly.
Ye Shengtao could hear the tremble in Fergio's voice and the strain in his voice that sounded close to tears. After all, the woman that Fergio had fallen in love with had been abducted right before his eyes.
Both Ye Shengtao and Fergio knew very well that Olivia would not come out of this unscathed, but neither wanted to think about it. Fergio desperately wanted to rush into the bushes, but the other members of the group were physically holding him back, lest he do something reckless.
The party was deadly silent, and the wind had gone still, as if it was terrified too.
And then they heard it.
A muffled scream followed by a crunch.
Princess Olivia was dead.