The Hunted

Agreed

                                                                                          Philia

My mind is cracked open, and insanity is spilling out. There's a voice that interrupts my thought with its own, demanding to be listened to when almost any mundane decision is being made. When I say 'left,' the voice says 'right.' When I say 'up,' the voice says 'down.' The list goes on. That said, the only two things that we can agree on are food and Lyra. My mind is in a state of survival, so when it's time to eat, having the voice in my head not complain with me on that is refreshing.

Lyra has become the light at the end of the tunnel for me. When there are too many cracks in the wall that is my mind, Lyra braces her hands against it to hold it sturdy. Lately, it seems like she understands that there's an actual being inside of my mind, so when things are difficult for me, she talks to the voice instead. It is only when she does that does the voice inside my head quits the attitude and simmers down awhile. 

Right now, we have decided to continue our walk away from the madness. We heard howling last night after we mourned Natalli, so early in the morning we packed up our things and headed in the opposite direction. What worries me most is Rika. The spitfire with always something to say has gone mute, and neither Lyra nor I know what to do to make it better. Lyra says she smells off, like as soon as Natalli passed there was a change in her natural smell.

Whatever that means.

Rika had been powerwalking since we started the journey, so Lyra and I decided to keep about twenty paces back. It is then that Lyra occasionally hums a tune that sounds like a children's song.

"What are you singing?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh-" Lyra laughs quietly for a moment, "It's kind of silly, but it's from that live-action Cinderella movie? You know the one where she forgives the godmother in the end?"

"Oh! Yeah, the dress was super pretty. What song are you singing from that? It doesn't sound like the normal Cinderella songs...."

"Lavender's Blue. And you're right, it's a much older song, but I don't know the exact year."

"Gotcha... well, it's still pretty!" Lyra smiles before her face turns serious once more.

"I don't know the extent of it, but please be careful around Rika. I don't truly believe she's in control of herself. I was worried it was something that could attract wolves or a different kind of supernatural thing altogether, but she doesn't look me in the eyes, which has been my tell that there's a lack of one's original self."

Lyra turns from me and locks her eyes onto the head of Rika's curly, long hair. She takes a deep breath before shaking out the air. " I don't think she's-"

Suddenly, a sprinting woman emerges from the deep woods and rams straight into Rika, who takes a hard fall to the ground. Rika, quick to her feet, turns and snarls at the girl with bright yellow eyes. "-Aware of anything around her."

The woman screams in agony as we hear the snapping of bones. Her skin stretches where her bones look to be shifting and expanding. The small white dress she wore turned into terrible tatters. Fur rips its way through the skin, leaving a bloody mat of a darkened color to the ladies' skin, all while screaming in horrific calamity. Lyra reaches out a hand but makes no move to aid her, not that she could stop what is happening to the shifting woman in front of us. When the screaming stops, all is left of the stranger is a blob of a whining mess. It is only then that Rika lowers her guard and goes back to walking in the direction we were once heading.

"Andronika! We can't just leave her!" Lyra yells. Rika stops and turns back to Lyra before snarling.

"This is your fault. We would've never seen as much death and destruction if we hadn't listened to you, if we hadn't trusted you to be the leader of whatever is going on in this god forsaken forest!" Rika stomps her way to Lyra and gets in her face.

"Natalli is dead because of you, the weakness in this group is a result of you, the change that is happening is because of you, so if you dare say another damn word about "saving" another person to me, then I will cut you out of the equation altogether."

By the end of her rant, she huffs and pants while shifting on her feet. Her skin is a deep shade of red, and her eyes have never shown brighter than this moment. In short, she looks wild and a tiny bit crazy. I glance back at Lyra to see her eyes the same blue as before, but there's something different about them. She stands with her head high as she stares down Rika, unflinching and unbroken, like everyone else around her. For the first time, her eyes have turned cold.

"Are you done having a tantrum? If so, Philia and I are going to clean off this traumatized girl. I have no idea if you're in there, Rika, but you and I both know that this isn't my fault. Honestly, I'm surprised you're letting someone say that about me. Seems to me the Spitfire we know and love has been overcome by a mutt... shocking really." Lyra cocks a mocking brow before gesturing for me to follow. Turning swiftly, Lyra goes to move toward the bloody mess of fur until she gets yanked back by Rika.

That will be the last time Andronika does that. The contorted voice says out of nowhere.

Agreed. I speak.