Mortal Kombat: The Three Titans

Chapter Twenty-Six: Dead Forest

-Hanzo's POV- We all decided to pack our bags and meet back at Shadow Canyon. The sun is still high in the sky as we hike off, with Kuai leading the way. The area behind his temple isn't as dark, with the Canyon getting wider as it slowly turns into the forest beyond.

"How long will we have to walk?" Bi-Han asks, adjusting the straps of his backpack. "Depends," Kuai answers, looking over his shoulder back at us. "The walk there takes about an hour or two, depending on how fast we go."
"Lovely," I sigh, forcing myself to continue.

We eventually reach the edge of the canyon, leaving an area open where the Dead Forest looms over us like a beast. Even though it's the middle of the day, fog seems to fill the entire tree line. "I already don't like the sight of this," Bi-Han states flatly. "Is it always foggy in there?"
"Year round," Kuai answers softly, looking at the breaking in the trees that acts as an entrance.

"Looks like you don't call it the Dead Forest for nothing...." I trail off, feeling glued in place.
"Yeah, keep your guard up. It may be the middle of the day, but still stay close." Kuai murmurs.
"On it," I nod.
"I'll be right behind you," Bi-Han states firmly.
****
The mud trail below our feet feels like it's sucking my feet in as I force myself forward.
Each step makes a disgusting squelch noise. The fog around us seems to get thicker the deeper we go.

"I don't like this place," I say. "The trees are so thick....almost no sunlight is coming in."
"It is pretty ominous," Bi-Han says, glancing at me over the rim of his hood. The sapphires look almost black, since there is almost no light to reflect off of them.
"How are we supposed to find this Titan?" Bi-Han asks, looking forward to Kuai.

"The map showed us it is in the middle of the forest, so...I suppose we run into it? It doesn't help that we don't know what it looks like...." Kuai admits, shrugging.
We follow the muddy path deeper and deeper into the forest, to the point where we need to light torches just to stay on the path.

"We should rest," Kuai says, stopping. "Night has fallen. Monsters come out at night." He states this in a warning tone, sounding more like an order than a suggestion.
Both Bi-Han and I look at one another, then nod. Kuai knows this dark place better than we do.

Once we have a camp set up and a fire going, we each sit on the hard ground. Kuai stares deep into the fire, his knees drawn in close to his chest, and obsidian boots caked in dried mud.
Bi-Han keeps his hood up, glancing around and looking on edge.

"Relax, my brother," Kuai states flatly. "I know of the monsters that roam these parts."
"Mind giving us some information on these monsters?" I ask.
"Might as well," Kuai relents, his eyes glowing eerily, the shade of amethyst almost looking blue, like his original eye color is leaking through.

"These woods have usual animals, wolves, bears, deer....But at night, that's when the beasts wake up. Wolves as big as a horse, pythons known to eat people, blood sucking bats that travel in hoards so thick they look like a mass of dark, screeching clouds." His tone of voice is low, again coming out as a forewarning.

"And you've been here prior to this?" Bi-Han looks pale. Well, paler. He's already pale from living in the snowy mountains for so long.
"Only once or twice," Kuai looks up, then glances around our campsite. "Not often. Come, we should eat."

We had packed food with us. Long enough to last a week. It mainly consists of dried, salted meat, dried fruit, and mixed nuts.
Kuai reaches into his bag for food, then suddenly screams.
Bi-Han and I nearly jump out of our skin. "What is it?!" We both yell.

Kuai pulls out Zodith, who looks to be waking up, a piece of jerky on her claws.
"She snuck into my bag...." His eyes widen as Zodith yawns. "Tundra must be freaking out right now."
"Little troublemaker," Bi-Han sighs, placing a hand on his chest.

I huff out a sigh as well, looking around again.
"We can't turn back, not now." Kuai sighs, cradling Zodith like a baby. "Traveling at night is dangerous."
"Trust me, I don't plan on moving until morning." I say, finishing my trail mix and spreading out a blanket. Zodith falls asleep again in Kuai's gentle grip. Kuai looks down at his dragon with a small smile. "Shuì ba, wǒ de nǚ'ér. Kě'ài de háizi, ràng wǒ de kuījiǎ bǎohù nín." (Sleep, my daughter. Let my armor protect you, my sweet child.)

I watch Bi-Han lay down as well, somewhat relaxing as Kuai hums softly. "I'll keep watch for now. Get some rest, Hanzo."
"Okay," I yawn, laying down and soon nodding off.