A distant growl, fierce and menacing, erupted in the darkness, causing Eve to freeze on the spot. Halting her step, her anxious eyes darted at her surroundings, catching sight of nothing but voidness.
Why had she ever thought that venturing into the forest in the middle of the night was a good idea?
The moment she had stepped into the forest, a premonition stirred within her, one which she waved off. Despite the silvery rays of the moon, the forest remained unusually dark. Cold gusts of wind, swept at the towering trees, their dancing silhouette creating a semblance of dark, ominous creatures, sending shivers down her spine.
"I shouldn't be here," Eve murmured, her whispers laced with anxiety.
Deciding to leave the forest at that moment, an unbearable surge of hunger clawed within her stomach, a desperate reminder that she hadn't eaten in four days. After escaping the clutches of slave traders on the verge of being sold as a slave, Eve was forced into an endless run. After running for days, she finally arrived at the secluded town of Brookhaven, where she was left penniless, tired, and starving, prompting her food search.
However, it was the middle of the night. Eve knew about the unspeakable horrors of the night. However, if she relented in finding food, she certainly would pass out quicker from prolonged starvation than from the claws of whatever creature out there.
Taking a deep breath of courage, Eve's grip on the flickering torch of fire tightened, proceeding with her steps into the forest. As she walked, the animalistic sounds remained evident in the air, but it didn't falter her courage in searching for food.
Nevertheless, she hoped to find food first, before any creature discovered her.
After several minutes of navigating through the dense trees, Eve finally arrived at a tall large tree. Taking closer steps, she realized it was an apple tree. Several red juicy apples dangled from the tree, triggering excitement within her.
She couldn't believe it, after a long run of starvation, she had finally found food and was gleeful for not relenting.
Taking the gunny sack hanging on her shoulder, Eve decided on plucking apples that would last her for several days before moving on to find other food. Quickly, her hand outstretched towards the tree ready to reach for the first apple,
Thud!
A dull, heavy sound resonated feet away, freezing Eve's arm midway, a shiver of dread crawled down her spine. Instinctively inclining her head to the direction of the sound, her gaze caught sight of an object, dark and lengthy, lying statically on the ground.
"Oh no!!' she gasped.
Eve realized this was the moment should have forgone whatever stupid reason she came to find food at such a daring hour, running to safety. But strangely, her feet remained glued. And instead of fleeing, she suddenly found herself tiptoeing towards the object.
"You are crazy, Eve," she whispered to herself at such a daring action, yet she found it unable to stop, as though spellbound.
But little did Eve realize she was making the greatest mistake of her life at that moment.
Carefully approaching the object, she lightly bent over, placing the torch closer to see what it was. However, the moment her eyes of curiosity fixated on it, a dread-filled scream threatened to escape her lips, quickly muffled by her palms.
"W-what?" her eyes widened, horror-filled.
It wasn't a thing but a person!
On the cold ground lay a man, a dagger deeply plunged into his lifeless heart, but the oddest thing was the absence of blood in the deep stab. He wasn't bleeding!
And for some reason, Eve found it unable to look away from the gruesome sight, maybe it was because of such inhuman beauty the man before her right now possessed.
'How could someone even look so perfect?' She internally monologized amidst the ordeal.
Even in death, the man possessed an ethereal beauty, unlike anything she had ever seen. His skin, pale as moonlight, held an almost unnatural smoothness, devoid of blemish, like carved marble brought to life. Dark lashes, thick and long, rested against high cheekbones, casting faint shadows over his face. His hair, raven black, was tousled, framing a sharp, regal jawline.
Eve's gaze fell to his lips, full and slightly parted as if frozen in the middle of a final breath. A deep contrast to his ghostly complexion, his lips held a faint, bloodless tint, neither alive nor truly dead. He was beautiful in the way forbidden things were, in the way legends spoke of creatures too perfect to be human.
Under the moon's gaze, this would have seemed like the romantic scene of a perfect love story. However, he was dead and such occurrence was impossible.
This was the closest she had ever been to a dead body, instead of completely losing it, here she was admiring his looks.
Eve noticed he had rather exquisite clothing and appearance compared to other people she had come across. Had he perhaps been killed for his wealth?
"I'm so sorry for your death, mister. I hope your killers don't go unpunished." Eve sympathized. However, lost in the grieving scene, she didn't realize the man's brows had twitched momentally.
"What if his killers return?"
Speaking about his killers, what if they decided to come back only to find her here? How could she escape them? And who knew what would be done to her? She tried not to imagine such an awful fate.
"I really should leave now," she finalized. She would proceed with plucking her apples, quickly finding other food she could get, exiting the forest, and never returning.
Giving the dead man one last sympathetic look, she turned away, standing up to leave, when, out of the blue, she felt cold fingers lock around her wrist.
Flustered, Eve instinctively turned back, sighting a masculine hand tightly gripping her, but the most terrifying sight was the once closed eyes of the dead man, which were now snapped open, revealing a pair of glowing crimson eyes, piercingly directed at her.