I'll know when I see it. I'll know when I see it, I'll know when I see it. The words of the man echo in my mind as I continue forward…
One step… Two steps… three steps…
I walk and walk, being wary of my every surrounding… I feel dreadful, my stomach is still turning from killing that thing, the searing pain in my arm is still bothersome, the paranoia of running into one of those things again and worst of all there's that eerie feeling driving into my soul… is that just fear? No… this feels different. Maybe I am afraid but this… it's more than that, but I don't have time to worry about that in this moment. The houses here seem very old, some are filled with cracks and seem like they could fall within a few years. Just how old is this village exactly? It doesn't seem very large, I wonder how populated it was. I begin to think back to the writings in blood. Maybe they tried to get the old ones attention when these monsters came. No, the sentence doesn't make sense in that light, could one of these monsters have written it? Are these beings sentient? These monsters probably killed all the humans in this village… what if those things were people… but how would that be possible, but then again how are these things existing in general possible. If they were human what could've turned them this way… what could've happened here. My mind is a mess, filled with unanswered questions and more questions that seem to be collecting the longer I remain here. Just what is this place?
I don't have the time to think about things like this, if I'm not focused that could mean death. So I continue forward one step at a time.
The man continues to wonder the village, there's been no sign of people and even those creatures weren't seen often. The village itself is quite big, there seemed to be a decent amount of statues in the village representing each of the old gods, but erosion has eaten away at those statues. Some had limbs missing, most were filled with cracks, but there was a single statue that was missing its head, a headless woman. It was in much worse shape than the rest too. Most of the statues had some kind of representation as to what God the statue was reflecting, the god of death sat on a throne of skulls, the god of time had a clock in his hand, the god of the sun wore a bright circular shield representing the sun, and this one subtle remnants of vines or plants reside on her body.
One headless statue out of all the rest. Plants and vines huh? Wouldn't that represent like a god of life? But… isn't-
"Grahhghhhggggghhhh"
I hear the sound in the relatively close as shivers run down my spine… I move as quietly as I can towards a nearby alleyway and hide behind piles of trash… it's hard to control my breathing… it feels as if my heart is going to burst out of my chest…
Step…
Step…
Step…
I can hear it's heavy footsteps hitting the ground slowly one after another but suddenly it stopped… please, Just don't go down the alley… I beg to the old ones… to anyone that this thing doesn't find me… I probably won't be so lucky this time… I can't see it but it's footsteps sound a lot heavier than the one that attacked me. This one could be even stronger than that one…
Clank
It sounded like a trashcan or something got knocked over in the distance…
"SKEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR"
My blood runs cold as I feel shivers run down my spine…The creature released an ear piercing screech that would make any human or animal cower in fear . My heart begins to race even faster… there was a very brief moment of silence but that was broken when I heard a man calling out
"No… please… NO WAIT DO-"
I'm not sure why… but curiosity got the better of me, as he screamed I slowly walked towards the end of the alley and peeked slightly over the wall
Squelch
The creature definitely looked different than the one I killed… its body was slim too but far more muscular… it's skin was a dark grey color, at first glance its head seemed to be spiked shaped somewhat like some kind of hairstyle, but looking closer I realized those spike shapes was protruding from its head, as if it were like a natural armor… the creature extended a long tendril that pierced through the man's chest…
…
Step…
Step…
Step…
"Ggrrrgl"
Crack
As the unknown man was choking on his own blood the creature walked over and crushed the man's head with its foot… it then proceeded to grab the man's arm and drag his body off leaving a trail of blood in its path… That sight struck him with a fear so strong it made his bones shiver…
my brain… can't comprehend what it just saw. I slowly walk back to where I was hidden before and curl up into a ball placing my hands on my head. What… what the fuck is wrong with this place…
This is insane… this is fucking insane… how the fuck can something like that exist… things like that only exist in horror movies or manga or anime or books right… right? If I encountered that thing before the one I killed id be dead, id be dead just like him, id be dead. If things like this exist on the surface just what is in the place that man told me about… ive heard tales and legends of this place but who would believe things like this actually exist… how can these things actually exist… I need to calm down… and think. I take a moment to collect my thoughts and catch my breath. I can't go back now… it's far to late. I have to keep moving. I need to find the entrance. I need to save her… I pick myself off the ground and continue forward… this village doesn't seem that large so why can't I find it… could it be in one of the houses? Do I really want to risk that right now? If I'm outside I could at the very least try to run, but In a house I won't be able to do that. Let's keep looking outside for now.
One step, two steps, three steps…
This place is driving me crazy… it's like those things are everywhere. My feet are tired from walking but can I really afford to rest for a substantial amount of time? What if one of those things finds me… I haven't seen another face to face but I can hear when they walk around. Even the ones that seem like they're more frail, their footsteps have a notable weight to them, more so than the average human. But I guess that's a good thing… it would daughter even more terrifying if I couldn't hear their footsteps at all. As I'm walking I manage to find a place that seems hidden enough to rest in if just for a moment. I haven't eaten anything since I came here, daughter. I check my phone to see the time. Seems like I've been here for a few hours. I quietly open the part of my backpack with food in it and take a few bites of a protein bar. I plan on saving the bigger, more filling foods for a later time. So this should be good for now…
15 minutes have passed, I'll leave in the next 5.
sigh…
I guess I just have to keep searching until I find it, hopefully that doesn't take the whole day. Those things, if I run into one with an ability like that I'm screwed… maybe it is would be safer in that place. If I had my own power to fight back I wouldn't be so useless. I need to make it there. Time passes quickly and my 5 minutes are up. I pick myself off the ground, make sure the coast is clear and continue walking forward…
Step, step, one more step…