Anomalies

The creature doesn't seem aware of my existence—or at least, that's what I want to believe. Its humanoid, skinny frame sends lightning down my spine. It has harsh, uneven nails on each finger. It's all skin and bones. All of its organs are visible to the naked eye. Its heart is half the size of a human's, and it has only one lung.

The Beast of Passage—that's what they call it. Or at least, what Murphy did. At the age of fifteen, boys of the island go to hunt it with a small group. It's a tradition designed to help them overcome their fear of such decrepit animals and prepare them for the future. This monstrosity isn't much of a threat to anyone armed with a weapon.

Because of its skinny, weak physical state, this humanoid animal is considered one of the weakest threats on the island. What makes it unique is its ability to see without eyes. By screaming and listening to the echoes, it can perceive its surroundings as clearly as any human.

Deathguard is the name given to its collective Truth. To protect itself from what it perceives as an immense threat, its body hardens to a state tougher than stone for about twenty seconds, during which it goes on a rampage.

…

The beast doesn't sense a trace of what it's been hunting."Creeek."It screams in a random direction, then crawls away at a slow pace, careful not to hit anything.It seems to be in pain from its own screaming.Goosebumps dominate my body.

I better move if I don't want to die. If it comes back here and detects me…

My heart races like hell, and sweat covers my entire body.I suddenly weigh the risks of returning to the capital city to beg the lord for mercy.

No. What am I even thinking?

I slowly make my way home.My steps are as quiet as music has been silent tome since yesterday.

"CREEEEEEEK.

"My life flashes before me as I hear the beast's footsteps closing in at high speed.

The predator has found its prey.It runs toward me, screaming my death.My feet desperately run as fast as they can.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" I yell.

My steps feel swallowed by the ground. The air seems to push me back. The world feels like it's going crazy.

The distance between me and the beast closes rapidly. It would be a problem if I hadn't already reached my house's entrance.

"Clack."

In a single motion, I open, close, and lock the door."Boom. Boom. Boom."The beast violently pounds the door with all its might.

"Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap."

Blood drains slowly from my face.I rush to the fireplace and grab a fire iron lying in the mess.

"This will do."

I look at my new weapon with fear and hope.The sound of loud knocking suddenly stops.

There's no way he left.

I rush to my new "bedroom," not too close to any windows.

CREEEEEEK.

The wild, purgatory screams of my pursuer start to circle the house.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

♫ ♫ ♫

I start singing a melody that, of course, I can't hear.

Boom.

The beast seems to somehow hear my singing. The walls of my room are being violently shaken.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

Crash.

The sound of it breaking into the house echoes through every room. Thankfully, the room it enters isn't mine.

I slowly get up without making the slightest sound and make my way to the window. The windows in the house are old. A single attempt to open it will make noise—but I don't have a choice.

I try to open the window as if I'm touching the head of a baby.

"Just a bit more…"

Creak.

The rusty metal frame can't help but make a sound.

Creeeeek.

I jump from the window and run towards my escape.

The world looks different again. The colors are all inconsistently bright, and the moon looks disturbed—like it's in pain.

I run to the forest. By the time I reach it, the beast has already left the house.

CREEEEEEEEK.

Its screams are without end.

The trees are densely packed and hard to move through. The branches latch onto me, and the light grows dimmer and dimmer.

Creeek.

The deeper I go into the forest, the fainter the sound of the beast becomes."It seems as if I lost it."

...

The weird trail of the moonlight guides me into a ravine where the water glows purple from the stones beneath. It paints a scene as beautiful as the brilliant night sky. 

"I've never drunk water this fresh."

I lie down by the river's edge, the rocks are warm and comfortable.

Wondering what brought me to this moment, I gaze into the silvery moon."It's pointless. All I can do is try to survive. I've already put myself into a big dilemma by going deeper into the forest. The risk of encountering something far more dangerous has only gone up."

I'm about to scream from discontent before realizing how stupid and dangerous that would be.

Time slowly passes by, and so does the moon, which still has something weird to it.

♫ ♫ ♫

I start singing the same melody that made me fall in love with music.

But as I expected, nothing changes. No sound. Nothing.

"Will this go on forever? Will I stay the same? Will I never be able to change?"

"I'm tired."

I slowly close my eyes, singing the melody over and over again.As my consciousness slowly fades, so does my out-loud singing of the melody.

♫ ♫ ♫

♫ ♫

♫

…

Dark and cold.That's what it feels like—a sensation all too familiar.As my eyes open they are met with nothing. Well… almost nothing.

The bright blue moon hovers in the sky, and an unusual sight appears before me—part of the house I grew up in.

A chill runs down my spine at the sight.

I can barely make out anything in the darkness of the field."Hello," I yell into the void.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. 

It unsettles me—not knowing what lies beyond the limits of my view.Is there anyone here?" I whisper this time.In the absence of any response, I sit there—my back against my house—waiting for something.Anything.My eyes avoid my old house.

...

The moon's beautiful reflection illuminates the void in my eyes."Aren't you beautiful," I whisper.I'm going crazy, aren't I?The grass beneath me feels dead.Weirdly so.I glance around and realize the grass has taken on a faint white tint—subtle, but unmistakably unnatural.What—Before I can focus on what's in front of me, a sound catches my attention.TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK. TICK. TOCK.The sound of a metronome echoes across the vast emptiness—and as it does, the world begins to close in on itself.Gasp—I wake up in cold sweat.

"What was that?"

...Morning has come, and I find myself in an unusual place. A room filled with herbs.

Whatever that was isn't my priority right now.

All that matter is that i'm alive.Sigh—with joy I exhale.I was hopefully saved by someone,"Is someone here? Anyone?"The sounds of the beads attached to the frame of the door to the room rang loud.An old lady appears. Not tall but not short, she has a commandeering appearance. She looks like she's in her 60s but has another 30 years in her. Her hair, as white as paper, shines like the sun. She has black and blue striped vertical lines on her face.

"Thank you for sa—"

"What do you think you're doing sleeping in the forest?"

"Well—"

"Have you no fear of the great spirits?"

"You see—"

"I almost died bringing you here."

"I'm very sorry. The thing is, I was chased by a—what was it again—ah, a Beast of Passage and I almost died."

"If you don't get out of here, you will die. That fiend is, without a doubt, the weakest threat in this entire forest. If you're faced with anything stronger, you won't survive," she said with eyes that had seen death.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'll leave now."

"And how will you do that?"

"Do you have a map?"

"If I had a map, I would have left this place long ago," she replied, tears in her eyes.

What is she talking about? It took me 20 minutes to get to the place where she found me sleeping, 

"This part of the island is trapped from the outside world."

"Then how did I get here?"

"Beats me. All I know is—you can't leave this place and you won't last long" It isn't filled with strong beasts, but there are some that eat the one you met for breakfast."

I feel on the bed.

"What did I get myself into?"