Requiem

Chapter Sixteen:

“Can we sit down?” I pant heavily, gripping a thin tree for support and it snaps in my hand, disintegrating into a black powdery substance that stains my hand. I try to brush it off -only to fail miserably. Now both of my hands are black. 

Sebastian pauses and glances back over his shoulder, a brow lifting. “Tired already?” 

“Uh, duh,” I snort bitterly, “We’ve been walking all day now.” 

His eyes narrow, “No. There’s still a couple more hours of daylight.” 

Gritting my teeth, I glare heavily at his back as he continues to walk. If he feels my glare, he doesn’t acknowledge my misery and simply treks forward into the grim forest. I cross my arms across my chest and try to focus on something else. 

But I’m hungry. 

My stomach snarls angrily at me, churning and twisting with each feeble step I take, and I fear it will either turn inside out or start to eat itself soon. I feel weak and light headed. Each step is like a battle; I have to forcibly make my leg lift up and step down, and my balance is off. 

It is not fun. 

I find myself clutching at my stomach tightly, fingers clawing at the angered organs beneath the thick layer of skin. “We need to find food.” 

Sebastian stops mid-step. His foot lowers to the ground and his head twists around towards me. His dark eyes drink me in with one long gulp. I fashion my best glare onto my features, but I don’t think it came out right because his eyes soften and he lets out a small sigh. He dips his head in a small nod and glances around. 

“What do you suppose we do?” 

I shift around uncomfortably. “I don’t know.” 

A twig snaps. 

All traces of hunger vanish, replaced swiftly with fear. My fingers curl around the hilt of my sword and my back is suddenly pressed flat against Sebastian’s. My eyes scan over the broken tangles of dark trees and, after a few moments of utter silence, a dark shape lugs into view. Dark, inky bristles of fur coat its body -so it looks like a large shadow and is almost impossible to make out within the cover of the trees. Long, razor sharp claws dig into the ground from all four paws and glistening, clear drool dangles from its huge mouth -which hangs open to reveal a long row of yellowing teeth the size of my middle finger.

It huffs and puffs, thick heavy pants filling the silent air. 

I resist the urge to shudder. “What…what is that thing?” 

Sebastian lifts one shoulder in a small shrug, which I can feel move against mine. His eyes are narrowed towards the creature, which in turn raises its large head to get a better look at us with its dark, beady eyes. 

“How much,” He whispers harshly, “do you want to bet that it’s as hungry as we are?”