Crowns and Guns.

Memory (part 1)

I carefully walk over the stone path, making sure to watch my step in the dark. Giant black trees are looming from both sides. To an adult, the trees probably already seem huge, but to ten-year-old me, they seem gigantic. Above me, there is nothing but a star-filled sky. I glance left and right, as if dark creatures could jump out of the forest any minute.

I hold my father's hand with all my strength, as if my life depends on it, while biting the nails of my other hand. He looks down at me, with an uneasy smile, while holding a small leather pouch firmly in his other hand.

"Don't bite your nails, Skye."

I reluctantly put my hand down, and look at my Mom, walking on the other side of me.

"Are we there yet?" I ask.

"Not yet, darling. We still have to walk about an hour to the Overgrown City."

I sigh, as I set another step forward, feeling the hard uneven stones on my bare feet. "But, Mom, my feet hurt."

She puts her hand on my shoulder. "I know darling. I promise we will buy you new shoes when we are in the overgrown city."

"But I liked my old shoes. Can't we go back to get them?"

Mom stops walking, and kneels in front of me. She brushes off the twigs and dirt from my nightgown.

"We can never go back, darling. I am sorry you had to leave everything behind. But everything will be fine, I promise."

I look into her eyes. They are filled with tears. She kisses me on the forehead, and then gives me a hug.

"When we get to the overgrown city, I will buy you new clothes, new toys, new everything. I promise. Nicer and better toys than you ever had."

I look at the trees. "Mom? Why did we have to leave?"

"Cause some evil creatures entered our village, Skye. And I didn't want anything to happen to you, so that is why we are going somewhere we will all be safe."

"Will they follow us?" I ask. "The creatures?"

Mom looks down at the ground as if she is avoiding my eyes. "Of course not."

My Dad puts his finger on his lips, gesturing me to be silent. His eyes dart around as if he is trying to hear something in the trees.

And then I hear it. Other than the rustling of the trees in the wind and the song of many night birds, I can hear something else. A scraping of some kind, as if large metal knives scratch over stone. The sound is getting louder, coming closer.

Next, I see it. A large silhouette. The outline of a humanoid creature, over three meters tall. It is running towards us to the trees, on both arms and legs. And then the creature jumps out of the shadows and stands in front of us.

It is like nothing I have ever seen. It kind of looks like a human. It is wearing nothing but a pair of shorts made from vines and flowers and a wooden crown. Its ribs are clearly visible under its ash-white skin and seem to continue in its lower torso. White bony spikes extrude from the sides of his body. Its legs seem crooked as if its knees bend backwards, and instead of feet, it has giant black claws. Droplets of black liquid seem to drip from the claws' tips.

Its arms are long enough such that its hands rest comfortably on the ground. Large bony spikes extrude from his shoulders and elbows, and where its fingers should be, are similar black claws, dripping with the same black liquid.

But the scariest part was its head. Its ears and nose are long and pointy, and on its forehead are two white horns, curving in a spiral-like shape to the back of its head. Its eyes are black like marbles, darker than the black sky. Its mouth has giant, sharp teeth. The teeth are as white as its skin but have large black stains. Black liquid is dripping from the corner of its mouth, onto its skin and spikes. It licks its lips, which is an equally black spike-covered tongue.