The Beauty In The Nightmare

1

Britha allowed a happy yet faint smile to dance upon her black painted lips as her midnight talon like nails grazed the tops of the tall grass, lavender stalks, and dandelions that stretched up to her knees. The orange sunrise beat down on her creme skin as her nude baby doll dress danced in the breeze, it blew her pale pink hair about and slightly tangled it around her dark, antlers.

Her frail body, which stood at 5 foot and weighed 103 moved with grace and glee. As the treeline grew closer, the shadows of the trees twisted and danced together to the song of the coming night. The smell of flesh infiltrated Britha's nostrils, causing her to immediately drop to the ground, hiding in the tall grass and flowers. Footsteps rushed around behind her, legs clashed with the contents of the field as rifles loosely collided with hips and shoulders of the three hunters.

She was so close, they were still a good distance behind her. Britha knew that if she moved, the hunters would open fire, due to seeing the disturbance in the field. On the other hand if she did nothing, there would be no chance of her surviving.

It's a risk I'm willing to take...

Britha quickly jumped to her feet and took off, running as fast as she could for the treeline.

"Over there!" One man shouted, his voice was harsh and demanding.

"I got it!" Another man called out, his voice cracked as he spoke and raised his rifle.

Britha inhaled sharply as she heard the men stop in their tracks.

One...

He cocked his rifle and steadied his breathing.

Two...

He rose his finger and teased the trigger as he steadied his aim.

Three!

Britha dropped to the ground as he pulled the trigger and the rifle released a scream. She quickly jumped back to her feet and darted into the forest.

"How the Hell did you miss?!" The first man shouted then gave chase, the other two quickly followed.

About 20 feet into the forest, Britha skidded to a stop. The men were not too far behind her as she examined her surroundings. Not wanting to lead them to her house, she sighed heavily.

My only option is to disappear...

With a deep breath, she camouflaged with her surroundings, taking the color and texture of the massive pine tree behind her. The group approached the area and stopped.

"It's a God damn Nightmare Faun!" The first man growled as he squatted down and grazed his fingers across her footprints in the soil.

"What's that mean?" The man that shot and missed asked

"It means that it's able to use magic." He had lowered his voice and pulled his handgun from its holster on his hip and aimed at the pine in front of him, a wicked grin twisted on his lips as he raised the gun and slowly straightened his posture.

The third man pulled his phone out of his pocket and slid his finger across the screen, he then placed the phone to his ear, his voice cracked with hesitation as he spoke. "H-hey, boss.." He paused as the voice on the other end babbled on for a moment. "Y-yes, Sir. Tyler says we found a Nightmare Faun..." The voice responded and the man inhaled sharply. "I understand, Sir. I'll let Tyler know, you have a nice night and we'll see you in the morning, Sir." He then hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket. "Tyler, boss said not to hurt it..." He choked out his words and scratched his head.

The other men nodded, Tyler, who still held the gun, kept his wicked grin as he stepped closer to the pine tree. The barrel of the handgun was slightly off. He teased the trigger and stepped back before actually pulling the trigger. Britha's pink-flect orbs widened and glowed vibrantly in the darkness as the bullet grazed her right cheek, causing her to release a fear filled yelp. She threw her head forwards, knocking back Tyler as her camouflage faded away. As Tyler stumbled back, Britha turned and darted around the tree.

"Not this time!" Tyler growled as he took aim for her legs.

"Ty-Tyler! Boss said not to hurt it!" The third man once again choked up his words but managed to get them out.

Tyler ignored his words and pulled the trigger anyway, laughing once Britha released a loud cry and collapse to the ground. He holstered his handgun and made his way over to the creature. "Give me a light!" He shouted at the others.

The second man switched on a flashlight and followed behind Tyler, once his eyes fell onto Britha he smiled as his eyes filled with desire. "It's pretty..." His voice was low, twisted and sick.

"Yes it is.." Tyler smirked as he pulled ropes from his backpack and began to tie up her hands and feet.