Chuck Westwood fell right on his ass, as he was spooked by the sudden voice behind him. In front of him were two people, one of them not even resembling a human being.
The normal looking one was also as bizzare as they would come. He was wearing a long black outfit, and had tattoos all over his body. He had dark eye shadows under his eyes. And what stood out the most was his hair that reminded Chuck of a hedgehog. His hair was very long, reaching his waist. And it was spiky, as if they were made by thorns.
The one behind him was eight feet tall. He, or rather "it", bad underbellies under underbellies. Thick layers of fat covered it's entire body, also with many stitches. It's face was an ugly mug that was smiling in a creepy way.
But what terrified Chuck the most was the fact that he didn't hear them sneaking up at all. They just suddenly were behind him. Chuck was in the middle of the forest where it was such an open area, that Chuck would have heard them walking but he didn't.
???: So....what brings you here, Child..??
???: Myaster....I shmell humans on him. He comes frum plache with lots of hyumans!!!
The monster was sniffing in the air like a dog, confirming the fact that he is from a village with a population.
???: Now...how about that Savanta!! We found some people!! Isn't that great??
???: Yesh, Myaster Dreacon!!
Savanta and Dreacon. Those were their names. He didn't know if they were good people or bad, but Chuck was terrified. He hadn't met anyone other than his villagers in his entire life, but he could sense it from their auras. These beings here were pure evil.
Chuck bad no choice, but began running. As fast as he could. Once he got a bit far, he turned to see them and fortunately they hadn't moved.
Dreacon: Hey, Come on!!!! We were just getting to know each other!!!
Dreacon shouted but Chuck chose to ignore. He kept running as if his life deepened on it. He was maneuvering through the trees like the professional he was. All he could think of was that his village would be in danger if he got caught. So he should do everything in his power to not get caught. So he kept running.
Meanwhile, far away, in the same spot, Savanta and Dreacon, just stood there.
Dreacon: Man, you scared him!!
Savanta: I did?????????
Savanta started moving forward. He was ready to jump.
Dreacon: No! Wait! Do not go behind him!!
Savanta: But wai Myaster?? He will be gooone.
Dreacon: Yeah. That's fine. I need him to lead us to his village. He will eventually go to a certain direction. And then we send our army of dread and start a game. We will reward anyone who finds the village first.
Savanta: Oooohhhh!!! Myaster ish bored after living 500 years. So Myaster is playing gamesh???
Dreacon just smiled at his obedient servant. He then looked at him.
Dreacon: Now be a good guy and point me to which direction he is now..
Savanta: Yesh, Myaster!!
Savanta sniffed the air, and then pointed at the trees in the northeast. It was the opposite direction from which Chuck bad left, and Dreacon was impressed that the young boy tried leading them the wrong way before going home. But now, Dreacon had begun the hunt.
Dreacon: Let's see if anyone finds it in the next one year. Let's begin the game!!
***
Chuck had returned to his home after that incident, and acted as if nothing had happened. That incident happened about seven months ago. When he returned he tried warning evryone about the mysterious person near the lake, but no one believed him, saying that they've gone out and never found any of those folks. And it had been seven months since then, and everyone almost forgot that incident. But not Chuck. Dreacon sometimes haunted him in his dreams.
And then came a day, where he bad a simple fight with his uncle. His uncle, Matthew was having a drink with his pals from the tiny library at the edge of the town. He didn't have his signature Book of Fireflies with him. So, he turned to Chuck.
Matthew: Hey Chuck!! Go bring me my magic book!! I want to show it again to my friends bere.
???: Oh come on!! How many times will you show it to us Matthew. You know we can't read it!!!
Matthew and his friends were laughing at it, as if it were the greatest joke in history. Clearly, they were drunk and happy.
Chuck: I'm sorry. I'm going the opposite way. Get it yourself.
Matthew: What did you just say...?????!?!?!!?!!??!?!?!
Matthew sounded genuinely horrified. But then he sighed and started laughing. He leaned back in his wooden chair.
Matthew: Be careful, if you go out, you might see some porcupine looking man, and ge might eat you!! Hahahahahhahahahha
Everyone around him started to laugh, triggering Chuck. Veins popped up on his head, like pimples on an adolescent face.
Matthew: Oh sorry!! I shouldn't have said it! You are a wimp anyway, who stopped going out. Hahahahaha
They all laughed again, finally breaking Chuck. Chuck knew they were just obviously drunk and joking about it, but he was hurt. He turned angrily at Matthew.
Chuck: Alright! You don't believe me right!!!? Fine! I'll go out myself!! Just don't blame me if you never see me again!!
???: Hey, hey...slow down kid! He was just joking..!!
Chuck: No. I'm done being humiliated by a bookworm. He thinks he knows everything about the world. He will only understand my worth, when I'm gone.!!
This was just a childish tantrum. He went out of the village that day, wanting to prove a point, not realizing that that would be the last time he would ever see anyone.
***
???: You were wrong Matthew!! You should've not laughed at the kid and mocked him!!
Matthew: You were laughing too!!!
Matthew, now sober, was arguing with his mates. They had finally realised that Chuck had snuck out for the first time in months, and it was almost dusk. Matthew was clearly worried.
???: It'll be fine, don't worry. The kid's got guts!!
Matthew: Yeah, I know....
Suddenly the entire village heard lots of footsteps. Matthew was at the edge of the village, near the entrance of the village. The secret entrance parted, with a large amounts of shadows coming in. Matthew was spooked, and so were everyone around him. All of the village gathered in the middle, and Matthew had to man up, as he was the only one older than everyone else.
Out of the trees game several mutilated bodies, and resembled the dead brought back to life. Behind them were floating monsters with skulls as their only solid object of their bodies'. And in between all of them, was Dreacon and Savanta.
???: Hey, doesn't that look like the person that Chuck described??
Matthew was sweating. He was scared of whatever Chuck was going through. He didn't know if he was caught by them.
Matthew: Umm...how may we help you, kind sirs..??
Matthew tried negotiating. Even though he didn't speak, everyone could see that the person in front of him, was evil. They somehow could sense, the destruction that Dreacon savoured.
Dreacon was looking around everywhere at the village, trying to find something. Then he grunted in disappointment.
Dreacon: Tsk. These many humans, but not a single Blessing in sight. ...uhhhh...
Dreacon swooped his shoulders low and sighed. He then smiled as he looked at them.
Dreacon: Savanta! The Box!!
Savanta nodded and gave him the black box. Dreacon then out his key inside and rotated it. He then placed it on the ground. A ticking sound began, which alarmed the villagers.
Matthew: What ..is that??
Dreacon ignored him completely. With a motion of his hand, all of the Cyclops' monsters circled the village creating a ghostly barrier, so that none could escape.
Dreacon: You see, it's a new invention of mine!! I wanna see how well it works, even though none of you have Blessings. But I am indeed generous. If you have any last words, you have about a minute to say it..
Dreacon just stood there, smiling at it. He genuinely wanted to see how well his invention works. The villagers started panicking, all asking questions at the same time. But Dreacon didn't give a damn about their words, as he yawned and stood there.
Dreacon: Hmm...looks like the kid isn't here....interesting... but who cares...
Dreacon yawned again. The villagers tried going near him, but got terrified when the Cyclops came ahead of them. They didn't know what to, and began talking to each other. But Matthew stood there silently. Since he was in the front, he heard Dreacon talk about the "kid that wasn't there". Matthew knew that he was referring to Chuck, as he was the only one not in the village. But Matthew was scared that he would return any moment. So he raised his voice.
Matthew: Chuck!!!! DO NOT COME BAVK!!! DO NOT GET BAVK HERE!! DO NOT ENTER!!!
As Matthew started screaming, Dreacon was puzzled. All the villagers saw him screaming and realised that Chuck wasn't here. One of them joined in with Matthew, shouting for Chuck's safety. And soon, others followed. Ten seconds later, everyone in the village were saying the same thing.
Dreacon wasn't amused and the bomb went off.
Matthew: And remember!! When you are lost...always follow the Fireflies!!!
Matthew shouted one last time. And then boom. Everything went silent as all were disintegrated on the spot. Everyone died in a matter of seconds. Dreacon scoffed.
Dreacon: Hmph. That was boring. Let's go, my servants. And Savanta, give the guy who found this village a nice reward. Or kill him, I don't care...
They all turned back to go, as Savanta picked up the Box. Eventually the village was empty. And no one were there.
Two hours later, Chuck entered the village again, his anger now subsided. But as soon as he entered, he saw that it was too quiet, with no light. No one were there. He ran frantically searching for them, but everyone were gone...
Chuck: No...I was just joking....I didn't mean it....I didn't want it to be the last time I see you...come on guys...it's not funny!!