***A few hours back***
Nana felt a cold sensation on her face, which pulled her from nothingness back to reality. She stood up from the ground and wiped off the riverbank sand caked on her face.
"Where the hell am I?" she muttered to herself as she scanned her surroundings. Thick trees and grass stretched several miles into the distance along the river line. The sun was dipping low on the horizon, sinking into the dark clouds.
The only sound was that of the slow-flowing river and the indistinct chirping of birds and other unknown creatures. Dripping, Nana walked away from the river bank and stepped onto the green grasses at the side of the river.
"Mason! Raymond!" she called, hoping to reach them. That was if they were near. But the silence that followed made her entrails crawl up her chest.
She shouted again, slowly giving way to fear, but no reply came. Her eyes welled up with tears as she whirled around what now seemed to be a thick forest.
"What have I gotten myself into now?" she whispered. She bit down her lips to focus and get rid of the unpleasant thoughts bombarding her head.
As she went deeper into the forest, she approached a large tree that had fallen down–perhaps due to a weak root that seemed to rest on a large rock or knocked down by a large creature. The scent of leaves and decay filled the air and Nana automatically held her nose.
From below the rotten root of the tree, a large boa crawled out. It was almost two feet in diameter and at least two meters in length.
The creature stared at Nana, who stood frozen in fright, for a moment before continuing its crawl toward a moat ahead.
Maybe the reptile found her not a threat, or it had had its dinner, or just didn't like humans–because it was gargantuan enough to swallow her–it ignored Nana and slipped into the water, which bubbled and groaned at its presence.
Nana let out a deep sigh as she clasped her hand on her chest. "I thought I was going to die," she whispered.
Too scared to step toward the tree, she took a detour. Yanking through thick grasses and crawling plants Nana weaved her way to the other side. Taking a deep breath again, she continued moving, looking around for any clue.
She hasn't taken more than ten steps when movement caught her peripheral vision. She glanced at the tall trees but found no one.
The silence… The silence was bothering; no sound–not even that of chirping birds she had heard earlier–everything was quiet now, too quiet.
A movement again, but no sound. Nana thought she caught glimpses of figures roaming above the trees. Perhaps she was seeing things.
But then, out of nowhere, something whipped the air and wrapped around her neck. Nana grabbed what seemed like a tiny and strong rope, attempting to break free.
"I'm not an enemy!" She tried to cry out, but her air supply was cut short. Her senses began to reel and she felt darkness gradually taking over.
When she opened her eyes again she saw what must be the blur of two women, maybe ladies, clouding above her. They're in dark robes, their swords unsheathed and clipped to their belts.
"Kiya! Seems she's woken up," one of them said.
From behind them approached another female, this one was younger. She raised her hand and muttered something Nana didn't understand. A burst of dark smoke emitted from her gloved hand.
Magic?
"Strange, she's immune to my magic," the lady who seemed to be Kiya said disappointedly.
"How so?" a lady asked.
"I don't know," Kiya replied. "Perhaps she was exposed to strong power for long. Her mind is…kind of fortified."
Mason's necklace! Nana thought. The artifact showed no hostility toward her. Could it be…
"Then that leaves us with the second option," a second girl said.
Kiya nodded. Even from this distance, Nana could see her face through the deep cowl. She has brown eyes that bore through her.
"Who are you?" Nana whispered, willing herself to stand, but one of the girls unsheathed a dagger and raised it up to strike her.
"No, no, no! You can't do this to a stranger!" Nana managed to scream.
"What do you know?" Kiya said. "We leave you here, and you die; we save you, and you become…"
"That's enough Kiya!" one of the girls snapped. The second, who'd raised her danger up, brought it upon Nana with a dull THUMP!
Once again her senses began to reel.
"I like her," she heard one of the hooded girls say. "I'm sure Luliar would make good use of her body."
"Maybe, I hope she survives," another voice, sounded like Kiya's. "Let's hurry, we still have more lives to end tonight."
Dammit! Nana thought. Tears trickled down her eyes as she felt herself being hurled onto the shoulder of one of the girls. Finally, she lapsed into unconsciousness.
*****
Meanwhile, Raymond's eyes snapped open by the discomforting heat on his back. Above and around him trees and grasses were running past him. Strange though.
He felt a tight grip on his legs and he raised his head from the ground. To his horror there are a duo of creatures with long pointed ears that extend above their heads, dragging him as they walk on their hind legs.
They're barely half his size, with gray dirty hair on their limbs. Apart from the air on their limbs and groin, the rest of their greenish skin was naked.
"Food! Food! It's here!" one of them shouted into the woods. It turned back to face Raymond and their eyes locked. Raymond caught a glimpse of what must be fear from the creature's face.
"Wake! Wake! It wakes!" It shouted as it pointed at Raymond, stomping its foot on the ground, perhaps to divert its companion to him.
This 'thing' calls me a food? Raymond groaned within himself. Just then, the thick bush ahead shook, and about dozens of shakases peeked out. Their orange eyes widened as they set their eyes on Raymond.
"Food! Food!" They shouted almost simultaneously. Their annoying voices conveyed what must be a cheer.
Raymond realized now that he had to act. If these creatures get a hold of him he'll be done for. He pulled his right leg, causing the creature holding it to lurch forward toward him, and then slammed his foot at its face.
The beast's tight grip on Raymond's loosened, and it fell to the ground on its back, letting out an awful screech. Raymond used his free leg to hit the second shakas, sending the weightless creature spouting blood. It staggered and fell down.
The entire horde emerged from the bush and began to approach, running restlessly. Raymond stood up and took to his heels, running as fast as he could away from the creatures.
After running for a moment, he stopped to catch his breath. The sun was slowly disappearing from the sky, leaving the hue of pink. Raymond listened. He no longer heard the creatures' screeches.
He was free of them, so he thought until the bush around him began to shake and swirl. Noise began to come from around him.
They outran and surrounded him, blocking every possible escape route. They are smart!
Raymond inspected the tree beside him, his heart racing with fear. It should be able to get him away from the creature, that was if they are not excellent climbers. Without a second thought, Raymond grabbed the tree's bark and began his ascent.
"Don't climb! Don't climb!" one of the creatures shouted. "Come! Don't climb!"
"Don't climb? So you can eat me?" Raymond groaned as he grabbed a branch and pulled himself up. The shakases aren't climbers, lucky him.
He glanced down at the creatures who had now surrounded the tree. The one talking was staring back, wearing what seemed like a sad expression on its pale face.
Maybe it was trying to deceive Raymond, its eyes are welling up with tears. Five or more of its kind joined, mirroring who appeared to their leader's expression.
Their actions stunned Raymond. One would've taken them as adorable little creatures by the look on their faces, if not for their ugliness and yellowish jagged teeth.
Another shakas emerged from the horde, its face grim, staring dagger at Raymond. "I'll eat you alive!" it shouted, then sat down beside the tree. Its grim face softened and it raised up its head. "Hungry… dying…"
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any food to offer," Raymond said, feigning concern. The behavior of the creatures didn't strike him as hard as the fact that they could speak; speaking and understanding human language. Raymond believed emotions wouldn't be far from them either.
"Not food, you!" The creature said, sadly. "Food… you… hungry… dying!"
Uh-huh, you don't want any food but me.
Raymond managed to smirk. "I'm sorry. But I can't allow you to eat me alive," he whispered, hoping they wouldn't hear.
"Not alive again, kill first!" The monster said, life coming to its features. "Come! Kill first, not alive!"
"I don't want to die, idiot!" Raymond shouted. The branch he was standing on groaned under his weight, and suddenly, it snapped, causing his legs to slide off.
"Yes! Fall!" The creatures chorused, jumping in what must be enthusiasm.
Raymond plummeted, hitting branches with thuds. He felt one of his ribs break but that's less of his concern now. If he falls now more bones would be broken, and more pain, of course.
His fear sent gas out of his buttocks, but he felt something else escape. This was not the time to think about that. He managed to grab the last branch, and fortunately, it held him, though less than one meter to the ground and almost the reach of the shakases.
His legs dangling in the air, he hurled himself up with all the strength left inside of him.
The creatures let out a disappointed screech and their faces turned sad once more. Raymond gasped, took a deep breath, held it for a while, and released it. His pants were wet, and he didn't care. He's still alive.
Going to live another day, he hoped.