It didn't wait for them to act, it immediately charged at them, its hand stretching out towards the lanky man. It grasped him, his whole body being covered by the frostbitten fingers, screaming as he was lifted up. But that wasn't the most horrific part… no, the most horrific part was that he could hear the rumblings of laughter coming from the abomination's throat. It was slowly squeezing the lanky man, making his bones slowly crack—it was playing with its food. Sunny wasn't smart, but he wasn't dumb either. The boy was still on his back, but it would still slow him down if he were to run. That's why he threw the boy in the air slightly before having him land like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder as he began to run, leaving behind the lanky man, whose head was growing ever so close to the abomination's mouth, and leaving the fat old man who was frozen in fear.
Though by the time he looked back, the forest of trees and snow had already blocked his view of them.
---
"Huff… huff…"
How long has he been running? He doesn't know. But what he does know is he still can't stop. He saw its eyes—he saw what would happen if it were to catch them. But there's just one problem: where can they even go? Is this the end? Is there truly no escape? His red hair was like curtains, blinding him from the truth—the truth that no matter how much he ran, it wouldn't matter. They were going to die, and it was going to be a painful and horrific death.
A noise came from behind them. Sunny stopped and dropped the boy, causing him to roll, his face scrunched up with emotions he would never be able to describe. He grabbed his sword and held it until his already unnaturally pale fingers from the snow turned white as paper. Then the grip released a bit as he saw the fat old man run out of the trees, out of breath, snot and tears running down his face.
"OH… THANK THE GODS! YOU'RE HERE!"
Sunny grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes that were hidden behind his hair.
"Where is… it…"
The old man's face tensed up, varying emotions painting his face. It seemed as if he wanted to apologize, as if he wanted to thank him, as if he wanted to hug him, as if he wanted to strike him down—it was as if he was staring at himself whenever he stared at the legacies who passed through the outskirts.
"It ran! It bit his head off and then leapt through the trees, taking his body with him!"
"Well, what direction? If we know the direction, then we should go the opposite."
The old man thought for a second before his eyes lit up.
"It went east! Specifically, it seemed to go northeast."
"Then let's go southwest, right now that's our best bet."
He looked at the boy, who was up now, his face sunken as if he had given up on everything. That was indeed his face, but his eyes—his eyes had more life in them than they ever had before. Sunny clenched his fist and let the boy climb back onto his back.
"Let's go northwest."
Suddenly the boy spoke. Had he gone crazy? Had he been wrong?
"It was intelligent, wasn't it… that means if it comes after us, it would most likely guess we'd go southwest, so let's go north."
Ah, that made a lot of sense actually. Sunny smiled. Despite everything that had happened, the muscles on his face moved on their own. He wasn't happy at all, the furthest thing from it, so why did he smile?
"Good thinking, let's do that."
Oh, that's why—to comfort the boy on his back.
---
It's been three days now. They've been taking rests in caves when dark approaches, and for water they have no choice but to hope the water they collect from melting snow is clean. The food situation? They can find berries in bushes covered under snow, but that's about it in all honesty. Still, they have survived off of it so far. Right now they were taking another rest in a cave, the old man in the corner sleeping while the boy was huddled up also sleeping in the opposite corner. He was the only one who could be lookout, so he hasn't truly had sleep in some days. He was confused—since when did he become like this? He was a selfish person, yet he was acting selfless recently… or at least for his standards. But when he came into this world, it's as if those emotions he once carried in him had vanished. Another reason may be because of that boy—it's almost as if he conveys all the emotions he thought he would convey when coming here. It was odd but not unwelcome, he supposed. He couldn't sit around, so he began to wander around the cave for a bit, seeing if maybe, even if it was a low chance, there could be something left behind in it. That's when he saw it.
---
"You found a map!?"
He had found a map buried under some rocks, and it wasn't just any map.
"It says if we just go west for a mile or two, we will escape this forest, and a little farther away is a kingdom."
The fat old man was beaming. He couldn't blame him—after all, they had a chance at living now. The boy's face was still stoic, but he could tell he was happy also.
"So let's get mov—"
A cloud of snow erupted as something fell close by them. They didn't need to wait for it to clear to know what it was. Sunny's face twisted in despair, the hope was ripped from them as soon as it was given to them. A guttural chuckle came from the abomination's throat as it approached. Grasping his sword, he held it up. Even if he died now, he would fight.
"Run, kid… take the map and run, we know it will get preoccupied for a bit."
He didn't know why he said that, but he couldn't help himself. It hurt a little that the boy didn't hesitate at all and instantly snatched it and began to run. Though he was happy also, Sunny couldn't say he was a good person, but at least before he died he did a little good in his life.
The old man was in a sweat, his face contorted before he spoke.
"S-So you'll let me live now, right!"
What.
The old man approached the abomination, his face laced with nothing but desperation.
"I brought them to you just like you wanted!"
So that was it… he lied about the direction and brought them to the beast. The reason why it must have taken so long is because we went north instead of south.
Sunny jumped back as he heard the sound of bones being shattered and flesh being splattered. The upper body of the old man was bitten clean off, leaving only the beast staring at him, its bloody face adorned with a vicious smile.