Rain began to fall. The second sky rumbled on with the sounds of waves crashing with thunder. Yet this sky remained quiet, unnecessary too quiet. The clouds began to fall upon the tall trees around me, their leaves covered each droplet, not letting even one fall onto the ground. Yet the clouds trespassed them. The humidity is suffocating. Even more than the humidity back at hom- "It's fucking cold."
'What' My body in an instant awakened to hear the sudden distant voice of a man. A Nade?
As I slowly looked over the abyss under me, under this branch alone. They kept talking, their steps were light, barely making the leaves crumble under their weight, however even in their silence, they kept their loud voices. They continued walking. I estimated 3. As I looked down from the tallest branch on which I rested, their small bodies were barely spots on the ground, white skins. Humans.
Something about seeing humans gave me hope, my mind gave me the small hope of seeing they were still alive, yet my body had told me to wait. My mind led me back to this morning, they left me alone. The humans who were supposedly to help each other, had left me there. The wind picked up, they continued to speak loudly. Two men, one female. Their clothes were all different. My curiosity led me to slowly begin descending each branch of the tree. Each colder than the last one. Each more slippery, as they began to grow moss on their branches, the humidity made them even more slippery.
"What happened to the other humans?"
The girl's voice suddenly spoke up. They suddenly stopped, as one of the men groaned. He had a raspy old voice. He was old. The one next to him seemed around my age. And she was small, too small. "The other humans are all over this place, they separated us on purpose." – "Usually, they let the humans have a sort of advantage, but this year it's different" They looked around them. "Its all because of that hyb-" The wind stopped. The rain passed through the leaves. The girl quickly pressed the mouth of the man, and in the darkness a sudden voice cracked, and let a croaked moan rampage through the trees, the ground suddenly began to shake, in tremor like waves in the stormy ocean, the leaves shook, and each began falling like the water from the sky. At first, it seemed like the shadow of one of the trees, dirty with the mud of the ground, roughly giving any shape at all, however slowly its limbs began to move, its large hands moved with the darkness, like a little scared kitty trembling in the darkness, unknown to its large size, larger than the tree it hid behind, its eyes flared like lights. And it smiled. A smile that had no end.
'That thing must be 10 times larger than Camir'
My skin began to tremble with the leaves, what was that? Just what type of predators ruled this place. The creature was thin, its dry skin wrapped around its fragile bones, as it slowly approached the humans on the floor, its face had no shape, yet it smiled. Groaning. Slowly approaching them.
Them.
In this cold branch I was safe. Above the dangers that lurk in the ground, above that thing. The best decision was to leave before the creature could see me. But once again my body stuttered, my feelings ached. I wanted to leave, because I wanted to survive. But my eyes couldn't move from their frightened bodies. My eyes were fixated on their fated death. In their fear. It reminded me of... me. Of all the humans who fear. Yet inside me. I knew if it was Nanuk, I wouldn't have hesitated. They are humans, they are of my own kind.
I kept staring at them, at how each second the creature kept crawling further into them, the girl, she was smart. Every now and then, she walked slowly, she controlled her breaths. The other two humans kept looking at the creature, looking at it as if they were called into it, mesmerized.
'They're going to die'
In the split second in which my body had taken the decision to leave, when both sky and wind rushed, she turned and stared. Stared at me. She knew I was here. In the distance that separated us, her eyes pierced me, like an arrow glistening in the wind. And just like this instant, the defining moment the creature had pierced the body of one of the humans, the red blood dripped from its sharp claws. The young one next to him began to run, the girl kept looking at me. She remained upright, her sight changed. As she looked past me, staring at the creature, she didn't tremble, I hadn't noticed the small blade in which she carried. Small and fragile just like her. But my eyes were taken to the body of the old guy being torn in two, the blood spattered onto the ground, his raspy screams suddenly began to quiet down, my stomach riled up, even when I had no food in my stomach, I felt sick. Disgusted, taken aback, I took the step into the abysmal lack of branches under me, it was a decision taken just on the pure heart that resided in my body, sometimes I hated the fact of these feelings. On these moments where my mind no longer resided with my decisions, instead just my body on its own, it moved, it fought, it made decisions in which I sometimes hated. But sometimes those decisions saved my life or others lives. I knew, this one put at risk mine, but even so. My body was there, running through the wet and disgustingly rotting leaves, as the creature menacingly stood there, tearing the poor man's body in pieces, no longer making it human, or anything close to what it was before instead, now it had just become a ball of meat, torn, red, gushing. And yet, the creature has not taken a single bite, what type of creature kills and doesn't eat? The girl stared at this creature. It continued smiling, as its face turned to her, twisting in many directions, she grabbed the blade with no emotion whatsoever in her face. I wasn't going to make it. I was too slow. The beast kept staring at her. Wondering.
"Step back!" Hastily, I grabbed the blade from the scabbard, sharp, a strong grip. As I slid through the wet ground under me, I held my blade. Don't fear. I kept telling myself. Reminding of the moments I feared. When I did nothing, when I watched those, I loved die and those who I didn't love, die. All caused by fear. The immobilizing fear which all humans have installed in their bodies. A mistake in our nature. Or a weapon?
The blade crossed the thin creature's hand, the slippery leaves on the ground were splattered with blood. Cold flowed through my body, as the wind pierced through with the blade, the creature howled, the cut wasn't deep, yet the quick reaction of the creature completely tore its hand off, then its blood started pouring on my shoulder the black, gooey, acid. As it touched my skin, it began to burn in an instant. It wasn't hot, it was cold. The girl stood cold, as a statue, with dead sight. But in an instant, she blinked. As I fell on the ground, the creatures' howls pierced my body, rumbling across the ground. It howled back into the darkness, its thin arm fell to the ground next to my body, as it touched the ground, it began killing the already dead plants on the ground. I bit my hand embracing the burning pain on my shoulder. She rapidly turned to me. Then back into the shadows. It was coming back. I grabbed my blade. She grabbed hers. As she helped me incorporate my body, her hands were cold and wet. She stared into the creatures' eyes. As I turned to see it.
It smiled.
A creature that killed for mere pleasure. A creature of darkness, resident of the cold. That killed everything it touched. It was just like that night's creature. Ten Sun's ago.
The Shibyo.
In an instant, I grabbed the girls hand, and pulled it to rush, in this she followed my thoughs quickly. We neede to escape now. As our steps began to slow, after leaving the past behind the creature, my mind rambled. It was pure luck, my blade barely managed to fit through its weak skin. A spot which had not a single bone, but just a joint. A pure strike based on luck. Even in this quiet place, my head was filled with noise. She pushed my shoulder with her hand, calling my attention.
"You can't kill it"
"I wasn't planning on"
We hid behind a tree, but behind us I could hear the loud thumps it made moving, its steps were louder, it had grown, doubling. As I peeked, I saw it slowly its bones grew, tightening on its skin even more, it looked even more dead, its bones began to break past its skin, the blood started to drip. Each second we took a beath in, each time my lungs tried to inhale this disgustingly stupid humid air I regrated coming down from that tree. Its arm slowly started to grow back, as the bone grew, followed by the tendons, the veins, the muscles. Each part reconstructed back in its place. It began making a sound, ticking, clacking. Moving like it had two bodies undecided where to move, where to turn, where to kill. Where to find us. Sticking its body closely into the ground, its head turned sideways. Sliming. Staring. It never stopped, the ticking noise it made. Click. Click. Click. It never stopped. Its head fully turned.
Was I going to die like this?
To this creature, I had no idea what it was. Not even passing a single day in this accursed tradition. Was I stupid to come here? The rain continued to pass through the leaves. She closed her eyes, as her small body remained still next to mine. Her breath was slow. The pain in my shoulder was overcome by the loud sounds of my own voice withing my head. But my hand still held on tightly onto the blade. I stood.
Too much sound.
Click
Click
Click
Too much...
Click
My eyes closed
My head filled with these unnecessary sounds. These voices, voices of the same voice of the agonizing child in my dream, that dream again.
Click
Click
The beast knew where we were.
"Are you scared?"
Her tender voice whispered quietly, almost like the wind flowing.
'Yes'
I stayed quiet. Yet she knew I was. Why would she ask that now?
"You're not scared"
'What?'
I quickly glanced at her, she had a cold face. She didn't look scared at all. Her eyes were green.
"If you were scared you wouldn't have gotten down that tree" –"You were able to hurt that beast, why are you scared now?"
"What are you talking about?"
Click.
The creature advanced.
"You're a hybrid, no?"
Her eyes kept piercing me.
"I'm still human"
"So am I"
Her responses were as cold as her skin.
Click.
"Use your fear to survive human"
In that moment, she stared not at my eyes, but at me. At me. She slowly let go of the blade in her hands. And slowly, she took a deep breath. "They can't smell, or see, or hear, they don't have senses." She whispered, "They sense fear, they sense passion, they sense sadness, they sense emotions."
She put her hand on my chest. "They create emotions, they control your mind"
Click
"Breath in"
Her eyes closed.
"Control yourself."
Click
Click.
.
.
.