Descending

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

James woke to the sounds of the forest: screeches, growls, chirps, anything possible of being audible, he could hear it. All he could do was look up at the moon, a menacing claw as sharp as the creature's that had nearly killed him. Looking to his side he could see the dead animal that had nearly ripped him into a million pieces.

The simple movement James made sent horrifying sharp pains through his body, all caused from where the creature had gnawed and clawed him.

James flinched as another unfamiliar creature landed on the dead animal's side. It screeched into the air as if announcing its triumph to the world.

James studied the odd creature, deciding it was some type of crow or vulture mix. It then dug its head into the animal's cold side, plunging its beak through the skin, a nail gun to a wall. Jerking its head up, with the sound of ripping flesh, he now saw what looked to be entrails.

This is when James lost it, suddenly convulsing onto the ground in disgust. Looking at his mess, all he could see was pale, clear bile all over him, smelling of death.

Trying to get up, James felt another rush of pain flash through him, worse than he had felt the first time. He thumped to the ground with a thud. James looked up to the moon hoping to fade away with it, the pearl light calming to his life's end.

"Moon can you save me? No one else seems to want me, not even my own sister. I guess I sort of deserve it, but I want to fix it. Please! End this hell now! I BEG you!!"

James suddenly sipped in his breath, "What are you doing to yourself? You're going crazy! Keep it together you unimaginable, idiotic coward," he yelled at himself.

The hybrid bird yelped another blood curdling cry and James heard another tear of flesh. Gingerly turning his scratched up face, he could see the bird, half hidden in a bloody cave, created in the rotting creature's side.

James could not stand watching the cannibal hybrid anymore; he had to leave before it turned on him with his ripped, bitten, remains of a leg.

Looking around frantically, he spotted the stick he had used on the creature to kill it. It was still plunged deep into the side of the creature, dripping with both of their blood. The only problem was getting it out with out disturbing the flesh-eating bird. He could only guess what his fate would be if it set its eyes on him.

Painstakingly slow, James crawled as quietly as he could manage, with his limp leg dragging behind him. He flinched, again, as the carnivorous bird jerked its head up again out of the animal. It slowly ate the flesh dangling from its long, sharp beak, and seemed to bore its eyes right into James'.

Raindrops of sweat seemed to rain down James' face as he held his breath for what seemed like hours. His heart was beating faster and faster, surely loud enough for the bird to hear, until finally, the bird disappeared into the corpse. 

James took the chance and launched his body a couple feet closer. The stick was just touching his fingertips, teasing him. James stretched with all his might and got a firm hold; now he had to get it out of the body without disturbing the devilish bird. 

Pulling himself with the stick, James grabbed hold with both of his hands. Now he would have to get into a sitting position. Luckily it was not to hard, flopping over, with the stick to guide him, onto his back. He grabbed hold again and pulled toward himself; no luck, the stick was jammed.

James grabbed hold again and pulled, his leg screaming at him to stop from the force, until the stick made a sucking, slurping noise, and came loose. Panting from the effort he watched as the creature's gore dripped down his hands, slow and thick, dark as the night.