The Cult Of Seven Devils

Chapter 12: Beyond the Forest

The mist filled the forest as the moonlight shined through for the first time in a while. The moonlight was dependent for survival, in this forest of course.

Itsuki pov(in mind)

~Looks in his bag and grabs book~

I haven't written in this book for a while, well, a few hours.

~Flips through pages~

Man, just to think about how much we've been through and we keep going. Others would've given up but...we kept going and it surprises me a bit. I wonder though, if we would've given up, if we would've just left, what would've happened? Would Dahlia still be here? Would we ever argue? *sigh* It's not like we could've left anyway. Still, it puzzles me.

~He flips to a pic of the whole group together ~

Dahlia...and Hunter...I wonder if they're still alive, I know they're alive...they're strong...hopefully, no I know they are. But why am I doubting? Maybe it's because we took so long to find them and we could've found them by now but I was being selfish and I only cared about my problems..and I forgot we were looking for them.

~Looks at a pic of Dahlia and Hunter together~

He smiles. I miss them...

End pov.

They pushed through the vast forest which seemed to be endless in this town one would wonder who would live here in the first place. The whole area looked to be filled with trees behind the eyes could see yet they continued their journey though the night. "It seems like we've made it to the countryside of town," Ali said with a wistful tone, "We should be cautious who knows what's lying in this area at this time, I mean, it's the country side we're talking about", "There's a path over that way that leads back into the forest," Sakka said confidently. "Okay, but this area is pretty open so something will probably see us so make as little noise as possible," Ali commanded. They snuck across the open field filled with destroyed tractors and dead crops in a vast majority.

With a very sneaky tactic, they were able to reach the path then they saw something or someone in the distance up ahead near a destroyed car. Once they got closer it seemed to be a man in his 40s to 50s. He was wearing jagged clothes which smelled like whiskey with a bruised face and a faded beard. The car was in very bad condition with the front being smashed into a tree and the tires being popped. "Sir, are- are you okay?" Itsuki asked with caution. The man said nothing but made weird noises like he was in shock. "I think he might have brain damage from the hit or he might be too hurt to respond" Quinn answered.

The man began to violently shake back and forth on the ground while coughing. They all felt an uneasy sense coming from this man, it wasn't normal, it wasn't human. "We should go..." Quinn murmured to the others with an anxious look, "Do we just leave him here?" Sakka asked. The man was already in bad shape and seemed to be out of what was going on around him. "He isn't responding to us and it doesn't seem like he's mentally stable," Itsuki added "are best bet is to keep going to our location". They continued to walk down the faded and bending pathway which went through an area that had fewer trees and more of an open field with grass that reached the knee. As they approached the top of the path which led them to a shallow mini lake with a church on the other side.

As they were about to cross it, Quinn noticed that Sakka wasn't with them. "Wait, where's Sakka?" they asked, then a screech followed by a deep scream was heard from behind below the hill. They all rushed to the hill and there he was, Sakka, running away from an emaciated, hairless, pale-skinned humanoid creature who ran and at a tremendous speed while chasing him. Its arms and legs were far longer than normal, stretching more than twice as long as its torso and ending in large hands and feet with long, bony fingers.

"Fuck!" Itsuki screamed as the frightening thing got closer to them. They began to bolt across the shallow lake to the church on the other side. When inside, they saw the place was an absolute mess with books and statues everywhere. Sakka was getting closer to the church and the others started to panic. "HE'S BRINGING IT IN HERE?!" Itsuki yelled with terror in his eyes. "I have an idea, don't worry," Ali reassured. As Sakka spirited across the water the other yelled at him to hurry as the thing gained on him and the the last second Sakka jumped into the church with the thing right behind him but before the monster could get in, the other slammed the church doors shut onto its face blocking the door with a large statue for the meantime.

Sakka painted profusely while leaning over with a look of pain, terror, and guilt in his eyes. "Thanks, guys I owe you tha-" he said before getting cut off by an emotionally distraught Itsuki, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" he yelled with tears in his eyes "YOU COULD'VE BEEN KILLED BY THAT THING THEN WHAT?! HUH?!". "Suki-" he said with shock and confusion in his eyes, "WE ALREADY LOST YAN, HUNTER, AND SOPHIE AND NOW YOU WANT A DEATH WISH TOO?!" he wept. "Itsuki calm down-" Ali said before Itsuki interrupted him. "NO, I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE." he said while falling to the floor, "ARE FRIENDS PROBABLY DEAD RIGHT NOW AND WE ALMOST JUST LOST ANOTHER ONE ON A STUPID ACTION WHICH IS ALWAYS HELPING OTHERS, WHY?! JUST FUCKING WHY?!" he yelled. "I'M TIRED OF WATCHING PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE I CAN'T SAVE THEM, I'M TIRED OF LOSING PERIOD BECAUSE I THOUGHT I WAS STRONG AND THOUGHT I WAS SURE ENOUGH THAT THE OTHERS ARE OKAY BUT SEEING THE MONSTERS LIKE WHATS OUTSIDE I JUST DON'T KNOW ANYMORE!" he sobbed loudly. He let out a deep breathe, "I just wanna go home," he whined, "I want to go to the beach, I wanna laugh with you all again, I just want to smile." The others were in shock at the display Itsuki just gave off. No one knew this pain that Itsuki had been bottling up for so long so, he snapped. "Suki I- I didn't know you felt that way- I'm sorry, truly, I am." Sakka said while sitting down next to him, "I was just trying to be nice but I didn't know the man would turn out to be a monster I- I'm sorry" he slowly wiped the tear of his face but Itsuki pulled his hand down and looked away. "This isn't like you Sakka" Itsuki said, "The one I knew wouldn't try to be a hero." He said while looking at him in the eye but then he got shocked when Sakka looked angered.

Suddenly, the creature began to bang on the door breaking the statue in the process, then the door was smashed open into pieces with the statue.