The Den Hunters

I woke up with a start, surrounded by a vast field. The sun filtered through a haze of clouds, casting a soft glow over the vibrant green grass. Confusion washed over me as I tried to gather my thoughts, but my mind was a blank slate—an empty canvas with no memories to paint upon. As I sat up, the gentle rustling of the grass whispered next to me in the wind. Wildflowers dotted the landscape, their colors vivid against the backdrop of an endless blue sky. I pulled myself to my feet, feeling the cool breeze brush against my skin, and the dirt under my feet, grounding me in the moment. What was I doing here?

My heart raced with uncertainty, but something deep within me urged me to explore. I took a few tentative steps, the uneven ground reminding me of my vulnerability. Each stride felt like a discovery as if the world around me might unlock the memories that had disappeared. In the distance, I caught sight of a lone tree standing tall, its branches swaying gracefully.

Drawn to it, I moved forward, each step a small victory against the fog that enveloped my thoughts. As I approached, the tree's thick trunk and sprawling limbs seemed to beckon me for comfort and shelter against my swirling confusion. I leaned against the rough bark, closing my eyes for a moment. The cool shade enveloped me, and for the briefest of instants, a flicker of something familiar brushed against my consciousness—a face, a laughter, a feeling—but it slipped away as quickly as it came. Opening my eyes, determination replaced my fear. I was here, in this serene but strange place, and I would find out why.

A scent wafted in under my nose, a strong mix of gasoline and black pepper, and it felt like my heart stopped. My brain kicked into overdrive as my anxiety skyrocketed, and a wave of nausea so strong it almost brought me to my knees washed over me. As my heartbeat kicked up and raced away, a steady rhythm of "run, run, run" in my head came with it. I leaped away from the tree, taking off as fast as my legs would carry me away from the smell and the feeling of impending doom.

It didn't take long for my lungs to start aching with each intake of breath, or my muscles to start to sting and feel heavy from exertion. I have no stamina, I lamented to myself. When I felt like I was far enough away from the tree I turned my head back towards it, and was horrified to see a black tarry sludge oozing up from within the ground, the tree slowly dissolving down into it. I squinted at the sludge, watching the tree disappear. It was almost as if it was being tugged down by, no, it was being pulled down by hundreds of hands, attached to long wire-thin arms. 

Something touched my shoulder, and I whipped around, punching whatever it was away from me as I screamed with my eyes closed. I heard it trip over something and land heavily on the ground.

"Holy shit man, what the fuck?" A voice came to me, and I opened my eyes to look down at the 'enemy', a man with ashen blonde hair and red eyes, who was clutching a profusely bleeding nose. My heart skipped a beat for half a second, I knew this person. I didn't know how, or who it was, but I knew them somehow. 

"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" I looked back over my shoulder at the sludge that had mysteriously disappeared, taking that tree with it. There was no sign it had ever even been there. I looked back at the man before offering him a hand to help him back up. He wrinkled his eyebrows for a second before laughing in that gravelly tone.

"I don't need your help, pip-squeak. You're like a halfa my size." He then leapt back up to his feet with seemingly unnatural grace, before looking down at me. For half a second, I wondered how I had broken his nose with how tall he was compared to me. He gave a nod of his head towards me, "What hospital did ya bust out of?" 

I glanced down for a moment before the realization dawned on me that I was in hospital clothes of some kind. A thin, papery shirt and matching shorts, with no shoes. 

"I'm not sure actually." I gestured vaguely toward the field, "I woke up over there a few minutes ago, maybe an hour at most. He gave a curt nod of his head.

"I heard you running like hell, away from the well... We call it The Shade. Anything living that goes into the shadows here for too long disappears like it's going right down through the ground. I never seen how though. One second it's there, next it ain't." I raised an eyebrow at that, I knew what I had seen. 

"You didn't see all that ooze and that bizarre amount of hands come out of the ground to grab the tree?" Now was his turn to look confused. He hummed for a moment and then gave me a serious look.

"You can see it, can't you? I've never met anyone that could. Everyone else is like me. They see it there one second, and then the next time you blink it's no longer there." He talked wistfully like he was remembering other encounters. He rubbed a hand over his nose, now that it had stopped bleeding, looking at the half-dried blood that came with it. He started walking in the direction he'd come in from, away from the clearing. "Let's get you back to the city, out of The Shades' reach. It'll eat you up come dark." I quickly dashed after him.