Stranger From a Strange Land (canceled)

Chapter XVI: Journey

"Jeez, you've got to be kidding me!" Aries exclaims. "What's your problem?" I ask her. "Don't you feel this savage heat?" She asks me. "Woman, quit being delusional. It's snowing outside" I remind her. It feels like we've covered so much ground, but we've only managed to make it far enough to reach the first peak - the smaller of the two - of the Galia Mountain range. And it's quite literally snowing up here. "What are you talking about, Deisuke? I'm melting over here!" She says. "I think that statement would be more befitting of the snow" I say. "Yeah, even Luna's freezing!" Says Carne. "More importantly, I think it's about time we stop for the night. The sun's going down" I suggest. "He's got a point, it'll be dark soon" agrees Carne. I look over to Luna, who's shivering under the makeshift blanket we made out of an old cloak. We stop when we reach the camp near the peak, and start filtering into each of the three little cabins situated around a large campfire. Once everyone has chosen a cabin, we gather around the campfire. Quietly. "Why don't we pass the time with some scary stories?" Asks Aries. "Oh! In that case, I know the perfect story"
We all turn our attention to him, and the campfire seems to illuminate an eerie aura of light onto his face. "Once upon a time, long ago, there was a little boy whose name was that if a dragon, Dun'hiir. This name was given to him with good reason, for he was raised by dragons, and had learnt all of their ways. Many of the dragons of the Gun'daan mountains loathed the idea of a human boy sharing their traditions and legacies, so one day, they set out to catch him. They could not, however make it too obvious, so the dragons took it upon themselves to give the job to the most mysterious creatures of all time: the Humoginae. Almost nothing is known about these creatures, except for that they have massive hunkering bodies, and eyes as red as the fires of hell. Dun'hiir was forced to hide in the post atop the first peak of the mountains, for these horrific creatures of the night would not stop 'till his blood had run down their throat.
"Dun'hiir stayed the night, and as the howls and growls of the horrific creatures neared, all he could do was sit and wait. In the pitch black of the night, Dun'hiir had fallen asleep, leaving himself defenceless. The creatures found him, and they tore the building to pieces. Dun'hiir was stuck in a corner. That's as far as the story goes. They say he never made it back, but after that night, the ancient mystery of the Humoginae seemingly disappeared overnight." He says. I can tell Aries is a little freaked out, Claire is shivering, and... Luna is hugging me as if her life depended on it with her eyes screwed shut, and shaking. "You okay?" I ask her. "I... I'm okay..." she says meekly. "It wasn't that scary" I say to her. "I... I know" she says. Somehow I doubt that. "Well, in any case, I highly doubt that's real" Says Claire, still shivering. I can't tell if it's from the cold or if she's genuinely just scared of such stories. But she does have a point. However scary the story itself may be, that doesn't make it true. "Well, I think we should eat and get it over with, we can't stay outside forever" I say, and everyone nods in agreement.
After everyone has eaten, we all get ready to settle in for the night. After everyone had said goodnight, we all get into bed, and soon enough, I fall asleep.

A loud scratching noise gives us a rude awakening. I get up, curious of what it might be. As I approach the window, I catch a glimpse of blood red eyes that stare into my soul, and it causes me to stumble back, startled. "What are you doing?" Exclaims Claire. "What?" I ask her, confused. "Do you have any idea what's out there?" she asks. "No! That's why I was looking!" I say. "I know it might sound crazy, but those things out there are no normal wolves" She says. "I figured" I say. "So, what are they?" I ask. "Do you remember Carne's story from earlier?" She asks. "Yeah?" I reply. "Think, stupid, I'm not spelling it out for you!" she says. Then I click. "You're fucking kidding me" I say. "No. I'm not!" she says. "But why would they be here?" I ask. "I don't know!" she says. "What should we do?" I ask. "The only thing we can do at the moment is wait" she replies, putting the lamp on the shelf above the fireplace. "I had no idea they were real" she says. "If even you didn't know, then they've been kept really well secret" I say. "Even I don't know everything, you know" she says. She's rather wise for being such a harmless person. Well, I suppose harmless is a bit of an exaggeration. While I'm stuck in thought, I notice that it's gone quiet. "They're gone" I suggest. "No, I wouldn't say there gone, they just realized that we're not what they're looking for" she says. "What so you think they're doing now?" I ask. "They're probably checking the other cabins" she says. "Will everyone be okay?" I ask. "Probably. Those things are smart, so when they realize that what they're lookin for isn't here, they'll leave us alone." she says. "Are you sure?" I ask. "Positive" she says. I look worriedly out the window. "Relax a little. I know sometimes situations may seem dire, but hoe do you think I've managed to stay alive all these years?" She says. I smile. "Sometimes I feel like you're too wise" I say. "You flatter me" she says with a smile. "Besides, we both know that even if they do attack us, we'd probably be able to defeat them together" she says, smiling. "Coming from you, that makes me feel better" I say. "I appreciate that you think so highly of me" she says. "Don't worry about it. You're probably the wisest out of us all. I'm sure you could defeat them all on your own if you wanted" I say. "Not without you..." I hear her whisper, but pretend I didn't, since she obviously didn't intend for me to. "Look, I think they're leaving" she says, pointing out the window. Sure enough, the collection of blood red eyes begin to filter out. The last one, however, stops, before looking me dead in the eyes. A shiver runs down my spine as the cold stare stabs deep into my soul, and I feel as if I'm going to suffocate. It turns away before disappearing among the snow. "Are you okay?" Asks Claire. "Yeah, I'm fine" I lie, eyes fixated on the window. "We should get back to sleep" she says.