Chapter 4 (part 1)

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Korik Forest: deadly creatures in the shadows

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With nothing but forest behind them, Cecealye came to a stop, which in turn brought everyone else to a halt. Ean spun around to her.

"We can't stop; they're sure to come after us."

"That's not likely," Orckle said as he was catching his breath.

"What makes you so sure?"

"This is the Korik Forest; none of the locals come here. They believe it is cursed with demon creatures."

Blaizen cocked an eyebrow. "Well, that's just great."

Supreany slowly took off her robe and stood there in silence. She began to try to clean her shoes, off when she turned to see everyone staring at her.

Ean, too, took off his robe and tossed it to the ground before he looked back up at her. "Supreany, what happened in that room back there?"

She looked down at the ground. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You screamed, shrieked at the top of your lungs, and passed out. I think you do know what I'm talking about."

She looked back up at them. "I … I saw something, I ..."

"What did you see?"

"It's too difficult to explain."

Silence fell over the group. Blaizen and Cecealye began to remove their robes and try to clean the human waste from their shoes. Orckle just stood there, observing Supreany, before he, too, tried to clean himself up. Once Ean was satisfied he was as clean as he was going to get, he broke the silence.

"The way I figure it, we came out on the south-eastern side. If we keep heading straight, we'll be pointed toward Pulges Rock. If we can make it there by tomorrow night, we'll have a relatively safe place to stay. We can decide what our next action will be when we get there. Sound good?"

Blaizen took in a deep breath. "Sounds good to me."

The rest nodded in agreement.

"All right. Let's be off."

The forest was dense and night still overshadowed them. All sorts of sounds could be heard coming from *over there* and *behind those trees.*

Supreany drew in close to Blaizen and Orckle. "Hey, Orckle, you remember what I said about dark and creepy places?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I really meant it. It's like a phobia of mine."

Blaizen huffed. "Oh, come on. Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark." This comment garnered a dirty look from Supreany. "I was just joking."

After a moment of silence, Blaizen's eyes drifted to the trees around them. He wasn't used to seeing so many trees in one place. They seemed to be everywhere on this planet. He could tell, though, that there was something strange about these trees. They were different from all the others he had seen. He began to examine each one as he passed, trying to figure out what was so strange about them, when something caught his eye. He slowed to a turtle's pace and his heart leapt into his throat.

'Is that tree looking at me?' Eyes wide, he came to a stop.

Noticing he had stopped, Supreany went back to him. "What's the matter? You never saw a tree before?"

He said nothing in response and watched the tree's eyes move to look at Supreany. Looking at him, she could clearly see something was wrong. She began examining the tree that was no more than five feet in front of them. It took her a moment but she saw it too.

She leaned to Blaizen. "Are you seeing what I think you're seeing?"

"That tree has eyes." He said it so lightly, she almost didn't hear him. She stepped closer to it. Its eyes were fixated on her.

"Stop!"

She turned to see Orckle.

"Don't get any closer to it," he commanded. "It will hurt you if it gets the chance. Let's just keep walking. It's too dangerous to linger. Just avoid looking at them; don't acknowledge their presence."

"Them!" Blaizen turned to Orckle. "How many are there?"       

Ean took in a deep breath. "All right, everyone, you heard Orckle. Let's keep moving, and stick together." He looked directly at Blaizen. "And no more pit-stops. Let's go."

With his stomach beginning to knot up, Blaizen stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to hide his nervousness. 'Man, this place is so creepy.'

Ean took the lead, making a path through the brush. Glancing over to his right, he made eye contact with another tree. Its eyes seemed fierce as they followed him without flinching. It sent a chill up his spine in spite of himself as he looked away. 'I mustn't look at them.'

Orckle seemed to be the only one in the group who didn't seem in the least bit unnerved. Cecealye's eyes locked onto Ean and she forced herself not to look anywhere else. She would have been lying if she'd said she was not frightened. Blaizen fought to keep his eyes down, though, he didn't let his eyes rest on an object for more than two seconds. In spite of this, he couldn't help but notice how calm Supreany seemed to be. She cautiously took each step keeping an eye on the forest around her. He began to feel even worse. The truth of it was, she was making him feel inferior, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

Supreany was staring into the leaves of the trees intently, as if to see something that couldn't be seen. "Does anyone else feel like we're being watched? And I'm not talking about the trees."

Ean looked over his shoulder. "Let's not freak ourselves out any more than we have to, okay, Supreany?"

"I'm telling you. There's something in these trees."

"Just keep your eyes forward and don't worry about it."

It got the best of her and Cecealye's eyes drifted up into the trees. Oh, she's just being over-observant. She started to force her eyes back down, when she saw something leap from one tree to another. Her eyes locked onto it. She could see its silhouette but that was it. 'We're in a forest. It's probably just some kind of harmless tree-dwelling creature.'

Even though she told herself that, she found it impossible to look away as it leapt into another tree, staying in her line of vision. But now it began to come out from the darkness, to where she could see it. It looked like a little person that would stand at about two-feet tall. It had dark brown skin and unnatural-looking red and yellow eyes. Coming out of its hairless head, were six one-inch horns. It smiled a hungry smile, showing off its many sharp teeth.