Alwyn snored, a dumb grin plastered on his face from some dream. A small chuckle was released from his lips, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
A few steps away from him, Aliza rolled around in her sleep. Beads of sweat ran down her face and back, all thanks to her fever—an unfortunate consequence of her persistent illness. It wouldn't fade until she was cured, but sometimes, at least, it was more bearable.
She certainly did a great job at hiding her discomfort.
A distant sound echoed throughout the sky, sending birds flying. It was too distant to cause any real stirring amongst the two sleeping campers, leaving them completely clueless of the children's plight.
'How's something so big this fast!?' Linnie thought, weaving through the trees.
The moose, right behind him, effortlessly tore through wood as it ran. Snot and drool formed strings that dripped from its face, disrupting its previously regal image.
The beast was, in fact, a beast after all—even if it looked really interesting.
Linnie winced as he dove forwards, knowing it was between that or getting killed by impalement from the moose's antlers. He rolled into the dirt, looking up at the spectral moose that was approaching fast.
Suddenly, the moose swayed to the side, stunned by the impact of a flying girl. Liora had jumped through the air, slamming into the moose's ribs. She clawed into its flesh with her claws, laughing demonically as she climbed onto its back.
'Oh, wow...' Linnie thought in awe. 'That was kind of cool!'
She looked like a feral beast—not unlike how many had described Linnie in the past. Attached to her back was Lady, swaying through the air like a small black cape. She didn't look pleased.
"MEEEEOOWW!"
Once she was on the beast's back, though, there wasn't actually much Liora could do. She yanked on the beast's ears, scratched at its back, and bit into its neck.
Her head violently shook back and forth as she bit into its skin, like a dog playing with a toy. It might've looked impressive, but she wasn't really outputting a whole lot of damage...
The spectral beast bellowed once again, rearing on its hind legs and trying desperately to get the annoying girl off. It jumped around like a poor tempered horse and slammed into trees, knocking them over and causing a real ruckus.
Liora finally lost her grip and was sent spinning into the air. Lady jumped from the girl's back, miraculously landing on her feet. Liora wasn't as lucky, and was instead hurled into a tree.
Linnie winced as he heard the crack of body against trunk. He wasn't sure if it was the wood or Liora's bones, or both, that caused the cracking.
Distracted, he failed to notice the massive beast resuming its charge. The antlers dug into the boy's chest and he soared. The impact with the ground didn't produce a sound much better than Liora's.
'Aliza's gonna get mad at me again,' was Linnie's first thought.
It was Aliza who checked him every morning and every night for injury, since he struggled to recognize if he was hurt himself.
It was a ritual that Aliza got quite mad at Alwyn for not doing before she got there... it seemed Linnie might've triggered something maternal within the young woman.
Much to the boy's displeasure. He was a man, after all.
It seemed like they had already lost the fight. Linnie's ears were still ringing from the impact, and Liora's feet were still pointed into the sky a few feet away as she clutched her ribs, gasping.
Branches were broken, dust clouds hung in the air, and the forest was covered in the sharp smell of... rot?
'Rot? Yuck! That's not a normal smell, is it?'
The pale moose stood perfectly still in the clearing now. Its antlers were turned towards the tree line, head raised and body rigid. Its muscles weren't stressed in defense.
It was terrified.
The forest was dead quiet for a few moments. There was no wind, no chirping, not even the buzzing of cicadas could be heard.
Then, the snapping of a branch echoed through the clearing. Then another.
And another.
Something moved behind the trees, beyond the reach of the moonlight. At first, they were just glimmers—milky eyes reflecting the dull light. Then, shapes, ones too large to be wolves, and way too many to be bears.
One by one, a dozen of them stepped out.
They were spectral moose—just like the first—but strange. Their hides weren't glowing blue, but a dim red instead. Wherever flesh was missing, and there were many such chunks, something else moved.
Little, pale, root-like tendrils wriggled from the wounds, swaying idly in the air like seaweed underwater. Some of the tendrils curled outwards as if reaching for something. Others burrowed deeper into the rotting flesh.
Some even had blood-red flowers blooming at the ends.
One of the beasts had half of its lower jaw missing, and its tongue hung like a shriveled scarf. Still, it made a faint, hollow puffing sound.
Another's entire left side was caved in—ribs exposed and wrapped in twitching fibers. Most of their antlers were broken or jagged, blackened and rotten.
Their eyes completely lacked the shine of life that would've been present in any real creature. Instead, they looked more like a work of taxidermy.
The original moose stepped backwards from them timidly. It was as if it recognized its old friends, and was hesitant to accept that the familiar faces in front of it were not friendly.
The red ones stood together in silent formation, as if they were one large creature. Their heads turned slowly, pointed at Linnie, Liora, Lady, and the spectral moose.
The smell that previously hung in the air hit them a moment later—much stronger this time. The pungent, disgusting odor of decay.
Linnie's stomach twisted, and his vision blurred. His stomach emptied itself shortly after.
None of the creatures charged. Neither did they make a sound. They only stared, as if waiting for something.
Then, one of the root-tentacled wounds twitched. It was like a trigger had been pulled, and the circle of red spectral moose took one step forward in perfect unison.
The clearing suddenly felt very, very small.