Another Dreary Hunt: Forbidden Studies

9 O'Clock: Ignorance Was Bliss

I wished it was quiet, I wished it was silent as I watched the speckles of flickering flame getting closer and closer. The deep green and black of the forest, those rotted trees being consumed by the growing inferno as the beasts marched forward. Silence...That would have been nice, at least then I could have just listened to my heart pound against my chest. Instead I heard screams, crying and nauseating growls of the macabre procession. Crusafixes raised high into the trees with charred remains glowing in the moonlight; the spittle of animals slobbering all over the gravel path through the wood; the scraping of iron against the ground, almost a reminder of what was to come.

I could not move, my body would not allow it. Instead I could only crane my neck towards the rest of the hunters, and feel my heart leap into my throat as I saw those poor students petrified to their spots. Some had dropped their weapons, others were holding each other tightly - a futile comfort before they were devoured. One girl began to scream and crawl back into the undergrowth, her pure garbs stained a sickly green by the grass.

I never saw her again.

A man, perhaps in a fit of panic or terror, grabbed his blade and ran crying out towards the Hunt. They grabbed him and threw him back into the cluster of vile fangs and claws.

I never saw him again.

Rom's eyes were shot wide open, her usual blue irises now tainted with the glowing crimson fire. She was muttering to herself, "Kos Kos Kos Kos Kos..." her shaken voice repeated. She held the book close to her. "Save us from such horrors, save us from such torment. Eyes, eyes! Take our eyes dear Kos and throw them to the ocean!" She dropped the book, and jammed her fingers into her own face - An attempt to claw them out.

I immediately grabbed her hands and restrained her, luckily she did not do any damage to herself and simply fell limp. Her muttering ceased, in just enough time for the Hunt to be on top of us. I saw their furred forms writhing across the road, corpses trailing behind them as their inhuman growls flew through the trees. Beside them were crusty dogs, whose fur was so matted with blood you would think they were naturally red. All had wild eyes, eyes of killers who loved nothing more than death. I wondered...What were they hunting now? If all are beast, then what is left to kill. Their bloody stupor must surely end at some point, lest their prey run dry. I came to a disgusting revelation - They would feast on each other. When all food is gone, our friends become prime sources.

It was all I could do at that point, think. If I did not focus on anything else I would surely go mad. These monsters plagued my vision, and now had the scent of blood. Hearing a thud I grabbed Rom and dragged her behind a tree before looking back to the Hunt, a small figure was sniffing around where we had been hiding. It was about as big as a child, in a tattered dress which flowed to about her knees. Its skin was dark, covered in filth and blood which matched her almost beautiful scarlet eyes. Its mouth was filled with thick yellowed fangs and a long monstrous tongue which hung out of the side. Long greasy hair obscured its face as it seemed to find something. I held my breath, covering Rom's mouth as I watched it crawl over the log I was hiding under.

I wish I had never seen her again.

A poor student, a girl I had known called Harriet, was now helpless. The creature pounced on her and bit into her throat, tugging and pulling the skin like a lump of steak before tearing it out completely. I felt the blood splash over me, that glistening red soaking into my robs. These hunter's robes, they were not the uniform of the Church Hunters. This was, we are born of the blood - Made men by the blood.

Harriet was now gargling, her body like a disturbing fountain of blood as the creature tore into her stomach. I saw organs, flesh, bones being consumed indiscriminately. This girl I knew, laughed with, drank with...Reduced to naught but a pulsating mass of nothingness. I looked at Rom, who was now standing, as tears rolled down her face. She was again muttering but this time she looked at the book. It was glowing, humming a soft melody that was beautiful to the ears and seemed to attract the attention of the still feasting beast. It growled as its deep red gaze locked onto Rom, her blonde hair now blood-soaked and sticky. Her muttering turned into a chant, a language I had never heard before - The same language she used at the lake! I stood up, reached towards her in an effort to snap her out of whatever trance had taken her over yet as I did a small sphere opened up before her. It was dark, with a faint purple aura around the perimeter yet inside were what looked like stars. I could not make out any constellations, they were just there. Suspended in space before me. Out of the space shot a mass of what looked like blue tendrils. They slid and lashed out at the creature, wrapping around the moss-covered trees and dark branches before finally a number of the larger ones wrapped around the creature. It screeched and swiped at them but they did not lose their grip, instead they began to pull back into the sphere. I stepped back, stunned as I watched the creature quickly zip into the space. Small blue, slug-like appendages dropped off as the sphere began to close, the creature was only halfway through before it shut entirely. The upper torso slopped to the ground, sharp breaths of panic struggling to reach us as the rest of it was nowhere to be seen. I looked to Rom, who was now resting against a tree with the book around a meter away from her. She seemed just as scared as I was.

"Rom, was that...?" I uttered, looking down at the little corpse who was still twitching and warm. "I-I don't know. I just had this voice pushing in my mind, telling me to read."
"That was Arcane, Rom."
"You can't know that-"
"I do, I read hours upon hours of works by Croix who researched this shit!" I moved towards her, past the glowing book before I knelt down and took her hand. "It's a gift Rom, maybe Oedon has a plan for you."

"I don't want a gift...I want my friends back." She said, her voice shaking as she looked down to my chest. She was looking in a twisted crimson mirror, as she thought she was living in a nightmare.