05// Raidne's attack

Wandering into the woods nearby, the road seemed too familiar like I had been here before. Pushing past viridescent leaves on every lopsided willow tree that draped around the swampy-area, I-for some reason- didn't feel afraid. Instead, I felt doughty within these woods that greeted me by its pleasant scent mixed with mildew from those leaves damp from the rain. Rain. It was a way to describe the weather right this split-second of my shortened adventure. Ah, oh well.

" I guess I'll have to head back," I said to myself, and maybe also to the likes of the sleeping willows that seemed to have fun dipping their countless number of leaves into the lake. Lake? Right, I forgot there was a lake. Grimacing at the stench of the lake and the pieces of dried-up mud that floated up to surface, the clouds started to pee themselves.

" Plop, plop, plop." The sound of the rain dribbled on the top of my long hair, then slid down to the top of my nose. It was cold and wet, and the mist started to fog throughout the forest.

"Dismouth, huh?" Looking at the wooden plank sign etched in the sign, the scraggly handwriting was faded, and the sign was coated in dust.

I took out my hand and wiped the dust off. (This stuff always seems to bother me)

" I wonder why nobody ever visits this place? It's beautiful!" I said out loud to myself, again like a weirdo talking to her imaginary friends.

It has seemed that the more that I ventured into the depths of the woods of Dismouth, that I forgot something.

******

"Oh, dang it! I left my phone near the swamp! How am I going to call mother now? (Dang it..She's gonna kill me!) I better start the beginning of my death wish that mother will cast upon me..." I muttered to myself and started cursing at my stupid self for losing the very first possession mother had given me.

" She told me not to lose it, and here I am! What a frea-" And just as I was about to scold myself once again, I heard a strange noise.

" Yaaiiiii" Said the noise, and it echoed throughout the dark forest.

It was getting to be sundown, and the once glimmering shining sun that had swept the forest was now streaked in darkness. Slowly, and slowly, the noise continued, " Yaiiii-Aiiii..." It was like the sound of a small child, a child that didn't know how to speak, and for sure didn't know the first thing when it came to pronouncing simple vowels.

And then, the noise was gone.

" Can I taste you, human?" Another voice asked, and I couldn't see who this such voice belonged to. All I could feel was the slurping.

Slurping? Where?

Looking down, I see a strange creature. This creature has a small, grotesque body and ribs that were so visible to the eye that the skin wasn't even covering them. It wore a small robe, a torn up and blood-stained robe. This creature's tongue was licking off every ounce of my swollen hand.

I wanted to scream, but it wasn't painful. Also, this could be just a terrible dream...

Then the creature, done from licking off my hand, was:

Gone.

Blood cravings.

These were the such things of a binge eater .

******

" Where were you, Amity?" Mother scowled, as I was seen coming back from the forest. Seeing my half-eaten hand, her eyes go wide from a mix of fear and confusion.

" Where were you, Amity?" She asked again, this time more gently.

" I was there," I told her, pointing to the forests.

Her eyes went dark and her voice went low, as she said, " Do you mean Dismouth?" She said this like it was a place, and not just a forest.

" Yes. Dismouth?" I asked her, wondering why her mood changed so quickly.

" Yes, Dismouth." She answered and took me inside the cottage hurriedly like it was still raining.

But it was not.

The creature called Raidne was back.

*******

What is this feeling? This seemingly abhorrent, repulsive feeling. A kind that rips the inside of your heart and you feel nothing but pain. What a word to describe this feeling of longitude that rests inside the pit of my stomach. I know I should be disgusted, terrified even. But, how can I if all I see inside that putrid, withering body of hers is a heart torn, scraped even, by blood. Oh, the ye most faithful of her kind of dhatin, would've never laid their grubby, purple-fleshed-and-swollen hands, on the person whose soul has been rest assure by attacking her. Was it pity?

No, it was a mutual understanding.

It was then, that Amity, that innocent child-like heart of hers, once longed for something. She longed to know what it meant to really be human, to really be kind, to really... Be anything more than a pitied orphan.

" God, I'm probably just being overly dramatic," I whispered to myself, a towel draped over my head and a smaller face-towel that wrapped my swelling arm. It was like I was the victim and the monsters called Blights were the prime suspects of my already swelling arm. I should be grateful, but instead, I'm intrigued.

This was the first time I've ever had any contact with such creatures lurking in the forests of Dismouth.

" Those monsters, I don't know who they think they are to attack in broad daylight like that! If I were part of the RVOB, I'd definitely would've shot them by the hundreds by now."

" What's the RVOB?"

" An organization that protects us, humans, from those dhatins of Vampires, Blights, and Jenglots! They are the true heroes of Indonesia, after all."

This was the very conversation that I heard between Mrs.Johannson and mother in the cottage living room. A conversation that started as a form of gossip, and evolved into a deep conversation regarding the mysterious creatures called dhatins. According to Mrs.Johannson (since she's lived in Indonesia for ten years), these so-called dhatins lived among humans peacefully around the world. However, Indonesia inhabited the largest percentage of the dhatin population, especially dhatins of Jenglot and dhatins of Blight. While the dhatins of Jenglot were originally natives to Indonesia, the dhatins of Blight were natives to Eastern Europe and North America. The vampires were mostly found in Italy and Russia, and their population is growing smaller by the decade, due to interspecies marriage with humans.

" You see, if they possess more human genes than vampire genes, these dhatins of Vampire will eventually grow out of their savage ways and lose their appetite for human blood." Mrs.Johannson started to say this like she was trying to scare, Henrik for good.

Oh, I forgot about him.

Henrik, that little boy who's new little sister was my beloved friend from the orphanage, Calise. Unfortunately, after a bit of scolding and paper-roll-smacking done by his mother, she seemed to have knocked the sense out of him to introduce himself to me. It sure was an honor if you know what I mean.

" What about the Jenglots? What are they, and how can you tell all three of the dhatin species apart?" Mother started playing with Calise's silky blonde hair with her fingers. Once she was done with her french braid, Calise beamed, like the sweet, precious girl she was.

" Look, Amity! Ms.Nugraha braided my hair." She gestured to the flowing braid that touched her back, gracefully.

" That's great Calise." I answered her with a small smile.

That was a smile that was often hard to do for me. Calise was beaming with pride and such happiness that I'd never be able to experience. How the world would change and people would grow steadily, and here I'd be, still wondering how I'm ever going to grow? Shush. Stop being so ungrateful! You already have a wonderful mother, you should be happy right now.

Happy.

Right.

Now.

Being happy was the last thing that I'd ever be worth doing. What was the point of being happy anyway? When we all eventually rot from pain and wallow in sadness? Why was I sad? Was there even some sort of word to explain this sadness?

Suddenly, I felt a tingle in my heart. I felt like my heart was turning itself inside-out and was crunching inside my chest.

" What was that crunching noise?" Henrik suddenly speaks up, while sitting on his mother's lap.

Nothing.

Nothing.

******

I retreated to my new room, in agony over the crunch in my heart. My heart was twisting in on itself, and it continued to twist and do somersaults in my chest, until...All I felt and saw was hurt. The pain welcomed me, and I started to cry, my tears slowly dropping like water droplets.

"Plop, plop, plop." I brushed a finger to my cheeks, only to absorb the tear droplet with my fingerprints.

In the mirror...What did I see? I saw a creature revolting and full of malice.

" Yaiiiii! Human, you. Are-" That same monster who was tasting my hand yesterday looked stuck to my mirror. My mirror, coated in a layer of dust, I saw the monster stuck to my mirror then jump out of my mirror, using the dust as a tool to go across the boundaries. Its long, spiked and purplish tongue leaps out of its throat and loops around my neck. Slobber and bloodstains my neck. Traces of the spikes that once gripped the base of my neck, were imprinted around my neck, in a circular, traced motion. These spikes etched into my throat and sucked out my oxygen I was breathing. I wanted to breathe, I wanted to live.

But how?

" One of us" The monster continued lavishly, groaning at me, whimpering under its breath. Why?

These dhatins of Blight were among the most feared of the three dhatin species. They looked like monsters, throughout the day and night. While the Jenglots feed on human children and pregnant women at night, they were humans by day. And the Vampires...Well, let's just say they were at the top of the food chain, the top of the hierarchy, and looked so human that nobody could tell if they were: a monster.

" I d-d-don't understand." I was using every ounce of strength in me to breathe and talk while the spikes dug into my veins. I was turning red, bloodred red.

Then the wind blew out of the mirror, making a "shhh" sound. Frightened, I tried to let go of the grasp of the dhatin as it continued to feast on my left hand. My hand now was not a hand anymore. Where there was once skin, it was replaced by bone that seemed to be covered entirely of blood and vein. The creature hurriedly feasted on my hand in vain, as it slurped up and down my wrists to the tips of my fingers.

Then, slowly, I heard a crack in my veins: and my hand has fallen off.

****

I wanted to scream.

This weight of terror bounced off my nerves like I just burned myself.

Looking down. Don't worry.

Look down. Nevermind, don't look down.

But how could I look down, when all I could think of at this moment was a mix of terror-stricken fear and horror at this sight? My hand felt restrained because it wasn't present. Instead, the bone that held up the rest of my arm-excluding my hand- was poking out of the hole where my hand would have been. The joint that connected my hand to my arm was peeking out of my skin. Eyes bulging, and heart racing, I did what any so-called logical person would do in this situation: run.

*****

Running further. Run faster! Faster! My brain bombarded thoughts of fear in my skull. I took my small, pale legs into action as I raced further past the other direction. What other direction? For sure, I wasn't going to run back to the forests of Dismouth, so it would be better for me to run the other direction of where I would be going.

I pushed past the blueberry bushes in vain. Getting a taste of blueberry would be scrumptious. I thought to myself. A sound burbled from the depths of my stomach. Uh oh.

"Hungry I see? Why don't you have a taste of those blueberries?" A voice said.

I turned around, but I couldn't see any evidence of such a voice around the blueberry bushes. All I could see were the grassy mountains that scaped the area, and past where I stood, I saw more rows of these mountains. Easter lilies, yellow daisies, and pink carnations were planted where I stood, beside the hulking willow tree. There sure were a lot of willow trees. I thought to myself.

Then my phone started to ring.

*****

" Mother, I'll be coming home soon," I said to through the phone. For a new mother, Ms.Nugraha sure was very overly-protective. With fifteen missed calls and thirty unread text messages, I suddenly knew why she insisted on giving me the latest iPhone.

" Why didn't you ask me where you were going?" She was coughing through the phone.

" Mom!" worry started to rise from the pit in my stomach. " Are you alright?" I asked her, impatient to know what was happening. Did Henrik or Mrs.Johannson have something to do with this? For sure Calise didn't do anything...

" I'm fine, dear child. I'm afraid that I've caught the Blight disease." Her voice was low and anxious, and I didn't know what she was saying.

" I'm sorry, what was that again?"

" I-I have a bull's eye ring on the back of my hand." She was stuttering when she said this, and I was worried. But what did she mean by that?

" I'm sorry dear, but I'm afraid that because of the disease-" She started a series of coughs again.

"Ms.Nugraha?"

" Dear Amity, I told you not to call me that! Call me mother." Her voice continued to rasp, and she was failing with holding up the phone line. Then, the signal got bad, and she ended the call.

"I hope she's alright," I said to myself, as I continued to walk among the grassy plains and beautiful landscape. Tears suddenly welled in my eyes, not because of my pain in my heart, but because the only person who cared for me, was dying so suddenly.

Slowly, slowly.

I sniffed, and the more I balled out tears of pain, my heart started to crunch and turn in on itself, inside-out.

Like before.

" Are you hungry, peasant?" The voice said. And, for the first time, I noticed that this voice sounded young and cheery. A voice that kids back at the orphanage would use to rally against me, their voices mocking me.

I hated that voice.

Whoever it was.

As I looked through every blueberry bush to make sure that there wasn't anyone here, I finally decided: that if I was going to die, I might as well eat poisoned fruit. But, as I reached out to grasp a hold of the root that tied the bunch of blueberries together, I saw something. This something was a favorite fruit of mine. This something was red and crunchy and smelt sweet and yummy.

Apple.

Why would someone place a singular apple in the middle of a blueberry bush?

Ah, oh well...At least THERE'S FOOD!

The hunger inside of me welled up like fire set aflame. So, to cure this hunger (dang, I was hungry as a caterpillar!) I snatched the apple off the-...

" Pffftt. YOU IDIOT!" The voice said, and, the apple went right through the hole in the blueberry bush.

*******

The voice was a boy.

A boy who wore a pair of black ripped jeans and a white Oxford button-down shirt. His spiky, tousled black hair was thick and messy, covering his forehead and part of his left eye. His golden eyes lit up in a wild stare, and his lips parted and then again like he wanted to speak.

" I see you wanted this here apple, ma'am," The boy said, and gave the apple a spin midair, before catching it with ease. He crunched on the apple, a sly smirk creeping up his face as he enjoyed the look of hunger pasted across my face.

I was hungry, that's for sure. But...How will I eat now?

Anger boiled up inside me, as the thought of food boomed through my brain. My sapphire-blue eyes widened with such innocence, at the thought that maybe I could ask him nicely for the apple and he'll give it to me?

Yes.

No!!

Yes, I'm hungry!

NOO!!

Yes, VERY HUNGRY!!

NOO!! YOU idiot! You'll make a fool of yourself next to this kid.

I took a closer look at him. He sure was tall alright. While I was standing at 4'11 at age twelve, he stood a hulking five inches added to my height! Sure, some may say that's not that tall, but for a shortie like me, it was tall-as-a-tree TALL.

He smirked, and, after finishing the last bite on his glorious apple, he said, " I can see you're very hungry." He then takes something out of his back pocket: a jelly sandwich.

" Give me that!" I scold him, and frantically walk over to him, my heart still crunching, and my stomach still growling. Seeing that I saw his sandwich, he sticks out his tongue and mocks me saying, " Well, if you want it, come and get it!" Struggling to reach for the sandwich raised above his head, I pant.

" What the fuck? Did you just pant like a dog!" His evil smile says as he cocks his head to the side.

" That's a bad word!" I scream at him, remembering what Ms.Nugraha-or rather, mother- said about dropping the f-bomb.

" So what? It's just a fucking word." He says with a devilish smirk.

I gasped, as he starts to burst out laughing. I see the twinkle in his eyes as he laughs out loud like a hyena. And, for the first time, I start to think that maybe other kids weren't so bad as I thought they were.

Or so I thought.

*****

" YOU REPULSIVE, WASTEFUL JERK!!" I scream at the boy as he tosses his perfectly-good jelly sandwich into the lake.

" It's all thanks to you, ma'am." He says jokingly, with a hint of sarcasm.

" Why do you keep calling me ma'am?" I ask him, demanding him to cut the act.

He shrugs, and says, " Because you're so serious that's all! It's just a dumb jelly sandwich nothing more, nothing less." Since when was I serious?

"Anyway! I'm Kersen by the way."

" And WHY would I want to know that?" I shoot daggers at him, my eyes ready to pounce on every insignificant joke that came my way, trying to mock me.

He shrugs and walks over to the pond slowly saying, " either take it or leave it. Being nice to me won't solve your problems anyway."

I almost cringed when I heard him say that.

But then again, I did have problems: major ones.

I was a monster, a human now infected by the Blight disease.

" You're right," I answered the boy, still exasperated from him, " I don't intend to be nice to you anyway! I'm just a nice person that's all..."

" Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's never good to be nice to kids you don't know after all! Ya gotta hand it over to the whole stranger-danger situations." He started to laugh along to his own messed-up joke like he was some sort of stand-up comedian.

" Bravo," I muttered quietly, trying not to mock this pest in front of his face.

He then goes over to me and yanks my right ear like he's one of those starring moms on live television. " What a strange girl you are! First, you act the most unladylike when you see me eating my lunch. Second, you definitely don't respect your elders!" He sneered at me, yanking my ear down harder until I started to bleed.

" What the heck?! Are you some kind of monster?" I yelled at him, screeching at the pain in my ears. Great. I thought. Along with the lack of food, I also have a bleeding ear!

" Strange girl, I should ask the same thing to you." His voice was still playful but had a slightly dark undertone. Does he know?

Does he know that I was attacked by a monster?

And I became one?

" So what if I am?" His eyes glint with madness, and I start to realize that this boy is anything but nice.

My palms start sweating, turning a bright red color. As my heart starts to crunch back in on itself, my knees start to wobble. Lightheaded is what many would think I'm experiencing. But for a newly made monster, I was only feeling the side effects of my fallen off hand.

" What's up with your hand, strange girl?" Pest mocks, and he's waving his hand in front of my face like he was checking if I was still dizzy or not.

" For your information, my name is Amity, not some strange girl," I say irritated from his cocky and rude behavior.

My head starts to swirl some more, and, walking backward: I plop into the lake, unexpectedly.

It all goes black after that.

*****

" Amity, are you okay?" Mother calls out to me, waving a freshly-cleaned blue hand towel in front of my face, in a worrying motion. Her face looks tired and a few visible wrinkle lines appear, tracing her forehead and near her mouth. She looks even more tired than usual; she looks defeated.

I look around where I am. Seeing the wooden floating bookshelves on the walls, rows of classics like Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird lay hovered on the top of the shelves, covered in dust mites and spider webs. I wonder how long those books have been there, I thought. The walls were painted a pale mint color and metal picture framed photographs of professional-looking close-up pictures of flowers were scattered throughout random places in the walls that made the room look more put together. Aside from that, the stained peach carpet and walls that were so old that the corners started to peel paint, was a sure sign of how ancient this room was. Mother lay on the carpet beside me, resting her arms on my stomach as her face was head down on the bedsheets.

Where am I? And, more importantly, why has the excruciating pain in my heart stop?

Mother hears my breathing and suddenly wakes up startled.

" Oh, Amity! You're alright! Thank God." She embraces me in a giant bear-hug. A hug more warmer than anything that I'd ever received before. After the hug is over, I continue to feel more confused and dazed from this feeling. A feeling that I can't even more so describe rather than just feel. Wanting to know what just happened to me. And, more importantly, why this was happening to me. I looked down at my arm that once had a joint sticking out: it was replaced with a prosthetic hand.

There were no other words to describe such joy that rushed through my veins when I saw this.

With a cheerful smile, my mother says, " Do you like it? I had it specially made just for you."

"Thank you." There are tears welling in my eyes.

But when mother starts on her series of coughs again, each cough being raspier and ending in a choking-motion, I can't help but feel spoiled. This kind lady, who've I only known for two months has gone the extra mile for me. She's been so much more than any mother I'd ever known, and now, I feel as though I have betrayed her.

Yes, you did, A voice chided. It was the dhatin of Blight from the mirror. I recognized its voice. Why could I hear its voice?

My tears stop once I hear a knock from the door.

After a few coughs, my mother rises slowly from where she sat on the carpet and opens the door, limping while she walked. With every step, her feet struggled. With every breath, she coughed out blood.

I don't know why.

My mind is still in a haze from all the emotional damage these past two weeks have put me through. I'm still having flashbacks of the sunken eyes and shriveling body of the monster as it slurped my hand slowly. I couldn't help but wonder, how did I get here? Why am I here?

Where is that boy?

The person at the door is none other than Mrs.Johannson's son, Henrik. Wearing brown corduroy overalls and a white polo underneath, his strawberry-blond hair was gelled and combed to the center like a cowlick hairstyle. His sickly pale skin was dull today as usual, and his short stature was made up for the one-inch black dress shoes he wore. He looked like he was going to church. Maybe he was?

"Here, Ms.Nugraha," His voice said quietly, sweet and gentle. He was holding a bouquet of red and yellow roses in between his small hands, as his grey-blue eyes sparkled with a smile.

" Ah, how sweet of your mother to give these," Mother said as she ushered Henrik inside the room and greeted him with a kind smile.

" Actually, they were my idea..." He mumbled, and I didn't quite understand what he was saying.

I got up from the bed and went over to him. Startled by my initiation to the conversation, Henrik looked away from me, refusing to look me in the eyes. Considering that I was about two inches taller than him, I placed a reassuring hand on top of his gelled blonde hair and said, " You don't have to be so shy you know? We're friends, aren't we?" I smiled at him, and he looked me in the eyes sweetly.

" Good you kids are getting along!" Mother exclaimed and went back to her hyper and bubbly attitude, continuing, " Well, I might as well give these to you now, Amity" She said with a wink and handed me the red and yellow rose bouquet.

Now I was confused. I thought these were for mother?

I gave mom a what-these-are-for-me look. She responded with another wink before heading out the door.

Oh great! Now I was stuck with him!

" I hope you like roses," Henrik said quietly, looking out at the windows.

Strange kid. He sure was aloof. Or, maybe...Was he just...Quiet?

Well, EITHER way, I don't really get it why mother wanted me to befriend Mrs.Johannson's kid.

I might as well be nice.