Adrian tightened his grip on the smooth handled axe, swinging it back and forth several times, testing the weight of his weapon - in response, Max flexed his bowstring, his fingers running tenderly across the sinew. They had progressed far through the trees, and the moon now held a tactical position high in the sky - the brothers were thankful for the luminescent glow it cast, as it aided their passage through the forest. It was the only thing they could be thankful for in the situation.
The permanent silence was almost unbearable, though neither of the brothers dared utter a single word. Moving with the silence and vulpine agility of a wily fox, Adrian and Max were spurred on by thoughts of their sister. There was no path as such, they relied solely on the occasional glimpse of downtrodden plants, or a small canine footprint imprinted in the soil.
Eventually, a slight hint of calmness settled in, and Adrian finally plucked up the courage to end the mute atmosphere - "Elenor is smart, Max, she'll be somewhere safe, out of sight, waiting to be found."
"I know, I don't doubt that at all ..... it's just, I've been getting one of my ..... feelings".
"What?! Is Elenor in danger?" Adrian's voice was frantic and distressed.
"No, at least, I don't think so," Max inhaled sharply, "It's more to do with us..."
At that moment, Adrian stopped in his tracks and a lifted a hand to silence Max's questioning. Adrian tilted his head slightly, pressing a keen ear against the wind. A ghastly howl echoed through the forest, causing Max's eyes to widen with fear, like a rabbit surrounded by a pack of ravenous wolves - but it was another sound that terrified the brothers to the core. A feeble high pitched yapping.
In an instant, Max had nocked an arrow to his bow, and before he knew it was bolting with Adrian in the direction of the demonic noises - despite what the sickening twist in his stomach was telling him.
*****
Elenor dug her nails deep into the bark of the old pine tree she sought refuge behind - it was the only object keeping her hidden from the creature. Silent tears flowed down her face, making patterns in the muddy detritus that had accumulated there. Sobbing noiselessly to herself, she acknowledged Keno's sacrifice.
She had found him shivering in a clearing, anxiously watching an unseen force among the trees. Elenor had been struck completely helpless when the huge bipedal shadow had hurled itself at her. It was almost inevitable that she would be dead, if Keno had not forced himself between his mistress and her assailant.
Glancing hopefully up at the sky, Elenor prayed for her ordeal to end. She risked a glance at Keno's mangled body, slumped among the bloodstained ferns - another flurry of tears came, but Elenor was thankful that his death had been swift. Unfortunately for her, the creature had caught her scent - sensing a fresh kill nearby, it now proceeded to hungrily lumber around the clearing, hunting for its futile prey.
Elenor was thrown from her thoughts, when a triumphant howl resounded all around her. It was at that moment she noticed the flow of blood from her forearm, dripping softly onto the leaf litter - a small crimson puddle had formed, and it dawned on Elenor that her position had been compromised. Moving with a newfound swiftness, and fuelled by adrenaline, she hurled herself onto a protruding branch, clambering as high as she possibly could - her legs narrowly missed the feral jaws that snapped angrily around the tree trunk.
YOU ARE READING
Blood Curse
Horror"By day the lycanthrope retains his human form, but in the light of the full moon he is cursed to walk the earth in the skin of a wolf. His hunger for flesh is insatiable, his speed is incomparable, his cunning is uncontrollable. The curse is passed...
