Into the Forest

Taylor and I were being brought into the forest.

"Here," a woman was wrapping a chain between my sister's feet and mine. The chief was standing beside us and a priest was behind us uttering some sort of chant.

"Thank you, little girls. Because of you two, the town is safe," said the chief and we were left behind.

"Hey wait!" I shouted.

But they never responded and quickly they disappeared from the woods.

We were alone now in the woods.

The trees were tall and ominous.

There was the chirping of insects and the hooting of owls. But all of a sudden, it went very quiet.

The sudden silence was accompanied by an eerie presence.

Taylor was gripping my hand extremely tight.

I gulped. Whatever that is approaching us, we should found a place to hide.

But then I looked down at the chain around our feet. This is going to be difficult. But we tried anyway and we managed to coordinate ourselves to hide behind a tall and thick tree.

And we waited. I covered my mouth and I asked Taylor to follow my lead.

The eerie presence approached us closely. I could feel it because the smell is getting denser and denser.

I remembered the smell. It was the same smell I smelled on that day.

I wanted to vomit because it was horrible. My sister could barely hold onto the smell.

"Psst….Psst…hey…"

It was the sound again. I looked at my sister and she looked back at me. We both heard the voice.

What do you want?

"It's coming to get you. You girls can't stay here."

Then where are we supposed to go?

"It's too late. Just stay still and no matter what don't move."

The voice is correct.

We immediately felt a chilling sensation looming behind us. The smell was even more awful.

It let out a low growl and we could hear its heavy footsteps as it steps on the grasses and bushes nearby. It was searching for something.

Then, it spoke. But not to us. It was speaking to someone else.

"Who are you. You don't look like one of them. Are you one of us?" it spoke in a croaky voice.

"I am. So why are you doing here?" asked another voice. We both recognize that this voice was the one who spoke to us.

"I am looking for two little girls. My master ordered me to. Have you perhaps seen them?"

"Nope, I didn't."

"You are lying. Only just a few moments ago, I could smell them. But all of a sudden, their smell disappears."

"Hmm... look here. Why are you doing this?"

"Because my master ordered me to."

"And so?"

It started to growl.

The voice sighed and it snapped its finger.

"Ah, so they were behind this tree."

We saw a large shadow approaching us and stopped just behind the tree.

Then, the tree was uprooted.

We turned back and saw a huge humanoid wolf standing behind us. Its mouth was dripping with saliva and it smelled like a carcass. Its eyes were big and its snout was long. It has white fur but it was stained with blood and scars.

I was terrified but my sister only looked at the monster who was standing in front of us with awe.

The monster saw a hint of fascination inside the little girl's eye while the others were filled with fear.

Its elongated claw was being sheathed and it looked at the two of us with its big illuminating eyes.

"What's…..your…name…?" said it.

"My name is Taylor."

"And….I…am… Ashley." I was trembling when I introduced myself but my sister didn't.

My sister reached out her hand to touch the beast's snout, and the beast allowed her to do so.

I was so scared that I don't even dare to say anything to stop my sister's action.

"So soft….what happen to you?" asked my sister.

The beast pushed away my sister's hand and started to reveal its long claws. The sight of those long claws was even enough to frighten my sister.

It slashed down its claw and we thought we were dead but we found out that our chains were being broken.

"Ashley….Taylor….go…."

Go? Is the beast letting us escape?

"But your master asked you to retrieve us, isn't it?" said I. I didn't know what came to my mind to question the beast and our sudden freedom but the words just came out of my mouth without thinking about it.

The beast's eyes looked shocked.

"You can hear us?!" said it but this time it wasn't from its mouth. Then, I realized that he was speaking to our minds.

I nodded. Taylor also nodded.

"What did that guy do to the two of you?" said it.

The guy? Does he mean the shadow who spoke to us?"

"He didn't do anything to us. He just asked us to stay put."

"Go and leave this place!" asked the beast again.

"What's your name?" asked Taylor.

The beast went silent.

"I don't have a name. Just leave."

I quickly grabbed Taylor's arm and jolted.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Before I left, I thanked the beast in my head. I didn't know if he could hear it or not.

We were running away from the forest but we didn't know where did we go and we just kept on running.

Our legs begin to tired out and we don't know how much time has passed us by. We decided to catch some break and rest underneath another tree.

"Are you okay, Taylor. You looked hurt."

Taylor was started to limp and it was only then that I noticed her legs had a scratch wound on it. It must be caused by the plants as we were running away from the scene. Blood was dripping from it.

"I'm fine, it's okay, sis," said my sister. She is a tough soul, I would say. I wonder what gave her the courage to touch the beast's snout just now.

"I'm sorry that I didn't notice earlier."

"It's okay, sis, I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

"But it's bleeding. Here," I tear off a part of my shirt to help her wipe off the blood.

"Are we going to be safe now?" asked Taylor.

"I'm not sure. We just have to pray, Taylor. Let's pray that we will leave this forest safely."

"Then, what happens, where do we go?" asked Taylor.

She was right. Where do we go? Will the village welcome us back after sending us as their sacrifice? By the way, what's all this? Is this related to the disappearance of our father?

I couldn't help but think that this must be related to the disappearance of our father. When I was young and Taylor was just a toddler, our father disappeared without a trace after a trip into the forest. I didn't want to ask my mother about it because it always made my mother sad. And it was also that day as well, that we have lost our house dog `and I remembered Taylor and I was crying so much on that day when we found out we would never be able to see our father and our dog again.

"No matter what is going to happen, Taylor, let's just pray the God will show us the way for our safety and have hope that everything is going to turn out fine."

Taylor nodded.

The two of us were feeling exhausted from the run just now and we couldn't really move our leg like how we wanted it to. If the monster was to change his mind and run after us, the two of us would not have enough energy to escape.

Then, we heard a rustle in the woods.

Taylor quickly clings herself onto me. I wrapped her around my arms and held her tight.

Another rustle in the woods.

What is it this time? Would it be our savior or would it be our demise?

I don't know. And I was terrified. I wonder if Taylor could feel that my body was shaking tremendously. Ah, I wonder how is mother feeling right now. I wonder how would she feel when she realized she lost two of her daughters. It must be very painful. I hope mother is okay. I started to reminisce about the little things in my life. I started to envy the children who are sleeping peacefully in their sleep. I started to despise the adults who chose us to be their sacrifice.

The rustle was getting nearer and nearer.

And then, I saw a man wearing a white robe coming out from the woods.

"Two little girls, what are you two doing here?"