Forest of Terror

Not like we'll die? That's the best he could come up with?!

I try to stop him from walking us towards the guaranteed 'rain of pain', as I call it, but this man is built like a truck.

"The less you squirm the less you'll need to wait. Wouldn't it be better to get things over with?"

"Haven't you seen those clips of shit getting flung around, snapping apart and turned to mist?"

"Why would I let the corporations know what I'm looking at?"

Oh my God...

I can't really judge him, but who actually believes that is in any way important. Honestly, I would much rather let this happen, too bad I have a sense of self-preservation.

"So..."

"Yeah?"

So now you respond...

"What exactly is the plan? Because I would like to remind you, we're walking towards a bunch of tornadoes that could rip us literally apart."

"Well I was originally just planning on looking for a way through, but since we can't die... it'll work as transportation..."

"Oh yeah, because that's perfectly sane."

"Could you maybe be a little less sarcastic?"

"Sure, I'll be perfectly fine getting shredded to death!"

The man sighed. "Think about this then: your best case scenario is we get separated."

"That's a good point, I won't need to strangle you after getting turned into a paste." He, again, decided to stay quiet. Maybe I should feel bad for getting mad, but he can't seriously expect me to act all calm and collected when faced with the possibility of being reduced to shreds.

As we approach the forest where the storm is located at, I notice something off about these trees. Or rather what surround them.

Around the tall pinecone trees, there are a number of worryingly large footprints. The marks seem to resemble a human's, but as obvious as it may seem, bigger. I nudge at the kidnapper. "So... Uh, did you notice the footprints-?"

He covered my mouth as I saw him look at the ground. "I do now... and something else...", he whispers carefully into my ear. A horrible clicking sound rings on the forest cannopy as I hear soft, quiet footsteps louden. He lifts his hand off my lips, letting me look around carefully.

Groans. Groans reverberate the trees and leaves as a cold air surrounds us. I then see it, a hulking bipedal beast almost as tall as the trees. It's skin is blackened like charred wood and it's face lacks eyes. It's mouth is larg, filled with flattened teeth and letting out a crimson light from deep within it. At the center of it's face are two large nostrels that suck in air, clearly it's mouth is made for one thing only.

Behind it there appears a pair of other giants, both similarly charred looking, but dragging along them a club made of a large bone and a number of indented stones. If I had to guess from the smell of rot, I'd wager them carnivores.

I tried to help with balancing as my friend carefully tried to take steps, but had to stop as he halted. He slowly let me down on a flat piece of stone that looked like it was cut off by sheer force. Begining with my legs, he took off the bindings and let me go.

His eyes told me to be quiet as he chucked the bondages off to the side, making a notable sound against a tree.

The monsters wimpered as one walked terrifyingly well-paced towards the sound. Each step was clearly louder than how they approached us earlier, it's clear now that they knew about us. They must have been attracted to the sound of us going through the woods.

As I looked around, I spotted a cleared path that was seemingly a former nature route. I signal the two of us to it, luckily my dear fellow understood what I meant.

Trying to avoid the oddly few dried-up branches and leaves, we slowly made our way to the path. But as I look behind me, I feel the breath of the giants on my neck.

They're following us...! I try to get the message accross to the madman who is seemingly leaving me behind as soon as he saw the monsters. I try to keep calm, but one of those things is quickly running past me and towards the traitor. Now there's only one following me, maybe I could make a run for it, but I don't know if there's more of them.

With one slight glance to a far away sound by the beast, I take my chance and start to run. I hope to God that I at least make it to the tornados to fulfil my pal's plan, hearing the booming running behind me I try to go faster. Luckily these things aren't faster than an out-of-shape, twenty-year old, overworked, office worker.

There's the clearing just a fair bit away, if I can just run a bit more I should make it to the storm.

Each step becomes heavier as my lungs feel like they want to shrivel-up, making my running slow down as the beast swings it's club at me. At the moment of impact, I feel all the bones in my back swiftly crackle and even snap.

I nearly throw-up from my stomach and intestines getting squashed, but the adrenaline and shock don't let me as I lay here with thick blood dripping down from my nouse. I try to gasp for air, feeling my lungs fill with fluids. I fade in and out of conciousness, feeling myself getting pulled up by the monster.

"Oh God...", I really pray for one of my only times in life. As I open my eyes, I see through my blackening vision the maw of the giant. The warm heat wraps around my face as embers rise from within.

I grap out for anything at all, getting a hold on the nose of the beast and pull. It was instinctual, lacking any sense of reason or real logic as I desperately try to do anything at all. The inside is dry, hairless and feels like rubbing a desert rock and I feel my hands almost burning from touching it.

I force myself to grip despite the pain, screaming as burns form on my skin. It doesn't help as I get deeper inside, losing my weak grip on the skin, before feeling something ripping my legs appart and falling on the ground. As I look up, I see a frail human-like being with pale skin and long, slender, boney arms.

And while it keeps getting closer, I can feel my mind slipping away. Maybe the adrenaline wore-off, maybe bloodloss or hopefully: this is all one fucked-up nightmare.