Premonition
The strange noise seemed distant yet dark and cold as a winter's night.
In the next few moments, the forest fell silent again, and even the icy wind that had rustled the leaves before calmed down.
"W-We have to leave!" Taro raised his voice, his face was desperate.
"Let's go one direction in a straight line…sooner or later we should get out…" Rick suggested.
Kristian, knowing a little about how to navigate outdoors, tried to see how the moss grew, thus trying to identify where north was, however, he noticed to his chagrin how the moss grew quite randomly.
This oddity made him shiver, however, he didn't tell the other two, trying not to frighten them further.
He then looked up, trying to see where the sun was, however, he noted to his chagrin that the thick canopies of the trees above him made that impossible.
So he nodded to Rick's plan.
*Stomp Stomp Stomp…
*Squelch Squelch
*Squelch
How long did they walk, half an hour?, or maybe even more... they had just faced a tiring climb due to a rise in the ground. In the meantime, the ground under their feet moistened, causing even the sound of their steps to change, the moss and fallen pine leaves, wet from the humidity that became more and more persistent in the forest, made walking more and more tiring and with the risk of slipping.
Like a caged bird that will become more and more silent over time, during this time the three young people have become more and more silent, as if the forest around them has become their cage.
Many questions continued to arise in the minds of the three, but the ones that hammered them the most were: "Is there anyone besides us in this forest? Whose was the screeching sound from before?"
'Maybe that animal was really far from us...' Kristian thought, trying to calm down.
His grandmother always told him that in difficult situations, you should force yourself to remain as calm as possible, and that was exactly what Kristian had been trying to do for a while now, even though the situation he was in made it very complicated.
The forest gradually grew darker and a light mist began to grow from the ground, disorienting the minds of the three young people even more. The dry branches of the pines grew in intricate and sinister interweaving, they looked like bony fingers that pierced the fog ready to grab the prey, the brambles and wild weeds that formed the undergrowth formed plays of shadows that made them look like sharp blades ready to strike at any moment. All this made the environment in which the three young men walked, if possible, even more inhospitable and frightening, and the one who seemed most affected by it was certainly Taro.
Sometimes, when the smooth black-haired youth was brushed by an invisible branch, he would jump up with a frightened face, thinking it was a wild beast attacking him, only to swallow neurotically when he saw what had actually touched him.
Every time this happened, Rick would turn to look at him, trying to appear calm, however, he too was actually very scared and tense, especially after hearing that strange verse.
The three pulled out of their backpacks and lit the sunstone torches and lanterns they had brought along for safety, illuminating the space before them.
The only one who still seemed to be able to keep a little calm was Kristian, who made an effort to think as little as possible.
*SHrrrr!
A rustling noise that flared up into a dull thud of breaking branches suddenly broke the deafening silence. It was as if someone or something large had moved quickly breaking everything in front of them.
Rick and Kristian turned, trembling in terror, towards the sound, their pupils dilating and their hearts skipping a beat.
Rick and Kristian's minds instantly linked the noise of unknown origin to the infamous beast that earlier had made that strange cry resembling a creaking door.
'This noise… it is certainly closer than the verse from before…' Kristian thought. As soon as he thought that, his most animal instinct told him to run away from there as fast as possible in the opposite direction of the noise, yet his legs were shaking like crazy.
Rick turned to Kristian, from his lost gaze one could very well understand the emotions and thoughts he was having at that moment, he too, like Kristian, was ready to run in the opposite direction to the mysterious noise however he didn't seem to be able, his legs were locked in fear.
Taro, ever since the sound of breaking branches destroyed the gloomy silence of the forest, remained motionless, as if frozen with fear.
His eyes were wide open, his throat dry and with lost eyes he looked forward, sweating cold.
After that noise, a rustling began to be heard closer and closer coming from the very direction of the original noise.
"I-i-i-is he h-h-hunting us!?" Taro stammered, his voice shaky and full of fear.
The tension in the hearts of the three young men could be cut with a knife, they knew they had to do something, they had to run away from there as fast as possible, but no one seemed to be able to. Fear had stopped them.
*Russtle…RUsstle…RUSstle
The "thing" that generated that rustle seemed closer and closer.
'Move…
Move…
Move…
LEGS… MOVE!' Rick took a shy step away from the noise, then slapped his right thigh hard.
"RUN!" yelled Rick. then sprinting away from their unknown pursuer, forcing his way through the undergrowth.
This scream might seem like a stupid thing to do, especially if you are prey, after all you are only helping whoever is chasing you to find you, however not in that situation, in that situation something was needed that would unlock the bodies petrified by fear of the three young people , and that scream followed by Rick's run was like a spark that not only melted his blocks of fear, but also those of his two friends.
In fact, after a few moments, first Taro and then Kristian followed, without thinking too much, their friend's run.
It was a desperate, uncoordinated, aimless run, however, all the adrenaline released in their bodies due to fear made them run fast and regardless of the fatigue and various wounds that the branches of the brambles inflicted on them.
However, even so, the "thing" that was chasing them seemed to be drawing them closer and closer.
'It's getting closer... why why why! It must be a nightmare, it can't be true… Wake up, WAKE UP!' The confused thoughts of despair screamed in Kristian's mind.
The three, continuing their run, found themselves skirting a natural slope of the land.
Rick, without thinking twice, turned to his right and continued running to the side of the slope, Taro and Kristian following.
*gallop!
gallop!Gallop!
GAllop!
gallop!
GALLOp!gallop!
GALLOP!
The heavy gallops of the "thing" that was pursuing them joined the now nearby rustle.
With each noise the hearts of the three skipped a beat, and their race became more and more desperate.
Kristian was the one furthest back, he felt that the beast chasing them was now close to him, and out of pure instinctive reaction he turned around, however, in doing so, he did not notice a lifting of the ground caused by a pine root, and for this he tripped over it and fell towards the slope of the ground to his left.
"AhH!" Kristian gave a strangled cry as he rolled down the slope, gaining more and more speed, only stopping after hitting his back against a pine tree.
"Kkh!" His back seemed to break, his vision went blurry, he looked up, saw Taro and Rick walking away, and then the shape of the "thing" chasing them, more than two meters tall, it ran on all fours, skeletal legs, an enlarged chest and a long snout.
He passed out soon after.
Rick, the most athletic of the three, had now detached the other two by a few meters, and hearing a strange noise behind him, he allowed himself the luxury of turning back, illuminating with the torch. He saw Taro first, and then he also saw the "thing" behind him.
His eyes widened.
His heart knotted and his breath caught.
His face went white.
What he felt at that moment can't be defined only as fear, it was something else. As soon as he saw what was chasing him, he knew he was going to die that day.