From Darkness To Light

Chapter 8 - Monster

When I awoke, there was silence. No birds sang, no wind whistled, leaves did not rustle and forest animals dared not to move. There was darkness in their area, danger in the form of an unconscious girl. Groaning, I rolled onto my stomach and forced my eyes open, to be greeted by the looming grey clouds on the horizon. I snorted, even the weather was matching my mood nowadays. Pulling myself upright, I was repulsed to see that blood still covered my hands and face, spatters dried into my skin and clothes, some parts seeping into the all grass surrounding me. Pushing myself to my feet, fighting through the waves of dizziness that threatened to send me tumbling downwards again, I took in my surroundings.

I was in some strange clearing in the middle of a forest. It was clear I had been here a long time, how long was unclear to me. My memories of Shadow's vengeance were hazy at best but I knew they would come back to haunt me in the form of my nightmares. Star was nowhere to be seen but I could hear the sounds of children playing, laughter and joy reaching my ears which was such a contrast to the dark aura that emanated off of me. Wildflowers were dotted around the edge of the tall grass, forming almost a perfect circle to surround my once prone form. Glancing back at where I had been laying, I noticed a knife sitting in the grass completely untouched by anyone. I did a quick 360, double checking that I was alone before picking up the knife and sliding it into my belt as a makeshift holster, now at least I had something to protect myself with.

The silence was only occasionally broken by the children's laughter and I decided that it was as good a direction to go as any. I made my way out of the clearing and into the dense forest, ignoring the sounds of the forest going quiet as I passed - trying not to let the goosebumps that were creeping up my arms show. I soon reached a row of bushes from behind which the sound was coming from, so I decided to peer through and see what the children were doing. They were running across a lawn, presumably someone's back garden, playing tag. It brought a smile to my face that hadn't been there for a long time. Even in such dark times for some of us, the children had found a way to make the world a bit brighter. Rustling to my left made me skitter backwards into the dense woods, but not fast enough. A small, brown haired boy stared at me with confusion and recognition, his brown eyes full of wonder. His quiet, high pitched voice pierced through the forest silence, a whisper reaching my ears:

"Why are you here? You aren't allowed near the village anymore..."

I was shocked. It was little Jacob from my home, I used to help him with delivering the bread from the bakery as his father was the town baker. He always used to give me one of the slightly burnt loaves that couldn't be sold to anyone for decent money. I later learned when I was older that he used to 'accidentally' knock one closer to the fire in order to get the bread to me, since the rumors of my 'parents' not feeding me properly had been confirmed as true. Gesturing wildly with my hands for Jacob to back away from me, I skittered further backwards into the brush in fear of hurting this child.

"Why aren't you afraid of me? You know what I can do..."

"Mommy told me the story but you are nice. You'd never do that on purpose right?"

Big, innocent eyes looked up at me, pleading with me to agree with him and dispel his doubt about the strange character everybody calls a monster. Thinking back over all I had done, confusion was all I could feel. This child should be running, screaming for his mother and warning all the townsfolk about the monster that must surely trying to kill him. Yet I was still sitting here with him, having a conversation that seemed empty of fear.

"I'd never hurt you Jacob. But someone that isn't me would. You saw him that night didn't you? The Shadow. He's a part of me and he is angry. I won't let him hurt you but I think you should run Jacob. Warn them that I am here, get them on alert and then you will be safer."