We stayed in the watch tower for two more days. Fortunately, that creature didn't return. The nights were eerily silent, broken only by the distant murmur of the river.
On our third day, we finally decided to continue traveling further, another watchtower stood in the distance, its silhouette barely visible through trees.
"We should be able to reach it by nightfall," Zei said
I nodded in agreement.
This would be our last night here. As expected nothing happened that night either. But We both still took turns sleeping to stay alert in case something happened. I found myself enjoying seeing her alluring face while she slept serenely.
By the fourth day, we recommenced our expedition towards the next watch tower.
Miraculously we managed to reach the next watchtower before sunset, it was in a similar condition just like the previous watchtower, weathered, intact but covered in vines and plants.
After some cleaning both of us settled beside the fire, the sun had already vanished, leaving only the gust of wind flowing throughout the silent forest and the stars glimmering in the night sky to accompany us.
"It's late now we should go to sleep" she murmured and I nodded.
Silence enveloped the watchtower, I heard her steady breathing, she was fast asleep as I continued to gaze in the distant forest wondering what lay beyond. What kind of world awaited us?
My eyes fluttered open as the bright rays of the sun woke me up, it seemed like I'd fallen asleep while keeping the watch last night.
Glancing around, I noticed Zei was not there.
"Must have gone to the river" I thought.
I stood up stretching, joints cracking and trudged towards the water's edge.
"Oh, you are awake?" Zei called out, sitting by the river bank, her face illuminating under the radiance of the sun.
"Yeah, sorry I must have dozed off while keeping the guard"
"It's fine," she said, smiling faintly "You must have been tired after all, don't worry about it"
She seemed a lot more cheerful today compared to the past few days.
We spend the rest of the day preparing to depart tomorrow at dawn. As twilight approached, we engaged ourselves in collecting fallen branches and collecting food for tomorrow.
When night settled, Zei volunteered to take the first watch and I gladly accepted her generous offer. The next morning, after we both had rested, we left the watchtower and continued our journey.
The next watchtower was quite far away so it took us a whole day to reach it. However, upon reaching there we met with a grim sight
"The tower… it's in ruins" Zei said, her voice low.
The watchtower was destroyed. The guardroom was collapsed and the stairs were broken.
Our situation had just gotten a lot worse
"It's already nightfall, we can't return either" She added, her tone serious.
"We will have to camp in the forest," I said "There is no other choice"
There wasn't much left to say, we both were in a somber mood.
There were still no signs of any settlement nearby. And the forest seemed endless.
"We should stay awake tonight… just in case" Zei murmured, sitting beside the fire as her eyes reflected the burning embers
I nodded, it was better to be alert since neither of us would be able to sleep in this environment anyway.
"Looks like we are out of wood" I stood, brushing dirt from my knees "I will go and bring some more" I headed towards the trees to pick up some twigs and branches.
Then— I heard something which made my blood run cold. I froze in my place as the sound of a woman's lullaby entered my ears.
"No, No it can't be. Why now of all times" I grimaced.
My heart was pounding. It was back, or perhaps it had never left, waiting for us to leave the watchtower.
Then I heard a faint whisper.
"Rayne…"
Zei's voice trembled, her face pale and horrified. She had heard it too. I heard the sound of branches breaking and someone crawling towards us.
It was coming towards us
I seized Zei's hand and pulled her behind a tree hoping it didn't see us, hoping that it would disappear like it did that day.
The lullaby grew louder and louder, it was coming. The sound of crawling grew louder as it came closer. My eyes caught a glance of its face, It was much more horrifying and grotesque up close.
It smiled and started staring at the distant sky, still singing something in a language that I couldn't comprehend. It hasn't noticed us, I thought.
However, to my horror just then it turned its inhumane face towards us while we were hiding behind the tree as if it knew all along where we were.
MMMMMYYYYYYYYY CCHHHHILLLLLDDDD!!!!!!!!!
"RUNN!!!!"
We both sprinted as fast as we could hoping we could outrun that thing, hoping it wouldn't chase us down.
Terror fueled every single one of our steps as we tore through the forest, its shriek echoing behind us
It was chasing us down. We had to go faster. I was thinking about the possible ways we could escape but nothing came to my mind.
Another horrifying shriek came from behind, making me stagger and hit the ground.
"RAYNE!!!! BEHIND YOU!!"
It was right behind me, inching closer every passing moment.
Gritting my teeth, I scrambled to my feet, jaw clenched. I can't let it end like this, not again.
Just as I stood up, its piercing claw lashed at me with the intent to kill, giving me no time to react.
I felt the creature's hand tear through my body, the pain was agonizing but I was powerless to do anything. I glanced at Zei, she stood frozen in terror.
Then, a dozen sharp thorns emerged, hurled at her at blinding speed, piercing her in the stomach. Blood poured out.
I only stared at the scene unfolding, tears streamed down my face as her lifeless body fell to the ground.
"No.."
I gasped, choking as it tightened its grip around my neck, before ripping my head apart. Then everything went silent.
…Or so I thought.
I found myself standing right in front of the grotesque creature, its claws mere inches away from me.
My gaze shifted towards Zei. She was alive, relief washed over me however she wasn't moving either. The river had stopped flowing as well, everything was motionless. No, that wasn't correct.
Time was just moving at an infinitely slower pace.
Numerous luminescent symbols flared on my wrist, pulsing like a heartbeat. Glimmering in a radiant blue light. I couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"What…what is this?" I whispered
What I saw was a vision…A glimpse of the future.
The blue carvings on my wrist began to wane . Pain seared through my head, blood streamed down my eyes.
As the symbols vanished, I stepped away from the creature and back to Zei's side.
Then— time resumed.
"Rayne!! BEHIND YOU!! She screamed.
The creature thrust its claws forward, but I was no longer there.
Seizing the moment I grabbed Zei's wrist and bolted deep inside the forest to escape.
She looked shocked, confusion flashed across her face but followed without question. However we couldn't go far.
Dozens of thorns shot forward at me, barely missing my vitals and struck my left leg. Sharp pain enveloped my leg, blood gushed out but it didn't matter we had to keep running.
Zei was alive, that was all that mattered to me right now.
"Rayne you are bleeding" she cried, her face etched with concern.
"It's fine, we need to run" I uttered desperately,
The creature hadn't stopped, it was crawling towards us slowly. Clutching Zei's shoulder, I forced myself forward. Blood streamed down my leg, each step a fresh wave of agony but we persisted.
We ran for what seemed like hours, we ran until our legs gave, until the forest finally started to thin, a glimmer of hope ignited into my eyes
However all we met at the end was a massive waterfall …. a sheer drop into the abyss.It was a dead end.