ChromaTober | 2023 FMS Writing Challenge

-| Day 20: Stalk |-

AU: Horror (yes it's back hehe-)

Context: Just the duo casually out hunting. Nothing wrong here. Nope, absolutely not. What it is that they're hunting probably isn't important.

(This prompt could also relate to the stalk of a plant if you don't want to go the spooky route)

—————————————————————————————————————

[3rd Person POV]

The Darkness being was alone, isolated. Its group had somehow disappeared in the storm. The mindless being didn't care, though; all it cared about was the fact that it had received new orders to scout around the area it's in.

The trees provided some shelter from the rain, but not much, the drops hitting the Darkness' malleable body and making it start to fall apart the more it got soaked. Quickly darting into the shadows would allow it to reconstruct itself, but the rain would make it drip more of the inky substance from its form soon after. It decided that staying under the trees would be the best course of action and continued through the forest.

A snap of a branch interrupted the calm drill of the rain, and the Darkness quickly looked around for what could have caused it. Nothing was in view, except for a mutated bird that had glowing purple veins poking through its feathers and two beaks, but it was both too small to have broken a stick and was sitting peacefully in a nest. Looking closer, the Darkness spotted two less mutated chicks with only the double beaks sitting under the fluffy feathers of the bird.

The Darkness decides that they're a bit too peaceful, and without hesitation jumps up and swipes at the mother bird. A dark slash quickly starts to spread its inky colors onto the bird's feathers, a few drops leaking down onto the chicks. The birds squawk and screech, but the Darkness doesn't show any reaction to their cries. It just continues into the forest.

Until a whooshing sound suddenly came from behind it.

It turns around again, and somehow the birds are uncorrupted and healed, the mother bird quickly picking up its two babies with strong, gentle claws and flying away. The Darkness is confused, but continues into the forest thinking the rain must have washed away the infection before it spread enough.

The forest goes from a light birch to dark oak, just as the sun begins to set and turn the forest to night's embrace. The tall, almost eerie trees tower over the Darkness with thick trunks making it harder to see around it, but still the Darkness didn't care. It had orders, and all it thought about was following them.

It glances around, seeing if anything is nearby as it walks. Thunder roars from above, although the Darkness doesn't even flinch. It continues down the path, looking around-

...Was that spot always empty? It could've sworn there was a tree there.

It stays there for a moment, staring at the empty space.

Darkness cannot feel. It cannot feel fear. It must be the corrupted one inside still fighting to take back control.

It finally moves forward and continues into the forest.

The trees begin to thin out, the area becoming more of a partly wooded clearing, yet the tops of the trees start to make a thick canopy that only has small openings for the rain to drip through. Hearing a noise up ahead, the Darkness carefully goes towards it. It had orders to scout the area and investigate anything odd, why was it hesitating?

...Darkness cannot feel fear.

It reaches a clearing, what should have been trees joining in the circle around it being jaggedly cut stumps. As if they had been cut with something sort of blunt.

Stepping forward, it notices deep, long gashes made in the ground, rainwater from gaps in the leaves trickling down onto the ground and filling them. Alongside the gashes are a pair of big, clawed prints that lead out of the clearing and into the surrounding trees.

The Darkness starts to hear twigs snap somewhere in the forest, the sound gettin closer. And closer.

And closer.

Darkness... cannot feel fear.

It quickly looks around, trying to find whatever's breaking the twigs, but sees nothing as leaves have suddenly grown around the clearing, making a curtain.

It hears a laugh behind it- no, to it's right- no... in front?

Darkness cannot... cannot feel fear.

It hears another laugh behind it, closer this time, and turns around.

An arrow flies through the air and sticks into the tree truck next to it.

Burning, piercing amber eyes semi-covered by colorful hair glow inside the shadows of the leaves.

...It is scared.

It tries to run in the opposite direction, before a giant beast suddenly leaps out of the foliage and pins it to the ground with a huge claw, the dagger-like tips of its fingers digging into its body.

—————————————————————————————————————

"What'd you think it was doing alone? They're usually in groups, right?"

"I dunno. Remember that group that we went after earlier by picking them off one-by-one? That must've been the one that escaped."

"Hah, got a loose end then. You're getting really good with that bow."

"Thanks! I've been practicing a lot. The bats that keep intruding in your cave-thing I made you make for good target practice."

"Ah, so that's why I was suddenly shot in back this morning. Thanks for that."

"I'm soorryyy, okay? It was an accident! Hey, all of the food I helped you catch today makes up for it right?"

"Heh, I gueth id doeth."

"Dude, quit talking with your mouth full. You're getting flesh bits and blood on me."

"Sorry."