Hell Forest

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Baby

The cold water sent shivers down her spine as hail rained all around her and the bundle she was carrying. The cold wind felt as if ice was growing on her body. All around her, she saw nothing but darkness and mist, she was completely and utterly lost.

May Romero, a young woman of small stature, dark hair, smooth skin and sunken, tired eyes, grabbed some of the large over hanging jungle leaves and used them for shade. She held the small bundle closer to herself as she reminisced about how she ended up in this situation.

She remembered waking up with a sharp pain in her abdomen. Thinking that it was something bad she ate and needed to go to the bathroom, she removed her blanket only to be caught off guard by a baby.

The baby was naked and had an ugly presence about it. It lay in a pool of blood and a strange black liquid. Exposed to the cold from the blanket's removal, it wailed at the top of its voice. May carried it out of the room to find its mother but she was alone in the house.

The next thing she knew, the village was shaming her, accusing her of sleeping around with the village boys since she couldn't identify the father. But May never slept with anyone. She wasn't even in a relationship nor was she pregnant prior to the baby's appearance.

May snapped back to the present and looked down at the child she carried in the rain, "they said I could abandon you in the forest if I wanted since you are a mysterious abomination. And I was going to but... I couldn't just leave you. You're the most innocent in all this. I just didn't think they'd kick me out too over this."

Tears formed in the young woman's eyes. The warm droplets fell on the baby's faces as she wailed, "I can't believe they would exile me here, in this accursed place with the Hell monster. I thought they cared about me. Maybe... if I could find someone, anyone who could take care of you, I can go back. They'll think I abandoned you and I can go back to my normal life... but who can I find?"

May then held the infant and some of the leaves closer to her as he cuddled in for the night.

"Luckily, I haven't seen anything yet. Yeah, lucky me..."

Morning came and just before the sun rose, May heard the blood curdling screech of the small human needing assistance. She woke with a start but was conscious enough to not throw the child.

"What now?" she mumbled as she stirred from her sleep, rubbing her eyes angrily. She checked all parts of the baby; he wasn't hurt, nor did he soil his small garments.

"Are you hungry? How? I just fed you."

The baby, not understanding, continued to cry and wail at the top of its voice. Exasperated and worried about the noise, May tied him around her back with cloths and vines and went to go look for food.

As dawn broke, thin rays of sunlight poked through the trees which allowed May to see where she was going. Pushing back wet leaves which slapped her back, frustrating her as she walked; she was given a break when she came across a full tree and pulled down a fruit. She bit off the top and squeezed the juice into the baby's mouth. The child slurped the sweet juice happily.

"Thank goodness you can ingest this. I don't think I could ever bring myself to breast feed you. That would be too much for me. I'm really hoping there's a village nearby with a kind mother to take care of you. My old one has clearly made up their minds about you but maybe they can welcome me back if I return with no child. Maybe they were right, it would be so easy to leave you here..."

As May looked down at the child, a surge of anger flared up in her, "I lost my sleep because of you, I lost my home, my status in the village... everything. You ruined my life! Where did you come from? Why did you have me exiled to this horrid forest? I'm refuse to let you hold me back anymore."

May then untied the baby from her back and placed it in the groove roots of a tree. As she was letting it rest, she looked upon its face, its young, sleeping innocent face that hadn't even experienced life. She couldn't feign callousness.

After picking up the baby, she heard a roar behind her. Her knees trembled like branches in the wind and her eyes widened in terror as she turned to have her fear confirmed. Standing behind her on a tree branch, it slowly advanced; its spots formed a patterned dance with the surrounding vegetation as they moved with the creature. Staring into her soul with its slit eyes, the leopard revealed itself.