No more fog and no chill breeze that coaxed her tanned skin. No more color; no more air.
She feared for her life.
No longer did she have a feeling of security; no longer did she wish she ventured into the forest alone. The air was hot, it charred her lungs – it was even thicker than before, suffocating the young woman every time she tried to catch her breath.
Screams could be heard in the distance, but no matter where she looked, the source of the screams could not be found. Everything was black; smokey. The only thing she could see was the occasional flicker of small, bright red orbs illuminating the darkness. Two orbs would appear, then two orbs would disappear; four orbs would appear, then four orbs would disappear; eight orbs would appear – more would appear, then disappear. Twenty, forty, one hundred – the young woman lost count. They were appearing faster than she could count. Wherever she turned, the orbs were there, flashing in the dark.
The second the young woman blinked, a yelp of pain escaped her lips. Something from behind – something lurking in the dark – had reached out and clawed her. At that moment, she knew; she knew that those red orbs were not orbs, but something more sinister. There were thousands of eyes staring into her soul, watching her, observing her. They were stalking her like prey.
The young woman’s knees collapsed as another attack came from her right. She was in a nightmare. The eyes were blinking faster than before, and a deep, scratchy laugh came from the distance.
"I know you can hear me, Irene,” someone said. The moment the voice appeared, the laughter ceased. The young woman rose to her feet and looked around, but the darkness proved to be too thick. “Looking for this?” the voice asked. What emerged from the shadows was a sight that made the woman’s eyes grow wide; horrified. Not too far in front of her was a figure. She couldn’t tell what it was. The only visible physiques she could see were large, branch-like structures sticking out at the top of the figure. Everything about the figure was clouded; almost like there was black smoke radiating from it. The young woman backed away in fear, unaware of how the figure managed to steal her dagger. She tried to back away as far as she could, but an abrupt force made her freeze in place.
The figure, on the other hand, moved closer, revealing a leg-shaped shadow with each movement. Legs, arms, and then a head emerged from the cluttered, smokey abyss while maintaining its shadowed presence.
“Don’t you dare,” Irene said. She tried to sound threatening, but her shaky voice only received a laugh from the figure. The young woman’s body felt paralyzed; she was afraid, and the figure knew that. Irene tried to move, but no matter how hard she tried, not an inch was able to break free. The only thing that was moving was her heart, beating one million times a second.
“Do not be alarmed,” the figure said. “My Imps had the intention to harm you and take your life; however, I have no intent to harm you – that is, as long as you comply.” The young woman didn’t know what to say – not that she could say anything. The voice was coming from the shadowed figure, but she could not tell from where. It felt like it was directly in her ear, yet at the same time, just inches from her face. Then, it disappeared.
Life was restored to the young woman’s body. She tried to run, but she just fell to the ground. She twisted, searching for the figure that was just in front of her. “Let me go!” she said.
“I thought we had an agreement, Irene,” the voice said. This time, she could feel its presence behind her, just inches from her neck. The darkness grew warm as the laughter returned. With every passing second, the laughter grew louder, and the presence behind her was gone.
“Wait, I’m sorry!” Irene said. She tried to explain her actions, but the laughter grew louder. It wasn’t until the laughter was in her ear when she, just like before, felt something sharp clawing at her legs.
A dark chuckle came from the darkness. “Imps, take her,” the voice said. It was at that moment Irene knew her life would be no more, and that she would be one with the darkness.
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